Book Review: The Hidden Heart (Victorian Hearts, #1) by Laura Kinsale

FIVE STARS

It’s been a long minute since I’ve read a book that grabbed me by the throat and wouldn’t let go until the very last page. I was long overdue for a read like this. I wanted to call in sick to work just so I could read it. I didn’t want to talk to anybody. Every time the phone rang, it was a major irritation. I just wanted to be left alone with it. Of course, none of that happened, which delayed me getting to the end, but when I finally got there, it was a moment of closing my eyes and sighing with satisfaction as I gripped the book to my chest. This is why I read historical romances. This is why I love Laura Kinsale’s work.

Tess Collier has lived much of her life in the jungles of the Amazon with her father. She’s helped him with his work of studying flowers and animals and has no training at all for London society. When her father dies, he leaves a directive that she is to return to London and marry well. He’s left her a vast fortune and needs a husband to manage it for her. His friend, Taylor, has asked Captain Gryph Frost to escort her to England and that’s when the story really takes off.

Gryph Frost isn’t his real name. He’s actually the Sixth Marquess of Ashland. He knows this, but she doesn’t nor does she care. When he showed up in at ball, his name was now Everett. She knew him as Captain Frost, but played along with him even though she wasn’t sure why he changed his name.

Gryph’s family was slaughtered on a ship when he was 12 and he was the only survivor. He and another man who became so close to him and taught him the ways of the sea. Gryph was thought to be murdered with the rest of his family, leaving a cousin, Stephen Eliot, the fortunes of Ashland. Gryph had no desire to take his title or his inheritance, although he was broke and running sketchy hauls to America, amidst the blockades during the Civil War. He needed money, but he did have his limits as to what he would do to get it. Making sure that Lady Tess married well was not one of those limits. Taylor sweetened that pot to the point where Gryph couldn’t refuse. What he wasn’t counting on was falling in love with her himself and she falling in love with him. But he couldn’t marry her. He had nothing to offer her. He had no money, no home, and she was wealthy to an extreme. He did have his pride, after all. This drove her into a marriage with Stephen Eliot.

Gryph knew Stephen was his cousin and despised him. Gryph didn’t want Tess to marry Stephen because Gryph knew of Stephen’s twisted sexual proclivities and feared for her safety. She wanted to marry him, but he wouldn’t marry her. She married Stephen because she thought he was nice. Did she ever get a rude awakening.

Heartbroken, Gryph takes to the seas again. This time he is transporting an eccentric little botanist who is traveling with his friend. His friend was seasick and stuck to his cabin. Gryph really didn’t care. The job paid well and he needed the money and he needed to get away from Tess.

Tess had to be taught the ways of polite society and wasn’t doing so well at it. Her aunt was forever telling her what not to say that would horrify any perspective suitor and she wasn’t nice about it. Tess’s only friend was Gryph. She could be herself around him and he did not judge. She needed him. He needed her. But he was so damn stubborn and prideful.

Much of this story takes place in Tahiti. It was a nice change from the London ballrooms and the stuffy aristocrats. Some of takes place there, too, though. Tess was instructed to find a husband and one of some means. She had to go to London for that.

I could go on and on about how great this book was. It had some dark moments, angst, steam, a reluctant hero who thinks he is unworthy, a love-struck heroine that wouldn’t let go, mystery, times when I was sitting at the edge of my seat–this story fired on all cylinders. In true Kinsale fashion, I wasn’t sure how this was going to end until the last few pages of the book.

Excellent, excellent read!

Book Review: Purity (Diamonds of the First Water, #2) by Sydney Jane Baily

FIVE STARS

Purity Diamond is probably the most proper heroine I’ve ever read. She never steps outside the box of propriety or breaks any rules of society. She is prim and proper at all times and expects the same from those around her…until she meets Matthew Norland, the Earl of Foxford.

Foxford is a rake and the topic of the gossip columns constantly. When he and Purity first meet, he mistakes her for someone else and kisses her. She is stunned and shaken and darts from the room, of course, but after that, neither could forget the other. She knows and doesn’t appreciate that he’s a rake. She reads the columns, after all. He decides he wants her to help him become the very best a man can be in order to find a suitable wife. He wants to be the embodiment of decorum…or does he?

Foxford was hilarious. He goaded her and poked at her (figuratively) and did everything a true gentleman would never do in front of a lady, with the exception of belching and farting and even though those aren’t mentioned, he probably did those, too. He made her crazy with the way he broke the rules and there were more than a few times when he made me laugh out loud.

Purity was beside herself with this guy. He had no social graces, asked her the wrong questions, said the wrong things, was always referring to their clandestine kiss and making it known he wanted more. He was not suitable for any lady in any way. He was crass, uncouth, and uncaring and oh so frustrating. He would never live up to the standards of society no matter how much work and time she put into him. But in the end, did it really matter?

This book popped for me. It made me laugh, which is a definite plus. It had some sweet moments, some mild steam, and great characters. I loved the story and how it all came together. The one thing I wished for was more interaction between Foxford and Diana. I also wondered how he kept her a secret from the ton. I thought he was wrong for not being straightforward with Purity about Diana, but if he had been, it would’ve changed the direction of the story. Everything was where it was supposed to be.

Solid five stars.

*Although this is part of a series, it can be read independently

Book Review: Clarity (Diamonds of the First Water, #1) by Sydney Jane Baily

FIVE STARS

I discovered this series (and author) through the Naughty or Nice Anthology by Wolf Publishing. After reading A Diamond for Christmas, I had to know more about this family.

Clarity was a great way to start the series. She’s vivacious, fun, whimsical, not exactly a proper lady, a bit of a tomboy, and absolutely perfect for her childhood friend, Alex. When they were kids, they would pull pranks and get into trouble together. Their parents were great friends, which made it easy for Clarity and Alex to do the same.

But tragedy struck for Alex and the two of them went for years without seeing each other or exchanging any sort of communication. They’re grown adults now and both are on the marriage market. He’s now a viscount and needs a suitable wife and an heir. The problem is he’s been out of society for so long, he’s messing up the etiquette. He sets his sights on Purity, Clarity’s younger sister, but she doesn’t want him. She’s prim and the embodiment of propriety. Clarity is too loud, laughs too much, likes to compete and have fun–no, she won’t do. Not at all. He needs somebody who will stay within the restrictions of society and never embarrass him.

Clarity has a man who is in hot pursuit, but after seeing Alex again, he’s got her attention. She realizes that he went from this fun-loving, exuberant boy to this stodgy old man in a young man’s body and is determined to bring back that fun guy. She knows he’s in there somewhere. She just has to convince him to let him come out and play and to hell with his old biddy of an aunt! Falling in love with Alex was only the natural thing to do.

Alex was being led around by his aunt, Lady Aston. She had a bride picked out for him and it certainly wasn’t Clarity Diamond. She was making all of his decisions concerning women, social affairs, and running his household. She had a stick up her backside, was mean, underhanded, conniving, and interfering, but she was a heck of an antagonist. She angered me so many times then I got mad at Alex for not reining her in. I wanted to grab him by his jacket and ask him why he was letting this go on.

This was a fantastic story. I loved Clarity and the camaraderie with her family. I liked the fun Alex and felt bad for the stick-in-the-mud Alex. I understood where he was coming from and why he acted like he did. His only hope at happiness was with Clarity. There is a fair amount of angst, some mild steam, and the characters were so dynamic that I found myself wanting to be a part of their group.

Easy, easy five stars.

Book Review: The Foster Family by Nicole Trope

FIVE STARS

This was a psychological thriller that had me sitting on the edge of my seat, biting my nails, and even crying a few times, while I wished Howard Ealy into the deepest pits of Hell.

There are three stories going at once. One with a mysterious girl that a man finds at bus stop. She’s beaten badly, yet no one stops to help her. Just this one guy who wants to call the police or an ambulance, both to which she refuses, so he lets her recuperate in his apartment, sleeping on the couch and giving her his bedroom. He doesn’t know who she is or what she is capable of and she won’t tell him her name or tell her who beat her up. He respects that and respects her. It had the makings for him doing something unseemly to her, but he never did one thing out of line.

The second story is the foster family and their foster child, Joe, who is five. Elizabeth and Howard Ealy are his foster parents. Theirs is a tumultuous relationship because Howard is freaking psychopath. He was unpredictable, cunning, a liar, manipulative–oh, he was everything I despise in a person. The way he treated Elizabeth was typical of a person like him and deplorable. But the way he treated Joe made me cringe.

The third story is about Gordon Perry, the old man who lives across the street from the house where the Ealy’s are taking a holiday. He’s 80, has a son, Malcom, a granddaughter, Del, is widowed, and either has Alzheimer’s or dementia. He has memory problems that he’s fully aware of and writes notes to himself to remind himself of things. He’s close to Malcom and I loved Malcom’s patience with him and the way Gordon listened to every word he said. Gordon has befriended Elizabeth and Joe and has seen Howard in action and even called the police, but they didn’t act on that. They were more worried about Gordon living on his own.

Joe goes missing and the stories unravel at rocket speed. Blame is pushed around, truths are revealed, and all three stories come together with a slam-dunk.

I enjoyed this book very much and will likely read more by this author.

Book Review: A Great Hope: A Prequel to The Beauty of Secrets & Lies series by Faith Isabel Bloom

FOUR STARS

This is a really short book and the prequel to a series. I received it as a free download from some romance thing that offers a bunch of free books in return for expanding the author’s mailing list. It’s so short, I didn’t download it to a reader and read it on my computer.

The story was okay. I didn’t develop any sort of connection to any of the characters, but that does happen with such short reads. It starts with Lily and her family going on holiday to Italy when she is 13. She meets Luigi and falls in love with him then goes back years later to see if she still loves him. She’s got a marriage proposal on the table and doesn’t love the guy who asked her to marry him. She and her cousin get caught in Italy at the start of World War II with no way out of the country until a British agent accosts her.

She gets pregnant by Luigi and things are so discombobulated with the war and soldiers in the streets, executions of entire families…a lot happened in this tiny read. It was interesting, but not interesting enough for me to continue with the series.

With it being such a short read, it should’ve been picture perfect, but there was an instance of wrong word usage. It should say martial law instead of Marshall law. Just thought I’d throw that out there.