One Night of Scandal (Fairleigh Sisters, Book 2)

TERESA MEDEIROS

Synopsis from Goodreads: Proper decorum has never come easily to Carlotta Anne Fairleigh --- not even tonight, when the lovely, impetuous miss is finally making her debut. As she waits to make her entrance, she can't help wondering about the darkened house next door, the supposedly abandoned home of Hayden St. Clair, the man society has dubbed the "Murderous Marquess." Certainly one small peek through his window before the festivities would be harmless...

And, naturally, this latest "adventure" ends in disaster, thoroughly compromising the budding debutante's reputation and leaving her suddenly, unthinkably ... betrothed! Soon she's en route to the wilds of Cornwall in the company of the handsome, mysterious marquess whose name the ton whisper with fear and loathing.

Yet there is something thrilling --- and surprisingly tender --- about her dark, unreachable groom, and the desire in his eyes is undeniable. But before Lottie will surrender to the yearnings in her heart, she must unlock the secrets of Hayden's past, no matter how scandalous --- or perilous --- they may be.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Avon Books, 2003.

How acquired: Via Book Mooch.

My thoughts: My thoughts are still in a bit of a jumble about this book. Where to start? Oh, Hayden, of course. Dark and brooding, curt, not arrogant really, though he probably was before he became known as the Murderous Marquess, the nickname given to him after his first wife took a dive from a cliff. Of course he was wildly attracted to Lottie as soon as he met her. Of course after inadvertently putting her in a compromising position he gave in and married her, even though the last thing he wanted was a wife. Of course he didn't bother to tell his new wife about the horrid little girl she was now step-mother to. I loved Hayden pretty much from the beginning, despite everyone believing he murdered his wife and his best friend. 

I read the previous book, A KISS TO REMEMBER, eight years ago, which was about Lottie's older sister, Laura. I remembered very little about that book or about Lottie, but since ten years have passed, ONE NIGHT OF SCANDAL is basically a stand alone, and Laura and her husband are peripheral characters for the most part.

Lottie was a fun, spunky heroine. After being seen with Hayden through a window, her family are in despair over her reputation now being ruined, and afraid she will have no decent prospects now. Therefore, her brother-in-law and guardian, Sterling, demands that Hayden marry her. When Hayden refuses, Lottie takes matters into her own hands and, suffice it to say, gets Hayden to agree to the marriage.

From there the story moves from Lottie's home with Sterling and Laura to Hayden's home, and what is pretty much a whole new, dreary, world for Laura. And that's when it really got good. I loved Lottie's interactions with Hayden's daughter, Allegra, and appreciated that Lottie didn't magically win her over and quickly become her best friend. Allegra was a bit overly dramatic at times, and with mysterious music playing behind the closed door of a locked room and the servants all convinced the house was haunted, the story began to have a gothic feel to it. Which was just fine by me.

And the kittens! Oh my, I loved how the kittens always seemed to be in Hayden's way and he was forever nudging one aside with his foot or prying another's claws out of his pants leg or sitting down only to jump back up at the sound of a squeak coming from beneath him.

This book was just perfect for me, with plenty of laughter amid the gloomy gothicness, not to mention the sexual tension between Hayden and Lottie. The night I finished it I read past my bedtime because I couldn't put it down, and I literally cried over it. It was wonderful. 

Once a Rancher (The Carsons of Mustang Creek, Book 1)

LINDA LAEL MILLER

Synopsis from back cover: THE CARSONS OF MUSTANG CREEK: three men who embody the West and define what it means to be a rancher, a cowboy and a hero in this brand-new series from the queen of Western romance.

SLATER CARSON might be a filmmaker by trade, but he's still a cowboy at heart – and he knows the value of a hard day's work under the hot Wyoming sun. So when he sees troubled teen Ryder heading down a dangerous path, he offers the boy a job on the ranch he shares with his two younger brothers. And since Ryder's guardian is the gorgeous new Mustang Creek resort manager, Grace Emery, Slater figures it can't hurt to keep a closer eye on her, as well...

GRACE EMERY doesn't have time for romance. Between settling into her new job and caring for her ex-husband's rebellious son, her attraction to larger-than-life Slater is a distraction she can't afford. But when an unexpected threat emerges, she'll discover just how far Slater will go to protect what matters most – and that love is always worth fighting for.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, HQN Books, 2016.

How acquired: Won from Harlequin Books in a giveaway on Goodreads. 

First line: Slater Carson was bone-tired, as he was after every film wrapped, but it was the best kind of fatigue – part pride and satisfaction in a job well done, part relief, part “bring it,” that anticipatory quiver in the pit of his stomach that would lead him to the next project, and the one after that.

My thoughts: Despite having 25 of her books in my TBR pile, this is the first book I've actually read by Linda Lael Miller. I would see her books constantly, and the covers often drew my attention, so I began grabbing them at library sales, thrift stores, etc. I knew that once I read her I would like her, and I wasn't wrong.

Slater Carson and Grace Emery have a fiery first meeting in the opening pages of the book, and I was immediately hooked. Slater shares a ranch with his two younger brothers and his mother, and is a documentary filmmaker. On the night that his latest project has wrapped, he's just arrived home, and he's exhausted. And then Grace barrels into his home office with her step-son, Ryder in tow, a ball of angry energy. Grace, I mean. Ryder is more the stereotypical sullen teenager. He stole something from one of Slater's trucks, and Grace has dragged him here to return it and apologize. So really it's the first meeting between the three of them, because even though Ryder is Grace's ex-husband's son, she's pretty much his only real parent and he's very much a (welcome) part of the book.

I loved Slater from the get go. He's a handsome cowboy, he's charming, he's got a great sense of humor, he's never been married but he has a daughter, Daisy, who he adores...need I go on? He's attracted to Grace immediately, and while he's never been truly in love or into having a real relationship, he finds himself finally thinking that way.

Grace I also loved, though I'm not generally drawn to heroines with “beautiful girl problems”, i.e., a woman who is so knock out gorgeous that men fall all over themselves about her, and she doesn't know if they're only attracted to her because she's so beautiful or if they actually like her for who she is. But she does also have a beautiful personality and I loved her as much for her relationship with her stepson as for anything else.

The last thing Grace is looking for is a relationship, and her relationship with Slater moved along a little quicker than I normally prefer. And yet they did spend a lot of time just getting to know each other, which kept it from feeling too rushed.

I also loved the relationship between Slater and his two brothers, Drake and Mace. The siblings are close to each other, but the younger brothers often exasperated Slater with their teasing and their betting on how soon Slater would bring up Grace's name for the first time and when he would propose to her. I definitely got a kick out of the bantering back and forth between the three men.

And this may be considered a spoiler, but then again it's a Harlequin romance so you should expect that there's likely to be a wedding in the end. And when the wedding plans did a complete 180 after a request from Daisy, well, Slater and Grace's response just made me love both of them even more.

I very much look forward to the next book, Drake's story, and I sure hope Mace's story will come after that! 

Bet Me

JENNIFER CRUSIE  

Synopsis from Goodreads: Minerva Dobbs knows that happily-ever-after is a fairy tale, especially with a man who asked her to dinner to win a bet. Even if he is gorgeous and successful Calvin Morrisey. Cal knows commitment is impossible, especially with a woman as cranky as Min Dobbs. Even if she does wear great shoes and keeps him on his toes. When they say good-bye at the end of their evening, they cut their losses and agree never to see each other again.

But Fate has other plans, and it's not long before Min and Cal meet again. Soon, they're dealing with a jealous ex-boyfriend, Krispy Kreme donuts, a determined psychologist, chaos theory, a freakishly intelligent cat, Chicken Marsala, and more risky propositions than either of them ever dreamed of. Including the biggest gamble of all—true love.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback; St. Martin’s Press, 2004

How acquired: Received through Title Trader, of which I used to be a member some eight years ago

First line: Once upon a time, Minerva Dobbs thought as she stood in the middle of the loud yuppie bar, the world was full of good men.

My thoughts: When you pick up a Jennifer Crusie book you know you’re going to get:

- a relatable and realistically flawed heroine

- a charming hero

- a cast of quirky and eccentric supporting characters

- usually a dog but this time it was a cat

- fast paced slapstick humor right out of a Cary Grant/Rosalind Russell era movie

Min has just been dumped by her boyfriend, David, in the middle of a theme bar. They haven’t had sex yet, and he’s tired of waiting for her to put out. Her biggest concern? Now she doesn't have a date to her sister’s wedding in three weeks, and her mother will go ballistic.

David then runs into Cal Morrissey and tries to bet him ten thousand dollars that Cal can’t get Min into bed within one month. Cal isn’t interested, in Min or in a sleazy bet and tries to ignore David’s goading, but when David bets him ten dollars he can’t even get Min to leave with him, he takes that bet just to get away.

Min overhears part of the conversation about the bet-to-get-her-in-bed but not the bet-to-get-her-to-leave-with-Cal, and when Cal hits on her shortly after, she thinks he’s just bet David ten dollars to get her into bed. She’s pissed, but decides to string him along, go out with him, take him to her sister’s wedding, and then dump him and make him lose the bet.

However, when they part company that night, they are both agreed that not seeing the other person ever again is a sound plan. But of course their paths will cross and recross, especially since Min’s two best friends get mixed up with Cal’s two best friends. Min is not a thin girl, and her mother is constantly nagging her about not eating sweets and losing weight. Mom has crushed her self-esteem, and since she thinks Cal is out to win a bet, Min certainly doesn’t think he’s really attracted to her. Some of the sweetest moments in the book were Cal addressing her weight, which he doesn't see as a problem in any way, shape or form. And my favorite passage was Cal defending Min to her family at dinner:

"Look, I don't mind you grilling me about what I do for a living," Cal said. "Your daughter's brought me home and that has some significance. And I don't mind your wife asking about my personal life for the same reason. But Min is an amazing woman, and so far during this meal, you've either ignored her or hassled her about some dumb dress. For the record, she is not too big for the dress. The dress is too small for her. She's perfect." Cal buttered a roll and passed it over to Min. "Eat."

Cal’s family are just as bad as Min’s, albeit in a different way, and later Min gets her chance to sit at their dinner table and watch them belittle him and then tell them off.

As with all of her books, BET ME was a fun, fast, slightly manic, entertaining read. Fluffy chick lit (Min’s passion for silly high heeled shoes was a little ridiculous, but then I'm more into purses than shoes) with a feel great resolution.

Love Letters (Silhouette Desire No. 207)

ELAINE CAMP 

Synopsis: DEAR MAUDIE, What should I do about my philandering husband? My daughter’s flirty boyfriend? My boring love life? Emmy Bakersfield, aka “Maudie”, dealt with such questions every day. Her most intriguing correspondent wanted to know how to woo the woman he'd loved since college, even thought she thought of him only as a friend.

Emmy tried to help. “Send roses,” she said – but she had her own problems. The publicity for her first book was being handled by her old college buddy Whit Hayes, but she felt differently about Whit now. If only he'd stop deluging her with roses!

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Silhouette Books, 1985; 186 pages; given to me by a BookCrossing member.

My thoughts: Maude Edith Bakersfield, known as “Maudie” to the readers of her popular advice column, and Emmy to her friends, is about to embark on a publicity tour for her new book. The company that syndicates her column has hired a PR firm to represent her, and to Emmy's dismay one of the firm's partners is Whit Hayes. Whit was friends with Emmy's husband, Jerry, in college, and while Emmy and Whit worked together on the yearbook, after college she only saw him on occasion, such as when he and Jerry would golf together. Jerry nearly managed Emmy's career into the ground, and even now that they are divorced he is still a huge thorn in her side, trying to prevent her from selling her home unless he gets a cut of the profits. Emmy doesn’t dislike Whit, but she doesn't want Jerry learning about her business through his friend. She knows how men gossip!

Whit on the other hand is eager to get close to Emmy, having been enamored of her since college. He is determined to show Emmy that she can trust him, and to win her heart, even though he hasn't the first clue how to go about doing so.

Meanwhile, Emmy's newest letter writer, “Torch Carrier”, has asked her for advice on how to woo a woman he had a crush on in college. Emmy is so intrigued with T.C., as she and her assistant refer to him, that she quickly answers each letter and marks it “urgent' so it will be published asap. But each response from her elicits a new letter from T.C., as her advice keeps failing or backfiring (especially the advice involving roses!)

This was a fun and enjoyable read. Each chapter opens with a new letter from Torch Carrier, and I was eager to find out what advice Emmy would unknowingly give Whit through her column. And I don't think that's a spoiler, because I knew right off the bat that Whit was T.C., even though it took Emmy much longer to figure it out. I'd not read this author before, but I like her writing – flowing, descriptive, crisp and amusing dialogue, distinctive characters. And a hero who loves his cat and worries and fusses over her when she becomes a mama!

Favorite passage:

She opened her eyes wide. “And the way he looked at you!”

“What look?”

“Right before he left,” she explained breathlessly. “He gave you a look you could have poured over a waffle.” (pg. 43)