Title: The Most Dangerous Duke in London
Author: Madeline Hunter
Series: The Decadent Dukes Society
Pages: 304
Genre(s): Historical, Regency
Hot Buttons: /

Everyone in London society is on edge with the brooding Duke of Stratton’s return from France. His reputation for duelling has preceded him, and it is whispered he is bent on revenge for his father’s fall. Stratton is indeed resolved to ferret out the person/people who benefited, and learn the reasons his father was targeted. When he meets Clara Cheswick, the lovely, rebellious daughter of his most likely suspect, desire complicates his goals.

Clara may be the woman Stratton wants, but she’s far more interested in publishing her women’s journal than in being seduced—especially by a man rumoured to be dead-set on vengeance. Though, with her nose for a story, Clara wonders if he is sincere in his desire for justice—or in his incredibly unnerving insistence that they will one day wed. If her weak-kneed response to his kiss is any indication, falling for the duke clearly comes with costs, and perhaps dangers she does not anticipate.

This is the first book in a new trilogy by Madeline Hunter which focuses on three Dukes, dubbed ‘The Decadent Dukes’.
I have heard excellent things about Madeline Hunter, her books and her writing, so I was looking forward to this book and the start of a new series. Add to that, I’m a sucker for a dark, brooding gent, so as far as I could see, this book couldn’t fail.

And it didn’t fail - it just sadly didn’t nearly live up to my expectations.

I liked Adam although, as other reviewers have pointed out, he was a wee bit overbearing and pompous at times. I don’t mind that in a hero, especially one that’s a duke since I suppose that it’s very likely all dukes had this personality trait! While I found Clara much harder to like - she was just too needlessly argumentative and shrewish at times for my liking - I did enjoy the way she stood up to, and interacted with Adam.

While there were some interesting asides to the main love story in the book - such as Clara’s publication of a Lady’s Journal - I didn’t feel these added much to the story and since to the very last page they didn’t involve Adam or the overarching mystery, I did wonder what the point of it all really was. Not offensive, just a tad pointless.

There were a few other characters in the book. I liked both Langford and Brentworth - the heroes of the remaining books in the trilogy. We had a few of Clara’s friends and family who we didn’t get much detail of. And then there was Clara’s grandmother. She was a typical old harridan but it was hard to feel the dislike I felt we should feel for her and her machinations, when the main characters were so easy to forgive her.

The main reason for my not giving this book a higher rating was simply that I didn’t feel there was any chemistry between the characters. There was no descriptions that showed how the pair felt for each other - we were just told they felt that way. But it wasn’t just the chemistry that I felt was lacking - I just felt there wasn’t the richness and depth that I’ve come to expect from historical romance. There also wasn't the heat and sensuality that I prefer in a novel, but that didn’t affect my rating as that’s just my personal preference and not a criticism of the book, as such.

Having said all that, other reviewers have obviously really enjoyed the book so I would still give it a go, especially if you’re a fan of Madeline Hunter’s. But it’s only 3 stars from me, I’m afraid.

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Title: The Pleasures of Passion
Author: Sabrina Jeffries
Series: Sinful Suitors
Pages: 400 
Genre(s): Historical, Regency
Hot Buttons: Widower

When Niall Lindsey, the Earl of Margrave, was forced to flee after killing a man in a duel, he expected Brilliana Trevor to wait for him. Seven years later, Niall has returned, disillusioned and cynical - so being blackmailed by the government into helping his former love catch a counterfeiter connected to her father doesn't improve his mood.

The now widowed Brilliana wants nothing to do with the reckless rogue who she believes abandoned her to a dreary, loveless life, but she will do anything to save her father. Yet as their fake engagement brings long-buried feelings to the surface, can she let go of the old hurt and put her pride aside? And will the pleasures of their renewed passion enable them both to rediscover love?

The Pleasures of Passion is the fourth novel in the Sinful Suitors series and while you probably could read it without reading the others first, I would suggest you do read the books in order so that you can fully understand the dynamics of the characters (especially the secondary characters in the book). Plus, then you’ll have been excited for Niall and Bree’s story since they were first mentioned.

I liked both Niall and Bree and their relationship together was delightful. The way that Niall brought out the best in Bree was really uplifting and while there were plenty of times I wanted to shake Niall for being a dunce when it came to Bree’s feelings, together they were definitely better than they were alone. It’s hard not to enjoy a couple like that.

I’ll admit that I was worried that with the couple’s long separation and each blaming the other for it, we would be in for a whole heap of drama and tedious emotional angst with this story. Luckily, that was not the case. While there was plenty of emotion and chemistry between the characters, I found it never strayed into pointless drama which made me root for them both even more than I had been.

I’m a huge fan of Sabrina Jeffries’ work and this book didn’t disappoint. It had her trademark humour, banter and sparkling chemistry coupled with the great writing, scene setting and ever-present sensuality. I would definitely recommend this book but probably would suggest you buy it alongside the first three books in the series (The Art of Sinning, The Study of Seduction and The Danger of Desire) if you haven’t already done so. 5 stars.

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Title: The Thing About Love
Author: Julie James
Series: /
Pages: 380 
Genre(s): Contemporary
Hot Buttons: / 

FBI agents Jessica Harlow and John Shepherd have a past. The former lawyer and cocky Army Ranger clashed during their training at Quantico and gladly went their separate ways after graduating from the Academy. Six years later, the last thing either of them expects is to be assigned to work as partners in a high-profile undercover sting.

For both of them, being paired with an old rival couldn’t come at a worse time. Recently divorced from a Hollywood producer and looking for a fresh start, Jessica is eager to prove herself at her new field office. And John is just one case away from his dream assignment to the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team. In order to nail a corrupt Florida politician, they’ll have to find a way to work together—a task that becomes even trickier when they’re forced to hole up at a romantic beachfront resort as part of the investigation. Suddenly, the heat behind their nonstop sparring threatens to make the job a lot more complicated...

It seems like an absolute age since Julie James last wrote a book and so I couldn’t wait to get stuck into this story.

Firstly, I’m not a massive fan of the cover of the book. It gives the impression that the story is more of a romantic suspense or gritty story when it’s more of a straight, contemporary romance. Anyway, I’m not letting that affect my rating of the book.

As with many of Julie James previous books, our heroine, Jessica, and our hero, John, are initially at odds with each other due to previous history when they were both FBI recruits at basic training. When they find themselves working with each other 6 years later, they simply start right where they left off with their fighting, sniping and banter.

That’s one of the things I adore about Julie James - she writes banter so well. The pair bounced off each other and it was witty, fun and sexy. Jess and John, too, were well developed and interesting. I believed them and was rooting for them. This was the kind of story that you needed to get back to just so you could find out what they were going to do to resolve the issues they had.

There’s no ‘big bad’ in this story so the main focus is on Jess, John, their relationship and the trials and tribulations of being in the FBI. I like the FBI element almost as much as I like it when Ms James’ writes about lawyers. I hope she continues with this kind of story and I’d love to see John’s brother, Nate, find a girl from the FBI in her next book!


So what stopped it from getting the full 5 stars? Well, I just didn’t feel this book had the sparkle of her previous books. To be fair, I adore her previous books so she’s set a high standard for herself and I know that not every book will be just as amazing. This book just didn’t quite reach those heights.

There was also quite a lot of explanation of FBI terms and procedures and the like. I needed to know the details but at times I felt the explaining was almost a side-note to the story as if the author pulled us away from the story for a moment just so she could impart the knowledge she’d gained in the (presumably immense) research for this book.

And finally, I could have done with a little more angry banter between John and Jessica at the start of the novel. Sure, I got that they didn’t like each other in the Academy but thinking back to the exhilarating banter between J.D. and Payton in Practice Makes Perfect, I could have done with something, well, more, between John and Jess in this story.

That seems like quite a lot of grievances but I honestly did like this story. Don’t make the mistake I did and read the negative reviews of this book before reading it as this can easily cloud your enjoyment of what is a really fun book. It still has Julie James’ sparkling wit and great characters and it has definitely been worth the ridiculously long wait to have this book in my hands. There’s even a fun set of questions at the end of the book so you can read and enjoy with your book club. I wasn’t expecting to be quizzed at the end of the book so I skipped those pages but it was still a fun addition!  Hopefully Ms James’ next book won’t take nearly as long to get here but this one still gets 4 stars from me.

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Title: The Trouble with Honor
Author: Julia London
Series: Cabot Sisters
Pages: 384
Genre(s): Historical, Regency
Hot Buttons: /

Desperate times call for daring measures as Honor Cabot, the eldest stepdaughter of the wealthy Earl of Beckington, awaits her family’s ruin. Upon the earl's death she and her sisters stand to lose the luxury of their grand home—and their place on the pedestal of society—to their stepbrother and his social-climbing fiancée. Forced to act quickly, Honor makes a devil's bargain with the only rogue in London who can seduce her stepbrother’s fiancée out of the Cabots’ lives for good.

An illegitimate son of a duke, George Easton was born of scandal and grows his fortune through dangerous risks. But now he and Honor are dabbling in a perilous dance of seduction that puts her reputation and his jaded heart on the line. And as unexpected desire threatens to change the rules of their secret game, the stakes may become too high even for a notorious gambler and a determined, free-spirited debutante to handle.

From the description, I was expecting a certain type of book so I was pleasantly surprised when it didn't follow the expected pattern. The stepbrother was actually very loving, the conniving fiancee wasn’t pure evil and the predicament the Cabot family found themselves was quite understandable and believable. I honestly don’t mind a predictable plot but it was nice to see something I wasn’t expecting.

Honor isn’t your usual sort of heroine - actually, she’s a little bit of a pain in the bum - but for some reason I couldn’t help but like her. I felt that she hid her true feelings and character behind her charming smile and flippant, rule-breaking demeanour. And I suppose that’s where my initial problem with this book started. I felt I didn’t ever get to uncover those true feelings or her true character. It was the same across the novel and the characters - we are teased that there is depth to these people, these feelings, these interactions - but we never get to actually witness or feel them. I was desperate for more. To make me believe what’s going on. But it didn’t happen.

I liked George, too. He was another slightly unusual character who I, surprisingly, found myself feeling heartily sorry for at times due to how members of the ton were treating him or talking about him behind his back.

The other Cabot sisters had minor roles in the book, although Grace had the biggest, and I’m assuming we’ll get to find out more about them in the other Cabot Sister novels. I’m beginning to wonder if Monica will also get her own book in the future as there were chapters devoted to her in this book which seemed slightly, well, pointless, as part of Honor and George’s story.

I did like Honor and George’s interactions and their banter made me smile. However, due to the lack of depth of feeling, I felt the sex in the book was a little superficial and I admit to skimming over it after the first couple of encounters.

A number of Americanisms were smattered throughout the book but, worse than that, were bits of appalling grammar that I am shocked come from any published author.

This was a pleasant diversion for an afternoon but I can’t say that I would ever pick it up again to read so can’t honestly recommend it other than to those with it already on their ‘to be read’ pile. It’s such a shame because there was so much promise in the book but ultimately, it just wasn’t for me.

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Title: In Her Best Friend's Bed
Author: J. Margot Critch
Series: Friends with Benefits
Pages: 224
Genre(s): Mills & Boon Blaze, Harlequin Blaze
Hot Buttons: /

She wants him so much!

Abby Shaw has had enough. She’s done with relationships (why are guys always so needy??) and wants to focus on getting her career off the ground. The fact that Trevor Jones—her new best bud and her boss—is seriously hot shouldn’t complicate things at all. But, that deliciously hard, tattooed body? A kiss that suggests hours—and nights—of wicked pleasure? Yep, Trevor is trouble…

Abby and Trevor can’t resist turning “just friends” into “friends with sexy benefits.” Which means lots of hot sex, no messy emotions. It's the perfect arrangement—at first. But their searing sexual chemistry verges on becoming dangerously intimate…and Abby will do just about anything to keep herself from falling in love with Trevor Jones.

I primarily bought this book because it was the follow on story from In the Boss’s Bed by the same author. While I wasn’t particularly keen on that story, I still wanted to give this one a chance and see the love story of Abby and Trevor - who first appeared in the first book. Sadly, I wasn’t hugely overwhelmed with this story, either.

The story started off strongly as Abby and Trevor are introduced to us (you don’t need to have read the In the Boss’s Bed first) and you get the anticipation of the start of their relationship. This is when they come to their deal of friends with benefits. The first time they get together is very hot and sexy and everything looked good for a fun story…

…but it suddenly seemed to get a bit stale. The story seemed to be the pair having sex, wondering what they were going to do since they weren’t in a place in their lives to have a relationship, a wee bit about their fledgling careers and another bit of sex thrown in for good measure. I love a sexy story and I love a Blaze romance but when the story seems to be predominantly sex and you find yourself skimming through those parts, there’s something amiss.

The writing was fine and the story did hold my interest - for a while at least - I just couldn’t really feel anything for the romance story and didn’t really believe in it or the love between Abby and Trevor, I’m afraid.

So, not a story for me but not really offensive in any way. I wouldn’t recommend you rush out and buy it but if it’s already in your ‘to be read’ pile then it whiles away a couple of hours. 2 stars.

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