Eileen Dandashi
"Reading is like breathing in, writing is like breathing out" ~ Pam Allyn
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Memory Lane (2016) My choice of Book of the Year ~ it absolutely traps you, beats you down with tragedy and still the human spirit endures. Review: IN THE DREAMING HOUR by Kathryn Le Veque
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Meara Platt releases her 14th book in WICKED EARLS’ CLUB — Earl of Kinross
Title: Earl of Kinross Wicked Earls’ Club Book 14
Author: Meara Platt
Genre: Historical Romance, Regency
Pages: 117
Publication Date: October 8, 2019
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ASIN: B07XZLZ6CX
5-STAR READ
Publisher’s Summary:
Marcus Brayden, Earl of Kinross, thought fighting Napoleon on the battlefield was dangerous. But it is nothing to the upheaval caused by Lara Le Brecque, his best friend’s sister, when she climbs over his townhouse wall shortly before Christmas and attempts to sneak into his London home. Lara ought to be on the marriage mart, enjoying her London season and the holiday festivities, but when she confides the Le Brecque family problems to him, he knows he must do all he can to help…even if it means marrying Lara.
Lara Le Brecque is facing another difficult Christmas with her family in disgrace and under threat of losing all their holdings. Lara has no one else to turn to but Marcus Brayden, who has just returned home from the Napoleonic War and been awarded the Scottish earldom of Kinross for his heroism in battle. With her father under house arrest and suspected of treason, and her brother condemned as a pirate and a murderer, she must expose the villain behind this plot to destroy her family and needs Marcus to help her bring this culprit to justice. Marcus has told her to hide in his rooms at the Wicked Earls’ Club if ever she is in danger, but as she finds herself falling in love with Marcus, she realizes the greatest danger of all is to her heart.
My Thoughts:
A quick, yet engaging story with humorous moments of a woman left to fend for herself. Her brother’s good friend comes to the rescue when her life is close to hitting rock bottom. But is that what she wants?
Lara Le Brecque is a character easy to love (just a tad bit wicked!) She didn’t let her gender detour her from trying to solve her problems. She’s a character who uses humor to get through rough times. But watch out for her temper! You will love her boldly innovative means of ‘getting the job done!”
Lord Kinross, her childhood playmate has grown to be quite the hero. With Lara’s morning call by climbing over a wall to his townhouse and the hilarious scene of finding Marcus in dishabille, we discover even though this is a light moment between the two, she has big problems. The first scene had me captivated from its first paragraphs.
Her brother, Hugh, once the Visount Brixham is running as a fugitive, while her father, Earl of Stratton, is under house arrest. All these challenges throw up so many questions needing to be answered.
Marcus clinches my interest in the story when he says he’ll marry Lara if he can’t clear her father and brother’s names. Subsequently Lara throw a plate of eggs across the room.
The story sparks laughter as Lara and Marcus spar on most points–great dialogue. It gets heated with Lara’s response to the man her playmate has become (very sensuous).
I hope you pick up the book. Meara Platt’s style is her own. I highly recommend her work.
Is Jack Shadow Stirling’s Days of Plunder Over? Review: SEDUCED BY THE PIRATE by Maggi Andersen
Title: Seduced by the Pirate Pirates of Britannia Connected World
Author: Maggi Andersen
Genre: Historical Romance
Pages: 143
Published by: DragonMedia Publishing, Inc., 1 edition
Publication Date: June 25, 2019
ASIN: B07T24CYN3
Publisher’s Summary:
When a hardened pirate meets a proper English rose…
A bitter man, pirate Jack Shadow Stirling cares for little but his ship and his crew. But disaster strikes the Golden Orion; driven leagues off course in a storm, his men begin dropping like flies from typhus. Forced to anchor in a bay on the West Africa coast to see to his men and mend damage to the hull, Jack and three of his crew go in search of fresh water and meat to shore up their dwindling supplies. What he finds surprises him – an English lady, whom he likens to a rare orchid, is treating the sick from a nearby village, while her botanist brother, Alexander Bromley, searches for specimens.
Startled by pirates invading her small camp, Lydia Bromley snatches up her pistol and aims it at the tall, dark-haired, handsome devil who leads them. Unfazed, he grins at her and warns her that should she shoot him with a muff pistol, she would fail to kill him. But he would be annoyed.
Thus begins Lydia’s journey, discovering the love and romance she’d thought denied her… with a pirate!
5-STAR READ
My Review:
I love to read something where the good guy isn’t all that he should be, slightly tainted and doesn’t measure up, while the bad guy impressively steps up to the plate and wows me. Such is the case when comparing Alexander Bromley, brother and protector of his sister, Lydia, and Jack Sterling, captain of a pirate ship.
It’s also fun to watch a hardened pirate basically melt at a woman’s feet. Lydia has been much the shadow for her brother, a botanist in a place he should never be and who’s been there for two years! She doesn’t have any wiles, outwardly make of stern stuff. Jack’s interest is sparked, but dare not do his usual grab and take. This time his heart is held captive. He wants her. Such a gentleman! Who would have thought!
Circumstances show the reader the passionate and understanding woman Lydia is and destiny gives her a way out, albeit a very wet one! Destiny also provides Jack with some very valuable information. And hope.
Author Andersen kept me on the edge of my chair, thoroughly watching the antics between Jack and Lydia. Dialogue sets the tone between these two, with subtle undertones of I-wish-it-were-different.
If you are reader of the Pirates of Britannia Connected World, you’ll find Andersen’s contribution to this Dragonmedia Publishing series equally as exciting as the others.
Released last week: THE DUKE IS BUT A DREAM by Anna Bennett
Title: The Duke is But a Dream A Debutante Diaries Novel, Book 2
Author: Anna Bennett
Genre: Historical Romance, Regency
Pages: 317
Published by: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Published Date: July 30, 2019
Sold by: Macmillan
ASIN: B07H7CBJRJ
Publisher’s Summary:
She’s a secret sensation.
Miss Lily Hartley is the anonymous mastermind behind the ton’s latest obsession: The Debutante’s Revenge, a tell-all advice column for young ladies. To keep her identity hidden, Lily delivers her columns disguised as a boy—which is well and good, until she lands in the middle of tavern brawl. As luck would have it, a devastatingly handsome duke sweeps in to rescue her.
He has no idea who she is.
Eric Nash, Duke of Stonebridge, discovers there’s a beautiful woman hiding beneath a lad’s cap, and, before long, he’s falling for the delightfully clever stranger recuperating in his house. He vows to help her find her home, even though he’s reluctant to part with her. There’s only one problem…
Neither does she.
Lily has no idea who she is. She could be a duchess or maid. Betrothed or married. There’s only one thing she does know—that her attraction to Nash is more than skin-deep, and it grows stronger every day. While Lily and Nash search to find her true identity, they just might lose their hearts to each other…
My Thoughts: 5-Star Review
The storyline is very unique. Lily Hartley, a young woman with the knowledge of her sister and friend, is the writer of The Debutante’s Revenge, a rather risqué advisory column in the newspaper. Amusingly, Lily has never been in love, but she can imagine how it should make a young woman feel. She imagines her dream man, then advises women to seek him out by his qualities and how he makes her feel. The column is highly read and appreciated among young ladies and is totally frowned upon by the stronger sex and mothers.
With her family away for a couple of weeks, she decides to take several weeks of column over to the Hearsay newspaper office and do something fun to enjoy her freedom. As usual she’s disguised as a delivery boy; on her way home she happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But once I’ve said that, perhaps she was in the right place at a very right time! She was caught up in a pub brawl and suffered a very hard blow to the head. The kind of blow which creates amnesia and needs immediate attention. In walks hero Eric Nash.
Once Eric Nash, Duke of Stonebridge, realizes a young boy knocked to the floor and unconscious was a she and not a he, and feeling responsible for getting him/her injured, scoops her off the floor and takes her home before anyone could identify her.
Nash wasn’t much into parties, he’d just come back into London after being away for many years. He realized it wasn’t fair to Delilah, his sister. She needed to see society, go to balls and think about marrying. Nash’s problem was he couldn’t let go of his protective streak which grew stronger after his father and twin died.
His visit to the pub that night only adds to his worries. He brings a young woman into his household without a chaperon. And apparently, a name. He couldn’t let anyone know she was there for fear of her reputation. He wasn’t sure if she hailed from the ton or working class.
When Lily wakes she’s confused. She remembers nothing of her life, let alone the pub brawl. I’ve got to give the girl credit. She sure has pluck!
One thing Lily did know. She is attracted to Nash. In this void, a friendship and trust forms between the two, and something deeper begins to emerge. You will definitely be caught up in this sweet romance! Delilah and Lily get along splendidly. As Lily is relearning who she is, Nash is swept into her vibrant personality.
Author Anna Bennett creates a fun situation, ensuring the reader lots of smiles and chuckles. This is a sweet story, a page-turner riddled with mirth. Nash learns to love without fear and possessiveness, Delilah learns the meaning of real love the hard way, and Lily finds her prince charming. You, dear reader, will have hours of entertainment.