[Giveaway] Winners of the Madeline Hunter Bookmarks' Giveaway

Hi everyone! We have the winners of Romancing Romances' first international giveaway!

First of all, thank you to Madeline Hunter, for sending these amazing bookmarks. I hope you like them as much as I did.

As mentioned in the original post, each winner will receive three (3) bookmarks!

Here are the winners:

I've sent emails to the winners, and you have 48h to answer!

Thank you so much to everyone to entered this giveaway. I hope to do another one soon, so don't forget to follow the blog, to learn all the news first hand 😉

[Review] The Wallflower Wager, by Tessa Dare

Title The Wallflower Wager
Series: Girl Meets Duke #3
Author: Tessa Dare
Publisher: Avon
Number of pages: 368
Publication date: August 13th 2019

Synopsis:

They call him the Duke of Ruin. To an undaunted wallflower, he's just the beast next door.

Wealthy and ruthless, Gabriel Duke clawed his way from the lowliest slums to the pinnacle of high society—and now he wants to get even.

Loyal and passionate, Lady Penelope Campion never met a lost or wounded creature she wouldn’t take into her home and her heart. When her imposing—and attractive—new neighbor demands she clear out the rescued animals, Penny sets him a challenge. She will part with her precious charges, if he can find them loving homes.

Done, Gabriel says. How hard can it be to find homes for a few kittens?

And a two-legged dog.

And a foul-mouthed parrot.

And a goat, an otter, a hedgehog . . .

Easier said than done, for a cold-blooded bastard who wouldn’t know a loving home from a workhouse. Soon he’s covered in cat hair, knee-deep in adorable, and bewitched by a shyly pretty spinster who defies his every attempt to resist. Now she’s set her mind and heart on saving him. Not if he ruins her first.

Review:

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

Reading a book by Tessa Dare is always a pleasure. There are always funny, romantic moments with her books.

Penny is one of the most adorable characters ever. She’s an animal lover, and a vegetarian – in the 1800’s! She takes care of animals that were hurt, or that no one wanted. She’s one of the most lovable people, she’s caring, and sweet, and a great friend. She’s someone we would all love to have in our lives.

Gabe (Gabriel Duke) is fantastic. He’s ruthless, but, to be honest, it’s one of the things I like about him. Let’s face it, people take advantage of other people, and he just collects what they thought they could always owe. And the ton doesn’t like it. Too bad, if you ask me. Not his problem. Don’t like what he does? Then don’t give him the chance to do so, by not having debts everywhere!

Anyway. Penny lives next door to this handsome Duke of Ruin. And their first meeting is hilarious! Penny has a parrot, the parrot flies away to Gabe’s house, and she follows, and his… pretty much naked. And what a scene! Tessa Dare is one of the best writers for sexy scenes – mind, not necessarily sex scenes, but everything before, after and the sex scene itself. It makes us readers feel as good as the characters.

They strike an unusual friendship with attraction at first sight – not love, attraction. Loves comes later.

Penny has the best of friends, but lately they have their own families, and their free time is limited. And Gabriel decides to help her with her new predicament. Penny’s brother wanted her to leave London, and go back to her family’s estate in Cumberland, and Gabriel doesn’t want her to go, because her presence as a neighbour would help him sell his new house. And Penny doesn’t want to leave her house, and she has a past that she doesn’t want to re-live, which might have happened if she left for Cumberland.

Gabe helps Penny, and he’s ambitious, relentless, and he gets things done. Penny is so assertive about what she wants, she doesn’t leave things to chance. And when she wants Gabriel, and he wants her, things heat up! And wow! They have such sweet, romantic, sexy moments.

Like I mentioned before, there’s something in Penny’s past that could have made her a scared, sad person, but no. She’s such a happy, tender, devoted person. It’s handled beautifully, with the hero feeling angry about what she had to go through, but I really liked that the women got together, and Penny handled it on her own – she’s fierce!

So, read this book! You won’t regret it.

[Review] Lord of Sin, by Heather Boyd

Title Lord of Sin
Series: Distinguished Rogues #10
Author: Heather Boyd
Publisher: Independently Published by Heather Boyd
Number of pages: 250
Publication date: August 6th 2019

Synopsis:

In the battle between love and duty, the heart has the most to lose…

Despite his previous irksomeness, Lord Julian Wade has become a dear confidant to Portia Hayes. He’s proven attentive, honorable, clever, and would make many a lady a fine catch. Not herself, alas. Wade has naught but lint in his pockets, and Portia is expected to make an advantageous match. Her recent betrothal to the Duke of Montrose thrills her parents, but as she learns of his unfavorable reputation—and equally untenable behavior—Portia’s happiness is less assured. As is her chance of being loved.

Julian Wade may have lost the battle for Portia’s hand, but her heart has yet to be won. Certainly his old enemy Montrose is unworthy of her affections, and indeed, it seems the dastardly duke is up to his usual unsavory tricks. But Julian has a few tricks of his own, as well as the support of dear friends. Penniless though he may be, should he win Portia’s love once and for all, Julian may yet prove to be the richest gentleman about Town.

Review:

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

This was the first book I’ve read by Heather Boyd. And it was a great surprise, especially since this book has a “friends to lovers”, which is one of my favourites.

But I feel like I must point out that we don’t actually have a lot of moments when we can actually see Portia Hayes and Julian Wade as friends, because that seemed to mostly happen in the previous books – which I have not read.

Portia is a bit arrogant and is used to getting everything her way. She’s flirty, a good friend, and independent. And she wants to fulfil her family’s wish, which is for her to marry a high ranking gentleman, so that her family – especially her younger sister – have a better position in the ton. But she wishes to marry for love – or at least to have a happy marriage. And then the duke of Montrose proposes. And she can’t say no.

At first, she thinks it might be a dream, that even though they don’t know each other, he can’t be as bad as everyone else says. And then the invitations start to thin up, and she realizes that the dream life her family wanted wasn’t real. And she decides things have to change.

Julian Wade has been in love with Portia for several years. He thinks that after so long, she will realize that he’s in love with her, and she will fall in love with him as well. Things didn’t work out as he had initially planned but, of course, this is a historical romance, so the HEA is guaranteed.

There are several funny moments during the book, and the romance heats up a bit towards the end. And Portia finally takes control of her life, and she sets everything so that the mean, controlling Montrose gets what he deserves, and she gets her happy ending with Julian.

A great start with this author.

[Giveaway] Madeline Hunter's Bookmarks

Hi everyone! Welcome to Romancing Romances' first international giveaway!

First of all, thank you to Madeline Hunter, for sending these amazing bookmarks. I hope you like them as much as I did.

I'll be giving away 3 bookmarks (for yourself, and for you to share with your friends, or your library, for example) to 3 winners! Three people will win this giveaway!

Here are the rules:

1) This giveaway is open between August 1st 15h (GMT time) and August 12th 23:59(GMT).

2) All participations that do not fill the requisites and/or do not follow these rules, will be considered void.

3) It is Mandatory to either follow the blog or follow the Facebook page of Romancing Romances.
If you follow Romancing Romances both through the blog and facebook, you'll get an extra entry.

4) It's MANDATORY to do a public share of this giveaway in a social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc).

5) The winners will be chosen via random.org.

6) The winners will have their name published in the blog, and will be contacted by email.

7) Only one participation for person. International. Void where prohibited.

8) Must be 18 or older, or have parental permission to enter this giveaway.

8) Romancing Romances is not responsible for any lost/misplaced orders.

[Review] The Irish Heiress, by Kaitlin O'Riley

Title The Irish Heiress
Series: Hamilton Cousins #2
Author: Kaitlin O'Riley
Publisher: Zebra
Number of pages: 352
Publication date: July 30th 2019

Synopsis:

The Hamilton sisters have found true love to rival any novels sold in their famous London bookshops. And the story continues, as each of their offspring discovers the perfect partner...

Quiet and intuitive, Lady Mara Reeves has always felt more at home amid the green hills of her native Ireland than in London's stifling ballrooms. Determined to remain single, she's adept at gently rebuffing any suitor who comes her way. So why is she so drawn to Foster Sheridan, Earl of Sterling? It's a connection unlike anything she's ever known, yet complicated by one scandalous fact: the man she believes to be her destiny is already married.

Trapped in a loveless union with a woman who refuses to divorce him, Foster is resigned to loneliness until he meets the exquisite Mara. Her wants her as a wife, not a mistress, but he can't resist her unconventional offer. Their passion is intense, as is the risk. For even as Foster follows Mara home to Ireland, their pasts will lead them toward danger that only the deepest love can overcome.

Review:

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

This book just wasn’t right for me. I wanted to try this author but this book wasn’t a good idea.

It says clearly in the synopsis that this book deals with the hero and heroine cheating the hero’s wife. She was a broken person, for sure, but I still don’t like the idea of Mara and Foster cheating.

To be honest, I wasn’t even a fan of Mara and Foster. I loved Mara’s family, but Mara herself spent most of the time crying, and she was a bit annoying. Foster was… he didn’t act. He only acted when it was convenient for him, and then told himself that it wasn’t just for him, it was for his wife, Rose, too. Well, it might have been true, but it didn’t feel like it.

To be completely honest, I liked Rose – aka the “villain” – more than our heroes. She was broken hearted, which made her cruel. I am in no way excusing her actions – she was a horrible woman, but life made her that way. She could have been happier – not happy, happier – if she had chosen too, but she walled in her sadness, and everything and everyone she missed. She was miserable. And yet, she was so much more interesting than the main characters.

The writing didn’t captivate me, and the story, which sounded quite interesting, just didn’t live up to the expectation.