Review - - A Duke in Shining Armor

A Duke in Shining Armor

By Loretta Chase

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: November 28, 2017

Reviewed by Janga
 

Lady Olympia Hightower is not the kind of young woman one would expect to overindulge in brandy on her wedding day. She is bookish, pragmatic, and downright boring. In fact, she has an unofficial title to attest to the last: for seven consecutive years, she has been voted Most Boring Girl of the Season. With six brothers, an improvident father, and a twenty-sixth birthday perilously close, Olympia knows she should be thankful that she is to become the bride of the Duke of Ashmont, a man who is handsome, charming and wealthy, albeit scandalous to a degree that not even his dukedom can overcome. She’s puzzled about why he wants to marry her, and she is becoming more and more certain that she cannot marry him. What’s a girl to do in such circumstances? Run away, of course.

Hugh Ancaster, seventh Duke of Ripley, watches his friend Ashmont get drunker and more combative as they wait for the no-show bride. Knowing Ashmont well enough to know he is likely to become drunker and more aggressive, Ripley decides the wisest thing to do is locate the missing bride, but when he finds her, she is leaving the premises via a library window. Torn between his desire to pretend he hasn’t seen the tipsy, red-eyed bride and his conviction that keeping up with the bride is part of his responsibility as groomsman in charge, he follows her.

Ripley may begin with the idea of persuading Olympia to return for a delayed wedding, but he ends up helping her escape. For three days, the unlikely pair move from misadventure to misadventure. He discovers that Olympia is many things, but boring is certainly not among them. She discovers that she is more than she thought she was—and that she can feel Ripley’s kisses in twenty places in her body. Soon the last thing Ripley wants is to see Olympia married to Ashmont, but a man of honor can’t just steal the bride of his nearly life-long best friend. Or can he?

A Duke in Shining Armor introduces the Difficult Dukes, a new series from Loretta Chase. It has been almost two years since the release of Dukes Prefer Blondes, so I was eager for a new Loretta Chase book—and this one was a delight. I admit to being a bit skeptical about the runaway bride plot initially. It is one that seems to work wonderfully well or fail dismally. In this case, it worked, in part because I fell in love with the character right away and in part because it quickly becomes a road-trip book with the H/H thrown into each other’s company in a way that could not have been achieved credibly in any other way. It makes the pace of their plunge into love seem slower than it actually is.

Olympia is intelligent, funny, and confused. She is torn between what her head dictates she do (marry the duke who asked her) and what her heart prompts her to do (hold out for her hero). The heart wins. Yay for Olympia! Ripley is the best kind of bad-boy hero, one whose behavior is beyond the pale but whose innate honor, kindness, and humor define who he is at heart. Plus, he has the perception to see the person Olympia really is. His choice is difficult: to betray one of his two friends whose shared history goes back to their childhoods or to see the woman he loves marry another man, one moreover who can never give her the happiness she deserves. Chase provides just enough of Ashmont, who is somehow likable despite his flaws, and the intriguingly mysterious Blackwood with his troubled marriage to leave readers hungry for the stories of these other Dis-Graces. And I hope to learn more about Ripley’s Aunt Julia and Ashmont’s Uncle Fred as well.

If you like historical romance that is light-hearted and smart, witty and warm, and rich in the banter that Chase does superbly, I highly recommend this book. I loved it enough to reread it rather than complain if I must wait until the end of 2018 for the next Loretta Chase book.

Spotlight on 2017 RITA Finalists - - Historical Romance: Long

On Thursday, July 27th, the Romance Writers of America® will announce the 2017 recipients of their prestigious RITA®. The award, given in recognition of excellence in romance publishing, is named for RWA's first president, Rita Clay Estrada and the annual award ceremony, held this year at the Walt Disney World® Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Florida, is a highlight of RWA's national conference. I'll be there and will be taking lots of photos to share with all of you after the conference. If you want to follow along with the announcements of the winners on the 27th, you can do so on these RWA social media platforms: 

facebook.com/romancewriters

twitter.com/romancewriters

instagram.com/romancewriters

RWA will also be once again streaming the ceremony live for everyone who can't be in Orlando. Go to www.rwa.org at 7:00 p.m. (Eastern), Thursday, July 27th to watch.  

For more information about the RITA® award, click here.  For a full list of this year's RITA® finalists, click here.

Today, we're spotlighting the four books that are finalists in the Historical Romance:Long category. 

Historical Romance: Long

Dukes Prefer Blondes by Loretta Chase
Avon Books
May Chen, Editor

Biweekly marriage proposals from men who can't see beyond her (admittedly breathtaking) looks are starting to get on Lady Clara Fairfax's nerves. Desperate to be something more than ornamental, she escapes to her favorite charity. When a child is in trouble, she turns to tall, dark, and annoying barrister Oliver Radford.

Though he's unexpectedly found himself in line to inherit a dukedom, Radford's never been part of fashionable society, and the blonde beauty, though not entirely bereft of brains, isn't part of his plans. But Clara overwhelms even his infallible logic, and when wedlock looms, all he can do is try not to lose his head over her . . .

It's an inconvenient marriage by ordinary standards, but these two are far from ordinary. Can the ton's most adored heiress and London's most difficult bachelor fall victim to their own unruly desires?

Loretta Chase has worked in academe, retail, and the visual arts, as well as on the street—as a meter maid—and in video, as a scriptwriter. She might have developed an excitingly checkered career had her spouse not nagged her into writing fiction. Her bestselling historical romances, set in the Regency and Romantic eras of the early nineteenth century, have won a number of awards, including the Romance Writers of America's RITA®.

Where to Buy:

Avon Books 

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Google Play 

iBooks 

Kobo 

Check it out on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23349989-dukes-prefer-blondes

HOW I MARRIED A MARQUESS by Anna Harrington
Grand Central Publishing, Forever
Michele Bidelspach, Editor

Josephine Carlisle, adopted daughter of a baron, is officially on the shelf. But the silly, marriage-minded misses in the ton can have their frilly dresses and their seasons in London, for all she cares. Josie has her freedom and her family . . . until an encounter with a dark, devilishly handsome stranger leaves her utterly breathless at a house party. His wicked charm intrigues her, but that's where it ends. For Josie has a little secret . . . 

Espionage was Thomas Matteson, Marquess of Chesney's game-until a tragic accident cost him his career. Now to salvage his reputation and return to the life he loves, the marquess must find the criminal who's been robbing London's rich and powerful. He's no fool-he knows Josie, with her wild chestnut hair and rapier-sharp wit, is hiding something and he won't rest until he unravels her mysteries, one by one. But he never expected to be the one under arrest-body and soul . . . 

Anna Harrington fell in love with historical romances--and all those dashing Regency heroes--while living in London, where she studied literature and theatre. She loves to travel, fly airplanes, and hike, and when she isn't busy writing her next novel, she loves fussing over her roses in her garden. Visit her website at www.AnnaHarringtonBooks.com or follow her at @aharrington2875.

Where to Buy:

Forever 

Amazon 

Barnes andNoble 

Google Play 

iBooks

IndieBound 

Kobo 

Check it out on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26031192-how-i-married-a-marquess

NO MISTRESS OF MINE 

by Laura Lee Guhrke
Avon Books
Erika Tsang, Editor

After spending his youth as one of the wildest rakes in the ton, Lord Denys Somerton has devoted the past six years to putting his past behind him. He is determined to fulfill his duties, find a suitable wife, and start a family, but that plan changes when Lola Valentine—the red-haired temptress from his past—returns to London, sparking the same irresistible desires that almost ruined his life once before.

Lola is a woman with no romantic illusions. She knew love would never be enough for a British lord and an American girl from the wrong side of the tracks. For Denys’s sake, she walked away from him and the glittering life he offered. But when an unexpected inheritance brings her back to London, Lola discovers the passion between them is as hot as ever. Can they vanquish it, or will it burn out of control again and destroy them both?

Laura Lee Guhrke spent seven years in advertising, had a successful catering business, and managed a construction company before she decided writing novels was more fun. A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Laura has penned more than twenty historical romances. Her books have received many award nominations, and she is the recipient of romance fiction's highest honor: the Romance Writers of America RITA® Award. She lives in the Northwest with her husband (or, as she calls him, her very own romance hero), along with two diva cats and a Golden Retriever happy to be their slave.

Where to Buy:

Avon Books 

Amazon 

Barnes andNoble 

Google Play 

iBooks 

IndieBound 

Kobo 

Check it out on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20047010-no-mistress-of-mine

SUSANA AND THE SCOT 

by Sabrina York
St. Martin's Press
Monique Patterson, Editor

Andrew Lochlannach is famous for his conquests, on and off the battlefield. When a fellow warrior challenges him to a kissing contest, he wastes no time in planting his lips on ninety-nine lovely lasses-an impressive feat of seduction that gets him banished to the hinterlands. Still, Andrew has no regrets about his exploits-especially his embrace with the most beguiling woman he's ever met...

With flaming red hair and a temper to match, Susana is not some innocent farmgirl who gives herself over easily to a man, even one as ruggedly handsome as Andrew. The wicked Scot may have won a kiss from the headstrong beauty in a moment of mutual desire, but Susana refuses to be just another one of his conquests. Andrew must convince the fiery lass that even though he is not playing a game, losing her is not an option...

Her Royal Hotness, Sabrina York, is the New York Times and USA 

Today Bestselling author of steamy, humorous romance. Her titles range from sweet & snarky to scorching romance-historical, contemporary & paranormal. Visit her webpage at www.sabrinayork.com to check out her books, excerpts and contests.

Where to Buy:

St. Martin’sPress 

Amazon 

Barnes andNoble 

Google Play 

iBooks 

IndieBound 

Kobo 

Check it out on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25101432-susana-and-the-scot

Click bit.ly/RITA17BlogTour to visit the other stops on the tour. 

Have you read any of the books in this category? 
Do you have a favorite?
Will you be in Orlando for the RWA Conference or watching the live stream?

One person leaving a comment before 11:00 PM, July 22, 2017 will receive a package of historical novels from my conference stash.  (U.S. only)

On Second Thought - - The Mad Earl's Bride

The Mad Earl’s Bride

By Loretta Chase

Publisher: Avon Impulse

Release Date: June 4, 2013

(Originally published in Three Weddings and a Kiss, Avon, 1995)

Novellas have proliferated since romance fiction entered the Digital Age. Not only are hundreds of new novellas available, often linked to popular series, but many beloved older novellas, once available only in anthologies, have been reissued as single titles. I practically danced with delight when one of my top five favorite novellas, The Mad Earl’s Bride, became available in digital format. I first read this novella more than twenty years ago when it was published as part of the anthology Three Weddings and a Kiss. Avon reissued it in 2010 in a different anthology, Three Times a Bride, before making it available as a single title three years later. Both anthologies and the single novella are available for ereaders.

Dorian Camoys, Earl of Rawnsley, has been a rebel and a rake hell bent on controlling his life, but at twenty-seven, he becomes convinced that his death from the brain disease that drove his mother into madness before it destroyed her is imminent. Terrified of ending his days restrained like a wild animal, he retreats to his home in Dartmoor. Debilitating headaches and hallucinations are already plaguing Dorian, and he fully expects madness and death to follow. Concerned about the Camoys line ending if Dorian dies without an heir, the duc d’Abonville, a distant relative of Dorian’s, suggests a marriage between Dorian and Gwendolyn Adams, a granddaughter of Genevieve, dowager Viscountess Pembury, the duc’s fiancée.

Many readers will recognize the duc and the legendary Genevieve as secondary characters in Chase’s beloved Lord of Scoundrels. (Bertie Trent also has a significant role in the novella.) Gwen is clearly cut from the same pattern as the heroine of LOS, sharing Jessica’s strength, unconventional ways, and healthy lust for her hero. No beauty, Gwen is a pragmatic, independent woman with a knowledge of medicine that makes her the equal of many trained doctors. She dreams of building a hospital to treat those who can’t afford medical care. She sees in a marriage to Dorian a way to acquire the wealth and influence to realize her dream. She is honest with Dorian about her purpose:

“I do need the money, to build a hospital,” she said. “I have definite ideas about how it should be constructed as well as the principles according to which it must be run. In order to achieve my goals—without negotiation or compromise—I require not only substantial funds, but influence. As Countess of Rawnsley, I should have both. As your widow, I should be able to act independently. Since you are the last of the males of your family, I should have to answer to no one.”

Dorian is initially reluctant, but after a year of self-imposed celibacy, he sees the appeal of marriage to the red-haired witch who evokes both desire and curiosity. Dorian and Gwen get much more from their marriage than they expected, and the reader gets the joy of seeing a passionate, loving relationship develop between two captivating characters. Wonderful dialogue and a fascinating look at early 19th-century medical practices are bonuses, and the gifted Chase moves her readers to laughter and to tears.

No matter how many times I read this novella, it is always fresh. The only thing better than rereading The Mad Earl’s Bride is rereading it as part of a marathon Chase reading that includes Lord of Scoundrels and The Last Hellion.

 ~Janga

Review - - Dukes Prefer Blondes

Dukes Prefer Blondes

By Loretta Chase

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: December 29, 2015

 

Lady Clara Fairfax is weary of turning down bi-weekly proposals from gentlemen who cannot see beyond her blonde beauty. She is equally weary of her mother’s spasms over an undutiful daughter’s refusal to choose a husband. Her work with the Milliners’ Society for the Education of Indigent Females, founded by the dressmaking Noirot sisters, one of whom is now Lady Clara’s sister-in-law, does give some meaning to her life. So when one of the most promising of the society’s girls needs help rescuing her young brother from a criminal street gang, Clara is determined to do her best. Smart and sensible enough to know that she can’t find the boy on her own, Lady Clara pays a visit to Oliver “Raven” Radford, a barrister with a reputation for being obnoxious and for advocating for pauper children.

Radford is the grandson of a duke, but Radford’s father, also a barrister, has kept his distance from his aristocratic family  and brought his son up outside the narrow world of the haut ton. Radford is his father’s son, confident in his knowledge with a finely honed legal mind, a well-developed social conscience, and a barely controlled impatience with the stupidity and banality of most people. Radford, who recognizes Lady Clara from a shared childhood experience, knows exactly the kind of sheltered life Lady Clara has led and how ignorant she is of the world into which the boy she is seeking has disappeared. He thinks her plan is hopeless, and he tells her so. But his determination not to get involved is no match for Lady Clara’s persistence or for his inability to ignore her beauty and her intelligence.

Lady Clara and Radford become contentious allies in the effort to find the missing boy. It is a dangerous task that exposes them to the dirt and disease of London’s underclass and to the enmity of one Jacob Freame, boss of a notorious street gang who is already planning Radford’s demise as payback for sending some of his minions to prison and some to death. But even those risks might not be as great as the one this lady and barrister are taking with their hearts.

Dukes Prefer Blondes is the fourth book in the Dressmaker series (Silk Is for Seduction, Scandal Wears Satin, and Vixen in Velvet), and Chase saved the best for last. Lady Clara, introduced in the first book as the woman the hero expected to marry, was one of those secondary characters so vital that she leaped off the page into readers’ hearts and imaginations. Chase fans have been hoping for Lady Clara’s story ever since, and I assure you that this one is well worth the wait. The only thing I didn’t love about Dukes Prefer Blondes is the title.

Lady Clara apparently has everything—beauty, social position, wealth, intelligence, a family that loves her, and gorgeous clothes. She understands that she is privileged, but she chafes against the restrictions imposed on her by the very privileges she enjoys. Her rebellions are carefully conceived to allow her to achieve her purposes without destroying her reputation or embarrassing her family. In one revealing conversation, she says to Radford:

“You’ve no notion how I live in the world you call a fantasy,” she went on in the same taut tone. “You’ve no idea what it’s like to spend your life wrapped in cotton wool, with all about you protecting you, mainly from yourself, because you don’t behave as they think a girl ought to do, and they believe something’s wrong with you. You don’t know what it’s like to watch your brothers go away to school and make new friends and have adventures you’ll never have, even vicariously, in books. You don’t know what it’s like to be scolded for reading too much and knowing too much – to be taught to hide your intelligence, because otherwise you’ll frighten the gentlemen away – to stifle your opinions, because ladies aren’t to have any opinions of their own, but must always defer to men.” She stamped her foot. “You know nothing about me. Nothing! Nothing!”

Radford rivals Chase’s best heroes, and that’s a big concession for me to make since half a dozen Chase heroes are in my personal Romance Heroes Hall of Fame. He is intimidatingly smart, and he does not suffer fools gladly. Yes, he is impatient and at times outright obnoxious, but he also has a saving sense of humor. And he is so clearly knocked for a dizzying, terrifying loop by his feelings for Lady Clara.

Clara’s face glowed, and her mouth turned up. The room brightened, as though the sun had contrived to force its way through both oppressive grey sky and sooty window.

There. That was it, in a nutshell. Infatuation or whatever it was, he knew he’d move heaven and earth to bring that light to her face, to awaken that smile and the glint of laughter in her blue eyes. He didn’t see how he could ever get used to it, let alone take it for granted.

Chase is known for her banter, and in this story, she creates the very best banter, the kind that is witty and scintillating and which the two people engaged in the exchange are clearly enjoying both as a duel of words and as a layered conversation with the unsaid as significant as the spoken. 
Then there are the love scenes, tender and sensual and without even a tinge of the generically titillating. They are crafted for these two people, and they reveal to the reader who Clara and Raven are individually and as a couple. Given some books I read this year, I feel as if I owe Loretta Chase a thank you note.

If you are looking for historical romance with characters you will adore, a story rich in humor and high in tension, sexual and otherwise, and written in beautifully lucid prose, add this one to the top of your list. It’s on my Best of 2015 list, I’ve read it twice already, and I have plans to reread the full series. It seems redundant to say I give it my highest recommendation.

 ~Janga

My Top 10!

by Anna Campbell

If any of you read my review of BLACK SHEEP and ARABELLA by Georgette Heyer last month, you'll know that I'm hanging up my ballet slippers here on Christmas Eve and going off to seek new pastures!

Before I go, I want to do a round-up of some favorites that I've reviewed over the last five years - although basically anything I've talked about here, I've loved. That was part of the column's raison d'etre.

So these are the really special books that stuck in my memory. By the way, the order doesn't indicate anything except that there are 10 books on this list! They're all winners in my opinion!

I thought I'd start with some mystery/romance combos. This genre has become my reading of choice over the last few years, partly because of recommendations from readers here. Thank you!

The first is the Amelia Peabody series from the late, great Elizabeth Peters. I've been eking out this wonderful series for the last few years - I've got three to go.

These books are funny and quirky and full of information about Ancient Egypt. They also feature a string of fabulous romances, starting with the opinionated Amelia and her beloved Emerson, "the greatest Egyptologist of this or any age." There's a long and very passionate relationship spread across several books, featuring Amelia's dashing and enigmatic son, Ramses, who makes a wonderful romantic hero.

Next I'd like to mention the charming Daisy Dalrymple  mysteries by Carola Dunn. These are set in the 1920s and they're absolutely delightful. You'll so enjoy the impetuous Daisy's adventures and especially her romance with police Inspector Alec Fletcher.

Whatever you do, try this next recommendation if you haven't already. I discovered Julia Spencer-Fleming's fabulous Claire Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mysteries through this site, so thank you, thank you, thank you. I think they're just extraordinary. Romantic and suspenseful and atmospheric and beautifully written, I can't recommend these books featuring a vicar and the local police chief of a small town in upstate New York highly enough. Start with IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER, and I bet you're ordering the rest straightaway! I've recommended these to friends high and low and everybody turns into a convert!

If you're regulars, you'll know that I've been on a bit of a Nora Roberts kick lately. I particularly like her stand-alone romantic suspense books and of those, my favorite is THE WITNESS. This features a geeky and very appealing heroine who witnesses a Russian mafia murder as a teenager and spends the rest of her life trying to stay alive. What happens when she falls in love, much against her better instincts, with the local police chief of the town she's chosen as her latest bolthole? If she stays, she risks discovery. If she leaves, she'll break her heart. Wonderful characters and writing and a nail-biting situation. NORTHERN LIGHTS was another favorite!

One of the things I wanted to do when I started here was talk about category romance. Some of the best stories out there are series books and I was keen to share some of my favorite writers with you. I've read some wonderful category romances in the last five years, but I thought I'd pick out three particularly memorable stories from authors who never fail me.

The first is A WEDDING AT LEOPARD TREE LODGE by Liz Fielding. Liz Fielding is an absolutely exquisite writer whose books always make me laugh and cry and then sigh with joy at the end. A WEDDING AT LEOPARD TREE LODGE is about finding love where you least expect it and gathering the courage to risk everything to gain happiness. Highly recommended.

The next book on my top 10 is Aussie author Sarah Mayberry's HOT ISLAND NIGHTS. Another one to make you laugh and cry - and man, is it sexy! There's a fantastic sequel called HER BEST WORST MISTAKE that I think might be even hotter. Well worth checking out. Sarah has such a wonderful understanding of the human heart, and her characters are so real, you expect them to pop around for a cup of tea after you've finished reading the book!

My final category recommendation is Sarah Morgan's RITA-Award winning DOUKAKIS'S APPRENTICE. This one's such fun. It takes the tried and true Harlequin premise of the heroine falling in love with the guy who makes a hostile takeover of her father's ailing business, and then turns it on its head. Full of surprises and laughs and lovely emotion. All of Sarah's books are good, but this one really lingers in my memory as a classic.

My list wouldn't be complete without a couple of historical romances - you knew they were coming up, didn't you?

The first one is among my all time faves ever - Loretta Chase's MR. IMPOSSIBLE. People regularly pick her wonderful LORD OF SCOUNDRELS (also reviewed on this site) as one of the best romances ever written, but for me, there's just a tad extra goodness in MR. IMPOSSIBLE. It's funny, it's sweet, it's steamy, it's clever, and I lay good money that you'll fall in love with Rupert Carsington, the hero.

The next writer on my list is Liz Carlyle who I think would currently be my favorite historical writer. Picking a book of hers to recommend was really difficult, so I thought I'd go with the first one of hers I read, the one that started the addiction. THE DEVIL TO PAY is another book full of unexpected takes on a tried and true formula, a feisty heroine making a rake account for his myriad sins. One of the many things I love about Liz's books is that they create such a rich world. It's wonderful revisitng characters from earlier stories and seeing how the various strands of the series plots intersect and enrich the current book.And don't you love that cover?

My last choice is one of the all-time great romances, historical or otherwise. Laura Kinsale's immortal FLOWERS FROM THE STORM. This is unlike any other book I've ever read and its intensity is amazing. Absolutely unforgettable! If anyone ever tries to tell you that romance is trivial and brainless, steer them in the direction of this book. Actually, don't - it's too good for the naysayers! It's a story of redemption and risk and forbidden love triumphing against impossible odds. A masterpiece.

So that's my top 10 of the books I've reviewed here on The Romance Dish. All are VERY highly recommended.

So what would your top 10 romance novels be? I'd love to see your lists!

Review - - Vixen in Velvet

Vixen in Velvet
By Loretta Chase
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: June 24,, 2014

Let’s start by clearing up that the serious-minded business entrepreneur of this book is the heroine, Leonie Noirot. She’s not fooling around. She has a business to run and a whole herd of young women to support with jobs. She is here to sell dresses. Gorgeous, gorgeous dresses. (Admittedly, just reading the book, I wanted to go to this shop and be outfitted so I could be as swan-like as the hilarious secondary character, Lady Gladys, turns out to be.)

Meanwhile, Simon Blair, the marquess of Lisburne is more underfoot than a cat. They met as Leonie was admiring a Botticelli painting, Venus and Mars, which happens to be Lisburne’s painting. So some witty banter is exchanged—which is only a taste of the witty banter that carries throughout the book—and now they have made a bet. Leonie says she can make Lisburne’s cousin, Lady Gladys, who is not remotely Diamond of the First Water, into London’s most sought after in a fortnight. Lisburne, once he stops snorting at this ridiculous image, agrees and believes it’s the easiest bet he’ll ever win. If she wins, she gets the Botticelli. If he wins, he gets her exclusive attention for two weeks where she is not running off to do business or ignoring him altogether.

Of course, just because he’s going to win this bet doesn’t mean he wants to leave her alone for the two weeks it takes to win it. As I said, he’s more underfoot than a cat. Which is actually delightful because we are treated to Chase’s legendary wit and banter; and as I laughed at one perfectly timed comedic episode after another, I fell just a bit more in love with Leonie and Lisburne as a couple. Leonie is hardworking, perfectionistic, the epitome of the fantasy sexy accountant. Lisburne is a bit more devil may care and not good with the ledgers, or all that boring stuff. He’s just the man to muss Leonie’s curls and make sure she doesn’t work her entire life away. I had more than one moment where I was reading that I felt like I was in a Victorian screwball comedy a la Hepburn and Grant. I loved it.

Lady Gladys, much to Lisburne’s chagrin, turns from snapping turtle to swan, endangering his painting and his best-laid plans of spending time with Leonie. Her metamorphosis in the book is my favorite part, along with the clear suggestion that Lady Gladys is due to have the man of her dreams, one of the last men Lisburne would have matched her with. Nope, nope, Lady Gladys is the perfect match for her man; and it is adorable to watch the whole thing unfold. (This subplot gives hope to all us snapping turtles out there!)

I’m one of the few readers who haven’t read every Loretta Chase book as soon as it comes out, so I have the delight of going back and reading the first two in the Dressmaker Series. I can’t wait to do so. 

~Hellie

Hellie Sinclair (a.k.a. Fran) was one of the founding members of the Romance Writer's Revenge, where she frequently got to satisfy her love of good books and her need to expound by writing reviews. Hellie loves to craft on projects she rarely finishes, watch British dramas as a sort of Olympic marathon event, and do most anything that fits the description "indolent and pleasurable." Fortunately reading falls into that category.  Connect with Hellie on Facebook. 

A Classic Wager!

by Anna Campbell

As many of you know, I'm a diehard Loretta Chase fan. I think she conveys the wit and the elegance of the Regency better than nearly any other writer around at the moment. And she's one of the few modern writers who makes me think of the greatness of Georgette Heyer.  There's a similar lightness of touch and sureness with the emotions, even if contained beneath properly Regency decorum.

I've already reviewed three of Loretta's wonderful books here, raves every one. LAST NIGHT'S SCANDAL, the classic LORD OF SCOUNDRELS and one of my favorite romances ever MR. IMPOSSIBLE featuring the gorgeous Rupert Carsington.

Before she began writing full-length Regency historicals brimming with sensuality and passion, Loretta had a career writing trad Regencies. Books in this genre are usually described as comedies of manners, but I don't think that nearly does justice to the half dozen lovely trad Regencies that Loretta wrote.

I have two particular favorites from among these early LCs. One is THE SANDALWOOD PRINCESS, a RITA winner from 1991, and the book I'm going to talk about today, the sublime KNAVES' WAGER from 1990.  Later this year, I'll swing by and share my thoughts about THE SANDALWOOD PRINCESS which is a humdinger (suppose that basically encompasses my review!).

One of the things prompting this review is that Loretta's early books have just been re-released at a very competitive price of $2.99 as e-books. Here's the link for KNAVES' WAGER: http://www.amazon.com/Knaves-Wager-ebook/dp/B00A5OH1JY/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

By the way, for a bit of fun, here's the original cover for KNAVES' WAGER, the edition that just kept me up well into the small hours, no matter how often I've read it (and I must have read it at least 20 times). A very different feel to the new cover!

One of the astonishing things about KNAVES' WAGER is quite how much story Loretta manages to pack into a short book. It's only 234 pages all up which is shorter than your average SuperRomance, although having said that, the print in my edition is quite small as are the margins. Still, it's a far cry from the 400 pages of the normal historical romance!

We get the stormy, passionate romance between the ton's Ice Queen, Mrs. Lilith Davenant, and notorious rake Julian Wyndhurst, the Marquess of Brandon. We also get a really sweet secondary romance between Lilith's niece Cecily Glenwood and Lord Robin Downs, Brandon's wayward nephew. In fact, it was because of this secondary romance that I turned to this book at this particular time. The third book in the Sons of Sin series has a secondary romance and I wanted to see how Loretta wove the two stories together here. Of course, I became utterly engrossed in the story and ended up paying no attention to anything technical at all! We also get a vivid crowd of secondary characters including Beau Brummell.

Against her better instincts, widow Lilith Davenant becomes engaged to rising political star (and prosy bore) Sir Thomas Bexley. Lilith is a woman of unsullied reputation who is considered something of a dragon when she launches her nieces upon society. Much to her astonishment, she attracts the notice of the dashing and dissolute Lord Brandon. Even more to her astonishment, Lilith who found no joy in her short marriage, finds herself attracted to the marquess. Not only is she engaged, she can't bring herself to trust this attractive, infamous man.

And she's right not to trust him. Little does she know that Julian has ulterior motives for his seduction of the virtuous widow. Julian's nephew is threatening to marry his mistress, the courtesan Elise, and Brandon and Elise have set up a wager where she will abandon Robin if Lilith comes to Brandon's bed.

So we have the classic Regency set-up of virtuous woman and bad boy who fall in love much against their will and their better judgement. Meanwhile, Cecily, who is far from the pretty airhead that people consider her, schemes both to get her aunt and Brandon together and to find her own happiness with Robin. Cecily was the inspiration for Cassie in MIDNIGHT'S WILD PASSION, if any of you have read that book. I love the twist that the sweet little debutante is actually the smartest player in the game.

Because this is a trad, there are no explicit love scenes but believe me, sexual tension bristles when Lilith and Brandon are together and there are some absolutely lovely kissing scenes. And you'll love the witty dialogue between these two clever, wary people who are falling in love in spite of themselves. 

Seriously this is a treat, even if you think trad Regencies are too staid for you. It's funny and moving and sexy and has one of the loveliest proposal scenes that I've ever read. It's one of those books that makes you laugh and cry and sigh with that lovely romantic satisfaction when you get to the last page. Highly recommended and at $2.99, it's an absolute steal!

So are you a trad Regency fan? I've noticed that they've had a bit of a resurgence in digital publishing. What's your favorite bad boy/good girl historical romance? Is this a theme that appeals to you?