A Kiss to Die For
by Claudia Dain
4.8 of 5 pearls
WARNING: This book contains graphic love scenes.
A bounty hunter chasing a serial killer lands on the doorstep of a sheltered young woman who likes to watch trains.
I first read this book years ago, in paperback (the one with the BEAUTIFUL train artwork—see below), and I loved it then. A solid 5-pearl read then and a solid 5-pearl read now. It's not often you find a book that's just as good the first time as it is the second... or the fourth. I read it in less than 24 hours.
- Hero: LOVE him, just plain love him. He's everything I love in a romance hero. Strong, misunderstood, unafraid of getting his hands dirty, or working hard.
- Heroine: Quiet and unassuming, always does what is expected of her, doesn't speak up for herself until the hero urges her to. I love her quirk of watching the trains and even more so when her reason for doing so is revealed. Her gradual strengthening of spirit was real, believable.
- Storyline: There were twists that surprise me every time. I cried more than once, happy tears and sad. Such an emotional ride in this story. That's hard to beat.
- Cons: The one downside of this book is that if you're a scene skipper, like me, the one set of love scenes in this story aren't the easiest to just skip. There's some info contained within those scenes that's fairly important to the characterization and the story. Still, the story is one of the best I've ever read.
This time I read the eBook and the cover art is adequate, nothing spectacular. I'm a wee bit biased about cover art, though, so all I'll say is the paperback art was so much better and so much more apropos, one of my all-time favorite book covers, to be honest.
Claudia Dain has been a favorite author of mine for some time and she remains in that category.
*Disclaimer: I was not paid in any way for this review. I purchased the book (more than once). I do not know the author—although, if I'm totally honest, I sent her an email once and she was very, very nice. The views expressed here are my own. The cover at the top of this post is linked to Amazon, where you can grab an e-copy for yourself for only $0.99. The link does contain my affiliate code, which would result in a tiny commission for me, should you choose to make a purchase through said link.
Did I cover everything?
*Disclaimer: I was not paid in any way for this review. I purchased the book (more than once). I do not know the author—although, if I'm totally honest, I sent her an email once and she was very, very nice. The views expressed here are my own. The cover at the top of this post is linked to Amazon, where you can grab an e-copy for yourself for only $0.99. The link does contain my affiliate code, which would result in a tiny commission for me, should you choose to make a purchase through said link.
Did I cover everything?
(a short story loosely set in the medieval era)
When penniless Catherine Roth answers a letter for a governess position in the isolated castle of Lord Andrew Montmoor, she has no idea that madness, obsession, and secrets await her.
The mysteries of Montmoor Hall deepen with each passing day...and night. A ghost haunts governess Catherine Roth while the master, Andrew Montmoor, is away.
Someone wants her buried...for good.
A dark stranger....
"My Lady Coward" debuted as a serial romance, each installment posted somewhere online as it was written. "My Lady Coward: An Episodic Regency Romance" is a compilation of those ten installments. They have not been changed from the original postings, merely formatted into one file for those who desire to have the whole story in one convenient place.
When the dowager duchess of Marcross insists he accompany her niece, Ginny, into the country for the day to execute a special task, Sir Anthony is appalled, to say the least. Ginny, who thinks little of the fashionable Sir Anthony, is as eager to be done with the chore as he, but before they arrive at their destination they are stranded by highwaymen and launched into adventure. Forced into each other's company, Ginny begins to sense the passionate nature beneath Sir Anthony's mask of ennui, while his exasperation with the forthright Ginny turns into admiration of her wit and charm. Then beautiful Lucinda Barrington and Lord Avery, a poet, come onto the scene, sparking Ginny's imagination and revealing a way to unmask the true man behind Sir Anthony's frivolous facade. Meanwhile, the dowager duchess has plans of her own for this pair, and her special task turns into a battle of words, wills, and wit.
Ginny Delacourt felt the course of true love could not have run smoother. After all, it required only a fortnight, a pair of highwaymen, a pox quarantine, a sham betrothal, and a masquerade ball to bring Sir Anthony up to snuff. When her beloved suddenly becomes the heir to his uncle, the Duke of Marcross, protocol dictates that he drop the 'Sir' from his name. It's his uncle who insists Ginny, daughter of a lowly vicar, is not the proper bride for a future duke.
Ginny and her beloved Anthony, Lord Crenshaw, are finally married and have spent the bulk of their first blissful six months of marriage in the country. However, Ginny must now hostess a Christmas ball at Dunsmere, the estate of the dowager Duchess of Marcross. How is a mere vicar's daughter to carry off such an event with no experience and little exposure to the ways of the ton? And how is she to meet the expectations of her Grandaunt Regina, earn the good graces of Anthony's uncle the Duke of Marcross, endure the spite of the duke's new wife, manage the hysterical escapades of Lucinda, Lady Avery, and find the perfect gift for her husband, all while expecting a babe? All these questions and more are answered in Lady Crenshaw's Christmas, a short story follow-up to two full length novels, Miss Delacourt Speaks Her Mind and Miss Delacourt Has Her Day available via Montlake Romance.
When Burthred comes courting on Christmas Eve, Meg rejects his advances. She has her heart set on becoming a nun and insists that he call her Christina, the spiritual name she has chosen for herself. She tries to make him swear on her box of holy relics that he will not pursue her, but he carefully words his oath to allow him to stay in her candlelit chamber and try to change her mind.
It's the Victorian era in England, but Tessa is from the medieval past. She awakens within a castle she has never seen before. Knowledge of her name also evades her. However, even worse than not knowing who or where she is, she cannot recall how she died or why she is dressed as a bride.
Only daughter of an English lord, Sarra of Greenbriar, is used to getting her way. So when her father passes and the King begins sending suitors, she feels justified in taking matters into her own hands. Through a series of harmless pranks, Sarra works to keep the potential husbands at bay.
Destiny has placed them together, yet “the wolf” threatens to rip them apart…
3.6 pearls 
5 pearls (4.7)
