This Just In!! (#4)

Like I've said before, I don't buy very many books. With the recent sale at Smashwords, however, not to mention the oodles of freebies in the Kindle Store on Amazon, I've stocked up on some interesting titles. Here are just a few of my more recent purchases. 

Just Purchased: 

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The Duke and I with Bonus Material by Julia Quinn. 

Product Description:

Simon Basset, the irresistible Duke of Hastings, has hatched a plan to keep himself free from the town's marriage-minded society mothers. He pretends to be engaged to the lovely Daphne Bridgerton. After all, it isn't as if the brooding rogue has any real plans to marry - though there is something about the alluring Miss Bridgerton that sets Simon's heart beating a bit faster. And as for Daphne, surely the clever debutante will attract some very worthy suitors now that it seems a duke has declared her desirable. But as Daphne waltzes across ballroom after ballroom with Simon, she soon forgets that their courtship is a complete sham. And now she has to do the impossible and keep herself from losing her heart and soul completely to the handsome hell-raiser who has sworn off marriage forever! 

For a limited time, discover Julia Quinn for only $1.99! Plus, dip into excerpts from new releases by Julia, Elizabeth Boyle, and Caroline Linden. 

This book is on sale for a limited time in the Kindle Store ($1.99). I enjoyed the other Bridgerton novels and this was one I've never read, so naturally, I bought it. The Duke and I is book 1 in the Bridgerton family series.

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A Proper Companion by Candice Hern

Product Description:

Fans of the traditional Regency Romances of Georgette Heyer, Jo Beverley, and Carla Kelly will enjoy this witty romance from New York Times bestselling author Candice Hern. Robert, Lord Bradleigh, is a rakish earl with a recently arranged betrothal to a lovely young girl he barely knows. Emily Townsend is an impoverished spinster employed as a companion to his grandmother, the formidable dowager countess. Robert agrees to help his grandmother find a husband for the beautiful Emily, but how is he to bear the thought of her in another man's arms? This sparkling tale will take you from the Pump Room at Bath to the ballrooms of London as the unexpected and undeniable attraction between Robert and Emily blossoms into something more … something that could put one of them in danger. 

"Candice Hern is a striking talent of superior merit, one whose intelligence, wit, and craftsmanship are as impressive as her elegant romantic sensibility." --Romantic Times 

Now, unless I'm much mistaken, this is a re-release of one of Ms. Hern's older, traditional titles. Best of all, this title is FREE!*

*Any time a Kindle book is mentioned as being free, make sure it is in the Kindle Store BEFORE you push the Buy now with 1-click button.

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And from the local used book store...
I acquired paperback copies of Brighter than the Sun and On the Way to the Wedding (both by Julia Quinn) for $1 each.

Brighter than the Sun is book 2 in the Lyndon Sisters series. I wonder if I should box this one up until I acquire book 1? 

On the Way to the Wedding is the final installment of the Bridgerton series (book 8), all about the youngest Bridgerton male, Gregory. Since I just today purchased the Kindle edition of The Duke and I, I believe I'm only missing one from this series now, Romancing Mr Bridgerton.

On a slightly different note (but still book related), I'm working on a book giveaway. Something similar to the mystery collection (not actual mysteries, I just don't reveal the titles) I gave away several months ago on my author blog. Click HERE if you're dying of curiosity and just HAVE TO KNOW what I'm talking about. :O)

Happy reading!! 

The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn

Title: The Viscount Who Loved Me

Author: Julia Quinn

Series: Bridgertons #2

Genre: Regency Historical Romance

Publisher: Avon

ISBN: 0380815575

Format: Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages

List Price: $7.99US

Reviewed: December 20, 2008

Rating: 5 stars (4.8)

Warnings: Graphic love scenes

Synopsis: Viscount Bridgerton is convinced he will die at a young age. To that end, he is determined to marry a young woman with whom he could not possibly fall in love. He settles his matrimonial sights on Edwina Sheffield, a young woman of great beauty, manners, and disposition. The only problem is her sister, Kate.

Kate does not believe that rakes make the best husbands. She is determined to prevent her sister from making the horrible mistake of marrying one, namely Anthony Bridgerton. Due to an odd announcement of her sister's at a party, however, Kate is forced into company with the man and finds him annoying at first but gradually learns to like him.

My opinion: This is the 2nd time I've read this and I enjoyed it almost as much as I did the first time--you do lose something when you already know what will happen. The characters are very believable and likable, amusing and even unpredictable at times. Their interaction is genuine and the emotion is strong enough to draw the reader in. (I cried after reading the prologue. And then again, later, after certain secrets are revealed.) This whole family is delightful and I will re-read some of the other books in this series at a later time as well as the ones I haven't had the good fortune to acquire yet.

Overall: 4.8 stars.

Sensitive readers beware: This book contains graphic love scenes.

Note: I borrowed the pic from goodreads since Amazon's pic was crap. The currently available edition of this book has a different cover.

Mr Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn

Title: Mr. Cavendish, I Presume

Author: Julia Quinn

Series: Two Dukes of Wyndham, Book 2

Genre: Regency Historical Romance

Publisher: Avon Books

ISBN: 97800060876111

Format: Mass Market Paperback, 370 pages

List Price: $7.99US

Characters: Thomas Cavendish, Amelia Willoughby

In a nutshell: Thomas Cavendish faces the loss of everything he holds dear when his grandmother kidnaps Jack Audley, who may or may not be the true Duke of Wyndham. Along for the ride is Thomas's long-time betrothed, Amelia Willoughby, who may or may not still be his fiancée.

Characters: Amelia is an ok character, I guess. I wasn't very attached to her but I didn't hate her either. She was a little two-dimensional as compared to Ms Quinn's other heroines—very similar to Grace Eversleigh from The Lost Duke of Wyndham, actually. I will say that I found Amelia's constant urge to grow a spine rather believable for a Regency lady raised with the understanding that she would marry a duke one day, raised to honor her parents' wishes above all things. It wasn't until she felt like she was being treated unfairly that she decided she'd stand up for herself.

Thomas is actually a little different from Ms Quinn's usual heroes—the ones I've read so far, anyway. He is very proper, never doing anything wrong, always adhering to duty, ever conscious what is due to his title and position. For all that, he is not all that arrogant. He is quite good friends with his grandmother's companion, Grace. This strikes me as a little unlikely considering how proper he tends to be but I was willing to go along with it. Meanwhile, I think Ms Quinn did a good job portraying how a man who was raised to be nothing but a duke could feel a little lost when faced with the removal of that dominant part of himself.

Storyline: In Mr. Cavendish, I Presume, the focus is on Thomas Cavendish, the possibly dispossessed Duke of Wyndham. There is a lot of introspective ramblings pertaining to each of the main character's feelings on what was happening. Some of these were absolutely necessary, some felt rather redundant. But, as an author myself, I know how difficult it can be to accurately determine how many reminders for a character's actions are necessary, and how many are too many. And honestly, I don't think it is something that really can be determined due to the differences in readers.

The romance of this book was odd, to say the least. Thomas was engaged to Amelia since childhood. Neither one had a choice in the match. Both accepted it but Thomas took his time getting around to the actual marriage. What was weird was the fact that Amelia seemed half in love with him even though he took her completely for granted. It was difficult to believe.

I was a little surprised at how few detailed love scenes were in this book. Not to say that Ms Quinn is normally overly graphic, but I seem to recall far more in her previous novels. (This is a point in this book's favor, by the way.)

Criticisms: This story lacked the depth of Ms Quinn's other novels. Honestly, had she just written one book, titled it The Two Dukes of Wyndham, and wrote from the POVs of each of the four—Jack and Grace from the 1^st book and Thomas and Amelia from the 2^nd book—she could have had a winning novel. It may have been a bit faster paced than her previous novels, but it would have been far less repetitive. Just my opinion.

I read the two books together, skipping over parts that were just a repeat scene. I think this helped weed out a lot of the annoyance due to repetition.

Overall: 3.8 of 5 stars. I enjoyed this one more than the first—probably because I read it at the same time—and found the inner struggle of this hero far more interesting.

The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn

Title: The Lost Duke of Wyndham

Author: Julia Quinn

Series: Two Dukes of Wyndham, Book 1

Genre: Regency Historical Romance

Publisher: Avon Books

ISBN: 97800060876104

Format: Mass Market Paperback, 371 pages

List Price: $7.99US

Characters: Jack Audley, Grace Eversleigh

In a nutshell: Jack Audley, highwayman, is kidnapped by the Dowager Duchess of Wyndham and her companion, Grace Eversleigh, when the old woman recognizes him as her grandson.

Characters: Grace is the long-suffering companion to an annoyingly proud, irritable old woman. She endeavors to be kind and understanding which sometimes translates into “doormat.” I wasn't very attached to her but I didn't hate her either. She seemed a little two-dimensional as compared to some of Ms Quinn's other heroines. There didn't seem to be much of a backstory with her other than a brief explanation as to the reason for her position with the dowager.

Jack was funny but, again, rather two-dimensional when compared to Ms Quinn's other heroes. He wasn't as funny, wasn't as tortured, wasn't as memorable. He was just ok.

Storyline: The whole point of this story is the discovery of a lost heir to the Duchy of Wyndham. Jack Audley's father was the older brother of the current duke's father, making him the rightful duke...if Jack's parents were legally wed. I thought the plot was interesting, a little different, and rather well-done, actually. Quite believable.

Meanwhile, the companion, Grace, falls in love with Jack. He, of course, falls in love right back. I have little opinion of the love story part of this book. That, in and of itself, is quite telling, I think. I was a little surprised at how few detailed love scenes were in this book. Not to say that Ms Quinn is normally overly graphic, but I seem to recall far more in her previous novels. (This is a point in this book's favor, by the way.)

Criticisms: This story lacked the depth of Ms Quinn's other novels. Honestly, had she just written one book, titled it The Two Dukes of Wyndham, and wrote from the POVs of each of the four—Jack and Grace from the 1^st book and Thomas and Amelia from the 2^nd book—she could have had a winning novel. It would have been faster paced than her previous novels, but it would have been far less repetitive. Just my opinion.

I read the two books together, skipping over parts that were just a repeat scene. I think this helped weed out a lot of the annoyance due to repetition.

Overall: 3.4 of 5 stars. I liked the story; it was fun...just not as fun as some of her others...