“The Right Kind of Rogue” is the 8th book in the Playful Brides series. I’ve read all the books in the series, so far, and Valerie Bowman never disappoints. I have been waiting-impatiently- for Meg and Harts story since I read about them in “The Legendary Lord.” I usually love the wallflower books so this book was a perfect fit.
Our heroine, Meg, is the best friend of Sarah who ends up married to Christian Forester, Viscount Berkeley. Christian appears in many of the previous books as one of Lucy’s friend. Sarah and Meg are exact opposites. Where Sarah is the belle of the season, Meg is a wilting wallflower coming from a nearly impoverished family. Her gowns are outdated and her marriage prospects don’t exist. Meg has always loved Sarah’s brother -Hart since she was sixteen. The many problems with this is that Hart’s family expect him to make a good match. Meg is not a good match. Aside from being impoverished, her father and Hart’s father are enemies and loath each other. Hart has never thought twice about Meg until his sister marries Christian and he shares a kiss with Meg. Meg has never forgotten the kiss, and although a case of mistaken identity, neither has Hart. When Sarah tells her best friend that Hart has decided to find a wife Meg realizes that time is running out and she has to take matters into her own hands. Because Meg’s situation is very dire she seeks out the help of the ever clever Lucy. Lucy has had a hand in many of the matches in the previous books.
Lucy is determined to help Hart and Meg find their way to one another, but her plans rarely go smoothly and without a doubt hearts get broken. For Harts part, he is in need of a wife, when he finds himself drawn to Meg he knows that there are more appropriate girls for him but he is still drawn to her. Even though Meg and Hart finally end of married theirs is not a happy union. There are many miscommunications between them and Hart has a long way to go before he can learn to trust.
I should know by now that when I start a Valerie Bowman story I am going to finish it in one sitting. I was completely enthralled with Meg and Harts story. I ached for them and wanted to strangle Hart at different times! One of the common threads through this series is the female friendships that always bind the heroines and give them a shoulder to lean on! Humor is never missing in her books. The good news is that there is another book in the series! The bad! We have to wait for it.
The first book of three in a richly imagined ancient world where the course of history is altered by one battle. In this world, Antony and Cleopatra triumph at the Battle of Actium, and Cleopatra emerges as a queen, stateswoman, and politician. Those around her come to life as the reader returns to those days to live them with her.
"The first in a series, Cleopatra Unconquered by Helen R. Davis is a treat for those fascinated by Egypt and the lost glories of antiquity. The author weaves the fruits of her careful research into a fascinating combination of both the historical fiction and fantasy genres. It gives readers a look into history as it was, as well as into what might have been." - Elena Marie Vidal, author of The Paradise Tree
Tracing her life back to her humble beginnings, when she is abandoned by her father, Evita takes the reader on her journey to become an actress and later, to the pivotal moment when she meets Colonel Juan Perón. Never content to stay in her husband’s shadow, Evita reveals how she shares his belief that Peronism will help the working class. Eventually she begins doing work on her own as the president of the Society of Benevolence, helping the poor and winning the peoples’ trust.
As the times change and women get the vote, Evita becomes even more powerful, running the Ministries of Labor and Health, starting a foundation, and organizing the first female party, The Female Peronist Party.
A larger-than-life story, told in her own fictional words, the powerful novel is as educational as it is entertaining.
My review
Three Stars
Copy received from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for an honest review
I have always found Evita to be such an interesting person! I've often done many classes on her and her life. I've also read a few books about her. I thought Davis really understood and captured the voice of Evita as she tells the story through her own voice. Evita was a very enigmatic person and as time has passed, her legend has grown. Overall, this was a fun and interesting read. Since I have read a few pieces of writing about her, my only issues was that I didn't really think that I learned anything new. But this was still a fun adventure into her own personal telling of her story.
Anne Boleyn is known throughout the world as the beheaded wife of King Henry VIII, a woman for whom Henry discarded a Spanish princess and who was later discarded for the woman who gave Henry his longed-for son. Love her or hate her, it cannot be denied her romance with Henry VIII changed the course of English and European, and perhaps World History, forever.
This is a novel that imagines Anne Boleyn giving Henry a son and taking the reins of power as Regent of England when Henry VIII perishes in a jousting accident.
Told in the voice of the infamous Anne Boleyn, we are treated to the 16th century world that has recently become famous through programs such as The Tudors. We meet Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII, and many of the personalities of the mid-16th century albeit in an altered setting.
How would this era and time, a pivotal one in Western Civilization, have changed if one of the movers and shakers of the period, Anne Boleyn, had not been struck down in her prime by the man who once adored her?
Helen R. Davis is an American author. Her first novel, Evita: My Argentina was previously published as Evita: My Life and republished with Custom Book Publications in Hong Kong. Her second novel, CLEOPATRA UNCONQUERED, which is the first in a series, imagines a world in which Antony and Cleopatra, rather than Augustus Caesar, are the victors of the Battle of Actium. the sequel, CLEOPATRA VICTORIOUS, will be released soon, followed by the titles CLEOPATRA MAGNIFICA and CLEOPATRA TRIUMPHANT. Her third novel, or at least, her third historical novel/alternate history, THE MOST HAPPY, will be published with Callipe Editorial, based out of Madrid Spain, on July 25th, 2017.
For more information, please visit Helen Davis' website. You can also connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
Friday, October 6
Review at Pursuing Stacie (The Most Happy)
Giveaway
During the Blog Tour we will be giving away eBooks of Cleopatra Unconquered & Evita...My Argentina & a paperback of The Most Happy! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.
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Atlanta
Skyline’s star Swedish wingback Oz Terim-or as the fans call him, the
Wizard-has an airtight plan for his life, his career, even his meticulously
renovated house, but he barely gives a thought to the Islamic faith he
inherited from his Turkish parents. So no one’s more surprised than he is when
he’s the victim of anti-Muslim hate crime. Refusing to take the threat
seriously, he resists the security detail Skyline insists on . . . until he
meets Kate Mitchell. There’s no room for her in his plan and she’s the exact
opposite of what he wants. Then why can’t he keep his hands off her?
After ten
years in the military-and getting fired from her first post-Army job in Saudi
Arabia-Kate Mitchell has slunk home to her Georgia roots. Private security
isn’t the career she dreamed of, nor is she thrilled to work with an uptight
professional athlete who plays a sport she has no interest in. She never
expected to be attracted to him-or for him to fall for her, too. As their
opposite lives tangle up-and the threat against Oz grows more serious-Kate has
to decide who she wants to be in life and in love.
“A
well-crafted and very enjoyable sports romance that also delves into a timely
subplot of the challenges faced by immigrants to America . . . Crossing
Hearts delivers an exciting and passionate read.” -allaboutromance.com
About
Rebecca Crowley
Rebecca
Crowley inherited her love of romance from her mom, who taught her to at least
partially judge a book by the steaminess of its cover. She writes contemporary
romance and romantic suspense with smart heroines and swoon-worthy heroes, and
never tires of the happily-ever-after. Having pulled up her Kansas roots to
live in New York City and London, Rebecca currently resides in Johannesburg,
South Africa.
Twilight Empress: A Novel of Imperial Rome by Faith L. Justice
Publication Date: May 12, 2017
Raggedy Moon Books
eBook & Print; 392 Pages
Series: The Theodosian Women, Book 1
Genre: Fiction/Historical/Action & Adventure
Twilight Empress tells the little-known story of a remarkable woman—Galla Placidia, sister to one of the last Roman Emperors. Roman princess, Gothic captive and queen—Placidia does the unthinkable—she rules the failing Western Roman Empire—a life of ambition, power and intrigue she doesn’t seek, but can’t refuse. Her actions shape the face of Western Europe for centuries.
A woman as well as an Empress, Placidia suffers love, loss, and betrayal. Can her strength, tenacity and ambition help her survive and triumph over scheming generals, rebellious children, and Attila the Hun? Or will the Dark Ages creep closer and bring down the Empire?
Faith L. Justice is a science geek and history junkie, which is reflected in her writing. Her short stories and poems have appeared in such publications as "The Copperfield Review", "Beyond Science Fiction and Fantasy", and the "Circles in the Hair" anthology. Faith has published in such venues as "Salon.com", "Writer’s Digest", "The Writer", and "Bygone Days". She’s an Associate Editor for "Space & Time Magazine", a frequent contributor to "Strange Horizons", and co-founded a writer’s workshop more years ago than she cares to admit.
To contact Faith, read her essays and interviews, or get a sneak preview of her historical novels, visit her website at www.faithljustice.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
Julie Anne Long is a hit or miss author with me, I read one of her contemporary books in the past and didn’t care for it. I also read one of her historical, “It Started With a Scandal” which I absolutely loved and have read and re-read several times. If anyone is a historical fiction reader, “It Started With a Scandal” is a must read. “Dirty Dancing at Devil’s Leap” has been on my e-reader for a few weeks now and it wasn’t until I read so many great reviews about it that I started to read it.
The story starts Avalon Harwood. When the story begins she is at the top of her game. Thanks to an ingenious idea she has joined Silicon Valley’s top programmers when she invents a virtual game that makes her not only a lot of money, but also very famous. It is only when she is feeling at her best, at the top of her game, when she happens to walk in on her boyfriend and their intern in the middle of having sex. Ava is furious, not only is her boyfriend-well hers, but he is also her business partner. She packs up her bags and heads to her hometown- Hellcat Canyon.
When she returns to Hellcat Canyon Ava reminisces about her childhood and also her childhood love- Maximilian “Mac” Coltrane. Max comes from a very wealthy family and when he and Ava were growing up they were from very different backgrounds-him wealthy hers not. Now because of turn in events, Ava is the wealthy one and Max is living a life very different from the one he grew up accustomed to. When Max’s childhood home is put up on the market Ava wins it in an auction, she feels like she has finally been able to fulfill her childhood dreams and plans to turn the house around-it has decayed over the years- and sell it. Fortunately, or unfortunately, for Ava has very different plans and he wants to buy back his childhood home and get Ava off his property. Both Ava and Max are worthy opponents and they have plenty of mischief up their sleeves. I’ll just say nudist and smelly fertilizer is involved.
Overall, this was a cute story but it felt very long and drawn out. The secondary characters seemed more like fillers and I didn’t really gain too much interest in them. Max was a nice hero but there weren’t too many qualities about him that really made him memorable. One of the reasons that Ava and him had a falling out was because when they were dating Ava heard Max say deeming things about Ava and her financial circumstances. As he grew up and became more of himself and less of his father, Max was very sorry for the hurtful things he said and did not feel the same anymore. He spent his adult years become more of himself. Even though I didn’t love this story I do plan to keep reading more books by Julie Ann Long.
review posted on: http://ramblingsfromthischick.blogspot.com
and http://booknerdloleotodo.blogspot.com
I’ve had a galley of “The Duchess Deal” for several weeks and I cannot believe it took me until the publication date to get around to reading it! I’ve read Tessa Dare before and loved her books! “The Duchess Deal” had me laughing so hard I had to out the book down. There are so many funny and witty scenes I re-read them several times. I started highlighting witty dialogue and then gave up because more than half of the book would be highlighted! This is a true beauty and a beast love story with laughter, tenderness and very, very, sexy scenes!
First, the heroine. She is one of my all-time favorites! Emma Gladstone vicar’s daughter turned seamstress was everything anyone could hope for in a heroine. She is sweet, tender, tough, funny witty and resourceful! Life has knocked her down a few times and she fought her way up. With pricked fingers from her trade she marches up to the Duke of Ashbury and demands compensation for the gown she sewed for his ex-fiancée. Although the wedding never took place, Emma needs the money to pay for her rent. Emma refuses to be kicked out on the street and in the cold again. She went down that road once before and she won’t do it again.
Soon after his engagement is called off, Ash finds himself in need of a wife. It shouldn’t be so hard since he is extremely wealthy. But the brutal scars he received on the battlefield are deterrents to any lady of the ton. When Emma appears in his study wearing his ex-fiancee’s wedding dress Ash is sure that he has never seen anything like this before. First the dress is hideous and Ash tells Emma so and second he is in desperate need of a duchess. When Ash makes Emma an offer she cannot refuse-she refuses! She is certain that Ash is mentally unstable and gratefully takes her fee for the dress and leaves. But Ash is not ready to concede defeat yet and he finds Emma at the local dress shop where she works. Emma realizes that she is given an opportunity that she will never receive again. Her father has disowned her and her trade will only take her so far. She accepts but Ash has very specific rules for their union. Theirs is a union of convenience and there is to be no affection between them. Once Emma provides Ash with an heir her duties will have been completed and she can run off to a little house he owns in the country and live out the rest of her existence as she wishes. The plan seems simple enough if Emma and Ash don’t end up falling in love with one another. But both Emma and Ash carry a lot of hurt and anger from their past. They are both not use to feeling vulnerable since in the past it has ended up with both their hearts broken.
Needless to say this was such a fun story to read! It was so gratifying on so many levels. The witty quips back and forth and the amazing chemistry made Ash or “bumpkin” as Emma likes to call him, a great couple. I really enjoyed both of them as individual characters and as a couple. I ached for them and all the hurt that they carried and triumphed with them when they finally find love! This is definitely one of my all-time favorite stories!
