Connie MasonBesprekingen
Auteur van The Dragon Lord
Besprekingen
If not for the want of a bit of lace...In 18thc London, young Amanda Prescott goes out in the late evening to get some, so her dressmaker mother can finish an important gown for a prominent lady. She gets lost along the way, is mistaken for a prostitute and kidnapped by some young men as a parting gift to their friend, Tony, Brandt, who's leaving for America the next day, to take over the family plantation. The guys strip her and lock her in Tony's room (their harsh treatment is because they think she's a whore acting the maiden, as what respectable girl wanders alone in the dark), where, frightened and feeling sick, she lies down on the bed and falls asleep. When a drunk Tony arrives, he's pleased to find a working girl in his bed, and in his condition, doesn't realize he raped a virgin.
He leaves for his new home, and her life takes a downward spiral, as her mother, already in fragile health, was so worried she took a bad turn, from which she didn't recover. The gown not being completed, she lost the lady's patronage, as well as other customers, and Amanda had to resort to stealing food to keep them from starving. She got caught and was sent to Newgate Prison, where a lecherous constable offered to save her from being raped by guards (which happened all too often), as well as see that her mother was kept comfortable for her remaining days, if she agreed to sleep with him on his weekly visits to the jail, and what choice did she have? She endured it like a zombie, to keep from getting violently sick.
Her sentence is commuted to indentured servitude and she's shipped off to America, where she's bought by the very man that raped her, though Tony has no idea who she is. He does feel a strong attraction to her and a forced seduction scene soon follows.
The story takes some dark paths, as Tony's torn between his feelings for Amanda (whom he grows to love, though he hides it all too well) and his mistress, Letty, who can truly be described as diabolical. Her cruel streak is apparent from the start, so why Tony decides to marry her is puzzling, unless it's because she shows him such a wild time in bed. that doesn't stop him from seducing Amanda, who (though she at first vowed to herself to make him pay for what he did) soon realizes she loves him. Nathan, the overseer (and a good one, nothing cruel about him) and a friend of Tony's, soon falls for Amanda. Though she considers him a friend, she's drawn to him when Tony treats her badly, which is all too often. On one bizarre night, Tony and Letty were having wild sex in his room, and Amanda, seeking to forget this, went for a walk outside, was joined by Nathan, and they started kissing. Taking a break from action, Tony walked out on his bedroom terrace, saw them in the moonlight, was furious (despite his lust for Letty, Amanda's gotten to him in a way he can't shake) and in anger, had sex with Letty standing up on the terrace, where Amanda and Nathan couldn't help but notice!
No, this is NOT your typical romance novel, it's dark and ominous in many places. After an argument, Amanda hits Tony and he hits her back, and almost beats her with a riding crop (thank goodness he came to his senses in time). Trying to look at it psychologically, I'd say that he was afraid of love and resented Amanda for making him feel it, so he treated her so crummy and turned to Letty, as she didn't effect his emotions, just his body. In fact, after he was with her, he'd regret she wasn't Amanda.
I won't go into every detail, but there's a real tearjerker moment, when, after a trip to England, Tony returns to find Amanda had his son, only he doesn't believe it's his baby! Just like the lace created a turning point for Amanda, so did a slip on the stairs, which made her give birth prematurely, and Tony questions when the baby was conceived, thinking she may have gotten pregnant by someone onboard ship and wanted to dupe him into thinking it was his child so he'd marry her and she'd be mistress of the plantation. His attitude was reinforced by the fact that she had told him about the constable, and while in London, Tony located him and he admitted what he'd done but added that Amanda wasn't a virgin when he first slept with her. So now he's angry, thinking she lied to him, not knowing he was her first because she didn't know how to tell him the story and have him believe it. To make matters even worse, he'd intended to ask her to marry him, but of course, he changed his mind after "discovering her deception" and started up with Letty again.
This book has so many emotion spinning scenes, like when Letty stays over and she and Tony are so loud in their lust that the baby starts crying, and he tells Amanda to keep the squalling brat quiet! When he's not referring to the baby that way, he calls him Amanda's bastard. Yes, you want to throttle him! Especially when, after going ahead with plans to marry Letty, he gives in to her wishes and decides to give her Amanda's indentured service papers as a wedding gift, then tells Amanda he'll reconsider if the sleeps with him whenever he says. All the time, he won't let himself admit how much she means to him, and keeps up a heartless facade. Someone's in need of therapy!
As for Letty, if she were literally the devil's daughter, she would make Satan a proud papa! She's diabolical and sadistic, and makes Amanda suffer terribly. Thanks to her, Amanda's whipped (though luckily Nathan showed up to stop it from getting too far), captured by Indians, (I refuse to dignify these creepy ones by calling them Native Americans), kidnapped and set up to get pregnant by a slave (though she and the slave involved manage to avoid having sex) and made to believe that Tony gave her indentured servant papers to Letty after all, when he had said he's burned them. (Letty had substituted the papers and stole the real ones). Then, she takes her vengeance to a whole new level.
It's happened many times in romantic sagas, that the heroine sacrifices herself to save the man she loves, often giving her body to a man she despises. Well, this time it's the man who does the sacrificing, as Tony (who finally admitted how much he loved Amanda and actually went through a lot for her later on, about time too) has to sleep with Letty again, or else she won't give him back the indenture papers and will sell them to anyone she pleases. Yes, she finally gets her comeuppance (and there's also one scene which even the most radical feminist couldn't possibly object to, where Tony loses his cool and slaps the crap out of Letty), but it sure took long enough!
BTW: If you're wondering why Amanda seems to take so much garbage from Tony (though she does have her angry and feisty moments), just remember the expression: "the heart wants what it wants", and despite having a nice guy like Nathan in love with her, who offered to accept her child as his own, her heart wanted Tony.
There's a HEA, though long time coming, but worth sticking around for, and there are times where Tony really suffers, which is good payback for his treatment of Amanda. So give it a try, but be warned: it's not a day at the beach.
There's more than one romantic couple in this book, and that includes a gay one. The leading couple are fantastic, plenty of arguments, misunderstandings, love/hate moments and really hot sex, but none of it goes over the top, or becomes repetitive or annoying. (Even when she's abducted more than once, it flows along smoothly with the story, and doesn't seem ridiculous.) There's danger of rape from the villain, but without giving away details, I'll just say the deed isn't done. That's how these scenes should be written, where things get close, but don't go too far.
There's also more than one HEA to go with all those matchups, the secondary couples almost as interesting as the main one.
I won't say anything more and give details away, I'll just add that if you read this book, you won't regret it.
A good balance between Alpha behavior and tenderness.
Too much angst for me, he's so arrogant and doesn't believe anything she says until tragedy happens, it was just too much
Lionheart is more like a 'Medieval Lite' than a standard medieval romance. The hero talks like a typical medieval hero at times, but doesn't really follow through on any threats. He is a kinder, gentler version of an alpha hero.
3.5 Stars
Known as the “Lord of Devil Isle”, Nicholas Scott is a skilled ship’s captain and a notorious womanizer. So when he pulls Eve Upshall from the waves, he naturally assumes she will be his latest conquest. Eve, however, has other ideas on the matter …
A sweet and steamy read although it did lose some momentum at the end.
Eve and Nick have incredible chemistry and their banter is a highlight of the book. Eve certainly knows how to handle herself both verbally and physically. Thankfully there are no ridiculous misunderstandings or silly secrets, and the obstacles to their relationship come in the form of their own mutual stubbornness.
The resolution is where the weakness lies as if the authors had difficulty wrapping the story up. The inclusion of the
Nevertheless, Lord of Devil Isle is an entertaining read, but the book is probably not for those readers who prefer historical detail and accuracy in their historical romance. I will certainly be reading more from these authors in the future.
I read some reviews on this site while I was anticipating to read the book or not. I think that some of the opinions posted might have influenced how I read this book and what I liked and didn't like.
I liked that there was a lot going on. I can understand that some people might not like this but I would have been bored if the only mystery was Rhys' military betrayal and the seduction. I didn't expect the military betrayal to be solved this book because there are two other characters involved in that and their books are next in the series so obviously that is the link. There was plenty of romance too so that was entertaining.
I really liked the history interwoven into it as well. You could tell that the author did her research.
My only peeve with this book is Olivia. There is a difference between being gullible and innocence and she is just plain gullible. At first I was excited because (like nearly every heroine in a historical novel) she was a well educated girl who rebelled from society's social norms--she was witty and liked science. But then she quickly became unintelligent. Sometimes I felt like I was reading two different characters--like her personality was a hypocrisy in itself--so I got a little annoyed with her.
Despite that though, I really liked the story. It had suspense, action, mystery and romance. I'm looking forward to the next one!
Check out more book and series reviews on my blog SERIESous Book Reviews as well as book recaps!
Good character development and strong plotline.
Caress and Conquer is a bodice ripper. Nobody can really pick up a book with a title like that, a cover to match and claim they were expecting anything other then what they got. The hero is sexist, arrogant and cruel. The heroine is tortured needy and, at times, too stupid to live. The plot is packed with over the top sensationalism and cheesy love scenes. I can't fault the book for this because, being a bodice ripper and not high brow historical fiction, these elements are to be expected.
In summary, as far as bodice rippers go this one was great. However, do not expect the book to be anything other than what it is.
Serena wants to live a bit before maybe becoming a royal duchess. The Hymen race as the papers have dubbed it is on. She knew what she wanted to she was sure to get it. I liked her spirit.
Jonah is meant to seduce her cos he is being blackmailed. I was a bit torn between poor guy and don't do it! But since this is a romance it was obvious that he would fall in love with her and when he did seduce her it was cos those ants in his pants told him to.
These two lead each other on a merry dance. But all the time there is that darkness in the background, he must ruin her or be ruined himself.
A fun and passionate romance.
Since Anne's death, Nate has enjoyed the attentions of many women, but has gotten close to none of them. He doesn't want to suffer that kind of loss again. Because of his mission, he has to get close to Georgette and make her believe that he cares about her. When he sees her again after several years, he's surprised to see that she's no longer the shy and bookish girl he remembers, but a beautiful and spirited woman. Suddenly the seduction doesn't seem like such a chore, but the guilt for doing it is hard to bear.
Georgette feels guilty for being the sister that survived the scarlet fever outbreak. Since then she has been determined to be the type of daughter her sister had been, which means doing what her parents want. Right now that entails being the type of woman that would appeal to a royal duke, even though that is not the life she wants for herself. When she was sick, she had promised herself that she would become the kind of person who would make a difference in the world. To that end, she has begun an effort to help prostitutes leave that life and start new, respectable lives. Nate's appearance in her life throws everything into turmoil.
I liked both Nate and Georgette. In spite of being described as a rake, I thought he was quite honorable and a good man. I loved the way that he came to Georgette's rescue at the beginning, and how that gave him the "in" he needed to spend time with her. I loved his protectiveness and his efforts to keep her safe, even though it sometimes seemed to be a losing battle. He came to know her very quickly and could see what her mission meant to her. It was fun to see him try to help her and protect her at the same time, especially when she fought the protectiveness. He also started to let go of his grief for Anne as he got to know Georgette better and her happiness began to mean more to him than his own goal,
Georgette has a mind of her own and it creates conflict with her desire to do what her parents want her to do. She isn't particularly thrilled wit the idea of being a princess, but she doesn't have much choice in the matter. Her heart really lies with her mission to improve the lives of prostitutes. She is a mix of naive and worldly and this gets her into frequent trouble. Her first encounter with Nate is when he rescues her from one of her attempts to save one of those unfortunates. She's not happy to be dragged off by him and lets him know it. It gets even worse when her father asks Nate to be her escort around town and therefore keep her out of trouble. It was a lot of fun to see the way that her determination got Nate involved in helping her, and how they turned into a good team.
There were sparks between them from the start. For Nate, it initially meant that seducing her would be a lot easier. But for him, those sparks grow into more, and he's suddenly trying to figure out how to keep her for himself. Georgette doesn't quite know what to make of the feelings Nate rouses in her at the beginning, but soon realizes that he is far more what she wants than the royal duke is. I loved seeing how she responds to Nate's advances, and what it means to her. I loved how Nate knew her well enough that it was important that she come to him when she was ready. Their love scenes together were terrific. Nate's attempts at self control and Georgette's determination that he lose that control were fun to see. As their feelings for each other grew, both had choices to make about their futures if they wanted to have that future together.
I really enjoyed the story of Georgette's reform attempts. What she is doing gets tangled up with a piece of property that Nate won, and the danger to her increases. There was some mystery behind the murders of a couple people, and their efforts to solve it brought them closer together. I enjoyed Georgette's conversations with the various "ladies" and the effect they had on her. I was pretty sure who the bad guy was, and was happy to be proved right. The final confrontation was pretty good, though it did end rather abruptly. I felt like there could have been a bit more to it.
The secondary characters of the footman, Reuben Darling, and Georgette's maid, Mercy, the former prostitute, were great to see. I really enjoyed Mercy's blunt speech and interesting outlook on life. She had a neat way of making Georgette look at things. I was moved by the things she said to Reuben when she thought he was unconscious, and what it showed about the life she had led and the effect it had on her. Reuben was an honorable man himself, and I loved the way he treated Mercy. It was sweet to see what he told her after he regained consciousness.
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The main problem with Pure Temptation is that it was released about a decade or so ago and fit the mold for historical romances of that time. It has the angry, possessive hero and brash, reckless heroine. You also find smoldering passion and inevitable consequences with ridiculous obstacles baring their way to real happiness. When Moira isn't questioning Jackson's admittedly questionable fidelity record, she's questioning his honor or his intentions or just questioning him outright. Meanwhile she gets incensed if he so much as hints at questioning her word--except she lies to him every other sentence!
There is also a great many love scenes in the novel, that are certainly passionate, but lead to no lasting character development...at least as far as Moira is concerned. Jackson tries, at every turn, to prove his love to her--forgives her an aggravating amount of sins committed towards himself and others, puts his life on the line saving her from her own idiocy countless times and yet Moira is dead certain that his feelings are transitory and he's just waiting for the next lush piece of flesh to tempt himself.
It’s an understatement to say I wanted to throttle Moira more often than not, but I would equally be happy throttling Jackson for putting up with her. Not that Jackson is perfect--he did spend all of his adult life in debauchery and sin, only recently reformed thanks to his meddling ancestor ghost Lady Amelia. And his bouts of temper/jealousy are cringe-inducing. Yet, he shows definite character growth due to his feelings for Moira. I can't say the same for Moira and would even venture to say that their eventual understanding seems awkward and abrupt.