Page By Page Inside-Out Reviews: Regency

Showing posts with label Regency. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

The Bad Luck Bride

The Bad Luck Bride

By: Janna MacGregor

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Series: Cavensham Heiresses, Book 1

Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins

Unabridged

Release date: 09-25-17

The author gives you a unique story of revenge, a curse and those who draw it out along for the fun of it, with those who want her hand for their own reasons. It takes a little while to understand what the curse is and why she feels she is cursed. The author plays off one man against another one wanting her money and the other wanting revenge for a wrong he feels has been done to his family. There are a few surprises along the way along with a few major twists that makes some look like fools. There is a lot of misunderstanding along with a little confusion, some suspense and a few thrills that makes the story interesting.

I loved this narrators accent she really adds to the audio making it believable. Her character voices are great from her dashing males to her very sassy ladies. She brings true emotion to the story as she spins a tale of revenge, anger, deceit, lies giving it true feeling. You could hear the anger, sorrow, sadness, fear, excitement, smiles, laughter in her voice. I always knew who was talking and what their feelings were. There are no background noise, no volume changes, no repeating of wording, it was a very clean and clear audio, if any breaks were taken I could not tell. I really liked her deep male voices and how she portrayed them. Her female voices were wonderful even the mean women with their nosey noses in everything were done just right. She really bought the danger alive for me making me hold my breath. There were times she made me feel sad for one or another. I am not sure if I had read it I would have had such strong feelings. I thought her performance was wonderful and can’t wait to listen to more of her work.

The story was a little long with a little more filler than I like. I thought some could have been left out making it a more interesting read. However, I did enjoy it and all the mystery along with the twists and turns that came with it. When Alexander finally saw the truth my heart broke for him. Claire I did feel sorry up to a point, and she was very likable but at times I thought she acted much younger that what she was. I liked how she took charge and truly trying to make the marriage work. I felt both their pains, trials and sorrow. The author does keep it interesting and for the most part I enjoyed it. For me this wasn’t a page turner but it was worth my time. The characters are interesting, I loved the mystery, how things turned around putting egg on a few faces. I loved the surprises and the defeat, some were very heart breaking. The ending is good leaving you with a smile.

Buy Links

Audible

https://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/The-Bad-Luck-Bride-Audiobook/B075TJNDXZ

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Luck-Bride-Cavensham-Heiresses-ebook/dp/B01MAUDZCC/ref=cm_cr_if_orig_subj?_encoding=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=audiblecom0f-20

B&N

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-bad-luck-bride-janna-macgregor/1124363107?ean=9781250116130&_bbid=8272090&st=AFF&SID=Barnes+%26+Noble+-++Explore+Barnes+%26+Noble%27s+Coupons+%26+Deals%21&2sid=Pubmark+Inc._5620418_NA&sourceId=AFFPubmark+Inc.#/

ITunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-bad-luck-bride/id1163767758?_bbid=8272024&mt=11

Kobo

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-bad-luck-bride-1?utm_source=linkshare_us&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=BookBub&utm_term=bookbubblogd&siteID=tWxX_Rg9ax8-lxKef5h61RCGoM5I2Y3tTQ

Google Play

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Janna_MacGregor_The_Bad_Luck_Bride?_bbid=8272077&_bbreg=us&_bbtype=blog&id=d1o8DQAAQBAJ&pubref=bookbubblogd

Summary

From an emerging new voice comes The Bad Luck Bride, a regency romance that begins with a cursed bride and a plot for revenge.
Alexander Hallworth, Marquess of Pembrooke, will not rest until he gets vengeance on the man who destroyed his family. Just one more piece needs to fall into place for Alex to succeed: he needs to convince the man's fiancée, the tragically beautiful Lady Claire Cavensham, to marry him instead.
Lady Claire's "curse" has left her one step away from social ruin: her past three engagements have gone awry, and now her fourth one is headed the same way. Before anyone can learn of her latest scandal, she's caught in an awkward situation with Alex who then shocks everyone by announcing their engagement.
Forced into marriage, Alex and Claire find themselves unexpectedly drawn to each other. But as the two of them grow closer, will the truth of their union shatter their fragile feelings or is love strong enough to survive?

Sunday, February 4, 2018

The Welshman's Bride

The Welshman's Bride

by Blair Bancroft

It is a great plot some good characters a story as old as time Rhy’s wants more money to be able to build up his land, mines and help his people. He does have money but he needs more and it is time for him to marry. Against everyone wishes he decides to get an English bride. He goes to England picks his bride and marries her. His bride has been protect and very innocent and doesn’t want to get married. She is way older than most and her parents put their foot down. She agrees they get married and things go downhill from there.

First let me say the story has more filler than I like which at times can make it a long read. Other times it gets exciting with mystery and bickering between the mother in law and Jocelyn. We only see Jocelyn side of things and at times she is childlike. There is no doubt Rhy like most men just want peace and will do almost anything to get it. Mostly he sides with his mother and lets her have the run of things. In Jocelyn defense she is coming to a new way of life finding out the ways of a married couple right before she said her I dos which is very shocking as I am sure it is for most back in those days. His mistress and child living upstairs would shock any new bride one can’t blame her for asking questions and doubting her new marriage. It was the way Rhy acted and the things he said that caused problems. When he told her to grow up after she started asking question I thought was out of line but true to form of most men who don’t want to talk about the issue. I truly think had things not been pushed he would have just went with the flow and not changed a thing. He expects poor Jocelyn to do all the bending.

It is hard to like or dislike Rhy he just wants peace, it would be hard for him not to believe his family over his wife on the issues that happened. I thought he handled them the way most of us would have. Jocelyn acts younger than 20 but that is to be expected with her life style. His mother and sister are just mean people who want her gone and do everything they can to see that happens. I found no fault with the characters they act and do normal things to keep things the way they have them. The story is built on the mystery of events with all fingers pointing back at Rhy along with Rhy and Jocelyn starting their new marriage around key people who still want the control.

The mystery is great and keeps your attention but still has too much filler taking a long time to get to the point and the effect of it. Misunderstandings, not wanting to talk about things and just trying to keep peace leads to a lot of problems with the fallout leading to major events. It isn’t a book that you could skip a lot because you would miss some key facts but still there is a lot of filler with fewer facts. It was a read that I thought was good but could have been better if made shorter. I did enjoy it and found the control issue interesting along with finding their way and learning that turning your back isn’t always the answer. I rate this as a 3.5 rounding it up to a 4. There were times I did chuckle and times that I felt sorry for one or the other. A clean read that a young teen and mother can read together for some bonding time, the marriage parts are done with class you know they happen and they enjoy it along with how a new bride would feel if those parts to not take place as they should. I enjoyed it and do look forward to reading more of this authors work. It is worth a read to see what you think.

Buy links

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Welshmans-Bride-Blair-Bancroft-ebook/dp/B019CZV3OK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517774947&sr=1-1&keywords=9780996188722

B&N

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-welshmans-bride-blair-bancroft/1123145617?ean=2940152524284

Kobo

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-welshman-s-bride-2

Summary

Although it seems likely she is being married for the magnificence of her dowry, Jocelyn Hawley accepts an offer of marriage from a Welshman. And quickly discovers she is as unprepared for marriage as she is for her new family—a mother-in-law who insists on living in Wales' Medieval past and a sister-in-law who seems to be trying to get rid of her. Jocelyn is also plagued by the problem of her husband's mistress and a series of disastrous incidents—some potentially lethal—that dog her footsteps. As she grows more alienated from her husband, who barks at her to "grow up," she finds herself the classic stranger in a strange land. Where it appears someone is trying to kill her.

Author's Note: The Welshman's Bride is a Gothic novel in the tradition of Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, Phyllis Whitney, and my previous Regency Gothics, Brides of Falconfell, The Mists of Moorhead Manor, and The Demons of Fenley Marsh. As has happened before, I've created a heroine who has flaws, this one more than most. I hope you'll like her anyway.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

A Lady's Powerful Duke

A Lady's Powerful Duke

Written by: Matilda Hart , Historical Deluxe

Narrated by: Anneliese Rennie

Length: 2 hrs and 12 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release Date:01-19-17

Publisher: Historical Deluxe

The story it’s self was a nice clean romance with interesting characters, you do not see much chemistry between the two main ones. I didn’t feel the pull between them until almost the end. It is a cute story about a lady who didn’t want to marry with a father that demands it. Cedric has a humorous way about his self that I liked. He learns fast to win his ladies heart he must wipe that smile off his face. I have mix feeling about him at first I liked him, than he was a little cold but at the end I really liked him when they could learn to pick and tease each other. Emilia was something else wild, wonderful and at times exciting. I didn’t understand at her first attempt why she didn’t just take a horse, walking was really silly and she is a much smarter lady than this. I have to admit she doesn’t give up easy, when most may not like it they go along with the plan. Not Emilia she spends half the book trying to outrun her father’s plans. She did have me laughing a time or two. She was honest and straight up telling it like it is but does have respect of others feelings.

Ms. Rennie’s narration for the most part was very good, her character voices are nice, and she puts feeling in to each character with wonderful voice emotions. The music has just got to go, it is too loud and over rides the words at the beginning of the audio. I didn’t care for the music between the characters I thought it took a lot away from the audio plus it was way too loud. I think it was chapter 7 where she repeats a few words twice and then I think she growled because she was up happy with the way it was done maybe? There is something weird going on there. After that there is one place where the volume changes that you can tell but doesn’t take away from the audio. My biggest issue was the music I didn’t like that even if it had been softer I wouldn’t have cared for it throughout the whole audio. I feel if music is going to be use it should be a softer lower sound that complements the audio and doesn’t take away from it. I don’t feel music should be used between chapters it just takes away from it, begin and end words well. I thought her voice was very pleasant, her characters very nice. You have no trouble knowing who is talking. It was easy to tell if it was male or female. My low rating is on the music and the repeat of words the rest of the audio I thought was good. I loved the emotion she brings to her characters as well as the feeling of helpless and not giving up that you can feel each character goes through. I would like to listen to something else of her work and get a better idea of it.

The story has a wonderful plot, the characters were nice it wasn’t one that that really grabbed me but was nice. The characters were nice I just didn’t feel any kind of attraction between them until the end. When you would have really got to have seen it was when she agreed to give their relationship a change as they got to know each other. That was not show in the book just touched on. I loved Emilia she was so full of emotion, life and passion about what she wants out of life. You could feel her angrier, her feeling of loss and her wild side. She really didn’t think out her plans very well and does seem to have a hard time making one work. She did seem to get into a lot of trouble which I enjoyed when the duke took her in hand. She was great. I would like to read more of this authors work to get more a handle on her writing style. All in all it wasn’t a bad story or audio just has a few issues.

Buy Links

Audible

http://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/A-Ladys-Powerful-Duke-Audiobook/B01NASZWLR

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Romance-Regency-Ladys-Powerful-Duke-ebook/dp/B01N3Y46VL/ref=cm_cr_if_orig_subj?_encoding=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=audiblecom0f-20

B&N

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-ladys-powerful-duke-matilda-hart/1125194115?ean=9781540472359

Summary

Emilia MacNeil is an independent miss. Truth be told, she's a bit of a tomboy, and many's the proper lady who has called her a hussy for her sometimes less than ladylike behavior. But Emilia remains unrepentant. She's as good as any man, and better than some, and the last thing she wants is to be married to any of them. She'll happily be an aunt to her siblings' children, but she wants nothing to do with marriage.
Enter Lord Cedric Hanson, Duke of Roxburgh. According to her father the Marquess, the Duke is to be her husband, but Emilia refuses to comply. When she is brought back after her first attempt at escape is foiled, she vows to take the battle to the enemy, so to speak. But every attempt she makes to escape is hindered, first by the guards who accompany her and her father to the Duke's seat, and afterwards by the Duke himself. Their game of hide and seek eventually leads to more, as Emilia finds herself reluctantly admiring the man who would take her freedom. Admiration becomes arousal...becomes more. In the end, on her wedding day, Emilia must choose between the independence she has fought for all her life and the man she has come to love.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Seducing the Marquess

Seducing the Marquess (Lords and Ladies in Love #1)

by Callie Hutton

My Review

What made this story for me was the humor I totally love a book with humor. The author brings to the table very likable characters that pull you in giving you a highly entertaining read.

Devon has been bought up with strict ways a wife, or married couple should act he thought he found the perfect lady in his lovely new wife Eugenia. She has such grace, just the right tones, the right actions to make those in the ton very happy. No one can or will find fault in his lovely wife. He really is thrilled to have got such a lady but something is a little off, he just isn’t satisfied in his marriage. He can’t put his finger on it she hasn’t done anything wrong she is just as she should be.

Eugenia on the surface is a little cold she is one that never lets anyone sees her emotions. No one can make her show how she really feels. She is a lady and always knows her place in public. In the Ton everyone looks up to them and their marriage. This is how a couple should act with respect not showing any feeling. For Eugenia she is happy with her husband he is everything he should be and more. Devon never would dream of embarrassing her and is very discreet. This was what she thought she wanted but she finds herself very unhappy. She is ready to stand up and make a stand she hopes Devon feels the same way. This is where it gets very interesting the Ice Queen is about to have a thawing out and make some moves that just might make the Ton see her in a different light.

This was a charming and delightful read. I thought them already being married added to the story. I loved the baiting and head butting as these two work out the true meaning of a marriage. I really enjoyed watching Eugenia come out of her shell going for what she wanted her husband’s love. I thought the characters were delightful as well as the plot. We all know how marriage is it was nice to see a marriage work taking the good with the bad finding a middle ground and saying the heck with what people think. This was a story that pulled me in giving me pleasure from start to finish.

Buy Links

Summary

London, 1819. Richard, Marquess of Devon is satisfied with his ton marriage. His wife of five months, Lady Eugenia Devon, thought she was, too, until she found the book. Their marriage is one of respect and affection, with no messy entanglements such as love. Devon’s upbringing impressed upon him that gentlemen slake their baser needs on a mistress, not their gently bred wives. However, once married, he was no longer comfortable bedding a woman other Eugenia. When she stumbles onto a naughty book, she begins a campaign to change the rules.
Lady Eugenia wants her very proper husband to fall in love with her. But her much changed and undeniably wicked behavior might inadvertently drive her confused husband to ponder the unthinkable—his perfect Lady has taken a lover. But the only man Eugenia only wants is her husband. The book can bring sizzling desire to the marriage or it might cause an explosion.