Marina's Review: The Trouble With Honor (The Cabot Sisters #1) by Julia London

    

The Trouble With Honor (The Cabot Sisters #1) 
by Julia London 

Desperate times call for daring measures as Honor Cabot, the eldest stepdaughter of the wealthy Earl of Beckington, awaits her family's ruin. Upon the earl's death she and her sisters stand to lose the luxury of their grand home - and their place on the pedestal of society - to their stepbrother and his social-climbing fiancée. Forced to act quickly, Honor makes a devil's bargain with the only rogue in London who can seduce her stepbrother's fiancée out of the Cabots' lives for good.

An illegitimate son of a duke, George Easton was born of scandal and grows his fortune through dangerous risks. But now he and Honor are dabbling in a perilous dance of seduction that puts her reputation and his jaded heart on the line. And as unexpected desire threatens to change the rules of their secret game, the stakes may become too high even for a notorious gambler and a determined, free-spirited debutante to handle.

• Release Date:  February 25th 2014 
• Publisher: Harlequin HQN
• Author's web site

* Mild Spoilers

The Trouble with Honor was too much trouble for me to read; although I love historic romances this one left me with lots of doubts and I had a lot of eye-roll moments.


Honor Cabot is a debutant who thinks that the world turns at her will! Her problems are the most serious a young woman can probably face and the way she manages to solve them only establishes how immature and selfish she is. 


Honor and her four sisters live with their mother’s second husband and his son and Honor is really troubled how they are going to continue their luxurious life after her step father will pass since her half-brother is already engaged to a young woman Honor hates only because she is more prudent and collected than her.


So she decides to end her brother’s engagement by making his fiancée fall in love with another man the bastard son of a duke is her number one choice.


Mr. Easton could save the day but I just could understand how a man can be manipulated in a scheme like that by a girl. Taking advantage of that girl and molesting her in every corner made me angrier than anything!!!!!


And another thing I could understand this alleged ton has eyes everywhere, reputations are ruined by a wrong look, but Honor Cabot could walk right in a man’s club and no word is ever spoken, she frequently visits Easton at his home, nobody ever sees them, is practically having sex in the balcony of her own house which is foul of people no one takes notice……Please!


Overall I was very disappointed in this book, the plot was foolish and the characters were uninteresting with minimum emotional development.

*Arc provided via Netgalley in exchange for honest review. 

                                                   

                                                   

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Marina's Review: Andrew: Lord of Despair {Lonely Lords #7} by Grace Burrowes

Andrew: Lord of Despair (Lonely Lords #7) by Grace Burrowes

Andrew Alexander will do anything to protect those he loves...

After a tragic yachting accident leaves him wracked with guilt and despair, Andrew Alexander becomes certain he doesn't deserve to be around his own family, let alone the beautiful, forthright Astrid Worthington. He wanders for years, only allowing himself respite from his self-imposed exile when he thinks Astrid safely married. He returns home to find instead that the only woman he's ever loved has been recently - and mysteriously - widowed.

...especially from himself.

When Andrew leaves, Astrid refuses to pine. She finds an amiable husband and contents herself with a cordial if unexciting marriage. But her husband's sudden death and Andrew's reappearance threaten to break her heart all over again. When Astrid's life is threatened, she finds Andrew will do anything to protect her not only from her enemies, but also from the truth of his dark past.

• Release Date:  December 3rd 2013
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
• Author's web site

* Minor Spoilers

Andrew is the seventh book in the Lonely Lords series by Grace Burrowes, although I haven't read any of her previous books I didn't have any problem with the characters or the setting of the story.

When Andrew returns home after a long absence he finds a lot of things changed; what he finds unaltered is his love and passion for  Astrid.

Astrid and Andrew share a common past, their memories of their youth are filled with their first kiss and unfulfilled love but Andrew's sudden departure several  years before will remain a mystery to all.

I love historical romances, I love the way the characters interact, I love the country settings, I love the lords and the villains, the maidens and the strict governesses but most of all I love the difficulties the MC's have to overcome in order to be together.

In this book the difficulties seemed fake to me. I got very angry with Andrew, I found flaws at his decisions I found him selfish and unthoughtful of Astrid's needs. The story was dragging with no apparent reason; and although Andrew insisted on not doing "the right thing" for Astrid he kept comming at her rooms at night and he kept fulfilling his own needs and insecurities with her love.

Overall it was a light read, with a lot of smexy but I would love if things were a bit different.


*Arc provided via Netgalley in exchange for honest review. 

                                                      

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Marina's Review All In with the Duke (Gambling on Love #1) by Ava March

All In with the Duke (Gambling on Love #1) by Ava March

London, 1822

Max Arrington, the Duke of Pelham, vows to never again let a handsome face blind him to a man's true intentions. But ten months of celibacy and lonely nights drive him to a decadent brothel, where a beautiful young man arouses his illicit passions as never before.

Tristan Walsh has grown tired of being used for men's pleasure. But his latest client is different: commanding yet generous, Max makes him feel cared for as well as wanted. Yet Tristan knows he'll never have the choice to leave the brothel and submit only to Max.

So when Max invites him to be his guest at his country estate, Tristan eagerly agrees to his terms—days to do as he pleases while Max tends to the dukedom, and nights spent together in wicked play. But when the "business arrangement" begins to deepen into something more, Tristan must face the fact that he has no true place in Max's life—or in Max's guarded heart…

• Release Date:  November 11th 2013
• Publisher: Carina Press
• Author's web site

*Spoiler Free


I’m quite unimpressed with this story, although it goes with the almost “classical” whore-royalty path it ends up being as if the relationship is forced and fake.


Max is the duke of Pelham, after having his heart broken over the eyes of a manipulative lover he is determined to focus himself in managing his vast wealth. 


Tristan Walsh is a beautiful prostitute, after gambling more than he owns he finds himself working at Rubicon’s.



When Max’s eye connect with Tristan’s there is instant attraction, but not the kind someone would expect from a prostitute but the kind that defines true lovers. There is no escaping their infatuation with each other, and when they are apart they fantasize of being together.



Their love making is HOT! The dirty talk AMAZING! And the kink enough to make it SPICY.



But… Yes, there is a but….I was expecting a kind of headache and pain a romance novel includes but Tristan’s decision left me speechless.  The managing of their situation from that point onward made me conclude that this man will remain in his heart forever a prostitute no matter what everyone around him say, and that in my opinion is very very sad.

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Deadlocked {Sookie Stackhouse #12} by Charlaine Harris

      

 

It’s vampire politics as usual around the town of Bon Temps, but never before have they hit so close to Sookie’s heart…

Growing up with telepathic abilities, Sookie Stackhouse realized early on there were things she’d rather not know. And now that she’s an adult, she also realizes that some things she knows about, she’d rather not see—like Eric Northman feeding off another woman. A younger one.

There’s a thing or two she’d like to say about that, but she has to keep quiet—Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), is in town. It’s the worst possible time for a human body to show up in Eric’s front yard—especially the body of the woman whose blood he just drank.

Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s set out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

from GoodReads.

*Even though I'm STILL having issues with the comment box on blogger, I CAN comment from the Ipad. So i will be doing that from now on =D. 

• Publisher: Penguin Publishing
• Release Date: May 1st, 2012
• Series: Sookie Stackhouse Series  
• Author's Website

** Warning - this review contains MINOR spoilers of Deadlocked and previous Books in the series **

Let me just start off by saying that I love this series! I really enjoy Sookie’s point of view and adventures. I also really like that this is a different kind of Urban Fantasy, not so Urban after all, but set in a more bucolic and simple environment, giving a totally different feel to the series.

I love the mix of intricate and insane plots, right along side with everyday life ones. I totally believe that, that balance is one of the secrets that makes the Sookie books are so successful.

That being said, I was rather underwhelmed by Deadlocked. I liked that some smaller plots got their closure in a way, but it felt like a transition book overall and it lacked the emotional roller coaster I tend to expect from this series.

Eric and Sookie’s relationship is in a crash course and I did not feel much emotion from Sookie regarding that at all. My girl, Dani from ALPHA Reader, put it very well when she said: 

“It’s safe to say that Eric and Sookie getting together was built up more in fan’s minds than what has come across on the page."

That's exactly how I felt too! I haven't been so happy with their relationship and Deadlocked just put the nail in the coffin for me. A book with NO sexy time between the main couple, might be a huge red flag to where Charlaine is taking this series.

In my opinion, Dani hits the nail on the head when she says: "Sookie thinks a lot about whether or not Eric will choose Freyda – but isn’t really all that sad, it seems. She’s actually kind of resolute that Eric will most likely choose the path of more power. And if her mind ever veers towards a ‘woe is me, Eric won’t choose me’ thinking, she quickly squashes the thought."

For me it felt like since apparently Eric is not her HEA, Charlaine is trying to dissuade Team Eric from rooting for it. It’s like she is preparing us for the real HEA and I for one am scared of who will it be, someone we already know or a brand new character.

All in all, Deadlocked was not even close to the best book in the series, but it was still great to get lost in Sookie’s world, it is just that I have come to expect so much more from Charlaine Harris.

Sookie Stackhouse Series:

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