[Excerpt] A Princess by Christmas, by Julia London

Today I bring you an excerpt of Julia London's new book,
A Princess by Christmas!

Title: A Princess By Christmas
Series: A Royal Wedding #3
Author: Julia London
Publisher: Mills&Boon
Number of pages: 384
Publication date: October 1st 2020

Synopsis:

A Secret. A Lie. A Revolution.

Hollis Honeycutt has written her London gazette since the death of her husband – featuring fashion plates, marriage advice, and the latest gossip in and around Mayfair. But now she feels her gazette should have more meaning, cover topics of more consequence than the latest curl cream.

The opportunity presents itself when Hollis overhears rumours of a potential coup in the Kingdom of Wesloria, a coup linked to the highest level of government in London. During her investigation Hollis spies a man with no business lurking around peace talks, and determines to expose him for the traitor he most certainly must be.

When Weslorian Marek Brendan was fifteen he was shocked to discover his heritage was not what he believed – he was whisked away from the Weslorian palace when he was born because there was fear that corrupt forces would try and kidnap him. Now he is determined to stop these corrupt forces staging a coup in his home country. Except for the beautiful woman whose questions are putting his own investigation at risk. Yet soon Marek realises that pretty Hollis can help him. But when he confides his suspicions, Hollis’s loyalties are tested and she must choose between her loyalties to her family, or her heart…

Chapter Three

He didn’t hear the woman approach him, didn’t see her until she leaned into his line of sight, which gave him such a start that he must have jumped a good foot in the air. This happened to him quite often when someone approached him from the left. He was deaf in that ear.

He recognized her right away, of course. She smiled. She had a very pretty smile that matched her very pretty face, which he had noticed earlier today. She had deep blue eyes that shone with the light of a generous spirit. Her hair was very dark, almost black. He’d once heard that the Welsh had very dark hair. He wouldn’t really know—he’d never met a Welshman in his life.

He realized, a beat too late, that she was speaking. Her voice was soft and he couldn’t quite make out what she said in the din of so many voices. He leaned forward as was his habit, his gaze on her lips. How do you do. Aha. “Very well,” he said. “Thank you.”

“I really must thank you, sir!” she said. “I was so startled earlier that I couldn’t utter a word after you saved me from all but tossing myself into the street.”

He wasn’t certain whether or not she meant she had deliberately tried to fall into the street, or if the expression was another English euphemism he didn’t understand.

“Isn’t this something?” she asked, shifting slightly closer. Now that he could see her lips, the words she spoke sounded clearer to him. “So many kings and queens and potential kings and queens in one room.”

He looked around them. The people gathered here ought to have been kings and queens, given the purpose of this event.

When he looked at her again, she smiled prettily and asked, rather loudly, even to him, “Do you speak English?”

He blinked. “I—I just spoke English to you.”

“Ah, so you did!” she said cheerfully. “You must be Weslorian. Are you Weslorian?”

Was she Weslorian? No, impossible—she had an English accent and wore no green. Why was she asking him this? Why was she asking anything at all? A dull throb of suspicion went through him.

“I spotted your patch of green,” she said, as if she was proud of this, as if it was a special talent of hers. The green was on his cuff, clearly visible. He felt conspicuous. And a wee bit duped, as if someone should have warned him this would happen, that a beautiful woman would approach him from the left and startle him. But, then again, no one had expected him to be at this tea at all, and least of all, him. He’d received an engraved invitation, addressed to Marek Brendan, at the behest, he suspected, of Lord Dromio, the minister of trade.

The woman suddenly laughed, as if he’d said something amusing. “Do you at least have a name, sir?”

He’d failed to introduce himself, he realized, and now he was a bit reluctant. There was something about her that was causing him to feel a bit vulnerable.

In the space of his hesitation, she stepped closer. He caught a whiff of lilac or rosewater—something sweet and pleasurable. “I beg your pardon, I should have introduced myself—Mrs. Honeycutt.” She held out her hand.

He hesitated, then took it, bowing over it. “A pleasure. Marek Brendan.”


From A Princess by Christmas. Copyright 2020 by Julia London and reprinted with permission from Mills&Boon.

What do you think? Are you excited to read it?
The review for this book will be published soon!

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About the author:
Julia London is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of more than thirty romantic fiction novels. She is the author of the popular Cabot Sisters historical series, including The Trouble with Honor, The Devil Takes a Bride, and The Scoundrel and the Debutante. She is also the author of several contemporary romances, including Homecoming Ranch, Return to Homecoming Ranch and The Perfect Homecoming.

Julia is the recipient of the RT Bookclub Award for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction.

She lives in Austin, Texas.

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[Review] Love Is a Rogue, by Lenora Bell

Title: Love is A Rogue
Series: Wallflowers vs. Rogues #1
Author: Lenora Bell
Publisher: Avon
Number of pages: 384
Publication date: October 27th 2020

Synopsis:

Once upon a time in Mayfair, a group of wallflowers formed a secret society with goals that had absolutely nothing to do with matrimony. Their most troublesome obstacle? Rogues!

They call her Beastly Beatrice.

Wallflower Lady Beatrice Bentley longs to remain in the wilds of Cornwall to complete her etymological dictionary. Too bad her brother's Gothic mansion is under renovation. How can she work with an annoyingly arrogant and too-handsome rogue swinging a hammer nearby?

Rogue. Scoundrel. Call him anything you like as long as you pay him.

Navy man Stamford Wright is leaving England soon, and renovating Thornhill House is just a job. It's not about the duke's bookish sister or her fiery copper hair. Or the etymology lessons the prim-yet-alluring lady insists on giving him. Or the forbidden things he'd love to teach her.

They say never mix business with pleasure. But when Beatrice and Ford aren't arguing, they're kissing.

Sometimes, temptation proves too strong to resist…even if the cost is a heart.

Review:

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

I absolutely loved this book. A hero that’s a carpenter and a heroine who is an etymologist – perfect combination!

One of the things that always makes my heart flutter is acts of service. Because acts of service mean that you’ve been paying attention to your partner (or your friend, or whoever the other person is in this situation) and it just makes me so happy that the characters listen to each other’s needs *swoon*.

This book is a bit of a Beauty and The Beast retelling, since our heroine “was born with palsy of the facial nerve caused by damage from the instruments the doctors used” (in Love is a Rogue, by Lenora Bell) during her birth, which means one side of her face does not move “normaly”, and her smile is lopsided.

Lady Beatrice Bentley, this beautiful, rich lady, who prefers a comfortable blue dress than the somewhat growing and starting to be exaggerated creations of the 1830’s, can’t help but feel the attraction to Stamford Wright, the roguish carpenter working on her brother’s estate.

I loved falling in love with Ford and Beatrice, and seeing their love develop and overcome what would be thought of as a barrier for the time, or if not a barrier, at least a strong detriment for their union.

Beatrice loves words, and she is fascinated with the words that disappear from our language, and the ones that are almost “chosen” to remain, and for Ford this is not an interest, but he becomes fascinated with how happy Beatrice is when she’s talking about writing her dictionary, and how caring he is for her and her love of books. I mean… he built her BOOKSHELVES!

Also, this book is full of feminism, sisterhood, all the things we want to see in this world. As I was reading this book, I found myself mirrored in the women of The Mayfair Ladies Knitting League, with the same wishes and desires: “Why should being female preclude me from being an entrepreneur? I say, smash down the barriers” (Love is A Rogue, by Lenora Bell). One of my favourite quotes from this book is exactly related to women (women as in anyone that identifies as female), and how we see ourselves in the world and society: “We women are all so critical of ourselves. We’re too plump, or too thin. Too tall, or too short. Our hair is too curly, or too straight. We live in a society that rewards conformity to a strict set of physical standards and an even more rigid set of rules for proper behaviour. We have these unpleasant thoughts running round and round in our minds. Wouldn’t it be revolutionary if we decided to love ourselves exactly the way we are?” (in Love is a Rogue, by Lenora Bell). Apologies for the long quote, but I loved it so much, that I remember shedding a tear when I read this. Self-love, and supporting ourselves and others, shouldn’t that be the ultimate goal?

Anyway, this book was also a love dedication to all of us readers, as I’m sure you can understand from the above mentioned love of books and words. As I was reading this book, I found myself highlighting these sentences that put into words a feeling that I’m sure most readers relate to: “But I can’t possibly read all of them [books]. It keeps me up at night sometimes, knowing that I can’t read every book I own. You should see how many books are stacked beside by bed just waiting to be read. And I don’t have the time to read them all” (in Love is A Rogue, by Lenora Bell).

Of course, this book is a romance, and the love story is the main element. But in this case, for me, it felt like there was more than ONE love story – there was the love between Beatrice and Ford, but also the love between these women supporting each other’s endeavours, and the love for words, and for your own passions!

All in all, I loved this book. It is romantic, sexy, powerful, all you want in a good book.



P.S. Make sure you read the acknowledgements at the end!

[Review] The Love Study, by Kris Ripper

Title: The Love Study
Series: --
Author: Kris Ripper
Publisher: Carina Press
Number of pages: 336
Publication date: September 29th 2020

Synopsis:

Declan has commitment issues. He’s been an office temp for literally years now, and his friends delight in telling people that he left his last boyfriend at the altar.

And that’s all true. But he’s starting to think it’s time to start working on his issues. Maybe.

When Declan meets Sidney—a popular nonbinary YouTuber with an advice show—an opportunity presents itself: as part of The Love Study, Declan will go on a series of dates arranged by Sidney and report back on how the date went in the next episode.

The dates are…sort of blah. It’s not Sidney’s fault; the folks participating are (mostly) great people, but there’s no chemistry there. Maybe Declan’s just broken.

Or maybe the problem is that the only person he’s feeling chemistry with is Sidney.

Review:

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

Although this is a 2.75* stars review, I feel like I should make a few distinctions, and mention a few things. First of all, I’m not queer/part of the LGBTQIA+ community. I do, however, have very good friends who are. Second, I feel like the story of the book and the meaning of the book almost deserve different ratings (intellectual chemistry anyone?).

For me, the best part of the book was closer to the end, when and after Declan, our main character, does this huge thing that changes his life immensely, as well as the life of Sidney, the person he was dating. And why? Because I think that’s when we had more emotion, when we actually saw who Declan was, and what he was dealing with.

The plot itself didn’t really clicked for me, I loved the chemistry between our characters, but I always felt like it was all a bit fake… Maybe that was the point? Because the end leads to that, to the question of what we want for us, for our lives, and the most important one of who we really are. No masks, no “doing what society thinks it’s right”, etc. This is the part I actually liked. So, for the questions it raised, I would probably give it a 4*. But for the enjoyment of the book… It just didn’t work for me. Maybe 2*?

I really liked the YouTube stuff, how they planned the love study, the dates, etc. It was interesting to see a project like that come to life. And it was fun to see Declan and Sidney connect. But that was about it.

I’m sure it’s a great book for many people, for me it just was a bit boring story wise, but great in pointing out the problems with society and with what society makes us feel.

[Review] Lady Sophie's Christmas Wish, by Grace Burrowes

Title: Lady Sophie's Christmas Wish
Series: Windham #4
Author: Grace Burrowes
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Number of pages: 384
Publication date: September 24th 2019

Synopsis:

All she wants is a little peace...
But Sophie's holiday is about to heat up...

Lady Sophie Windham has maneuvered a few days to herself at the ducal mansion in London before she must join her family for Christmas in Kent. Suddenly trapped in Town by a snowstorm, she finds herself with an abandoned baby and only the assistance of a kind, handsome stranger standing between her and complete disaster.

With his estate in chaos, Vim Charpentier expected complications this holiday season, but he couldn't have predicted that Sophie Windham would be among them. His growing attraction for Sophie is the only thing that warms his spirits. But Sophie's been keeping secrets, and it will take more than a kiss under the mistletoe to make her wishes come true...

Review:

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

I loved this book! I’ve always really enjoyed Christmas/Holidays related books, and this one hit all the right spots.

Sophie is the sensible sister. She doesn’t give problems to anyone. So, when she decides to spend some time at Christmas with friends, her family doesn’t worry. But Sophie has a plan. She wants to spend some of her Christmas alone. But her plans get sidetracked when she is left stranded with someone else’s baby.

Queue Vim, our hero. I’ll admit right away, I love babies. I find them adorable, and I love holding them. And whenever I see someone who is good with a baby, I just feel happy. And Vim, well, he’s perfect with young Kit. How he helps Sophie without ever mocking her, or making feel like she’s doing something wrong, it’s just perfect.

I really enjoyed the relationship between both the hero and the heroine, and them with Kit. It was adorable, with our characters stuck due to a snow storm, learning about each other, and relating in a way they couldn’t with other people. Sometimes it’s just easier to talk to a stranger than someone who’s known you forever, right?

I also really liked how Sophie’s brothers didn’t try to decide for her, or just beat Vim. They understood that they were in love, but apparently there was some form of impediment, so they decided to do what they could to help them. Great brothers!

All in all, a great romance, with some steamy moments, very romantic, very adorable, and it just made me very happy.

[Review] Heiress Gone Wild, by Laura Lee Guhrke

Title Heiress Gone Wild
Series: Dear Lady Truelove #4
Author: Laura Lee Guhrke
Publisher: Avon
Number of pages: 384
Publication date: September 24th 2019

Synopsis:

Dear Lady Truelove,
My ward is driving me crazy. I have to marry her off and get her out of my life. There's just one problem…

When Jonathan Deverill promised a dying friend he'd be guardian to the man's daughter, he envisioned a girl in pigtails and pinafores, a child he could leave behind in some finishing school. Problem is, his ward is actually a fully-grown, defiant beauty whose longing for romance threatens to make his guardianship a living hell.

New York heiress Marjorie McGann wants a London season and a titled husband who can help her spend the Yankee millions she's inherited, and she thinks her new British guardian is the perfect person to help her find him. But Jonathan has no intention of letting his friend's fortune be squandered. Under his watchful, protective eye, Marjorie finds romance hard to come by...until one fateful night when her own guardian's devastating kisses makes her wonder if the greatest romance of all might be right in front of her.

Review:

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

This was my first Laura Lee Guhrke book. I don’t know why it took me so long to read this author!

I’ll admit, some things in the book were a bit too much for me, but in general this was quite fun!

I really liked Marjorie, she was fun, and she was very determined. And for someone who pretty much lived her whole life between the walls of a school, she was very courageous. Because it courage to actually do what she did. It’s all good when you’re thinking about going on an adventure, but actually doing it, takes a lot of guts!

The romance trope in this book is the ward-guardian trope. But not to worry, Marjorie isn’t a child, or teenager, she’s a young woman – which the hero knew nothing about, and he was very surprised to find a beautiful woman instead of a young girl in pigtails.

Jonathan does seem a bit annoying sometimes, but we have to keep in mind he is trying to protect both Marjorie and himself. He wants her to have her dream, but at the same time he wants his sanity. Whenever Marjorie does something crazy, we can clearly see all the mechanics in his head, and sometimes it does come out, but it’s mostly #internallyscreaming.

This book was a lot of fun, as we accompanied both the hero and the heroine to discover new (and old) dreams, and what they actually wanted out of their lives. It really pushes some of our buttons, and force us to, alongside the characters, see what we’re looking for in our lives. Is it really the ballrooms and gossip, or do we want something more? This was the question for Marjorie. And for Jonathan? Well, for him it was even a bigger question, as he had no idea what he wanted to do, besides what he already did. But he wanted a new dream… he just didn’t know what that would entail. And together, they find a new, adventurous dream.