Book Review: Say No To The Duke

Title: SAY NO TO THE DUKE

Author: Eloisa James

ISBN: 9780062877826

Price: $7.99

On-Sale Date: 6/25/19

Cover Copy:

Could she possibly refuse a duke’s hand—in favor of a sardonic, sinful rake?

Lady Betsy Wilde’s first season was triumphant by any measure, and a duke has proposed—but before marriage, she longs for one last adventure.

No gentleman would agree to her scandalous plan—but Lord Jeremy Roden is no gentleman. He offers a wager. If she wins a billiards game, he’ll provide the breeches.

If he wins…she is his, for one wild night.

But what happens when Jeremy realizes that one night will never be enough? In the most important battle of his life, he’ll have to convince Betsy to say no to the duke.

Author Bio:

 Eloisa James is a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author and professor of English literature, who lives with her family in New York, but can sometimes be found in Paris or Italy. She is the mother of two and, in a particularly delicious irony for a romance writer, is married to a genuine Italian knight. Visit her at www.eloisajames.com.

Excerpt:

They moved toward each other as if they were following the steps of a very slow, very grand country dance. One that was danced by kings and queens and countryfolk alike.

When they were  beside each other, she  squared her shoulders and met his eyes. “I decided to come to you. I hope that is all right.” 

“I do believe that you are the bravest woman I’ve ever met,” he replied.

He couldn’t have said anything better; Betsy felt herself begin to glow. “I haven’t been brave to this point, but I have made up my mind to change. I outlawed being nervous, but now I need to outlaw being afraid.” She hesitated. “I have chosen courage, and now I choose happiness.”

“I love you as you are,” he whispered, and then his mouth came down on hers.

Her breath caught in her throat because their tongues met as if they kissed every day, every night. He tasted right, which sent a shiver through her whole  body, and pushed her against him gently, the way a pebble might roll up a beach when the tide comes in.

One doesn’t fight the tide.

Review: The first thing I have to say about this book is about the cover. OMG the girl looks like a cross between Kimberley Paisley and Mila Kunis. It drove me batty reading it because I watch According To Jim and That 70s Show a lot.

The story is a cute one, with our heroine having a mother that fled her marriage and children to be with another man. Betsy wants to be the exact opposite of the passionate woman who was her mother and be acceptable to the Ton. She's done that too gaining proposals left and right.

I enjoyed this book, but I also had to put that part of me that loves a good accurately told story aside while reading it.

It was witty and cute, but the time frame of the novel was at the time following the revolutionary war, so the 1780s. Betsy used a reference to The Frog Prince when talking to Jeremy. I'm not sure that tale would have been well known in the UK then.

Betsy was a lot more complex than she seems to be, suffering from mommy issues as she seems to be. She struggles to be what she is not, even though who she is, is a pretty nice person.

Jeremy is really lovable. He's a little on the snarky side and likes go to goat Betsy for her suitors and proposals but you can tell its the picking on someone because you like them kind of thing.

Both characters have things in their past the shape them. With Betsy its her mother's actions and with Jeremy its something that happened on the battlefield.

I wish the resolution between Jeremy and his cousin wouldn't have been so easily done, especially since it didn't really seem necessary to the story. I felt that the book really should have ended when Betsy "Said No To The Duke."

Speaking of the Duke, I did like Thaddeus, and I wish he didn't have such a stick up his bum, because I'd like to see him end up with someone to suit him. He wasn't nasty or vicious, he was just very particular. Oh and his mum was the best as was Betsy's aunt.

This wasn't the best Eloisa James book, but it was good fun!

Rating: 4 flowers

Tasty Book Tours Book Review: Three Weeks With Lady X

Three Weeks with Lady X

Desperate Duchesses #7

By: Eloisa James

Releasing March 25^th, 2014

Blurb

The next fabulous romance by New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James. Having made a fortune, Thorn Dautry, the powerful bastard son of a duke, decides that he needs a wife. But to marry a lady, Thorn must acquire a gleaming, civilized façade, the specialty of Lady Xenobia India. Exquisite, headstrong, and independent, India vows to make Thorn marriageable in just three weeks. But neither Thorn nor India anticipate the forbidden passion that explodes between them. Thorn will stop at nothing to make India his. Failure is not an option. But there is only one thing that will make India his . . . the one thing Thorn can't afford to lose . . . his fierce and lawless heart.

Link to Desperate Duchesses Series at Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/series/43059-desperate-duchesses

Buy Link

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DB365KW/ref=cm_sw_su_dp?tag=avonromancehc-20

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/three-weeks-with-lady-x-eloisa-james/1116328667?cm_mmc=affiliates-_-linkshare-_-mdxm68jzjz8-_-10%3a1&ean=9780062223906&isbn=9780062223906&r=1

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/three-weeks-with-lady-x/id660508099?mt=11

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/three-weeks-with-lady-x/Ks5yBDPdm02hSfFr_6uD6Q?MixID=Ks5yBDPdm02hSfFr_6uD6Q&PageNumber=1&utm_source=linkshare_us&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=linkshare_us&siteID=MdXm68JZJz8-JpXzx5b7v..6drb_BB1l.Q

Link to Follow Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2014/01/now-booking-tasty-virtual-tour-for_5308.html

Excerpt: “I am not afraid of you,” India said, keeping her voice even. “But I believe that Laetitia could do much better than marry a man who considers her a noodle and wants to treat her well merely because he paid for her!”

At that, he threw back his head and roared with laughter. “You’re a romantic! Under all that brass and bluster, you’re a romantic!”

India balled up her fist and struck him on the shoulder as hard as she could. He did not flinch at the blow, but he fell backward a step, still laughing. She turned to go, muttering under her breath.

He caught her arm. “What did you say, India?”

She turned her head and glared at him. “Let go of me!”

“Not until you tell me what you said.” That dimple again.

“I said that you were a bastard,” she told him, straight out.

“You’re correct.” The man was damnably attractive when he laughed. His gray eyes turned warm. And warm was dangerous because it made India feel warm too.

Review: If you like historical romance, you have to read Eloisa James. Her books never fail to make me smile and this one was fabulous!

Lady X is Lady Xenobia, I know, I felt like she should be some sort of spy, but what she was, was actually an interior decorator of sorts. Thorn is the bastard son of a duke who is searching for a wife. He has one in mind, so enter Lady X.

It is easy to see, his first choice isn't going to work because the chemistry between Xenobia and Thorn is instantaneous. I loved the letters that they exchanged while she was working at making his estate inhabitable for a gently bred lady.

Xenobia (India) and Thorn are both character with baggage from their past. Neither had what would be called "good" childhoods and that has really shaped who they are and what they want (or think they want out of life)

India seems to have a better head on her shoulders when it comes to love. Thorn on the other hand needs to be shaken a few times throughout the story.

I love the secondary characters too. When you read an Eloisa James book, you feel like the characters are old friends and family, even if you've never read one of her books.

This book is part of a series. It is actually the 7th book in that series, but it is definitely a stand alone novel, and a must read for lovers of historical romance!

Rating: 5 flowers

Author Info

New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James writes historical romances for HarperCollins Publishers. Her novels have been published to great acclaim. A reviewer from USA Today wrote of Eloisa's very first book that she "found herself devouring the book like a dieter with a Hershey bar;" later People Magazine raved that "romance writing does not get much better than this." Her novels have repeatedly received starred reviews from Publishers' Weekly and Library Journal and regularly appear on the best-seller lists.

After graduating from Harvard University, Eloisa got an M.Phil. from Oxford University, a Ph.D. from Yale and eventually became a Shakespeare professor, publishing an academic book with Oxford University Press. Currently she is a distinguished professor and head of the Creative Writing program at Fordham University in New York City. Her "double life" is a source of fascination to the media and her readers. In her professorial guise, she's written a New York Times op-ed defending romance, as well as articles published everywhere from women's magazines such as Good Housekeeping and More to writers' journals such as the Romance Writers' Report.

Author Links

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/86778.Eloisa_James

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eloisajames

Website: http://www.eloisajames.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EloisaJames

Rafflecopter Giveaway (A Print Copy of Desperate Duchesses #6, A DUKE OF HER OWN)

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Book Review: Raising Steam

Author: Terry Pratchett
Title: Raising Steam
Publisher: Doubleday
Publish Date: March 18, 2014
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Edelweiss
Book Blurb: 

Steam is rising over Discworld, driven by Mister Simnel, the man with a flat cap and a sliding rule. He has produced a great clanging monster of a machine that harnesses the power of all of the elements-earth, air, fire, and water-and it's soon drawing astonished crowds.

To the consternation of Ankh-Morpork's formidable Patrician, Lord Vetinari, no one is in charge of this new invention. This needs to be rectified, and who better than the man he has already appointed master of the Post Office, the Mint, and the Royal Bank: Moist von Lipwig. Moist is not a man who enjoys hard work-unless it is dependent on words, which are not very heavy and don't always need greasing. He does enjoy being alive, however, which makes a new job offer from Vetinari hard to refuse. Moist will have to grapple with gallons of grease, goblins, a fat controller with a history of throwing employees down the stairs, and some very angry dwarfs if he's going to stop it all from going off the rails…

Review: It is hard to believe that Raising Steam is Pratchett's 40th Discworld novel.  This novel stars one of my favorite characters from this series, Moist Von Lipwig.

Thanks to the tv movie for Going Postal, I've a perfect picture of Moist and his wife

This novel shows Discworld coming into a more modern age, with the steam engine build by Mister Simnel. This book doesn't have quite the laughs that Pratchett's earlier works have, but we must remember that there are forcing beyond his control that affect his writing.

However that doesn't stop this from being a powerful novel about how new technology affects people, whether embracing the new ideas or being fearful of them. Pratchett does a wonderful job bringing those emotions to life.

I love that Moist is the character he chose to help this story along. I love this guy and it was great to see his relationship with Adora Belle. Oh and when Moist saves the kids from the train tracks! Splendid.

If you haven't ventured to Discworld, you'll want to start further back, because there are so many people you need to meet before you get here, but if these characters are old friends, you'll enjoy the ride with this one.

Rating: 4 flowers

Tasty Book Tours Book Review: No Good Duke Goes Unpunished

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished

The Third Rule of Scoundrels

By: Sarah MacLean

Blurb

A rogue ruined...
He is the Killer Duke, accused of murdering Mara Lowe on the eve of her wedding. With no memory of that fateful night, Temple has reigned over the darkest of London’s corners for twelve years, wealthy and powerful, but beyond redemption. Until one night, Mara resurfaces, offering the one thing he’s dreamed of...absolution.

A lady returned...
Mara planned never to return to the world from which she’d run, but when her brother falls deep into debt at Temple’s exclusive casino, she has no choice but to offer Temple a trade that ends in her returning to society and proving to the world what only she knows...that he is no killer.

A scandal revealed...
It’s a fine trade, until Temple realizes that the lady-and her past-are more than they appear. It will take every bit of his strength to resist the pull of this mysterious, maddening woman who seems willing to risk everything for honor . . . and to keep from putting himself on the line for love

Buy Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Good-Duke-Goes-Unpunished-Scoundrels-ebook/dp/B00BEFPSMA/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no-good-duke-goes-unpunished-sarah-maclean/1114315282?ean=9780062068545

BAM: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/No-Good-Duke-Goes-Unpunished/Sarah-MacLean/9780062068545?id=5752052977508

Indie: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062068545

Link to Follow Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/11/now-booking-tasty-virtual-tour-for-no.html

Excerpt:

TEMPLE

Whitefawn Abbey, Devonshire

November 1819

He woke with a splitting head and a hard cock.

            The situation was not uncommon. He had, after all, woken each day for more than half a decade with one of the items in question, and on more mornings than he could count with both.

            William Harrow, Marquess of Chapin and heir to the dukedom of Lamont was wealthy, titled, privileged and` handsome—and a young man blessed with those traits rarely wanted for anything relating to wine or women.

            So it was that on this morning, he did not fret. Knowing (as skilled drinkers do) that the splitting head would dissipate by midday, he moved to cure the other affliction and, without opening his eyes, reached for the female no doubt nearby.

            Except, she wasn’t.

            Instead of a handful of warm, willing flesh, William came up with a handful of unsatisfying pillow.

            He opened his eyes, the bright light of the Devonshire sun assaulting his senses and emphasizing the thundering in his head.

He cursed. He draped one forearm over his closed eyes, sunlight burning red behind the lids, and took a deep breath.

Daylight was the fastest way to ruin a morning.

            Likely, it was for the best that the woman from the previous evening had disappeared, though the memory of lovely lush breasts, a mane of auburn curls and a mouth made for sin did bring with it a wave of regret.

            She had been gorgeous.

            And in bed—

            In bed she’d been—

            He stilled.

He couldn’t remember.

            Surely he hadn’t had that much drink. Had he? She’d been tall and full of curves, made just the way he liked his women, a match for the height and breadth that was too often his curse when it came to women. He did not like feeling like he might crush a girl.

And she’d had smile that made him think of innocence and sin all at once. She’d refused to tell him her name . . . refused to hear his . . .

            Utter perfection.

            And her eyes—he’d never seen eyes like hers, one the blue of the summer sea, and one just on the edge of green. He’d spent too long looking at those eyes, fascinated by them, wide and welcoming.

            They’d crept through the kitchens and up the servants’ stairs to his room, she’d poured him a scotch . . .

            And that was all he remembered.

            Good Lord. He had to stop drinking.

            Just as soon as today was over. He would need drink to survive his father’s wedding day—the day William gained his fourth stepmother. Younger than all the others. Younger than him.

            And very very rich.    

            Not that he’d met her, this paragon of brideliness. He’d meet her at the ceremony and not before, just as he’d done the other three. And then, once the familial coffers had been once again filled, he would leave. Back to Oxford, having done his duty and played the role of doting son. Back to the glorious, libidinal life that belonged to the heir to the dukedom, filled with drink and dice and women and not a worry in the world.

            Back to the life he adored.

            But tonight, he would honor his father and greet his new mother and pretend that he cared for the sake of propriety. And perhaps, after he was done playing the role of heir, he’d seek out the playful young thing from the gardens and do his best to recall the events of the night before.

            Thank Heaven for country estates and well-attended nuptials. There wasn’t a female in creation who could resist the sexual lure of a wedding, and because of that, William had a great affinity for holy matrimony.

            How lucky that his father had such a knack for it.

            He grinned and stretched wide in the bed, throwing one arm wide across the cool linen sheets.

            Cold linen sheets.

            Cold wet linen sheets.

            What in hell?

            His eyes flew open.

            It was only then that he realized it wasn’t his room.

            It wasn’t his bed.

            And the red wash across the bedsheets, dampening his fingers with its sticky residue, was not his blood.

            Before he could speak, or move, or understand, the door to the strange bedchamber opened and a maid appeared, fresh-faced and eager.

            There were a dozen different things that could have gone through his mind at that moment . . . a hundred of them. And yet, in the fleeting seconds between the young maid’s entrance and her notice of him, William thought of only one thing—that he was about to ruin the poor girl’s life.

            He knew, without doubt, that she would never again casually open a door, or spread sheets across a bed, or bask in the rare, bright sunlight of a Devonshire winter morning without remembering this moment.

            A moment he could not change.

He did not speak when she noticed him, nor when she froze in place, nor when she went deathly pale and her brown eyes—funny that he noticed their color—went wide with first recognition and then horror.

Nor did he speak when she opened her mouth and screamed. No doubt he would have done the same, had he been in her position.

It was only when she was through with that first, ear-shattering shriek—the one that brought footmen and maids and wedding guests and his father running—that he spoke, taking the quiet moment before the coming storm to ask, “Where am I?”

The maid simply stared, dumbstruck.

He made to move from the bed, the sheets falling to his waist, stopping short as he realized his clothes were nowhere in sight.

He was naked. In a bed that was not his own.

And he was covered in blood.

He met the maid’s horrified gaze again, and when he spoke, the words came out young and full of something he would later identify as fear. “Whose bed is this?”

Remarkably, she found her answer without stuttering. “Miss Lowe.”

Miss Mara Lowe, daughter of a wealthy financier, with a dowry large enough to catch a duke.

Miss Mara Lowe, soon-to-be the Duchess of Lamont.

His future stepmother.

Review: This was such an unexpectedly wonderful read. The prologue sets up the story of the son of the Duke of Lamont, on the morn of his father's marriage, wakes up naked in the bed of his future stepmother, and he is covered in blood.

For twelve years he's believed that he just might have killed Mara Lowe and then she shows up in his life again.

For me, this book was all about Temple, The Killer Duke. I adored him from the very start. He was a bit of a rogue in the Prologue, but there was something about him even then that you had to love. 

Mara was a bit harder to warm up to, maybe if Sarah would have let the reader in on the reasoning of her wanting to stage her own death, it would have been easier to like her. It was even harder to like her brother, who gambled away her dowry. He was truly detestable.

But Mara isn't totally unlikable. She runs a boy's home and she's marvelously good at it. I loved the scene where Temple is teaching the boys and Mara how to fight. (Later in the book, Mara puts that knowledge to the test)

Unlike a lot of historical romances, this story isn't light and fluffy. It is dark and it plays on the emotions. Mostly, you see the struggles the Temple has gone through.  He is a strong character and you want him to get his reputation back. You have to root for him.

Once Mara reveals her reasoning for her disappearing, you start to have more sympathy for her character, and for a short time even her brother, but that isn't very long. It would have been nice to get to know her more. I felt she needed more of a back story than what was given, perhaps a bit more of Temple's past as well, I would have liked to have know what sort of man his father was.

Still, Sarah MacLean has delivered a wonderful historical read that you won't want to pass up.

Author Info

Sarah MacLean grew up in Rhode Island, obsessed with historical romance and bemoaning the fact that she was born far too late for her own season. Her love of all things historical helped to earn her degrees from Smith College and Harvard University before she finally set pen to paper and wrote her first book.

Sarah now lives in New York City with her husband, their dog, and a ridiculously large collection of romance novels. She loves to hear from readers. Please visit her at www.macleanspace.com

Author Links

http://macleanspace.com/

https://www.facebook.com/sarahmaclean

https://twitter.com/sarahmaclean

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