Tag Archives: Lauren Smith

Giveaway from Lauren Smith

Good morning everyone. What a great day! Do you LOVE free books – especially when they are really great books? Well, the lovely and generous Lauren Smith is giving away a free novella to the first 100 of you who click on the BookFunnel logo below and download it. It is the first book in Smith’s late Edwardian series – Sins and Scandals. I’ve read it and loved it and I hope you will as well.

An Earl By Any Other Name - Lauren Smith An Earl by Any Other Name (Sins and Scandals #1)
by Lauren Smith

An earl in the streets, a rogue in the sheets . . .

Leopold Graham, Lord Hampton, was never a man to let propriety stand in the way of his pursuit of pleasure. Hedonism is his only desire in life—until his father’s death saddles him with debts that threaten to bankrupt the entire family. Now the only thing that stands between him and utter ruin is marriage to a proper, and preferably wealthy, young lady.

Ivy Leighton is no sweet English rose. Perhaps it’s her gypsy roots, but she would rather make a spectacle of her independent spirit than sit quietly on the sidelines. If that means that the only place she’ll ever have in society is firmly on the shelf, then so be it. But when Ivy runs into the handsome, rakish Leo who’s looking for a respectable, well-bred wife, she can’t stop thinking about the troubles they can get into. Now she just has to convince him that a life with her is really what he needs.

Meet Lauren

LaurenSmithAuthor USA Today Bestselling Author Lauren Smith is an Oklahoma attorney by day, author by night who pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smartphone flashlight app. She knew she was destined to be a romance writer when she attempted to re-write the entire Titanic movie just to save Jack from drowning. Connecting with readers by writing emotionally moving, realistic and sexy romances no matter what time period is her passion. She’s won multiple awards in several romance subgenres including: New England Reader’s Choice Awards, Greater Detroit BookSeller’s Best Awards, and a Semi-Finalist award for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award. She is currently a 2018 RITA ® Finalist in the Romance Writers of America Contest. To connect with Lauren, visit her at http://www.laurensmithbooks.com

I read and loved the book – Click HERE to see my review.

Click on the BookFunnel logo below. It takes you to BookFunnel. Once you get there, just follow the instructions to choose the appropriate format for you.

His Wicked Secret by Lauren Smith

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: League of Rogues #8
Publication Date: 6/11/18

Sweet, sweet Jonathan has waited so very long (and so have we) to finally get his HEA. Lady Audrey has lead the poor boy on a merry chase and finally – she catches him. Audrey, the young lady everybody views as a spoiled society miss – wants to be a spy – and Jonathan, the handsome young man who is unsure of his place in society – wants to protect her.

As always, Ms. Smith’s writing is superb, the plot is well planned and well executed and the romance is just sizzling — not to mention characters that you can’t help but love. One of the things I loved about the book was that there was basically a recap of the beginning of the Earl of Pembroke (Wicked Earls Club) except it was told from Audrey and Jonathan’s perspective rather than Gillian and James’ perspective.

We’ve known for several books now that Audrey and Jonathan would end up together because it was love at first sight. However, because of his background, Jonathan has never felt that he was good enough for her – so he keeps pushing her away. Jonathan is the younger brother of Godric St. Laurent, Duke of Essex (Book 1). Jonathan was raised as a servant even though he was a legitimate son of the old duke. Wonderful stories there – you should go back and read them all if you haven’t. The bottom line is that Jonathan has never felt that he fit into society and that he wasn’t worthy of Audrey – simply because of the way he was raised.

Our story begins with Jonathan rescuing Audrey from a Hellfire club while James rescues Gillian. They end up fighting their way out, but luckily, she isn’t unmasked so that nobody knows who she is. Jonathan takes Audrey back to his home after he rescues her and she asks him to teach her to fight, to defend herself.

Audrey is a matchmaker and she leaves for her sister’s house party with Gillian in tow. Audrey is encouraging the romance between Gillian and James. Then, Jonathan shows up at the house party. As they spend time together she comes to trust Jonathan more and more as he begins to instruct her in methods of defending herself. He sure doesn’t know how well those lessons will come in hand when Audrey gets her opportunity for a spy mission.

Audrey is again leading Jonathan on a merry chase – but this might be the last for both of them. They have been betrayed and both will need rescue. Luckily, the League is always there.

There is a special treat at the end of the book for those who purchase the book from the author’s website. There is an additional novella, Bewitching the Earl, and it is also an excellent read!

You could read this as a stand-alone novella, but I don’t know why you’d want to. The other books in the series are delightful so why not love them too.

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.”

Earl of Pembroke By Lauren Smith

Earl of Pembroke by Lauren Smith

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Wicked Earls Club #10
Publication Date: 3/13/18

Goodness, gracious me! This delightful novella makes the heart go pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat – thrum, thrum. I think this might be the sweetest and most romantic book I have read in a long while. Lauren Smith’s writing and turn-of-phrase are delightful, the characters are so well defined that you want to claim them as personal friends and the romance was just sigh worthy. James may be a member of the Wicked Earls Club, but he certainly does not personify its reputation – he is honorable to a fault. The only reason he is a member is so he can retreat into its dark and silent rooms when his responsibilities begin to weigh him down.

We met Gillian Beaumont in several earlier books in the League of Rogues series and I liked her then, but she just shines in this one. She is beautiful, brave, intelligent, level-headed and absolutely devoted to her friend and employer Audrey Sheridan. Gillian is the illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Morrey. Her father had loved both her and her mother, but he failed to provide for them in his will. So, when he died, she had to take care of her mother and chose to enter into service as a lady’s maid. She has half-siblings, but she’s never met them and is sure they don’t know of her and wouldn’t want to meet her if they did. She has met the most wonderful man, his kisses thrill her and he makes her dream. She knows that is all it can ever be – but dream she does.

James Fordyce, The Earl of Pembroke is handsome, charming, and has a heart of gold. He adores his ailing mother and does all in his power to care for her. Family means the world to him. He’s met, and kissed the most intriguing lady – and now she has disappeared. He has to find her, but how. While he is puzzling over her, he starts to put some pieces to the puzzle together and realizes she is in danger and he needs to rescue her from the hellfire club known as the Unholy Sinners of Hell.

After the exciting rescue, the book focuses on the romance between the two. He pursues, but she knows they cannot be a couple. When Audrey tricks her into attending a house party that James is attending, they have a wonderful week – and a painful one.

Their HEA is wonderful. Would you like an example of some of the sweet and romantic things James says?

“But beauty is not merely that of one’s face and form. It extends far deeper, into the mind and soul. That beauty grows with time rather than fades.”

“There has only ever been joy for me when I’m with you. When you’re here, it’s like feeling the sun on my face after a cold winter”

See – I told you pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, thrum, thrum, thrum.

I highly recommend this delightful novella and all of the other books in the League of Rogues series.

“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.”

The Rogue’s Seduction by Lauren Smith

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Seduction #3
Publication Date: 3/5/18

A rollercoaster of a read filled with heart-stopping suspense and sweet sensuousness. This novella is so fully developed, well planned and well written that you feel as if you’ve read an entire novel. I love that the villain is really vile and that the author didn’t shy away from delivering the justice he deserved. I absolutely hate it when an author shies away from true punishment for the villain.

I loved the characters – all of them. Each of them was so likable and relatable. I really liked our heroine’s parents. They were in love with each other and they wanted that for their daughter. I loved it when the father tells our hero that if he breaks his daughter’s heart he’ll “bury him in the woods where nobody will ever find him”. I also loved Mr. Craig, the butler, and would love to see more of him in other books.

Perdita Darby is the darling of the ton. She’s sweet, proper, brave and very intelligent. In her view, being a wealthy heiress was a terrible burden. It put a mark on her. When the vile Samuel Milton tries blackmailing her into marrying him, she doesn’t cower. No, she develops a plan to thwart the villain and then she goes about carrying out that plan. She’s heard some very troubling things about Milton and she certainly doesn’t want him anywhere near her. Milton didn’t care about her money, he cared about breaking her spirit and maybe even killing her.

Vaughn, Viscount Darlington, is known as The Devil of London. He’s sinfully handsome and sensuous – all of the ladies love him. He’s also poor as a church mouse, but that isn’t his fault. He’d been ignored by his parents his whole life because they doted on his older brother. When that older brother died, his parents went into a tailspin and ran up debts that were impossible to repay after their deaths. Vaughn has had chances to marry heiresses but just can’t bring himself to do it. Can you imagine his shock when he receives a midnight visit from the darling of the ton – unchaperoned – and she has a proposal for him? Oh! My!

Vaughn knows that it will take more than a betrothal to thwart Milton, but Perdita doesn’t know it. Vaughn also knows he wants to marry her – he finds her bravery, intelligence, and beauty enchanting. Reading this book just makes me wish I had the ‘author gene’ – some of the things that were thought and said made my heart sail. “We are twin souls curled around one another, always straining for that next kiss, that next lingering caress stolen at the right moment.”

What a page-turner! It is interesting and exciting right through the last page – and then – you wish there was more because you don’t want it to end.

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

His Wicked Embrace by Lauren Smith

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The League of Rogues #6
Publication Date: 3/5/18

Wowzers! What a wickedly delightful novella with betrayal, slavery, romance, love and a wonderfully sweet HEA – as well as a bit of brother-against-brother. Lauren Smith’s writing is, as always wonderful, the story is well plotted, well delivered and filled with memorable characters. I have loved the League of Rogues since the very first book in the series and I think you will as well. Since this is a novella rather than a full-length novel, it isn’t as filled with action and shenanigans as the other novels are, but it is still a wonderful story for Lawrence and Zehra. Don’t you just love that name – Zehra – so exotic and romantic.

Zahra Darzi is the daughter of a Persian Shah and an English noblewoman. Her home was filled with laughter and love. Her parents doted on her and she loved her Persian homeland. Then, her parents were betrayed by someone they considered a friend. Al Zahrani had betrayed her parents to another Shah who wanted to take over her father’s lands and riches and he would get Zehra as his concubine as a reward. While her parents perished, she managed to escape from Al Zahrani only to be captured by slavers and shipped thousands of miles away from her homeland – to England.

Lawrence Russell is the brother of Lucien Russell, Marquess of Rochester who is the hero of His Wicked Seduction (Book 2). Lawrence is helping his younger brother Avery on the night they are to have a slave auction at the White House brothel in Soho. It is his job to enter the establishment and take note of everyone who is participating in the auction while waiting for Avery and his men to enter before the auction starts. The auction starts and Avery and his men aren’t there – what is Russell supposed to do. The most beautiful and exotic creature he has ever seen is up on the auction block and some of the vilest creatures in London are bidding on her and promising her all of the things they plan to do to her.

Will Russell manage to save her before she is auctioned off? Will Avery finally show up? If they rescue her, what will they do with her? Will they send her back to Persia? Oh, my – so many things going on. Will Russell defy the Crown in order to have Zehra? Don’t forget Al Zahrani – remember, he is a bad guy and wants Zehra. You are just going to have to read this wonderful novella to find out all that happens.

“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.”

A Scottish Lord for Christmas by Lauren Smith

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Sins and Scandals #3
Publication Date: 12/5/17

Scrumptiously, deliciously different tale of love. Lauren Smith always delights us with her wonderful way of developing wonderful characters and writing compelling stories for them. This book – and this series certainly attests to that.

This stories in this series begin with a house party in book one of the series. Leopold Graham, Earl of Hampton was almost ‘pockets to let’ and needed to find a rich wife. He had his sights set on Millie, but he didn’t like her very much. So, Leopold gets his HEA in the first book and Millie gets hers in the second book – and now, in the third book, Millie’s sister gets her HEA.

As this tale begins, Leo and Ivy are engaged and Owen has just ‘ruined’ Millie so they have to marry. Millie and her parents leave Rowena at the house party while they go to their neighboring estate to make arrangements for Millie’s wedding to Owen. Rowena is so nervous because she’s just had her first season and this is her first house party. She’s afraid she’ll make a mistake and fall flat on her face even with Leo’s mom as her chaperone.

During dinner that night, all of the ladies are all a’ twitter about Quinn MacCauley, Lord Forres, a Scottish Earl. Rowena is half-way down the table from him, but she finds his voice mesmerizing and her eyes are constantly drawn to him.

The next day, while taking a walk in the gardens, Rowena sees a small girl running her chubby little legs off – directly for the slippery, frozen fountain in the garden and there is nobody running after her. Rowena hikes up her skirts and takes off at a full run and manages to snare the little sprite just before she pitches headlong into the fountain. She is about two or three years old and she was looking for ‘fishies’. Rowena hugs her close and falls in love with the child. She has no idea who the child belongs to or why she would be all alone in the garden. Then, the child’s nurse comes puffing up to Rowena and explains that the little girl is a bit of an escape artist and that she is the daughter of Lord Forres who is a widower. At about that time, Lord Forres himself runs up and is surprised to see his daughter, Blair, being held in the arms of a stranger because she will not usually have anything to do with people that she is not totally familiar with.

Quinn was totally, completely, profoundly and irrevocably in love with his wife and her death devastated him. If it weren’t for his sweet bairn, he wouldn’t have made it through. Now, he has decided to find himself a wife – not because he wants to, but because Blair needs a mother and he needs someone to oversee the household part of the estate so he can be free to manage the rest. He wants someone who is totally different than his first wife because he doesn’t want any reminders. Since Maura was a Scot, he looked for an English woman, etc.

Whomever Quinn decided to marry, she would have to understand that there would never be love between them. It would always be a marriage of convenience – no love, probably not even affection. However, he couldn’t help but be attracted to Rowena who was sweet, gentle and kind – and she genuinely cared for his daughter. Once he decided to propose he was really surprised when Rowena accepted.

Their journey, most especially Quinn’s journey, to finding love and happiness is a delightful read. I couldn’t put it down. The characters were wonderfully developed and I was truly invested in the story and their happiness.

See my reviews for the first two books:
An Earl by Any Other Name – Book 1
A Gentleman Never Surrenders – Book 2

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

“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.”

A Gentleman Never Surrenders by Lauren Smith

Barbara’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Sins and Scandals #2
Publication Date: 9/12/17

Great characters with compelling stories populate this delightfully entertaining series of novellas by Lauren Smith. I highly recommend reading the series in order, but you can certainly read this as a stand-alone. In the first book, we met Leopold Graham, Lord Hampton who needed to marry for money. It was his intention to propose to Millie, the daughter of a very rich Viscount while she was attending his house party. But then – love got in the way and Leo married Ivy.

In that book, we also met Owen Hadley, a gentleman who was desperate to marry for money. He tried to compromise Ivy so he could marry her, but he was unsuccessful. He and Leo came to blows and Owen left the house party. I tell you all of this so you’ll understand when I tell you that I thoroughly disliked Owen and thought he was totally irredeemable. In this book, he is somewhat redeemed – in my eyes. I say somewhat redeemed because I don’t like what he did and thought it was very selfish. I know he was desperate, but – well – I still didn’t like what he did – but if he hadn’t, then there wouldn’t be a story now would there. He does end up with his HEA and you’ll find he isn’t who you thought he was.

Leo finds Owen in London after Owen had left the house party on bad terms with Leo. They make amends and Leo invites Owen to another house party. Owen is desperate at this point and the only way he can save his estate is to marry a wealthy heiress. Owen is determined to choose one of the unmarried ladies attending the house party and compromise her so they have to marry. He settles on Rowena, who is Millie’s sister. Rowena is very beautiful but young and this is her first season. After everyone has gone to bed, Owen sneaks down the hall and into what he thought was Rowena’s room – only to find Millie in the bed fast asleep. Before he can retreat, they are discovered by Millie’s mother and a maid. So, Millie and Owen are forced to marry to avoid scandal.

Millie actually wants to marry, but fears she’ll never find anyone in England who would meet her criteria. You see – she wants someone who not only loves her but treats her as an equal partner in the marriage rather than as just another piece of chattel he owns. So, Millie has built up a persona that she displays in public. She is very cold and condescending, especially to the men who approach her. She has actually consigned herself to spinsterhood because she’s sure no man will treat her as she wishes to be treated. So, she feels that Owen is a monster and that her life is ruined when she is forced to marry him.

In his heart, Owen really wants a wife that is an equal partner in all things and he is beside himself with guilt at the way he acquired his bride. He plans to do all he can to woo his wife and get her to fall in love with him.

This is a lovely story of redemption and a growing relationship filled with trust, respect, and love. We learn that there is a different side to each of the characters we met and disliked in the first book. I love that they get their HEA together. Now – can’t wait for Rowena’s story in book 3.

“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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Tag Archives: Lauren Smith

Giveaway from Lauren Smith

Meet Lauren

His Wicked Secret by Lauren Smith

Earl of Pembroke By Lauren Smith

The Rogue’s Seduction by Lauren Smith

His Wicked Embrace by Lauren Smith

A Scottish Lord for Christmas by Lauren Smith

A Gentleman Never Surrenders by Lauren Smith

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