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Strong, Quick-Witted, Female Leads | Mini-Reviews

Sep 4, 2020

Today I thought I would share some more historical romance mini-reviews. The three I’m talking about today I just loved. One of a new to me author, the other two are from an author that I’m beginning to love. All these books include female leads that are strong and quick-witted and I love it. Anyway, let’s get into it.

Wicked and the Wallflower (The Bareknuckle Bastards #1) by Sarah MacLean

Pages: 396
Publish date: June 19th 2018
Publisher: Avon
ISBN: 9780062692061
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

When a mysterious stranger finds his way into her bedchamber and offers his help in landing a duke, Lady Felicity Faircloth agrees—on one condition. She’s seen enough of the world to believe in passion, and won’t accept a marriage without it.

Bastard son of a duke and king of London’s dark streets, Devil has spent a lifetime wielding power and seizing opportunity, and the spinster wallflower is everything he needs to exact a revenge years in the making. All he must do is turn the plain little mouse into an irresistible temptress, set his trap, and destroy his enemy.

But there’s nothing plain about Felicity Faircloth, who quickly decides she’d rather have Devil than another. Soon, Devil’s carefully laid plans are in chaos, and he must choose between everything he’s ever wanted…and the only thing he’s ever desired.

Wicked and the Wallflower:

I knew as soon as I started this one that I was going to like it. Sarah MacLean as been on my TBR for a little while now. It’s a name that I heard about even before I started reading historical romance. And I’m so glad that I picked her up. Because Wicked and the Wallflower was such a wonderful read.

I love Felicity Faircloth as a protagonist so much. She was witty and cunning and I love seeing that. She was also easy to get along with. I feel into her voice right away and was able to connect with her very easily. I liked that she knew what she wanted and didn’t give up. Another thing I love that she stood away from the crowd. Devil, on the other hand, both hides and likes to be seen. He is one of those characters where you can’t figure out if you love or hate him. And that is what makes him so interesting.

The romance in Wicked and the Wallflower is also very interesting. Both Devil and Felicity use each other for different reasons. And at the same time, they can’t help but fall for one another. I loved seeing this happen throughout the book. The banter between these two was fantastic. Something else that I adored was how they both surprised each other in different ways. It put a massive smile on my face.

Overall I loved reading Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean. It’s full of banter, romance and high stakes. It’s a fantastic historical romance and I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in this series. Felicity and Devil are both interesting characters on their own, but throw them together and there is fire.

Through the Storm (Le Veq Family #1) by Beverly Jenkins

Pages: 384
Publish date: August 1st 1998
Publisher: Avon
ISBN: 9780380798643
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Sable, a slave on the run to escape the cruel man she’s been sold to is forced to betray the charming Union officer Raimond LeVeq, who had romanced her and championed her.

Brought together again by fate and an arranged marriage, she must try and win the trust of LeVeq–the man she truly loves.

Through the Storm:

I picked this one up after reading and falling in love with Rebel by Beverly Jenkins. I wanted to know more about the family and how they all got together.

It did take me a little while to get into this one. This does happen from time to time when I’m reading about a new time when I read historical romance and fiction. Especially when I’m not too familiar with the history of the time. But once I was placed in the novel I couldn’t put it down.

Beverly Jenkins has a knack of writing characters that are entertaining, engaging and so interesting and that is very present here. Sable was such an interesting protagonist and I was drawn to her from the start. She is smart and strong. And I wanted to be with her every second. One of the things that I loved about her the most, is her heart. She just made me smile and want to hug her the whole time.

Union officer Raimond LeVeq was a pain in the butt. But he was also fantastic. He could hold a grudge but I loved his tenderness for Sable. The banter between him and his siblings was the icing on the cake for me.

I adored the tension between Sable and Raimond. Right from the start, you were able to see the sparks and I loved it. The love to hate to love was spot on and it worked so well here. These two just made me smile and I loved seeing them fall in love and not even realise it.

If you are looking for a romance that is love to hate to love, then this one is for you. Overall I had such a good time reading Through The Storm. The romance was fantastic, the characters were great. And the family banter topped it off. I loved that I got to read in a time that I honestly don’t know too much about. If you are looking for some great historical romance that is a little different, then pick this one up.

Winds of the Storm (Le Veq Family #2) by Beverly Jenkins

Pages: 384
Publish date: April 25th 2006
Publisher: Avon
ISBN: 9780060575311
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Archer Le Veq owes his life to the woman who rescued him from certain death at the height of the Civil War…a woman known only as “the Butterfly.” Now, in the dark, waning days of Reconstruction, he needs the courageous and beautiful former spy…in more ways than before!

Zahra Lafayette thinks her days of intrigue are far behind her until she is asked to go on one more mission. Posing as an infamous madam in New Orleans, Zahra must gather information to ensure the safety of the South’s freedmen. The last thing she expected was to see Archer Le Veq again. He is as arrogant as he is handsome, but there is something about this dusky and debonair hotelier that sends her senses singing. Zahra knows she will need to guard her secrets, but no peril awaiting her compares with the treachery of Zahra’s own heart—for, Lord help her, she burns to taste the man and to lose herself in his powerful embrace.

Winds of the Storm :

As soon as I finished book one, I hopped right into this. Winds Of the Storm is different from the other books in the series, and while it’s my least favourite – I still really enjoyed it.

Archer was seriously fantastic. He was funny, romance and just made me smile. The banter he had with his brothers was brilliant and added another layer to his book. As the novel went on I loved that we got to know more and more about Archer. This book made me laugh a lot and it was mostly because of Archer.

Zahra was such an interesting character. I wasn’t expecting to like her as such as I did, but as the novel went on. I like her even more and more. She was fascinating and wasn’t like other female leads that I had read before. Zahra stands out to me from other characters and I loved that. I also love the friendships that she has throughout the book. They made me smile a lot.

The romance in this one was adorable and steamy. And it was just fantastic. I loved these two together. Especially there no strings attached thing that turns into something more. They both swore they wouldn’t fall for one another and then they did and I loved it.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Winds Of the Storm, a lot. The romance was different and engaging. And both protagonists grabbed me from the start. I loved being back with the Le Veq family. They are seriously a blast. If you haven’t picked up this series, please do. It’s fantastic.

Have you read any of these yet? What did you think of them? Are you planning on reading them? What are some of your favourite historical romances with strong, quick-witted female leads? Let’s Chat!

A Little Haul |August Book Haul

Sep 2, 2020

It’s time for August Book Haul Time. August was a so so month for me. I purchased a good chunk of books, but I also had a lot finally arrive as well. Compared to some of my montly purchases it’s a little haul for me. They have mostly been romances. As they are harder for me to get from work and I’ve had to source them from other places.

Anyhow, I think it’s a good mix of historical and contemporary romances. They are a few that I purchased physical copies of that I had already read and loved. Enough talk, like always these are in no order.

Visions of Heat (Psy-Changeling #2) by Nalini Singh: Even before reading the first book. I wanted to have the second on hand. And I’m so glad that I did. Because I picked it up as soon as I finished book 1. Would you like to see a series review of these as I read them? Let me know.

The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke #1) by Tessa Dare: I finally got another Tessa Dare this month. I’ve been meaning to pick another one of her books up and I finally did. I’m excited to read it soon. This one sounds fantastic and I’ve heard so many good things.

Brazen and the Beast (The Bareknuckle Bastards #2) by Sarah MacLean: After finishing the first book in this series I knew that I wanted to pick up the rest right away. I feel in love with all the characters from the first book and I’m excited to see where it’s taken here.

Daring and the Duke (The Bareknuckle Bastards #3) by Sarah MacLean: I knew that I would want to binge read the rest of the series. So I picked up the last book as well. I’m intrigued by this one a lot. It’s about the main ‘villain’ and that I find very interesting.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune: I think you should all know by now how much I loved this book. But if you don’t. It’s one of my favourite books that I read this year, if not one of my favourite books of all time. My physical copy arrived just before we went into stage 4 lockdown and I just love looking at it.

Someone to Watch Over Me (Bow Street Runners #1) by Lisa Kleypas: I’ve been slowly making my way through Lisa Kleypas and this is the next series that I want to pick up. I’m excited to try something new from her and I hope that I like it as much as her other books.

A Rogue by Any Other Name (The Rules of Scoundrels #1) by Sarah MacLean: I couldn’t help myself and picked up the first book in another series from Sarah MacLean. I can’t wait. This one sounds excited.

Royal Brotherhood #1 – #3 by Sabrina Jeffries: After finishing Sabrina Jeffries Duke Dynasty series. I knew that I wanted to read more from her. So I deiced to pick this series up. I’m a massive binge reader, especially when it comes to romance. So I just got all 3. Deliveries at the moment are pretty bad, so it was just easier this way.

Full Measures (Flight & Glory #1) by Rebecca Yarros: Guess what all? I’m finally getting my physical copies of this series. Do you know how hard and expensive it is to get in Australia? But I took the plunge.

Eyes Turned Skyward (Flight & Glory #2) by Rebecca Yarros: I ended up getting the first two books. I’m slowly going to get the next few books. But just going to take it a few months at a time. Because like I said expensive! But this is one of my favourite romance series so I don’t care.

Scoring With the Wrong Twin (WAGS #1) by Naima Simone: I don’t know too much about this one, but I saw it on twitter and it caught my eye. You know I’m a sucker for sports romances. And I’ve heard good things about Naima Simone. I’ve just started it and I’m liking it so far.

And those are the books that I got in August! After writing this post it does seem like a lot of books. But compared to the rest of the year. This was okay. Plus I paid for 9 I think this month. The rest I’ve just been waiting for.

What did you get last month? Have you read any of the books that I got in August? Let’s Chat!