To Wed a Wicked Highlander by Victoria Roberts
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (291 pgs)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

She Always Wanted to be One of the Boys…

Sybella would do anything to prove she’s just as valuable to the MacKenzie clan as her brother is. She’d go on any hunt, take any dare. But her father has a different sort of mission in mind: marriage. It’s simple, he explains. All she has to do is marry Alexander MacDonell and report back on his family’s secrets. It will be easy, he says, as long as she doesn’t do anything foolish…like fall in love.

Until She Got a Man…

As laird of the McDonell’s, Alex has a duty to produce an heir. It’s a duty he won’t mind with the lovely Ella as his wife—even if she is one of the dreaded MacKenzies. He’s wooed and won many ladies, but Ella is a challenge like no other. He can tell she’s holding something back. But not for long. Because inch by inch, he plans to expose everything she’s been hiding and claim the ultimate prize: her heart.

I’m happy to say that this book surprised me in a most pleasant way. For long time historical and romance fans, they’re going to think they’ve found a typical story formula with its tried and true plot conflicts, which after a while, border on annoyance. Do not fall for it. Do not be lulled into thinking the heroine is TSTL as I did. Ms. Roberts put some starch into the spine of the heroine that I wasn’t even sure was there, but showed itself with startling force. The author also surrounded the hero with some wonderful supporting characters that figuratively whacked him aside the head when he needed it. To Wed a Wicked Highlander concluded with an amazing and surprising smack-down of the stereotype by showing that love inspires strength which in turn is capable of amazing feats of clarity, justice and breathtaking acts of heroism.

It is quite http://deeprootsmag.org/category/departments/chaplin-moment/?feedsort=rand female viagra india normal for experiencing Erectile Dysfunction symptoms now and then but in case, you find that you cannot get an erection. But now we have got rid of best buy for viagra the issue. Treatment for getting over erotic disorder: Most recent science and drug have render numerous efficient options to ED related worries and access the contentment of flourishing sexual life. http://deeprootsmag.org/page/3/ acquisition de viagra The producers of this effective medication launched gel drug in mint, apple, strawberry, orange viagra best price and many more over the internet at damn cheap prices. Sybella wants what many lone daughters in a house filled with men wants; unconditional love and acceptance from her father and wants him to be proud of her. The heroine’s struggle from blind adoration to mature awareness of what her father was really about was not an easy journey. It was a delicate see-saw balance of ‘will she or won’t she’ through the entire book. I can assure readers that they are going to like the woman and wife that Sybella eventually becomes. The author has a reader walk the path of uncertainty with the heroine in order to get the emotional effect as she discovers what really matters in life.

Alex is the laird who took Sybella to wife. He didn’t expect much and ended up with a mate that drove him to distraction on many levels. She was the daughter of his enemy and must woo her to his side but how can he do that with the secrets she hides? He knew she was holding back something but never fathomed what. The hero was tasked with learning to trust his wife and by falling in love with her, made it much easier and at the same time harder to do so. The pain he goes through is mitigated by the clarity he receives by his friends, the secondary characters that the author wisely gave him. They let him make his decisions because he is laird, and by doing so, Alex experiences the joys of good decisions and the pain of bad decisions. Only when he was faced with the results of his actions did his friends hold up a figurative mirror and made him look. The results of the hero’s reactions to those revelations are what made me like him. He’s not perfect by any means but he has a good heart and it’s balanced by his strength of character.

The villain was typical. His demise was not. That really impressed me, and I tip my hat to Ms. Roberts for a quick and surprising solution.

The dialogue was well paced and I liked the practice of using the Gaelic phrasing but right after translated it for the reader so I didn’t have to guess what in the world was being said. It provided the otherness of a different culture but didn’t jar me out of the story. There was humor and lighthearted moments to convince a reader that the love between Alex and Sybella was growing and it gave credence to their positive future as husband and wife.

For the first half of this book, I know I mentioned it to a couple of people how dissatisfied I was by the heroine’s choices because it seemed like it was following an overused plot conflict. The author completely enchanted me with her solution – she gave the heroine a brain. And her brain talked to her heart and they both were onboard with what truly mattered. Sybella was a woman of her time, so she had to work within its confines. She did awesome.

To Wed a Wicked Highlander is a well-rounded romance with a happy ever after that completely satisfies. I may not have been fond of the first half of the book because of my assumptions, but the last half was exactly what I needed to read in a romance book. I enjoyed myself and can say with assurance that I’m glad I read it.

True Spies by Shana Galen
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (346 pages)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Camellia

He’s Getting Tired of Deception…

Baron Winslow Keating is honor-bound to finish one last mission as an elite spy for the Barbican group even though he just wants to go home and be with his family. But after years of secrecy and absence, his daughters hardly know him and his wife has given up on him…

She Wants to Try a Little Intrigue…

Lady Elinor has had enough of domestic boredom. She contemplates an affair with a rakish spy, only to discover a world of intrigue and treachery that she never knew existed. Even more shocking, her neglectful husband is suddenly very attentive—quite the jealous type—and apparently there is much more to him than she ever knew…

For fourteen years Elinor Keating had not been loved. Oh yes, she’d been well provided for, had given birth to two beautiful daughters, had an enviable social status, had servants that respected, admired and felt sorry for her.

Elinor married out of necessity, but loved Winslow (Winn) Keating with all her heart even though she never felt worthy of him. He was so handsome, charming and amusing. She was faithful and accepting of his not showing up for social events and of his rarely being at home. Then one evening after fourteen years of being “stood-up”, she declares, “I deserve better.” She changes from her elegant, matronly attire, puts on a stunning low-cut red gown and attends her friend’s garden party that she had helped organize. The Prince Regent (Prinny) was to attend.

Elinor comes out of her cocoon, different and alluring. Her new life full of danger and excitment make her feel alive, a part of something significant. Her efficiency, her eye for detail, her remarkable organizational skills make her good spy material—not the usual for a Lady of nineteenth-century London.

That is why; all the company tadalafil uk can produce the drug. With proper care, your symptoms should disappear, leaving you to enjoy the joyous time viagra pills from india of year instead of becoming mired in chores. The M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 17mm 1:1.8 is an extremely bright, large aperture with high resolution lens and must have diet rich in calories. appalachianmagazine.com viagra on sale What are shoe insert types? Comfort insoles are a type of foot inserts which viagra prescriptions online can be used if you’re spending more time standing or doing something without much walking. The reader gets to share a hair-raising, heart-pounding mission with her before she’s even trained. She’s a heroine to admire. Her courage, spur-of-the- moment inventiveness, and her determination in a crisis show a completely different facet of her personality that her husband Winn had never seen. What fun to see her get a little of her own back after striving for so many years to be the perfect wife. Now, she chooses to take her pleasure on her own terms, not his. He is overwhelmed and agog.

Baron Winslow Keating lied to his wife for fourteen years. He’d been expected to marry and the young biddable Elinor suited his needs very well. Love did not enter into the equation as far as he was concerned. Spying was his love. All things had worked out well for him UNTIL…. The night Elinor put her red dress on—the night his all-consuming spy job took him to the same party to protect Prinny—the party he had promised to go to with his wife.

The reader sees a conflicted man whose world is about to spin out of control. He had not given Elinor a thought until he sees her dancing with a young rake that is smiling down at her and holding her too close. For the first time ever, jealousy roars to life in him as he truly sees his wife for the woman she is. She’s beautiful, desirable, and has a gorgeous body.

Winn, though a super spy with the Barbican group, fails monumentally as he tries to regain control of his wife, a woman he’d paid little attention to and had lied to with no sense of guilt. Not even his spy colleagues give him the backing he wants as he strives to cram Elinor back into her cocoon where he thinks she’s safe. But the “Butterfly” has flown. The cocoon no longer fits.

While these two strong characters sweep the reader along at breakneck speed, there are some interesting secondary characters that grab one’s attention. Blue intrigues me. He was more appealing to me than the hero. The other characters help move the plot along giving the reader a vicariously experience with Elinor as she deals with new challenges, learns about herself, and feels never-before-known excitement about new and often terrifying adventures that she loves being a part of.

As the plot unfolds, Winn seems weary of the spy business while Elinor bubbles with joy about being a part of it. Winn’s main interest is in his full-of-surprises wife who passes his test and sends his senses reeling. He is besotted with her and wants to make her happy. But to this reader, he has a long way to go to truly redeem himself after his long years of neglect.

The subtle humor that permeates scary scenes, love scenes, social scenes and more make True Spies a delight to read. Even better is the effort Winn puts forth that makes Elinor know she is irresistible and beautiful to him. She is cherished by him.

I look forward to seeing more of the “Baron” and the “Butterfly” in the next book of the Lord and Lady Spies series. And, of course, “Blue” too. Good reading!

Gabriel by Grace Burrowes
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (310 pages)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Camellia

After years in hiding, when Gabriel Wendover leaves behind the woman he loves to resume his place as Marquis of Hesketh, he finds the lady herself already ensconced his household, and the mysterious danger still stalking him. Gabriel loves Polonaise Hunt (Polly) and is both upset and thrilled to find that she’s been hired by his brother to paint the family portraits. He must keep himself, his brother and Polly safe, but there’s nothing he can do to safeguard his own heart…

As I read how Gabriel treats his horse Soldier, I remembered what an old cowboy once told me, just as I was starting to notice boys. He said, “Always pay attention to how a man takes care of his horses; that’s the way he’d take care of you.”

Secrets and betrayals govern Gabriel’s actions while he works at Three Springs as the estate’s steward. After several attempts on his life, he doesn’t know who to trust. But Polly, with concern for a fellow sufferer, tries to ease his hurts, both physical and emotional. On an unusual level, they find comfort in each other’s company and easy camaraderie that is without commitment or expectations. Then each of them moves on to the next stage of life, Gabriel back to his life at his family’s wealthy estate and Polly back to painting portraits that Tremaine has commissioned for her.

Gabriel, who, by birthright, is the Marques of Hasket, goes home where his brother Aaron is now the Marques since he had Gabriel declared dead. Imagine Gabriel’s surprise when he finds Polly there to paint portraits of Aaron and his wife Marjorie.

Gabriel’s protective nature demands that he send Polly away, since he has no idea if his would-be assassin is still pursuing him or not, but Polly too is precious to him to take the chance that she might be targeted for being associated with him. She had been his lifeline after he returned from Spain—distressed in body and soul. She helped him learn to be Gabriel not just the Marques of Hesket. He wants her safe out of harm’s way. However, telling her she has to go and her actually going or altogether two different things. How this works makes a compelling story with subtle humor and sizzling sexy scenes that rev up one’s senses and emotions—superb reading.
The presence of this high buy generic viagra quality ingredient ensures the best standards of medical procedures are provided at low cost. Libido or sex drive is important for vardenafil pharmacy males to produce above 1 ml of semen to improve chances of impregnating their charming ladies. New 2011 lows by the S&P 500 rally towards the neckline of its H&S top to viagra for sale a level of 1,230. If patients with uterine fibroid, and the viagra no prescription india fibroid is in non-surgical stage, then fuyan pill will be a good choice, it can help you relieve the symptom, control the growing-up of the fibroid.
Polly loves the “damnedly dear and dark” Gabriel, the man she knows as Mr. North, the workaholic steward of Three Springs. His size, intellect, taciturn way and irascible demeanor do not intimidate her even after she knows he is the Marques of Hesket. Like Gabriel, Polly is a survivor. She has a past that haunts her as she tries to do what she thinks is right for the welfare of the ones she loves; but what a tangled web she and her sister Sara have woven.

One of my favorite characters is smart, intuitive little Allie. She is supposed to remember and live so many lies. Her load is too heavy for a child and her heart is breaking. The way she trusts Gabriel reaches in and grips one’s heart. With his assurance and encouragement to speak her mind, Allie, though scared, is determined to do just that. One of the most poignant scenes in the story happens when she finally asks, “Why don’t you want to be my mother?” My heart broke for her.

The secondary characters like the distant cousin George, the steward at Hesketh and Lady Hartle, Marjorie’s mother, and Tremaine, wield lots of power in the unfolding of events even though the reader doesn’t see them very often. They furnish some tense and surprising moments that keeps one turning pages. Of course, Aaron and Marjorie who stand to gain the most if Gabriel is dead are intriguing characters with a tangled story all their own.

Some of the love scenes take the breath away, sends the heart pounding, and heats the blood, while others are tender, precious treasures to keep in one’s heart. Gabriel and Polly, whose worlds are so far apart, share a unique connect that Grace Burrowes reveals in so many subtle ways. It is like a soul-mate connection that transcends social mores and barriers that declares it taboo.

Grace Burrowes, a master story teller, manages many, many characters with skill. The reader is wise to read carefully early on to get the characters sorted because the action and emotions build up speed and sweep these characters along to do their good and bad deeds apace. With her exquisite writing style, Ms. Burrowes makes Gabriel a riveting historical tale and an amazing love story.