Tag Archives: historical romance

the gentleman next door

Book Review of The Gentlemen Next Door series, by Cecilia Gray

I’m still working to clear all the novelettes from my To Be Read shelf, but this week I’ve opted for something a little different. Instead of focusing of those books within a certain page length range (I’m up to 60-69), I’m going to clear a whole novelette series away.

With that in mind I present you with Cecilia Gray‘s The Gentleman Next Door Series. I Picked these up from Amazon when they were free.

the gentleman next door

The Gentlemen Next Door, because sometimes a lady in need of love need look no further than next door.


A Delightful Arrangement (The Gentlemen Next Door, #1)I am not a huge regency romance fan and that should probably be taken into account, but I found this cute. Yes, Fran annoyed me by being so unaware of her own feelings and eventually in the requisite “I don’t know what this feeling in my body is” sex scene. (I basically just dislike that sort of sex scene in general.) And yes, even though I liked Philip, the whole story hinged on his not telling her how he feels, which is a little too close to the ‘misunderstand’ trope for my liking. You always knew exactly where this story was going and how it’d get there, but, if you like the sort of thing, it’s a cute read.

An Illicit Engagement (The Gentlemen Next Door, #2): I believe I liked this one more than the first. I think it and the characters weren’t quite as developed, but I preferred them and this story. This is also a clean read, no sex.

A Dangerous Expectation (The Gentlemen Next Door, #3)This was another cute addition to the series, but it had a bit too drastic a change of personality in the MC to bring about the happy ending. Clean read, writing was good, could do with a bit more editing.

 A Flirtatious Rendezvous (The Gentlemen Next Door, #4): This was my least favorite of the series. I didn’t at all feel the history the two MCs were supposed to have and his change of heart came out of nowhere, giving him no time to redeem himself in my eyes for being a jerk.Writing was fine and it’s another clean read.

Untamed

Book Review of Untamed, by Anna Cowan

UntamedI bought an ecopy of Untamed, by Anna Cowan.

Description from Goodreads:
Outspoken and opinionated, Katherine Sutherland is ill at ease amongst the fine ladies of Regency London. She is more familiar with farmers and her blunt opinions and rough manners offend polite society. Yet when she hears the scandalous rumours involving her sister and the seductive Duke of Darlington, the fiercely loyal Katherine vows to save her sister’s marriage – whatever the cost.

Intrigued by Katherine’s interference in his affairs, the manipulative Duke is soon fascinated. He engages in a daring deception and follows her back to her country home. Here, their intense connection shocks them both. But the Duke’s games have dangerous consequences, and the potential to throw both their lives into chaos…

Review:
Oh so marvelous! I was recently bemoaning the fact that I am so often disappointed in het romance book. In fact, I’ve largely given up reading them. Then someone described this book to me and I thought, ‘well I have to try that don’t I?’

But before I do, I want to address that cover. It’s a perfectly fine cover, but it doesn’t give you a clue to the raucous characters you will find within it.  I’d never have picked it up had I not been given a very strong recommendation.

Ok, with that out of the way, I loved Kit and the Duke. I just loved them. I loved the way she was so strong and he was so fragile. I just loved it. Now, another reviewer that I respect spoke to the fact that this is only just a reversal of male/female characteristics, not a true subversion of them. And I agree whole-heartedly. Really, it just highlights them in relief, which is still reinforcing them in a sense. But, experientially, I so enjoyed reading it that I’m going to overlook this fact.

There was also a certain intensity to the writing that I just wanted to roll around in. It was lush, even if it did occasionally cut into clarity. Again, just the experience of submerging myself in it was diabolically wonderful.

And (mild spoiler) as much as I loved that the happy ending came about almost entirely at the active, purposeful hand of Kit, I did think it was all a little too saccharinely perfect. She got her man, her title, her riches and her revenge. It was too much. But I’m still going to overlook that fact simply because I otherwise loved the book so much.

The Duchess War

Book Review of The Duchess War, by Courtney Milan

The Duchess WarI picked up a copy of The Duchess War, by Courtney Milan, from the Amazon free list. At the time of posting, it was still free.

Description from Goodreads:
Miss Minerva Lane is a quiet, bespectacled wallflower, and she wants to keep it that way. After all, the last time she was the center of attention, it ended badly–so badly that she changed her name to escape her scandalous past. Wallflowers may not be the prettiest of blooms, but at least they don’t get trampled. So when a handsome duke comes to town, the last thing she wants is his attention.

But that is precisely what she gets.

Because Robert Blaisdell, the Duke of Clermont, is not fooled. When Minnie figures out what he’s up to, he realizes there is more to than her spectacles and her quiet ways. And he’s determined to lay her every secret bare before she can discover his. But this time, one shy miss may prove to be more than his match…

Review:
I really really enjoyed the first half of the book, but I knew I was in for trouble when the H & h got together at roughly the 50% mark. I thought, well, what nonsense is the author going to toss out there to fill the rest of the pages? And that’s pretty much what it felt like, a bunch of needless drama to fill pages. Plus, it got too saccharine sweet for my tastes, what with EVERYONE needing their happy ending.

I did appreciate the non-alpha, damaged hero, the smart, feisty heroine and the lesbian aunts. I thought the writing was pretty good. And considering I generally avoid historical romances like the plague I’m shocked to have liked this as much as I did, but again, the beginning far more than the end.