Midnight's Wild Passion by Anna Campbell

Title/Author: Midnight's Wild Passion by Anna Campbell
Publisher/Date published: Avon, May 1st 2011
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "London's most notorious seducer, Nicholas Challoner lives solely for revenge...
The dashing, licentious Marquess of Ranelaw can never forgive Godfrey Demarest for ruining his sister — now the time has come to repay the villain in the same coin. But one formidably intriguing impediment stands in the way of Nicholas's vengeance: Miss Antonia Smith, companion to his foe's unsuspecting daughter.
Having herself been deceived and disgraced by a rogue — banished by her privileged family as a result and forced to live a lie — Antonia vows to protect her charge from the same cruel fate. She recognizes Ranelaw for the shameless blackguard he is and will devote every ounce of her intelligence and resolve to thwarting him.
Yet Antonia has always had a fatal weakness for rakes..."

Somehow everything that happened in this book seemed a little unlikely. I mean, sure, the way things are done in historical romances is probably not so realistic, BUT well written, they can be believable. And I had some difficulty in that area with this one.

Antonia, our heroine, hasn't made the wisest decisions in the past and because of this her father banished her. Godfrey Demarest, a relative, takes her in and she becomes the companion to his daughter. She wears horribly unflattering dresses and glasses so as not to be recognized by her former acquaintances and this works well for her for 10 years. Which is when Ranelaw comes along and 'ruins' everything.

Antonia doesn't seem all that smart. A little bit less than she was in the book and I'd have labeled her 'too stupid to live'. However, she is very caring and loyal. And passionate when she lets herself. I must admit she really did annoy me at times and I wanted to smack her in the back of the head at the decisions she made.

Ranelaw appears to be an intelligent man, but in matters of the heart he needs to take another course or 50 in order to understand them. I get that he's angry Demarest ruined his sister, but come on, it's been 20 years! If you want to do anything, just shoot the man himself instead of going after his innocent daughter. And how is that going to help his sister? This really annoyed me.

Together the main characters did have chemistry and there were lovely moments in the book, but with Ranelaw being angry almost all the time and Antonia being scared, I just had issues with them. And I also didn't appreciate that at the beginning of the story their encounters were more Ranelaw forcing himself on Antonia than them being taken over by passion. Not romantic.

The second half of the book was better than the first and it's what saved the book for me. Though I could have done without the epilogue.
My rating: 2,5 stars

Ember and Ash by Pamela Freeman

Title/Author: Ember and Ash by Pamela Freeman
Publisher/Date published: Orbit, May 1st 2011
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "The old ones will have their revenge.
Two peoples have been fighting over the same land for a thousand years. Invaders crushed the original inhabitants, and ancient powers have reluctantly given way to newer magics. But Ember was to change all this with a wedding to bind these warring people together - until her future goes up in flames.
Ember's husband-to-be is murdered by a vengeful elemental god, who sees peace as a breach of faith. Set on retribution, she enlists the help of Ash, son of a seer. Together they will pit themselves against elementals of fire and ice in a last attempt to end the conflicts that have scarred their past. They must look to the present, as old furies are waking to violence and are eager to reclaim their people."

This really is a book you shouldn't judge by its cover! Cause the cover is just blah and a bit boring and more western looking and the story, OMG, it was AMAZING! Based on the cover I would have expected cowboys (I'm not really sure why) and this book was so absolutely wonderful and was certainly not a western. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not my thing.

I loved the storytelling! Somewhere along the first chapters I got the feeling there'd been another story set in the same world and as it turns out, the author wrote a trilogy I think is about the main character's parents. But while we don't know everything that happened there, this doesn't take anything away from the storyline.

I loved Ember! She's a strong girl and she learns a lot along the way. She's very brave and stands up for those she loves, I could feel her pain and so wanted everything to work out for her. And Ash, gosh, he's wonderful. You really need to read this book for yourself, but Ash will stay in my head for some time to come. He's not the most handsome man around, but his personality is beautiful.

I thought all the Powers involved were really interesting and I'm definitely going to read the other trilogy Freeman's written soon! I'm hoping Ember and Ash will have a sequel, cause I'm not ready to let these characters go and
**SPOILER WARNING, light up to read**
I really need my happily ever after! I need more Ember and Ash together, the ending left me feeling sad and going: NOOO! They HAVE to be together!
**End of spoiler**

I got sucked into this story from the very first page. If you like fantasy and are looking for a good story: READ THIS BOOK! I absolutely loved it!
My rating: 5 stars

Wither Giveaway

I absolutely LOVED Wither by Lauren DeStefano and so I was really excited when I saw her announce on her blog that she's giving away an ARC of both Wither and the sequel: Fever!!
I think I'd do happy dances a whole day long if I actually won this.
So, what are you waiting for? Hop on over to her blog and enter!

A Tale of Two Lovers by Maya Rodale

Title/Author: A Tale of Two Lovers by Maya Rodale
Publisher/Date published: May 1st 2011 by Avon
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "He is notorious.
Lord Simon Roxbury is a godsend to gossip columnists everywhere. This notorious rake has recently been caught in an extremely compromising position by none other than The London Weekly's Lady of Distinction. Rumor also has it that Lord R received an ultimatum: be wed or be penniless.
She is scandalous.
As A Lady of Distinction, Lady Julianna Somerset typically reports on other people's scandals, but soon she finds herself embroiled in a very public battle with an irate Lord Roxbury — one that leaves her reputation in tatters and her position at The Weekly on the line.
Together they're... respectable?
With no other choice available, these two enemies unite in a marriage of convenience to rescue both their reputations and secure his fortune. With their rivals intent on revealing the charade, Lady Julianna and Lord Simon inevitably surrender to temptation. It may just be a love match after all..."

I had some issues with this book. It's just that I was disappointed a bit by it. See, I love romances where hate turns to passion which leads them to discover they are actually falling in love. I think it's my Pride and Prejudice loving heart that always brings me back to this. And after reading the summary, I expected this from the book. And it just didn't get there.

Julianna and Roxbury are interesting characters in their own right. But, well, after the first kiss behind a potted plan (if I remember correctly), the tension was just gone. If Rodale could have just held on to that passion and the wonderfulness that was in that scene, the book would have been a lot better for me.

It was all a bit too easy and then they started making it hard for seemingly no reason. Julianna was contrary for the sake of being difficult and Roxbury didn't confront her about it and I'm not really sure why. It just lacked something for me.

The story did get some smiles from me, mainly for the boxing scene with the Writing Girls. It was an enjoyable read, just not what I was hoping for and it left me feeling a bit disappointed.

My rating: 2,5 stars

The Guardian by Margaret Mallory

Title/Author: The Guardian by Margaret Mallory
Publisher/Date published: Forever, May 1st 2011
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "Four young Highlanders - Connor, Ian, Alex and Duncan - hurry home from France after hearing news of the disastrous Battle of Flodden against Henry VIII's forces. With his father among the dead, Connor must take his place as chieftain. Before he can lead his clan through the perilous times ahead, however, he must first dislodge the usurper who has taken his family's castle and claimed leadership of the clan.
Connor's cousins and best friend, Ian, Alex and Duncan, will stand shoulder to shoulder with him in every fight. They are willing to give their lives for their clan and their new chieftain. But taking wives to serve the clan's interests is a different matter altogether..."

I really need to get something out first: the cover? Not a fan. Really. This cover makes me thankful for e-readers.

Anyway, onto the book itself. The story centers around Sìleas and Ian, who have known each other since they were little. Due to an unfortunate event and huge overreacting by Ian's father, they are forced to marry at a tender age: Sìleas is 13 at the time. After this, Ian leaves to fight in France and doesn't come back until 5 years have passed, leaving Sìleas behind with the shame of being abandoned by her husband. Ian finds out a lot can change in 5 years.

I had some issues with this book. First off, the name Sìleas, supposed to be pronounced as SHEE-las according to the author, threw me off everytime cause I needed to repronounce what I read in my head if that makes sense. And the accent. I get why it's there, but it made me connect less to the characters and slowed my reading down considerably.

I liked Sìleas as a character, as well as Ian. Sìleas is a kindhearted, brave young woman and Ian seems to be a caring and loyal man. Very nice qualities in a character in my opinion.
There was however the slight problem I had of them together. First off, Ian doesn't want to marry her because she's not a beauty at 13 (and well yeah, he's being forced to) and then at 18, when she's grown into her skin, he suddenly wants nothing more than to be her husband? I know they have history because they grew up together, but this did bother me.
I also thought it was pretty unlikely that Ian was the only one who didn't recognize her after their return, since they were close before he left.

I liked that the story wasn't just some scene to set their romance against, something real was going on and I enjoyed reading about it. I also really liked Alex and Ian's little brother, they were interesting characters.

My rating: 3 stars

Eleven Scandals To Start To WIn A Duke's Heart by Sarah MacLean

Title/Author: Eleven Scandals To Start To Win A Duke's Heart (Love By Numbers #3) by Sarah MacLean
Publisher/Date published: Avon, May 1st 2011
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "She lives for passion.
Bold, impulsive, and a magnet for trouble, Juliana Fiori is no simpering English miss. She refuses to play by society's rules: she speaks her mind, cares nothing for the approval of the ton, and can throw a punch with remarkable accuracy. Her scandalous nature makes her a favorite subject of London's most practiced gossips... and precisely the kind of woman The Duke of Leighton wants far, far away from him.
He swears by reputation.
Scandal is the last thing Simon Pearson has room for in his well-ordered world. The Duke of Disdain is too focused on keeping his title untainted and his secrets unknown. But when he discovers Juliana hiding in his carriage late one evening—risking everything he holds dear — he swears to teach the reckless beauty a lesson in propriety. She has other plans, however; she wants two weeks to prove that even an unflappable duke is not above passion."

If you've been coming around here somewhat longer, you might have seen me rave about this series before. Because it's FREAKING AMAZING!!! SERIOUSLY!! The little romantic inside of me cheers the whole time while reading these books. Pretty loudly, I might add.

So, I read a bunch of romance books. And some of it isn't great. But these books right here? They are so great. I love how Sarah MacLean writes! She is such an amazing storyteller and I just love her.

Sometimes I don't like to read series of romance novels, cause it can get a bit boring and repetitive, but here I really liked it. Juliana was introduced in the first book and I've grown to love her along the way. So to have her as the main character in this one was just great. And I liked getting to know her even better and revisiting the characters from the previous books.

In the previous two books I didn't think much of Simon, but he turns out to be as swoonworthy as I've come to expect from MacLean's heroes. Gosh, I really loved the chemistry between Simon and Juliana and it was all so romantic!

This one is completely recommended, as well as the rest of the series, to anyone who even remotely likes historical romance. It's brilliant and it will make you fall in love with the characters. I absolutely loved it!

My rating: 5 stars

Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready

Title/Author: Shift (Shade #2) by Jeri Smith-Ready
Publisher/Date published: Simon Pulse, May 3rd 2011
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley.

***POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1***

Goodreads summary: "Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to.
Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past — the mystery of the Shift.
As Aura’s search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart."

I had issues with this one. There was something that annoyed me throughout the book. And it made me like the main characters less. I remember being 17, I do. But not everything was about sex. Really. It wasn't. And the fact that Aura is constantly thinking about sex, talking about sex, about to have sex etc., it was annoying. See how often I've even said the word in one review? I don't think I even use the word in reviews of the historical romance novels I read.
**Slight spoiler, light up to read:
Really, I would have lost my respect for Aura if she had slept with Dylan. I did not like where the story was going there. It seemed a bit tasteless.
End of spoiler**

Aura seems to have a weird way of dealing with her grieve for Logan. And Zachary seemed to worry a bit too much and had a bit weird theories. I couldn't really follow how he came to them and it made everything more difficult than it should have been.

And Zachary kind of lost some of his shine in the middle of the book. But, he gained it back by the end. By the end, he was my boy again, the one I remember from the first book. And I love him. I mean for those of you who have read it, or those who are going to and want to look forward to something: the scene by the river. OMG! I'm not gonna say anything else, but really, good moment for Zach!

I enjoyed learning more about the Shift and events surrounding it. And about Aura's parents. I kind of guessed already, but still, it was a good plot point. I also liked Logan more in this one. He seemed to grow up in his afterlife and I liked the fact that as a ghost, he can't lie. Which means: no mixed signals.

All in all, I enjoyed this one, except for the annoying fact that most of it seemed to be about raging teenage hormones. And while I know it's a rough time hormone-wise, it seemed a bit too much.
I am however really looking forward to the last book in the series, I'm dying to know how it all ends! Though it means I'll have to say goodbye to Zach...

My rating: 3,5 stars