Special Guest Review: Lisa Lin's Review of THE DUKE OF DARK DESIRES by Miranda Neville

Happy Christmas Eve, Everyone! Today, my darling Avon Addict Sister, Lisa Lin is back with a guest review. She’s kind enough to share her review of THE DUKE OF DARK DESIRES, book four in the Wild Quartet series by Miranda Neville, which is releasing December 30, 2014 from Avon Romance. I hope you enjoy her review as much as I do.

***eARC provided to reviewer by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest and unscripted review

Blurb for THE DUKE OF DARK DESIRES:

Wanted: Governess able to keep all hours . . .

Rebellious Julian Fortescue never expected to inherit a dukedom, nor to find himself guardian to three young half-sisters. Now in the market for a governess, he lays eyes on Jane Grey and knows immediately she is qualified—to become his mistress. Yet the alluring woman appears impervious to him. Somehow, Julian must find a way to make her succumb to temptation . . . without losing his heart and revealing the haunting mistakes of his past.

Desired: Duke skilled in the seductive art of conversation . . .

Lady Jeanne de Falleron didn't seek a position as a governess simply to fall into bed with the Duke of Denford. Under the alias of Jane Grey, she must learn which of the duke's relatives is responsible for the death of her family—and take her revenge. She certainly can't afford the distraction of her darkly irresistible employer, or the smoldering desire he ignites within her.

But as Jane discovers more clues about the villain she seeks, she's faced with a possibility more disturbing than her growing feelings for Julian: What will she do if the man she loves is also the man she's sworn to kill?

~*~              ~*~             ~*~             ~*~             ~*~

Lisa’s Review:

I first heard of Miranda Neville several years ago when I heard her reading from THE WILD MARQUIS at a Lady Jane’s Salon event in New York City. Since then I have had the opportunity to meet her and get to know her, both in person, and through The Ballroom Blog (RIP).  She is a lovely person, a talented author, and one of the funniest people I know, with a wonderful British accent to match. Having enjoyed her entire Wild Quartet series, I was very much looking forward to reading THE DUKE OF DARK DESIRES, the final installment of the series. As usual, Miranda did not disappoint but gave us an emotionally charged, sensual, and deeply satisfying book.

THE DUKE OF DARK DESIRES is the story of Julian Fortescue, who recently became the Duke of Denford through a series of unfortunate deaths and a lack of male heirs in his family tree, and Jeanne de Falleron, a woman who has sworn vengeance and revenge against the Forescue family. I have been looking forward to this book for quite some time, due to the intriguing glimpses we got into Julian in the previous books, especially in LADY WINDERMERE’S LOVER, where we start understanding that despite his carefree debonair façade, Julian is a man struggling to make peace with mistakes from his past and the resulting demons.

I really enjoyed Julian’s character, and his journey to making peace with his past, finding redemption, and facing his future with Jeanne with a clear conscience and full heart. I liked Julian’s irreverent sardonic sense of humor, and the relationship that developed between him and his three half-sisters, Maria, Fenella, and Louisa.

I immediately liked Jeanne. She is a woman who faced a tremendous tragedy at a young age, losing her aristocratic family during the height of the Revolution. Determined to find the man who betrayed her family and exact vengeance, she lands a position at Fortescue House as a governess to the girls to get close to the family and learn his identity. My heart broke for Jeanne and what she went through, not just in losing her family but for the guilt and unanswered questions, she’s had to live with. Life has given her a beating, but Jeanne has shown herself to be a survivor. But the traumas she’s lived through and the hard choices she was forced to make in the name of survival made her a bit too hard and afraid to love and trust because she didn’t want to bear the pain of coming to care for someone, only to lose them again. I certainly understood Jeanne’s reluctance to open her heart, and really loved the way Miranda had Jeanne gradually lower her shields so that she no longer just had to go through the motions and survive and be driven by fear, desperation, vengeance, and guilt. She could now truly embrace life and LIVE.

Nothing intrigues Julian as much as a challenge, and Jeanne certainly presents that. From the first moment they met, he finds her an irresistible challenge because she refuses to be intimidated by him or his title, and makes no bones about the fact that she will find resisting his advances no big difficulty. Of course, this is a romance, so they eventually give in to the mutual attraction. The true story of what happened to Jeanne’s family, and Julian’s connection to the family, is finally explained. I liked that Miranda portrayed that aspect of the story realistically. Just because Jeanne and Julian have fallen in love doesn’t mean that everything from the past could be brushed away and everything would be magically okay. Both of them had to go through the process of dealing with and accepting the truth, but not letting it rule their lives. Finally, they can look forward to the future and not be tied to the past.

As a side note, as someone who isn’t terribly knowledgeable about art and art history, I really enjoyed learning about it throughout The Wild Quartet series due to Miranda’s meticulous research. I also loved the cameos from the previous couples in the series. Ultimately, I would definitely recommend THE DUKE OF DARK DESIRES by Miranda Neville. It is a story of forgiveness, redemption, and second chances with witty flirty banter, steamy love scenes, and two strong willed characters who learn to bare their souls in order to find the comfort, peace, and joy they seek.  I am looking forward to seeing what comes next from Miranda.

Thank you, Lisa, for a wonderful review and for sharing it with us. It sounds like Miranda’s book is a must read for historical romance lovers.

Happy Reading Everyone!

Merry Christmas to all with love from Unwrapping Romance.

THE DUKE OF DARK DESIRES, a Wild Quartet novel by Miranda Neville, Avon Romance, release date – December 30, 2014 in print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

***click on links above or cover below for purchasing information, remember even pennies per sale using my links help keep this blog alive. Thank You.

   

Unwrapping a Review of AT THE BILLIONAIRE'S WEDDING, an anthology by Miranda Neville, Caroline Linden, Katharine Ashe, and Maya Rodale

Everyone loves a wedding and when the wedding is the biggest thing to happen and stars the lovely Jane Sparks and her handsome billionaire, Duke Austen, everyone is going to want an invitation. So what happens when four of the most talented romance authors get us inside the action and a front row seat to the event of the year? We get to attend a week-long celebration where all kinds of things might happen – AT THE BILLIONAIRE’S WEDDING by Miranda Neville, Caroline Linden, Katharine Ashe, and Maya Rodale – the best wedding ever!

***eARC provided by authors in exchange for an honest and unscripted review – thank you, my darlings.  

AT THE BILLIONAIRE’S WEDDING:

A stately home in the English countryside seems the ideal place for a bad boy billionaire and his bride to tie the knot. Until the Internet fails. And the oven breaks. And paparazzi invade. And police crash the bachelorette party. And four unlikely couples discover that passion never waits for perfection, and happily ever after is just an “I do” away.

THE BEST LAID PLANNER by Miranda Neville

Arwen Kilpatrick gets her big break when she’s hired to organize the wedding of an old friend—to a billionaire. Arwen doesn’t have time for romance, not even with the sexy hotel handyman, Harry Compton. But putting on the wedding of the year means dealing with one surprise after another, including the discovery that Harry is so much more than he seems. 

*               *               *                *                *

Arwen Kilpatrick has landed the wedding of the century and all she has to do is make sure it comes off without a hitch and stays as private as possible. Of course, the English estate where it’s originally planned burns down, then when she goes to check out the private English manor procured by Duke Austen himself, she discovers it needs a lot of work and has virtually no cell signal or wi-fi, which just won’t do at all. However, it does have a very sexy handyman. Now, if she can just stay focused.

I loved THE BEST LAID PLANNER by Miranda Neville. It is a delightfully sweet and a very steamy start to this wedding anthology. Miranda writes with humor, and realism while creating a setting in which you can almost feel you’re there. Of course, Miranda has a way of doing this anyway but this time, I could almost smell the wildflowers. I love how it has a WEDDING DATE meets THE HOLIDAY feel to it while being true to itself without effort. Through Arwen and Harry, we meet a bevy of characters who we will get to know better as we progress through the anthology as we attend the wedding of Jane Sparks to her billionaire, Duke Austen. Let the fun begin...

WILL YOU BE MY WI-FI? by Caroline Linden

All Natalie Corcoran wants is peace and quiet while she writes her cookbook. The lavish wedding party at the hotel next door is driving her crazy—especially the sexy lawyer who wants her wi-fi password. But Archer Quinn is swamped with work and will do anything to convince her to take a chance on him… first with her wi-fi, then with her friendship, and then with more. But he only has a week to persuade her they'll be scrumptious together…

*               *               *                *                *

Natalie Corcoran hoped for some peace and quiet so she could think, and work on a cookbook, which is actually just an excuse to escape everything stressful back home at the restaurant and with her brother – the know it all. Borrowing a friend’s cottage in the English countryside seemed like the best plan until the noise and trucks trekking back and forth on the road become more than a distraction, they become an annoyance. As if the noise wasn't enough, now she has strangers wandering around her patio and even one couple having sex out there. What was going on next door? It seems there’s a wedding happening, and now one of the guests – albeit a very handsome one – wants to pay her to use her Wi-Fi for work. He is very handsome, and very charming – and he says he’ll stay on the patio and out of her way. Then again, maybe she doesn’t really want him to stay on the patio…

WILL YOU BE MY WI-FI? by Caroline Linden continues the wonderful feel of this exciting week in the English countryside started by Miranda in the first story. Then she pumps it up with sexual tension dipped in dabbles of chocolate, blueberry juice, and all kinds of sweet treats. The heat in Natalie’s kitchen rises major degrees when Archer treats her to some kitchen magic against a particular pantry door. Natalie and Archer are a delight and it’s a good thing he learns how talented she is in the kitchen – oh, and she can bake yummy goodies too. The wedding festivities continue…

THE DAY IT RAINED BOOKS by Katharine Ashe

Swept away by a mysterious benefactor to the wedding of the year, librarian Cali Blake is living a fairytale. The only thing missing is Prince Charming. Instead, the guests include the last man she wants to see—her archenemy, millionaire playboy Piers Prescott. Piers is determined to conquer Cali’s resistance to him, and he’ll stop at nothing to have her. As long as she can remember it’s just for one week, could he be the perfect wedding fling?

*               *               *                *                *

Cali Blake has a crush, and she doesn’t even know him. She’s never even seen his face, but it’s a crush all the same. He’s hat man, and he’s there in the park every Friday when she brings her bookmobile to that corner of the park. She provides him books, and he leaves her notes. One day, she receives an envelope with a ticket to England, and enough money to buy a dress, pay for a nurse for her sister, and anything else she needs so she may attend the wedding of the year. She thought she had to pass on being a bridesmaid in her friend Jane’s wedding until a mysterious benefactor provides her the means to go. Was it her friends? Or does she actually have a fairy godmother somewhere? Thrilled she’s attending the fairytale wedding in the English countryside, the last thing she expects is to meet up with the man whose foundation turned down her proposal for the bookmobile in the first place. However, he is very sexy and he seems to follow her wherever she goes, and would a wedding fling with Philadelphia’s own bad boy millionaire be such a terrible thing?

THE DAY IT RAINED BOOKS by Katharine Ashe might be my favorite in this anthology but since I enjoyed them all so much, it’s truly hard to say for sure. There is such a modern day twist on the Cinderella story in this one that I can’t help but enjoy it all the more. The story is steeped in secrets and as each one is revealed to Cali, the budding romance between her and Piers becomes more, and more complicated. Piers wants only to win her trust, her love, and her heart but with each passing day, Cali becomes more distrustful of Piers’ true intentions. Is it just a fling or can a wedding romance become more with the man she wishes was her real Prince Charming? If books can lead her to the man she loves then perhaps, books can help her believe him as well. Back to the wedding of the year...

THAT MOMENT WHEN YOU FALL IN LOVE by Maya Rodale

Sassy reporter Roxanna Lane might be falling for her date, sexy media mogul Damien Knightly, who just happens to be her boss. But he ruins everything by asking her to report on her best friend’s wedding. Damien Knightly is definitely falling for Roxanna but thanks to an impulsive wager, he must choose between losing the crown jewel of his media empire...or the woman he loves.

*               *               *                *                *

Roxanna Lane is thrilled to be part of her best friend’s wedding, and to be spending the week with her boss, Damien Knightly. But, instead of relaxing and enjoying time together in the English countryside, he’s asked her to do the one thing which will either destroy her friendship or any chance of a relationship developing between her and the man who makes her knees weak. He wants her to betray Jane and Duke by getting first pictures for him to post online. This goes against everything Jane wants for her wedding and the deal Duke made with People magazine to have exclusive rights to the pictures. Once she discovers Damien’s real reason for wanting the pictures, she teams up with Jane to resolve both problems, but will it work or will it end in disaster? Her feelings for Damien become deeper and she suspects his are too, but will things be over even before they can get started? Why do weddings have to be so troublesome?

In THAT MOMENT WHEN YOU FALL IN LOVE, Maya Rodale brings us to the moment when Jane and Duke get their happily ever after and Roxanna and Damien learn what being in love really means. Roxanna started her friend’s romantic fairy tale love affair with her online antics, but now she’s worried she could bring her own to an end even as she begins to believe in the magic of love. Roxanna and Damien are wonderful together. They think alike, they strategize alike, and they deny their feelings for each other with the same level of stubbornness, only to succumb to what they both intend to fight – their love for each other. They are passionate together whether in bed, or putting their heads together to solve their problem. Damien proves himself a true hero even as he tries to win a wager which may ruin Jane and Duke’s plans to keep the wedding private. When he springs the ultimate romantic surprise on Roxanna, you can almost imagine him rising from the pond soaking wet like that Austen character about whom we all love to fantasize. 

I highly recommend the anthology AT THE BILLIONAIRE’S WEDDING, to everyone who loves weddings, steamy sweet romance, and laughable antics from creating the perfect wedding to drunken fun at hen and stag parties, to swoon-worthy moments in Regency-style fancy salons, to falling down libraries, delicious smelling kitchens, and surprise destinations. If you’ve read Maya Rodale’s Bad Boy Billionaire novellas, you will thrill for sure but truthfully, even if you haven’t you’ll still enjoy the most incredible wedding you’ll ever attend.

Be sure to read the thank you notes at the end. Sweet secrets are revealed. Although I'm still trying to figure out which couple was having sex on a lawn chair and in the woods. J

Happy Reading Everyone!

AT THE BILLIONAIRE’S WEDDING, an anthology featuring stories by Miranda Neville, Caroline Linden, Katharine Ashe, and Maya Rodale, The Lady Authors, available now in print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble (Nook), Barnes & Noble (print), and Kobobooks.

***click on links above or cover below for purchasing information, remember even pennies per sale using my links help keep this blog alive. Thank You.

   

Unwrapping: New Release Tuesday!

I almost forgot all the lovely new releases coming out today. I'm having a little crisis ... when my dh and I played musical PC's after Christmas, I backed up my 2nd WIP on a floppy, yes the PC was that old, and now I can't find it! I'm trying very hard not to panic or scream but that was 3/4 of a book and it was really coming together! [my back is getting really tense]

So, to help me take my mind off of it, let's take a look at some of the lovely stories that didn't get lost and will soon be gracing our shelves and ereaders.

CONFESSIONS FROM AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE by Miranda Neville
Avon
They couldn't be more different, but there's one thing they agree on.

In London after a two-year exile, Lord Blakeney plans to cut a swathe through the bedchambers of the demimonde. Marriage is not on his agenda, especially to an annoying chit like Minerva Montrose, with her superior attitude and a tendency to get into trouble. And certainly the last man Minerva wants is Blake, a careless wastrel without a thought in his handsome head.

The heat and noise of her debutante ball give Minerva a migraine. Surely a moment's rest could do no harm ... until Blake mistakes her for another lady, leaving Minerva's guests to catch them in a very compromising position. To her horror, the scandal will force them to do the unthinkable: marry. Their mutual loathing blazes into unexpected passion but Blake remains distant, desperate to hide a shameful secret. Minerva's never been a woman to take things lying down, and she'll let nothing stop her from winning his trust ... and his heart.

A WEEK TO BE WICKED by Tessa Dare
Avon

When a devilish lord and a bluestocking set off on the road to ruin…
Time is not on their side.
Minerva Highwood, one of Spindle Cove’s confirmed spinsters, needs to be in Scotland.
Colin Sandhurst, Lord Payne, a rake of the first order, needs to be… anywhere but Spindle Cove.
These unlikely partners have one week to fake an elopement, to convince family and friends they’re in “love”, to outrun armed robbers, to survive their worst nightmares, to travel four hundred miles without killing each other.
All while sharing a very small carriage by day and an even smaller bed by night.
What they don’t have time for is their growing attraction. Much less wild passion. And heaven forbid they spend precious hours baring their hearts and souls.
Suddenly one week seems like exactly enough time to find a world of trouble.
And maybe…just maybe…love.

SIMON SAYS DIE by Lena Diaz

Avon Impulse  (click to HERE to read my review) 
 

            THE COWBOY TAKES A BRIDE by Lori Wilde

                 Avon    

                

                 Welcome to Jubilee, Texas: where  everyone knows everybody’s business—especially if that business is love!

Ex-champion bull rider turned cutting horse cowboy Joe Daniels isn’t quite sure how he ended up sleeping in a horse trough wearing nothing but this Stetson and cowboy boots. But now he’s wide-awake and a citified woman is glaring down at him. His goal? Get rid of her ASAP. The obstacle? Fighting the attraction he feels towards the blond-haired filly with the big, vulnerable eyes.

When out-of-work wedding planning Mariah Callahan learns that her estranged father has left her a rundown ranch in Jubilee, she has no choice but to accept it. Her goal? Redeem her career by planning local weddings. The obstacle? One emotionally wounded, hard-living cowboy who stirs her guilt, her heartstrings, and her long-buried cowgirl roots…

WANTED: UNDEAD OR ALIVE by Kerrelyn Sparks

Avon

He's a vampire from the big city . . .

Phineas McKinney thought New York City was tough, until he was attacked by Malcontents—evil vampires who consider mortals to be snacks. Saved by the good vampires, Phin swore to devote his now undead life to stopping the Malcontents. He's got his job cut out for him when word comes that their enemy may be hiding in Wyoming. What does a city boy like him know about horses and campfires? Good thing he's got Brynley Jones with him . . . if only she didn't hate every vampire on earth.

She's a werewolf princess . . .

Bryn believes vampires are seductive and charming, and that makes them dangerous. So she's more than a little annoyed about teaming up with Phin, even if he is the only bloodsucker able to make her inner wolf purr. But as they hunt down the new leader of the Malcontents, danger threatens . . . and Phineas and Brynley discover a passion that will rock the foundation of their supernatural world.

Well, that's just a sampling of what can be found on this New Release Tuesday and April is looking even hotter!! Oh, btw, if you're interested in a print copy of Juliana Stone's League of Guardians Novella, WRONG SIDE OF HELL, it's now available in print.  Awesome Read!

Happy Reading Everyone!

    

Unwrapping: Romantic Education in Regency Romance

Readers of Romance Novels love the romance and the scenes that seal the love between the hero and heroine. I wonder if one of the things that makes Regency Romance Novels so popular among readers is that we tend to see innocent young ladies being swept off their feet by man who are abundantly more experience in the ways of lovemaking. In our modern age, we learn about the birds and the bees from more places than we should and some not always the best sources of information but in comparison to our blushing lovelies in Regency England, we are nearly as experienced as any gentleman's mistress.

Most young ladies of Regency England learn from their mothers, aunts, or perhaps an older married sister about the events that will unfold on their wedding night. With what most are told, it's amazing that any of them consent to be married at all. Typically, they're told such silly things as "it will be your duty to lay with your husband in the marriage bed. Just be still, let him finish and then you'll be able to go to sleep."

Yikes, it sounds more like they are being given instructions about a doctor's exam minus the going to sleep part rather than what's really going to happen.

So, where then do our young innocent heroines gain their lovemaking skills?

Usually from their heroes, of course, but some of our young ladies are much more enthusiastic about the concept and so do a bit of reading beforehand. It's only natural for them to have a curiosity after all they live in another era not another world. Despite what the men of the time, and some since believe, women need and desire release through lovemaking just as much as any man. 

Take our dear Celia Seaton in THE AMOROUS EDUCATION OF CELIA SEATON by Miranda Neville. She delighted in learning a thing or two from a book she found, The Genuine and Remarkable Amours of the Celebrated Author Peter Aretin and when the opportunity arose, so to speak, she decided to try out what she had learned.

"Tarquin," she said and nipped at his ear.

"Celia," he muttered again beginning to feel sleepy. "I think you've killed me."

"I'm so sorry."

"What a way to go."

She snuggled closer and kissed his neck. "Riding St. George is fun."

"Where did you hear that phrase?"  He refrained from pointing out that it was whore's cant.

"Er, I read it in a book." ---

Or our dear impetuous Suzette Madison in THE HEIRESS by Lynsay Sands.  Suzie was determined to find a poor man who would rescue her father and her sisters from ruin for a poor man would enable her to gain her dowry and pay her father's gambling debts.  Upon meeting Daniel, she was instantly taken by her attraction to him and believed him to be as poor as a church mouse making him a prime candidate for her needs only to discover her needs extended far beyond monetary.  She was more than willing to explore those needs and those of Daniel but surprised him a bit with what she thought she knew.

"Daniel."

He stiffened and felt his jaw drop as she suddenly stood before him, completely naked, apparently having shed the gown he'd all but removed himself. Daniel had been struggling with his cravat as he'd thought, but now she brushed his hands away and took the ends as if to manage the task for him. However, she paused and peered up at him solemnly instead.

"It is very chivalrous of you not to want to take my virginity, and I do understand and think it's honorable, but in one of the books I've read, they wrote of a way I could give you the same pleasure you gave me without you actually putting your maypole in me."

"What the devil have you been reading?" Daniel got out in a choked voice ...   ---

Goodness such an education our dear Suzie was getting from her books.

But then her sister, Christiana in THE COUNTESS by Lynsay Sands was so uneducated in the ways of lovemaking that she hadn't even realized that after a year of marriage to her husband that she was still as virginal as the day she wed him. It wasn't until the real Richard Fairgrave gave her a tumble that she knew what it meant to consummate the marriage.

Whatever are the young ladies of Regency Romance to do? Read books, get advice, wrong advice from female members of their family or their friends? Or wait to be 'instructed' by the hero that not only saves the day but captures their hearts? Perhaps if they had someone like Amanda Price from LOST IN AUSTEN to travel back through time and given them all a twentieth century take on the whole romance thing, they wouldn't be so innocent - but then would we really want them less innocent?

Now I'm wondering if, in fact, we are really better off today knowing everything we need to know about the ways of making love or perhaps, would it be more exciting to greet it head on with a large dose of innocence urging us forward as we investigate the mysteries that only our own hero can uncover for us?

Happy Reading Everyone!