CBR15 Books 92-95: A bunch of romantic books I read this summer and didn't get round to reviewing

Fangirl, the Manga: Volume 3 - Rainbow Rowell and Gabi Nam

Page count: 224 pages

Rating: 4 stars

This August saw the release of the third installment of Rainbow Rowell's manga version of Fangirl, my absolute favourite of her books (did I just buy a fancy tenth-anniversary edition, even though I own it in three other formats, NOT counting the mangas? You betcha). Cath is still struggling at college. Her writing partner Nick steals the story they've been working on together and makes her seem unreasonable for being upset about it. Her father has a mental breakdown and has to be hospitalised, and she has no choice but to ask Levi for a ride to visit him, even though she'd rather avoid him now, considering what she saw in his kitchen during the party. Now she's considering dropping out, so she can go back home and take care of her father. She's also feels betrayed by Wren, who wants to reconnect with their estranged mother.

This is a much more emotional issue to read, because Cath isn't exactly having a great time of it, and there are a lot of emotional stakes for her, what with this coming three-quarters through the story of the novel. She manages to talk things through with Levi, however, and her Dad forbids her from giving up and quitting college to take care of him. Her professor also refuses to let her quit the course and extends her deadline to make sure she can submit something wholly original to her fiction writing class, not just her fan fiction. So things are looking better by the end of the issue - and at least now she knows that Nick is a manipulative, lazy weasel. The interludes with Baz and Simon from this fictional universe's versions of Baz and Simon (not to be confused with Rainbow Rowell's OTHER versions of Baz and Simon) also feel less frustrating than they do in the novel, as they are very cute in the manga illustrations.

Deal with the Devil - Kit Rocha

Page count: 336 pages

Rating: 4 stars

In a post-apocalyptic version of America, Knox, the leader of a group of genetically enhanced supersoldiers has a difficult choice to make. He and his elite strike force went AWOL because they were sick of being used to terrorise and murder innocent civilians, but that also means that the implants they have that give them their enhanced powers can't be adjusted without help from a very talented hacker. If the implants aren't adjusted regularly, the soldiers with eventually die, painfully. Their hacker friend has been kidnapped, and to get her ransomed, Knox needs to deliver Nina, the leader of a group of high-tech librarians.

Nina is a clone who escaped from a secret research facility. As is Nina. All of their clones are dead, due to the experiments carried out on them. Maya is their third partner and a technical wiz with perfect recall of everything she's ever read or heard. The three women act as high-tech librarians, offering free information (music, books, videos) to the population of post-apocalyptic Atlanta, but to pay the bills, they also basically act as archeologists for other groups who want to find hidden vaults, like the lost Library of Congress servers.

This book is a lot of fun and has two groups of really enjoyable characters. The tagline claims it's "Orphan Black meets the post-apocalyptic Avengers" and for once, that's actually a fairly good description. We have two groups of tight-knit found families who start out nominally working towards different objectives, but who then have to join forces and cooperate. The series is a trilogy, and the authors are not really very subtle about hinting about which characters will be paired up in future novels. 

I liked the world-building, and the chemistry between the various characters and the main couple have understandable obstacles to work through since one is luring the other one into a trap to save his teammates. That several of his teammates think this is a dumb idea and they should just let the clever and resourceful women they've met work out a better plan speaks in their favour. 

I own all three novels in the series and look forward to reading more of them in the next year. 

How the Wallflower Was Won - Eva Leigh

Page count: 380 pages

Rating: 2.5 stars

This is another of those historical romances where the hero has to get married in a certain amount of time to not get disinherited/inherit a bunch of money, and from what I can gather, this entire series is about three different men in the same pickle. Finn Ransome has been told he's stupid his entire life (he has dyslexia), but has no problem calculating the odds at the gambling tables, where he makes enough to allow him to live comfortably. He starts the novel planning to set his friend (who also has to get married to inherit money) up with a prim bluestocking, but of course, ends up falling for her himself. 

Tabitha Seaton wants to join the Stirling Society, a snooty group full of influential thinkers (all men, naturally). She needs to be married for them to even consider allowing her into the group, and she much prefers Finn to his brooding friend Dom. They get married, and obviously, it's supposed to be a marriage of convenience only, with them never likely to ever catch warmer feelings for one another. 

I barely remembered this book two months after I read it. Now, nearly six months after I finished it, I could only make a summary after looking at reviews on Goodreads. I have downgraded my rating of it accordingly, because I can't really give 3 stars to a book I have this much trouble remembering the plot of. I seem to recall that the hero kept bringing the heroine to libraries, and making sure their new house had a really nice library - which is an excellent quality in a man. Tabitha kept trying to impress the idiotic white men of the Stirling Society, who were never going to accept her in a million years. In the end, she and Finn create their own, much more inclusive society and live happily ever after. I think. I don't care enough to look up further details. Eva Leigh has written some romances I really enjoyed in the past (I seem to recall there are cameos from some of her previous couples in this one), but this was a very forgettable one.

Knockout - Sarah Maclean

Page count: 404 pages

Rating: 4 stars

We have finally reached Lady Imogen's book, and what a delight it was. In her current series, Sarah Maclean writes about four clever young women who have worked to create vast network of women all over London, to help their sisters in need. They save young noblewomen from disastrous marriages, they take down corrupt individuals and they make sure there is justice when the poor and helpless are taken advantage of. The press has dubbed them Hell's Belles. In the previous two books in the series, Lady Sesily Talbot finally persuaded Caleb Calhoun to be her husband, and puzzle-solving Adelaide Frampton, daughter of one of London's most notorious crime bosses, ended up marrying a duke. 

Lady Imogen Loveless is the daughter of an eccentric earl who didn't mind his only daughter learning about science and chemistry. As a result, Imogen is really good with explosives and uses her knowledge to help the Belles. When her father died, her much older brother inherited the title, and he never really knew how to relate to his brainy sister. He wants her to keep out of trouble, and possibly find a husband, and hires detective Thomas Peck to act as her bodyguard and keeper. Of course, Thomas Peck is the last person who should be guarding Imogen's virtue, and he certainly doesn't relish the thought of her finding herself a husband who isn't him. But Thomas is a commoner and could never be good enough for Imogen, could he?

I've enjoyed the majority of Maclean's historical romances, and even consider some of them essential reading for anyone interested in this subgenre, but she's also written some real duds. Thankfully, this series has been very enjoyable, and I think Knockout is my favourite one so far. Maclean is also great at teasing the final book in a series with a heck of a cliffhanger, which she also does here. Thanks to the final lines of this book, I'm now impatiently awaiting the release of Duchess' book, hopefully out in August 2024. 

Speaking of releases - I was lucky enough to find a paperback copy of this in a US bookstore more than two weeks before its actual release date, to much rejoicing. I was visiting my BFF Lydia in Vermont at the time and had time to read half before I sadly forgot the book in the stress of packing and returning home, so had to wait until she had a chance to ship it back to me (which was some time actual the release date). It was probably hubris for being too smug about getting it early. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

#CBR11 Book 97: "My Fake Rake" by Eva Leigh

Page count: 384 pages
Rating: 3 stars

Official book description:
Lady Grace Wyatt is content as a wallflower, focusing on scientific pursuits rather than the complications of society matches. But when a handsome, celebrated naturalist returns from abroad, Grace wishes, for once, to be noticed. Her solution: to "build" the perfect man, who will court her publicly and help her catch his eye. Grace's colleague, anthropologist Sebastian Holloway, is just the blank slate she requires.

In exchange for funding his passage on an expedition leaving London in a few months, Sebastian allows Grace to transform him from a bespectacled, bookish academic into a dashing—albeit fake—rake. Between secret lessons on how to be a rogue and exaggerated public flirtations, Grace's feelings for Sebastian grow from friendship into undeniable, inconvenient, real attraction. If only she hadn't hired him to help her marry someone else...

Sebastian is in love with brilliant, beautiful Grace, but their bargain is complete, and she desires another. Yet when he's faced with losing her forever, Sebastian will do whatever it takes to tell her the truth, even if it means risking his own future—and his heart.

My Fake Rake is a romance of the “I’ll pretend to date someone else to make the object of my affection truly notice me, but wait, I find I fancy the someone else more than the original object of my affection” variety, but with a role-reversal make-over twist.

A historical romance set in Regency England and written by Eva Leigh, My Fake Rake is my seventh book by this author. I generally find her work good fun, but I’m starting to worry that her quality is slipping. While I very much enjoyed her first trilogy, the Wicked Quills of London, I thought the books in her London Underground series were merely OK. This beginning of her new series (where the prologue finds what is clearly going to be the heroes of the future novels collected in one room for some sort of collective punishment a la The Breakfast Club) is her weakest one yet. I found My Fake Rake rather dull, especially as both the hero and heroine keep agonising about their attraction for the other without EVER having an honest conversation about it. I will give Eva Leigh’s future novels a chance because I liked the supporting character of the Duke of Rotherby, who has to help our hero and heroine actually pull off the makeover and fake dating ploy, as our protagonists are too socially awkward and inexperienced to figure out how to do this on their own. He’s the hero of the next book. This one, however, was nothing special and if you are curious about the author’s works, I would not recommend this particular effort. Go for something in her earliest trilogy instead.

The main plot of My Fake Rake focuses, as I mentioned earlier, on a makeover story with a twist. It is not the socially awkward heroine who needs a new wardrobe, but rather the hero. Sebastian Holloway, eldest son of a wealthy industry magnate is an avid anthropologist, but because his father has cut him off, he can’t actually afford to do people watching outside the isle of Britain, on the occasional wander. He is tall, blond and crippled by social anxiety. In case you’d like social media to help you provide some mental casting, Eva Leigh has Pinterest boards for each of her novels, and she has the delectable Alexander Skarsgård as her suggested Sebastian. The heroine, Lady Grace Wyatt, is a wallflower, but mostly by choice. She is well-read, clever and passionate about lizards and amphibians. Her scientific interests make her unappealing on the marriage mart. For those wondering, Eva Leigh imagines her looking like Allison Brie. ¨

Lady Grace’s father is ailing and wants her to marry and find a husband to take care of her before he dies. Lady Grace has nurtured a crush on a titled, dashing fellow scientist explorer for years, but he seems to view her more as a sister. Sebastian and Grace are close friends and frequent study buddies and Grace is clearly ignoring any possible attraction to him (he’s been in love with her for years, but would never dare suggest that he, a penniless, untitled nobody would be good enough for her, even if she didn’t keep talking to him about her crush on another guy for years). Once Sebastian’s old school chum, the Duke of Rotherby joins in to help Grace give Sebastian a proper makeover, it becomes apparent that Sebastian is, in fact, a certifiable hottie, and Grace is forced to reconsider which man she actually wants. Many complications ensue before our nerdy couple move forward together secure in their love and commitment.

While there is far too much back and forth nonsense where Grace and Sebastian clearly fancy the pants off each other (she literally gets short of breath when he removes his spectacles at one point), they spend far too much time assuring themselves of why they couldn’t possibly voice their attraction towards the other. Even after they’ve kissed several times, they’re able to explain it away as something other than genuine passion and infatuation. This got tiresome. The Duke of Rotherby, the main supporting character made the story more bearable, but I still kept putting the book down and finding excuses not to read more quite a few times. It’s fun that the author is trying to basically take 80s high school rom com plots and turn them into Regency romances, but this one didn’t entirely work out.

Huge thank you and shout-out to my fellow kissing book aficionado, Mrs. Julien, whose romance novel review template (tm) I resurrected to review this novel. 

Judging a book by its cover: While I'm normally a big fan of both the colours red and purple, I'm not sure they go together very well on this cover. It all looks a bit lurid, and I'm not a big fan of either the bright yellow or that rather spindly font they've chosen for the book's title either. At least neither of the cover models appear to be wearing wildly anachronistic clothing, for a change.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR11 Book 10: "Dare to Love a Duke" by Eva Leigh

Page count: 384 pages
Rating: 4 stars

Thomas Powell has just become the Duke of Northfield and has to set aside his previously rakish ways to protect his father's legacy and ensure a good future for his younger sister. She's very much in love with the son of one of their father's most trusted allies in Parliament, who clearly expects Thomas to continue supporting him, whether Thomas actually agrees with his views or not. Torn between duty and his own conscience, Thomas is struggling. The one place he feels at ease, the Orchid Club, is a deeply inappropriate hang-out for a duke.

Lucia Marini has had to make her own way in the world. The illegitimate daughter of a wealthy Englishman and a poor Italian woman, she came to England when her mother died, only to find her grandparents refusing to take her in. Now she is known to all that visit the exclusive Orchid Club as "Amina", the beautiful and elusive proprietress. The Orchid Club takes visitors from all levels of society, and charges what the visitors feel they can afford. Everyone has to appear masked, and all the sexual acts are entirely consensual. The club was successful even before Lucia took over its management with some of her found family, but now they have received news that the club's noble patron has passed away, Lucia and the rest who work there are worried that they may find themselves homeless and without a way to make a living.

While Tom has been drawn to the beautiful Amina since he first visited the Orchid Club, he has never propositioned her in any way, quite happy for their friendship to be platonic (while they flirt shamelessly). Now that he knows he has to become all that is dutiful and responsible, and he comes to the club to say goodbye, he requests one night with her, before he and Amina go their separate ways forever.

I don't think I'm spoiling it for anyone who's ever read anything ever when I say that of course it turns out that the wealthy patron who died was in fact Tom's seemingly faultless father, and that now that Tom is his heir, he finds himself the unexpected owner of the sex club he's been visiting for the past year. His super conservative, family values father also had a pretty big secret, and Tom is rather shocked when he discovers it. Of course, it also means that he is Lucia's employer, which is very fraught for a number of reasons. They were only supposed to spend one night of passion together, but of course, as in all romance, that night was utterly transformative for both of them, and they're completely ga-ga for one another.

Even really rather disreputable dukes are unlikely to settle down and marry former sex workers, and the former Duke of Northfield was known as a pillar of propriety and Tom therefore has all sorts of expectations to live up to in society. He really does take his position seriously, and is extremely protective of his younger sister. He's quite willing to be utterly miserable, giving up any chance of his own happiness, if it means she gets to marry her sweetheart, even though said sweetheart's father is clearly an odious bully, whose political views are pretty much diametrically opposite to the progressive views Tom himself holds.

Family is an important theme throughout the book. Tom deeply loves his mother and sister, and comes to discover his father was a very different man than he believed. Lucia was rejected by first her father and her father's family and had to sell herself to survive, but has managed to find friends and confidantes who love her and care for her as much (or more) than an actual family would. They run the Orchid Club together, determined to make it a safe haven for people of all creeds and classes, and the main reason Lucia has for running the club is to make enough money to open a girls' school for poor and underprivileged girls, like she herself once was, vowing to give them lives better than she had when she arrived in England.

Does the storyline presented in this book require quite some suspension of disbelief? Yes, but no more so than in the majority of Tessa Dare's historical romances. Is it an entertaining read? Yes. Do Tom and Lucia work as a couple? Absolutely, they complement each other's strengths and weaknesses beautifully. Is pretty much all the supporting cast also fun to read about? Yes, I especially liked Tom's sister and the lesbian couple who Lucia run the club alongside. Does Tom's mother seem to accept her son's choice of bride, despite her 'colourful' past, unexpectedly quickly? Yup, but I didn't care.

Eva Leigh continues to write very entertaining historicals, and I'm excited to see what she's going to come up with next.

Judging a book by its cover: Not sure whether Eva Leigh has made some sort of unholy covenant, but the covers for her historical novels are pretty much always, without exception, gorgeous. The cover models portraying the heroines actually look like pretty much like the women inside the cover are actually described, and the dresses they wear are absolutely sumptuous. The utterly stunning blue dress on this cover takes my breath away.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR10 Book 43: "Counting on a Countess" by Eva Leigh

Page count: 384 pages
Rating: 3 stars

Christopher "Kit" Ellingsworth was given an Earldom for his bravery during the Napoleonic wars. It doesn't really bring in any money, though, so Kit is pretty much penniless and mounting up debts living the life of a libertine upon his return to London, everything to forget his time in battle. Hence he is surprised when he is told his mentor wishes to leave him a substantial fortune...as long as he finds a wife within the next month. It doesn't leave him very much time to find someone willing to marry him.

Tamsyn Pearce has been an orphan since she was in her early teens and while her aunt and uncle seem to care very little about the lives and fates of the residents of the little Cornish village of Newcombe, Tamsyn feels differently. For the last eight years, she and the villagers have  run a successful smuggling operation, making sure the taxes could get paid and everyone would be able to feed themselves and their children. She's in London to find a buyer for her latest shipment of illicit goods, and if she could find a wealthy husband who won't ask too many questions as well, that would solve a lot of her problems. Her uncle wants to sell the family manor, Tamsyn's childhood home, and she needs enough funds to purchase it herself.

Kit and Tamsyn meet at a ball when he has a week left before the stated deadline. There's an instant spark between them and both need to find a spouse in a hurry, so they agree to marry. It's only after she is wed that Tamsyn discovers that her ex-soldier husband doesn't look kindly on law-breakers. Can she keep her handsome new husband from discovering what she and the villagers have been doing for the last eight years? Kit, on the other hand, discovers after signing all the legal paperwork, that he does have access to a substantial fortune, but his lovely new wife is the one who will be holding the purse strings. Kit wants to use the money to build a pleasure garden to help him forget about the horrors of war. Can he persuade his wife to surrender the funds?

Normally, I really like Eva Leigh's historical romances, but I'm not sure if it's because I just wasn't in the mood for it, or if this really was just a weaker entry of the author's. It's been over a month since I finished the book and I must be honest, I don't remember too many details about the plot. For readers looking for a lot of smexy times, it should be noted that it takes Kit and Tamsyn about two thirds of the book to finally consummate their marriage. So it's not exactly the raunchiest of reads.

Obviously, the big thing standing between the couple is Tamsyn's smuggling secrets. She needs to keep the truth from her husband, who while being an unrepentant rake before tying the knot, nevertheless risked his life in combat for king and country and doesn't look kindly on the law being broken through smuggling. Apart from that, the couple may have entered into a marriage of convenience, but both fall rather quickly for one another - I just didn't care all that much. Juggling reading, blogging and motherhood means I need something a bit more out of the ordinary to hold my attention. There is nothing badly wrong with this book, it just didn't wow me and has clearly not stayed very fresh in my memory. It's a fun enough, run of the mill historical. That is not to say others may not enjoy it more than I - but I would not encourage people to go out and pay full price for it either. I'll probably pick it up myself when I find it in a sale.

Judging a book by its cover: While the book was so so, and didn't really stick in my memory all that much, this cover is lovely. The cover model is very pretty and has the correct hair colour for Tamsyn. The dress is period appropriate (even though it's unlikely anyone on the windswept Cornish coast would show off that much naked skin) and the colour is gorgeous. The backdrop evokes a romantic sunset - I really like this a lot. Eva Leigh frequently has excellent covers - this is another to add to the list.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR9 Book 65: "From Duke till Dawn" by Eva Leigh

Page count: 384 pages
Rating: 4 stars

Alexander Lewis, the Duke of Greyland has just been jilted by his intended. She eloped with a cavalry officer, but Alex is mainly annoyed that he's going to have to start looking for a new bride. His best friends, the Earl of Langdon and the wealthy Mr. Ellingsworth refuse to let him stay at home and brood and insist on taking him to a new and fashionable gambling club that is rumoured to only stay open for a month. They claim he'll find ample things to distract him there. He reluctantly comes along and to his surprise, sees the woman he's been trying to locate, and unsuccessfully forget, for the last two years. While recuperating in Cheltenham, he'd seen the lovely and impoverished widow at his hotel. After several weeks of acquaintance, the gentile Mrs Blair confessed her troubles to him and he gave her five hundred pounds. They spent one very memorable night together, and afterwards, the widow was gone without a trace.

Cassandra Blake is a con woman. She has successfully used her poor, down on her luck, but very proud widow scam on countless men, but only with Alex did she give into the mutual attraction and actually sleep with one of her victims. Having grown up on the streets after her father died in debtor's prison, Cassandra began by picking pockets until an older man found and mentored her into the beautiful swindler she has become. Now they are working together for one last big score, running a gambling den for one month, planning to make enough money to finally retire. Cassandra is sick of running cons, she wants out of the swindling business. When the Duke of Greyland unexpectedly shows up at the club, Cassandra is able to convince him that the widow Blair was forced to take the job as a hostess, as her money has run out.

When Cassandra suddenly finds herself on the receiving end of a swindle, after her mentor takes all the club's profits and absconds, she has no choice but to seek out Alex for help, even as she knows he'll despise her once he learns the truth about her. Discovering that the woman he had pretty much fallen in love with is nothing but a sham, Alex is heart-broken and furious, but he also understands that Cassandra's life might be in danger if she can't recover the money her partner stole. There were several rather shady investors in the scheme and they do not take kindly to their profits being nicked. Alex promises to help Cassandra, on the condition that she never leave his sight until their mission is done. Of course, spending time in close proximity means he finally gets to see and get to know the real Cassandra, and she is even more enticing than the widow Blair ever was.

I really liked Eva Leigh's first trilogy set in the Regency era, with unorthodox heroines that didn't exactly fit with society's views for what was right and proper for ladies. In her new trilogy, of which this is the first, Leigh has researched the seedier side of London, exploring the criminal underworld from various angles. There are the con artists and swindlers, to which Cassandra belongs, there's an underground sex club that I suspect will feature more prominently in a future book, as one of the Duke's two best friends is unhappily infatuated with the proprietress.

Alexander Lewis has always done what is right and was brought up to do his duty. His parents, as was common for the nobility, were not particularly affectionate, but he wants to do the right thing and find a young woman from a suitable family to bear his children. He doesn't expect any romantic attachment to his wife, especially as he has never been able to forget the enigmatic and beautiful Mrs. Blair. While they only spent one night together, he's spent a lot of time and resources trying to find her (which is of course impossible, since she wasn't an actual person).

He discovers Cassandra's deception when he returns to the club, ready to propose, having been convinced by one of his friends that a man of his standing will easily be able to whether the scandal of marrying a widow of uncertain origins. He overhears her talking to her business partner and realises she's a fraud. Heartbroken and disgusted, he's furious with her, but still can't make himself turn her away when she turns up, desperate and broke in his drawing room shortly after. Soon the proper and thoroughly honourable Duke finds himself visiting locations he barely knew existed, conversing (and beating up) all manner of questionable individuals.

Spending time in close proximity to Cassandra for several days and during many exciting adventures through the London underworld, Alex discovers how sheltered and privileged a life he has actually lived. While he's appalled at the way Cassandra and many others make their living, he begins to understand that a lot don't have a lot of other options. While searching London for her former mentor, Alex also discovers that Cassandra did not, in fact, prostitute herself for the money she conned out of her victims. She would normally hint and promise all manner of things, but run off as soon as she had the money. She made a very notable exception in Alex' case, and has both regretted and cherished the memory ever since.

Cassandra, meanwhile, was ready to give up her "wicked ways" even before she got a taste of her own medicine and discovered how awful it feels to be swindled and betrayed. She just needed enough money to retire quietly to the countryside in peace, and faces quite the crisis of conscience when she has to face Alex, a man she hasn't been able to forget for two years, and own up to all the bad things she's done in her life. She's unapologetic about some of the things she's had to do to survive, but she does regret hurting and lying to so many people. She's a resilient woman, convinced (quite rightly so, considering their huge difference in status) that Alex is miles out of her league. She knows she'll never see him again once she recovers all the stolen money, but decides to make the best of the time they have together.

While Alex keeps wanting to hate Cassandra, he sees almost instantly that no matter how angry he is, he's still incredibly attracted to her. The more he discovers about her past and the life she's been forced to live, the quicker his anger fades. The couple keep fighting their attraction, but this is a romance, of course it doesn't take too long before they give into their feelings.

I liked the unusual setting and the conflict keeping the protagonists apart. There is a fair bit of appropriate action and some very good banter, and I'm very much looking forward to what Ms. Leigh has in store for Alex' friends (who were pretty heavily set up as future heroes) in the next few books in the series.

Judging a book by its cover: Eva Leigh tends to have pretty decent covers, and the dresses the cover models wear always actually appear in the story at some point (I'm not entirely sure how the authors manage it, but I always like it when it happens). I do, however, have several gripes with this cover, the first being the oft mentioned - her gown is unlaced, where are her undergarments? Secondly, why is she sitting at such an uncomfortable angle, backwards on the sofa? Thirdly, how many yards of fabric were needed to make those never-ending skirts - the dress certainly isn't Regency appropriate. Sigh.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR8 Book 50: "Temptations of a Wallflower" by Eva Leigh

Page count: 384 pages
Rating: 4 stars

Lady Sarah Frampton may be the daughter of a duke with a sizable dowry, but she's known as the Watching Wallflower and is on her way to be firmly on the shelf. No one knows that behind her impeccable manners, the quiet and ever-observant Lady Sarah is in fact the author of a series of highly successful erotic novels. As The Lady of Dubious Quality, the virginal Lady Sarah uses the knowledge she's acquired from illicit French novels to write out all her sexual fantasies while her mother believes her to be deeply devoted to journal writing and keeping up her correspondence. When her publisher tells her that someone is trying to unmask the identity of the Lady of Dubious Quality, she starts to consider whether marriage might not be prudent to protect her from prying. What better candidate than the handsome and intelligent country vicar she's been growing closer to?

The vicar in question, Jeremy Cleland, is in London because his father, the deeply moralistic Earl of Hutton, has tasked him with tracking down and unmasking, you guessed it, The Lady of Dubious Quality. Jeremy didn't even want to take holy orders and become a vicar, but as the third son, he doesn't really have the finances or independence to go his own way, even though he's quite miserable with his vocation and struggles daily to control his desires. A while back, his cousin, the scandalous Vicount Marwood gave him one of the Lady's recent books, and Jeremy has in fact been reading all of them and appreciating them rather a lot. He doesn't really see what harm the books do, but with the treat of losing his allowance entirely, he sets about trying to figure out who the author of the erotica is. He feels an immediate affinity with the clever Lady Sarah Frampton, but knows that as the only daughter of a duke, she's much too far above him in rank to ever settle for a lowly country vicar, son of an earl or not.

Not realising that the man she's decided to marry for protection is in fact the same man who's been tasked with unmasking her and who could absolutely ruin her in the eyes of society, Lady Sarah proposes to Jeremy. They get married by special licence and while Lady Sarah's parents are none to happy, Jeremy's father is delighted that his son snared a lady with such an impressive family connection and dowry. The couple, after some initial difficulty, discover that they are in fact extremely compatible both in the bedroom and out of it. While a duke's daughter, Sarah isn't at all sorry to give up the luxuries of her father's house or the mindless pleasures of London's high society. Being useful as a vicar's wife, while still able to lock herself away to write in secret works very well for her. While Jeremy's father allows him a few weeks to enjoy his new marriage, he's not going to let his son give up his quest for long, however. What will happen when Jeremy discovers that the woman he's trying to track down is in fact his own wife?

In the previous two books in The Wicked Quills of London, an Earl and a Viscount married women of a much lower social standing to themselves. In this, it's Lady Sarah who is the one of higher social rank, who chooses to marry down, so to speak. While Jeremy may be the third son of an earl, he's also a lowly country vicar with only a small living, mostly wholly dependent on whatever allowance his tyrannous father chooses to give him. Even as they grow closer to one another and their attraction grows, they both know it's a bad match. It's only when Sarah is worried about the scandal that will ensue if she's unmasked that she decides that she doesn't care about her parents' possible disapproval or the risk of her dowry (she's of age and doesn't actually need their permission to marry). She proposes to Jeremy and while he initially refuses her, a conversation with his now happily married cousin changes his mind.

Of course, Sarah doesn't realise that the man she marries is the same man who's been hunting down her secret identity. Writing is the only thing that's ever made her truly happy, and while she discovers that Jeremy has in fact read all of the works by The Lady of Dubious Quality (and uses the tips he's learned from the books to satisfy both himself and his new wife thoroughly sexually), she doubts that he'd be pleased to discover that said Lady was in fact his own wife. So she keeps lying to him by omission, and all hell breaks loose once Jeremy (who really is both clever and determined, even though he hates the job his father has set him to do) finally pieces all the clues together and discovers the truth.

There's so much good stuff in this novel - two intelligent outsiders who fall for each other and ignore social conventions to be together. Sarah is a virgin, but reads a lot of smutty French erotica to be able to accurately describe the sex acts in her best-selling novels. Jeremy has only had sex once, but has read all of Sarah's books and is ready and willing to try put all the things he's only read about in practise after their first sexual encounter is less than thrilling for her. Because they are both enthusiastic beginners who are willing to communicate clearly about what they want, both in the bedroom department and outside it, they quickly settle into marital felicity. If only there wasn't that big ol' secret constantly threatening to ruin their happiness.

Sarah doesn't write her books just because she's bored and has nothing better to do. She genuinely finds the work incredibly fulfilling and is happy that her books seem to have found such an enthusiastic audience. She hates that she has to keep lying to Jeremy, but also honestly doesn't know if she'd be able to stop writing even if scandal struck. She loves what she does in a way that Jeremy frankly doesn't. He does his very best as a vicar, because he is a decent and responsible man, but only went into the church because his father pressured him, and given the financial independence, he'd devote his life to something different. Yet even when he marries Sarah and has her dowry at his disposal, he's reluctant to take advantage of her money, wanting to be his own man.

As the previous two books in the series, this featured two very engaging protagonists and explores a lot of feminist themes while also throwing in some believable relationship hurdles and plenty of smexy times. That the hero is apparently modelled physically on Tom Hiddleston certainly doesn't hurt either. There are cameo appearances by characters from the previous two books and as far as I'm aware, this is the final book in this series. It's not a perfect book, by any means, but Eva Leigh is absolutely becoming an author whose books I will absolutely be looking out for, and her new series seems very interesting indeed. She's not quite auto-buy or the most coveted of spots - pre-order - but a few more enjoyable books and this may happen.

Rating a book by its cover: This sure has a lot of pastel. I'm also not sure if the lady on the cover (whose hair is much darker than Lady Sarah's is described as in the actual novel) is reclining on a bed (which would be appropriate, given the contents of this book) or sinking into some sort of pink and lilac void. Once more we have an example of the lady from the back with her dress coming undone. As the lady in question appears to be wearing a nightgown, her lack of undergarments can probably be forgiven this time. I've yet to see pictures of any Regency-era nightie that opened that low in the back, though, especially without any evidence of buttons or lacing. I don't like this cover at all, which is a shame, because the cover of Scandal Takes the Stage is so gorgeous, with such lush details.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR7 Book 123: "Scandal Takes the Stage" by Eva Leigh

Page count: 384 pages
Rating: 4 stars

Margaret "Maggie" Delamere makes a comfortable living as the popular playwright of the most successful burlettas (because the theatre doesn't have an official licence, every line of all the plays has to be sung by the actors) at the Imperial theatre. In the past, she's never had any problems getting new ideas or getting her plays finished on time. Now, with the Imperial's board of directors and the audience clamouring for the sequel to her most popular play yet, Maggie is suffering from a terrible writer's block. The board can't wait too much longer for a new play, and unless Maggie can produce the sequel soon, they're threatening to replace her with another writer. Maggie wouldn't just lose her job, but have to leave the place she considers home and the people she considers her family.

Cameron Chalton, Viscount Marwood, is an unashamed libertine and rake, quite happy with the idea of his stuffy and proper younger brother's offspring eventually inheriting the title. Marwood certainly has no intention of growing respectable and tying the knot. Of course, now that his good friend and former carousing buddy, the Earl of Ashford, has settled down into matrimony, Cameron's father is more insistent than ever that Marwood also remember his duties. The constant partying isn't as much fun without Ashford either.

 Cameron's true passion isn't for wine or women, though, although it does involve song. Marwood loves theatre of all kinds, and he's absolutely mad for Mrs. Delamere's burlettas at the Imperial, spending part of nearly every evening in his private box watching the performances. When he discovers that Mrs. Delamere may be replaced by the board of directors, he vows to do anything he can to help her.

Maggie made the mistake of dallying with a nobleman once in her youth and it ended badly. She has no intention of falling for another peer of the realm, not even one as sinfully charming and handsome as Viscount Marwood. When he not only promises to fund the theatre to give her time to complete her new play, but offers the privacy of his country estate as a writing retreat, she'd be a fool to refuse. Maggie knows the rakish viscount will probably try to seduce her, but realises that she wouldn't mind all that much if he did. Cameron genuinely tries his best to give Maggie her space, but can't get her out of his mind. There are tenants to visit and a neglected estate to oversee. If that brings him into company with the most stimulating woman he's ever met, what's Marwood to do?

I was pleasantly surprised by Forever Your Earl, and found myself liking Scandal Takes the Stage even more. As in her previous novel, Eva Leigh acknowledges that a romantic liaison between a high-ranking peer and a woman of common birth most likely would be brief, and unlikely to end happily for the woman. Anything permanent would be viewed as shocking and inappropriate. As Marwood is quite happy to flout conventions and his responsibilities, with plans to let his brother's family take over the title, he's not going to let public opinion keep him from Maggie, once he decides that she's the woman he wants. Clearly more comfortable among artists, bohemians and those of looser morals, Cameron fits well with Maggie's "found family", her theatre friends.

Maggie has pain and heartache in her past, and was disowned by her family after being seduced by a careless nobleman. Left destitute, she has been taking care of herself for a long time, working hard to gain the relative respectability she now has. She doesn't want to throw that away for a brief affair, even with someone as tempting as Marwood.

After her's best friend became the Countess of Ashford, Maggie's come into contact with Marwood a few times. She is surprised when he genuinely seems interested in her work and soon discovers that he's more or less memorised all her plays. It is extremely difficult for her to approach him for help when her livelihood is at stake. She's quite prepared to offer herself up as "re-payment", but Cameron isn't interested in forcing women. He only wants her if she comes to him willingly, without obligation. That doesn't mean that he doesn't intend to tempt her, of course. Once Maggie arrives at his estate, she discovers that all her needs have been anticipated and prepared for. Being cared for and pampered after having to take care of herself since she was a fairly young girl may prove more seductive than Maggie could imagine.

This book has a slow build-up and tons of unresolved sexual tension. The relationship builds gradually and slowly, but I found it all the more satisfying because of it. For people who like that sort of thing, Ms. Leigh has revealed on her Facebook page that her inspirations for Cameron and Maggie were Aiden Turner and Kat Dennings. The next book in the series is going to feature Cameron's cousin, a village Vicar (he has a couple of scenes in this book), modelled on Tom Hiddleston. Let's just say that Eva Leigh is very close to becoming one of my auto-buy authors.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR7 Book 107: "Forever Your Earl" by Eva Leigh

Page count: 384 pages
Rating: 4 stars

Daniel Balfour, Earl of Ashford, marches into the offices of the Hawk's Eye, demanding to speak to the owner. He is surprised when he discovers that E. Hawke is not a man, as he was expecting, but a comely young woman named Eleanor. She owns, edits and is the head writer of the gossip paper, and the nighttime pursuits of the Earl of Ashford is one of the most popular topics the paper covers. Daniel proposes to take Eleanor along with him while he goes about his scandalous and rakish adventures, giving her paper exclusive access. Eleanor is suspicious to his motives, but can't look a gift horse such as this in the mouth, and agrees to the bargain.

Ashford proposes the deal as a diversion. His best friend, traumatised after his return from the Napoleonic wars, has gone missing without a trace and his family are frantically looking for him. Were the press to discover the disappearance, the reputation of not only Ashford's friend, but his younger sister, would be ruined irreparably. He hopes that by feeding the scandal papers with news about is own dissolute nocturnal exploits, no one will look too closely at what he does during the day. 

Of course, Ashford had not expected that the journalist following him around would be a beautiful woman, and even in men's clothing, she's extremely distracting. His attraction to her isn't solely based on the physical, either. Discovering that she single-handedly bought the newspaper, aided only by funding and loans from friends, not supported by any male relatives and that she runs it without assistance from anyone fills him with admiration and respect. Eleanor rebuffs his advances, however, knowing full well that any dalliance between a commoner and a peer of the realm never has any realistic future, and can only result in heartache for her in the end.

Eva Leigh is the pen name of Zoë Archer, who is known for her entertaining paranormal/Steampunk historical romances. Her new series, the Wicked Quills of London, is straight up Regency historicals, hence the new name. I've read a few of Ms. Archer's book before, but was especially impressed with this book, because of the constant acknowledgement in the story that Ashford and Eleanor are from completely different worlds. Their social classes are miles apart. Daniel is an earl and Eleanor isn't even the daughter of a gentleman or a rich merchant. She was raised among theatre people and has made her own way in the world.

Ashford's godfather, who is very eager for his godson to settle down and start producing heirs, is appalled when he discovers that Daniel has begun an assignation with a perfectly common woman. There are examples given of other "love matches" crossing the class difference where the couple are now shunned by everyone in polite society. The more time Ashford spends with Eleanor, and sees what she's achieved, the more guilty he feels about the dissolute and indolent life he has been leading and decides he wants change. It doesn't take him that long to discover that he wants Eleanor as his wife, no matter what the rest of his peers think of such a decision.

It was also refreshing that the book shows that the aftermath of soldiers returning from the war was not always easy. Regency Romancelandia is full of noble heroes just returned from the war (probably far more than actually fought in the war in reality) , and while some may have a dashing scar or two, most romances don't want to deal with a hero with seriously crippling PTSD. As his father's only heir, Daniel wanted to join the army, but was prevented because of his responsibilities to his title and the estates, but his friend, a second son valiantly fought, and returned, not changed so much physically, as mentally. Neither Daniel nor his family realised the extent to his significant trauma before he "fell in with a bad crowd" and disappeared completely. Ashford feels that he should have seen and helped his friend and now can't rest until he has found him and restored him to the safety of his family, before the scandal rags catch wind of the story.

Eleanor is a nicely pragmatic heroine, whose parents weren't exactly the most reliable, but with the support network of friends and found family has managed just fine. She's not a virgin and while she's not in any way lived promiscuously, she enjoys sex and hasn't only had lousy previous experiences. Daniel, in the true fashion of romance heroes, isn't actually as rakish as his reputation makes him seem, and mostly treats women with kindness and respect. Based on his physical description in the book, I mentally cast him as Henry (Oh my God, He's so Good-Looking) Cavill, possibly because I read the book right after having seen The Man from U.N.C.L.E in the cinema. It certainly didn't detract from his appeal.

The next book in the series is being released at the end of October, featuring Maggie, Eleanor's best friend, who is a playwright at a theatre, and Ashford's friend, the much more dissolute Viscount Marwood. I suspect there is heartbreak and disappointment in Maggie's past, based on her dire warnings toward Eleanor in her dealings with Ashford in this book. I'm looking forward to seeing how her romance unfolds.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.