Month: May 2017

Blackthorne’s Bride by Joan Johnston

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews1 Comment

Blackthorne's Bride (Mail-Order Brides #4)Blackthorne’s Bride by Joan Johnston

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars  (Actually 3.5 Stars)

Series: Mail Order Brides #4
Publication Date: July 25, 2017

My rating would actually be 3.5, but I rounded up to 4 because I really did enjoy the story.

The story follows Marcus Wharton, Duke of Blackthorne and American Josie Wentworth. It has a really exciting beginning with Marcus and his best friend coming upon a Sioux renegade whipping a young woman (Josie) who is tied to a post and stripped to the waist. She’s almost dead and Marcus rescues her. Marcus is fascinated by the girl’s bravery and instead of leaving her in the care of someone in America, he brings her aboard the ship he is taking back to England. However, when he gets there, he turns the arrangements for her care and eventual return to America up to his best friend. Since Marcus is marrying his best friend’s sister as soon as they return to England, he doesn’t want his rescue of the girl to cause any issue with Fanny – his betrothed. Things really go awry from there – Fanny dies, Josie has been virtually imprisoned on one of Marcus’ properties (without his knowledge), Marcus’ estate is bankrupt and he has to marry an heiress. The rest of the story is filled with Marcus and Josie getting together and falling in love. I won’t give you a step-by-step because that will spoil the story for you.

What didn’t I like?

  • The author really needed to do more research. Evidently, she normally writes westerns or contemporary novels and that is probably why this book just doesn’t ‘feel’ right for the time period and the place. A couple of examples of where more research would help.
    • Marcus is NOT a royal duke, but the author mentions that over and over and over in the book. In order to be a ROYAL DUKE he must be the son or grandson of the current reigning monarch and the story doesn’t say anything about that at all.
    • Spencer and Clay are not Lord’s. As children of a second son, they would be plain Spencer and Clay. They do not have an honorific.
  • The regular use of the term ‘mail order bride’. That is a common American term, and I understand that is the name of the series, but it isn’t a normally used term in England and therefore, the Duke wouldn’t think of himself as marrying a mail order bride. He would think in terms of him having a marriage of convenience.
  • I didn’t like Fanny – and maybe I wasn’t supposed to. She is supposed to be this ethereal, sweet, and angelic (too good to be true??) person, but she does some pretty rotten things.
  • The ending/solution just felt rushed to me. I could have done with less of the book on the American part of the family and more on the resolution of the issues between Josie and Marcus.

What did I like?

  • I absolutely LOVED the epilogue – it was a great wrap-up for the story.

“I requested and received this book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

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Traitor In Her Arms By Shana Galen

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews1 Comment

Traitor in Her Arms (The Scarlet Chronicles, #1)Traitor in Her Arms by Shana Galen

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Scarlet Chronicles #1
Publication Date: August 22, 2017

Galen’s captivating descriptions paint a picture of Paris during the French Revolution that just sucks you right into the time and place. Breath coming fast, heart pounding, blood racing – you won’t be able to put it down once you start reading.

I’d like to address one thing right from the start. I have read several reviews that complained that the romance wasn’t front and center in this book. I sort of thought so too – at first. Then, I thought about it awhile and realized that there can’t be anything much more romantic than a man braving the horror that was Paris during the revolution – because he wanted to keep a woman safe. Yes, there were other factors involved, but keeping her safe and protected was at the front of everything he did. So, to me the romance was as front and center as the intrigue and danger.

Lady Gabrielle McCullough is a childless widow who is now hounded by some very nasty creditors trying to collect on massive debt left by her gambling husband. She has no money and no way of paying these creditors – one of whom wants to sell her into prostitution to recoup his debt. Gabrielle turns to theft in order to stave them off and she has become a very adept lock picker and thief. When she is approached by the Scarlet Pimpernel to take on a rescue mission in Paris, she decides to do it.

Lord Sedgewick is living a lie and he’s being blackmailed to keep that lie a secret. His blackmailer is a sleazy lady with tentacles everywhere and she wants to know the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel. She tells Ramsey that she’ll turn over all of the incriminating documents to him if he will go to Paris and uncover the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel. Ramsey feels he doesn’t have a choice because the lives of his family, tenants and the local village depends on him.

Gabrielle and Ramsey are drawn to each other in the backdrop of the intrigue, suspense, danger and ghoulishness of the Reign Of Terror during the French Revolution. They learn to love and trust each other, but that love and trust are hard won because they are both very flawed individuals dealing with extremely stressful times. The descriptions of the streets of Paris, the prison conditions, the mob rule and blood thirst are so captivating that you will shiver with dread of what might come next. How can they survive this ordeal, escape Paris and stay in love? You’ll have to read it to see.

One thing I question is the reason for Gabrielle having to be responsible for her husband’s debt. Her husband was a viscount and he had no sons. So, some other male heir would have inherited the title and the debts along with it rather than the widow. That male heir would also have inherited responsibility for seeing after Gabrielle. Anyway – that didn’t really bother me because the story was so good – but – I did question it!

“I requested and received this book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

View all my reviews