Review - - How to School Your Scandal

How to School Your Scandal

By Juliana Gray

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: June 3, 2014

Luisa, the Crown Princess of Holstein-Schweinwald-Huhnhof, thanks to the machinations of her maternal uncle, the near-omniscient Duke of Olympia, enters the household of Leopold, Earl of Somerton disguised as Mr. Markham, new secretary to the earl. Luisa frets at the waiting game imposed on her by Olympia’s strategies. She worries about her younger sisters, and she yearns to see justice achieved for her assassinated father and husband. The crown she inherited and all its attendant responsibilities weigh no less heavily because she is unable to fulfill them. Despite these concerns, Luisa finds that the complex and commanding Somerton awakens her interest and stirs her compassion.

Somerton is a man who exercises power on multiple levels. His physical strength, his wealth and status, his intelligence, and his connections give him the means of controlling those around him, and he is ruthless in achieving his objectives. Unhappily married, he is convinced that his wife has been unfaithful, and he is obsessed with proving her adultery, unable to accept his investigators’ assurance of her innocence.  He is drawn to Markham in a way he cannot fully fathom, fascinated by his secretary’s combination of innocence, integrity, and refusal to be intimidated.

As the threat to Luisa grows dangerously close, Somerton’s personal situation is complicated by his wife’s disappearance with their son. Rescues and revelations abound before these two find their way to an HEA complete with an epilogue that gently mocks romance tradition while managing to be clever, funny, and tender at the same time.

How to School Your Scandal is the third book in Juliana Gray’s Princesses in Hiding series, and it is the best of an extraordinary series. Gray combines a handful of tropes (from anti-hero to chick-in-pants to wise, all-knowing manipulator to mutual salvation to redeemed hero) with shattered taboos and a generous mix of moods from bitterly dark to laughter-filled lightness to create a tale that is part adventure, part mystery, and wholly romance.

“Scoundrel” is one of those words that is used and misused with predictable regularity in romance titles, but Somerton is audacious, unscrupulous, and certainly villainous in the eyes of many. He deserves the title, as readers who recall him from A Gentleman Never Tells, the second book in Gray’s Affairs by Moonlight trilogy, will surely agree. His redemption is all the more remarkable because, although readers may view him more sympathetically as more of his history and motivations are revealed, he is far from a conventional romance hero for most of this book as well. But when he is transformed—ah, how satisfying it is! And the satisfaction is all the greater because he understands how and why he has changed, and the reader is allowed to share his illumination.

I’m a big fan of intelligent romance fiction, and that’s one more reason I’m a fan of Juliana Gray. Reading this novel I was reminded of one of my favorite poems, “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” by Wallace Stevens. Somerton gives me the feeling that he is a blackbird character who reveals something new from every perspective with something always to be discovered. This quality stands out all the more because Gray matches him with a heroine who is guileless. Louisa is far from simple, but she has an endearing simplicity, a perfect balance for Somerton.

From title to epilogue, I loved this book! And I loved Gray’s lyrical prose which has a luminous lucidity.  I highly recommend How to School Your Scandal.

~Janga

Guest Review - - How to Master Your Marquis

How to Master Your Marquis

By Juliana Gray

Publisher: Berkley Sensation

Release Date: January 7, 2014

Princess Stephanie Victoria Augusta, the youngest of the three young princesses of the German principality of Holstein-Schweinwald-Huhnhof forced into hiding by the assassins who killed their father, has prepared herself to take up the position secured for her by her maternal uncle, the Duke of Olympia. Princess Stefanie will become Stephen Thomas, the newest law clerk of the eminent barrister Sir John Worthington. The unconventional, impulsive Stefanie is not pleased with her disguise as a mustache-sporting law clerk. She’s even less pleased when she is reminded how early law clerks must be up and about their business. Still, the unchaperoned company of Sir John’s nephew, James Lambert, the Marquess of Hatherfield, the epitome of masculine beauty, provides considerable compensation.

The Marquess is more than a pretty face. He is an intelligent, insightful man with dark secrets of his own that belie his affable, polished exterior. Almost immediately, he recognizes that his uncle’s new law clerk is a young woman. James finds Stefanie/Stephen amusing and intriguing from the first. It takes a bit longer for him to realize that she will propel him into adventures, imperil his secrets and his life, and irretrievably claim his loyalty and his love.

The structure of How to Tame Your Marquis is atypical. Stefanie and James have already fallen in love when the reader meets them, and James is on trial for the murder of his stepmother. For most of the book, the narrative moves between the present in which the tension surrounding James’s battle to prove his innocence heightens almost unbearably and the past in which the reader sees the romance develop most satisfactorily amid danger and delight.

This is the second novel in Gray’s Victorian A Princess in Hiding series, following last year’s How to Tame Your Duke. Readers who enjoyed the earlier book will be pleased to see that the storylines of the two books intersect, and Emilie and her duke are secondary characters.  The indomitable Miss Dinglesby and the Machiavellian Duke of Olympia also make appearances. Among the villains is a character who takes the term “mean girl” to a new level and proves the proverbial hellish fury of a scorned woman. Gray again stays true to the pattern she has established of creating engaging lead characters and operating within the conventions of the romance genre while at the same time giving readers a story with a difference.

How to Master Your Marquis combines some truly dark elements with moments of madcap humor. It also features a hero and heroine who save each other. All of these are qualities that strengthened the book’s appeal for me. For readers who want steamy love scenes, Gray provides them. For readers who want romantic scenes that leave them sighing, Gray provides these as well, including an unforgettable declaration of love scene.

Gray joined my autobuy list with her first series, and the second one has confirmed that she writes the kind of books I love to read. If you like your romance to mix tenderness with heat, to move you to laughter and tears, and to leave you hungry for the author’s next book, I highly recommend How to Master Your Marquis. And that next book? It’s How to School Your Scoundrel, the story of dutiful Princess Luisa “disguised as a personal secretary to a notorious English scoundrel.” It will be released in June, and I’ve already pre-ordered my copy.

~Janga
http://justjanga.blogspot.com

Guest Review - - How to Tame Your Duke

How to Tame Your Duke

By Juliana Gray

Publisher: Berkley Sensation

Release Date: June 4, 2013

 

When the king of Holstein-Schweinwald-Huhnhof, a tiny German principality, and his son-in-law, husband of the king’s oldest daughter, are killed by anarchist assassins, the king’s three daughters escape to England where their maternal uncle, the powerful Duke of Olympia, already has plans in motion for their protection. Since Crown Princess Luisa barely evaded a kidnapping attempt, the princesses and their uncle are fully aware that the lives of all heirs to the Holstein-Schweinwald-Huhnhof throne are at risk. The duke’s plan is for each princess to be sent under an assumed identity into a private household where she will be safe until the anarchists are identified and the threat extinguished.  How to Tame Your Duke is the story of the middle princess. Intelligent and scholarly, Princess Emilie, disguised as Tobias Grimsby, enters the household of the Duke of Ashland as tutor to his only son, Frederick.

Emilie’s fist sight of the Duke of Ashland leaves her almost breathless. He seems godlike in profile, “inhumanly perfect,” until she sees that the right side of his face is horribly disfigured by scars, with a closed eyelid where an eye should be and a stump where his right hand should be. Rather than being repulsed by Ashland’s physical imperfections, Emilie is drawn to him—to his powerful body, his rich, dark voice, the very presence of him.

Before his company was sent to India, Lieutenant the Honorable Anthony Russell enjoyed life with his beautiful wife and infant son, with no expectations of inheriting a dukedom. He returned to England a different man, physically and psychically changed in irremediable ways by war and torture. Even the title that became his due to the untimely deaths of the two cousins who had stood between him and the dukedom was not enough to keep the beautiful, faithless Isabelle at his side. She fled with her lover, leaving Ashland with a four-year-old son and an inclination toward reclusiveness that grew more entrenched after her departure. For twelve years, he has rarely left his isolated Yorkshire estate, limiting his social contacts and habitually wearing a mask that hides his scarred face from curious eyes. Soon his son Frederick will depart for Oxford, and Ashland will be more alone than ever.

Emilie takes advantage of Grimsby’s day off to exchange masculine attire for feminine clothing and keep an appointment for tea with her former governess Miss Dinglesby (disguised as Mr. Dinglesby). The purpose of the visit is to bring Emilie word of her sisters’ safety and to send messages to them. When she hears Ashland’s voice just as her meeting has ended, she loses her way in her effort to avoid him. She is mistaken for the woman replacing the one who meets Ashland at the hotel each month for a private, intimate engagement. Emilie allows herself to be conducted to Ashland’s room, planning to explain the error, but once there, torn between fear and fascination, she stays. And she returns for more of the strangely seductive encounters with Ashland during which their erotic but unconsummated affair grows ever more fervent.

The sexual tension and the emotional connection between Emilie and Ashland increases, but can Ashland forgive Emilie’s double deception? His visit to London adds a surprising twist to the situation, and the anarchist group responsible for the death of Emilie’s father attacks Emilie in Yorkshire, adding immediate danger to the existing complexities. It will take the strategizing of two powerful dukes, Emilie’s own courage, and a love stronger than anger or fear to provide a happy ending.

Juliana Gray sets her new series in the same world as her Affairs in Moonlight trilogy with the aptly named Duke of Olympia and other minor characters linking the two series. How to Tame Your Duke combines history, politics, wit, and sensuality with a certain fairy tale element and a touch of the Gothic to create a book that is fun, sexy, and engaging. Gray’s range is wide, moving from physical comedy to emotionally complex relationships to love scenes that are both sensuous and sensual.

Emilie is an appealing heroine. A middle child who never felt that she met her father’s expectations, Emilie found solace in her books and secretly longed for adventure. Catapulted into adventure by political events that destroyed her familiar world, she finds it challenging to adjust to a world without her beloved sisters and without the privileges she has taken for granted. She recognizes that the events that brought danger into her protected world also gave her freedom she would never have known otherwise.

Ashland is a man who has endured unimaginable physical pain that left him permanently scarred and maimed and an emotional wound no less transforming. His sense of honor, revealed dramatically in his ambiguous fidelity to the wife who abandoned him and more tellingly in his acceptance of a daughter who is not his, is central to who he is. When his need for Emily grows so great that he compromises that honor, he confirms her power over him. He awakens Emilie sexually, and she restores him to the life of risks and potential that is available only to those who give their hearts.

The secondary characters are almost as memorable as Emilie and Ashland. Freddie is a delight, an endearing mix of intelligence, attitude and vulnerability, and the enigmatic Miss Dinglesby and the Machiavellian Olympia add interest to the story. Luisa makes only a slight impression, but the impulsive Stefanie has decided appeal. Her story, How to Master Your Marquis, is next. I look forward to it.

~Janga
http://justjanga.blogspot.com

Guest Review -- A Duke Never Yields

A Duke Never Yields

Affairs by Moonlight – Book 3

By Juliana Gray

Release: February 5, 2013

Publisher: Berkeley
 

Impatient with the strictures of polite British society, Miss Abigail Harewood has decided to live life on her own term — and the first thing she requires is a lover. When the commanding Duke of Wallingford arrives on the doorstep of her leased holiday castle, she thinks she's found the perfect candidate: handsome, dashing, and experienced in the art of love.

But tempting Wallingford into her bed proves more difficult than she imagined. Restless and dissatisfied with his debauched life in London, the formerly rakish duke is determined to spend a year chaste. But as Abigail tries her best to seduce him, Wallingford finds his resolve crumbling in the face of her irresistible charm... and her alluring secrets.

Before we proceed any further, let me issue a retraction and formal apology to Juliana. In my review for A Gentleman Never Tells, I mistakenly labeled the series as Edwardian, when in fact it takes place during the late Victorian era.  I deeply apologize for the error, and promise to be more careful in the future! Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

I have been looking forward to Abigail and Wallingford’s story ever since the beginning of the series. My expectations were high since Juliana had built the Wallingford/Abigail relationship quite well in the first two books, giving us tantalizing peeks and tidbits to whet our appetite. So, imagine my shock and delight when I received an ARC of A Duke Never Yields from Juliana herself as a gift! I quickly devoured the book and it definitely delivers on the goods.

A Duke Never Yields is the third and final book in Juliana’s Affairs by Moonlight Trilogy. As with the two previous books in the series, the events of the novel take place during the same time, and scenes from A Lady Never Lies and A Gentleman Never Tells are now told from Abigail and Wallingford’s perspective. For my part, I was dying to find out how Wallingford came to be doused in goose feathers, and we finally get the answer in this book!

Wallingford is a man with the world at his feet. Born to wealth, privilege, position, and power, not to mentioned blessed with good looks, he has never wanted for anything in his life. But Juliana shows us all of this good fortune is a double edged sword.  Since he has had everything handed to him, up to this point, he has led the careless, carefree, indulgent life of a rake who no one has any expectations of. Wallingford is considered irresponsible and incapable of accomplishing anything on his own. His grandfather, the Duke of Olympia, frustrated by his grandson’s lazy and immature lifestyle, gives Wallingford a tongue lashing.

“Have we come to this point at last? Is this why you came to see me this morning? I am to be a stud? My ability to breed another duke constitutes the sum total of my usefulness to you, does it?”

“My dear boy,” Olympia said, “has the entire conduct of your adult life ever suggested your usefulness for anything else?”

His grandfather’s words haunt him throughout the rest of the novel. Wallingford is so overcome with self-doubt, he avoids Abigail like the plague lest he give in to temptation and live up, or in this case, live down, to everyone’s opinion and expectations of him. Juliana does a wonderful job showing us Wallingford’s journey to be the man he was meant to be, a man who is capable, able to command the respect of others, and worthy of the love of a woman like Abigail. But more importantly, as much as he wanted to prove himself to Olympia and others, Wallingford had to prove to himself that he could rise to expectations and be more than the mere stud for future dukes. Wallingford learns to believe in himself, and his character arc is one of my favorite aspects of the novel. His journey, his sacrifice to break the curse, is the stuff of a true hero.

Miss Abigail Harewood is an unconventional lady, to say the least. She regularly disguises herself as a man, is well versed in gambling, has no use for marriage, and indeed eschews the institution. She is convinced marriage isn’t for her, and doesn’t want to give up her freedom and independence to live under the thumb of a husband. In fact, she has decided to indulge in a scandalous affair and picked out just the man to show her all the delights of the flesh-the Duke of Wallingford. The cat-and-mouse between Abigail and Wallingford where she actively pursues him while Wallingford tries to resist her, is hilarious and pure comedic gold. When they do make love, and Wallingford insists on marriage, Abigail resists. I found this an interesting and refreshing twist, as in many historical novels, it is the heroine who yearns for love, marriage, and commitment. In this case, it’s Wallingford who is doing his best to persuade Abigail to the altar, not the other way around. I understood and sympathized with Abigail’s fears of losing herself and her identity since she is such a bright, vivacious, and energetic personality and it would be a shame for her to lose the sparkle of what makes her Abigail. Instead, Juliana shows us brilliantly that marriage to the right person means you don’t have to lose or change a thing. Rather, marriage and love can free you and allow you to be your best self. That is certainly true for Abigail and Wallingford.

The relationship between Abigail and Wallingford is funny, sensual, romantic, with lots of passion and drama thrown in. I once heard it said that true love, and the romance genre, is about finding someone who loves and accepts you for your worse self, but empowers you to be your best self. I can think of no better way to encapsulate Wallingford and Abigail’s story. Abigail knows all about Wallingford’s sordid past, and does her best to accept it. Nevertheless, she still believes in him, sees his “tender heart” underneath the exterior and her belief in him is what gives Wallingford the confidence and strength to prove himself. For his part, Wallingford helps Abigail blossom from a young woman with romantic and fanciful notions to a wife and mother with more maturity and a deeper sense of who she is and her place in the world.

I highly recommend A Duke Never Yields. It is a wonderful and satisfying ending to the series. Juliana wraps up everything neatly and all of our questions are answered. We find out the truth about Morini and Giacomo, and the true nature of the “curse” that surrounds the castle. Want to know if the curse is real, and if it gets broken? You’ll have to read it and find out! For my part, I am eagerly looking forward to Juliana’s next series, which kicks off with How to Tame Your Duke. It is slated to be released in June and I already have my calendar marked.

 

~Lisa
http://teatimeromance.wordpress.com/

Guest Review -- A Gentleman Never Tells

A Gentleman Never Tells

Affairs by Moonlight – Book 2

By Juliana Gray

Release: November 6, 2012

Publisher: Berkeley

A Gentleman Never Tells is the second book in Juliana Gray’s Affairs by Moonlight trilogy, inspired by Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost.  As a Shakespeare fan, that was already one point in favor of the book and series right off the bat. The first, A Lady Never Lies was released in August, and the third, A Duke Never Yields, comes out February 2013.  I have read A Lady Never Lies, and thoroughly enjoyed it, and so I jumped at the chance to read and review A Gentleman Never Tells.  

I don’t believe it’s necessary to read the first book to enjoy A Gentleman Never Tells because it definitely stands alone, but I think reading the books in order will allow certain plot points to make more sense.  The timeline for all three books is the same, and events overlap. Therefore, scenes in A Lady Never Lies appear in A Gentleman Never Tells, but from Roland and Lilibet’s point of view.  I admire what a logistical feat it must have been for Ms. Gray to keep the timelines and criss-crossing action consistent throughout the series, and it was interesting getting the same scenes from different perspectives, especially the peach orchard scene, which was so funny and a personal favorite of mine.  

The first thing that intrigued me about A Gentleman Never Tells and the entire series is the fact that it takes place in the Tuscan countryside and during the Edwardian era (Think Downton Abbey and/or Laura Lee Guhrke’s Abandoned at the Altar series). The setting and time period aren’t common in the romance genre, and I enjoyed reading about the cultural, technological, and social changes happening during the time and loved the beautiful depictions of the Italian countryside.  

Sir Roland Penhallow has spent the past six years as a covert intelligence agent for the Crown. When he and Lilibet first met, it was love at first sight, and he was instantly smitten. Roland was on the verge of proposing but his work prevented him from following through, and Lilibet was forced to wed another.  But he has never forgotten Lilibet, though the callus way he left her leaves him with little hope that she would ever forgive him, estranged marriage or no. But fate (or is it?) gives him another chance when both of them end up at a remote Italian castle for a year with her cousins Alexandra (heroine of A Lady Never Lies) and Abigail and his brother the Duke of Wallingford, and famous inventor Phineas Burke (hero of A Lady Never Lies).  

Lilibet, Lady Somerton, is a woman on the run with her young son Phillip. She is determined to escape her horrible marriage by any means necessary, even if it means the unspeakable scandal of seeking a divorce. However, that means she must make every effort to maintain a pristine reputation because any hint of scandal would mean her divorce petition would not be allowed. This causes instant conflict, as Lilibet must resist Roland for the sake of herself and her son, despite all the sparks that are rekindling between them. 

 

The relationship between Roland and Lilibet was deep, complex, and very well depicted. Reunited lovers is a trope I enjoy, and Ms. Gray’s version is no exception. Roland must work to regain Lilibet’s trust after abandoning her and leaving without a word all those years ago, and reveal the truth about what happened six years ago. He immediately senses that Lilibet was in trouble, and his protective instincts are roused. Roland’s bonding with Lilibet’s son Phillip and the lengths he goes to keep Lilibet and Phillip safe endeared him to me right away.  

My one very minor quibble is the use of period phrases and lingo was very jarring to me and took me out of the book a bit at times. But that is very likely my own personal issue, and shouldn’t discourage other readers from giving the series a chance. 

I thoroughly enjoyed A Gentleman Never Tells and definitely recommend it. Ms. Gray is a fresh new voice in historical romance and I look forward to seeing what comes next from her. Her writing is engaging and witty, and the prose is rich and intricately layered. In the meantime, A Duke Never Yields is already on my list of books to buy for February! There are subplots involving Roland’s grandfather, a supposed curse on the castle, and mysterious residents who may or may not be real, that I’m anxious to find out the resolution to. 

 

~Lisa

https://teatimeromance.wordpress.com/

Lisa is a law school graduate and aspiring writer working on her first contemporary romance. She first started reading romance back in high school and hasn’t looked back since. Lisa enjoys good friends, good food, good wine, and stories with strong heroines and happy endings. She’s loved The Dish since its debut and is excited to join as a guest blogger!

 

Lisa, we are so blessed to have you as part of The Romance Dish team! ~Andrea & PJ