Month: August 2018

Blog Tour – Bedded Under The Christmastide Moon by Christina McKnight

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Blog Tour, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

Bedded_Under_The_Christmastide_Moon_1800x2700Their marriage of convenience is about to become a marriage of love.

Available August 7th – Holiday Regency Romance, Bedded Under the Christmastide Moon by Christina McKnight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Title: Bedded Under the Christmastide Moon
Author: Christina McKnight
Genre: Historical Romance, Holiday, Regency
Release Date: August 7, 2018
THEIR MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE…

For years, Lady Melloria Whitmore has believed her childhood best friend and secret love Brigham Clarke agreed to marry her out of a sense of duty. Knowing how important Brigham’s work with Parliament is to him, she agrees to see him once a year, when he returns to his country estate for the holidays. This Christmas, Mellie vows to give Brigham the one thing he has always wanted: an heir. For one night, she’ll share his bed, and she’ll have that memory of passion to get her through the long winter nights without him.

IS ABOUT TO BECOME A MARRIAGE OF LOVE.

Except Brigham doesn’t want just one night—he wants forever. He’s loved Mellie all his life and making her his Viscountess Whitmore was his dream. He just never thought Mellie returned his feelings. So when Mellie begins her seduction under the Christmastide moon, Brigham receives the best gift of all: his wife’s love.

Available at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | GooglePlay

Barbara’s Review:

This is a short novella – around one-hundred pages.

Viscount Whitmore, Brigham Clarke grew up next door to Miss Meloria Steele, the daughter of the Baron and Baroness Montford. He had loved her all of her life and now he was marrying her. Mellie also loved Brigham. Sounds like they already have their Happily Ever After doesn’t it. Well, that isn’t the case. You see – neither of them has told the other that they love them and each feels as if they are using the other for selfish purposes. He feels that he used the death of her father and the fact that she and her mother were left impoverished to get her to marry him. She feels that he only married her so that he could save her by providing her with a home and care for her ill mother. They were married on the same day that they buried her father. He left for London that same afternoon without consummating the marriage.

For five years Brigham lived in London and Mellie lived at Hockecliffe Manor. The marriage remained unconsummated and Brigham only visited Mellie once per year at Christmastide and he only stayed for a day or two. In all that time, they still loved each other, but they never told each other. You’ll find that most of this book is taken up with self-introspection and each of them repeating all the reasons why the other doesn’t and shouldn’t love them.

Brigham has spent five years as a reformer in Parliament. He’s constantly meeting people and working for their votes. However, his bill for the reform of the coal industry has just gone down in defeat – another way he’s let Mellie down – and it is time for his Christmastide visit. He wonders how this visit will go since Mellie’s mother passed away just five months ago and he didn’t even get home for the funeral.

For this Christmastide, each of them has come to the determination that it is time for things to change. She has decided to seduce him and provide him with an heir and he has decided he wants to be through with London and come home to live with Mellie. Can she – will she – want that?

They don’t get off to a very good start – can they turn it around and get their HEA?

Christina Photo SmallAuthor Bio:
USA TODAY Bestselling Author Christina McKnight writes emotional and intricate Regency Romance with rebellious women and maverick heroes.

Her books combine romance and mystery, exploring themes of redemption and forgiveness. When not writing she enjoys coffee, wine, traveling the world, and watching television.

You can visit her online at the following places: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

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8/8/18

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The Enigma of a Widow by Linda Rae Sande

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

The Enigma of a Widow (The Widows of the Aristocracy Book 2)The Enigma of a Widow by Linda Rae Sande

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Widows of the Aristocracy #2
Publication Date: 7/31/18

I thoroughly enjoyed this second book in the Widows of the Aristocracy series. I have not read the first book in the series– even though it sounds wonderful – but I didn’t need to read it in order to enjoy this one. I always enjoy Sande’s characters, their humor, their flaws and their path to love. This one is well written, well-plotted and populated with likable characters – well – except for the hero’s sister, but she hardly has any page time – Oh – and the villain, he isn’t very likable. I also enjoy that the book isn’t populated with Dukes.

Adonis Donald Truscott is a war hero who suffers from what I guess we would now call PTSD. He just gets lost in his own thoughts on occasion. This tendency to ‘space out’ (not a period correct term) has caused his sister to think he needs to be in bedlam. ** Note – said sister seems to be a bitc* and I’m glad she is featured very little in the book. Adonis is a sweet, sweet man who made a promise to his commander just before his commander died. Adonis was badly wounded and was in the hospital for almost a year after that battle and the promise. Now, he’s back in London to fulfill his promise and to see his boss – the spymaster.

Adonis is afraid that he’ll be dismissed from being a spy because of the problems he has left over from that horrendous battle and its outcome. So, he’s pleased when he is given a task to do. He knows it is a test, but he is glad to have even that much. There is a traitor in their ranks. The spymaster is sure of who it is, but Adonis is to find out for sure.

The promise Adonis made to his commander was to look after and protect his wife (widow) when he gets back to London. Adonis pictures an older, frumpy lady (one wonders why) and is surprised to find out that she is none of those things and he is very, very attracted to her. He knew that nothing could develop between them because of his affliction, but that didn’t keep him from desiring her or just desiring to be near her. Their first meeting in the museum is cute and funny – and then he secretly steals into her bedchamber each night to sit in the corner and watch over her as she sleeps.

Lady Lydia Barrymore is now the widow of a Viscount. Lydia is also a spy, she decodes and analyses messages and codes, but she has been inactive and in mourning for the last year. She’s ready to get back into her work, so she visits the spymaster. She’s given an assignment that just floors her – she is to assess the sanity of Adonis and to see that he comes back to normal because the spymaster needs him. She is to do whatever it takes to see to his sanity – even seduce him and marry him if necessary.

Adonis drives Lydia insane – he says inappropriate things at the wrong time, he turns up in places he shouldn’t be, and he’s sneaking into her bedchamber at night. But, strangely, she is drawn to him and would miss him if he stopped sneaking in. She knows she’s not supposed to know that he sneaks in – but – she awakened one night and realized he was in her room – sitting quietly – watching over her.

Their journey through traitors, puzzles to solve, unkind relatives and into love and their HEA is a lovely thing and I really enjoyed the read!

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“I requested and received this e-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.”