Chs 11-16

I've been so incredibly busy, about 70% in now and hoping to finish this up before GOT on Sunday :)

Chs 11-16 talk............................................................................

I thought this section had a lot of sexual scenes, they were good and I liked how it didn't immediately go to penetrative sex but my eyes wanted to glaze over a couple times. This is probably where I thought the story showed its age the most, the purple prose sexual scenes really stood out. 

He was dressed in a coat of indigo velvet.

Oh man, I live for lines like this! It ties in the title which I always nerd-ly like and is a seemingly innocuous heart growing moment. Definitely a showing moment instead of telling of how important Hester is to Galen. Loved it. 

"Traitors can be anyone: mothers, fathers, individuals you may know and love. I went to prison because I was betrayed by the husband of a woman I tried to help escape."

"He didn't want to join her?"

"No. He thought his first loyalty was to his master and it outweighed all else. He found his wife's desire for freedom dishonorable."

"'Tis slavery that's dishonorable."

"Well, he didn't view it that way."

Another telling moment from Jenkins. I feel like this was a foreshadowing moment and a clue that the traitor could be someone close to Hester. 

During the War of 1812, Free Black brigades played a pivotal role in Andrew Jackson's victory at Chalmette. In December of 1814, Jackson issued a proclamation thanking them for their service to the nation during its time of need. His words on that day were now a treasured part of the race's history. During Hester's school years Jackson's proclamation had been routinely assigned as a memorization piece.

Even though I am busy, looking up and reading about all the historical moments is making this go pretty slow. This is Jackson we're talking about, so obviously there's no gushing going to happen but reading the proclamation, which if I have before, I didn't remember was interesting. 

"But we're not in the South," Hester interrupted coldly. "You're in the North where cold weather makes free Blacks insane. Isn't that what you were taught? Shall I demonstrate just how crazy I am?" she tossed out bitterly.

Again, Hester giving as good as she gets, love it. 

They were the men who believed the awful myths about the women of the race, myths that left women like herself vulnerable to attack anytime and anywhere, myths that slanderously labeled Black women as voracious in pursuit of the vices of the flesh and willing to accommodate anyone to satisfy their carnal cravings.

Another line still resonating very strongly today and proving that for as long as people want to try and make enslavement a thing of the past, the issues radiating from it still impact and linger today. 

Foster seemed to be transfixed by the sight of the bag in the sheriff’s hand.

Is this a clue??? Is Foster the traitor????

"Then turnabout is only fair play. All the brokenhearted women you've left in your wake are probably elated knowing you are being put through your paces."

"You're undoubtedly correct, but my day is coming, petite, very soon."

"Is that a threat I hear?" she asked saucily.

"No, baby girl, a promise."

Another rogue alert! Lol. 

"I want you like no other woman before, Miss Hester Wyatt, but I'll not force you, nor will I press. You are to let me know if and when you are ready."

Whoo-hoo, look at that a rogue who understands consent issues. I do side-eye Galen at times for how he pushes Hester to me with him and this is another example of I can struggle with some things in romance novels. If a guy acted like this in the real world, I'd be like "Dude, take a hint and leave her alone." but in a romance novel I know they are going to end up in love together and Hester does like him but is scared. I have such problems trying to articulate why I think Galen in a romance novel is acceptable but in real life wouldn't be.

Had Mary really loved her master? He seemed to harbor very strong feelings for her, yet he evidently lacked the ability to see the world through her eyes. Her sons had been her children, but to him they'd been chattel.

Red hot book club meeting topic to discuss. A moment that, I feel, the author is trying to put across about consent issues and how Mary isn't free and therefore can never be choosing her master to love. Just because her master seems to care for her doesn't mean she cares for him. Power dynamics and such, a lot to unpack in this brief moment in the book and there is a little part of me shocked and a whole big part of me ecstatic that Jenkins editors kept that in there because Jenkins is saying a whole heck of a lot with this moment. 

This section started to really give me Courtney Milan vibes and I would say I think her work is influenced by Jenkins, the feel and themes. I felt a bit off with how Galen seemed to force Hester's hand with his wedding proposal, maybe less sexual scenes and more introspective moments from Hester about her softening or wanting to marry Galen, I'm not sure I saw enough progress from her to be ok with how Galen strong armed her here; didn't; completely feel this was something she wanted to do quite yet. 

Review: Deadly Obsession

Deadly Obsession by April Hunt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Starting off a new series, Deadly Obsession, introduces us to the Steele family. A group of four brothers, their cousin Grace, and their lifelong friends, siblings Cade and Zoey. After her fifth heart surgery, Zoey decides that she is going to take life by storm. This includes getting out of the Dungeon and taking her crime scene investigating skills top level, investigating crime scenes as soon as they are found. It also includes going for it with the eldest Steele brother, Knox.
Knox has stayed away from D.C. for two years, but his brothers are starting to pressure him to make a decision on joining their new security start up Steele Ops and his best friend's little sister had a set back with her heart, the little sister he has found himself caring more for than big brother Cade would like.
When the Beltway Cupid Killer brings everyone together to work on catching them, Knox finds himself unable to keep resisting Zoey and thinking maybe home really is where the heart is.


If you're fan of romantic suspense, you're going to like this. Deadly Obsession is trope heavy, group of former military men, best friend's little sister, no-strings sex agreement that goes sideways, a teased second chance romance, and a serial killer haunting the edges. Hunt's themes and characters are well traveled but her ease of writing and dash of charm will still have people well read in the sub-genre enjoying the ride and newbies captured.

This was clearly a start to a series book, the focus was heavier on showing and developing relationships around characters rather than more on the outside story. The serial killer gets povs that I thought created a great creepy factor and helped add to the story but in the second half they kind of disappear and we lose this story thread for awhile. I thought the author did a great job with giving clues to who the killer was, it becomes kind of clear about halfway through, then the reader gets to enjoy being in the know and feeling anxiety whenever they appear on the page.

The storyline of Knox staying away for two years was probably the weakest, I'm not sure I fully understood the reasoning. His mess up that endangered other Rangers and then abandoning his brother Roman when he was in a hospital in Germany, was mish mashed together and we never got a clear concise story of how Knox messed up. The tension between the brothers and Knox as they work to set-up their Steele Ops security firm, under the cover of a brewery named Iron Bars, was a little mish mashy too, it is just something you have to go with as the security firm is obviously what will be the hub for the series.

This could never get old. That heat. That excitement every time he touched her. Instead of claiming a new piece of her every time they were together, Zoey Wright, without a doubt, claimed a small piece of him.

I really enjoyed Zoey's character, she has unrequited childhood love for Knox and lusts after him but she never lets him get away with anything, she calls him on his b.s.. It was a sweet additive to have Knox making a secret hospital visit to Zoey too, helps add foundation to him liking her as there is a lot happening in this book and Knox and Zoey's relationship doesn't always get the spotlight it deserves. Their no-strings sex pact felt thrown in, because it doesn't seem to completely fit in with Zoey's feelings, yes she is taking more chances but she seems to completely forget about all those deep feelings for Knox that were fed to the reader earlier. They have some cute back and forth and I believed in their connectivity as a couple. I do wish we could have gotten a bit more of a focus on their developing relationship, they go from pseudo lying to themselves about having sex to just sliding into being together; not a lot of struggle or heartfelt moments.

There were some missing pieces and some underdeveloped characters, Knox's reason for staying away for two years, Zoey's boss Mason seems to disappear, and a character connected to Zoey and Cade kind of just gets thrown in, but overall, romantic suspense readers will feel welcomed and comfortable in this series Hunt is setting up. Zoey lusts after Knox but she doesn't let him get away with anything and Knox is the protective trying not to fall for the best friend's little sister, all surrounded with a hint of danger. Zoey's brother Cade and Knox's cousin Grace look to be the next couple and the tension felt between them here, has me excited to dive into their story.

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60%

"Have mercy." Zoey's eyes drifted closed. 

"Eyes on me every step of the way, angel," Knox demanded her attention with little more than a growling whisper.

40%

 

Still really enjoying this one and nervous about how much trouble the traitor is going to cause. 

I got zero reading done over Easter weekend but I'm still enjoying this one, just way behind everyone. It looks like most have already finished. 

Ch5-10 talk...........................................

Because she and the women of her circle practiced Free Produce, Hester didn't keep sugar in the house. Free Produce supporters hoped to strike at slavery by affecting the slave owner's profits. Supporters did not use or consume any products made by slave labor, and so did without items such as sugar, rice, and American-raised cotton. The women who could afford them purchased the higher-priced English or Egyptian cotton fabrics, even though they were in some instances coarser and not as finely woven as their American counterparts. Those women unable to afford the imported fabrics made do with their old gowns, choosing principle over fashion.

Boycotting can work! We see a little bit of this today.

She could even read, a skill Hester found absolutely amazing since she didn't know anyone else who could. Ella had confided this surprising information to Hester one night the summer before while they lay side by side on their pallets in the small cabin Dot's family called home. Ella made Hester swear not to tell another soul because if the owner Master Dill ever found out he'd sell Dot deep south for sure.

Education, we all know why some people try to ban it or put major roadblocks up to keep others out. 

"We were children and until that moment Ella and I had never been ashamed of our life, because it was the only life we'd known. That night, Dot sat us both down and told us the truth about our lives and how the world viewed us. I never forgot it."

Oof, this was the heavy hitting moment of these chapters for me. Thinking of Ella and Hester being carefree in their innocence and naivety only to have a veil lifted and shown a truth was heartbreaking to read. In all the Jenkins' books I've read, she always does this, weave hard emotions and truths into big and little moments that put a hitch in your heart. 

That night as Galen finally gained sleep, his last thoughts were of a purple-handed little slave girl. Down the hall, in her own bed, Hester dreamt of the man who whispered, "Indigo . . ."

Eeeeyowza! I love this yearning.

I'm not sure how I felt about Hester having a fiance. He was pretty ignored and I could almost forget about him and Jenkins helped with not having Hester have a strong emotional attachment to him. Then we get him kind of erased away pretty easily, so I'm left thinking "what was the point?". I get to have a reason to keep Hester away from Galen but I think her feelings on love and how it is dangerous would have worked well enough. 

A southern newspaper asked, "What is the difference between a Yankee violating the fugitive slave law in the North and a southern man . . . violating the law against the African slave trade in the South?" The North knew the difference, which is why the renewed call to end the ban had northern abolitionists so worried.

"The North knew the difference". Yeah, the difference is known, not about people who feign ignorance on these issues. 

In years past, slave holders challenging the ban had done so under the banner of economics, but now, the South viewed the ban as not only a threat to their economic survival, but to their honor and way of life as well.

Economic anxiety rears its ugly head again.

Foster's voice brought her back to the matter at hand. "I want very much for you and Jenine to be friends, Hester. She can be very shy."

Foster needs to go kick rocks, what a doofus.

"Louisiana."

"Ah," she said. "I knew a man from Louisiana. Creole, just like you. He used to get in fights all the time."

Hester asked, "Why?"

"Folks kept telling him he wasn't Black. You ever have that problem, Mr. Vachon?"

"Occasionally, and I find it is always a pleasure to meet someone from the Race Inclusion Board. After all, where would the race be without them telling us who may be in the race and who may not?" Everyone chuckled.

Why own voices stories need to be published, you get moments that resonate with the culture spoken to and that is such a great feeling to be included in inside jokes, connectivity and being seen. 

"He wants to attack a government arsenal in Virginia and arm the slaves in hopes of plunging the nation into war."

I love history woven in like this! Many famous people making their way into the story in these chapters, John Brown, David Ruggles, and a few others I've already mentioned. 

"You don't need the gloves when we're alone."

Galen is such a smooth rogue. Lol. I like how Hester is keeping her head and still wary of him as he tries to wine and dine her and his wanting to make sure she has enough food is sweet af. 

Still really enjoying this one and nervous about how much trouble the traitor is going to cause. 

Reading Update: Page 1

Easter leftovers served with a side of romantic suspense!

Deadly Obsession by April Hunt (April 30th) pre-order link

Carrot Cake Truffles recipe

Review: Life Is a Party: Deliciously Doable Recipes to Make Every Day a Celebration

Life Is a Party: Deliciously Doable Recipes to Make Every Day a Celebration by David Burtka
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I loved this cookbook, one of the best at combining interesting dishes and suggestion/advice on throwing get togethers. If you're fan of David Burtka, you'll greatly enjoy the intimate feel, the big glossy pictures of family and friends as he invites you into his world for a while. If you like being the go-to house for gatherings, you'll love the ideas you'll get from this book.

Burtka organizes the book into seasonal categories and provides different levels, a basic, upgraded, or over-the-top party and dishes, easy, moderate, or involved, to help you create your ideal party. The menu provides for meat eaters and vegetarians and has clear pictures of finished products to help you design the best final product presentation.

The dishes I tried out:
Spring – Dig-in Brunch - Rhubarb-Ginger Crumb Muffins
These were “Easy” and even though they are from scratch, I agree. Even more importantly, they tasted fresh, light, and delicious.

Summer – Summer SOULstice – Mint Pesto Pasta
This was also labeled as “Easy” and again, I feel newish cooks wouldn't have a problem creating this dish. The taste wowed me and the friends I made this for. It is a seemingly innocuous dish that packs a punch.

Fall – Fright Night – Roasted Squash Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette and Spicy Pepitas
This fell under the “Moderate” label, it was time consuming, 2hrs, and some of the process I could see new to cooking people struggle with. I loved how all the ingredients were truly seasonal but making it for a Halloween Party might be a struggle, I think a simple family night would be a great time to try this. All the flavors combined together beautifully.

Winter – Game Night – Chicken Tot Pie
This was also “Moderate”. What I loved about this one was the warm, textured taste. I also liked how different variation ideas were listed so that you could create a family favorite.

All the recipes were inventive but also not too intimidating to take on. This probably veers more towards moderate to experienced cooks because of the effort you might have to make to find the ingredients and some preparation and actually cooking. The instructions were clear, concise, and easy to follow, so adventurous newbies could try.

The party ideas were brilliant and fun. Along with the menu ideas, Burtka gives ideas to what guests can bring, how to get them involved, and parting gifts. For a party newbie, like me, I loved how he worked to take the anxiety out of planning togethers, he breaks advice for planners down to what to wear, activities, and how to plan ahead. Each party or themed night is also provided with a playlist from Spotify (the songs are listed) to help you set the right vibe.

This is a must have for party planners from basic to over-the-top and cooks who want to make inventive and flavorful dishes. The suggestions, advice, and different variations to try will have your friends and family singing your praises, so much fun to be had from this book.

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Review: The Austen Playbook

The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Coming from a legacy of actors, Freddy is only twenty-three and has been acting for thirteen years. After her father's career ended in a way that makes her feel somewhat responsible, she has tried to mold her career to what he has wanted. When a chance between taking a role he wants for her and one she wants for herself, with some added family legacy drama, things come to ahead.
(Jamie) Ford-Griffin has been trying to keep his family and their ancestral home afloat. When his brother comes to him with another seemingly harebrained idea, he despairs even more. His family and Freddy's have some history and her father is currently blocking a project he needs to go ahead for income but there is something about Freddy's warm exuberant personality that calls to his normally grumpy taciturn self.
It's an Austen house party full of drama, intrigue, villains, and falling in love.

It was a truth universally acknowledged that an actor in a rut must be in want of a spot of murder, mayhem, and true love.

If you've read the other three books in the London Celebrities series, you'll remember glimpses of Freddy and Jamie. This works as a standalone but one of the author's strong points is how well she writes an interconnected world. She immerses you in these character's lives and surrounds them with believable friends, family, and outer issues. I did feel at times like Freddy and Jamie's romance got pushed to the side in favor of the overall picture but I still felt their romance and believed in it. The story can be said to be a two villain piece, a co-actor of Freddy's and her father, I think the co-actor could have been cut (she does play a part in pushing the family legacy drama) in favor of declogging or making more breathing room for Jamie and Freddy. Every other secondary character I thought was perfection in enhancing the story and our main characters.

There were few people he would ever really know, see as they were and not through a hundred different filters of perception. When he touched Freddy, when he looked into her eyes, he felt as if he was starting to see her. It was sexual, it was physical, but it was also the tentative stirring of a connection that he couldn’t explain, couldn’t put into words even in his own mind.

As I mentioned, the outside events of Jamie having some family and financial struggles, Freddy straining against her dad's wants for her in favor of her own, the live play production, co-actor villain, and the family legacy drama, sometimes took time away from Freddy and Jamie. However, these two bonded together beautifully and Jamie gives one of the best declaration/love speech I have read; the truth in it outshone any sexy, sappy, or overly sweet speech we otherwise may have gotten. These two got each other and I reveled in how they spoke to each other and bonded.

I also loved how Jamie's relationship with his brother Charlie played out on page and how Freddy and her sister went through their ups and downs together. I thought Freddy's relationship arc with her dad was given a bit of an easy ending, there was a lot to wrap-up at the ending and I think this got shortchanged a bit. The author seemed to be teasing future books with Freddy's sister and a professional rival (the rival's ticking jaw during their live broadcast, y'all) that I will be showing up with bells on for.

She pressed her palm to his cheek. “You make me feel equal,” she murmured slowly, and he rested his forehead on hers.

This author has a writing style and tone that sucks me into her worlds and makes me believe in and feel her characters, I highly recommend her and this series. I did think at times the romance between the leads was overshadowed a bit at times but I enjoyed what was doing the overshadowing, part of the family legacy drama involved a secret forgotten romance (Violet and William) that had my eyes watering. If looking for a contemporary romance to sink into, this book and series will have you lost in the characters and world.

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50%

Freddy smiled at him, suddenly feeling a little bubble of happiness well up out of nowhere. It was a beautiful day, birds were cheeping, and a man with a majestic nose and the sensitivity of a sledgehammer was frowning at her. For this one moment in time, she had a curious, rare sense of being exactly where she was meant to be.

Buddy Read: Prologue - Ch 4

Ummk, this book is going to take me forever to get through because of the interesting true historical people and events Ms. Jenkins ties in. 

One of the most celebrated escapes of the era had been undertaken in 1846 by the very fair skinned Ellen Craft and her husband, William, both slaves from Georgia. Ellen, after transforming herself into a young male planter, had, with her darker-skinned husband posing as her manservant, ridden trains and steamers on the journey from Georgia to the free soil of Philadelphia.

I did not know about Ellen Craft and her husband William. Is there a movie or documentary anyone can recommend about them? This is fascinating as hell. She posed as young male planter and her husband as her manservant! Brilliant in your face escape. 

The Order originated with the Black conductors in Detroit. The men of the Order were known by various names, one being the African-American Mysteries: Order of the Men of Oppression.

*****

Among the founders of the Order were two of the most successful conductors in Detroit—William Lambert, the leader of Michigan's Black Road network, and George De Baptiste, a Detroit tailor.

I do remember touching on the Men of Oppression and William Lambert is a name that rings a bell. I'm late putting up this update because I had to go and read all about this again and the people. If you follow my reviews at all, you know I've been complaining about lack of historical feel or details in historicals, to say the least, I'm eating this up. 

Ok, to the story,

So I chose love over freedom—possibly the last free choice I will ever make in this life.

Immediately, Jenkins hits you with the emotion and live wires you into the story about the heroine's father and how he sold himself into enslavement to be with her mother. I can't even imagine having to think about making that decision.

To help you in identifying Hester, Frances severed the tip of the little finger of her left hand the day she was born in anticipation of this tragedy.

I've read a couple other Jenkins' books, newer ones, and those had seemingly innocuous bomb drops in them too. Knowing, knowing, there was a good chance your child could be ripped away from you and coming up with a plan for it, kills in the feelings. 

"Do you think you can eat something?" she asked frostily.

"Long as I don't have to pray to get it."

Hester left without a word.

Hester reached down and picked up the cup. In a calm voice she said, "Fine. Don't drink it. I shall simply put it in your food like one would for a stubborn child."

As she headed to the concealed door he growled, "You wouldn't dare."

She turned back. "If only that were true."

Galen and Hester's circling each other banter is what I live for. I'm loving their verbal spars, it is never mean or cruel back and forth but sassy jabbing with some funny wit. LIVE FOR IT. No insta love/lust either, yay!

He'd been lying back with his eyes closed. In response to her words, the one good eye opened and held her. Her heart began to beat so fast, she felt compelled to say something, anything. "Bea says the ointment should be put on three times a day."

"Good, because I was wondering how I might bribe you into agreeing to do it again...later..." His voice was thick; the air filled with tension.

Hester could feel herself becoming warm also. "I have apples to pick in the yard—"

That sassy banter had to go somewhere and I am thrilled it has started to morph into sexual tension/heat. 

He had noticed her hands, however. Indigo. He'd only seen hands stained like hers a few times. He'd be willing to bet she'd been a slave in the Sea Islands of South Carolina where he knew the few existing indigo plantations operated. Working the plants to extract the dye turned the palms and backs of the hands of the slaves permanently indigo.

When Galen called her Indigo and then realized that might hurt or offend her and gave a little apology, I thought it was so brilliant of Ms. Jenkins to write that in for her hero, recognizing it.  

I like how the author has set this in Michigan, it's easy sometimes to set slavery mainly in the south and not acknowledge how the north played a part. Loving the historical details, banter melting into sexual tension, and the mystery, danger feeling of who the traitor could be. 

Hope everyone else in the buddy read is enjoying this as much as I am :)

Reading Update: Page 1

Pretty Face was my favorite contemporary I read last year. Can’t wait to dive into Freddy’s story with some pretty Easter treats! 

The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker preorder link

Funfetti Whoopie Pies recipe

(I suggest making your own icing/filling, store bought always taste too rich for me)

Review: Anything But a Duke

Anything But a Duke by Christy Carlyle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Second in the Duke's Den series that follows three friends who invest together, Anything But a Duke follows the one without a title, Aidan Iverson. He's been able to rise from a childhood where the mother he can't remember left him and his sister and amassed great wealth. What he can't seem to overcome is the snobbery of the ton and certain doors remain closed to him. He decides that marrying an aristocrats daughter is his gateway to all these doors.

Diana doesn't want to get married and is trying to keep her family afloat by creating an invention that members of the Duke's Den will want to invest in. Her and her mother come to an agreement that if by the end of the month, if her invention doesn't become profitable, she will have to marry. When a chance encounter has her rescuing and kissing a mystery man, who turns out to be one of the investors she's supposed to impress, her world gets shaken.

Diana Ashby drew him. She always had. Her confidence. Her fearlessness. From the moment they’d met.

Aidan's plan to marry an aristocratic, while mercenary, did work as a ploy to achieve what he wanted. For having two friends of that world, a duke and and a marquess, I thought the story thread oddly underutilized them. It is set-up so that Diana, who is not nobility but has friends of that world, gets into a deal with him to try and set him up, while his side of the bargain is to get more investors for her. It worked but was also all a little coerced. There's a second thread underlying the romance one with Aidan searching for information about his birth mother and the sister he hopes escaped an orphanage fire. I thought this was rife for some great emotion but it was pushed to the side too much for me. Even when Aidan gets the answers he was searching for, the reveal fell a bit flat as character relationships in this thread weren't explored and Diana wasn't a huge part of this thread for Aidan to share with her. I did believe in why he fell in love with Diana but again, the emotional moments where he is choosing her over his ambition, fell a bit flat.

Every moment that they shared, every detail they revealed, made her want more.

I also would have liked a bit more of Diana's family relationships explored, especially with her mother or maybe a flashback or two with her father. Her father seemed to be like an absent minded professor, except with inventing. Part of her wanting to succeed was to show her father's pursuits weren't all a waste of time. We get a pretty good feel for her relationship with her twin brother, a seemingly wastrel but sticks up for Diana but her relationship with her mother was fairly blank. We know, because of their money issues, her mother is pressuring her to get married but the mother doesn't really appear on the pages and I missed feeling that aspect of Diana's life. While I believed in why Aidan feel in love with Diana, I didn't believe in it as strongly from Diana's side. He treats her well, the biggest being he embraces her inventor side, and she finds him attractive but I just didn't get see or get a handle on Diana developing feelings for him.

“I remember our deal, Diana.” He slid his hand from hers slowly and there was such disappointment in his gaze that her breath tangled in her throat. Moving past her, he strode toward the room across the hall, but midway he stopped and glanced at her over his shoulder. “Perhaps I’m just not content with the terms anymore.”

As I mentioned, Diana and Aidan's deal, he introduces her to investors to push her vacuum prototype and she introduces him to ladies of the nobility to find a wife and if she doesn't succeed in finding him a wife she must marry him at the end of the month, was a pretty coerced story plot. At the end, there is some angst where I didn't understand at all Diana's reluctance or refusals, that made it feel even more forced. Everyone is likeable and the story is nice but not a lot new here and all pretty sedate. If looking for a quieter, tried and true formula romance, this would be a nice pick. I'll be looking forward to the third in the series coming up where Aidan's roguish marquess friend will be finding love.

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Aidan held her gaze as he slid his suit coat from his shoulders, laid it aside, and rolled up his shirtsleeves. “I’m at your service, Miss Ashby.”

Reading Update: Page 1

Look at this beautiful purple cover!

Pre-Order Link Anything But a Duke by Christy Carlyle

White Chocolate Easter Egg Cupcakes

(These are some of my favorite cupcakes I make, very yummy!)

Review: Beginner's Luck

Beginner's Luck by Kate Clayborn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars

I did a buddy read for this one, so for all my thoughts, comments, and quotes (plus you get the insight from someone who really loved this) - Buddy Read Beginner's Luck

So, right off the bat, I have to say, this is written in first person pov with dueling chapters from the heroine and hero and in present tense. I am not the biggest fan of either, especially romance in present tense, this obviously, hurt my enjoyment of the story. If you don't have such qualms, then your mileage with vary.

This was a little slower pace with a very good realness tone to it. Our hero and heroine, Ben and Kit, deal with real life issues regarding trust, bitterness, pain, and hurt. Ben's stems from his mother leaving him to be mostly raised by his dad and Kit's from her father being an alcoholic with a gambling problem.

I was a little shocked, because of how the series synopsis seemed to highlight that Kit and her two friends won the lottery, how much it wasn't a focus. Kit buys a house to fix up and it gives her the money to do that, which in the prologue, we know Kit wants.

The feel of the story gave a strong women's fiction but if women's fiction focused on a hero as much as heroine. The friendship between Kit and her two friends was lovely to read about. Like I said, this deals with real life issues. I felt like the story ended up feeling a little uneven to me because of how it was hard for me to get into in the beginning, then the slower middle, and then the last 30% was fast moving with a Big Misunderstanding, family drama, and relationship upheaval.

A lot of people loved this story and I ended up bumping it up a star because of a wonderfully written emotional moment and generally the last 30% was heartaching emotion. If you don't mind first person and present tense, you'll probably want to check this one out.

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Reading Update: 15%

"Let me put it to you gentlemen." A cold smile crept over his face as he relaxed back on one leg and slapped his thigh with his deerskin gloves. "Little of real value in history has been achieved without the shedding of blood. Mankind's progress may be traced in a river of gore. And if you would make something of value here," his light eyes glittered with challenge as he looked straight at Robertson, "you will have to bleed for it."

******

His hard body wedged itself between her upper thighs, pressed against her lower abdomen. Gradually, his deep, wondrous kisses relaxed her belated guard and he pressed his bulging manhood against her warm, pliant flesh. He lavished attention on her lips and closed eyelids, stroking the damp chaos of her hair. One swift, practiced movement removed the last barrier of his breeches and his flesh met hers. Pulsing, eager, and sensing the long-awaited fulfillment, his shaft entered her slowly, while he trapped her gasp of surprise in her throat.

Only bodice rippers can have these two scenes, impassioned talk involving lead up to American Revolutionary War and sexual purple prose consent issues, in the first 15% with its own certain je ne sais quoi.

70%

“Inside,” he says, and that one word is hotter than the speech.

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Review: Naked in Death

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

But even as she started to smile, her fingers brushed something between cold flesh and bloody sheets. "There's something under her." Carefully, Eve lifted the shoulder, eased her fingers over. "Paper," she murmured. "Sealed." With her protected thumb, she wiped at a smear of blood until she could read the protected sheet. ONE OF SIX " It looks hand printed," she said to Feeney and held it out. "Our boy's more than clever, more than arrogant. And he isn't finished."

I was kind of excited when I landed on the police procedural square in snakes and ladders, I finally got the push I needed to start this series that everyone talks about. Eve is a Lt. in the police force and gets made primary on a case that involves the murder of a senator's granddaughter. It turns out that she was only the first in a string of licensed companion (prostitutes) murders that a serial killer is letting Eve know he is going to commit. A well known but intensely private billionaire, Roarke, finds himself one of Eve's suspects and Eve finds herself torn between her doing her job by the book and growing closer to Roarke.

He laid a hand over hers, watched her frown and look down at the contact. "You know, I've spent most of my life with a basic dislike of police -- for one reason or another. I find it very odd that I've met, under such extraordinary circumstances, one I can respect and be attracted to at the same time."
She lifted her gaze again, and though the frown remained, she didn't draw her hand free of his. "That's a strange compliment."
"Apparently we have a strange relationship."

The attraction between the two is pretty immediate, with Roarke pushing it and Eve trying to keep distance between them because of her job and emotional safety. The murder mystery drives the story but we do get a good amount of interaction between the two, not quite the depth and breadth that I usually like but this was more murder mystery with a romance element. I enjoyed their chemistry and when Roarke gets upset when Eve does her job, I liked how she didn't back down from what she had to do and Roarke finally realizing it, apologizes.

"If you can't or won't talk to me, you have to talk to someone. You know that."
"I can handle it. I -- " But the rest of the words slid down her throat when he shook her.
"What's it costing you?" he demanded. "And how much would it matter to anyone if you let it go? For one minute just let it go."
"I don't know." And maybe that was the fear, she realized. She wasn't sure if she could pick up her badge, or her weapon, or her life, if she let herself think too deeply, or feel too much."

Eve is coming off a situation where she had to kill someone, so we get some emotional fallout from that. This is clearly a starter book (the series is up to 40ish books now) and we don't get a whole lot of clear, solid background on Eve and Roarke. Eve's gets a little more revealed at the end and packs a heavy emotional punch (view spoiler)[she gains some of her repressed memories back about how her father sexually and physically abused her. (hide spoiler)] Roarke we get little snippets but nothing very solid. Even so, I felt like I still knew these two, Roberts did a great job making them feel real and natural.

"I'm a cop," she blurted out. "That's all I am. I'm thirty years old and I've only been close to two people in my entire life. And even with them, it's easy to hold back."
"Hold back what?"
"Letting it matter too much. If it matters too much, it can grind you down until you're nothing. I've been nothing. I can't be nothing ever again."

The murder mystery was kind of easy to figure out and the concrete connection between the victims never fully gets explained (there is a grand info dump reveal from villain but the framework regarding victim choice still felt penciled in), so that aspect made parts of it feel loose. At first glance, some might think Eve should have figured it out quickly for how good a detective she is but the author utilizing her background and repressed memories give credible reasons for why this took longer to solve.

This was set in the future, 2050ish, but written in 1995, so some of the technology mentioned, we have already or actually seems outdated. It gave the story a bit of a different spin but reading it in 2019, I'm not sure the future aspect was completely felt. The ending was abrupt but knowing that this series goes on with these two, it was easier to swallow. Eve and Roarke have a quality about them that will have me continuing on in the series, hoping to see them more together and get to know some side characters more.


For a bonus, since I've recently been talking about heroes who carry mementos of their heroines:

Perhaps it was time he took a risk. He dipped a hand into his pocket, drew out what he carried there.
Baffled, Eve stared down at the simple gray button in his palm. "That's off my suit."
"Yes. Not a particularly flattering suit -- you need stronger colors. I found it in my limo. I meant to give it back to you."
"Oh." But when she reached out, he closed his fingers over the button.
"A very smooth lie." Amused, he laughed at himself. "I had no intention of giving it back to you."
"You got a button fetish, Roarke?"
"I've been carrying this around like a schoolboy carries a lock of his sweetheart's hair."
Her eyes came back to his, and something sweet moved through her. Sweeter yet as she could see he was embarrassed. "That's weird."
"I thought so, myself." But he slipped the button back in his pocket. "Do you know what else I think, Eve?"
"I don't have a clue."
"I think I'm in love with you."

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60%

He stopped, took her face in his hands. "I need to see you again."

Her pulse jumped, as if it had nothing to do with the rest of her. "Roarke, what's going on here?"

"Lieutenant." He leaned forward, touched his lips to hers. "Indications are we're having a romance." Then he laughed, kissed her again, hard and quick. "I believe I could have held a gun to your head and you wouldn't have looked as terrified. Well, you'll have several days to think it through, won't you?"
She had a feeling several years wouldn't be enough.

30%

I want to bang my head against the nearest wall. Instead, I cross to the sink to wash my hands, then start grabbing silverware for the table.

He wanted to bang his head against the nearest wall. Instead, he crossed to the sink and washed his hands, then startedgrabbing silverware for the table.

I can't help it, the sentence reads better to me, more formal?, professional?, adult?, the second way.

More comments & quotes - Buddy Read Beginner's Luck 
I swear I'm going to (try) quit complaining about the tense/pov and focus on the story and characters now.

Reading Update: 10%

Eve's ears pricked. "The senator opposes the gun ban?"

"It's one of his pets. Sharon told me he owns a number of nasty antiques and spouts off regularly about that outdated right to bear arms business. If he had his way, we'd all be back in the twentieth century, murdering each other right and left."

This is kind of depressing to read for some reason, this book was published in 1995. 

It also is super weird reading a book published in 1995 set in the future, 2050ish, and have  some of the technology, right now, that was supposed to seem crazy wild. 

Reading Update: 15%

Kit said, “A house,” but what she thought was, home. 
Zoe said, “An adventure,” but what she thought was, forgiveness. 
Greer said, “An education,” but what she thought was, freedom.

Three friends win the lottery. Fun!

But, this is in present tense w/ dual povs, I have a super hard time with present tense but going by other people's reviews, no one else has a problem with it?

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50%

She'd always kept her deepest feelings more safely hidden than porn on an unlocked laptop---folder after figurative subfolder of false file names to mask her true feelings from those who might click through. But Jamal had gained access to the folder labeled NothingToSeeHere after just a few days. She'd opened herself to him and, frightening as it was, she wanted more. Oh god, she wanted more.

Reading Update: Page 1

Sunday morning reading calls for donuts! A special thanks to @LoveinPanels for the book :)

A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole purchase link

Blackberries and Cream Donuts recipe

Review: The Prince of Midnight

The Prince of Midnight by Laura Kinsale
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.6 stars

"You come to me." His mouth lowered, but he didn't quite kiss her.
"To forget. To not hurt any more—" She bit her lip. "To hurt all my life."
"I won't hurt you," he whispered.
She closed her eyes. "You tear me apart."
"Leigh," he said, "I love you."
The intensity in his voice made her turn her face away. "Leave me alone," she said.

Gawd, the emotion in this one. Quickly, Leigh travels from England to France looking for "The Prince of Midnight" a highwayman that the people of her town looked upon as Robin Hood. Her town has been taken over by a cult leader and she thinks the Prince of Midnight will be the legend that can break the townspeople's blind following of Rev. Jamie Chilton, she also wants the Prince to teach her how to fight so she can kill Chilton. When she finds the Prince, he turns out to be S.T. Maitland, deaf in one ear and experiencing serious balance problems because of it. He's a forced into retirement highwayman living in an abandoned castle with a pet wolf.

S.T. rubbed the wolf's ears and smiled to himself. He'd charmed wilder things than a dour girl, after all.

To say the least, Leigh is crushed, her savior can't even ride a horse. In what is a bit of a role reversal from what we usually see in our heroines and heroes, Leigh is the cold, shun love, and blindly bent on revenge while S.T. is the romantic, heart just wanting to burst with love, more sensitive one. S.T. was a little uneven in the beginning for me because his love and trust in a woman is what led to the end of his highwayman career but he is pretty instantly all-in on his want of Leigh. What saved this insta for me was the author underlying acknowledging that it was insta. It is mentioned how S.T. hasn't had a woman in 3yrs, insta-lust of Leigh, and as the story goes on, you see how love and human contact is necessary for S.T.'s personality but as S.T. and Leigh travel and spend more time together, we begin to see S.T. actually get to know her, which I need to believe in couple's love. It's a bit, well, S.T. got lucky in his love at first sight but I can't help it, I really enjoyed his yearning and putting himself out there for Leigh, while, with insight from personal thoughts from Leigh, the reader could see and feel how hard Leigh was fighting her feelings.

"He murdered my family. My mother, my father, and my two sisters."
There wasn't a tremor in her voice, not a trace of emotion at all. S.T. gazed at her cool moon-washed face. She stared back at him, unblinking. "Sunshine," he whispered.

********

"The others are frightened."
"Such cowards as that?"
"No." She shook her head, watching the ground ahead of her. "Not cowards. Frightened."
He considered that. It was a telling point, a subtle, crucial difference. Miss Leigh Strachan was no fool. "Of what are they frightened?"
"Of what happened to my sisters," she said. "They have daughters, too."

"Wasn't a tremor", "not a trace of emotion", ugh, I could barely take Leigh's pain. There is definitely a solid background and foundation behind Leigh's tough exterior and her telling the story of what happened to her family, while trying not to breakdown, had me breaking down a bit. The author wonderfully conveyed how hard Leigh had to keep herself together, another brick in the character's personality wall, because if she didn't, she would shatter. The events that lead up to and the scene where Leigh finally does breakdown was heartbreaking. I thought it was masterful how the author used S.T.'s working and relationship with animals to mirror what was happening with Leigh.

"I don't want your rotting gratitude," he said. She lay perfectly still, a mirage of the impersonal moonlight, as lifeless as the ruins. He couldn't even feel her breathing.
"Then I'm sorry." She spoke suddenly. "Because that's all I have to give."

*****

Forbidden worlds. Wild joy and romance. A midnight ride with an outlaw prince, and life, and life, and life. He burned with it. And she would have gone. Her throat grew thick with longing. She thought: you should have come sooner. You should have come when I could feel.

I can see how some readers would have issues with Leigh (I read some reviews not liking her coldness) and while she frustrated me at times, again, the author provided credible reasons for it. Leigh was a painful character and every time S.T.'s reaching out was cruelly rejected or bounced off her wall, I was mad but I still understood her. The only misstep I think the author did was not having somewhat of a grovel scene, I demand it of my heroes when they have personalities like Leigh.I think if the author had shown the scene where, I'm going to put this in spoiler tags because it deals somewhat with how the story ends, (view spoiler)[Leigh worked to get S.T. pardoned for his highwayman crimes and how she missed him in London, showing her longing for him and how she was nervous to proclaim her love for him, I think readers would have softened to her more. It was kind of glossed over at the end and I think some missed feeling how she was ready to open herself up to him finally. (hide spoiler)]
As it was, it kind of felt like S.T. constantly beat himself against Leigh's wall and Leigh never repaid or responded in like to prostrate herself like he did.

She closed her eyes. When she opened them, the horse was still there. The Seigneur was still there. She was still hurting, still alive, still drowning in love and grief and rage.

******

She'd gone to France to find the Seigneur with no family and no future and no fear, with a well-spring of hate in her heart. But now she was afraid. Now she was cornered and desperate. Now she had something to lose.

The plot involving the cult leader was interesting but towards the end when the author tied it into The Hellfire Club, it got a bit loose and didn't completely work for me; felt like forced danger added in. This had quite the epilogue, lol, but I enjoyed seeing these two happy together. Overall, this was a painfully emotional read at times and I enjoyed these two together, their pain, their yearning, and their connection, there is no doubt that these two fought for their HEA. There was a lot of layers to the story and I would suggest reading this a little slower to let it soak in. I wanted a little more from Leigh, S.T. was so earnest in trying to connect with her that I would have loved seeing her put herself out there too, but maybe the argument could be made that just isn't her personality. Anyway, read this for S.T.'s loving soul, Leigh's tightly contained heartache, and Nemo.

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