NOTORIOUS PLEASURES by Elizabeth Hoyt Book Review
Series: Maiden Lane, #2
Publication Date: February 1st 2011 by Vision
Book Summary: Their lives were perfect . . .
Lady Hero Batten, the beautiful sister of the Duke of Wakefield, has everything a woman could want, including the perfect fiancé. True, the Marquis of Mandeville is a trifle dull and has no sense of humor, but that doesn’t bother Hero. Until she meets his notorious brother . . .Until they met each other.
Griffin Remmington, Lord Reading, is far from perfect – and he likes it that way. How he spends his days is a mystery, but all of London knows he engages in the worst sorts of drunken revelry at night. Hero takes an instant dislike to him, and Griffin thinks that Hero, with her charities and faultless manners, is much too impeccable for society, let alone his brother. Yet their near-constant battle of wits soon sparks desire – desire that causes their carefully constructed worlds to come tumbling down. As Hero’s wedding nears, and Griffin’s enemies lay plans to end their dreams forever, can two imperfect people find perfect true love?
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Book Review, Four Stars - Amortentia Reviews, Audience: Adult, Author: Elizabeth Hoyt, Book: Notorious Pleasures, Genre: Historical romance, Publisher: Vision, Series: Maiden Lane | 
287 words
FAIRY TALE WEDDINGS by Debbie Macomber Book Review
Publication Date: November 24th 2009 by Mira
Summary: Fairy Tales Can Come True
Cindy and the Prince
Thorndike Prince—handsome, levelheaded, successful—is a high-ranking New York City executive. Cindy Territo is the janitor who cleans his office after hours. There’s no reason they’d ever meet, no reason he’d even notice her—until, on a whim and a dare, Cindy crashes his company’s Christmas ball. She dances with her Prince and then, like a proper Cinderella, flees at midnight, leaving her heart behind….
Some Kind of Wonderful
Beautiful inside and out, New York socialite Judy Lovin values family over fortune and fame. So when her father’s business collapses and his most powerful enemy offers to help—in exchange for Judy’s company—she agrees to join John McFarland on his remote Caribbean island. It isn’t long before she discovers that John’s far from the beast he seems to be!
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Book Review, Two Stars - Amortentia Reviews, Audience: Adult, Author: Debbie Macomber, Book: Fairy Tale Weddings, Genre: Romance, Publisher: Mira | 262 words
THE BASTARD by Brenda Novak
Publication Date: October 23rd 2011
Summary: To some men honor is just a word….
Jeannette Boucher, a young French beauty from a family left penniless by the revolution, must marry against her will to save them all from ruin. But almost immediately after the vows are spoken, she learns that her old English husband is impotent—and in his desire for an heir, he plans to compromise her in the worst way.
Determined to escape such a fate, she stows away on one of His Majesty’s frigates. But a woman alone is in constant danger.
To Lieutenant Treynor, honor means everything….
Born a bastard to a wayward marquise, Lieutenant Crawford Treynor was given to a poor farmer to raise and was maltreated until he ran away to join the Royal Navy. Treynor is determined to prove he’s as good as any other man and rise to captain his own frigate. But once he finds Jeannette aboard The Tempest he must decide whether to return her to the man he knows would abuse her—or risk everything, even his life, to keep her safe.
Heroine: Jeanette is a feisty French woman who keeps her familial duties first. She’s kindhearted and compassionate and she does things for the good of others. I like that Novak chose to write her character’s dialogue without the accent spelled out. Sometimes, I do find it very distracting when authors write in an accent. I think that a constant reminder of Jeanette’s nationality was enough to make a point.
Hero: I love that Treynor is honorable right down to his actions. There were so many times that he could easily have taken advantage of Jeanette, but he did not. Reading his childhood struggle as an illegitimate child was really interesting and I liked seeing him grow as a character. On a side note, I wish that the book wasn’t named The Bastard. It’s an eye-catching title, but it is so unromantic.
Supporting Cast: I think that the book was lacking most in strong secondary characters. I liked Mr. and Mrs. Hawker but after the beginning, you really don’t read much of them and I felt that their characters fell flat as a resort.
Plot: I’m a complete sucker for pirate/shipsman novels, and THE BASTARD did not disappoint. Stowaways, battle, life on a ship, etc. This one had everything that I typically look for in this kind of novel.
Romance: Novak kept up the tension between the characters all way to the end. It was very satisfying as a reader. Also, for those concerned, this one is definitely more of a cleaner romance than others.
Love Potion Strength:
– Acceptable
I’ll definitely keep an eye out for Novak’s historical romances in the future.
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Book Review, Three Stars - Amortentia Reviews, Audience: Adult, Author: Brenda Novak, Book: Bastard, Genre: Historical romance | 615 words
- Action Packed
- Borrow It
- Hahaha Funny
- Keeps You Guessing
- Heartwarmer
- Makes You Think
- Masterful World-Building
- Must Buy
- Page-Turner
- Poetic Prose
- Romantic Read
- Tear-Jerker
