Sinful by Charlotte Featherstone

     I have such strong feelings about this story. It’s one of the few books I’ve read that grabbed me from the first page and kept my attention all the way to the last. Why 3.5/5 possible stars? Because I loved the book up until the last 20 pages or so, then I hated it. And honestly, I struggled between a 3 or 4, which is why I ultimately chose 3.5. If you care to know why, read on…

     We were introduced to Matthew, Earl of Wallingford in the first book of this series, Addicted, but the Matthew we see in Sinful is a very different man. With this story focused on him, we see a deeper, darker side to the man who makes no apologies for his lifestyle, which is one of decadence, excess and vice. He’s probably one of the most tormented heroes I’ve ever had the pleasure to read about, to get to know, to come to love – and desperately want to fix.

     Jane Rankin is a woman of low birth and as such is well aware of her place. However, Jane has had the good fortune to be employed as a Lady’s Companion by Lady Blackwood, herself being a woman who is no stranger to controversy. Through Lady Blackwood’s example, Jane has decided that she too could be her own woman, unmindful of society’s standards and social stigmas, and goes to work as a nurse at London College Hospital. It is there that she and Matthew first meet.

     This is one of those books that I couldn’t put down. I stayed awake, barely able to keep my eyes open, to read. The story is compelling, full of emotional ups and downs and in a word; amazing. I sobbed and sobbed and laughed and sobbed some more. What a ride!

     By the end of the book we’ve been through such emotional turmoil that I was totally ready for a truly emotional reunion, a happily ever after for the ages. I don’t know who to blame here; the author for skipping what could have been a truly beautiful reunion, (which based on the quality of writing I highly doubt), the editor for not seeing how rushed and empty the ending felt, or the publisher for being so concerned about page count that they sacrificed the story for the almighty dollar. But, no matter where the fault lies, I just didn’t feel that sense of contentment or closure that was worthy of these characters. To be frank, if I were them, I’d be pissed. Royally pissed even. Where was the emotion? Where was the truly heartfelt joy born of finally being able to be together? Oh yeah, that’s right, it was replaced by the sex – granted it was good sex, but it was just sex all the same. Of the hundreds of books I’ve read, this is only the 2nd one that after finishing I wanted to throw against the wall because of the ending. As a reader, I felt horribly cheated. Seriously, I cried.

***taking a deep breath***

     Thankfully the author has given us an incredibly beautiful epilogue which can be downloaded for free from her website. This is what I would have expected the ending in the book to be. No reader should have to go to the internet and find the real happily ever after ending to a story, especially one of this caliber.

     Ms. Featherstone, you have a true gift for writing and for making the reader feel, and feel deeply, however I would suggest that you get in touch with whoever made the decision on how to end the actual printed book and can them.

     Sexual content: pretty much the usual with a brief 'finger at the backdoor' scene.

Addicted by Charlotte Featherstone

  My Review:

     I could climb on my “100+ Proofs That Substance Abuse Screws Up Not Only You But Your Loved Ones” soapbox to review this book, but I think there are more than enough of us who can attest to that fact, first hand, so I won’t waste your time addressing all the different phases Lindsay and Anais had to go through to reach the happily ever after ending that they so deserved. What I will say is that in Addicted, Charlotte Featherstone has given us a beautiful love story, that’s true, but more than that, she gave us a beautiful love story worth reading.

     What I really appreciated about this book was how honestly it dealt with substance abuse and its effects on the people around us. This wasn’t a “message book” preaching the horrors of addiction, rather it was a touching story about two people who had known and loved each other since childhood and were now, as adults, affected by a powerful addiction. The question that had to be answered was this: Was Anais’ hold over Lindsay’s heart and soul powerful enough to not only survive, but break the physical hold his “mistress,” Opium, had over his body?

     I had a tough time getting into this at first. It seemed to move a little slow for me, but that eventually changed and became a "can't put it down", emotional read. Speaking of emotional, I was brought to tears during a scene where both Lindsay and Anais watched on as the terrible price of Lindsay’s addiction played out before them. And I have to say, I wouldn’t have wanted it to work out any other way because sometimes the best happily ever afters have to go through hell before they truly can be happily forever afters.

     While the cover claims this to be an erotic novel, it didn’t strike me as such. The story was great and the sex hot and plentiful, but to me, and Merriam-Webster, erotic(a) is something intended to arouse a sexual response. The reason I’m making this distinction is because we’ve all read books that are labeled “erotic” and found that often times the stories themselves aren’t worth paper it took to print them on. I don’t want to see anyone pass up this book because they’re concerned that page after page of sex will diminish the real treasure found in Addicted - the story of unconditional love.

Skin Game by Ava Gray

     I’m a huge fan of Romantic Suspense and Skin Game is one of the best in the genre I’ve read in a long time. It had been sitting on my bookshelf for months and months, but I never felt the urge to pick it up and read it until my daughter, while in the process of organizing my shelves for me, asked me what it was about. I didn’t remember even having it, so I decided it was time to give it a shot and wow!!! am I ever glad I did.

     With a slight paranormal twist to Skin Game that in no way ever makes the characters seem less human, Ava Gray added a little something extra to the mix. Kyra, the story’s heroine slash bad gal, need only touch someone in order to absorb whatever it is that is their greatest strength. For a brief while afterwards, she can use that strength as if it were her own, but once it wears off she’s often left feeling pretty messed up and unable to function well. This special ability of hers isn’t dwelt upon much, which is nice, but we know she has it and we know when she uses it.

     Rey is deadly at his job, which is a good thing considering he’s an assassin. A “bad guy” who’s more good than bad, Rey is hired by wealthy, mob type casino owner, Gerard Serrano, to take out Kyra who humiliated him by running a con on the casino, taking him for a huge wad of cash, and doing it after having wormed her way into his life and ending up his fiancé. No self respecting low-life scum bag can let that go without retaliation, which is where Rey comes in. But what our ruthless hit man didn’t expect was how quickly he’d become attracted to his target and had to question his ability to finish the job he’d been paid to do.

     Another great player in the game is Addison Foster, Serrano’s head of casino security and go-to man when things are going to get ugly. Foster is the man who hired Rey to put the hit on Kyra, but it’s clear early on that he’s another “bad guy” who is so much more than he appears to be.

     There was something very intriguing about the characters and their stories. I enjoyed how flawlessly the author moved back and forth between storylines, reminding me of writers such as Dean Koontz and Stephen King who never waste pages with unimportant characters. Too often in books the bad guy is just the bad guy and we never know anything more about him than the fact that we want him/her to die. In Skin Game, however, even the bad guys are complicated people with some sort of compelling background story to tell.

     From the first page to the last, this story kept me on the edge of my seat. I stayed up late into the night reading, unable to put the book down. The characters are complex, so persuasive in their views on life, morals and the very gray area between right and wrong. And to add to a great cast of players, Skin Game has a believable plot that is detailed enough to keep it interesting, yet never too complicated to follow. And for those of you who are interested, Ava Gray gave us some of the most sexually intense scenes I’ve read. Hot, passionate, crazy out of control and at the same time, the sex wasn’t tossed in there every few pages just to help sell the book and never overshadowed the story itself.

     For fans of romantic suspense who don’t mind a tiny smidgen of paranormal ability, I’d strongly recommend you give Skin Game a read. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

     Next up: Skin Tight, the story of Addison Foster and Mia, Kyra’s best – and only – friend. It promises to be every bit as exciting as Skin Game and trust me when I say that this one will not even make it to the bookshelf before I’ve finished reading it.

The Duke by Gaelen Foley

5+ Stars!! The Duke has earned a place of honor on my keepers bookshelf!

     This was my first read of author Gaelen Foley and I was more than pleasantly surprised, I was WOW’ed and am finding myself, once again, indebted to my Goodreads friends who encouraged me to read this book.

     The Duke is not merely a romance novel, it’s a truly wonderful love story, rich in detail and emotionally compelling characters. We’re given a closer look than we usually get in historical romance novels, at English society’s rules and class structure. We see more clearly what life was like for this those who have and those have naught, and what that means to the people of both ranks. In fact, this book could have been called A Tale of Two Classes.

     As the story opens, we meet our hero, Robert Knight, Duke of Hawkscliffe, a man grief stricken over the death of his lady love – who, at the time of her passing, was married to another man. Lucy was young, vibrant and everything he had ever hoped for in a wife, but instead of marrying him, she wedded James Breckenridge, the earl of Coldfell, a man well past being old enough to be her father. Robert has been given some information that would indicate that Lucy didn’t accidentally drown as they had at first believed, but was murdered. Finding the person responsible has become his life’s mission – however long it takes, he’ll find her killer and make them pay, no matter what.

     Belinda Hamilton is being pursued by Dolph Breckenridge, a spoiled young man with an exaggerated and entirely unfounded sense of his own self importance. He’s set on marrying Belinda, but her heart belongs to another, and so she repeatedly refuses his advances. As a male of high ranking societal status, with too much power and influence, but lacking the integrity to use them responsibly, Dolph sets out to destroy Belinda. By taking away everything and everyone dear to her, he believes that in the end, she’ll be left with nothing and have no choice but to agree to marry him. Using underhanded tactics, Dolph has her father thrown into debtor’s prison, and makes sure Belinda loses her teaching position at a prestigious girl’s school. Having lost their family home, she’s forced to sell oranges on the streets and take in mending and other odd jobs to earn enough to keep herself fed, and to ensure better living conditions for her father within his prison cell. She’s a woman of great integrity, and although she’s found her life in ruins, she will not to allow herself to be ruined. Sadly, in one tragic turn of events, however, she finds that sometimes, our choices are taken away from us and we have to make to make do with what fate has handed us.

     Thanks to an interesting chain of events and revelations, Hawkscliffe and Bel find themselves working together to reach their goals, in a story that runs the gamut of emotions. I laughed, I cried, I cheered, I sighed… in short, I was captivated by both the story and the players and never once gave up hoping that against all odds, in each other they’d find their happily ever after.

     In my opinion, Gaelen Foley’s writing is the perfect blend of the refined diction we would expect from early 1800’s England, without affecting the flow of dialog by using words and phrases that, while historically accurate, would only serve to confuse. Her style reminds me of that of Loretta Chase and Anna Campbell, whose books I truly love, and The Duke has a storyline that simply draws the reader in and hold their attention from the first page to the last… so needless to say, this was a great read and I’m looking forward to continuing the Knights Miscellany series.

A Kiss At Midnight (Fairy Tales #1) by Eloisa James

     This is not your mama’s Cinderella story!

     In A Kiss at Midnight we have a Godmother whose wisdom rivals any magic found in a wand, “rats” I wanted to love and cuddle and who’d be welcome at my house anytime, a stepsister who isn’t so wicked, and a step mother who is, a coach to whisk you away at the stroke of midnight, and a prince who is more than just charming, he’s a wonderful, honorable and a worthy human being – not to mention downright sexy!

     This was such a delightful re-telling of the classic Cinderella fairytale, presented in a way that makes one believe that finding your very own Prince Charming could happen to anyone. As might be expected, this story is splendid, enchanting and funny, heartwarming and at times heartbreaking, but one thing your mama’s Cinderella didn’t have was the heat between our hero and heroine, Gabriel, the prince and the Kate Daltry, our very own, in the flesh, Cinderella.

     I’m not going to spend time going over the plot details, as it’s really not necessary. Most all of us have either read the classic or seen this fairytale love story on the big screen, thanks to Walt Disney, and with the exception of a few minor twists to make this fit into “real life,” there’s no question about which fairytale A Kiss at Midnight is spun from.

     I want to say, Ms. James, thank you for this lovely story. It had me smiling, sighing, laughing out loud and even crying. This is the first book I’ve read by you, and I’m hooked! I’m thrilled to hear that you’ll be writing more in this series and that Wick, dear Wick, will be getting his own story in a novella. Thank you!

     Dear readers of my review, I urge you, if you’re in the mood for a light, feel good read, pick up this book and allow yourself to be swept away into this grown up Cinderella world, where insignificant little house maids can find their Prince Charming and together live their happily ever after.

Untouched by Anna Campbell

     My Review:

     After reading Claiming the Courtesan, I rushed out and bought all of Anna Campbell’s books and I’m glad I did! Untouched is another unique story told only the way Ms. Campbell can tell them.

     Matthew, Lord Sheene is a wonderful man who has been held captive under the guise of insanity by his greedy uncle John since he was 14 years old. Claiming that due to a serious illness Matthew is no longer able to care for himself and is prone to ‘fits’, his uncle was able to take and maintain control of Matthew’s fortune, using it for his own gain. Keeping Matt locked up was the only way for John to ensure that he could continue to spend the money any way he wanted. The problem is how to get Matthew, who is no longer a boy easily manipulated, to cooperate.

     Enter Grace Paget, a young widow who has known more heartache than any one person ever should. Having been disowned by her father and mistreated by her husband – both in bed and out – she now finds herself also being held captive by Matthew’s uncle so that Matthew would have someone to share his bed with. Uncle John thinks that having a woman at his beckon call will make Matthew more manageable and less likely to continue his attempts at escaping, but his mistake is underestimating Matt’s desire for freedom and Grace’s independent nature – she is not some shrinking violet who takes kindly to being forced to do anything against her will, nor is she the whore that uncle John believed her to be when he had her kidnapped.

     Matt believes that Grace is a willing and well paid participant in his uncle’s desire to keep him prisoner, and Grace thinks that Matt is lying about being held against his will, so as would be expected under these horrible conditions, they neither like nor trust each other. As individual characters, Matthew and Grace are great, each having their own strengths and weaknesses but as would be expected given the circumstances, instead of working together to gain freedom, they are constantly butting heads, thinking only of themselves and their own desire to be free from the estate they are being held on and free from each other as well. It’s not until they start to see one another as equal pawns in John’s scheme that they begin trusting each other enough to work together and soon, what were once feelings of loathing and suspicion become feelings of hope, faith, belief in one another and, eventually, love. They didn’t realize it at the time, but it is that love that would be their greatest strength of all.

     What makes this story special for me was that even though Matthew had been held prisoner for most of his youth and had very little interaction with anyone who had any moral values at all, he maintained his own integrity, never faltering in his knowledge of right and wrong. Whore’s had been brought for his use and he had no problem resisting them, but when Grace is delivered to him, he sees something different in her, something pure but it’s those years of his uncles tricks that convince him that Grace is just another tool, another attempt to break him. Though he was still a virgin he had to fight his desire for Grace, he refused to yield to it because that would be giving more control to his uncle and giving up one of the few things he had left – freedom to choose what went on within the walls of his elegant prison. He and Grace were more alike than they realized in the beginning because while Grace was not technically a virgin, having been married for several years, she didn’t know what it was like to be loved because while her body had been used, it had never been touched by a man who loved her, heart and soul.

     I enjoyed watching Matt and Grace as they learned to trust and love each other and it was so touching to see them as they willingly gave their innocence to one another, learning to love with not only their hearts and souls, but with their bodies as well. The emotions, actions and reactions were real and in keeping with what I would have expected. I appreciated this emotional and physical honesty in the story.

     Eventually, they devised a plan in which Grace could escape, although this plan was far from foolproof because it would leave Matthew behind to face whatever punishment his uncle would see fit to bestow upon him – and Matt knew from previous experience that his uncle loved handing out punishment; he had the physical scars to prove it. Grace swore that she would come back for him. That she would contact whoever she had to contact, tell them of Matthew’s circumstances, and return for him, which she did. YAY! They would, at last, have their happily ever after.

     SCREECH!!!!!!!!! Wait, what’s that you’re saying, Grace? You can’t be with him??? After having professed your eternal love for Matthew over and over, you can’t be together? Look at him, Grace, he’s on his hands and knees begging you!!! Have you lost your mind, woman!?!?!? How can you deny him?? Oh, ok. I see, it’s only for a year more that he must suffer. Ahhh, that’s alright then. Geez! Was the story not angst ridden enough that we had to toss that little bit of heartache, too?

     But, in Anna Campbell’s, and Grace’s defense, I can understand why Grace did what she did. She was well aware that Matt had never had the chance to experience life, and never had the chance to love. She wanted to give him that opportunity to make sure she was the person he really loved, that she was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, not because he knew of nothing else, but because he truly did love her. So I forgive you, Grace, for those few added pages of misery, and I want you to know that I’m glad Matt lost his virginity to you, that he found in you the woman who freed him from not only his uncle’s prison, but from the prison he had built around his heart. For this, for Matt, I forgive you, Grace. I forgive you.

Claiming the Courtesan by Anna Campbell

     This review contains spoilers!

     Claiming The Courtesan is one of those novels that is subjective… open to interpretation. Each reader will react differently to certain events, perhaps drawing on their own life’s experiences and emotions. I am no different and this review will be a collection of my own thoughts.

     I will start by saying that Anna Campbell did a brilliant job of allowing us a glimpse into Kylemore’s mind, not only as an adult but as a child, and it couldn’t have been an easy task, but it’s impossible to talk about the man without also talking about the boy.

     My first thoughts of Justin Kinmurrie, Duke of Kylemore were that he was protecting himself. I couldn’t help but feel that he held back, and when you’re a child raised in fear, not knowing what love feels like, in many ways you become a solitary being, closing yourself off from everyone around you. If we don’t allow people in, they can’t hurt us. If we don’t express our emotions, they can’t be mocked. If we don’t tell people what we are afraid of or what causes us grief, they can’t use that information to hurt us.

     I see The Duke of Kylemore as two separate people; Justin, the innocent, frightened child and Kylemore, the bitter and still frightened man. As a child, Justin had built a wall around himself, a fortress that protected not only his heart, but his very soul. I don’t think he was aware he had done it; it was just a vulnerable child’s way of surviving. It was instinctual and I don’t believe he could have his sanity any other way.

     As children, we know fear and disappointment, sadness and longing and if we are fortunate enough, we have parents, family, friends or guardians who help us learn to deal with those emotions. Justin had no one, really. While some of the servants who lived with the family cared for him, there was only so much influence they could have on the lad. When the time came, Justin was sent away to school where he was even more alone and had to endure the taunting from the other children when he would cry out in the night because of his horrible dreams.

      As a grown man, a wealthy nobleman of title, The Duke of Kylemore no longer had to deal with people’s mocking, scorn or ridicule. Did that mean his peers cared for him? No, of course not and he never deluded himself into thinking that they did. They merely respected him and dared not do anything that would put them on his bad side.

     The romantic in me can’t help but imagine that the first time he saw Soraya from across Sir Eldrith Moore’s drawing room, he recognized her as his ‘other half.’ The missing part which would make him whole and his soul needed her to be complete. It wasn’t about self gratification or merely lust. No, I believe he was drawn to her in a way he couldn’t explain nor could he have stopped had he wanted to.

     Soraya also had quite a reaction to seeing Kylemore across that room and again, it’s the hopeless romantic in me that believes her soul knew his and that frightened her. She had her life all planned out; she would work as a well paid whore until she had enough money to care for her brother and sister and when she could finally leave her shameful past behind her, she had resigned herself to living alone, never loving or being loved. I think this is why she did what she could to discourage Kylemore’s request to be her protector. The feelings he stirred within her would surely make a mess of the nice, tidy little package of the future she envisioned for herself, and no doubt she saw him as another pompous, wealthy nobleman who thought he was entitled to anything he wanted, including her.

     As events unfolded leading up to Soraya’s departure, I could feel a tightening in my chest and found myself thinking, “No, don’t do this… not this way.” Kylemore was stunned by her refusal to his proposal. I thought it interesting that he didn’t actually ask her, he told her: “You will make a most spectacular duchess.” And, “I want you to be my wife.” At this point, Verity noticed how the muscle in his cheek and he was gripped by strong emotions. I believe she took this to mean that he was angry and determined to have his way, which of course he was… but I also believe there was more.

     I sensed a degree of panic in Kylemore when she refused his proposal. No one ever told him ‘no’, and wasn’t he offering her the world? Their relationship had been purely physical, as far has he had been able to tell, but in truth, he needed her on a level and with a desperation he didn’t understand. He felt it, but didn’t recognize it for what it was. He thought she was merely an obsession of his lust, something to possess, and to admit he needed someone would be like lowering the drawbridge to the fortress that was his safe haven.

I also felt in Verity – not Soraya – the same panic at his proposal. He was the only man who could undermine everything she had built, everything she had worked for…and again, she didn’t recognize it for what it was, an emotion that went deeper than the sexual attraction she held for him. I think this scared her because as Verity, she needed to be needed. She is a healer, and fixer and a caregiver. There was nothing about the Kylemore the world was allowed to see that she could fit into any of those categories.

     I wasn’t surprised by Kylemore’s anger in response to Soraya’s leaving without saying goodbye or giving him her reasons. I understood completely why he assumed she left him – she was a thief, a whore, and all other manner of gutter names he could think of. Because he always assumed the worse in everyone, (and why wouldn’t he with the way he had been raised?) he never considered that she might have had good reasons to leave.

     Now, I’m going to get straight to the rape scenes which I thought, if it’s possible given the subject matter, were handled and written well. Now, I’ll make this disclaimer right up front… “No” means “no.” As soon as Verity indicated she was not giving herself willingly, he should have stopped. I don’t think any one of us feels differently about that. However, I don’t think he, at that moment, could even fathom the idea that she didn’t really want him because as we are told, her body betrayed her and she was ‘prepared’ to receive him. Again, he should have stopped and had he been in his right mind, in control of his emotions, I believe that Justin would have but Kylemore was still feeling betrayed, angry and bitter himself. I think that, especially in historical romance novels, the sex act is a form of ownership, which also lends credence to the idea that Kylemore was desperate to own her, to make her his and since he was emotionally detached, the only way he knew was sexually. And hadn’t he literally owned her that way already?

     As I stated earlier, it is in Verity’s nature to fix things. She is a comforter and a protector and even though she was held against her will and yes, raped, when she finally understood what was happening to Kylemore, that caregiver part of her was summoned and she responded to his need. The same thing happened to Kylemore when he finally understood why Verity had conjured Soraya. All I can say is thank God Verity had presence of mind enough to keep her true self sheltered while she lived as Soraya.

     I remember the part where she had awakened him from a nightmare and then held him and I recalled a puppy we had gotten from the shelter when I was a kid. The poor little thing would sit in our lap and tremble. Wouldn’t look at us, wouldn’t move away but still trembled. I was reminded of this when I read that part. That’s the way Kylemore acted and as Verity began telling her own tale, he wouldn’t interrupt her, wouldn’t look at her… he just let her hold him and comfort him afraid that she might stop talking or worse, let go of him. While I’m not suggesting Justin/Kylemore had split personalities, it was at this point that I believe Justin began to emerge more fully.

     I loved watching their relationship become not one of Courtesan and Protector, but one of lovers, true lovers in every sense of the word.

     And while there were still obstacles to overcome, I was thrilled with the ending of the story. I’ve come to adore Kylemore as much as I do Justin, and Soraya every bit as much as Verity.

The most frustrating part of the story for me was the whole “I’m not worthy” theme. That bothers me and I think it’s overwritten in many stories and I felt like it was laid on a little heavily in this one, especially since Justin still wanted to marry her. It wasn’t until he called her a coward for not even trying that she considered that perhaps she was worthy after all.

Both characters had much to overcome and their strengths and weaknesses complimented each other beautifully.

     The Bottom Line: If I had to sum up this story in four lines it would be done with a poem by Edwin Markham and in my heart, mind and soul it defines Kylemore, the man as he was, and the woman who was Verity.

He drew a circle that shut me out--

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.

But love and I had the wit to win;

We drew a circle that took him in