Review: Scandal

Review: ScandalScandal (Regency Lovers 6) by Carole Mortimer
Published by Carole Mortimer on July 31st 2019
Genres: Historical
Pages: 164
Goodreads
two-half-stars

FINAL DECISION: Just okay for me. The story is hot, but I never got any connection between Rachel and Grayson personally. She doesn’t know anything about him that would explain their relationship other than lust.

THE STORY: Rachel Banford is fascinated by Mr. Grayson Long although he is of lower class, being the steward of her friend’s fiance and he is also much older than Rachel. Despite their explosive initial meeting, the two circle around one another. Grayson has a secret and he certainly doesn’t intend to become involved with an innocent aristocratic young woman.

OPINION: I never got any connection between Gray and Rachel and so the rest of the book was just okay for me. I don’t expect much from these stories which are mostly hot sex in with a slight story and character, but this one just didn’t do anything for me. It was an okay read but I wanted more connection between the characters.

WORTH  MENTIONING: This book is novella length.

CONNECTED BOOKS: SCANDAL is the sixth book in the Regency Lovers series. The books are connected with couples and characters starting in one book to the next. This book can be read as a standalone although there is overlap.

STAR RATING: I give this book 2.5 stars.

 

two-half-stars

Review: Surrender

Review: SurrenderSurrender (Regency Lovers 5) by Carole Mortimer
Series: Regency Lovers #5
Published by Carole Mortimer on May 10th 2019
Genres: Historical
Pages: 104
Goodreads
three-stars

FINAL DECISION: A quick read, this isn’t a brilliant book but it was entertaining for what it is. A quick and easy hot historical with plenty of drama and crazy situations.

THE STORY: Clara Catchpole was rescued from her kidnappers by Lord Ezra Stone. After being rescued, Clara doesn’t want to be separated from Ezra and knows that there is a connection between them despite the big age gap between them. (She is eighteen and he is thirty-eight.) But Ezra insists on keeping a distance between them. However, when another threat on Clara’s life arises, Ezra and Clara get closer and it threatens his insistence on keeping things proper between them.

OPINION: This was an enjoyable little read. Crazy circumstances, crazy hot scenes. Nothing about it felt historically accurate or realistic, but it was a quick read with plenty of dramatic situations. I also enjoyed getting to see characters from the series who have important roles to play in this book. Ezra has plenty of secrets that cause serious problems in this book, and they are totally over the top. Clara is definitely not a shrinking violet. She goes after what she wants and that is Ezra despite all the potential obstacles in their path.

WORTH MENTIONING: At about 100 pages, this book is really a novella.

CONNECTED BOOKS: SURRENDER is the fifth book in the Regency Lovers series. Although there are overlapping characters, this book can be read as a standalone.

STAR RATING: I give this book 3 stars.

three-stars

Review: Forbidden

Review: ForbiddenForbidden (Regency Lovers #4) by Carole Mortimer
Series: Regency Lovers #4
Published by Carole Mortimer on February 28, 2019
Genres: Historical
Goodreads
four-stars

FINAL DECISION: I enjoyed this story which really felt like a continuation of the previous book in the series. There is plenty of insta-love here, but that aside, the story was enjoyable. I wanted more heat to the story, however.

THE STORY: When Zachary Nobel, Earl of Harrogate, saves the life of Lady Rissa Spencer, he finds himself entranced by the young outspoken woman. But just when he begins to think of romance between them, he discovers that her stepmother is the woman he was accused of raping a decade ago. Even though he was eventually cleared of the crime, he doesn’t have much hope that Rissa’s father will welcome him as a suitor for his daughter. But when a common enemy from the past reappears, Zachary is determined to protect the woman he calls his Angel.

OPINION: I liked this story primarily because I really enjoyed the prior book in the series and this one was closely related. I liked seeing characters I knew from that book again and for two of them to get their own happy ending.

This is a novella length story and thus there is some insta-love involved. Zachary and Rissa are quickly involved but then the story actually starts. One negative is that Zachary seemed somewhat younger than his chronological age. Positives are that I enjoyed the story because it was intertwined with the closure from the prior book.

I also liked that this was a quick and easy read. For fans of the prior book, this one is a great addition.

There is plenty of foreplay in this book, but no actual consummation “on stage” which was a bit of a disappointment. I needed one more chapter.

WORTH MENTIONING: There are appearances from Sophia and Magnus from CRAVING.

CONNECTED BOOKS: FORBIDDEN is the fourth book in the Regency Lovers series. Although it is a standalone, it is closely connected to the third book in the series CRAVING so I recommend reading at least these two in order.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

 

four-stars

Review: Craving

Review: CravingCraving (Regency Lovers 3) by Carole Mortimer
Series: Regency Lovers #3
Published by Carole Mortimer on December 7, 2018
Genres: Historical
Goodreads
four-half-stars

FINAL DECISION: I really enjoyed this novella. Yes, it isn’t very deep and the events happen quickly, but I thought the story was well constructed and I really liked the relationship between Sophia and Magnus.

THE STORY: Miss Sophia Marchment is the head of a school for young women where she teaches her students her independent and somewhat scandalous ideas. When she is in London, she meets with a prospective student and her father. Magnus Spencer, Duke of Weston is shocked by his attraction to the young headmistress and while he knows that Sophia has secrets, the heat of the attraction between them brings them together. But someone is threatening Sophia and her past may be the reason.

OPINION: This is my favorite of the series so far. I think I grade these books on a curve. A book trying to be a different length and level of sophistication, or a different author, my rating might be different. But I read these Mortimer books with the intent to enjoy the story alone and not to look for an introspective or complex story.

As a novella this one works very well and I enjoyed the characters more than I expected. Although there is some deep material here, the characters do manage to develop a relationship (although there is some insta-love). I also thought that Magnus ended up being a nice character especially with how he treats Sophia (with one exception — he is a jerk with how he breaks the twist in the story to her).

I especially liked Sophia who is nobody’s doormat here. She is independent and determined to do what she thinks is right. I thought that the strong wills of Sophia and Magnus worked well here. Sometimes the Mortimer heroines are overwhelmed by her strong Alpha heroes, but not here. Sophia definitely holds her own.

WORTH MENTIONING: This is novella length.

CONNECTED BOOKS: CRAVING is the third book in the Regency Lovers series. Although there are some overlapping characters, this book can be read as a standalone.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

four-half-stars

Review: Obsession

Review: ObsessionObsession (Regency Lovers #2) by Carole Mortimer
Series: Regency Lovers #2
Published by Carole Mortimer on September 14, 2018
Genres: Historical
Goodreads
two-half-stars

FINAL DECISION: Unrealistic and simplistic in many ways, but I enjoyed this easy and short read. More impression than full story, this was an okay one time read.

THE STORY: Lord Alexander Stirling was made the guardian of a fifteen year old girl, sent her to a boarding school and promptly forgot about her. Years later, that ward, Amanda Fullerton has come to London to confront Alex and demand that she be recognized. Alex is shocked by Amanda who isn’t the demur young woman he expects.

OPINION: This is a easy and uncomplicated read. The characters are written in broad strokes, their relationship is mostly drama without much emotional depth. This isn’t one of the complicated romances that I love, but I still thought this book was okay.

Some books are meant to be complicated journeys and some can be enjoyable popcorn that can be read in a quick manner and then put aside. This book is that second type. I enjoyed the quick and dirty story with plenty of heat between the characters. Once the book was done, I put is aside. There wasn’t really much to the story beyond the blurb description, but that was okay because I knew what I was getting.

In many ways, this book is like a novella that is focused on the broad outlines of the story.

WORTH MENTIONING: This book has a lot of sexual activity, but no full sexual consummation.

CONNECTED BOOKS: OBSESSION is the second book in the Regency Lovers series. This book can be read as a standalone although there are overlapping characters from the first book.

STAR RATING: I give this book 2.5 stars.

two-half-stars

Review: A Regency Duo

Review: A Regency DuoA Regency Duo by Angelique Armae, Carole Mortimer
Series: Regency Lovers #1,
Published by Angelique Armae on June 22, 2018
Genres: Historical
Goodreads
three-stars

This book contains two separate short novellas that are the first book in their series.

INDECENT by Carole Mortimer: Miss Emma Harris rejects the idea of marriage to the Adam Stirling, Duke of Harkwood. He proposed to her and then flaunts his affair with another woman on the same day.  When Emma discovers she was mistaken, she is contrite, but Adam intends to teach Emma a lesson about jumping to conclusions — a very erotic lesson.

I enjoyed this story. It is short and easy to read. The characters are not complex and the facts of the story feel completely unrealistic. But this is a good easy read that is really focused on the sexual exploits of these characters. Fans of Carole Mortimer’s more sexy series will instantly recognize this situation and this story is one of the better stories.

This is the first book in the Regency Lovers series.  Rating: 3.5 stars.

PRINCE OF SCANDAL by Angelique Armae: Lady Elizabeth Littlefield must figure out how to save her work on her orphanage in face of her brother’s insistence that she wed a man she has no desire to be associated with. When an old friendship with the youngest prince Freddie is renewed, Lizzie and Freddie end up in a compromising situation that threatens to ruin Lizzie and put her in danger from the secret work that Freddie is doing.

This story had promise, but there is too much plot for such a short book to be combined with an actual romance. The story might have been better as a longer book. But because there is so much plot to explain, the relationship suffers. Even worse, the plot has a lot of inconsistencies which cause more problems. One example is that Lizzie won’t disobey her brother in order to protect her orphanage, but yet she still has to send all the children away because the man she will marry won’t approve of the orphanage. If the focus had been on the relationship, I might overlook these plot problems, but when the plot is the focus, I tend to concentrate on these types of problems.

This is the first in the Seduced by Scandal series. Rating: 2 stars.

three-stars