Monday, January 11, 2016

Today's Special - - The Lady's Command


The Lady's Command
By Stephanie Laurens
Publisher: MIRA
Release Date: January 1, 2016




The instant Captain Declan Frobisher laid eyes on Lady Edwina Delbraith, he knew she was the lady he wanted as his wife. The scion of a seafaring dynasty accustomed to success, he discovered that wooing Edwina was surprisingly straightforward—not least because she made it plain that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
Declan's vision of marriage was of a gently-reared wife to grace his arm, to manage his household, and to bear his children. He assumed that household, children, and wife would remain safely in England while he continued his life as an explorer sailing the high seas.
Declan got his wish—up to a point. He and Edwina were wed. As for the rest—his vision of marriage…
Aunt of the young Duke of Ridgware and sister of the mysterious man known as Neville Roscoe, London's gambling king, even before the knot was tied Edwina shattered the illusion that her character is as delicate, ethereal, and fragile as her appearance suggests. Far from adhering to orthodox mores, she and her ducal family are even more unconventional than the Frobishers.
Beneath her fairy-princess exterior, Edwina possesses a spine of steel—one that might bend, but will never break. Born to the purple—born to rule—she's determined to rule her life. With Declan's ring on her finger, that means forging a marriage that meets her needs as well as his.
But bare weeks into their honeymoon, Declan is required to sail to West Africa. Edwina decides she must accompany him.
A secret mission with unknown villains flings unexpected dangers into their path as Declan and Edwina discover that meeting the challenge of making an unconventional marriage work requires something they both possess—bold and adventurous hearts.



The Lady's Command is the first of four books in Stephanie Laurens' new series, The Adventurers Quartet. It's a bit out of the norm in that the reader does not accompany the hero and heroine on their journey to love. Instead, the book opens three weeks after Declan Frobisher and Lady Edwina Delbraith have wed. While Edwina and Declan are in love and happily living within the honeymoon glow, it quickly becomes apparent to the reader that they have different ideas of how their marriage will work. Declan expects Edwina to tend to home and hearth while he sails off on company business and the occasional secret mission his family is called upon to complete for the Crown. Edwina is determined to have a marriage of equals. She's in the dark as to what Declan will be doing when he announces he must sail to West Africa mere weeks into their marriage but there's one thing of which she is certain. She will not be left behind. But when she stows away on Declan's ship, leaving him no choice but to take her along on his secret mission, will it bind them closer together or will the danger to Edwina tear them apart forever?

The Lady's Command is a tale of two halves. I found the first part of the book, set amidst ton dinners and balls in London, to be repetitive and slow-moving. It's filled with a lot of descriptive prose and establishing the hero's and heroine's thoughts regarding marriage. It's a lot of "tell" and not much "show." The pace picks up when Declan and Edwina arrive in West Africa and I began to enjoy the book a lot more. There's a mystery to be solved and as we learn more about the people who have gone missing and who the villain might be we also begin to delve beneath the surface with our main characters. There's much more development of them individually and as a couple.

There's a lot of stage-setting in this book, as one might expect from the first in a four-book series with an over-arching mystery. While that slowed things down a bit, I still enjoyed the second half of the book and am invested in discovering who is behind the kidnappings and why they are taking place. I have to admit that while I liked Declan and Edwina and was happy for their happy ending, I found myself more intrigued by the mystery aspect of The Lady's Command than I was by the romance. Maybe I didn't feel as invested in their HEA because I missed out on the emotional intensity of their courtship. I am, however, invested in the mystery and will be picking up the second book in the quartet, The Buccaneer at Heart (April 26) to find out what happens next!

~PJ

Do you like mystery mixed with your romance?

Do you enjoy a sea-faring romance?




Stephanie Laurens’ TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, January 4th: Romancing the Book
Tuesday, January 5th: Bewitched Bookworms
Wednesday, January 6th: The Sassy Bookster
Thursday, January 7th: Thoughts from an Evil Overlord
Friday, January 8th: A Chick Who Reads
Monday, January 11thThe Romance Dish
Tuesday, January 12thBookNAround
Wednesday, January 13thFrom the TBR Pile
Thursday, January 14thWorth Getting in Bed For
Friday, January 15thSharon’s Garden of Book Reviews
Monday, January 18thReading Reality
Tuesday, January 19thThe Maiden’s Court
Wednesday, January 20thBlack ‘n Gold Girl’s Book Spot
Thursday, January 21stFictionZeal
Friday, January 22ndView from the Birdhouse
Monday, January 25thBibliotica
Tuesday, January 26thA Night’s Dream of Books
Wednesday, January 27thOne Curvy Blogger
Thursday, January 28thIt’s a Mad Mad World
Friday, January 29thStranded in Chaos



13 comments:

  1. Yes, I do like mystery mixed with romance. Fans of Stephanie Laurens are used to that formula, too, as she often has a mystery of some sort mixed into her romances. Even those who don't know her work are duly warned (if that's the right word) because she has styled this series as adventures so it's clear they're not pure romance.

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  2. Yes and yes!! I like the not knowing and I have enjoyed her books!

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  3. Yes, I do like some mystery in my romance books. I was lucky enough to find this at the library, and really enjoyed it. I'm now looking forward to the next one in the series.

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  4. Any story by Stephanie Laurens is a winner. I will be looking for this one.

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  5. Yes - a mystery often gives a couple something to work on together.
    and yes - sea travel can give the couple a lot of concentrated time together to get to know each other.

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  6. Yes, I enjoy mystery with romance. Unfortunately I haven't had the pleasure of reading any of Stephanie's books yet, and would love to win. Thanks for the giveaway, and good luck everyone!

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  7. Yes and yes to both. I absolutely Love Stephanie Laurens books.
    Her Cynster family series is one of my favorites.Who can forget Devil Cynster, not me. lol Thanks for todays post about the start of her new series.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

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  8. Yes and yes to both. I absolutely Love Stephanie Laurens books.
    Her Cynster family series is one of my favorites.Who can forget Devil Cynster, not me. lol Thanks for todays post about the start of her new series.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

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  9. I like some mystery with the romance novels I read, but I'm not too wild about a lot of spy novels. I enjoyed this book very much and can say that it doesn't really fall into the type of spy novels that bore me. Great hero and heroine and I'm betting this series will be a big hit. Looking forward to the second book.

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  10. I like a se-faring romance... and I like a little mystery thrown in romance, too.

    denise

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  11. I don't have a problem with a book being more of a mystery than a romance. Mystery and suspense were the books I read before discovering romance books. I like a romance to have a bit more substance than just a relationship story. A bit of mystery and suspense help the story be more.

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  12. I kind of like the idea of picking up their relationship after they are married, but it definitely gives a different feel to the story.

    Thanks for being a part of the tour!

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  13. I loooove romance that has the sea in its plot and I'm especially in love with pirates. The adventures at sea give me a thrill.

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