[Review] The Scoundrel in Her Bed, by Lorraine Heath

Title The Scoundrel in Her Bed
Series: Sins for All Seasons #3
Author: Lorraine Heath
Publisher: Avon
Number of pages: 400
Publication date: February 26th 2019

Synopsis:

The third electrifying romance in Lorraine Heath's USA Today bestselling Sins of all Seasons series.

The bastard son of a nobleman, Finn Trewlove was a shameful secret raised by a stranger. As Finn came of age, he had secrets, too—the clandestine nights spent with an earl's daughter. But her promise of forever ended in betrayal.

Driven by a past that haunts her, Lady Lavinia Kent seeks redemption in London's underworld, engaged in a daring cause inspired by the young man to whom she gave her innocence, and who then proved himself a scoundrel by abandoning her.

When their paths cross again, they can't deny the yearning and desire that still burns. As they discover the truth behind the deceptions that tore them apart, Finn and Lavinia must fight to reclaim what they've lost, no matter how dangerous—because love is worth the risk...

Review:

I received an eARC at no cost from the author, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

I’m having a hard time rating this book.

I love Lorraine Heath, and the fact that she likes to talk about difficult issues in her books. But in this one, I think something was…maybe holding her back? I don’t know, I feel like it had something missing.

This is a lovers-reunited/second-chance lovers story. I have to admit, I didn’t feel very connected to the characters. I liked the young version, I did not, however, enjoy their transition. And, again, I think this has to do with the way the author dealt with their problems.

It’s hard to do a review without talking about something that does not show up in the synopsis, and therefore it is a spoiler, but that is the base of your concerns with the book.

Finn had a difficult life, and Lavinia was sheltered, as any nobility-born lady. But as they spend their together, she gets to know a different world. And then something happens that separates them. When they meet again, they are different people, but still harbour some of the same feelings they had years before.

I did not like Lavinia – I’m sorry, she went through a lot, I know, but I just couldn’t connect with her. Finn, on the other hand, was much easier to like and understand. I only liked Lavinia when she was young, and when she makes a right decision at the end of the book. I would, however, like to point out, she is doing her best to help those who need it, and I value that trait, no doubt.

I really liked Finn’s family, and I look forward to reading more their stories, even if this wasn’t my favourite book written by Lorraine Heath.

[Review] It's Getting Scot in Here, by Suzanne Enoch

Title It's Getting Scot in Here
Series: Wild, Wicked Highlanders #1
Author: Suzanne Enoch
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Number of pages: 352
Publication date: February 26th 2019

Synopsis:

The first in a wickedly seductive new Scottish historical romance series from New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Enoch, It's Getting Scot in Here crosses two sweethearts from separate worlds. Readers find out what happens when a headstrong leading lady, who refuses to marry someone she doesn’t love, meets an off-limits ruffian from the barbaric Highlands.

London socialite Amelia-Rose Baxter is nobody’s fool. Her parents may want her to catch a title, but she will never change who she is for the promise of marriage. Her husband will be a man who can appreciate her sharp mind as well as her body. A sophisticated man who loves life in London. A man who considers her his equal—and won’t try to tame her wild heart...

Rough, rugged Highlander Niall MacTaggert and his brothers know the rules: the eldest must marry or lose the ancestral estate, period. But Niall’s eldest brother just isn’t interested in the lady his mother selected. Is it because Amelia-Rose is just too. . . Free-spirited? Yes. Brazen? Aye. Surely Niall can find a way to soften up the whip-smart lass and make her the perfect match for his brother for the sake of the family.

Instead it’s Niall who tempts Amelia-Rose, despite her reservations about barbarian Highlanders. Niall finds the lass nigh irresistible as well, but he won’t make the mistake his father did in marrying an Englishwoman who doesn’t like the Highlands. Does he have what it takes to win her heart? There is only one way to find out...

Review:

I received an eARC at no cost from the author, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

It’s Getting Scot in Here is the first book of a new series, Wild Wicked Highlanders.

In this first book, we meet the three MacTaggert brothers. And when we begin reading it (if you haven’t read the synopsis, that is), we don’t really know which brother is going to be the hero of this story, simply because it’s supposed to be the beginning of Cole’s story (the older brother). But, alas, Cole is not ready yet, and Niall (the younger brother) steps up.

Amelia-Rose is the sweetest girl, with a sharp tongue. An English rose, with thorns. The Scottish brothers are hoping to find only boring, malleable sassenachs, but on the very first night, they get Amelia-Rose. And Niall starts to fall in love in her right away.

Although not long passes between the moment they met and the moment they decide to marry, it’s not an insta-love story. And I’m glad, because I’m not the biggest fan of these stories.

Niall and Amelia-Rose go out, talk a lot, and we get to know them and see their chemistry grow more with each passing day. And more than that, we can see true love developing.

This was the first book I’ve read written by Suzanne Enoch, and it was delightful. A love story than keeps us interested, and engaged with the characters, and that makes us happy there are more books to come with this family.

[Q&A] Interview with Suzanne Enoch

Welcome to Romancing Romances' first interview!

Today we have author Suzanne Enoch, answering a Q&A about her new book,
It's Getting Scot in Here!

Q: For those that are reading your name for the first time today, what is the main thing you’d like them to know?

A: Hm. Well, I’ve written somewhere around 45 Regency-set Historical romances, so if they give a Suzanne Enoch book a try and enjoy it, they’ve got a lot of binge-reading they can do. Oh, and my books will be funny, heartwarming, and will DEFINITELY have a happy ever after ending.

Q: Does your everyday life influence your writing? What inspires you to write?

A: Mostly, having a deadline inspired me to write. No, not really – writing is something I’ve been doing since I was a kid, and I can’t really imagine myself ever NOT writing. My family has become accustomed to me spinning backstories for random people, for imagining dialogue between two cups of coffee, etc. My great grandfather was a published author, so maybe it’s something in my DNA.
And yes, my everyday life influences me. I have two nephews, and when I write kids I always refer back to when they were the age of my characters, the way they spoke and the things in life that interested them. And I’m shameless about using bits of my actual family conversations for characters, especially the way siblings speak to each other (I have two younger sisters, and we’re still very close).

Q: Congratulations on your new book, It’s Getting Scot in Here. Please tell me a bit about it.

A: It’s Getting Scot in Here is the first book in my Wild, Wicked Highlanders series. When an English lady with a great deal of money falls for a poor Scottish lord, they marry ten days later and he sweeps her off to the Highlands – where she finds a lot of sheep and no Society. She tolerates it for 12 years and three sons, but when she has a daughter she refuses to let baby Eloise be raised in such rough country. She and the baby leave for London when her husband won’t allow her to take her sons. Seventeen years later, Eloise is engaged, and Lady Aldriss plays her hand – she controls the purse strings, and unless her three sons marry before Eloise, and wed English women, she will cut off the entire Aldriss estate.
The three MacTaggert brothers reluctantly travel down to London, to discover that the oldest brother, Coll, Lord Glendarril, already has a lady chosen for him by their mother. Coll is not pleased, and at the first opportunity picks a fight with Amelia-Rose Baxter and then stomps off. It’s his youngest brother, Niall, who steps into keep Amelia-Rose from scandal, and then becomes Coll’s stand-in, escorting the lass about London. Niall slowly realizes he wants Amelia-Rose for himself, and that she feels the same about him. The problems – Amelia-Rose’s title-mad mother, the young lady’s own determination to live in London, Niall’s loyalty to his brother and concern for the funding of the Aldriss estate, all lead to big trouble and a nearly unsurmountable dilemma.

Q: Do you have a favourite quote from It’s Getting Scot in Here?

A: I do! It’s actually a short exchange between Niall and his sister Eloise: «“There you are, Niall,” Eloise said from the doorway behind him. “Mama asked – Oh!” Niall looked from his sister’s startled face to Aden’s bare arse as his brother searched for clothes. Aden straightened, grinned at her, and went back to his task. With a sigh Niall stepped between them, heading for the door. “Ye’ve just allowed several arses to move into yer house, Eloise. I reckon ye’re bound to catch sight of one or more of ‘em from time to time.” Nudging her backward into the hallway, he shut the door behind him.»

Q: I read on your website that you wrote romantic fantasy after graduating university. Would you ever return to writing romantic fantasy?

A: Oh, I would LOVE to write more romantic fantasy. It’s a matter of scheduling and mostly time, though. I still pull my two completed fantasy novels out from time to time and look at them, marveling at how much revising I would need to do now. They’re good plot-wise, but I’ve learned a great deal in 25 years of writing, and some of it makes me cringe. They’re a good reminder that the more you write, the better you get at it. Maybe some day everyone will get to read BLOODFEUD or THE THIEVES OF ALBANAAR (though those will NOT be their titles, for crying out loud).

Thank you Suzanne Enoch, for visiting Romancing Romances, it was a pleasure to interview you.



I hope you're enjoying the first blog tour I'm hosting, tomorrow there will be another post related to It's Getting Scot In Here😊

Order now!

Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Books-a-Million | Book Depository | Kobo | Powell's | IndieBound

About the author:
Suzanne Enoch grew up in Southern California, where she still balances her love for the Regency romances of Georgette Heyer and classic romantic comedies with her obsession for anything Star Wars. Given her love of food and comfy chairs, she may in fact be a Hobbit.

She has written more than 35 romance novels, including traditional Regencies, Historical Romance, and contemporary Romantic Suspense. When she isn't working on her next book she is trying to learn to cook, and wishes she had an English accent. She is the bestselling author of The Scandalous Brides series, The Scandalous Highlanders series, and One Hot Scot.


Connect with Suzanne Enoch:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

BoobBub

Goodreads

[Excerpt] It's Getting Scot in Here, by Suzanne Enoch

Today I bring you an excerpt of Suzanne Enoch's new book, It's Getting Scot in Here!

Title It's Getting Scot in Here
Series: Wild, Wicked Highlanders #1
Author: Suzanne Enoch
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Number of pages: 352
Publication date: February 26th 2019

Prologue

Once upon a time—in May 1785, to be exact—Angus MacTaggert, Earl Aldriss, traveled from the middle of the Scottish Highlands to London in search of a wealthy bride to save his well-loved but crumbling estate. Aldriss Park had been in the MacTaggert family since the time of Henry VIII, when Domhnall MacTaggert, despite being Catholic and married, declared publicly that Henry should be able to wed as many lasses as he wanted until one of them got him a son. Aldriss Park was the newly minted earl’s reward for his support and understanding.

For the next two hundred years Aldriss thrived, until the weight of poor harvests, the ever-intruding, rule-making Sassenach, and the MacTaggerts’ own fondness for drinking, gambling, and wild investments (including an early bicycle design wherein the driver sat between two wheels; sadly, it had no braking mechanism and after a series of accidents nearly began a war within the MacTaggerts’ clan Ross) began to sink it into disrepair.

When Angus inherited the title in 1783, he realized the old castle needed far more than a fresh coat of paint to keep it from both physical collapse and bankruptcy. And so he determined to go down among the enemy Sassenach and win himself a wealthy bride. The English had made enough trouble for him and his over the centuries, so they could bloody well help him set things right.

On his second day in London, he met the stunning Francesca Oswell, the only offspring of James and Mary Oswell, Viscount and Viscountess of Hornford—who had more money than Midas and a bevy of very fine solicitors—at a masked ball where he dressed as a bull, and she as a swan. Despite the misgivings of nearly everyone in Mayfair, Angus and Francesca immediately fell madly in love, and married with a special license ten days later.

A week after that, Angus took Francesca back to Aldriss Park and the Highlands, where she found very little civilization, a great many sheep, and a husband who preferred brawling to dancing, and he discovered that her father’s solicitors had arranged to keep the Oswell family money in Francesca’s hands. This made for some very spectacular arguments, because there is nothing more combustible in the world than an impoverished Highlands laird in disagreement with an independently wealthy English lady about his own ancestral lands.

Over the next thirteen turbulent years the estate prospered, and Francesca gave Angus three sons—Coll, Aden, and Niall—and with each one became more concerned that this was not a life for any civilized person. She wanted to bring the boys back to London for proper educations and to live proper lives, but Angus refused, stating that what had been good enough for him would be good enough for his lads.

When a fourth child, a daughter, arrived in 1798, Francesca reached her breaking point. No daughter of hers was going to be raised with an uncivilized accent in a rough country where she would be ridiculed by proper Society and unfit to marry anyone but a shepherd or a peat cutter. Angus refused to let his lads go, but he allowed Francesca to take young Eloise and return to London—on the condition that she continue providing for the maintenance of the estate.

Francesca reluctantly agreed, but given that she controlled the purse strings, she had her own conditions to try to keep some influence with her wild sons: All three boys must marry before their sister, they must wed proper Englishwomen, and at least one of them must marry someone of her choosing.

She knew Angus would raise them as he pleased, but they were her children, too, by God, and she meant to see to it that they had some semblance of propriety in their lives—she was a viscount’s daughter, after all, and certain things would be expected of her offspring. She refused to allow them to be viewed as unsophisticated wild men by her London neighbours, and she remained determined to have a presence in their lives.

To enforce her will, she convinced (or rather, coerced) Angus to put his signature to the agreement, which contained this provision: If young Eloise MacTaggert did marry before any of the boys, Francesca would cut off all funds to the estate. If they were to insist on defiance, they would have a heavy price to pay for it—one they and their tenants could not afford.

Angus had no choice but to agree, and considering that Coll, the oldest, was only twelve at the time of Francesca’s departure and Eloise was but a wee bairn, he was willing to wager that he would have time to renegotiate. Angus and Francesca remained married, but neither would bend enough to visit the other ever again. As far as the lads were concerned, their mother had abandoned them.

In the spring of 1816 Angus received a letter from Francesca announcing their daughter’s engagement, and he promptly collapsed. He’d hoped his sons would have found themselves Scottish lasses by now and shown their mother she couldn’t control their lives after all, but the lads were defiant and wouldn’t be rushed. Now it appeared to be too late.

He summoned his sons to his apparent deathbed and confessed all—Francesca funding the estate, the pernicious agreement, and their mother’s grasping claws, which he explained was a symptom of all Englishwomen and their weak, clinging, cloying ways. For the sake of the property and their tenants the young men must go to London. At once. No sense even taking time to put him in the ground, much less mourn him, because Francesca wouldn’t excuse the loss of time, and they needed to marry before their sister.

The lads—grown men, now—were not at all happy suddenly to learn about the responsibilities and rules foisted upon them by a woman they barely remembered. Being wily, freehearted, and exceptionally handsome men accustomed to doing things their way and certainly not bowing to the demands of a demented Englishwoman, they determined to go down to London not to comply, but to outwit their mother and upend any plans she had for them. And thus, dear reader, begins our story.

What do you think? Are you excited about this book? There will be more surprises coming, related to this book and its author 😊

Order now!

Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Books-a-Million | Book Depository | Kobo | Powell's | IndieBound

About the author:
Suzanne Enoch grew up in Southern California, where she still balances her love for the Regency romances of Georgette Heyer and classic romantic comedies with her obsession for anything Star Wars. Given her love of food and comfy chairs, she may in fact be a Hobbit.

She has written more than 35 romance novels, including traditional Regencies, Historical Romance, and contemporary Romantic Suspense. When she isn't working on her next book she is trying to learn to cook, and wishes she had an English accent. She is the bestselling author of The Scandalous Brides series, The Scandalous Highlanders series, and One Hot Scot.


Connect with Suzanne Enoch:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

BoobBub

Goodreads

[Romantic Covers] Brothers Sinister series, by Courtney Milan

Welcome to Romantic Covers!
Here, I’ll show you some variations of the covers of the books I’ve read, or am currently reading.

Today’s covers are a bit different. This is the Brothers Sinisters series, written by Courtney Milan.

On the left, the US covers all have strong, bold dress colours; on the right, the Portuguese (PT) covers, have a softer look, with the dresses looking more historical (with the exception of the last one, which has a more modern look). Both sets keep the covers very much alike.

Let me know which one is your favourite, and please comment about what you like (or dislike!) about each cover 😊

[Review] Mr. Hunt, I presume, by Valerie Bowman

Title Mr. Hunt, I Presume
Series: Playful Brides #10.5
Author: Valerie Bowman
Publisher: June Third Enterprises, LLC
Number of pages: 110
Publication date: February 8th 2019

Synopsis:

He never forgot her…

When General Collin Hunt is ordered to take a much-needed holiday, he resigns himself to rest and recreation at his brother’s country estate. But when the only woman he ever loved—and selflessly gave up—shows up as his sister-in-law’s governess, his carefully ordered life is turned inside out.

She’ll never forgive him…

When Erienne Stone defied her family and fled her life of privilege, she never expected to be reunited with the man who’d abandoned her more than a decade before. But Lucy, Duchess of Claringdon, is a hard woman to say no to, even when Erienne’s heart is in danger of breaking all over again.

A meddling matchmaker may be the key to their second chance…

After a decade of pain and heartache, can two star-crossed lovers trust the truth in their own hearts?

Review:

I received an eARC at no cost from the author, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

I should have known better –why do I keep doing this to myself? I love Valerie Bowman’s books, and I know what novellas are, and yet I keep reading them.

Novellas/short stories don’t work for me. The beginning is always great and then everything is done in a jiffy. And it works for some people, it just doesn’t for me.

If you like novellas, this is a good one. It’s a sweet story, a reunited lovers trope. It has characters that we already know and love from previous books in the series.

The writing, as always, is entertaining and funny, romantic and pleasant to follow.

This is a typical case of “it’s not the book, it’s me”. So, go for it, if novellas are your thing!

[Romantic Covers] If I Only Had a Duke, by Lenora Bell

Welcome to Romantic Covers!
Here, I’ll show you some variations of the covers of the books I’ve read, or am currently reading.

Today, we have the covers of If I Only Had a Duke, written by Lenora Bell. On the left, the US cover, with a couple enjoying some one-on-one time, with the lady in a beautiful emerald green dress; on the centre, the UK cover, again with a softer, more romantic look, sporting a young lady in a light blue summery dress; and, on the right, the Portuguese (PT) cover, with a pink dress front and centre, and a nice garden in the background.

Let me know which one is your favourite, and please comment about what you like (or dislike!) about each cover 😊

[Romantic Covers] How The Duke Was Won, by Lenora Bell

Welcome to Romantic Covers!
Here, I’ll show you some variations of the covers of the books I’ve read, or am currently reading.

Today, we have the covers of How The Duke Was Won, written by Lenora Bell. On the left, the US cover, with a romantic couple and a beautiful red dress; on the centre, the UK cover, with a softer, more discreet look, that still says “historical romance”; and, on the right, the Portuguese (PT) cover, with a model in a dark blue dress, and a nice view of the sea.

Let me know which one is your favourite, and please comment about what you like (or dislike!) about each cover 😊