Sandy M’s review of She Tempts the Duke (Lost Lords of Pembrook, Book 1) by Lorraine Heath
Historical Romance published by Avon 31 Jan 12

Lorraine Heath never fails to pull every emotion under the sun out of me when I read her books. And when she does it all through her heroes is what brings me back to her books time after time. In her new Lost Lords of Pembrook series, we meet three brothers who have gone through hell to return home to regain what was stolen from them years before when they were just children. In this book, it’s the oldest brother, the Duke of Keswick, who starts the series off, bringing along guilt, responsibility, and, most amazing of all to him, love.

The Pembrook lords’ frightening plight begins when they are young boys who have been imprisoned by their uncle after their father’s mysterious and very convenient death. Knowing what’s probably in store for them, Sebastian, the oldest and, thus, the next duke, is working out how to escape when the door to the castle tower opens to give them their first view of their fate. But fate has decided to smile on them by sending their friend Mary, who overheard the evil plans laid out for the lads. Grabbing a handful of Pembrook soil, Sebastian and his brothers leave their lives behind, scatter into the wind, and vow to return in ten years to take back what is rightfully theirs. It takes two years more than that before they’re finally reunited.

Once they are back in London, all hardened men by the lives they had to lead to survive, each on their own because Sebastian believed they’d be better off separated, they make their grand entrance by crashing their uncle’s ball. What better way to make their claim and give society notice the Duke of Keswick is alive and well. However, because they’ve not mingled and entertained in their lost years with society as they normally would have, their reception is met with gasps and gossip. Luckily Mary is in attendance, and, though hurt by their lack of communication over the years, is the only one to welcome them home, to try to help them fit into a world they know nothing about.

Though Mary is betrothed, she helps Sebastian at every turn, taking the chance of ruining her reputation each time. But she can’t leave him to fend on his own, especially when people stare in horror at his scars received while serving his country during wartime. They’re friends and she can’t abandon him and his siblings to the voracious rumor mill that can leave them on the outside looking in. Knowing he can’t have her, and she wouldn’t want him anyway all scarred as he is, Sebastian valiantly tries to stay away from Mary, even tries to find someone else who would make a good duchess for him, but after too many meetings alone, Mary’s fiance calls off the engagement and it’s left to Sebastian to pick up the pieces of her reputation.

Sebastian is riddled with guilt and responsibility throughout this book, plus his need for revenge against his uncle also pulls at him. He tries to find out what happened to his brothers during their years apart, but neither of them is willing to talk about those times. He left Rafe, the youngest, at a workhouse and sold Tristan, his twin, into service on the seas. Rafe’s cries not to be left alone and Tristian’s stoic silence still weigh on him even after so many years. It’s Mary who soothes his soul, but even that is something he can’t call his own – until after marriage to her, something he dare not want. But as alluring she is in his bed after they are wed, his scars come between them – only because he allows it, because Mary has looked past his scars since the moment they came face to face again – and Pembrook and his need for revenge seem to be more important to him than his wife.

As she always does, Lorraine Heath pulls emotion from the reader from the beginning. The reunion of the brothers is a bittersweet but happy moment, and I wish we could have actually seen it instead of being told about it. Mary is in the middle of a dilemma of a lifetime, wanting to be the dutiful wife expected of her but needing to be the friend necessary to help the Pembrook lords. You can feel her frustration and indecision. You can see her love for Sebastian grow, knowing she doesn’t realize what’s happening. The time she spends with Sebastian when he’s ill is full of unrealized love. Sebastian’s obsession with tearing down the castle tower where he and his brothers were imprisoned are such heart-wrenching scenes. This book is full of such scenes.

I doubt there’s anything Lorraine Heath can’t do, as far as I’m concerned, when writing her books. Her talent is huge and nearly unsurpassed. I look forward to Tristan’s and Rafe’s stories, finding out what happened to them in those intervening years. More emotion to leave me high and dry. I can’t wait.

Grade: A+

Read [name of reviewer]‘s review here.

Summary:

Three young heirs, imprisoned by an unscrupulous uncle, escaped—to the sea, to the streets, to faraway battle—awaiting the day when they would return to reclaim their birthright.

Sebastian Easton always vowed he would avenge his stolen youth and title. Now back in London, the rightful Duke of Keswick—returning from battle a wounded, hardened, changed man—cannot forget the brave girl who once rescued him and his brothers from certain death.

Lady Mary Wynne-Jones paid dearly for helping the imprisoned young Lords of Pembrook, and she remembers well the promise she made to Sebastian all those years ago: to meet him once more in the abbey ruins where they shared a bold, forbidden kiss. While Mary is now betrothed to another, a friendship forged with dark secrets cannot be ignored. Unexpected passion soon burns dangerously between them, tempting Sebastian to abandon his quest for retribution and fight for a love that could once again set him free.

No excerpt available.

Other books in this series:

Lord of Temptation – October 2012

C2’s review of She Tempts the Duke (Lost Lords of Pembrook, Book 1) by Lorraine Heath
Historical Romance published by Avon 31 Jan 12

In her new series, Lorraine Heath tell the stories of the Lost Lords of Pembrook – three boys who ran away from their scheming uncle.  They escaped a locked tower (with some help from a friend) and fled into the night, promising to return for retribution when they were adults.  One went to the army, one went to sea, and one was left in a workhouse.  The boys decided it would be best for them to run away until they were older and better able to fight their uncle.  They made plans to reunite in ten years but they didn’t manage.  Now they have returned…

Sebastian, the oldest (and new Duke of Keswick), and his twin brother, Tristan, were fourteen and their younger brother, Rafe, was ten when their father (a skilled horseman) was killed in a riding accident.  Their father’s brother locked then in a tower on the family estate, but after Mary (also fourteen and from the neighboring estate) overheard him give orders to kill the boys, she went looking for them and managed to break them out of the tower. While the boys were fleeing, Mary told her (remarkably ineffectual) father what she heard – even though Sebastian said not to tell anyone – and was sent to a nunnery for her trouble.

Fast forward a dozen years – Mary is finally having a Season, thanks to her aunt rescuing her from the nunnery.  She has recently been betrothed, even.  Imagine her surprise when, after years of hearing nothing from them, the lost lords of Pembrook arrive at a ball given by their uncle.  The brothers have come to reclaim their inheritance and assume their rightful places in society.  Society, however, is less than welcoming.  The ton doesn’t like the looks of these uncivilized young men.  But the brothers continue with their plans – they throw their uncle out of the family home and cut off his money and try to find their way in society.  But scandal continues to plague them.  And Mary’s unwavering support of them turns society’s suspicious eyes on her.  Her friends want to know more about the brothers, her fiancé wants her to stay away from them, and Mary just wants Sebastian. Even though Sebastian thinks she deserves so much better.
Sebastian was horribly injured during his time in the army.  He lost an eye and has terrible scars over most of one side of this body.  How could any woman stand to be with him?  And yet Mary doesn’t seem to mind at all.  She was his best friend when they were children and knew him better than anyone, except maybe Tristan.  Could it really be that the scars don’t matter to her?

After rumors blemish Mary’s reputation and her betrothed’s father forces him to withdraw his suit, the brothers know one of them must step up and marry her – both to save her reputation and to thank her for all she has done for them.  And Sebastian knows he could never let one of his brothers marry her.  But does he care for her the way she needs him to?  Or is he only grateful for her help to him and his brothers?  Is he even capable of loving anyone now or has his time away taken that from him?  Is Pembrook all that matters or does Mary still hold part of his heart?

A lot of Sebastian and Mary’s story was set up for the next two books, I think.  There was a lot of information to pass along to the reader.  Still, I always enjoy Ms. Heath’s books.  She has a way of drawing the reader into both the emotional side of the story and the intrigues that tend to surround her characters.  This series is loosely tied to her Scoundrels of St. James series.  It is not necessary to read those books before reading this one but, if you have read them, you will run across some familiar names.  I like it when an author stays consistent within the world he/she has created – it makes it seem more real.

If you are in the mood for a solid historical and a story arc that promises to continue to intrigue, look no further.  I am already anticipating the other two books.

Grade: B

Summary:

Three young heirs, imprisoned by an unscrupulous uncle, escaped—to the sea, to the streets, to faraway battle—awaiting the day when they would return to reclaim their birthright.

Sebastian Easton always vowed he would avenge his stolen youth and title. Now back in London, the rightful Duke of Keswick—returning from battle a wounded, hardened, changed man—cannot forget the brave girl who once rescued him and his brothers from certain death.

Lady Mary Wynne-Jones paid dearly for helping the imprisoned young Lords of Pembrook, and she remembers well the promise she made to Sebastian all those years ago: to meet him once more in the abbey ruins where they shared a bold, forbidden kiss. While Mary is now betrothed to another, a friendship forged with dark secrets cannot be ignored. Unexpected passion soon burns dangerously between them, tempting Sebastian to abandon his quest for retribution and fight for a love that could once again set him free.

No excerpt available.

Other books in this series:

Lord of Temptation – October 2012

This is the second year in a row I’ve not been able to decide which of two terrific books should be my No. 1. So I have a tie once again. Last year it was two fantasies that made the top spot. This year one of those authors has maintained her position, but she’s now sharing it with an historical author who never lets me down in story or character. And who rounds out the rest of my list? Think I can surprise you? Hmmmmm. Maybe not totally, but I think a few of my picks just might!

10. A Forever Kind of Love by Shiloh Walker – emotion is going to be the word of the day for this list. Combined with an alpha hero and a romance to die for, an author has a life-long fan in me if she can pull that off. Shiloh Walker is definitely one of those authors. This book is chockful of emotion, pulling on your heartstrings so much you’re sure they’ll definitely break. Just what I’ve come to expect from her.

9. Saddled and Spurred/Wrangled and Tangled & Chasin’ Eight/Cowboy Casanova by Lorelei James – I’m not sure how she does it, releasing these four books, plus others, in one year, but I’m sure glad Ms. James does. I couldn’t leave any of these books off the list over another, they’re all so good. My favorite, I think, is W&T – I love Renner and Tierney, they’re such fun. Her cowboys from both of her current series will keep you hot and bothered long after you’ve finished reading them!

8. Hidden Embers by Tessa Adams – sigh. Dragons. I love’em. And this edition of Tessa Adams’ Dragon’s Heat series is right on target for me with the emotion the hero goes through and all those alpha dragons breathing fire everywhere. The aerial fight scenes are as intense as the lovemaking, and with a mysterious disease that could end their clan, this is one all-consuming read. And how can you not lust over that cover, for heaven’s sake?

7. Touch of Crimson by Sylvia Day – I so enjoy an author who can write in more than one genre, and Sylvia Day is a master. I love her paranormals every bit as much as I love her historicals. This new series featuring angels is spectacular. ToC is the perfect opening, and I can’t wait for more, especially since next up is a werewolf hero. Shifters do it for me every time.

6. Pride and Pleasure by Sylvia Day – this is the first time an author has made my list in two different genres. Doesn’t surprise me it’s Ms. Day. Both hero and heroine in this book are fascinating characters, something this author excels at like no other. I can’t imagine anyone reading this list hasn’t read Sylvia Day before, but if so, you have to pick up one of her books like yesterday. Seriously.

5. Breaking Point by Pamela Clare – another author who writes alpha heroes and gives them the perfect heroine for our reading pleasure. And who can insert emotion that breaks your heart and then shows you action until you’re ready to collapse with exhaustion. You get everything in a Pamela Clare book. The hero in this story goes through hell, but his heroine, of course, helps pull him through.

4. Hidden Away by Maya Banks – If you’ve read my reviews of Ms. Banks’ KGI series books, you know I love these Kelly boys. They go through hell to find love, but that makes it all the more sweet and pleasurable in the end. It’s also the family aspect of these stories that I love. You mess with one Kelly, you mess with them all. The brothers tease and fight like boys do, but they back each other up no matter what. Heroes, every one of them.

3. The Many Sins of Lord Cameron by Jennifer Ashley – more brothers that have burrowed into my heart. This book is my second favorite so far, right behind The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie. We find out what drives Cam, how his past has shaped him. And what a past it is. I also like the father-son aspect of this book. I was hoping that would be a good part of it when we met Daniel in earlier stories, and Ms. Ashley gave me that hope in spades, and then some.

2. Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh – there’s not a thing about Ms. Singh’s Psy-Changeling series that I don’t like. I like/love certain books over others, especially the ones that made me cry – but every one of them calls to and satisfies the paranormal/shifter fan in me. Hawke and Sienna live up to the expectations in my mind, I loved every single word.

1. Waking Up with the Duke by Lorraine Heath – all three books in this trilogy are wonderful, but this one, this one was the most emotional of all, and that’s saying something after the very talented Ms. Heath turned a not-so-nice character into a hero you couldn’t help but love on the very first page of his book. The untenable situation in WUwtD, the characters who live it, and the love they share is what puts this book in the No. 1 position for me.

1. Haunting Desire and Haunting Embrace by Erin Quinn – this series has been, well, haunting to read. Ms. Quinn has given this reader a whole new lo ok at Ireland and paranormal stories the like of which I’ve never read before. So beautifully written.

The series has ended with Haunting Embrace, so if you’re looking for something different, these books will hit the spot perfectly.

I always give a few honorable mentions, because it’s such a difficult time whittling down the list of all the great books I’ve read in a year’s time. So I want to share those with you too. Here they are in no particular order:

Second Chance at the Sugar Shack/Any Given Christmas by Candis Terry – what fun these books are! I’m glad I discovered Ms. Terry. She’s a joy to read. Great sense of humor and a mama ghost. You can’t go wrong!

A Light at Winter’s End by Julia London – I’m so glad this book was written. I was very upset at the ending of Summer of Two Wishes. The heroine picked the wrong man, as far as I’m concerned. And when he walked off into the sunset, so to speak, with no other information about where he went, what he did, how he coped, well, I wasn’t happy at all. Here we find out. And now I’m happy. (You should read SoTW first!)

The King’s Mistress by Sandy Blair – it’s nice to have a new book by Sandy Blair on the shelves. And she’s done one heck of a job weaving her hero and heroine into Scottish history to give readers a wonderful romance. No one does it better.

Making Waves by Tawna Fenske – I enjoy an author who can make me laugh out loud. There aren’t many out there who can. Tawna Fenske is a new voice on the scene, and she knows how to write humor. Her characters and storylines are just plain old fun! I still chuckle thinking about that black thong…

What I Did for a Duke by Julie Anne Long – this was my first Julie Anne Long book and I can certainly say I’m hooked. I really enjoyed these characters and just had fun with them. I look forward to reading a lot more of her books in the future. With all of the historicals on my list this year, this one didn’t miss the cut by much at all. So very close!

Well, now we go from my Best of the Year to my Worst of the Year reads. I’m teased by some of the reviewers here at the Pond that I like everything I read. Well, that’s not technically true, because there are those books that sometimes don’t do it even for me. So I have a few. One doesn’t surprise me, one does, and the others just surprised me as I read them. And the biggest surprise is they’re all Scottish historicals, which I love to read. Now you know really how painful these were for me!

~ Must Love Kilts by Allie Mackay – I always try to give an author a second chance when one of their books doesn’t work for me. I believe I’ve given Ms. MacKay a third and fourth chance. I doubt there will be another chance in the offing any time soon. So this one didn’t surprise me at all. And that’s really too bad, because I wouldn’t mind getting a look at the covers on her books. Those I love. You can see my review here, if you’d like.

~ In Bed with a Highlander by Maya Banks – needless to say, this one surprised the ever livin’ hell out of me, as much as I love Ms. Banks’ romantic suspense novels. Honestly, I’m still flabbergasted at my reaction to this book. I expected to love it, every last word. But something went horribly wrong for me. I didn’t grade it super low just because of who the author is – at least the characters worked for me – but I just couldn’t get past other things. I feel another tear coming on. My review is here.

~ Captured by the Highlander/Claimed by the Highlander by Julianne MacLean – I’ve not read Ms. MacLean before these books, and I now know I shouldn’t have started here. I have a lot of her books in the TBR mountain, so it definitely surprised me during reading that these books just don’t work for me on any level, except maybe her characters. Despite their sounding like modern-day people and the books being nearly mirror images of each other, I do like the heroes and heroines. It’s everything else that needs work. I have yet to try the third book, and I don’t know how soon, if at all, that’s going to happen. My reviews can be read here and here.

So how do your 2011 reads stack up to my list? Any you agree with? How about vehemently disagree with?

I’ve so enjoyed Lorraine Heath‘s London’s Greatest Lovers trilogy, and I know our latest winner will too. Thanks so much to Lorraine for her What Price Love? guest blog, which had some of you thinking deep about doing the wrong thing for the right reason.

Our winner of copies of the first two books, Passions of a Wicked Earl and Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman, in Lorraine’s series is:

** Jenn H

Congratulations, Jenn! Send your snail mail addy to lighthousetagger at gmail dot com and I’ll send it on to Lorraine for you!

When I started reading this trilogy, I was fascinated by both brothers of the Earl of Westcliff, especially Stephen. I wasn’t sure he could be redeemed after his behavior is revealed. Of course, I shouldn’t have been doubtful, considering who wrote his story, and I ended up so enamored of Stephen within the first few pages of the book. That left the Duke of Ainsley.

I really didn’t think much about his story, knowing that Lorraine Heath would give him a nearly insurmountable problem, have him suffer for it, but give him – and me – that happily ever after we’d both long for. And did she ever. If you’ve loved Ainsley from the previous two books, have anticipated reading about him since finishing Pleasuring of a Notorious Gentleman, the wait is worth the anticipation and anxiety.

You feel for Ainsley immediately, once you discover his torturous secret. Make that secrets. That’s where Jane comes in. And things definitely go from bad to worse before they get better. And the getting part is so beautifully done, just before their hearts – and yours – break all over again.

Get ready for a very emotional ride with Ainsley and Jane.

Summary:

Renowned for his bedchamber prowess, Ransom Seymour, the Duke of Ainsley, owes a debt to a friend. But the payment expected is most shocking, even to an unrepentant rake—for he’s being asked to provide his friend’s exquisite wife with what she most dearly covets: a child.

Living for pleasure, they will give their hearts to no one . . .

Lady Jayne Seymour, Marchioness of Walfort, is furious that such a scandalous agreement would be made. If she acquiesces, there must be rules: no kissing . . . and, certainly, no pleasure.

Until love takes them by surprise.

But unexpected things occur with the surprisingly tender duke—especially once Lady Jayne discovers the rogue can make her dream again . . . and Ransom realizes he’s found the one woman he truly cannot live without.

“I’ll consider your debt paid in full if you get my wife with child.”

Ransom Seymour, the ninth Duke of Ainsley, struggled to concentrate as he sat sprawled in a comfortable armchair in the well-appointed library. He’d been downing excellent whiskey ever since his arrival at the Marquess of Walfort’s country estate for his once legendary hunt. After three hours, they were both well into their cups, so surely he’d misunderstood.

“Does your silence indicate your acceptance of the terms?” Walfort asked.

Ainsley scrutinized his long-time friend, sitting in that wheelchair, where he himself had placed him three years earlier. He released a dark chuckle. “I’ve had far too much to drink. You would not countenance what I thought you uttered.”

“Jayne wants a child. I can’t give it to her. You owe me this.”

Ainsley pushed himself out of the chair. He’d meant to do so with force. Instead, he staggered and almost lost his balance as he crossed over to the fireplace. He pressed his forearm against the stone mantel to steady himself while he studied the madly dancing flames. Within them, he could almost see the night he and Walfort had been barreling wildly through the London streets, the curricle traveling at a dangerous breakneck speed—

“Jayne would never agree to this mad notion of yours. She despises me.”

He hardly blamed her for her attitude toward him. She was the sort of woman who should never be denied anything her heart desired. It was his second thought upon being introduced to her at the betrothal dinner that had been held in her and Walfort’s honor: If you were mine, you’d never do without. His first thought had been that he wished he’d met her before Walfort, so certain was he that he’d have been able to charm her into his arms. She was the loveliest woman upon whom he’d ever set eyes. Grace and poise mirrored her every step. When she smiled, she made a man feel as though he were all that mattered.

In no hurry to marry, Ainsley had avoided the soirees of Seasons past whenever possible. Thus he’d missed the opportunity to meet and court Lady Jayne Spencer. Although to hear Walfort tell it, he snagged her heart during their initial dance.

“You have a reputation for charming the ladies. Apply your talents to my wife,” Walfort said now, each word biting, clipped, as though forced between clenched teeth.

“You want me to seduce her?”

“I want you to give her what I cannot.”

“This is ludicrous.” Ainsley shoved himself away from the fireplace, dropped back into the chair which had suddenly become unbearably uncomfortable, rose, and stalked to the window. Unsettled, he refused to acknowledge how often he’d dreamed of Jayne, but he’d never acted upon his interest. He lived his life by a code of chivalry that had been passed down from his ancestors who had fought alongside Richard the Lionheart during the crusades. He did not take women who belonged to others. “Does she consent to this preposterous scheme of yours?”

“I’ve not yet discussed it with her. I wanted to ensure you were in agreement with it before I did.”

He faced a man he suddenly no longer knew. Had Walfort’s affliction driven him mad? “I can predict her answer with unerring accuracy. She’ll laugh, she’ll slap my face, and then she’ll weep. Not to mention the legal ramifications. If she gives birth to a boy, he will inherit. Even if all of England knows you are not his sire, you will be legally bound—”

“You and I are not only friends, but cousins. We both carry the Seymour blood. It would not be such an offense. Besides, I do not care about blood as much as I care about Jayne and seeing that she is happy.”

But what of Ainsley? To have a son or daughter whom he could never acknowledge? Did he owe his cousin such a sacrifice? Although his recollections were a blur, Ainsley knew he’d been driving the curricle. When it toppled, he’d been thrown clear, his only souvenir from the incident a thin scar that bisected the left side of his chin. Walfort had somehow managed to get caught up in the rigging. When everything had finally come to a thundering halt, he’d been broken.

Ghastly. Irrevocably. Broken.

What Price Love?

I’m so happy to be here today and to have an opportunity to tell you about Waking Up with the Duke.

I knew going in that the premise was a little risky—a man getting his best friend’s wife with child—and that writing the story would be a challenge, but I loved every moment of it.

The Duke of Ainsley first appeared in Passions of a Wicked Earl. He is the half-brother of the Earl of Westcliffe and Sir Stephen Lyons. He has a prestigious title, wealth, charm. And a reputation as an attentive lover. What woman wouldn’t want to be his wife? So I had him fall in love with a married woman. Did I also mention that he’s honorable? He would never take another man’s woman to his bed.

But that is exactly what he will do—at great personal cost.

However the story is so much more. It touches on love/devotion between friends, between a husband and wife, among family. Each of the characters goes into the arrangement to make someone else happy—then they all have to live with the consequences.

But rest assured there is a happy ending.

One of the things I struggled with while writing the story was: is there too high a price to pay for someone else’s happiness? Is it really possible to do the wrong thing for the right reason?

What do you think?

Anyone who posts today will be entered in a drawing. One lucky person will receive autographed copies of the first two books in the London’s Greatest Lovers series.

[Ed. - Lorraine is currently getting settled in New York for the 2011 RWA conference, but she will pop in and out as her schedule allows today!]

Sandy M’s review of Waking Up with the Duke (London’s Greatest Lovers, Book 3) by Lorraine Heath
Historical Romance published by Avon 28 Jun 11

I absolutely love Lorraine Heath’s books. There hasn’t been one book so far that hasn’t drawn me in completely, always from the first page. Every time I become enmeshed in her characters’ lives, I cheer for them, I get angry with them, I grieve with them, I cry with them and so much more. This trilogy of London’s Greatest Lovers has been a special treat. With each book, the stakes are higher, the emotion is riskier, and the love is simply beautiful.

The Duke of Ainsley is the youngest of these three brothers, but he’s always acted like the oldest. He’s responsible and generous. Like his older brothers, he’s also a ladies’ man. And sometimes he plays a little too hard and one time too many, tragedy results. Four years ago on a night of partying and drinking with his cousin and best friend, Lord Walfort, a carriage accident results in a paralyzed Walfort. The rest of his life will be spent in a wheelchair, and Ainsley is wracked with guilt. He was the carriage driver that fateful night.

For most of her marriage Lady Jayne has taken care of her husband, but not in the usual way. Caring for a man who cannot walk, nor do any of the activities he enjoyed before the accident, is difficult, not what she expected in her life, but Jayne does her duty for the man she loves. Her unimaginable hurt also stems from the fact she lost their child the night she found out about her husband’s accident. All of this she blames on Ainsley, the womanizer who is out for his pleasure only and feels nothing for the anguish he’s caused.

Then Jayne – and Ainsley – thinks her husband has truly lost his mind. He proposes that Ainsley father a child for them, something that Walfort cannot now give Jayne, the one thing she’s always wanted. Refusing such insanity is the only option Jayne has. Ainsley has a different view of the situation, even though he also refuses the proposal. At first anyway. He’s always been attracted to Jayne, lamented the fact Walfort asked for her first. He’d do anything to try to make up for his night of tragic revelry, anything but Walfort’s request, although Ainsley would dearly love to experience the heaven of having Jayne in his bed.

Walfort doesn’t give in and eventually talks Jayne into what she considers a betrayal of her wedding vows, despite the approval of her husband. But keeping the end result – a child – in the forefront, she prepares to spend the next month with Ainsley, hoping she can stomach the man touching her. She can only go forward knowing the whole interaction will be a business transaction and nothing more. What she doesn’t expect is learning about him, his love for his family, his regrets, his charm, his vulnerabilities, and his caring for those in his charge.

And Ainsley can’t resist this woman. He’s little by little gently seducing her, hoping to give her pleasure for her to remember in the years to come. The scenes between these two while at Ainsley’s cottage are wonderfully written. Full of emotion and sensation, fun and laughter, and long, lazy days and sensually pleasant nights, all of which they never thought they’d have together. Their lovemaking scenes are passionate and tender at times and at others they’re raw and furious, culminating in a love that neither can voice when it comes time for Jayne to return to her husband.

Again, after she’s gone, Ainsley tries to do the right thing. Stay as far away from Jayne as he can get – not thinking of the child they created together, nor of the times they spent enjoying every last minute. But when tragedy strikes again, when Jayne learns the truth about her marriage, Ainsley takes control as much as he can to save her from scandal and gossip. I love him even more when he finally shows Jayne every emotion he’s been holding back so she could have a good life, despite the secrets that later become known.

When I read Lorraine Heath, I just let every word flow over me and I have patience, trusting the emotion will follow, moving me from one end of the spectrum to the other, laughter to tears, all the while giving me substance of story and depth of character to make my reading experience simply lovely.

Grade: A+

Summary:

They are masters of seduction, London’s greatest lovers . . .

Renowned for his bedchamber prowess, Ransom Seymour, the Duke of Ainsley, owes a debt to a friend. But the payment expected is most shocking, even to an unrepentant rake—for he’s being asked to provide his friend’s exquisite wife with what she most dearly covets: a child.

Living for pleasure, they will give their hearts to no one . . .

Lady Jayne Seymour, Marchioness of Walfort, is furious that such a scandalous agreement would be made. If she acquiesces, there must be rules: no kissing . . . and, certainly, no pleasure.

Until love takes them by surprise.

But unexpected things occur with the surprisingly tender duke—especially once Lady Jayne discovers the rogue can make her dream again . . . and Ransom realizes he’s found the one woman he truly cannot live without.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

C2’s review of Passions of a Wicked Earl (London’s Greatest Lovers, Book 1) by Lorraine Heath
Historical Romance published by Avon 26 Oct 10

I usually enjoy Lorraine Heath’s British historicals (although I did lose track of her most recent series), so I was glad to see Passions of a Wicked Earl pop up in my mailbox. It is set in the same world as her Scoundrels of St. James series and there are a couple of cameos from those characters, but it is not necessary at all to read that series before reading this one.

An unusual thing about PoaWE is that the hero and heroine are married but estranged. They have been estranged since their wedding day, as a matter of fact. Due to a combination of drunken plotting and misunderstanding, our hero, Morgan Lyons, Earl of Westcliffe, exiled his new bride to his country estate while he lives his life in London. You see, faithful reader, Morgan found his new bride in a compromising position with his brother on their wedding night. His brother!

Claire Lyons, Countess of Westcliffe, was betrothed to Morgan as a child. He was around during her childhood, since their fathers were friends, but because he was several years older, they never became friends. She and his brother Stephen were very good friends so, when she admitted she was very nervous about her wedding night, Stephen came up with a scheme to buy her some time to get to know the man she just married before they became intimate. Yeah. That didn’t work out so well.

Fast forward several years – Claire and Morgan only interact via letters and through intermediaries and only about his country estate. Until she arrives at his house in London. Claire’s father wants her younger sister to marry a much older, very icky man but has agreed to let her have a Season in London to try to find a more acceptable husband. Claire knows she will need Morgan’s support for the ton to accept her and her sister. Morgan is involved with a widow and has decided to divorce Claire. Still, he agrees to give her sister a Season. Then, he says, their relationship is finished.

Naturally, over the course of the Season, Morgan and Claire are forced to spend time together. We see them gradually get to know each other and realize no one is completely to blame for the awkward situation they find themselves in. And fall in love, of course.

I enjoyed watching Morgan’s emotional development throughout the book. I could have done without the crazy mistress and the younger sister is sometimes annoying. I am intrigued by both brothers. All in all, a most satisfying read. Angsty but not too much.

Grade: B

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Summary:
Known throughout London for his prowess in the bedroom, Morgan Lyons, the 8th Earl of Westcliffe, cannot forgive an unpardonable affront to his honor. Discovering his young bride in the arms of his brother was a staggering blow–so he banished the beautiful deceiver to the country and devoted himself to the pursuit of carnal pleasure.
Claire Lyons was an innocent, frightened girl on her wedding day, seeking chaste comfort from a childhood friend. Now, years later, she has blossomed magnificently and has returned to London with one goal in mind: the seduction of her notorious husband. Unskilled in the sensual arts, she burns nonetheless for the kisses too long denied her. And she has but one Season to win back the heart of the rogue she betrayed.

Other books in the series:

I always have such a hard time pulling out the books I really like from a previous year. Yes, there’s too many, but it’s also difficult because sometimes you can’t choose because you can’t compare books in different genres. Though I read mostly historical and paranormal, I also enjoy contemps and romantic suspense a lot. Thus, I poured over my entire 2010 review list, chose those that I really loved, and then the difficulty began in whittling it down. My biggest hurdle is books from a series, if an author released more than one book in the year. Sometimes one of many stood out. Sometimes I couldn’t choose one over the other and sometimes I could. In that case, I’ve cheated and listed all the books I loved in that series.     It’s my list and I can do what I want!

So here they are:

10.  The Taming of the Wolf by Lydia Dare

While I’ve so far enjoyed all of the books in this series, it’s the hero, Dashiel, who stole my heart and has ended up my favorite of the series. Lydia Dare has stayed true to her characters and given readers solid, consistent, and intriguing stories. See my TTotW review here.

9.   Lessons From a Scarlet Lady by Emma Wildes

As I said in in my review of this book, it’s a breath of fresh air. Emma Wildes writes a terrific couple who I loved to read about. They kept my interest the entire book, and I wanted more of them when I was done reading. I’m a new fan for sure.

8.   Broken by Shiloh Walker

It would be surprising to me if a Shiloh Walker book didn’t make my Top 10. She’s become a favorite very quickly and she’s never once disappointed me. Though I also enjoyed Fragile, it was Quinn who caught my interest and I anxiously awaited his story. I love a broken, tortured hero and Quinn fit the bill to a T. Read about him here.

7. The Fire Lord’s Lover by Kathryne Kennedy

I became a huge fan of Kathryne Kennedy from the first book of her Relics of Merlin series and was really disappointed when I found she’s not been able to write more it at this point in time. But with her imagination, I shouldn’t have worried at all. Ms. Kennedy has given us another series that is simply awesome. The Fire Lord’s Lover is a perfect start and I can’t wait for more. My review is here.

6.  Raising Kane by Lorelei James – Shoulda Been a Cowboy, Cowgirls Don’t Cry & Slow Ride short story

I can never get enough of Lorelei James. Her stories are real, as are her characters. She doesn’t pretty up a book if tragedy is called for, and in doing so she tugs so hard on your heartstrings it ain’t funny. Her cowboys walk the walk and talk the talk. Her love scenes range from intense and raw to fun and lighthearted. You get everything in a Lorelei James book. Every book she released in 2010 is a Top 10, but Raising Kane is my fave. See my RK review here.

5.   Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman by Lorraine Heath

Lorraine Heath has been a favorite of mine since I read her Texas trilogy and nothing changed when I read her first Regency. She’s simply and truly wonderful. I loved this entire London’s Greatest Lovers trilogy, but it’s Stephen’s story that I really remember. I had my doubts about him, as I said in my review, but he turned out to be one of those heroes you’ll never, ever forget.

4.   Moon Craving by Lucy Monroe

You know those books you wait for? And wait for? Forever, it seems? Moon Craving is one of those for me. I fell in love with Lucy Monroe’s werewolves in her first book, Moon Awakening, in her Children of the Moon series, and I wanted more. But it took a few years for that next one. The wait was worth it, however. Another terrific story for Monroe and paranormal fans. Read my review here.

3.   The Darkest Hour by Maya Banks – No Place to Run

I have so fallen in love with the Kelly Family in Maya Banks’ KGI series. Especially those Kelly boys. They’re alpha and yummy and they still obey their parents. And they fall hard when they find their heroines. So, hell, what’s not to love?? Read about those Kelly boys here.

2.   Bonds of Justice by Nalini Singh – Play of Passion & Blaze of Memory

Nalini Singh is one of those authors who you’re going to love no matter what she puts on the page. I can’t imagine anyone arguing with that, if they’ve read any of her books. Bonds of Justice takes the No. 1 spot – by a very narrow margin over Play of Passion – for me of her books in 2010 because I sobbed reading this book. I very, very rarely cry when reading. It takes something so very special for me shed a tear while reading, but when it happens, I remember it. So due to my full-out sobbing near the end of BoJ, I’ll never forget Max and Sophia. Read my review about them here.

Now for my No 1. pick, I couldn’t decide between these two books, so they’re co-winners. They win not only for the story, the worlds the authors have created, but also for the beautiful, lyrical, haunting writing these authors possess. It takes an awesome author to be able to keep momentum and creativity and imagination in a series going, to make the next book better than the last. Both of these authors have those things down pat. I never have to hope the next book will disappoint me because it won’t be as good as the first or the one just prior. I know the next book will be even better.

1.  Haunting Warrior by Erin Quinn & Crown of Crystal Flame by C.L. Wilson

Erin Quinn’s Haunting series is just that, haunting. In storyline. In characters. In writing. Absolutely stunning all the way around. I am breathlessly waiting for the next installment this April. I will have myself locked in my room until that book is finished.

C.L. Wilson’s Tairen Soul series was a treat and a treasure to read. This last installment brought everything together for an absolutely stunning ending that left readers gasping. The way this woman strings words together is just amazing. I’m sad this series is now complete, but readers of the series know that their favorite characters will be featured in future books. That’s worth waiting for.

Notice I used “absolutely stunning” for each of these authors. Wasn’t a mistake. Completely intentional. Cuz it just is.

Because I had a huge list picked out before I cut it down to my Top 10, I do want to give mention to those that just barely missed the cut.  So here are my Honorable Mentions in no particular order :

Drink of Me & Stealing Kathryn by Jacquelyn Frank – An imagination that is just awesome!

Shadows at Midnight by Elizabeth Jennings – I know Ash didn’t care for this one, but it’s on my keeper shelf!

Taming the Highland Bride & The Hellion and the Highlander by Lynsay Sands – I love Lynsay Sands! I need to start reading her vamps…

Legend of the White Wolf, Seduced by the Wolf & Wolf Fever by Terry Spear – Yuuuuuuuuuuumy werewolves!

A Highlander’s Homecoming by Melissa Mayhue – Time travel. Scottish Highlanders. One of the best at both!

Marked & Entwined by Elisabeth Naughton – Zodiac warriors to die for! Also try her Stolen series.

Naked Edge by Pamela Clare – Hawt love scenes! Oh, and a great mystery and thrilling suspense too!

A Kiss to Kill by Nina Bruhns – Oh my! I want more, more, more!

Infamous by Suzanne Brockmann – I love her romances within a romance. And I love this cowboy!

The Chief by Monica McCarty – I love this concept of Highlander Special Ops! Fun, intense, and so romantic!

Shadow Bound by Erin Kellison – Debut author done good. Terrific and dark!

Shut Up & Kiss Me by Christie Craig – Only humorous book on my list. There’s a reason for that. She’s one of the very best!

Destined to Last by Alyssa Johnson – Beautifully written with such engaging characters. Can’t wait to see what she does next!

The Treasure Keeper by Shana Abe – Dragons! ‘Nuff said.

And even I have a few books that didn’t make the grade for me in 2010. Mikey really doesn’t like everything!

4.   Mad, Bad and Blonde by Cathie Linz

Waaaaaaaaaay too much snipping and sniping and insulting going on between the hero and heroine for me. It went on and on. And on. And on. And on. And that’s too bad because the first part of the book is good. Right up until the heroine went blonde. See my review here.

3.    Time Storm by Samanta Winston

Sigh. Even the time travel didn’t help this book. We only get to know the characters through their fucking. Pirates and danger and all that goes with it was okay, as was the time travel, but it just wasn’t put together to keep my interest. I remember being glad it’s a short story. My review can be read here.

2.   Tomorrow is Another Day novella by Sandra Hill in the Ladies Prefer Rogues anthology

Even the play on Gone with the Wind didn’t save this novella. The characters didn’t work for me either all because of their attitudes. At least the time travel element worked. Guess I should be grateful for that. My review is here.

1.   Passionate Pleasures by Bertrice Small

This book is just a mess all the way around. The characters are likable but that’s about it. It felt like Ms. Small just tried too hard to write erotic romance. I think her niche is historicals and she should stick with that. You can read my review here.

Sandy M’s review of Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman (London’s Greatest Lovers, Book 2) by Lorraine Heath
Historical Romance published by Avon 30 Nov 10

After meeting Stephen Lyons in Passions of a Wicked Earl, at first I wasn’t sure he’d be my kind of hero. But knowing his character is in the hands of one of the best historical authors we have today, I should have known better. Stephen goes from a charming rake to a man of character to a man lost and finally to a man who finds everything he never thought he’d have or that he’d never really wanted. I fell in love with him instantly.

Stephen is a middle brother, which is nearly a kiss of death for men of his era. The military or the clergy. Not a spectacular choice for a man like Stephen who has a duke for a brother on one side and an earl on the other. To make up for not having a title or not being as good, in his eyes, as his brothers, he vows to become more than proficient in one aspect of life his siblings are mighty awesome at – loving women. And he does excel after all the practice he’s gotten over the years. Stephen charms me out of my pant — socks at every turn, just like he does all the women wishing him well as he marches off with his fellow soldiers to face war in the Crimea.

His brothers, of course, are hoping his stint in the military will help Stephen finally grow up, take some responsibility on in his life, and become the man they know he can be. A change does come over our hero while in Crimea, he rises in the ranks to become a major and a leader his men respect and look up to. Of course, he can still charm one of Nurse Nightingale’s nurses when the opportunity arises, he never lets that particular skill get rusty. Everything comes to an end, however, when Stephen is injured in a major incident on the battlefield and he wakes up in a field hospital, not remembering a person, place, thing, or event from the last two years.

Mercy Dawson wants to do something with her life, something meaningful, so she studies under Miss Nightingale, goes to the Crimea with her to nurse injured English soldiers. It’s there she meets Stephen on the worst night of her life when he rescues her from ruffians on the street. The comfort and care he gives her that night only plunges the man deeper into her heart, even though he doesn’t look at her the same as the other nurses, one of which she befriends only later to learn the woman is carrying Stephen’s child. Dumping the infant in Mercy’s care and then running ends up being a godsend to Mercy. She loves Stephen’s child as though it were her own and decides the younster needs his family, though, especially now that Stephen has been killed in action.

You can’t help but like Mercy. She’s kindhearted and loves with all her heart. She takes the ruination forced upon her when she arrives home from the Crimea with a child in tow over not having him in her life, and her father carts her and the child off to the Duke of Ainsley, Stephen’s youngest brother, for some kind of remuneration for the disgrace bestowed on his daughter. What they find instead, which is a huge relief to Mercy, is Stephen alive and well. She’s determined to be a part of her son’s life, even if it means playing nursemaid or governess.

All the while Stephen has kept his “affliction,” his memory loss, a secret. Meeting Mercy and his son only heaps more questions on top of what happened in the war, what kind of man he was there, and a million others he wants answers to. There’s something about Mercy that calls to Stephen, and he has a decision to make on how she’ll fit into his life, if at all.

And once that decision is made, Stephen and Mercy are a perfect couple. They have fun, they talk, they love, they work together. I really enjoyed them. Watching Stephen open up to his son in so many little ways, all because of Mercy, is one of the varied emotional parts of the book. Of course, there are still secrets to be revealed and conflict to resolve between them, which is also just as emotional, and I’m so very glad Ms. Heath handled their resolution the way she did. She’s true to these charming characters created for love and romance.

I didn’t think it possible, but I like this book even better than PoaWE. Ainsley’s book, Waking Up with a Duke, is not due out until July of next year, a long time to wait to see how he and his heroine will compare to Stephen and Mercy, who are going to be quite a tough act to follow.

Grade: A+

Summary:

As the black sheep second son of an earl, Stephen Lyons has gained a reputation in the art of seduction, but when his wicked ways result in scandal, he enlists in the army to redeem himself. On the battlefield, he proves courageous…until he is seriously wounded. Returning home to recover, he discovers he can’t remember the angelic beauty who arrives at his doorstep, his babe nestled in her arms.

Mercy Dawson will risk everything to protect the son of the dashing soldier she once knew and admired. When Stephen offers to do the honorable thing, she is determined that London’s most notorious gentleman will desire her and no other. But Mercy fears that what began as an innocent deception could destroy her dreams and their blossoming love if Stephen ever learns the scandalous truth…

No excerpt available.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Passions of a Wicked Earl (London’s Greatest Lovers, Book 1) by Lorraine Heath
Historical Romance published by Avon 26 Oct 10

Lorraine Heath is one author who, in my eyes, can do no wrong. Her books are full of emotion and passion, characters who take up residence in your heart from page one and who you’d like to know every day of the week, a story that is compelling and heartfelt, and romance that both breaks your heart and then makes it sing. Yes, this author is one of my favorites. She always will be.

Right off the bat we get huge conflict between Morgan Lyons, the 8th Earl of Westcliffe, and his estranged wife, Claire. They’ve been married for three years, a union that has never been consummated due to the fact Westcliffe found his new bride in bed with his brother – on the wedding night. He lost it. As you can imagine. He packed his wife up and took her to his country estate, where she’s been living in the intervening years.

But now she’s back in London. Claire’s not the child who feared her husband on her wedding night and made the biggest mistake of her life. Her sister is now of marrying age and their father has chosen a man who would make a horrible husband, so Claire puts on a brave front and confronts her husband in his home, explaining why she’s there and hoping for forgiveness. But she’s going to have a long wait.

Westcliffe has not been celibate during their separation and he’s currently involved with a widow whom he only lusts after, and that’s good enough for him. Until he really begins to see his wife. He notices things about her he never took the time to notice before. Her gentleness and kindness move him as no one else has ever done. Her skin is soft and drives him wild, something his current lover does not do. However, it will take more than any of this for him to trust her ever again.

Seeing nearly the same things in her husband as he sees in her, Claire begins to have hope for their relationship. She sees his kindness and loneliness and vulnerabilities, and she also begins to realize how much she truly hurt him, how much she destroyed his trust, something that didn’t come to him easily even before her error in judgment. They’ve been enjoying each other’s company escorting her sister to balls, taking walks, and just talking. Little by little Claire believes Westcliffe has come to love her and they may have a chance.

Of course, betrayal hits again and all they’ve worked for is thrown for a loop one more time. And this time tragedy strikes as well, which leads to the realization of what one will do for the person they love. Such an emotional time for Westcliffe and I love him all the more for his vulnerabilities, his mistakes, his misunderstandings.

I really like the way Ms. Heath even uses Cooper, Westlcliffe’s dog, throughout this book. You get such an insight into the man through the companionship with his pet, just as Claire does. There are some wonderful moments with that collie.

Stephen’s book is next and I’m am very anxious to find out what Ms. Heath has done with him. He’s the middle brother and one who has not done well in life, causing havoc all around him. It’s going to take a lot for me to have a soft spot for him, but I have every faith in this favorite author of mine.

Lastly, I love these covers. My favorite is the next book, Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman. Check out an enlarged copy of it somewhere. Depicts Stephen’s story before I’ve even read it!

Grade: A+

Summary:
Known throughout London for his prowess in the bedroom, Morgan Lyons, the 8th Earl of Westcliffe, cannot forgive an unpardonable affront to his honor. Discovering his young bride in the arms of his brother was a staggering blow–so he banished the beautiful deceiver to the country and devoted himself to the pursuit of carnal pleasure.

Claire Lyons was an innocent, frightened girl on her wedding day, seeking chaste comfort from a childhood friend. Now, years later, she has blossomed magnificently and has returned to London with one goal in mind: the seduction of her notorious husband. Unskilled in the sensual arts, she burns nonetheless for the kisses too long denied her. And she has but one Season to win back the heart of the rogue she betrayed.
Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Midnight Pleasures with a Scoundrel (Scoundrels of St. James, Book 4) by Lorraine Heath
Historical Romance published by Avon 27 Oct 09

A chapter or so into this book, I was worried. I wasn’t liking James as much as I’d liked the other heroes in this series’ previous books. I’m not sure why either. But I should have known better. Lorraine Heath is an expert in her field, and she soon caught me by the heartstrings and taught me a valuable lesson.

Eleanor is out for revenge for the death of her sister. She knows who killed her and everything is planned out to the last detail, starting by following the man throughout London. Of course, she couldn’t plan for the interference of others. While being accosted one night by men who think she’s a prostitute, Eleanor is saved by Inspector James Swindler. He then escorts her home, neither of them thinking to see the other again.

But Lord Rockberry, the man who Eleanor has been trailing, thinks he’s seen a ghost and demands Scotland Yard look into the matter and James is selected, thereby meeting up with Eleanor once again. Their attraction is immediate this time and they begin to spend more and more time together. I enjoyed this slow, getting-to-know-one-another part of the book. This is where I also came to like James so much more and where Ms. Heath begins to pull that heartstring so very well.

But Ms. Heath, being the expert she is, also throws the reader a huge whammy in the second half of this story. Huge. One you don’t see coming no matter what. That whammy also affects James tremendously, his trust in Eleanor sorely tested. Lord Rockberry also ends up dead, so another wrench is thrown in for good measure. There’s a lot going on in this portion of the book, from mystery to betrayal.

So after learning more about James and his past, having my heart run through the wringer, I learn my lesson the hard way to not make snap judgments, especially when dealing with an author of Ms. Heath’s caliber. James been in hell all of his life, and though most of us wanted to see him with Frannie, who he thought was his true love, we see a whole new James with Eleanor, even when times are bad between them.

Eleanor herself has her own demons to conquer, more with James now in the picture. I really like these two people. They don’t end up living the high life as those in previous books, their life will be simple and lovely, thus staying true to their characters throughout.

All of James’ friends are once again called to help and they come running just as friends do, and it’s nice to see how they are all faring at this point in time. The gang’s all here and this is a nice ending to the series, everyone taken care of just as they should be.

Grade: A-

Summary:

She Sought Revenge but Discovered Desire

On a quest to avenge her sister’s death, Eleanor Watkins never expected to fall for the man following her through pleasure gardens and into ballrooms. But soon nothing can keep her from the arms of the sinfully attractive scoundrel, not even the dangerous secrets she keeps. Strong, compassionate, and utterly irresistible, James is all she desires. But can she trust him enough to let herself succumb to all the pleasures that midnight allows?

James Swindler has worked hard to atone for his unsavory past. He is now as at home in London’s glittering salons as he is in the roughest streets. But when the inspector is tasked with keeping watch on a mysterious lady suspected of nefarious deeds, he is determined to use his skills at seduction to lure Eleanor into revealing her plans. Instead, he is the one seduced, turning away from everything he holds dear in order to protect her–no matter the cost to his heart.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Surrender to the Devil (Scoundrels of St. James, Book 3) by Lorraine Heath
Historical Romance published by Avon 30 Jun 09

I absolutely adore Lorraine Heath’s books. And after reading this third book in her latest series, I have to say it’s a very close second to her Texas trilogy, my all-time favorite. This addition to the series is also my favorite. But each of these scoundrels have been wonderful to read about, finding love when they thought they didn’t deserve it, so therefore they didn’t want it. But when the time came, they each fell very, very hard.

The series revolves around the street kids who grew up together under the direction of Faegan, who taught them how to steal in exchange for food and a place to live. They’ve, of course, come a long way since then, making better lives for themselves, even becoming part of the nobility in a couple of cases. Frannie is the only female of the group, and the scoundrels all look after her like brothers. She currently works as the bookkeeper for Jack Dodger’s gaming hell and has an orphanage for street kids in the works. She’s trying to give back to make up for the crimes she committed all those years ago.

Frannie meets Sterling, Duke of Greystoke, at the wedding of his sister to Luke, another of Frannie’s lads. They’re drawn to one another immediately, Frannie becoming bold enough to introduce herself to him, leading Sterling to attempt to seduce her into one night of pleasure. They both know he can never marry her because her bloodline is nothing compared to his ancient one. But that doesn’t stop either one of them when it comes to the desire that courses through them when they’re together.

Sterling is of the opinion he will not make a good husband, one fiancee leaving him behind when his secret is revealed is proof enough. However, knowing he has to marry to keep the ducal line prosperous, his efforts in that vein are doomed to fail with Frannie on his mind at all times. They’re thrown together when helping a young boy who has been forced to steal for a dangerous man Frannie knew during her days on the streets, and their attraction only grows each time they come together.

It’s Sterling’s change through the course of knowing Frannie that’s at the heart of this book. He’s groomed to be duke, a man who wants his pleasures and takes them where and he can. He looks beyond his perceived problem only to know he’ll be no good for anyone in his life. But it’s Frannie’s goodness, her selflessness, her heart that change him. No matter what is thrown at the woman, she finds the positive side of life and gives of herself despite being hurt or injured in any way, and that’s what Sterling longs for when he finally sees how he’s chosen to live his life. He gives generously to her orphanage when seeing her with the boys she’s taken in. In the end, he’s willing to give Frannie up, though, just to make sure she’s not burdened with what he believes his life will become.

The next book, Midnight Pleasures with a Scoundrel, is due out in a couple a weeks. This is Jim’s story, the one scoundrel who loves Frannie, would marry her if she’d give the word, but she never sees his feelings for her until it’s too late. It will be interesting to see what kind of heroine Ms. Heath has in store for Jim, who is broken hearted at the end of this book. And it’s always fun to find out what the other scoundrels are up to.

Grade: A+

Summary:

A Devilish Duke on a Quest for Pleasure . . .

Frannie Darling was once a child of London’s roughest streets, surrounded by petty thieves, pickpockets, and worse. But though she survived this harsh upbringing to become a woman of incomparable beauty, Frannie wants nothing to do with the men who lust for her, the rogues who frequent the gaming hall where she works. She can take care of herself and feels perfectly safe on her own—safe, that is, until he strides into her world, and once again it becomes a very dangerous place indeed.

To bed her but not wed her. That’s what Sterling Mabry, the eighth Duke of Greystone, wants. But Frannie abhors arrogant aristocrats interested only in their own pleasure. So why then does the thought of an illicit tryst with the devilish duke leave her trembling with desire? Her willing body begs for release . . . and a wicked, wonderful surrender.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series

You’re in for a treat today! Welcome to Duck Chat!

Ohmyohmyohmy!  Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!  Kathryn Smith is here!!!!!

As most of you know, Kathryn’s vampire series, Brotherhood of the Blood, is a favorite of fans everywhere, but the really big news lately is that she’s writing straight historicals once again, and Kathryn will be talking about that and so much more today.

So no more lollygagging! Let’s chat!

DUCK CHAT: Kathryn, of course, the big news, the happy news for your fans is that you’ve returned to writing historical romance. Was it just time? Did something specific happen to prompt you to write that next one?

KATHRYN SMITH: The simplest answer is that yes, it was just time. I’d been writing a lot of paranormal, and even though most of it was historical, it wore on me. I loved my vamps, but they couldn’t go out in the sun! Actually, the sad truth is that historical paranormal just does not sell like contemporary paranormal and while I had some success, the move didn’t really help my career. It was upsetting to say the least, but historical was always my first love and it took me back with welcome arms.

DC: If you could retire any question and never, ever have it asked again, what would it be? Feel free to answer it.

KS: Where do you get your ideas from? Only because I never know how to answer it. It’s not like I have a magic hat or anything! My ideas can come from anywhere.

DC: And fans will not get just one new historical from you, but an entire series. Lots of happy dancin’ is going on out there! Tell us about the new series, please.

KS: Thank you! I’ve dubbed the new series a ‘Victorian Soap Opera.’ I’m introducing lots of recurring characters that will appear in some or all of the books, and there will be secrets and intrigue afoot. There’s even a gathering place – a hub – where all the characters go to be social, much like Ruby’s on General Hospital. I even have a ‘love to hate’ character that I hope readers will embrace. It’s going to be difficult keeping track of everyone, but I think I’m up for the task.  The series begins with a trilogy, and after that I’m treating it as a world rather than a series. That way I don’t feel locked in to write books about specific characters. Anyone could have a book! And just like on soaps, a new character could arrive on the scene at any time.

DC: I’ve heard writers often say their stories take them in surprising directions, or dialogue flows from some unknown place. Is it the same with you? Do your characters surprise you sometimes?

KS: Yes! I’m mostly a plotter, but I like to leave room for my characters to express themselves. That sounds slightly psychotic I’m sure, but once you’re in their heads, writing from their POV, you start to understand what they’re all about. That’s when they surprise you.

DC: Do you ever argue with your characters while you’re writing? Who usually wins?

KS: No. I trust them to do the right thing. LOL. I let them do what they will and if it doesn’t work, I do it my way. There’s no arguing because either way I win.

DC: The first book of your new series is When Seducing a Duke and it will be released later this month. Would you tell our readers about Grey and Rose and how their story came about?

KS: Grey and Rose are a little bit Phantom of the Opera and a little bit Luke and Laura. He’s a little older, jaded and a little tortured. He’s had an awful past that haunts him still, and he doesn’t want the taint of that to touch her, but it’s going to just by association. He promised her father he’d look after her and to him that means NOT giving in to his feelings for her. Rose on the other hand is determined and slightly naïve. Part of her is convinced that if she can make Grey confront the attraction between them everything will magically be wonderful.

I have no idea now where the idea for them came from! I’ve always loved the kind of hero who has been ‘rode hard and put away wet.’ Grey is definitely one those. He feels awful for his past, but he also knows he’d still be the same if not for the event that changed his life. He didn’t change willingly, and he’s not sure what kind of man he is anymore. I think Rose is a little bit like me – she thinks if she wants something bad enough and works at it hard enough, she’ll get it. That doesn’t always work out for the best! It’s a ‘be careful what you wish for’ situation.

DC: What is sure to distract you from sitting down and working/writing?

KS: Email. Phone calls. iTunes. YouTube. Twitter. Cats. Shiny things.

DC: How’s work coming on the second book in your Victorian series? May we have a little sneak peek?

KS: Currently I’m working on revisions for When Marrying a Scoundrel, the second book in the series. It’s about Jack Friday and Sadie Moon. He’s a self-made man with a secret and she’s a tea leaf reader – with a secret. The secret is that they married when they were very young, but then Fate tore them apart. Now, the two of them are reunited and neither one of them is very happy about it.

DC: What has been your favorite book cover from all of your releases and why?

KS: Wow, what a difficult question. The lovely man who runs the Avon Art Dept is one of my favorite people in the entire world. He’s been so very generous with me over the last few years. I’ve always loved the cover for Into Temptation painted by Diane Sivavec. More recently I think the cover for Dark Side of Dawn, which comes out in December – but that might just be because of the gorgeous nekked man on the cover!  Of the Brotherhood covers I think Let the Night Begin is my favorite. I love the golden color of it and the fact that she’s going for his neck.

DC: How about your least favorite cover? Why?

KS: Wow. I’ve never had a cover I hated. I’ve been very lucky. Although if I had to choose it would be In Your Arms Again. I’m not a fan of the pose where the hero is behind the heroine and she has her skirt hauled up. Not sure why. And then, if you don’t look closely it looks like the hero isn’t wearing pants – just a belt and boots. His trousers are almost the same color he is. Still, I’ve seen much worse.

DC: How do you feel your male or female characters have evolved over your career? Do you think you write them differently now than you did when you started?

KS: Oh yeah! I think my heroines have gotten more realistic. They’re not entirely good little girls. Nothing interesting in that. My heroes have changed as well. I used to think I had to write Alpha guys, but I’m not good at that. I like guys who can be both tough and sweet. Real people have uncharitable thoughts, absurd thoughts, insecurities and vanities. That’s what I’m interested in writing now.

DC: Your Nightmare Chronicles is also a fairly new urban fantasy series, one book out last year and the second due out in November. Would you tell us about the series over all and and then we’ll talk about each book.

KS: Dawn Riley is the half-mortal daughter of Morpheus, God of Dreams. That’s the crux of it. Dawn is able to walk between both worlds, something no one else can do. It makes people fear her. The veil between the dream realm and our world is thinning, strange things are happening. And no one is sure if Dawn is the solution to the problem, or the cause of it.

DC: First in the series was Before I Wake, which was out last year, and next month Dark Side of Dawn is being released. Would you give a look inside each book, please?

KS: In Before I Wake, Dawn has repressed who she is. She’s working in a sleep center and crushing on one of her ‘clients,’ Noah Drake. One night Noah is attacked in his dreams and somehow Dawn gets pulled into that very dream. She becomes the target of a Night Terror and the only way to stop it is to accept what she is and use her abilities. This means reconciling with Morpheus and her mother. It also means telling Noah the truth about who and what she is.

In Dark Side of Dawn, Dawn is working on honing her abilities and dating Noah. But then someone close to Noah is attacked and Dawn has to use both her professional skills as a psychologist, and her skills as a Nightmare to help. But this puts her in the path of another monster – an earthbound one this time. She’s also in trouble with the Nightmare Council for something she did in book 1. Dawn just can’t catch a break, and if she doesn’t do something fast, she might not live to stand trial in the Dreaming!

DC: Is there a genre you haven’t tackled but would like to try?

KS: Hmm. Young Adult. Historical. Paranormal. Urban Fantasy. I think I’ve written everything I’ve wanted! Actually, I would love to write mysteries, but I don’t think I’d be very good at it. I really want to do more Young Adult. I had two historical YAs out in 2001-2002, and I’ve wanted to do more ever since. So, while there’s not a genre I would like to try, there certainly is one I’d like to do more in.

DC: What advice would you give to your younger self?

KS: Don’t date him. LOL. Actually, I think everything we’ve done has led to where we are, so I don’t think I’d encourage myself to do anything differently. I might, however, tell myself to have more confidence and not take quite so much attitude from other people.

DC: If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

KS: She’s a big girl with a big mouth and an even bigger heart, but does she have what it takes to make the big time?

LOL. That’s so corny, but it’s the best I can do without sounding totally bollocks.

DC: What would be your “voice’s” tagline?

KS: Realistic characters. Fantastic passion. I’d actually have a ‘wink’ after that too. I have a hard time talking myself up.

DC: Your vampire series, The Brotherhood of the Blood, is a favorite with readers. There’s five books in the series so far, with Night After Night being released earlier this year. First would tell those one or two people who aren’t familiar with the series what it’s about?

KS: The Brotherhood was originally six mercenaries who found what they thought was the Holy Grail, but it was actually the Blood Grail, made from the silver paid to Judas, infused with the essence of Lilith. When they drank from it they were turned vampire. 6 centuries later the group who originally had the Blood Grail wants it back – and they want the Brotherhood as well.

DC: Is the series evolving as your originally envisioned it?

KS: Yes. It played out exactly as I’d planned book-wise. I had an arc and I followed it. Success wise, I have to be honest and say that I was much higher hopes for it. Maybe someday paranormal historical will become what I’d hoped it would be and I can give fans of the series some new books.

DC: Please tell everyone about Night After Night.

KS: Night After Night was Temple’s story. He was the leader of the Brotherhood of the Blood once upon a time. In Be Mine Tonight, you discover he’s gone missing, and throughout the series the mystery of what happened to Temple runs through every story. This is also the book that reunites the Brotherhood. It is a romance, however. Temple meets Vivian, who is far more than she seems – more than she even knows. And she’s part of the group that would see the Brotherhood destroyed. That’s conflict, huh?

DC: Are there more books planned in the series? What can we expect next?

KS: As of right now, there are no more books planned for that series. That story line ended with Night After Night. If I do anything in the future, it will be with a new group of vampires or other supernatural creatures.

DC: If you had never become an author, what do you think you would be doing right now?

KS: I’d be a rock star. Actually, I once wanted to be a makeup artist. I love makeup.

DC: Who’s your favorite author(s)?

KS: I have so many. I love Julia Quinn, Laura Lee Guhrke, Connie Brockway. Sherry Thomas and Meredith Duran are two new authors that I do not feel worthy of when I read them! Lorraine Heath is another favorite, along with Jenna Petersen, Sophie Jordan, Sabrina Jeffries, Loretta Chase, and Liz Carlyle.

DC: How about a favorite book or two?

KS: Stranger in My Arms by Lisa Kleypas. Love that book. Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase. Secret Desires of a Gentleman by Laura Lee Guhrke is a current fave, as well as When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn. Those are the first that come to mind.

DC: What else is on the horizon for Kathryn Smith?

KS: More Victorian soap opera books. I’m currently outlining the third, which I’ve tentatively titled When Tempting a Rogue, but that will probably change to better suit the story. I’m hoping to perhaps continue on with the Nightmare Chronicles, and I do have a little something else I’m working on, but I’m keeping mum until I see what happens. That makes me a tease, doesn’t it? Sorry!

Lightning Round:

- dark or milk chocolate?     – milk
- smooth or chunky peanut butter?     – chunky
- heels or flats?      – heels
- coffee or tea?      – both
- summer or winter?      – Actually, autumn
- mountains or beach?      – beach
- mustard or mayonnaise?     – mayo
- flowers or candy?      – flowers
- pockets or purse?      – Purse – anyone who knows me is laughing at this, because they know I collect purses.
- Pepsi or Coke?     – Coke
- ebook or print?     – Print – but I want to try an e-reader.

And because folks still like seeing the answers:

1. What is your favorite word?    – friend
2. What is your least favorite word?     – nourishing
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?     – nature
4. What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally?      – willful ignorance
5. What sound or noise do you love?      – the sound of Steve’s voice
6. What sound or noise do you hate?      – a cat coughing up hair balls.
7. What is your favorite curse word?     – I don’t curse! Right. I say fuck a lot, but I’d like to use the word twat more. I can’t believe I just admitted to that.
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?     – makeup artistry. Maybe teaching.
9. What profession would you not like to do?      – anything where I’d have to put my hand in another person.
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?     – “I’ve read all your books.”

DC: Kathryn, it was such a pleasure to have you here today! Thank you so much!

Our three blog hosts cum Western Romance experts have taken the time to tell you a little more about their thoughts and feelings concerning this beloved genre of theirs. So sit back and have fun with these ladies as they answer the same questions from their very differing points of view!

Sybil in Sybil-ese:

GREAT WESTERN DRIVE: What was the first western romance you ever read?

SYBIL: No clue. Whirlwind Bride by Debra Cowan is the first western I see reviewed on TGTBTU on 3/14/05, but was nowhere near my first western. Or my first Harlequin Historical. I want to say prolly Nicole Jordan’s The Outlaw or Elizabeth Lowell’s Winter Fire, which lead to the Only Series (Winter Fire is still my FAVE and the only series ROCKS).

BUT back when I read trash (I say that with so much love and why I am confused to this day why romance is called ‘trash’), but from 13 to early 20s (I slowed down around 17 cuz I was verra busy causing trouble, uh I mean working), in between reading all of V.C Andrews, Sidney Sheldon, Daniele Steele, Jackie Collins I read a western romance. All I recall, it’s a cover with a bathtub type thing (barrel like) with the outlaw behind her. She was kidnapped. And uh… that is just about it… This is the time to I read Glitter Baby by SEP.

I always say my first romance was Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale because that is when my OCD blogness started. When I went searching for like minded people, found Maili’s blog and AAR. It is when I started my blogspot and blah blah blah (I warned you I ramble, yes?) AND didn’t figure out until after I was blogging for a few years? that Glitter Baby was THE SEP. So I still don’t really ‘count’ that nameless book.

GWD: Do you have a favorite western romance author?

SYBIL: I have favorites I like to bitch about *g*. No longer writing westerns but SHOULD BE faves would be Susan Kay Law, Maureen McKade, and Dana Ransom.

GWD: How about a favorite western hero? Heroine?

SYBIL: Oh I suck at this type of question, can I phone a friend?

GWD: When reading, what do you look for in the perfect cowboy?

SYBIL: Oh holy hell, these questions were put together while I was dealing with the website cuz yuck. I will go with K and W gave amazing answers and point you to them. [Ed. you could try, Syb!]

GWD: And the perfect cowgirl to go with that cowboy?

SYBIL: Someone who can hold their own…

GWD: How do you know when you’re reading a bad western romance? Are they any signs?

SYBIL: The author takes the idea that alpha means abuses, demeaning, or assholish. But oddly I can read and LOVE Elizabeth Lowell’s old westerns. For some reason they don’t trip my switch as being ‘too much.’

If the characters all sound like they are in 2009, I can’t read that, or if the cheese is just too fantastic. The whole drama over Cassie Edwards was odd to me because her writing seems like such a bad joke, I was not at all surprised it was copy and paste.

GWD: What’s the one thing that will really turn off you when reading a western romance?

SYBIL: LOL the above

GWD: How do you know when you’re reading a good Western

SYBIL: LOL I make it through the first few chapters without a headache from rolling my eyes.

GWD: Is there one Western that stands out above all others?

SYBIL: Ride the Fire by Pamela Clare. There is something about a book that opens with a man pointing a gun at a very pregnant woman demanding she doctor him and she gets the upper hand in the first few chapters.

GWD: Who is the Western Author who no longer writes them that you miss the most?

SYBIL: Oops, I answered this, huh? Did I miss anyone? Lorraine Heath REALLY should come back as well as Patrica Potter

GWD: Why do you think westerns have seen such an ebb and flow over the years?

SYBIL: I think it is totally about glitz and glam. People think west and think of the work, sweat, work, bawdy women, work and go ewwwww I want that pretty, pretty, pretty Regency book. Waltz me baby, which is all well and good, but people tend to forget a lot of the Regency history in those books are painted with the same romance brush as westerns.

Personally I don’t ‘put myself’ into the shoes of the heroine. I don’t want to fall in love with the hero as much as I want to fall in love with the love story. And some of my themes lend themselves so well to westerns – Second Chance stories, Road Romances, ‘Cabin Romances.’ People also forget America had a lot of money and glam in the East, so some of those ‘westerns’ can give them both things. They even have virgins in the west… honest.

Ramblin’ Kristie J:

GWD: What was the first western romance you ever read?

KRISTIE: I’ve been reading Westerns for years, so I can’t remember exactly which one it was – but I have a feeling I was at a UBS looking for Rexanne Becnel and forgot her name and ended up getting a Rosanne Bittner instead. I can’t remember what book it was – but it blew me away and I was hooked from then on.

GWD: Do you have a favorite western romance author?

KRISTIE: Well, Rosanne Bittner *g*. Also Patricia Potter, Cheryl St. John, Lorraine Heath (Westerns only). Those are the ones who first come to mind.

GWD: How about a favorite western hero? Heroine?

KRISTIE: Hero – there are too many to choose from!! Heroines one of my favorites is Miranda Hayes from Outlaw Hearts by Rosanne Bittner.

GWD: When reading, what do you look for in the perfect cowboy?

KRISTIE: I always love a hero who is wrecked for the heroine – in any genre. I also love the tortured hero. Lobo from Patricia Potter is one who fits both those bills.

GWD: And the perfect cowgirl to go with that cowboy?

KRISTIE: As for cowgirls – one who is strong, who doesn’t rely on the hero to bail her out. One who wears dresses for the most part, although I did just finish Stacey Kayne’s latest, Mountain Wild, and she was a trapper yet I really liked her. I think it was because she was forced into her circumstances rather than choosing it. [Ed. See, Sybs, not so hard!]

GWD: How do you know when you’re reading a bad western romance? Are they any signs?

KRISTIE: I started reading one not long ago and the author put in “Western” speak!! It was awful – even worse than Scottish speak. I couldn’t get past the first chapter. It may have been a good story, but I’ll never know. Wooden stereotypes are also annoying.

GWD: What’s the one thing that will really turn off when reading a western romance?

KRISTIE: Bad writing, bad writing, bad writing. As much as I love Westerns, a poorly written book will turn me off.

GWD: Is there one Western that stands out above all others?

KRISTIE: Outlaw Hearts by Rosanne Bittner. If someone asked for my choice for one that embodies most of what I love about the genre, this is my number one pick.

GWD: Who is the Western Author who no longer writes them that you miss the most?

KRISTIE: Lorraine Heath – without question. Her Westerns had a poignancy – every single one – and I don’t think she has captured that as well in her English historicals.

GWD: Why do you think westerns have seen such an ebb and flow over the years?

KRISTIE: I think all genres have an ebb and flow but the Western more so then most. I don’t think a lot of readers have tried them, so they don’t know what they are missing. I think a number of readers who have tried them just haven’t read the right one for them. And I think some readers like being carried away by the fantasy of England. But if they read the right one – and see what a good Western can offer – I think they can be swayed. There are a lot of genres I thought I’d never try and yet when I read that one book, I was converted. And I think there are quite a fan of Westerns who have kind of ‘forgotten’ about them. We are really hoping to reach all those groups with this Drive.

Wendy, the SuperLibrarian:

GWD: What was the first western romance you ever read?

WENDY: Nevada Nights by Ruth Ryan Langan, a 1980s-tastic western romance that I read when I was around 14 years old and the first book I read that had gasp s-e-x in it. This book features some of my favorite old-skool tropes. Convent-raised heroine? Check. Mysterious gunslinger named Colt? Check. Soap opera style plot featuring heroine’s odious long-lost family? Check. I wouldn’t recommend this book to readers today, but, dang, as a doe-eyed teen I flipping loved every single word.

GWD: Do you have a favorite western romance author?

WENDY: Hands down Maggie Osborne. She wrote fantastic heroines and never took the easy way out in her stories.

GWD: How about a favorite western hero? Heroine?

WENDY: This is tough. I have a huge soft spot for Beta heroes, so probably Dillon Hennessey from The Horseman by Jillian Hart. Although I also have a soft spot for younger heroes who feel like they have to ‘prove themselves’ – so on that front I think Austin Leigh from Texas Splendor by Lorraine Heath wins.

GWD: When reading, what do you look for in the perfect cowboy?

WENDY: I’m looking for a hero with a strong moral code. Heroes that, while they might have terrible reputations, will ultimately do what’s right.

GWD: And the perfect cowgirl to go with that cowboy?

WENDY: Generally speaking, I like heroines with gumption. They don’t have to kick ass and rescue themselves necessarily, but I also want them to do more than sit in the corner, ring their hands and cry. A lot of western heroines start out their romances literally up against a wall (and no, not in a good way!) and I like reading about a woman who isn’t going to simply roll over and die or pray for a hero to come along and rescue her.

GWD: How do you know when you’re reading a bad western romance? Are they any signs?

WENDY: There’s a long-lost gold mine in the plot. Seriously. Every terrible western I’ve read tends to feature a long-lost gold mine. Also, there’s a bathing scene. Hero and/or heroine spies the other one taking a bath in a stream, pond, lake, whatever and they get all tingly. Sort of like spies in Regency historicals, the bathing scene has been done to death in westerns and it needs to be taken out behind the barn and shot.

GWD: What’s the one thing that will really turn you off when reading a western romance?

WENDY: Too-stupid-to-live heroines who aren’t dead yet. Look, living in the west was hard. There weren’t a lot of comforts, and for that matter, there wasn’t a whole lot of structured law. When I read about a heroine doing something stupid in a western, I think to myself, “How is she not dead yet?”

GWD: How do you know when you’re reading a good Western?

WENDY: Westerns aren’t all that different from other romance subgenres. I’m looking for what I call the Emotional Gut Punch Moment. That moment when the author takes all the emotion, heartbreak, angst, etc., rolls it up and smacks the reader over the head with it. Every book in my keeper stash has such a moment. That moment where the author literally rips my heart out, resurrects it, and stuffs it back into my chest cavity.

GWD: Is there one Western that stands out above all others?

WENDY: This is tough because I’ve read so many great westerns over the years. I would say Lorraine Heath’s Texas/Leigh brother trilogy, mostly because it’s one of the few times in my life I’ve ever read a series back-to-back-to-back. Also, A Reason To Live by Maureen McKade, just for the sheer emotional intensity of that story. That story knocked me out.

GWD: Who is the Western Author who no longer writes them that you miss the most?

WENDY: Definitely Maggie Osborne, who retired after her last book in 2004. I really admire many of her books and, frankly, I think the romance genre desperately needs more writers like her.

Of authors who are still publishing but have left the west? Probably a toss up between Lorraine Heath and Nicole Jordan.

GWD: Why do you think westerns have seen such an ebb and flow over the years?

WENDY: Demographics have changed. The baby boomers literally grew up on westerns, in books, films, and TV. You couldn’t turn on a TV in the 1960s without tripping over a cowboy. But as time has advanced, publishers (like every other industry) is desperate to court that 18-49 year old demographic, and frankly? Those readers (of which I’m one) didn’t necessarily grow up on westerns. Also, publishers want to make money – so they’ll hop on The Next Big Thing, whatever that is, when it starts to sell. Hey, the western romance was king at one point, but like everything, it couldn’t last forever. Readers got burnt out. They got tired of slogging through crap to get to the gems. So they went looking for something “new.” I think readers will come back to the western, especially those readers hungry for real emotional stories. It’s just going to take publishers willing to take the “risk” and talented authors churning out quality stories.

GWD: And there you have it, Western fans, the be-all, end-all last word of the biggest fans in blogdom about reading those famed Western romances. You ready to gnaw on some bones with these gals?

You might have noticed this is NOT a review.  funny that

1. My site, I can do things like that, cool huh?

2. Site issues have made it difficult for any of us to get in the back end until the last few days so we are going with the flow… (as if that is a new thing ::shug::)

KristieJ and THEWendy have both have awesome rec’s and I will prolly repeat them but I will try not to… and no there aren’t any contemporaries.  We went back and forth with that at first.  We have grand lurve for the historical so are ‘focused’ on that but will have some posts on contemps.  TGTBTU does have some reviews ups for contemporary westerns if you must have RIGHT NOW.  And HSR line is grand to check out as well.

on with the rec’s

Jo Goodman

This is one of the STAND UP AND CHEER authors. Not only is her next book Never Love a Lawman a return to America west (a great read coming out Sept 1st from Kensingston so EASY for you to get review and more coming soon *g*) but her next book will take place in the same town.

But since I am talking more about backlists, when I first heard about this book, I cheered. Well it was prolly more along the lines of sending her an email of omg is this fucking true, which she totally didn’t get. But I am used to that… tis happens a lot with me.

So while on my rereading spree at the beginning of the year I pulled out my much loved copies of Jo Goodman’s Dennehy Sisters series (which turned out had a character very briefly mentioned in NLAL).  They range on OMG hard to find and you can walk into a UBS no sweat and pick on up.  I happened to read them when they had just been reissued so I was lucky.  Not sure on the reissue plans as of now (if there are any… but I have asked… will update if I hear anything)

Wild Sweet Ecstasy
Rogue’s Mistress
Forever In My Heart
Always In My Dreams (least fave of the series)
Only In My Arms (most fave and yes the nuns book don’t you wanna read it now)

Maureen McKade

I adore Maureen McKade‘s writing and am lucky enough to still have quite a few books by her left in my tbr pile.

Sadly right now real life has taken her away from us and she isn’t currently working on anything. I hope like mad this changes. When I heard she was going to do another Romantic Suspense after her ‘Forrester Brothers trilogy’ I pretty much begged her editor for a western. And the answer I got was as grand as they were they just didn’t sell.

It was pretty much a we will print them, if people will buy them type thing. Hopefully Maureen McKade will have the time and want to start up her writing again soon and when she does readers will be buying them again.

Until she does… we are gifted with a great backlist to keep us company. And her website has an email where you should bug her for more books. I never said I play fair.

I suggest you start with:
A Reason to Live
(YES holly hon, LIVE LIVELIVE, she sucks as a secretary but she is cheap)
This isn’t a ‘light’ book and deals with PTSD. It has a hella strong female character and a man to match her who are both dealing with living through the Civil War. She was a nurse and is set on delivering the last words to the the families of the soldiers she promised. The ruined South becomes a character in the book itself. And while Laurel is dealing with this (along with the PTSD), Creede Forrester is dealing with his own loses. Powerful book… one you really should read. SADLY out of print. But visit Wendy! She has contest.

Dana Ransom

aka Nancy Giddon aka Rosalyn West aka something else I think

But my heart belongs to Dana Ransom, which is rather odd cuz these are WESTERNS as in dirty, gritty, hard, not always ‘nice’ books with bows ties around everything books. Like in real life, things suck, but you get through it. The series that I have read and revisited in January is “The Bass family series“. And I loved it as much then as I did the first time. I totally need to do a Duckies Do Series Review on this series.

Temptation’s Trail – Harmon and Amanda book. Amanda is an Eastern heiress who hires a dime-store novel hero and believes everything she reads. Harmon is an half-Apache tracker who is so beyond pained I shouldn’t have been able to believe it or read it. One of the few virgin hero stories I think I have read and believed.

Texas Destiny Jack and Emily book. This is so messed up and soapy but she pulls it off amazingly without melodrama. Jack Bass is a Texas Ranger being held by Apaches and in a grand twist he is saved by a white captive – Emily. He is so going to marry her, until he finds out she is already married, to his boss.

Wild Texas Bride – started with this book, bought at a library sale and shows what a twisted chick I am cuz it is one of MY fave type of tales. Billy and Sarah book
She has known him forever and evah AND HE is HERS. So what if their first kiss happened when she was 13 and he was 18? 19? I forget the book isn’t in front of me. She sort of grabbed him and he complained to her brother about it for days. She is older now damn it and that chick on his lap has got to go. And whatever trouble he has gotten himself into, well she is going help him get himself out of it. She is a BASS and Harmon’s niece. It is time for Billy to grow up. Shotgun wedding story, friends to lovers and all that

Texas Renegade – Kenitay and Leisha book Revenge is a theme that plans heavy in all of these books but I am pretty sure this one and in the next is it HUGE. Harmon is still a big player in it as well. Kenitay is taken at the end of Wild Texas Bride and it takes him a long time to come to terms with the fact he was TAKEN not ‘let go’. Leisha never ever forgot him. Great story.

Sweet Texas – Dreams Morgan and Becca book. Like I said before or meant to (meant this to be short and sweet) if you don’t like REVENGE PLOTS it all comes to head here. Then again if you made it this far… Becca is trying really hard to be Harmon’s daughter. Sadly at times she was TSTL. Still over all it didn’t hurt the book or the series. LOVES the series tons.

So would love a new historical from Dana Ransom.

Linda Lael Miller

I know, I know you are going huh? What? That chick is soooooooo still in print but today is backlist day and my TOP fave of hers is:
The Vow
How I love the intro of the heroine. It is something you just need to read. It has a 12 YEAR separation something I HATE people. HATE HATE HATE with the heat of a 1000 suns and yet, this book I ::heart::

I would also recall liking Daniels Bride and was going to flip threw it because honestly all I remember is it amused me. I am not sure why. It isn’t one of the books I reread this year (The Vow was as was Banner O’Brien verra purple but I adore it chick dr!) and is a ‘female outlaw’ story, which in all honesty those can make me bang my head. AND I can only find the LLM books I have reread this year. I know I own a hella lot more. So recall I am well medicated and take that with a gain of salt and for GODSAKE do NOT pay $35 dollars for it new on amazon. Seriously do people do that?

Susan Kay Law

I have blogged about Susan Kay Law before cuz I lurve her. Lots. And I thought about not mentioning her here, KristieJ has but I say read Journey Home and One Lonely Night. So I felt she needed another nod LOL.

And in the omg you are gonna go there again category, I don’t guess I need to whine about Elizabeth Lowell or Lorraine Heath needing to write westerns again again. ::pout::

**thanks go to the lil sis for coming up with the title and she sez Tobey Keith for the song ::shrug:: I don’t listen to western music yes the irony

Read a Western, Cowboys Need Love Too

Sandy M’s review of Between the Devil and Desire (Scoundrels of St. James, Book 2) by Lorraine Heath
Historical Romance published by Avon 30 Dec 08

These scoundrels of St. James are so far leaving me emotionally exhausted after reading their stories. This second book in the series features Jack Dodger, a nimble-fingered facsimile of the Artful Dodger, thus the name he chose after being sold by his mother. What happened in those ensuing years, of course, shaped him into the man he is today, but he’s also a man who still remembers and relives those horrible times while doing the best he can to help youngsters who remind him of himself years ago. Ms. Heath uses Jack to pull your heart strings until you think they’re going to break.

Jack is summoned to the reading of the will of a man he barely knew. What his bequest is totally surprises him, but because there is money involved, Jack doesn’t hesitate. He’s to be the guardian of the man’s son, the next Duke of Lovingdon, and, if he does this, he will have the nobleman’s house and all unentailed items in it. A deal as far as Jack is concerned. He grew up on the streets under the teachings of Feagan, a man who took in aimless children and taught them to steal to survive. Money is life to Jack, and the more he has, the better off life will be. So no way in hell he’s going to turn down this out-of-the-blue offer, even though he doesn’t know a thing about children.

Stunned at the news that her husband has given guardianship of her son to a man known in her circles as the devil — the paltry amount he left her doesn’t matter a bit — Olivia, the Duchess of Lovingdon, does her best to get rid of Jack or even to rid herself of his company, but he won’t allow her and her son even a trip to the country. What starts out as a battle of wills ends up being an enlightening experience for Olivia the more she gets to know Jack. After a bit he doesn’t seem to be all that devilish — well, except when he’s trying to seduce her. He’s a man with honor, even though polite society wouldn’t understand his particular brand of honor.

For both of them it becomes a struggle to keep away from the pleasure that can be had in each other’s arms, and that doesn’t last long at all, as Olivia succumbs and ends up in Jack’s bed. Jack begins to learn to love again. Olivia learns Jack is the kind of man she does want raising her son and the kind of man she needs and wants in her life. There’s still the mystery of why the late duke chose Jack to watch over his son, and I have to admit that I didn’t see the curveball Ms. Heath throws out at us when it finally came.

My favorite scenes are those with Jack and Henry, Olivia’s son. The boy is always afraid, stutters, and Jack teaches him confidence and patience, giving him the knowledge that those who love him will always stand by his side. The scenes where we find out what happened to Jack as a child are also quite emotional and Ms. Heath does a terrific job of allowing Jack to grieve for that lost little boy but still maintain his dignity and honor as the man he’s become. I like the inclusion of Jack’s friends from his street days. We get to see how far they’ve come and what they’ve made of themselves and how they’re always there for one another.

This is a great addition to the trilogy and I’m looking forward to Surrender to the Devil, which I have in my hot little hands right now!

Grade: A

Summary:

Once a pickpocket and thief, Jack Dodger is now the wealthy owner of one of London’s most exclusive gentlemen’s clubs.

But after one of his patrons bequeaths him his London residence, Jack finds himself dealing with the man’s lovely widow.

When Olivia, Duchess of Lovingdon, is forced to share her beloved home with the notorious–and deliciously wicked–Jack Dodger, she quickly discovers that between the devil and desire, the only choice is surrender.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

This just in…

Those of you in Dallas and the surrounding areas, your annual fun is nearly upon you once again. The Dreamin’ in Dallas conference hosted by DARA is coming up fast!

~ The Dallas Area Romance Authors 2009 conference is set for Saturday, April 4 in Richardson, Texas at the Radisson Hotel.

~ Check out the DARA website for exact information.

~  A few of the authors attending this year’s conference are Sandy Blair, Diana Cosby, Jo Davis, Tracy Garrett, Lorraine Heath, Karen Kelley, Vicki Lewis Thompson, Roxanne St. Claire and a host of others.

~ Hurry on over to take a look, registration closes soon!

Consider yourself flashed.

This just in…

Avon has three terrific historicals on their site that you can read right now at no charge whatsoever!!!

~ Lorraine Heath’s In Bed with the Devil, Sarah Gabriel’s Keeping Kate, and Margo Maguire’s The Bride Hunt are 100% free to read on the Avon website.

~ Plus, with HarperCollins’ new Browse Inside feature we told you about recently, you can also check out other goodies like Glitter Baby by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, At Grave’s End by Jeaniene Frost, Tempt the Devil by Anna Campbell, The Highland Groom by Sarah Gabriel, and Wild by Margo Maguire, most of which are brand new, upcoming titles, to see if they’re something you’d like to read before you actually buy.

~ Check it all out here.

Consider yourself flashed.

This just in…

Texans aren’t about to be left out of sharing the love of romance. The third annual Buns & Roses Tea for Literacy will be held Sunday, October 12, 2008, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel in the Dallas suburb of Richardson, Texas.

~ Sherrilyn Kenyon will be the keynote speaker and Candace Havens will host as emcee.

~ There will be raffles and door prizes aplenty, as well as a booksigning with more than thirty authors, including Adele Ashworth, Sandy Blair, Judy Christenberry, Jo Davis, Geralyn Dawson, Katherine Garbera, Lorraine Heath, Sophie Jordan, Karen Kelley, Julia London, and Pamela Morsi, just to name a few.

~ There are tickets still available. You can reserve a table for nine with your author of choice for $360. Individual tickets are $35.  You can even buy your tickets online.

~There’s even a Premium Package for hard core Kenyon fans.  Check it out here.

~ The tea is hosted by the Richardson Adult Literacy Center and the Richardson Public Library and sponsored by FreshFiction. All proceeds go to Richardson literacy programs.

Consider yourself flashed.

Well, it’s taken me a week to recuperate and get back into the swing of things since I got home from San Francisco.  Was it all worth it?  Damn straight!

I was supposed to be at the RWA National Conference as a writer.  I started writing only a year or so ago, so I was really looking forward to learning more about the craft.  But who was I trying to kid?  I was 99.9% reader in San Francisco.   I couldn’t help myself.  Everywhere I looked were authors I’d been reading for years, authors who I just discovered, and even newer authors who I hadn’t yet discovered while at the conference.   And the books!  You’ve all seen my TBR mountain.  You all know how bad my addiction is.  There was no way in hell anyone could have kept me away from the books in the city by the bay, no matter how they tried.  So while I did learn a little, I had a dream of a week just schmoozing and staring in awe the majority of the week.

I had some wonderful highlights during the hustle and bustle of the conference.  The first was meeting two of my all-time favorite authors, who have also become friends.  First is Sandy Blair.  I started reading her books because of the time travel elements that appear every so often in her Scottish historicals.  But I joined her fan club because she’s one of the nicest, sweetest ladies I’ve ever met.  So it was a thrill, indeed, to meet her in person.  We had lunch together a couple of times, had drinks together, just chatted, laughed our tails off — she’s a great storyteller even outside of her books — and I enjoyed my time with her immensely.  I will remember each and every one of those moments forever.

Added to all that, I found some friends to get re-acquainted with while schmoozing with Sandy B.  It was great to meet author Tracy Garrett since getting to know her when I interviewed her online last year, and soon-to-be-published-I-just-know-it Suzy Welsh from the Romance Bandits is a hoot and a half and it was nice to chat with her outside Sandy B’s group.  I also met author Jo Davis, who just had her debut book, Trial by Fire, released last week.  You know, I started talkin’ with a southern accent after spending time with all those Texas ladies!

My next highlight came when I met author C.L. Wilson.  We’ve been chatting online for the last year or so after the release of her first two books, Lord of the Fading Lands and Lady of Light and Shadows.  Her series of Fae and magic and flying jaguars has captured not only my imagination, but the world’s.  It was so enjoyable meeting this lady who has such a lyrical voice when writing, an imagination that takes you away into fantasy so that you never want to leave.  Cheryl is a delight.  She’s so friendly, open and honest, and getting to know her was a pleasure.  She also joined Sandy B. and me for lunch on our first day in San Francisco. Let me tell you, I haven’t laughed so darned much and so darned hard in a very long time.   Author Susan Edwards also joined us at lunch, along with several other friends, and a good time was had by all and another wonderful memory was made.

If you haven’t read Cheryl’s books yet, you should.  There’s very few authors out there who can string ordinary words together and make them sing like Cheryl.  The next two books in the series, King of Sword and Sky and Queen of Song and Souls,  are being released this October and February 2009, respectively.  Start now and I guarantee you will be mesmerized and anxiously awaiting those new release dates.

Then there’s the Goody Room that’s a highlight at every conference.  My heavens, what an oasis and/or cacophony, depending on how you look at it and when you were there, of activity and goodies that was.  And everything there was free!  Books, buttons, bookmarks, candy, ink pens, CDs enticing you with book excerpts, business cards and flyers advertising anything and everything, and so much more filled table after table throughout the room.  You had to be quick in that room too.  No thinking you can come back later and pick up whatever you were looking at.  No guarantees whatsoever.  You had to make quick decisions and stick with them!

The Literacy Signing on Wednesday night was almost ovewhelming.  500 authors just waiting for you to walk up, chat for a minute, and buy a book.  What reader wouldn’t be in heaven while in that room?  I met more authors there who I’d corresponded with online or had gotten a thank you for reviewing their book:  Melissa Mayhue, Nancy Haddock, Lorraine Heath, Jill Shalvis, Lisa Kleypas, Kresley Cole, Kathryn Smith, Lynda Sandoval, just to name a few.  Then there were the authors that I’d read and loved for so long and newer authors who have given me hours of reading pleasure: Shana Galen, Jennifer Ashley, Shana Abe, Susan Crandall, Marianne Stillings, Christina Dodd, Julia Quinn, Gena Showalter, Elizabeth Hoyt, Bonnie Edwards and the list goes on and on.  And so many more than I’ll ever be able to remember!  It was a spectacular night and all topped off quite nicely when we learned the next day approximately $60,000 had been raised for literacy.  Good show!

There were other book signings the last days of the conference, and I had been warned to take large totes, rolling and handheld, and to be prepared to ship box after box of books home.  Pffft.  We were able to drive to San Francisco, who needs to ship the books back home?  I did.  Four of them.  Four big, big boxes of books.  I’m glad I took all the advice given to me. I definitely went prepared and I’m sure I was a sight lugging all those books across that big old hotel for two days!

My last huge highlight was meeting author Melissa Mayhue for dinner at Bubba Gump’s on Pier 39 our last free night of the week.  What a lovely lady!  Not only is she a wonderfully talented author, Melissa is one of the sincerest, kindest people I’ve ever met.  And there’s something about authors and humor.  Twelve women together with writing in common and we laughed and laughed.  And laughed.  For several hours.  I made a few more new friends that night and hope to keep in touch in the future.

In fact, I made new friends throughout the entire week, even some from my area.  It was a great time to share experiences and knowledge and I’m so glad I was part of it.  It was a time in my life that will never be forgotten, even when I attend another conference in the future.  The first time is special and the people I met will always have just as special a place in my heart.

Oh, the writer in me?  Yes, I did go to workshops and I did learn some.  So maybe the next time I’ll have more percentage points on the writing part of it all.  I have a feeling, though, the reader in me will emerge once again because she just has to be part of the fun.

Sandy M’s review of In Bed with the Devil (Scoundrels of St. James, Book 1) by Lorraine Heath
Historical Romance released by Avon 24 Jun 08

If you want a beautifully written book with strong characters who push all your emotional buttons and an intriguing storyline every time, you have to read Lorraine Heath. It doesn’t matter what era she chooses as the backdrop for her books, you will lose yourself just in the writing alone and you will fall farther still when her characters entrance you and give you their all.

Lucian Langdon is one of those heroes who wants everything he’s never really had. A home, a wife, love, a family, the respect of the aristocracy. He is an earl, at the top of the social hierarchy, but his past and his reclusiveness has painted him as black as the devil. Even the way in which he became the Earl of Claybourne is under suspicion and no one dares socialize with him and thus put their reputation at risk. Luke himself is guilt ridden after so many years of usurping an old man’s kindness and gullibility, but now that he’s had the luxury his lifestyle gives him, it’s hard to give it up, even if it’s the right thing to do. He’s determined to have what he’s never had the guts to reach for before and has finally decided to ask his long-time friend to marry him, to give him the peace and stability he longs for.

I absolutely adore Lucian. He had a horrendous childhood, orphaned and on the streets, taught how to pick pockets and otherwise steal to stay alive. When the previous Earl gives him the opportunity to stay out of prison for a crime of protection, he grabs on and doesn’t let go. Although he is confident in his abilities and station in life, it’s fascinating to watch him hesitate and let his vulnerability show when he finally does propose marriage.

And then the one woman who has been the only person to have the courage to look him in the eye when everyone else shunned him comes back into his life. He subtly begins to change when he begins to know her better, but he never sees the changes coming until it’s nearly too late. Lady Catherine Mabry is a woman who is quite independent, running her father’s household since his incapacitation sometime ago and with her brother off traisping around America. She’s beautiful, witty, and intelligent – just the kind of woman Luke truly needs. The fact she’s been fascinated with the man for a number of years, ever since the ball where she was the only one in the room with a backbone to acknowledge his presence, helps her go to him with a request that will change them both in a way that could break their spirits if he accepts her bargain.

Lucian, of course, accepts that bargain in exchange for Catherine’s help in teaching his almost-fiance the finer points of aristocrtic life, something the girl doesn’t want, along with not wanting to marry Lucian. The more time they spend together, you see them fall for one another, but whereas Catherine confronts her feelings for Luke to herself, he keeps his denial right up front in the guise of still wanting to marry his lifelong friend and start a family. He holds out so long that I started to get that feeling in the pit of my stomach, that feeling when you know something is wrong and will there be a way to make it right before irreparable harm is done.

The secondary characters are very well written, with most of them being friends of Luke’s from his days on the street, including the woman he intends to marry. The mystery surrounding his past and the way he came into the earldom is intriguing and does keep you guessing for a while. I really enjoyed Luke and Catherine together. She never kowtowed to him, always held her own in every situation, even when she knew it would break her heart. I kept telling Luke to stop looking at Catherine as a means to an end, to see her as the woman she is, the woman for him, but he wouldn’t listen to me for the longest time! Men! Despite all that, he’s now one of my favorite heroes that I’ve read in quite some time.

Ms. Heath strikes with a pretty wicked and emotional pen. This is only my fourth book of hers that I’ve read, the first three being her Texas trilogy, one of which brought forth tears a few times, something very few authors can do when I read. I became an instant fan then. In Bed with the Devil only solidifies my conclusion she’s one of the best out there.

Grade: A+

Summary:

“I’ve always been of the opinion that a woman would be far more satisfied lying in bed with the devil than with a saint.” —Lady Catherine Mabry

They call him the Devil Earl—a scoundrel and accused murderer who grew up on the violent London streets. A proper young lady risks more than her reputation when consorting with the roguishly handsome Lucian Langdon, but Lady Catherine Mabry believes she has no choice. To protect those she loves, she would do anything—even strike a bargain with the devil himself.

Lucian desires respectability and a wife above all else, but the woman of his choosing lacks the social graces to be accepted by the aristocracy. Catherine can help Lucian gain everything he wants. But what she asks for in exchange will put their very lives in jeopardy. When danger closes in, Catherine discovers a man of immense passion and he discovers a woman of immeasurable courage. As secrets from his dark past are revealed, Lucian begins to question everything he knows to be true, including the yearnings of his own heart.

Read an excerpt.

I had everything planned. Really, I did. Yeah, right. I had plans too. Besides meeting and chatting with all the authors I’ve gotten to know online over the past several years, I was going to write to ya’ll and let you know what’s happening. What’s stopped me? I forgot my wireless adapter for my laptop. Hmmmm. Do I have a brain? I thought my brain was intact and figured it would be so until I met my first real, live author. Maybe not. 

So I’m doing the next best thing. Paying for internet access at the Marriott. It’s better than nothing, which is what I’ve had for the last two days. Has it been worth it? Not having access to net? At all? You betcha!

I’ve had lunch with Sandy Blair and C.L. Wilson, chatted with Jade Lee, Jo Davis, Eve Silver, Caroline Linden, Jill Shalvis, Thea Devine and a multitude of other writing greats, dinner with Melissa Mayhue, chatted with aspiring authors like myself who have been nomiated for the Golden Heart, drinks with Tracy Garrett. I’ve listened to wonderful, humorous speeches by Victoria Alexander and Connie Brockway. I’ve gotten great advice from Elizabeth Hoyt and Susan Elizabeth Phillips so far. There’s still a boatload of workshops to choose from to learn so much more from those authors who I’ve admired for years. And there’s still the RITA and Golden Heart Awards Ceremony Saturday night to experience.

Talk about a dream come true. I never, ever thought I’d be doing any of this just a few short years ago. If I hadn’t listened to friends and decided to begin writing again, I wouldn’t have known RWA was going to be sorta in my backyard this year. Of course, I’m having fun more as a reader this week.

More than 500 authors were at the Literacy Signing on Wednesday night. OMG. Left and right, up and down aisle after aisle I saw Sabrina Jeffries, Cherry Adair, Jayne Ann Krentz, Lorraine Heath, Shana Abe, Stacey Kayne and so many more than my poor brain can’t even recall them all in one sitting. Who I couldn’t see because of all the people in line and surrounding them so you had to ask folks who they were in line for, Nora Roberts and Sherrilyn Kenyon just to name a couple. That’s okay though this time around. My noggin probably would have exploded if I’d seen them up close and personal!

Despite the tiredness and the sore feet, I’m in heaven. As usual, time is going way too fast and I’ll be headed home before I know it, but I’m going with a myriad of memories that will last me a lifetime. Usually when I come to San Francisco for a visit, I’m the common tourist roaming through Fisherman’s Wharf, Piccadilly Square, riding the cable cars, taking a crooked drive down Lombard Street, eating shirimp cocktails while watching waves roll across the ocean. Haven’t missed that a bit this time. And I won’t think of San Francisco in the same way ever again.

Time to go! Have more authors to meet! I’ll chat with ya’ll when I’m back home and recovered from the trip of my dreams!

Lucky Gwen.  I have no clue what all she took with her as I was too busy petting the cover of the Ward book I just got in the mail.