Lady Holland “Holly” Taylor is at her first social engagement in three years, following prolonged mourning for her beloved husband. While waiting for her carriage to take her home, she is pulled into the arms of a stranger (who initially believes her to be someone else, naturally) and kissed passionately. Interestingly, reclusive widow that she is, Holly doesn’t recoil and descend into hysterics or outrage, instead she allows herself to be swept away by the unexpected embrace and kisses the stranger back, not once, but […]
“Dangerous creatures, wallflowers. Approach them with the utmost caution.”
Lady Pandora Ravenel, one of the late Earl of Trenear’s twin daughters is suffering through her first season. Normally she spends her times at balls sitting with the wallflowers, having invented some convoluted excuse for her inability to dance that evening. When a newly married friend of hers asks for her help to retrieve a lost earring, Pandora braves her fear of the dark to go out to the deserted pavilion, searching for the earring and getting herself soundly stuck in an elaborate piece of […]
Wonderfully Sarcastic, Quietly Romantic
Lucy Parker is TWO for TWO! Buy this one! Pretty Face follows the contemporary romance that I hope you’ve already read, Act Like It, in Parker’s London Celebrities series and she continues to mix clever writing and emotional sincerity to gain engaging, recommendable results. Herewith the only note I took while reading, “wonderfully sarcastic”; although, I highlighted several passages, such as, “It’s a lost art, condescension. Most workplaces are so PC these days that you just don’t get patronized in quite the same way.” and […]
Not injured, Sir? No swooning? No tears? Excellent
I bought Dukes Prefer Blondes a while ago after hearing positive chatter amongst Cannonballers, and then, as I do, I became resistant. I finally got over it when Mrs. Julien published her Favorite Romance Couples list. Firstly, Mrs. Julien is correct. Oliver and Clara are a wonderful couple. They argue and bicker, often with logic. Clara has a wonderful habit of turning Oliver’s words back on him. Oliver is surprised to find an aristocratic woman with a brain. Clara is dying on the inside, bored […]