LynneC’s review of Brazen by Margo Maguire
Historical Romance published by Avon 29 Nov 11

As I said in a previous review, there isn’t usually one reason to DNF a book, but more often than not it’s because the book doesn’t grab me. If I persevere and get to a third or more, then I could do a full DNF review, if I have something to say about it. A DNF isn’t always because it’s a terrible book. It could be because the book just didn’t do it for me, as in this case, but it might well do it for you. There’s no deep flaws, and the plots is interesting, but the authorial voice or the premise just didn’t take me away. So I’d say try it, get a sample and see if you like it. I got this book from NetGalley, and it occurred to me that if I could sample it, that might be a useful thing. I actually persevered past the first chapter, more to see if I could settle into the read. Sadly, I couldn’t.

The heroine is one of two daughters who were adopted by an earl when their grandfather and guardian, a duke, abandoned them after his son’s death. Yeah, I know. And that’s just the start of the complex plot that would have been worth concentrating on, had I cared. But I found the book a bit of a slog and I think the main problem is the pedestrian authorial voice. Which could be as much my problem as Margo Maguire’s. Sometimes an author’s voice just doesn’t work for a reader, and I fear that is the case in this book.

Because the heroine, although brought up in the bosom of society, has no clue about things that women would generally have known. A Regency lady who doesn’t know how to load and fire a pistol? A viscountess who lives in a cottage? That last throws me. In that era, a cottage was either a place to play, a la Marie Antoinette, or it was a hovel. Not a reasonably pleasant house with separate rooms. Okay, not so bad.

The hero is interesting. He’s the younger son of a viscount, so relatively low in the pecking order of the peerage. Goodie. And even though he’s a spy, he’s a believable one, having worked in the military, and he has one more assignment before he retires.

The heroine shoots him (a mere graze), but weapons were pretty erratic in those days, and even knowing about weapons, she could have done that. A niggle. Not important. Then she wants to stitch his wound, and in an age before penicillin, that could be dangerous, sealing in the infection. Whenever possible, wounds were left open so they could be cleaned frequently and allowed to heal from the inside out. The heroine has short hair and the hero hasn’t seen short hair before. Why not, when cropped hair was all the rage in the period? He was in the army, an officer, so surely he’d have set eyes on one or two fashionable women? Niggle followed on niggle, and the tone of the book is very much American (so, my US friends, it’s unlikely to bother you).

Words like “quit” for “leave” and the dreaded G word (“gotten”) make an appearance on the first page (to a modern Brit, “gotten” screams “American,” which in some circumstances is good, but not when it’s supposed to be a deep third point of view British Regency character). Maguire has a habit of “telling” instead of “showing,” which leads to a blander style. In an effort to avoid the purple, blandness ruled. They drank “whiskey” in an era when whisky was the equivalent to moonshine, and was as often clear as caramel coloured. In the end, I was just waiting for the next niggle to turn up. That’s always a sign that I’m not engaged with the book, because when a book catches me and drags me along, details are the last thing I worry about. So I gave up. I really wanted to like this one, but it just wasn’t doing it for me. It might for you.

Grade: DNF

Summary:

She will give him what he desires. But first, a small favor . . .

Lady Christina Fairhaven is devoted to her adoptive family—and most protective of her wayward brother.

So when battle-scarred and world-weary Captain Gavin Briggs arrives at her cottage bearing shocking news—that she is the granddaughter of an aged, bad-tempered duke— Christina is stunned . . . temporarily.

She will not meet the duke who abandoned her when she was a child; Gavin will not receive his significant—and much needed—reward. However, should the good Captain agree to help her locate and rescue her endangered sibling, then perhaps . . .

But with a fortune at stake, the road to London is paved with peril. Treachery awaits them . . . not to mention attraction, temptation, and a most unanticipated passion.

To regain his soul, to protect his lady, Gavin must be more than brave. To win his love, Christina must be positively . . .

Read an excerpt.

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.

Gwen’s review of Temptation of the Warrior by Margo Maguire
Historical paranormal romance released by Avon 25 Mar 08

Holy smokes! This was a really fun book! Paranormal, regency historical, action, romance, time-travel. All of it between just two covers. It was like going to a really good Chinese buffet where you can eat anything you want.

This is not your typical romance. A warrior chieftain and high-magic user time-travels, loses his memory, falls in love, fights the bad guys, gets his memory back, fights some more bad guys, etc. The down-on-her-luck regency heroine never quits trying, never quits striving for something more, and is never daunted by her circumstances. Okay – that last is a bit typical, but work with me here.

This was a real page-turner for me. I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. When would the hero get his memory back. When would he realize the heroine had special powers too. When would the really, super bad guys (as compared to the normal bad guys who are also chasing them) catch up to them. I carried this book every I went and stole a page here and there every chance I got.

The action only bogged down a bit for me when the author cut to the scenes without the h/h – scenes of the hero’s homeland where his cousin is fighting the really, super bad guys. There wasn’t much fighting and it was a little confusing how much time they could afford to wait for the hero to regain his memory.

I liked how multidimensional the author made even the secondary characters and scenery. This was a nice, meaty story I could really sink my teeth into. All parts of the book were fully fleshed out and nothing seemed to be given short-shrift.

I haven’t read the previous book in this unnamed series, A Warrior’s Taking. I might have understood more back-story if I had read Taking, but the lack wasn’t fatal to enjoying this book. By the way, Taking has a very old-style cover, though it was published just last June. If Temptation had a cover like that, I don’t think I’d have ever read it.

I recommend this unique book to fans of paranormal romance, fantasy romance, or historical romance (much of it has little to no paranormal elements).

Grade:B+

Summary:

981 A.D. … To protect his people from a great evil, Merrick MacLochlainn, newly crowned high chieftain of his clan, must travel forward in time nearly 1,000 years. But when he awakens in 19th Century England, he has no memory of his mission to save his race, nor can he recognize Jenny Keating, the spirited young beauty who calls herself his wife.

1826 A.D. …Orphaned and on the run from a cruel headmaster, vulnerable and alone, Jenny never dreamed of being rescued by any man, much less a chivalrous and handsome warrior like Merrick. Drawn to his powerful physique and mysterious ways, she begins a dangerous deception and poses as his beloved. But her feelings of desire are all too real. Together they will battle a dark threat that jeopardizes their very lives, all the while tempting each other with a pasison too powerful to resist.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: