Waiting on Wednesday (6)

Waiting on Wednesday is an event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This is a neat little meme were we get to showcase an upcoming release we can't help but be excited for.

This week's book that I'd be willing to wait every Wednesday on (though I'd rather not) is:

Butterfly Palace
by Colleen Coble
Publication: January 21, 2014
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Historical/Christian Romance

Lilly secures a job as lady's maid in a grand manor in Austin, Texas. But even far from home, her past lurks around every corner.

When Lilly Donnelly arrives at the Cutlers' famed Butterfly Mansion in 1899, the massive house and unfamiliar duties threaten to overwhelm her. Victorian Austin is lavish, highly political, and intimidating, but with the help of the other servants, Lilly resolves to prove herself to her new employers.

Then, while serving at an elegant dinner party, Lilly recognizes one distinguished guest as Andrew, the love of her life, who abandoned her without a word back home. He seems to have assumed a new identity and refuses to acknowledge her, leaving her confused and reeling.

Before Lilly can absorb this unwelcome news, she's attacked. Could it be the sinister Servant Girl Killer who has been terrorizing Austin? Or is it someone after something more personal--someone from her past?

Does she dare trust Andrew to help or is he part of the danger threatening to draw Lilly into its vortex?

You may have noticed that this book released yesterday, so technically I'm breaking the rules of WoW. Still, I just had to feature this book somewhere. Doesn't it look absolutely delightful?!! I've only read one of Colleen's books before, but I already know that this one will be great. Apparently this is a great book for fans of Downtown Abbey; I've never watched it before so I guess I'll just have to cross my fingers and hope I fall in love. And speaking of love, I think I've already started falling for brooding Andrew. Gosh you've just gotta love the mysterious, angry guys *dreamy sigh*. If I don't get this book soon, I don't even know the extremes I'll go to to get my hands on it O_O

Early Review: A Kiss of Lies (The Disgraced Lords #1) by Bronwen Evans

Desperate to escape her abusive past, Sarah Cooper disguises herself as a governess in the employ of Christian Trent, Earl of Markham, the man who, long ago, she fantasized about marrying. Despite the battle scars that mar his face, Sarah finds being near Christian rekindles her infatuation. A governess, however, has no business in the arms of an earl, and as she accompanies Christian on his voyage home, Sarah must resist her intense desires—or risk revealing her dangerous secrets.

One of the renowned Libertine Scholars, Christian Trent once enjoyed the company of any woman he chose. But that was before the horrors of Waterloo, his wrongful conviction of a hideous crime, and his forcible removal from England. Far from home and the resources he once had, Christian believes the life he knew—and any chance of happiness—is over . . . until his ward’s governess sparks his heart back to life, and makes him remember the man he used to be. Now Christian is determined to return to England, regain his honor, and win the heart of the woman he has come to love.

~A copy was provided by Loveswept for review~

After reading this and several other Loveswept novels, I have come to the conclusion that for an author, getting a book published by Loveswept is similar to getting accepted into Harvard, or even Princeton. I'm not a stranger to Loveswept, and I have yet to find a bad Loveswept romance. To tell the truth, I don't think I ever will. This story reminded me a lot of Loving the Earl by Sharon Cullen (you can find the review here). Not because the plots were in any way similar, but because both the women featured in these novels have an abusive past. Though their ex-husbands were creepazoids, that view helps make the romance more intense, and the plot more interesting. The difference between Christian and Nathan from the other book is that the latter has more of a "bad boy" streak in him;)

There was not a moment of this book I didn't love. It actually took me almost two nights to read, but not because I wasn't eager to finish it. Lady Serena, erm, I mean Sarah Cooper, was a really well-developed character. She didn't let an abusive husband permanently take away her happiness, and she would have chosen to kill her husband rather than sin for him. Both are qualities that make me adore and respect the woman. One thought I kept repeating to myself throughout the book is the abuse that Serena was forced to endure is exactly what people today partake in under the name of BDSM. Whipping, having sex with someone while others watch, pain. I know the difference is in the consent of the two people, but geez, that was a creepy connection. Another difference is that Serena's ex-husband, Dennett, really was an evil load of garbage. Why is it always the handsome ones who are despicable?

Christian was actually a very nice rake, who at times pitied himself for the burns on his face. The former adjective was fine, but the pitying was just a teeny bit annoying. Anyone who had half a brain would have looked beneath the scars and the burns to the real man inside. And it's not like he still didn't look like a Greek God (Serena's thoughts, not mine) even with the imperfections. I mean, it's not like you can burn off a 6-pack *snicker*. Another specific moment Christian deemed to annoy me was when he was listing the...advantages, so to say, of Serena, before he knew who she really was. On his list (this is all in his head, mind you) were the words "she came from good breeding stock." C'mon, really? Really?? I thought you were better than this Christian. How would you like it if I said you're from bad breeding stock, huh? Idiot.

Usually, a historical romance is just that, a basic "we both like obsessively love each other" followed by a marriage, which takes place in sometimes that's before the present, usually during the period of balls and Seasons. This specific historical romance was slightly different. Not only was there the history and romance, but also scandal, murder, a framing of rape, a mystery, a "dead" husband, several seduction attempts, shooting, duels, a cute, little ward, and an evil, all-encompassing, female manipulator. What's not to love, right? I absolutely can't wait to read Sebastian's story in the next book! I knew it would be about him as soon as I finished the novel. The excerpt of the next book also helped ;D

Title: A Kiss of Lies

Author: Bronwen Evans

Releases January 14, 2014

Publisher: Loveswept

Genre: Historical Romance

Review: Loving the Earl by Sharon Cullen

In Sharon Cullen’s sizzling novel of scandal and seduction, a headstrong beauty is pursued across Europe by London’s most notorious rake.

Having vowed never to wed again, widowed viscountess Claire Hartford is about to do the unthinkable: travel unaccompanied across the continent in search of a lover. Her adventure begins sooner than expected, when she meets a magnificent cloaked stranger on her ship’s gangplank. He is Lord Blythe, a man whispered about in London’s ballrooms and drawing rooms, a scandalous rogue hell-bent on seduction.

Nathan Ferguson curses the day he agreed to look out for his best friend’s wayward sister. The charismatic earl is traveling to Paris to uncover the truth behind his father’s death, but his desire for Claire threatens to be his undoing. From France to Italy, on a journey of passionate discovery and danger, Nathan is honor-bound to protect her—from himself most of all. What can he offer Claire? Only love, as he sets out to prove to the woman of his dreams that she belongs to him—body, heart, and soul.

Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from these Loveswept titles: Mistletoe and Magic, What Not to Bare, and After the Kiss.

~A copy was received from Loveswept for review~

I can't even properly express how thankful I am to Loveswept and Sharon for providing me with a copy of such an amazing book. I've already recommended this book to several of my friends, even the ones who don't even like historical romance. I stayed up very late last night starting finishing this book, laughing and crying my way through this superbly-written story. I can't wait to read more of Sharon's novels in the near future!

Loving the Earl picks out all the best parts out of every historical romance and puts it all together into this one amazing book. There's the hot rogue who hides under an unsocial mask, the beautiful, bold woman trying to live her life after an abusive marriage, a brother who hires afore-mentioned rogue to protect his sister, mysterious letters, stolen luggage, false companions, sex (uhhhh....), highwaymen, gamblers, and a very happy ending. Besides, the guy on the cover does look pretty hot himself.

The two main characters in this book were what made it best. They were just so in depth and I constantly looked forward to their more than hilarious banter. I loved how instead of Claire being "the one" to change Nathan into a good man, Nathan was a good man all along. He was very easy to trust and every single action he made or word he spoke kept my interest, even as my eyes were drooping shut. And Claire...oh, Claire. She has had a terrible past and is trying to make it up in the present and trying to find an adventure, as well as an Italian lover. However, it's not for the reason(s) you might expect.

The plot was pretty realistic in that both characters made many mistakes, and there were lots of ups and downs in their...I guess you could call it a friendship. What was queer though was that when Nathan first met Claire, but before he knew who she was, Nathan viewed her with only annoyance, with only a bit of personal curiosity and interest. But when he found out who she was and started analyzing her more and whatnot, suddenly he's exclaiming at her beauty and how he wanted to run his hands through Claire's silk hair, yada yada. That struck something sour in me, but luckily the moment was over quickly.

Claire's past with an abusive husband and siblings who always tormented her about being socially respectable was by far the most interesting part of this novel. Besides the romance of course. Ever since I knew the truth about her spouse, I was desperately waiting for Nathan to put together why Claire reacted as she did to him, or for Claire to just tell Nathan directly. The resulting emotions and conversation were exquisite, and I once again found myself awed at Sharon's writing skills. I wasn't surprised in the least when I got to the back of the book and found out that Sharon had a degree in journalism; only a person with prior experience in writing could write such a divine little romance.

It was very surprising to find that even though the actual novel was only 260 pages, the story felt never-ending, which in this case was a good ending. The book took me only 2 hours to devour late last night, but it felt like so much longer. Still, even as I was nearing the end, I found myself wishing the book would never stop.

Anyhow, that wasn't the only thing that startled me about this book. The author made all the characters so real, including some of the side characters. The side character that stayed in my head throughout this book and even after I finished it was Emmaline, who is apparently a female sailor, and a friend/relative of Claire's. We never actually meet her, but there are so many tiny mentions of this mysterious lady that I figured there was probably a book before this with Emmaline's story as the plot. Expecting this, I looked up the book and it turns out this book ISN'T A PART OF A SERIES! My thought at that moment was literally "what the heck?!??"

In conclusion, I just want to brush up on the fact that any and every fan of historical romance should read this book because I'm absolutely sure that Loving the Earl is a very loveable book in general, as well as the best historical fiction (out of those containing sex) novel I've read this entire year. Also, I want to mention that after reading this book, all readers will be "unconditionally and irrevocably" in love with the Earl (trust me, Nathan really deserves that capital letter).

Title: Loving the Earl

Author: Sharon Cullen

Publisher: Loveswept

Released November 11, 2013

Genre: Historical Romance

Review: Myriah Fire by Claudy Conn

It started with a stolen kiss …

Fiery Myriah Whitney is wild of nature, contrary, and independent. But when her father catches her kissing the handsome Sir Roland (how else is she to determine if he is the one who will make her feel thunder and lightning, hear bells and music?), he declares that her days of headstrong independence are over. She will, he commands, announce her engagement to Sir Roland—immediately.

But in an age where marriages are about alliances rather than affection, practicality not passion, Myriah wants more—she wants to fall in love. And she does not love Sir Roland. So she runs away to her grandfather with her faithful manservant, Tabson, at her side.

A wrong turn in the fog, however, leads to the discovery of an injured young man, and before she knows it Myriah is caught up in world of intrigue and secrets. And when she meets the young man’s older brother, the mysterious Lord Kit Wimborne, the sparks fly. Their first encounter—in his bed, both of them naked, no less!—is an explosion of wills, and it is what finally set Myriah on fire.

She has, it seems, finally found her thunder and lightning…

~Free kindle eBook; 168 pages~

First, I wish to say how much I don't like the cover of this book. When I see that a book is a historical romance, I expect to see a novel with a cover that's pretty and not so...revealing. I get that there's nothing exactly inappropriate about what's shown or anything, but I still have standards when I come to this genre. That being said, Myriah Fire was a cute story about a girl named Myriah with fiery hair.

So this is how my experience with the book went: the first 8% of the novel was pretty interesting, what with Myriah complaining about her lack of love and boredom with the London Season, yada yada. Then from about there until about 23% into the story, I was completely bored out of my mind and constantly had to stop myself from thinking about how terrible the book was. At that point, I found myself hating the author's writing style, and especially the third person format of the novel. In that 15%, I found everyone's voice to be terribly monotone, and had no problem putting the book down to go to sleep. Then today, I picked up the book and voilà, I couldn't stop myself from reading even if I'd tried to. The tone was back to normal, and the yelling scenes between Kit and Myriah were front and center. Those scenes are probably what I like best about historical romances, this one included.

In this genre, I usually find myself liking only the main male and female characters. However, this time I found myself adoring Kit's younger brother - though also a cad - William as well. Though there was never any romance between the two - thank God! - I loved how Myriah liked the younger brother before she even met the older one; that doesn't seem to happen a lot. That's not the only reason I liked Bill though. After all, he was kind, sweet, adorable, and definitely at least a hoot-and-a-half. In fact, I probably couldn't have gotten through half this book without his snide remarks, which I couldn't help but find endearing.

The villain of the story, Sir Roland, was portrayed excellently by Claudy. Somehow, the third person format allows us to see inside Roland's head as well as view him through the eyes of others. It was very interesting to see that while Roland wasn't too bad inside his own head (ignoring the fact that he said he'd keep Myriah on a tighter leash *scrunches nose*), he seems plain evil from other's point of view, especially Lord Kit's. That also played a part in why I didn't see Kit doing what he did at the end of the novel.

I was completely confounded at the end when instead of berating Myriah for running away in the first place and possibly even punishing her, Myriah's father and grandfather instead hugged her to death and agreed to let her marry a person they only met. And that's not even mentioning the fact that they barely even cared that Myriah was the only female living in a bachelor's house for a week or so. Seriously! Adults, get yourselves together!! As weird as it sounds, I'm glad my parents would never let me do that. In all seriousness though, this book gave you everything you'd expect to have in a 168-paged runaway romance, and for that I'm thankful. It also doesn't hurt that the book is free right now; you can purchase it on Amazon by clicking here.

Also, as a sidenote, I really wish historical romances would stop bringing too much sex into their plots...

Title: Myriah Fire

Author: Claudy Conn

Publisher: BC Publications

Released November 27, 2011

Genre: Historical Romance