Guest Review - - A Marriage of Notoriety

A Marriage of Notoriety
By Diane Gaston
Publisher: Harlequin Historical
Release Date: January 1, 2014

I’ve been a fan of Diane Gaston’s books since she first appeared on the romance scene. Her book THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M captivated me from page one to the end. The same is true for her latest book A MARRIAGE OF NOTORIETY. Simply put, it’s a marriage of convenience story. Sign me up! I love it when two seemingly opposite people must marry to save a reputation or secure one. So I settled into my comfortable corner of the couch and dug in.

But this was so much more than that. It features a tortured main character. Usually tortured main characters are male and have a host of issues that made them into the hero that they are. Another one of my favorite plot devices. Here’s the first of Diane Gaston’s delightful twists. The tortured soul is not the hero of the story but the heroine. Hello? What do we have here?

We have a great story of a young lady, Lady Phillipa, whose beauty is marred by a scar at a very tender and vulnerable age. The scar runs as deeply on her cheek as within her spirit. Back into her life walks a friend from her childhood who knew her before her accident, Xavier or as society dubbed him, Adonis. Her own insecurities blind her to his genuine and real interest in her. How can one of such beauty want anything to do with a beast like herself? This hero can and he turns to making her see that her scar is of no consequence to him.

He becomes her champion. Her ramshackle family disappoints from the very beginning of the story. They keep some pretty significant secrets from her like the fact that her father's recently acknowledged illegitimate son runs a gambling house financed by her own brothers. Xavier is helping her half brother run the establishment. They also keep from her the fact that her father has been exiled to the continent for bringing the family perilously close to ruin financially and wanting to duel his own son. Nice crowd, right?

Xavier is the only one who is completely honest with her about all of this. She decides to play at the gambling house with Xavier’s full knowledge. He escorts her to and from the gambling house in an effort to spend more time with her. It is the beauty who begins to fall in love first. It is only when her brothers return and see Xavier out with her so very late into the night that things get complicated. She is going to be ruined if Xavier does not marry her. And being the champion that he is, they wed. YAY! A marriage of convenience story! LOVE IT!

Diane Gaston has always had a knack for keeping you involved and invested in a story. The love that is allowed to blossom between Xavier and Phillipa is a delight. So sweet and tender. They have their challenges. They have some pretty unsavory characters that look to bring down their relationship and it is a vulnerable, tenuous relationship at first. Most of this is due to our heroine’s insecurities and issues with what she continues to see as a mark against her. But Gaston writes their story true to their characters and soon, they too have their own happily ever after.

I really enjoyed reading A MARRIAGE OF NOTORIETY. I am new to this series so I will be picking up the first book in the series and the next. And with Diane Gaston, more likely as not, every other book she puts to paper or e-reader. She continues to be that good!

~Santa

Santa Byrnes has been in love with the written word for as long as she can remember. Romances provide reaffirmation that love is for anyone who opens themselves up to their own happily ever after. Santa lives in the beautiful Hudson Valley in New York along with her marvelous husband and three amazing teens. An aspiring romance writer, she is ever grateful to have found her own happily ever after.

Guest Review - - A Not So Respectable Gentleman?

A Not So Respectable Gentleman?

By Diane Gaston

Publisher: Harlequin

Release Date: July 24, 2012

One careless moment saw Leo Fitzmanning’s stables and the beginnings of his stud farm go up in flames, but his home, Welbourne Manor, was untouched by the fire, and his dream of building a life there with Mariel Coverdale survives. He approaches her father to ask for his blessings on the match with high hopes. But her father informs the young suitor that Leo’s scandalous family and illegitimate birth are handicaps that not even being a duke’s son can overcome. Coverdale insists that his daughter deserves a better life than the one Leo can offer her and that, in fact, she has found someone better and is betrothed to him. With a broken heart and wounded pride, Leo leaves England.

Two years later he returns—experienced, mature, independent, and with no desire to win societal acceptance. He has made his fortune doing things his family would be horrified to know, and he refuses to conform to their idea of what his life should be, no matter how loving their intentions. By chance, he learns that Mariel is betrothed, not to the upright young man Leo though she had married already, but to a sleazy, sadistic baron who finds his pleasure in abusing women. Leo feels that he must warn Mariel against the man, but when she insists she is helpless to escape the betrothal, he determines to save her.

Mariel never knew why Leo betrayed her. He disappeared from her life, and for two years she has had no word from him. Although the information that Leo gives her about the man her father is insisting she marry is shocking, Mariel is already uncomfortable with the idea of marrying Lord Kellford. But she feels a responsibility to her younger sisters, and her father insists they will be ruined unless Mariel and her fortune become Kellford’s. She doesn’t see a way to avoid the marriage, and she’s also determined not to trust Leo again.

Once Leo and Mariel are honest with one another, they discover how they have been manipulated by her father. But Mariel still holds Leo guilty for having so little faith in her, and she is reluctant to accept his help. Eventually, they work together to stop Mariel’s marriage, but their chances of success seem slim. In order to save Mariel, Leo must learn that there is no shame in accepting help from those who love you. It is with the help of all his brothers that he is finally able to achieve his goal.

A Not So Respectable Gentleman? is a spinoff from The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor (2009), an anthology about the Fitzmanning Miscellany, the progeny-- hers, his, and theirs (the latter illegitimate)—of the Duke and Duchess of Manning who left their respective spouses to live together for years before the duke’s first duchess died and left them free to wed. Gaston, Deb Marlowe, and Amanda McCabe wrote the closely interwoven stories in the anthology. Leo is the oldest of the Fitzmannings and the youngest of four sons in the complicated family. His youth and his history make his actions and attitudes credible. I found him an interesting, appealing hero with enough flaws to keep him human. I found Mariel less interesting because she is a less developed character. She does try to defy her father, and she has legitimate concerns about her younger sisters who have yet to make their debuts into society. But scandal for them and her father’s arrest or even hanging seem preferable to the life she knows awaits her as Kellford’s wife.  I confess that I’m not a fan of the self-sacrificing heroine.

But there is much to like in this book. The secondary romance between Mariel’s maid and Leo’s associate adds interest and dimension to the story. And I was delighted that all of Leo’s siblings made appearances. The denouement with Leo seeking his brothers’ help was my favorite part. I found the family dynamics more interesting than the romance.

Diane Gaston is a gifted writer and a good storyteller, and A Not So Respectable Gentleman? is an interesting addition to the stories of the Fitzmanning Miscellany. I recommend it to those who read and enjoyed the anthology. They will know Leo’s history and understand his pride and his reluctance to be dependent on his brothers, none of whom shared the stigma of Leo’s illegitimacy.  A reader coming to this story without having read the earlier work may find the relationships confusing.

~Janga
http://justjanga.blogspot.com

Guest Review - - Valiant Officer, Beautiful Enemy

Valiant Officer, Beautiful Enemy
By Diane Gaston
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: August 23, 2011

Valiant Soldier, Beautiful Enemy is the conclusion to Diane Gaston’s Three Soldiers Series, following Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady and Chivalrous Captain, Rebel Mistress. Those who read the first two books will be familiar with Captain Gabriel Deane who came to the aid of Emmaline Mableau, a French woman who was nearly raped after her husband had been killed and her young son threatened during the barbarity that followed the Battle of Badajoz in 1812.

The beautiful widow made a lasting impression on Gabriel, and when the two meet again in Brussels three years later, they become lovers. Gabe, who has spent the greater part of his life as a soldier, begins to dream of leaving the military and building a life with Emmaline. But Emmaline’s son, whose bitter hatred of the British has grown in intensity in the years since he saw his father killed, stands between them. Even Gabe’s rescue of young Claude after Waterloo is not enough to give Gabe and Emmaline a happy ending.

Two years later Emmaline appears in London to plead for Gabe’s help in preventing her son from killing the officer he holds responsible for his father’s murder. Gabe once again commits to saving the son who is the person Emmaline loves most, the one she chose over a life with Gabe.

Gabe is a wonderful hero. It’s refreshing to read about a hero whose blood is not blue. He is a merchant’s son with no claim to the title of gentleman, but he is gentil in the Chaucerian sense—generous, chivalrous and brave, a man with a sense of honor that runs deep. Inarticulate when it comes to expressing his feelings, his actions prove his love over and over again.

I am less enthusiastic about Emmaline. I can appreciate her devotion to her son, and when she rejects Gabe because of her son, I was sympathetic. Claude was still quite young. He had been traumatized by seeing his father die and by war. Her guilt that she allowed her husband to pressure her into accompanying him to Spain and bringing their son adds to her love and sense of responsibility. But her willingness to view Gabe, after all he has done for her and for her son, through the distorted lens of her memories of her domineering husband was for me inexcusable.

There was so much in this book that merits praise. In addition to creating an unforgettable hero, Gaston does an excellent job of showing the reader Claude’s anger and confusion and need to hold someone responsible for the horrors that propelled him too soon into manhood. Some of my favorite scenes were those that showed him as the young man he would have been in different circumstances, one with a passion for horses, falling in love with a beautiful young woman. I believe Gaston has further plans for Claude. I hope so.

I was also pleased with Gaston’s handling of the villain. Since I’m avoiding spoilers, I’ll just say I prefer the reaping of harvests sewn to the execution of revenge. The integration of characters from the earlier books into the story was another plus for me. Blame the missing star on Emmaline.

~Janga

Beach Bag Reviews Winner!!

The lucky winner of a signed copy of Chivalrous Captain, Rebel Mistress by Diane Gaston is:


Lisa


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Diane Gaston winner!

The winner of Diane Gaston's Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady is:

RKCharron!

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Review -- Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady

Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady by Diane Gaston
Publisher: Harlequin Historical
Release Date: December 1, 2009






So many of the historicals I read feature a titled hero and/or heroine and while I enjoy those, every once in awhile I get the urge to read one with what I like to call “regular folks”. Diane Gaston’s Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady is just such a book. Its hero, Jack, is a soldier and artist and its heroine, Ariana, is an actress.

Surviving the Battle at Badajoz was difficult for Jack Vernon, but sketching the horrible images he saw helped to get them out of his head. Two years pass and now in London, Jack is attending an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art when he meets a beautiful young woman who is gazing at one of his paintings. He immediately feels a connection with her as she sees and feels the emotional depth in his work. Jack learns her name but she is whisked away before he can tell her that he is the artist. Six months later, he is asked by Lord Tranville, his mother’s (not so) former lover, to paint a portrait. Jack flatly refuses and for good reason – until his mother asks a personal favor if he would agree to do it. He is surprised to find out that the woman he has been commissioned to paint is Ariana, the young woman from Summer Exhibition.

Ariana Blane has followed in her mother’s footsteps when it comes to acting, but not when it comes to men. She feels alive performing on stage, but would pass on entertaining in the Green Room after every performance, if she could. There, Lord Tranville approaches her with an offer to commission a portrait of her as Cleopatra in order to publicize her role in the upcoming play. Ariana hesitates until she learns who the artist will be: the same artist whose work she admired at the exhibition. She informs Tranville that she will do it, but will not be beholden to him beyond that. She is pleasantly surprised to discover that Jack is the artist from the show because she had felt a connection to him as well. And as she sits for him, their mutual attraction becomes evident even though she feels like Jack is holding back. It also becomes clear to her that there is more than just common animosity between Jack and Lord Tranville. Much, much more.

I enjoyed Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady very much. Jack and Ariana are strong, passionate protagonists – both hold their own and put their all in what they do. Ariana totally “gets” Jack and understands his need to draw and paint. She is eager to please him, but is certainly no pushover. She likes him; and because of his past she doesn’t want to push him too far.

She had indeed become besotted with this moody artist who kept so much inside, yet showed so much in his art. She wanted to unlock the mystery of him and to be someone with whom he could share confidences and engage in little adventures, as their excursion to Somerset House had been.

Jack tries to keep it “strictly business” with Ariana because of the Tranville connection, but finds himself unable to comply, which I found charming. Because of said Tranville connection, I wanted to strangle Jack’s mother a time or two, but the sweet secondary romance of Jack’s sister Nancy and her beau made up for it. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, rich historical featuring a cast of memorable characters, look no further than Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady!

~Andrea

Guest Author -- Diane Gaston

Today we have Harlequin Historical author Diane Gaston dishing with us! Please help us welcome her to The Romance Dish!

My December release, Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady, is the first book in my Soldiers Trilogy. I’d love to give away a signed copy of the book to one commenter chosen at random, so don't forget to comment or ask a question.

Three soldiers—an ensign, a lieutenant, and a captain—share a ghastly and distressing experience after the battle of Badajoz, an experience they agree to keep secret. It affects the rest of their lives.

The battlefields of Badajoz are nothing compared to the cutting tongues of polite society, but Jack Vernon has never been very “polite.” A canvas is this brooding artist’s preferred company and painting the portrait of the stunningly beautiful actress, Ariana Blane, is his biggest commission yet. Learning every curve of her body ignites feelings Jack thought destroyed in battle. But he’s not the only man who has Ariana in his sights....

Battle! Art! Theatre! Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady has them all.

Actually having an artist hero and an actress heroine was a logical pairing. Actors and actresses were often painted by the artists of the day, often depicting the characters they played on stage.

One such actor was Edmund Kean. Kean exploded onto the London stage in 1814 when he played Shylock at Drury Lane Theatre. Kean’s emotional, expressive style was much acclaimed. He went on to play other Shakespearean roles such as Richard III, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, and his popularity helped rescue Drury Lane Theatre from the brink of financial ruin.

He also played Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, but this romantic role was not one of his finest. William Hazlitt, foremost reviewer of his day, said, “His Romeo had nothing of the lover in it.”

Playing Juliet to Kean’s Romeo was a “Miss O’Neill” whose performance won Hazlitt’s praise. Miss O’Neill seems to have been a popular young actress; her name appears on many play bills of the period, but that is all I know about her. I do owe her an apology, though. I replaced her in Romeo and Juliet with Ariana Blane, the heroine of Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady.

In Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady I have cast Ariana opposite Kean in a production of Antony and Cleopatra. This was a total contrivance. I found no evidence of Kean ever playing in Antony and Cleopatra.

Like many actors of our day, Kean’s personal life was a mess. He drank heavily and was vilified in the London press when he was named in a divorce after an affair with another man’s wife. In 1833 Kean collapsed onstage and died a few days later.


Kean’s female counterpart initially gained fame in the theatre before the Regency. She retired from the stage in 1812. She, too, excelled in dramatic roles. Like Kean, she worked for many years “on the road” before hitting it big at Drury Lane theatre.
William Reynolds, the famous 18th century portrait artist, painted Siddons as The Tragic Muse. Other artists painted her in her various roles, like Lady MacBeth or Ophelia and others.

My hero, Jack, had not yet achieved the renown to paint an actress of Siddons stature, but it made sense for him to paint a new talent, Ariana Blane.

If you were an artist, what actor or actress would you want to paint, and in what role?

Remember, I’ll give away one signed copy of Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady to one lucky commenter chosen at random.

For more about Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady, visit my website.