Musing Mondays: Mini Reviews

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about something related to reading/books each week…...

Posting mini reviews of two romance novels. One historical, other contemporary...

 Her Husband's Harlot by Grace Callaway (Historical Romance)

Nicholas Morgan, an orphan,  discovers that he is the legitimate heir of the Marquess of Harteford. He sees and marries Lady Helena Harteford, who he thinks is sweet and innocent. So he can't give in to his raging desires. Their wedding night is a disaster. Lady Helena is desperate for his attention and follows him to a bawdy house. 

There in the darkness, Nicholas is driven by lust for her, thinking of his wife, although he does not recognise her. Helena acts like a harlot but can't tell him that. He has dark secrets from his past unable to share with her. 

Both had potential but the author did not give them much due. Helena is no waif and Nicholas is flawed. That should have made the novel readable. But it dwelled too much on sex, which did not work out for me. 

The Passionate Greek by Catherine Dane (Contemporary Romance)

Melanie poses as  nanny for her 9 month old daughter. She had given up all rights to her daughter when she went to prison. Nicos can't forgive Melanie for her betrayal. 

I liked the way they both cared for the welfare of the infant. Nicos might hate her but he could see her bonding with her daughter. The writing is good but this too did not work for me because of, what else, too much sex!! I skipped pages to get to the ending!!

The Sheik's Arranged Marriage by Susan Mallory

“King Givon came to see me this afternoon. He made these noises about us getting married. You and me. I don’t know why. We barely know each other. We’re not suited at all. We have to stop him.”

“The king made noises? Like grunts? Or was it a coughing sound.”

The Sheik's Arranged Marriage by Susan Mallory

I used to read Mills & Boon and Silhouette romances when I was in school and college. I have read quite a lot of "Sheik" romances. I had not read a single Susan Mallory novel till date. I find she is a very popular romance novel author. However after reading this, I am not going to pick anything by this author again.

Heidi McKinley marries Jamal Khan. Theirs is an arranged marriage as desired by the king. After a disastrous start on their wedding day, Jamal stays away from Heidi. She sets about seducing him, posing as a siren, Honey Martin.

I found it silly that she thought Jamal won't recognise her. He does but he does not let her know. Then she blames him for not telling her!! I found her childish. Jamal is not so bad! 

I read it online for free. I must have been insane to do so!!

Teaser Tuesdays: The Cowboy's E-Mail Order Bride by Cora Seton

Determined her daughters would never face the same challenges she had, Teresa raised them with three
guiding precepts:
Every woman must be self-supporting.
Marriage is a trap set by men for women.
Parenthood must be postponed until one reaches the pinnacle of her career.

The Cowboy's E-Mail Order Bride by Cora Seton

Ethan Cruz's friends play a prank on him. While he is drunk and ranting about attributes of a perfect bride for himself, they videotape him and after much editing, they post that on YouTube. They tell him at the last moment that his prospective bride is appearing on the scene and he has to go fetch her from the airport! Ethan is shocked and every intention of turning her down. But one look at her and all his intentions fly.

Autumn Leads wants something to spice up her career. She, with the help of a friend, answers that video, after making herself the perfect candidate. She flies to Montana to meet the groom and a story for her article. But like Ethan, one look at him and she finds herself falling for him.

Ethan and Autumn maybe deceiving each other but they want to be together. However, the path of love is never smooth. Ethan's cowboy friends are no help. With a strong, career oriented mother and equally successful sister, Autumn finds herself wanting as she is not ambitious enough like her family. She is on the verge of breaking all the three guiding precepts of her mother. Finally, she accept herself, and goes with her heart.

The novel is witty and fast paced. Good for a lazy afternoon. And not bad for FREE. 

Musing Mondays: Mini Reviews

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about something related to reading/books each week…...

This time I thought of posting a couple of Mini Reviews. 

Rustled by Natasha Stories 

Charity has escaped a fundamentalist religious community that wants to keep her captive. She crashes her car in the middle of a storm, and is saved by Russ, who provides her shelter, comfort, and  heat to forget about the storm outside. But Russ has secrets of his own and Charity isn’t safe.

I liked how it began. Russ is protective of Charity. There is suspense element. However there is a lot of erotic stuff which was a big no no for me. I prefer good old romance. Not something that borders on BDSM! NOT FOR ME!

Winter's Heart by A.C. Warneke 

Flynn Rogers has been in love with Winter Mitchell since she was all of 12 years At that time he was playing a vampire on TV. Nine years later she gets to plan his son's birthday party. He is engaged to actress Melissa Irish although the relationship is not exactly romantic.

Winter falls for Flynn which is reciprocated. It gets complicated for all involved as Winter and Melissa have to maintain a facade for media. 

The story started out good but it is too explicit for my liking. I am no prude but I don't like to read about sex every other page. This too borders on BDSM. A big NO NO!!

MORAL OF THE STORY: DO NOT DOWNLOAD FREE E-BOOKS WITH LURID COVERS