The Duchess In His Bed by Lorraine Heath

The Duchess in His Bed (Sins for All Seasons, #4)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Sins For All Seasons #4
Publication Date: 8/20/19
Number of Pages: 320

I thoroughly enjoyed this addition to the Sins for All Seasons series. Of the six Trewlove children, I was most interested in reading Aiden’s story and Beast’s story. Aiden has intrigued me from the beginning, so I was happy to see his story. Next up is Fancy’s and maybe finally I’ll get to read Beast’s story.

Aiden is everything I thought he’d be – hard on the outside and soft in the center. He protects what is his and assures that there is no way he ever produces a bastard like himself. He’d never cause any child to have that sort of fate. I had a harder time warming up to Selena ‘Lena’ Sheffield, Duchess of Lushing. The reason I’m giving a 4-star review rather than a 5-star review is because of my problems with the duchess. Yes, I understood her dilemma, but rather than telling her brother to man up and telling her sisters the true status of their finances, she chose to ask a man like Aiden to do the unthinkable. She wanted it even after she learned his story and his strong objections. She even intended to trick him, and just the fact that she fully intended to do that said a lot about her whether she carried through or not.

Selena’s father wasn’t a very good manager of his earldom nor of his funds. So, when both of her parents were killed and her brother Winslow inherited the earldom, their financial circumstances were dire. For the good of her brother and her three sisters, she married the Duke of Lushing. She loved him but wasn’t in love with him. Their marriage was a passionless one and his only reason for the marriage was to produce an heir since he was the last of his line anywhere and his titles and estates would forfeit to the crown when he died. After seven years and no children, the duke died. Without him, there would be no dowry for her sisters and no way to financially help her brother. So, Winslow came up with a solution – Selena would quickly get pregnant and pass the child off as the dukes. ** Just as an additional comment — I REALLY disliked Winslow. **

Aiden Trewlove is one of six bastard children raised by Hettie Trewlove. Hettie was a remarkable woman who raised six remarkable children – five of whom weren’t even hers. She taught them respect, love, caring for others and how to be successful. Aiden owns two very successful clubs – The Cerberus Club, a gaming hell for men and the Elysium Club, recently given to him by his brother Finn, which caters to women. I saw one reviewer refer to it as a brothel for women, but I didn’t get that. Yes, there were a few of the men who worked there who would provide that service if the women wanted it, but the focus of the club was more pampering and caring for the women, giving them a place where they can feel beautiful, respected, and cared about.

Aiden was immediately drawn to the woman who entered his Elysium club. He couldn’t even see her face, but he felt the invisible thread pulling him in. After showing her around the club, she told him she wanted to be bedded and he told here that the servers with the red dots on their uniforms would accommodate her. Then, she told him that she wanted him only.

All it required of him was a few nights of being lost in mad, passionate lovemaking – not a hardship at all – And then walking away, never, ever, to look back.

I absolutely LOVED that the villain got his just desserts! It was the absolute perfect punishment for him. I also loved the Countess of Elverton – although you see little of her until toward the end of the book. I think she might be one of my favorite people in the entire series just for her one small role.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Duke’s Daughter by Sasha Cottman

The Duke's Daughter (The Duke of Strathmore, #3)Barbara’s rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Duke of Strathmore #3
Publication Date: 9/8/17
Number of Pages: 302
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW – Narrator – Janine Haynes

The narrator did a good job – her voice was well suited to the book and I enjoyed listening to her. We met Lady Lucy Radley in the first and second books of the series and I really liked her, so I was looking forward to reading her story. I was so very disappointed as this book presented a Lucy I didn’t recognize in the least – nor did I recognize the rest of her family – especially her father. Everything seemed so very contrived. This book is one of the author’s first, so I’m sure her later books are better.

Avery Fox came from an abusive family and ran away at thirteen to join the military. They definitely were not of the upper classes – his father and brother were thugs and smugglers. Avery almost died at Waterloo and returned home to find that his brother had been declared the heir to the Earl of Langham (An Unsuitable Match). Avery is NOT his brother who is now missing and who caused irreparable harm to the Langham and Strathmore families. Once his brother’s body is found, Avery is declared Langham’s heir. Avery doesn’t know what his brother did to these people, but they don’t trust him in the least. In my view, Avery suffers from a version of PTSD or survivors remorse.

Lady Lucy Radley has seen her two older brothers marry in rapid succession – both for love – and that is what she wants for herself. However, none of the eligible bachelors of the ton stir her pulse in the slightest. Until she meets Avery Fox at her brother’s wedding ball. She decides she wants to help him learn the ways of society and take him under her wing. Then, things go awry when they are caught in a compromising position and their families insist on a wedding. Avery refuses – and the squabbles begin.

This could easily have been a 5-star read – the premise of the story is great and I was really looking forward to it. However, it dragged on and on and on until I couldn’t stand either character and didn’t care whether they got their HEA or not. They’d come together and I’d think – okay here we go – and then – one of them would say the tiniest thing or do the tiniest thing and the other was off. That went on forever – I was so tired of it. The book could have been condensed to half its size and been a much better read. Or, they could have had their grand epiphany much earlier in the book and then, when they go to Paris they could spend more time together tracking down the watch owner and his family. Something. There was just way, way, way too much angst in this book.

The author continues to use non-Regency terms, etc. I had thought she’d get better as she wrote more books – but – for instance – nobody – absolutely nobody – drinks tea. Then, there is the ‘ruination’ of Lucy. There were no witnesses to their kiss other than her doting, loving father and the Earl of Langham who has a vested interest in what is best for Avery. These two didn’t ask the first question – which would be totally out of character for her father who dotes on her – especially when she begged him not to force a marriage. That part of the plot just fell flat. Another incongruity – Avery had earned the rank of lieutenant yet the author constantly says he was not an officer. Lieutenant is an officer – that is the rank that is usually purchased for those second-sons of aristocrats, but Avery actually earned it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.