ARC REVIEW Wed To A Spy by Sharon Cullen

Wed to a Spy is the first book in Sharon Cullen's newest Historical Romance series, All the Queen's Men. I have avoided Elizabethan era romance I use to read it quite a bit and burned myself out on it. I also tend to avoid books where they have actual historical figures for me, I tend to overthink and overanalyze the small nuisance of the minor/secondary characters if they were real people; in other words my brain gets in the way and it pulls me out of my fictional world. That being said, I loved this book. Sharon Cullen does a fantastic job setting up the premise for this book and the others to follow. It established the three main characters for the series and what she wants them to do. The intro focuses on Simon Marcheford a spy who is ready to retire and take the time to get to know is adolescent sister. The Queen basically blackmails him into cooperating. Aimee de Verris comes from a large french family and her mother has basically given up on getting yet another daughter married off so she pushes Aimee off on a family relative, her Aunt Catherine. However when Aimee thinks she has fall in love with a young man her guardian sees fit to send her off to Scotland as her "spy". Aimee can't defy her aunt and is stuck in cold and dreary Scotland spying on Queen Mary.

Simon was initially sent to Spain to keep tabs on the Spanish King's ties to Mary, but after gaining the King's confidence he was sent to Scotland on a errand for the King. Mary is delighted to have Simon there and sees the perfect opportunity to handle one of her obligations since he showed up. Queen Mary knows that Catherine sent Aimee to her to act as a spy but is going to honor Catherine's request that she find Aimee a husband, and she does, Simon. Marriage is the last thing Simon wants but he can't get out of it and he figures it's a easy way to get on Mary's good side and therefore easier to spy on her. It doesn't hurt that Aimee is breathtakingly beautiful and Simon is halfway in love already. Aimee doesn't take the news well. She very much is a petulant child at this point, but raised in that era spoiled yes, but she also should have also expected to have her marriage arranged for her and shouldn't have been as whiny, but it leads to her actions. Simon tries not to show how hurt he is by the fact that Aimee wants nothing to do with him and reacts in a way she he's not exactly proud of.

Meanwhile the conspirators that are out to dethrone Mary have a plan firmly in place and when they take action Aimee and Simon are in the thick of it. At this point Simon must confide in Aimee of who he really is so he can safely sneak her away from Scotland and back to London so he can explain everything to Elizabeth. In this time Aimee realizes how wrong she was about Simon and accepts her fate as well as falls in love with him. But more trouble comes when they get to London and Elizabeth discovers the truth about Aimee. Their fate lies in the hands of Queen Elizabeth.

Overall, it really was entertaining and I liked the characters, really for the exception of Aimee, but I look forward to the other spies to get their HEA.          

ARC REVIEW Trying It All by Christi Barth

Trying It All is book 4 in Christi Barth's Naked Men series. While the series for me has been hit or miss I definitely liked this one. I could see Riley and Summer coming from a mile away with their disdain for each other, it was a great hate to love relationship. Where they were just supposed to sleep with each other to get it out of their system but they kept on doing it and before they knew it it was love. Riley has been ever since the accident that made him and his friends famous the worst case scenario boy scout. Summer has been ever since almost dying in a campus shooting a fly by the seat of her pants why put it off tomorrow if you can do it today and live life to the fullest. They are opposites who have more in common then one may think. Their personal tragedies may have set them in opposites directions but they understand each other better than anyone else.

Riley dedicated his life to make sure everyone is safe from preventable accidents as a employee of the National Transportation Safety Board he is doing what he set out to do. Riley initially thought Summer was flaky and her spontaneous ways just immature, and then he kissed her and everything changed. Riley found out that Summer is so much more than she lets on. Summer has no problems making plans for other people or for her business but never for herself personally. Summer first thought Riley's excessive planning was annoying but after getting to know him and finding the reason for it she finds it cute, but will her impetuous nature cause more problems between them than they can handle?

Overall, the story is an emotional journey for both Riley and Summer they both have to face things they thought they had figured out but falling in love with each other made them view things differently. I may not have liked Griffin in his own story but he has become the voice of reason and one of the most sensible characters in the series and OMG Chloe best part of the book. The story in general was a good read I liked both characters and the whole conflict at the end was heartbreaking it had me in tears and the sex was deliciously naughty and so hot.  

ARC REVIEW Score by Victoria Denault

Score is book one of Victoria Denault's San Francisco Thunder series. Although it is a first book it really felt like this was a spinoff or had a novella before it. The whole backstory of Jude and his best friend and ex-girlfriend was, to me, kind of annoying and made the the whole story predictable. The characters were good, Jude is my favorite kind of reformed manwhore. He started before the beginning of the book and once he saw Zoey again he didn't see anyone else. Zoey is in the midst of a divorce and Jude respects her decision to wait until after the divorce is final. While his initial goal was to finally sleep with Zoey, who is in her own right a reformed bad girl, Jude takes way too long to realize that Zoey is the one. The secondary characters range from I hate them to absolutely hysterical. The second chance story was even though very painfully predictable with how it played out was a good read and had some very naughty sex scenes.

Zoey is trying to put her life together, her soon to be ex-husband blames her for not being able to get pregnant and now she's without a house and even though they agreed that the loser would cover the hotel until after the divorce she is now homeless, carless and credit cardless. She has had it the amicable divorce is quickly growing into a very bitter one. She is trying her hardest to get herself established in her new job but the real estate market is finicky.

Jude still hasn't forgiven Levi for falling in love with his ex-girlfriend, Tessa, and between that and all the late night booty calls he has been getting at his house he's tired of it all. But a stroke of luck happens when he runs into Zoey and she is everything he remembers. Zoey and Jude knew each other when they were teenagers and almost had sex. Jude thinks now is the perfect time to remedy that but is willing to bide his time because he knows it's going to be perfect. Since Zoey is a real estate agent Jude asks her to sell his place and find a new one. It's all fun and games until Zoey discovers something about Jude's past that could have been an easy forgive if he had only just told her in the beginning, but Jude is an oblivious male. Can he fix this and can Zoey forgive him?

Overall, it was a nice read, I do like the sisters and want their stories more than I want the other teammates of Thunder.      

EXCERPT BLOG TOUR Duke with Benefits by Manda Collins

A Study in Scandal novel

Duke with Benefits

Manda Collins

LADY + DUKE = TRUE LOVE?

Lady Daphne Forsyth is a brilliant mathematician with a burning passion for puzzles. When she learns that the library belonging to her benefactress houses the legendary Cameron Cipher—an encrypted message that, once solved, holds the key to great riches—Daphne is on the case. Unfortunately, her race to unlock the cipher’s code is continually thwarted by a deliciously handsome distraction she hadn’t counted on . . . and cannot resist.

Dalton Beauchamp, the Duke of Maitland, is curious as to why Daphne is spending so much time snooping around his aunt’s bookshelves. He’s even more intrigued by her bold yet calculating manner: She is unapologetic about her secret quest . . . and the fiery attraction that develops between them both. But how can they concentrate on solving a perplexing enigma once the prospect of true love enters the equation?


Duke with Benefits is the second in Manda Collins' Studies in Scandal series set in Regency England.

“There you are, my dear,” said the Earl of Forsyth with a beaming smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

Maitland saw at once that Daphne favored him. Her green eyes were the same shade as his, though there were lines of dissipation bracketing the earl’s. And though his expertly cropped blond hair was shot through with silver, what remained of its original color was the same shade as hers. But whereas Daphne’s gaze was focused off to the left of whomever she conversed with, like a bird hovering just over a branch, Forsyth’s speared one with cold calculation. As he did to Daphne now. 

“You are looking well, Daphne,” the earl continued, stepping forward to embrace his daughter, who looked as uncomfortable with the contact as Maitland had ever seen her. 

“The sea air agrees with you. As I knew it would.” 

“The sea is very beautiful,” Daphne replied woodenly. “Why are you here, Father?”
“Is that any way to greet your Papa?” the earl chided, stepping back from her and wandering farther into the room, standing to stare out at the gardens below through the window. “I’ve traveled all the way from London to see you. And this lovely estate. I must admit that when I first learned of your inheritance, I thought it was all some sort of trick. But you would have your own way and leave the loving bosom of your family no matter what I said. Now that I’m here, though, and see it in person, I must admit that it’s a lovely spot. And your chaperone, Lady Serena, is quite beautiful, isn’t she? A widow, I take it?” 

His jaw clenched at the man’s mention of Serena, and Maitland thought perhaps it was time to announce himself. Daphne seemed not to realize he’d followed her in, and the earl was too busy waxing rhapsodic over the beauties of Beauchamp House. 

“I don’t believe we’ve met, Forsyth,” he said forcefully, stepping up to stand side by side with Daphne. He gave a slight bow, perhaps not quite as deep as was warranted, but not caring. “The Duke of Maitland. I am a friend of your daughter’s, you might say.”
What he meant by that last, he could not say, but the man made every bit of protective instinct within him go on the alert. He was her father, but all the same Maitland knew that Daphne was no safer with him than she would have been with Sommersby if he still lived. 

At the sound of the duke’s voice, Lord Forsyth turned with almost comical haste from the window and stared. For the barest flicker, he looked angry. Well, if he were upset at the knowledge that his daughter was not without friends, then he would simply have to swallow it. Because Maitland was damned if he’d leave her alone with the fellow.
“Duke,” Lord Forsyth said with a tilt of his head, “I am pleased to make your acquaintance. I was a friend of your father’s, and had little notion I’d be meeting you here. He was a good man, your father.” 

His father had been nothing of the sort, but Maitland was hardly going to discuss it with Forsyth. 

“I am here visiting my sister, Lady Serena,” Maitland said coolly, letting the other man know in tone rather than words that he had not appreciated the older man’s speculative words about her earlier. “And of course my cousin, Kerr. He only recently married another of the heiresses here, and resides here with her.” 

Forsyth’s eyes narrowed at the implication that Daphne was well protected should her father wish to cause trouble. At least that was the message Maitland was endeavoring to send. And by the looks of it, Forsyth read him loud and clear. 

“Capital, capital,” the earl said with false cheer. “A merry party you must all make here. I had no idea you were in such fine company here, Daphne. No notion at all.” 

“Because we have not spoken since I left,” Daphne said, looking from her father to Maitland then back again, as if wondering what went on between them. “And now, father, I really must ask you to leave. I have a great deal of work to do and . . .” 

“Don’t be absurd, Daphne,” her father said with a shake of his head. “I only just arrived. And there is something very important I must speak to you about.” He turned to Maitland with a raised brow. “I’m sure you’ll excuse us, Duke. I’m afraid what I need to tell my daughter is private family business.” 

Maitland was opening his mouth to tell the man he would leave Daphne alone with him when hell froze over, when Daphne did it for him. 

“Maitland stays,” she said, reaching out to grasp him by the arm. It was as much of a cry for help as he’d ever thought he’d see from her. Wordlessly, he slipped her arm into his, as if they were about to promenade round the room. He covered her hand with his, keenly aware of the thread of tension in her. 

Once more, the earl’s eyes narrowed, and he turned an assessing gaze on Maitland, perhaps realizing for the first time the threat coming at him from that direction. 

His jaw clenched, Forsyth said grimly, “Very well. If you wish your friend to witness our dirty linen, so be it.” As if needing to be in motion in order to speak, the earl began to pace the area between the window and the fireplace. “You know, Daphne, you left me without any obvious means of recouping what I lost from years of paying that tutor of yours, old man Sommersby.” 

“You agreed to pay him,” Daphne said tightly. “After I threatened to expose . . .”
Hastily, Forsyth continued, “And I am currently in need of funds. As such, I must insist you return to London with me for the time being and meet a particular gentleman who has expressed interest in marrying you. Though his birth is not as high as yours, he’s quite wealthy and will make you a good husband, I trust. He’s assured me he has no concern about your odd ways, if you’re as beautiful as your portrait.” 

Before Maitland could burst out with the string of invectives the other man’s pronouncement inspired in him, Daphne said, “I cannot marry this person. I’ve never even met him. You promised me that I would not have to marry someone for money as long as I won enough at the tables. I did so. You promised me, father.”

“I never actually promised, Daphne.” Forsyth said with a shake of his head. “If you chose to interpret it as such, that is not my fault. Now, go pack your things.” 

Daphne’s hand on Maitland’s arm gripped him tightly. And before he even knew what he was doing, he said, “I’m afraid that’s impossible, Forsyth. Daphne is staying here.” 

“I don’t know who you think you are, Maitland,” said the earl through clenched teeth, “but I am her father, and I am well within my rights to take her back to London. Now, kindly take your hands off of her and let her go pack.” 

“It might once have been your right, Forsyth,” Maitland said coldly, “but Lady Daphne is my betrothed now and as such, she will remain here. With me.”


Copyright © 2017 by Manda Collins and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Press.

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Manda Collins is the author of several books, including Ready Set Rogue and The Lords of Anarchy series. She spent her teen years wishing she’d been born a couple of centuries earlier, preferably in the English countryside. Time travel being what it is, she resigned herself to life with electricity and indoor plumbing, and read lots of books. When she’s not writing, she’s helping other people use books, as an academic librarian.

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http://www.mandacollins.com/

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BLOG TOUR Somehow, Some Way by Jennifer Probst

 

SOMEHOW, SOME WAY by Jennifer Probst is now live! This is a 1001 Dark Nights novella in the Billionaire Builders series.

 

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SOMEHOW, SOME WAY by Jennifer Probst

Billionaire Builders, #2.5

BLURB:

Bolivar Randy Heart (aka Brady) knows exactly what he wants next in life: the perfect wife. Raised in a strict traditional family household, he seeks a woman who is sweet, conservative, and eager to settle down. With his well-known protective and dominant streak, he needs a woman to offer him balance in a world where he relishes control. Too bad the newly hired, gorgeous, rehab addict is blasting through all his preconceptions and wrecking his ideals…one nail at a time…

Charlotte Grayson knows who she is and refuses to apologize. Growing up poor made her appreciate the simple things in life, and her new job at Pierce Brothers Construction is perfect to help her carve out a career in renovating houses. When an opportunity to transform a dilapidated house in a dangerous neighborhood pops up, she goes in full throttle. Unfortunately, she’s forced to work with the firm’s sexy architect who’s driving her crazy with his archaic views on women. Too bad he’s beginning to tempt her to take a chance on more than just work…one stroke at a time…

Somehow, some way, they need to work together to renovate a house without killing each other…or surrendering to the white-hot chemistry knocking at the front door.
 

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 Poor, poor misguided Brady. The phrase, she was not what he wanted but everything he needed, comes to mind when I think about Brady and Charlotte. 

Charlie, 'cause she hates being called Charlotte,  knows what it is like to struggle, she grew up thrifty and money smart she also grew up to appreciate making things like new. She loves renovating houses and working with the Pierce Brothers is everything she always wanted, but now she has her own house she plans on flipping and doing it all on her own. But once the brothers find out her house isn't in the best of neighborhoods they ask Brady to help her out. Brady has a clear and set idea about what he wants in a wife, domestic and submissive. Brady's first impression of Charlie isn't good, they snip and argue about everything. As much as she the opposite of everything he thinks he wants in a woman he is undeniably attracted to her and when he gets bullied/volunteered to babysit/help out Charlie on her house they both agree to set their dislike aside until the house is finished. However in the time they spend together they actually start to learn about each other and like each other and soon their animosity transformed to friendship and much more. 

Overall, this was a good read I really liked it. Brady was hard to like at first I still don't know if I really like him very much or not but in the end he was a sweetie and him and Charlotte balance each other out. Jennifer Probst as always does a spectacular job writing.     

 

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PURCHASE ANY TIME, ANY PLACE (Billionaire Builders, #2) NOW

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PRE-ORDER ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL (Billionaire Builders, #3) NOW

Coming July 25th

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AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Jennifer Probst - Bio: Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again.

She makes her home in Upstate New York with the whole crew. Her sons keep her active, stressed, joyous, and sad her house will never be truly clean. She is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of sexy and erotic contemporary romance. She was thrilled her book, The Marriage Bargain, was ranked #6 on Amazon's Best Books for 2012. She loves hearing from readers. Visit her website for updates on new releases and her street team at www.jenniferprobst.com.

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COVER REVEAL Haunted Blade by J.C. Daniels

Haunted, Hunted…and harassed.

Never let it be said that Kit Colbana had ever been given the easy road. Or even the semi-paved road.  Only weeks after dealing with the mysterious—and murderous—being called Puck, she’s got another killer on her hands. Perhaps even two. 

Some of the bodies turning up bring up haunting memories of a past she longs to forget, but as always, that past is chasing her at her heels, like a hated shadow.

As the body count racks up, there’s an imbalance of power, particularly among the vampire population and Kit must yet again deal with ugly memories as one of the monsters who tried to break her is set free to deal with the imbalance of power.

Yet while a power struggle rages in East Orlando, there’s another, more subtle battle taking place and Kit feels like the center of it all.

Arrogant? Maybe. But the dead bodies don’t bear the mark of her grandmother’s pet killer by sheer coincidence…and she doubts her nemesis being released is either.

Releasing in September.

It's up for pre-order.

Buy links.

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ARC REVIEW Nothing Like A Duke by Jane Ashford

Book four in the Duke's Sons series and I have been waiting for Robert and Flora's story since the first book. Every other book has teased at their attraction and the bickering it's all foreplay. Jane Ashford has lead us on a merry chase with these two, in the last book the only mention was how bad humor Robert has been in since he left Oxford and Flora. The nice thing is that while it would be beneficial to have read the previous books (at least to get a feel for the past history of Flora and Robert and the other books are worth the read) it is not entirely necessary.

I love the writing style of Jane Ashford she's focused on the romance and the character building and does so in a way that is funny, romantic, and heartfelt. Both characters balance each other out and bring out the qualities they never thought they had. Robert is the pink of the ton very popular, fashionable and very sociable. Flora is a bluestocking who spent most of her life living up the the standards of her father who never got the boy he wanted. Flora never learned to socialize, she sees these girls act dumb and it irks her to no end that they do that and that men expect their women to act that way. There is no place in Flora's world for stupidity and no love for the high society that rejected her mother for marrying a poor scholar. But Robert changed her perspective on things he made her think things were possible and that she was willing to try going into society.

Robert could not fathom why Flora's opinion mattered to him, why he tried so hard to prove to her that he wasn't just a pretty face in society but that he was intelligent as well. However Flora just kept pushing him and making cutting remarks that Robert left and he thought to put the whole thing behind him and continue has he always had but he couldn't stop thinking about Flora. Getting into society at one of the better house parties before the season started he thought was the perfect place to forget about Flora, until she shows up and takes his breath away. Flora initially planned to go to the house party to experiment and learn about how to act in society so she can finally have her season. She hurt that Robert left she thought better of him but giving up and going back into society kind of reaffirmed everything bad she thought of him. Throughout the span of the house party through the childish actions of a manipulative young woman who has her sights set on Robert to the desperate actions of a cruel and money hungry gambler both Robert and Flora learn a lot about each other.

Overall, this was a good read. The side characters are a hoot, they made the story much more enjoyable.