Review: The Lion And The Lark by Doreen Owens Malek

Author - Doreen Owens Malek
Genre - Historical Romance
Series - N/A
Format - Ebook (205p.)
Rating - 4/5 stars

The Year is 44 B. C. Julius Caesar is dead. And as rebellion divides Italy and Britain, a Roman centurion and a Celtic princess forge a bond no woman or man can rend asunder…

To ensure peace between her tribe and their savage conquerors, the exquisite Bronwen has been promised in wedlock to a high-born Roman tribune. But the British beauty is also a secret spy ready to risk her life to free her people.

Dispatched to Britain by Mark Antony, Claudius is irresistibly drawn to the flaxen-haired, cobalt-eyed Bronwen. Yet he knows he dare not trust the woman who is bound to him by law—not love.

• Review •
I enjoyed this story a lot. The characters were excellently portrayed and I felt for each and every one of them. I was rooting for Bronwen and Claudius throughout the tale and was happy when it was clear they would achieve their HEA. I also liked the sub-romance between Brettix and Lucia and would have liked to read more about them. It works out good though. The ending was a bit lackluster and abrupt for me. I wanted more, I wasn't ready to say goodbye to any of these characters!

That said, I had some issues with the huge amount of typos and the inconsistent pacing. Neither were bad enough to pull me from the story, but they were annoying at times. Although, some of the typos did lend some comic relief to an otherwise serious tale, like the heroine taking her own lips in a passionate kiss or kissing her own eyelids… That's just a couple examples of the many errors and I'm quite surprised proofreaders/editors/someone didn't catch them. That's the reason for a lower mark from me. THE LION AND THE LARK is a great story though and I highly recommend it to romance readers that love early history as well.

Cover musings:

The cover is okay. The people don't look like how I imagined Bronwen and Claudius but close enough. The scenery is off as well considering most of the story is told in the middle of winter with a lot of snow…

Favorite moment:

When Claudius and Bronwen finally consummated their marriage after what seemed like forever and wondering if they would ever be able to overcome their differences… Very emotional and moving.

★★★★

Review: Texas Lily by Patricia Rice

Author - Patricia Rice
Genre - Historical Western Romance
Series - Too Hard To Handle #1
Format - Ebook (384p.)
Rating - 2/5 stars

Lily Porter is newly a widow with a child to raise and a cattle ranch to run in the Texas frontier aflame with violence, and where a woman is to be seen not heard.

She needs a man to stand up for her land.

His name is Cade. Part Apache brave and part Mexican grandee, Cade has a past and a secret. But he possesses the power and passion to command all in his path.

Lily welcomes Cade into her struggle against treachery and terror—and discovers a love worth risking everything to keep.

• Review •
TEXAS LILY is such a wallbanger! Very long and drawn out. Pacing is just horrendous. The only part of this book I found mildly enjoyable was the interactions between Cade and Lily. Sort of. I didn't care for the raping part. They had decent back stories, the rest of the characters as well. I didn't like them very much except for Travis though. The writing was good if a little spastic with the thousands of plots. Think Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Little House On The Prairie meets  modern day soap opera… every new page was practically a new plot disaster/dilemma/EndOfTheWorld!Ohnoez!!!!111!! ordeal. Unless Cade and Lily were having sex of course, in which case the smut would go on for several pages.

Another problem I had was with the mathematics (which I admit, I suck at math). But the story starts in 1824, then it's 1835. Lily is knocked up during the prologue and in chapter 1 the kid is 8… and Lily says her and Jim had been living on the farm for 9 years but hadn't moved there until the kid was born. Unless I'm missing something, that just doesn't add up. I should have DNF'ed the book then and there… Very disappointed with TEXAS LILY, and it has effectively put me in a reading funk. I'd imagine people who like historical fiction would like this book, but for a romance I'd look elsewhere. This book is about as romantic as a colonic.

Cover musings:

I like it a lot. It was the driving force in my picking up this book. The people don't portray the characters in the book accurately though which is disappointing.

★★

Requested Review: The Wicked Wager by Anya Wylde

Author - Anya Wylde
Genre - Historical Romance/Cozy Mystery
Series -N/A
Format - Ebook (233p.)
Rating - 4.5/5 stars

*Source: Ebook provided by the author for review*

The infamous rake, Lord Richard Hamilton, has finally chosen his bride—the very appropriate Miss Emma Grey.

The ton approves, Lord Grey is pleased, Lady Grey delighted, and Emma is over the moon, but her uncle, (the blasted) Duke of Arden opposes the match, and Emma is ordered to move to the duke’s estate to think things over.

Richard Hamilton refuses to take things lying down and concocts a plan. A plan that should have brought the lovers together and had them married within a month. It was a simple matter of masquerading as the duke’s gardener, compromising the lady, and then having the duke rush them off to Gretna Green.

Alas, he underestimates the duke’s intelligence and the tangled situation on the estate—never had he imagined that compromising a lady could be so difficult.

His endeavors lead to a comedy of errors, charades, and knotty love affairs. Yet he forges ahead in spite of pesky house guests, a flea bitten mattress, his lovesick best friend, and a blackmailer.

Just when things seem to be going well, someone is murdered (very inconvenient), and he happens to be one of the suspects (extremely inconvenient).

His simple plan for winning the wager suddenly becomes… a tad complicated.

• Review •
THE WICKED WAGER was a wonderful story. I was instantly hooked on both the plot and the great characters (seriously, I love these peeps). Not to mention the writing! I'm definitely looking forward to new books by this author. I really, really liked this book. It was a relatively quick read, although the pacing did bother me a little after Raikes entered the story. It wasn't that bad, but had the writing not been as good I probably would have skimmed some parts.

Pacing issues aside, I have been recommending this book left and right to everyone I spend more than 5 minutes around. It had me chuckling many times, and I'll admit to totally forgetting to cook dinner one night. By the time I sat the book down and looked at the clock, it was too late for anything but pizza delivery. That's saying something, because in well over 30 years, less than a dozen books have ever distracted me to that extent. I had so much fun reading THE WICKED WAGER and I highly recommend it to fans of mysteries and historical fiction. While I was reading this book, I kept thinking what an awesome movie it would make as well!

Cover musings:

I like this cover. I'm a big fan of the more artistic covers and the coloring and font is nice. I wholeheartedly approve.

Favorite moment:

- When Raikes' pants split down the seam… So funny.

★★★★½

Review: A Most Dangerous Profession by Karen Hawkins

Author - Karen Hawkins
Genre - Historical Romance
Series - Hurst Amulet #3
Format - Paperback (384p.)
Rating - DNF

AN ENTRANCING THIEF
For beautiful, seductive Moira MacAllister, the stakes have become terrifyingly high. Her daughter has been abducted and a priceless ancient relic is the ransom. Moira must acquire it at any cost, even if it means confronting the man she once duped and left, a man who still doesn't know she has a child… and that he is the father.

A DASHING RAKEHELL
Robert Hurst, an operative in the king's service, has never forgiven the mysterious spy who seduced him into marriage and then disappeared without a trace. Now, as he pursues the onyx box that will save his brother's life, their paths cross again. But Robert isn't sure which he longs for more—to satisfy his lust for revenge or to quench his relentless hunger for this bewitching woman.

A PERILOUS MISSION
When Moira reveals to Robert her long-kept secret, however, he realizes his burning desires must wait as a treacherous foe closes in, threatening all they hold dear… and their second chance at love.

~ What I Liked: The blurb sounded highly intriguing. That's about it :^/

~ What I Didn't Like: I didn't care for how each chapter began with a letter to some such person. Pointless and confusing. After the fourth one, I just skipped them altogether. Also, the dialog was awful and contrived, the pacing horrendously slow and the characters uninteresting. And—to a lesser extent—the book doesn't work as a stand-alone. I was so lost. It'd probably be a good idea to read the other earlier books in the series first.

Finally, the biggest wtfery belonged to the writing! Seriously, writing in accents of any kind is such a huge pain in the ass to read for me! So annoying and insulting and—ultimately—the cause of my DNF'ing this book. If you want everyone to have a heavy accent, then say so. I can apply it in my head, thank you very much. Do not do this for paragraph after paragraph…

"Lor' love ye, guv'nor, but ye'll no' catch her in a carriage. She dinna go down the drive, but tha' way." (p.29)

Or…

"So I think, madam. I make it meself, and I add cracked pepper, too." Her chin firmed. "Me husband's mither says I have too heavy a hand wi' th' pepper mill, but I use the recipe from me beloved mither, and 'tis a guid recipe." (p.144)

~ Final Analysis: Great potential, bad execution. This was such a waste of my time (good thing I DNF'd at the 38% mark). I won't be reading the other books in this series or any historicals from this author again. Apprehensive about trying the contemporaries from the same author as well. And this is by no means a slur on the author, I have mad respect for them. They're obviously very very good at what they do, but that writing style just doesn't work for me. I prefer convenience and simplicity over authenticity.

DNF

Review: The French Maid by Sabrina Jeffries

Author - Sabrina Jeffries
Genre - Historical
Series - N/A
Format - eBook (30p.)
Rating - 4/5 stars

Lady Eleanor Langston has a problem: her husband Henry, prime-minister-in-the-making, is too caught up in his work to notice her. Despite her involvement in his various public appearances, she feels shut out of his life, especially with their one-year anniversary looming. When Henry hires a highly recommended French lady’s maid without consulting her, Eleanor’s anger can’t be contained—until she meets her. With Babette’s help, Eleanor arms herself with the one weapon that will make Henry notice her as a woman—her inner siren.

• Review •
THE FRENCH MAID is a very short (20 pgs on my Nook for PC) story. Despite it's length, I thought it was very sweet and endearing. This was my first foray into historical romance and I enjoyed it. I was shocked, although I'm sure they're not all like this book.

I'm certainly more open to reading this genre. The writing was done really well. I was worried that there would be a lot of 'thee' and 'twas' and 'thou' but there was none of that. The behaviorism's were the only thing that gave away the genre and the pet names of course. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this story and look forward to trying other books similar to it. Not on a regular basis, but certainly as an alternative.

★★★★