Ruthless Magnate, Convenient Wife by Lynne Graham

THREE/FOUR STARS

Love the cover! (What a beautiful dress!)

Mills and Boon synopsis:

• Billionaire in need…
  
  Sergei Antonovich, a Russian billionaire, was famous for being knee-deep in stunning supermodels and aspiring actresses. But not one was suitable bride material. Would he ever grant his ageing babushka her dearest wish and present her with a grandchild? Of a bride and a baby…
  
  So, why not handle this challenge as business? Without emotion, but with a contract of convenience that granted him the perfect deal: a wife he’d bed, wed, get pregnant…and then discard…
  
  Pregnant Brides
  
  Inexperienced and expecting,they’re forced to marry!

My review:

I didn't realise when I started this book that it was part of a trilogy (the 2nd one written I think) following a group of friends in their journey to finding love. This book was Alissa's story. Her greedy twin signs a contract agreeing to marry Russian billionaire and give him a child, then she ropes in Alissa to fill the role while she swans off with the money he paid her. An unsuspecting Alissa, who trusts her twin implicitly and is doing this to help pay off her mother's debt (and who knows nothing of the private side, planned to accompany this 'business' agreement), then slowly begins to fall for Sergei.

This couple had great chemistry and the story was promising, full of tension. What let the book down was the fact that these two characters hardly ever really talked to one another - the baring of one's soul is not conducted via sexual tension. This romance was good, but the lack of communication between the two was unedifying to say the least.

Ms Graham, you have a wonderful writing style, you have wonderful characters, and a full imagination. A Russian hero? How marvellous. But you were rushing, and avoided displaying true intimacy in this book. I know the hero was supposed to be strong, resilient, tough, mysterious, devilishly attractive, but did all of that really necessitate his loss of voice?

The Devil You Know by Liz Carlyle

THREE STARS

I carried on my Liz Carlyle stretch this week with The Devil You Know, Frederica and Bentley's story.

Goodreads:

From acclaimed author Liz Carlyle comes a spellbinding new novel in which the ton's most charming ne'er-do-well meets his match in a most unexpected fashion and discovers the true meaning of desire....

The Devil You Know

Frederica d'Avillez is sure she will never marry. She's had a disastrous London season, and now her longtime beau has thrown her over for a more eligible miss. But if Freddie can't have a husband, she's hell-bent on experiencing at least one night of unforgettable passion. Where better than in the arms of the dashing rogue Bentley "Hell-Bent" Rutledge? So what if he's a rake, scoundrel, and all-round devil?

Scandal trails in Bentley's wake and fair maidens usually steer well clear of him -- and vice versa. But when the opportunity presents itself, Bentley can't resist Freddie's exotic beauty. When their wild, reckless passion has dire consequences, Bentley is forced to choose between honor and freedom. And Freddie soon realizes that Bentley's devil-may-care façade is just that -- for she has unwittingly unleashed his dark secrets...and secret desires.

My Review:

As before, I greatly enjoyed Ms Carlyle's style of writing, and I was swept away (although not to the same extent as in Wicked All Day) by the world she created for us, her readers. At the end of the book it becomes apparent that she has been approaching a rather sensitive subject (which I shall not spoil here), and this was gently handled. Unfortunately, just because a book keeps you up into the small hours, doesn't mean that it is perfect. I felt the ending for Freddie and Bentley was a little quick (if one discounts the + 7 or so months time leap of the epilogue). We never got to see them interact independently, as a couple, in their own home. What kind of a life will they have together beyond their honesty, love, devotion etc. Freddie comes from such an eccentric background, there was soo much promise there... As always, I am looking for what I want to see rather than what was there, but reflection in critic is necessary I think. Especially when dealing with high calibre writers like Ms Carlyle - how do you tell between them enough to rate one book differently from another otherwise? Something to ponder perhaps.

http://www.lizcarlyle.com/

Wicked All Day by Liz Carlyle

FOUR STARS

I have not read any historical romance from Liz Carlyle before, only her contribution to Big Guns Out of Uniform (a modern romance anthology) which admittedly was well written. So I thought I'd give this book a whirl. It's set in London and Sussex (England).

Goodreads:

New York Times bestselling author Liz Carlyle continues her enthralling historical series with the story of an impetuous, illegitimate beauty and the forbidding nobleman who protects her -- while fighting an obsession to possess her....

Miss Zoë Armstrong is beautiful, charming, rich -- and utterly unmarriageable. So, while she may be the ton's most sparkling diamond, her choice of husbands looks more like a list of London's most unsavory fortune hunters. Since a true-love marriage seems impossible, Zoë has accepted -- no, embraced -- her role as society's most incomparable flirt and mischiefmaker...until in one reckless, vulnerable moment, her future is shattered.

Stuart Rowland, the brooding Marquess of Mercer, has been part of Zoë's extended family since she was a child. As dark and cynical as Zoë is lively, Mercer has always known they would be the worst possible match...until his scapegrace brother Robert does the unthinkable, and winds up betrothed to Zoë. Now, secluded on Mercer's vast estate to escape a looming scandal and the ton's prying eyes, Zoë and Mercer may find that a dark obsession has become a tempestuous passion that can no longer be denied....

My review:

I thought all the characters were well drawn - which I suppose is only to be expected when the author has previously written whole novels for these characters (e.g. A Woman Scorned featured Mercer's mother's romance, and My False Heart featured Zoe's father's!).

I was a little upset by this author's interpretation of a Scottish accent - I am typing from Glasgow, so I think I have the credentials to comment.

Overall, the author's ability to sweep her readers up in her world has not altered from that small novella she wrote all those years ago. I enjoyed reading this book, and indeed was compelled to read through until 5AM.

I guess the thing that I missed most (on my "wish a book had included this" hit list) was more scenes from the character's teen years - we saw one scene at the very beginning of the book, when Zoe was around five years old, and were told in character's speech about various escapades, in a sentence or so's length, but I think the connection and history of the characters could have deepened. Their relationship would have been more fascinating still for it.

Liz Carlyle's characters seem to grow as the novel progresses and their journeys are plausible and interesting. Their romance was worth reading about, but it wasn't legendary. Very few books I have every read have achieved the latter though. Well done Ms Carlyle, fabulous book!

I am planning on reading The Devil You Know, or My False Heart, next, as these are the novels I was most intrigued by from the synopses on Ms Carlyle's website:

http://www.lizcarlyle.com/