Category: Other

The Devil To Pay by K.C. Bateman

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Other2 Comments

The Devil to PayThe Devil to Pay by K.C. Bateman

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: None – Stand Alone
Publication Date: 8/28/18

WARNING! Preparation is required to read this book. Be sure your eyeglasses are clean (if you wear them), your fingers are limber (for flipping those pages), you’ve visited the necessary and a snack tray is beside your chair. Why? Well, you won’t be able to put the book down once you pick it up! It is intelligently and superbly written, the characters are wonderful, the humor will keep you smiling, the excitement oozes off each page and the romance will make you swoon.

The book begins – “Central Italy, June 1492 – Cara di Montessori was sick of people trying to kill her.” Cara’s uncle Lorenzo has just killed her father in order to take over their holding, Castelleon. Her father and his men give up their lives in order for her to escape. Now, with her uncle’s men chasing her, she must manage to get to Alessandro del Sarto, ‘Il Diavolo’. Normally, she’d never seek his help, but his particular set of skills are her only way of staying alive and regaining Castelleon.

Cara has never quite managed to acquire any of the skills required of a true lady. Her instructors have tried, they just can’t hold her attention long enough. She went to a nunnery, but only lasted a week and was then being educated at a monastery – but she managed to flood it and blow part of it up while experimenting with explosives. She is strong, intelligent and fearless – she’s just missing those feminine wiles that allow her to see how attractive she is.

Alessandro del Sarto is a mercenary with the strongest army in Italy. His sword is highly sought after and he is rich beyond measure – he’s also highly intelligent and has a fleet of trading ships and other businesses. He also has a history with Cara and her father. When Cara was sixteen, del Sarto was being mentored by her father. Cara was also smitten with him. Del Sarto went on many campaigns with Cara’s father and they came to respect each other and trust each other.

You will absolutely LOVE the interactions between Cara and del Sarto. She vexes him beyond belief – she leaps out windows, steals his horse, hides away in luggage carts – you name it. He wonders why she won’t just do as he tells her – after all, he’s looking out for her and he knows what is best. Yep, we all know he is heading for a rude awakening.

This book is filled with excitement and it is so much fun to watch both main characters fight the fact that they love each other. It is a delightful read and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Please check out my reviews at:
Blog: https://flippinpages.blog/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/flippinpages…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlippinPagesRev
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarbBookReview

“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.”

Primrose and the Dreadful Duke by Emily Larkin

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Other, Regency Era (1811-1820)3 Comments

Primrose and the Dreadful Duke (Garland Cousins, #1)Primrose and the Dreadful Duke by Emily Larkin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Garland Cousins #1
Publication Date: 8/7/18

This was a delightfully engrossing introduction to a new-to-me author and she could very easily come to be one of my go-to authors. I love that the book is imaginative, intelligently-written and very romantic. It is also very well plotted and the characters are exciting, entertaining, witty, likable and very relatable. I believe this is a follow-on series to Larkin’s Baleful Godmother series – and this book was so good I’m not only going to read future books in this series – I’m going to go find the books in the first series and read those as well. It was just the kind of humorous, non-angsty read I needed and I loved it. I read it straight through the night. I kept telling myself that I needed to put it down and get some sleep, but it was so interesting and exciting that I just had to see what happened next. Finally, at 7 AM, I read the last word and thought “WOW, just WOW.”

Captain Oliver Dasenby is now a duke at the age of twenty-nine. He never expected nor wanted to be a duke, but with several deaths in his family over a short period of time, he is now saddled with the responsibilities and the privileges of being a duke. Maybe he also inherited something else – somebody is trying to kill him.

Lady Primrose Garland, the daughter of a duke, and the sister of Oliver’s best friend, Rhodes Garland loves books – all kinds of books, but particularly those written centuries ago. Her favorite was written by Marcus Aurelius and she used his quotes in living her everyday life. She is prim, proper, serious, and she totally believes that her brother’s best friend is a useless fiddle-faddle. Oh – and by the way – she also has a faerie godmother who has gifted her with a special talent.

Oliver has always been a good-humored jokester that causes everybody around him to love him. He’s more serious than many think because he is always in a good mood and happy. However, he does take serious things seriously – even if he might use his humor about them. Primrose ‘Prim’ has never seen that. To her, he just jokes about everything and doesn’t take anything seriously.

When Oliver’s life is in danger both Rhodes and Prim will do whatever it takes to unearth the murderer and keep Oliver safe. The mystery is suspenseful because you never know where the next attack will come from and you don’t know who the villain is. Surely it must be someone close to home. When an invitation to a house party arrives, they all know they must attend to unmask a murderer. It is so entertaining to watch as Oliver’s good humor and zest for life slowly changes Prim’s opinion of him. That is quite a house party too – there is a LOT going on and you really need to read the book to keep up with it all.

Did I mention that you get two HEA’s – well – I should have – because you do. So, you get an engrossing mystery, two lovely romances and two HEA’s. Along with all of that you get some of the most intelligent and witty banter I’ve read in a long time. All-in-all a wonderful read!

Please check out my reviews at:
Blog: https://flippinpages.blog/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/flippinpages…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlippinPagesRev
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarbBookReview

“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.”