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Bachelor Lords of London Series, Book 3  

I still haven’t found the first book in this series but if I stumble across it, I’ll definitely read it. Like most romances, they really don’t need to be read in order but it is more fun when I can do it that way.

Charis Michaels appears to be a new romance writer and she is definitely on my to-be-read list. In fact, I had stopped reading Avon Impulse books but I’ve changed my mind because of this author.

We briefly met Beau Courtland, Viscount Rainsleigh, in the Virgin and the Viscount. At the end of that book, Beau’s brother Bryson turns the title over to Beau, who has no interest in being a viscount whatsoever. He refuses to move into the mansion, instead lives on a small, dirty boat that he is working on.

Lady Emmaline Crumbley is in dire straights. Her parents married her off to a Duke who was forty-some years older than she was, and then they died. The Duke died shortly thereafter leaving her the Dowager Duchess and dependent on her stepson who is considerably older than she. She is also responsible for taking care of her teenage brother who is “simple”.

Emma is determined to get to America and sell off the books her father had published, it’s her only chance at financial freedom. But the new Duke wants to get his hands on the money in trust for her brother, and keeps them under close watch.

The previous viscount makes an offhand remark that he wished she would teach his brother the ways of proper society, and she offers to do so in exchange for passage to America for her, her brother and the books.

This is not as complicated as it sounds, and it’s a good story. Emma and Beau have a strong attraction and this is their love story – and it’s pretty good. A very enjoyable read.

1/17  Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™

ONE FOR THE ROGUE by Charis Michaels. Avon Impulse (January 10, 2017). ISBN: 978-0062412973. 416p.

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Hellions of Havisham Series, Book 3

It’s my week for Viscounts, I guess, which are pronounced Vie-count, no “s” at all – I double checked.

I actually read the first book in this series, but somehow missed the second so guess I’ll have to go dig that up. This was really good.

Lord Lockley is heir to the Viscount but his father, while still alive, is mad as a hatter. Lockley’s mother died in childbirth, and his father went mad with grief. The house has fallen into disrepair, but Lockley gets a shock when a beautiful young woman shows up at the front door.

Portia announces that she is there to marry the Viscount and Lockley gets his hackles up. His father apparently put an ad in the paper seeking a wife of child bearing age. Since his son hasn’t married, he wants to produce his own “spare”.

Portia is seeking financial security, and Lockley isn’t about to let a fortune hunter take advantage of his father. After reading the fine print of the contract, he realizes that he can protect his father if he marries the young widow himself, and he does so immediately. There is an incredible physical attraction between them, but both are also determined not to fall in love. Lockley fears madness and Portia fears heartbreak.

But what good is a romance if no one falls in love? Yes, there is a good deal of very erotic sex (that Heath is known for) but love – well, you’ll have to read it to find out.

An excellent addition to the series.

12/16  Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™

THE VISCOUNT AND THE VIXEN by Lorraine Heath. Avon (November 29, 2016). ISBN: 978-0062391056. 400p.

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Bachelor Lords of London Series, Book 2  

So I’ve fallen back on my bad habits and I started this series with this book, the second in the series. I had a digital review copy that I had requested because it sounded interesting, but then I realized it was from the Avon Impulse imprint, which I had sworn off because I read a few in a row that I didn’t care for. But I had it on my iPad, needed something to read at a doctor’s office, and forgot why I hadn’t read it before. And I was happily surprised – it was really good.

Charis Michaels is a new romance writer from what I can tell, it looks like this was her second book and a third has come out since. She is definitely someone to watch.

Lady Elisabeth Hamilton-Baythes is the virgin in the title. Her parents were killed by highway men when she was a young teen, and she was kidnapped and sold to a brothel where she’s branded and left in a room while the owners tried to get the best price for a night with her.

But before she can be deflowered, a young lord Bryson shows up in her room. His father has decided it is time for him to lose his virginity, and the humiliation is just an added bonus. He and Elisabeth climb out the window and he helps her escape to an aunt’s house in London.

Fast forward several years and Elisabeth’s aunt is hosting a party for Bryson Courtland, Viscount Rainsleigh, a rich and powerful man. The same man Elisabeth has mooned over since he saved her. But while he doesn’t recognize her, he is attracted to her and in need of a wife.

You can figure out what happens but let me say that there is a lot of drama, some hot sex and some heartbreak along the way. Looking forward to more from this author.

12/16  Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™

THE VIRGIN AND THE VISCOUNT by Charis Michaels. Avon Impulse (August 23, 2016). ISBN: 978-0062412959. 416p.

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The Rogue Files, Book 1

One my favorite Christmas movies is “While You Were Sleeping“, Sandra Bullock’s first starring role and if you, too, like that movie, you will like this book. The film:

Lonely transit worker Lucy Eleanor Moderatz (Sandra Bullock) pulls her longtime crush, Peter (Peter Gallagher), from the path of an oncoming train. At the hospital, doctors report that he’s in a coma, and a misplaced comment from Lucy causes Peter’s family to assume that she is his fiancée. When Lucy doesn’t correct them, they take her into their home and confidence. Things get even more complicated when she finds herself falling for Peter’s sheepish brother, Jack.

This book is the same story, only set a couple of hundred years earlier.

Poppy Fairchurch is a salesgirl in a flower shop where the Duke of Autenberry shops nearly every day. He is handsome, kind and generous, and Poppy fancies herself in love with him. He, of course, doesn’t even know she’s alive.

One day after shopping, Poppy sees the Duke throw a punch at another man. The Duke ends up in the road and a horse drawn cart is racing down upon him. Poppy flings herself on the Duke, pushing him to safety. A moment later, the other man in the fight pushes Poppy to safety.

Turns out the men are half brothers and don’t get along. Poppy’s boss insists she accompany the unconscious Duke home, where due to a mis-overhead conversation, the housekeeper thinks they are engaged. The Duke is in a coma, but family is delighted with Poppy somehow, despite the difference in their classes.

Meanwhile Struan, the half-brother, who was raised in Scotland, is intrigued with the shopgirl and can’t quite believe she is engaged to the Duke. The Duke’s best friend knows it isn’t true, but he peruades Poppy to allow the family to think they are engaged.

Poppy and Struan are both fighting an intense physical attraction but none too successfully, and there are a few steamy scenes there.

The happy ending is eventually reached, and Poppy and Struan realize they fell in love while the Duke was sleeping.

11/16  Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™

WHILE THE DUKE WAS SLEEPING by Sophie Jordan. Avon (October 25, 2016). ISBN: 978-0062222541. 384p.

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The Improper Princesses, Book 1

I am quite proud of myself, I actually am reading the first book of a series first. A rare treat. Although, oddly, it did feel a bit like there may have been stories that came before. So maybe this series was spun off from another series? Ah, the mysteries of historical romances – eventually I will figure it out, I suppose.

This is a terrific romance between a very proper Duke and a complete “hoyden”. Gillian is the by blow (bastard) of royalty and has grown up a completely wild child in Sicily. When her beloved stepfather is killed, she tracks down and kills his murderers, a most unusual trait in a princess, I can assure you. But in doing so, Gillian has made herself the target of bandits wishing to avenge their compadres deaths.

Gillian, her mother and grandmother flee to England, where the Perfect Penroy, Duke of Leverton, agrees to sponsor Gillian into society, in hopes she will find a husband. But at her first ball, she punches out a man who insults her, fueling the gossip to a new extreme. Then when the Duke’s ex-fiancee ups the gossip ante with vicious lies, he takes the women to his country home until things die down a bit with the ton.

On the way, they are robbed and Gillian is distraught that the necklace from her stepfather has been taken. Bandits are working on Leverton land and the Gillian and the Duke cannot agree on how to handle it.

Eventually Gillian realizes that she is in love with the Duke, but is despondent that he could ever love someone like her. The Duke is a little slower to realize it but they do get their happy ending – but not until lots of danger, trading secrets about their pasts and some lovemaking occur.

This is an enjoyable read –  quick, lusty and fun. I’m looking forward to Three Weeks with a Princess, Book 2 in the series, but have to wait until next year for it.

10/16  Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™

MY FAIR PRINCESS by Vanessa Kelly. Zebra (August 30, 2016). ISBN: 978-1420141092. 352p.

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