Showing posts with label Historical Romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Historical Romance. Show all posts

10.20.2014

Review: The Brickmaker's Bride by Judith Miller

Title: The Brickmaker's Bride
Series: Refined by Love #1
Author: Judith Miller
Publication Date: October 7th, 2014
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction
Pages: 352
ISBN: 0764212559
Source: ARC from Publisher
Rating: 

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Bestselling Author Judith Miller Debuts Historical Series Set in West Virginia

Yearning for a fresh start, Ewan McKay travels with his aunt and uncle from northern Scotland to West Virginia, promising to trade his skills in the clay business for financial assistance from his uncle Hugh. Hugh purchases a brickmaking operation from a Civil War widow and her daughter, but it's Ewan who gets the business up and running again. Ewan seeks help from Laura, the former owner's daughter, and he feels a connection with her, but she's being courted by another man---a lawyer with far more social clout and money than Ewan. Besides, Ewan has resolved he'll focus on making the brickmaking operation enough of a success that he can become a partner in the business and be able to afford to bring his sisters over from Scotland.

But when Hugh signs a bad business deal, all Ewan's hard work may come to naught. As his plans begin to crumble, Laura reveals something surprising. She and her mother may have a way to save the brickworks, and in turn Ewan may have another shot at winning Laura's heart.
  








Judith Miller is an award-winning author whose avid research and love for history are reflected in her bestselling novels. 

When time permits, Judy enjoys traveling, visiting historical settings, and scrapbooking the photographs from her travel expeditions. She makes her home in Topeka, Kansas.






      A seasoned writer, Judith Miller has written a charming novel that incorporates the affects of the Civil War in West Virginia. She is skilled with her character development and is easy to read in text and content. This is one of those books you may pick up to read at a trip to the park, or an afternoon when nothing else is scheduled for the day.

It is very common in these types of books for the romance to seem sudden or simply impulsive. However, Miller does an exceptional job taking the time to allow the characters to naturally and realistically develop so the work is brought to a higher level of quality.

Integrating history seems to be no hitch for Miller. If you are interested in historical romances, this is a good book that has smooth transitions and some things to learn. As the title states, there is a "brick maker" involved and learning about this process and where it came from is actually very interesting.

I liked this book. It was enjoyable to read and I will definitely keep it on my shelf. It's a very interesting plot, I guess I just wouldn't say it's the absolute strongest plot. However, it is about what's expected from this caliber. I would recommend it.

10.16.2014

Guest Post: Sentimental Journey by Barbara Bretton

Title: Sentimental Journey
Series: The Home Front #1
Author: Barbara Bretton
Cover Artist: Tammy Seidick
Publication Date: October 15th, 2014
Publisher: Free Spirit Press
Genre: Historical Romance
Pages: 347
ISBN: 9781940665078

Synopsis (from Author): Before they became The Greatest Generation, they were young men and women in love . . . 


It's June 1943. From New York to California, families gather to send their sons and husbands, friends and lovers off to war. The attack on Pearl Harbor seems a long time ago as America begins to understand that their boys won't be home any time soon.
In Forest Hills, New York City, twenty-year-old Catherine Wilson knows all about waiting. She's been in love with boy-next-door Doug Weaver since childhood, and if the war hadn't started when it did, she would be married and maybe starting a family, not sitting at the window of her girlhood bedroom, waiting for her life to begin.
But then a telegram from the War Department arrives, shattering her dreams of a life like the one her mother treasures.
Weeks drift into months as she struggles to find her way. An exchange of letters with Johnny Danza, a young soldier in her father's platoon, starts off as a patriotic gesture, but soon becomes a long-distance friendship that grows more important to her with every day that passes. 
The last thing Catherine expects is to open her front door on Christmas Eve to find Johnny lying unconscious on the Wilsons' welcome mat with a heart filled with new dreams that are hers for the taking.
"This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny."
--Franklin Delano Roosevelt


 






A full-fledged Baby Boomer, Barbara Bretton grew up in New York City during the Post-World War II 1950s with the music of the Big Bands as the soundtrack to her childhood. Her father and grandfather served in the navy during the war. Her uncles served in the army. None of them shared their stories. 
But her mother, who had enjoyed a brief stint as Rosie the Riveter, brought the era to life with tales of the Home Front that were better than any fairy tale. It wasn’t until much later that Barbara learned the rest of the story about the fiancé who had been lost in the war, sending her mother down a different path that ultimately led to a second chance at love . . . and to the daughter who would one day tell a little part of that story.


There is always one book that’s very special to an author, one book or series that lives deep inside her heart.  SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY and STRANGER IN PARADISE, books 1 and 2 of the Home Front series, are Barbara’s. She hopes they’ll find a place in your heart too.
Six Don't-Miss World War II Movies

Being a writer is a wonderful thing. You can stay home in your pajamas all day, talk to your imaginary friends (officially known as “characters”) and, if you’re very lucky, get to watch wonderful old movies and call it research.

When I was writing SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY, I immersed myself in the 1940s. The music. The fashions. The books. The newspapers and magazines. And, of course, the movies.

Oh, those movies! Steeped in romance, rich with emotion, brimming with a sense of destiny that jumped off the screen and straight into your heart. I let myself sink into them until I totally forgot I was living in the age of computers and GPS systems and smartphones and fell backward through time to World War II America and a world on the brink.

Here’s my short list of Six Don’t-Miss World War II Movies:

  1. Casablanca – this really needs no explanation. It’s the perfect blend of love and romance, honor and courage, destiny and sacrifice. The ending isn’t the happily-ever-after one we long for, but it’s definitely the right one.
  2. Mrs. Miniver – Greer Garson as the courageous Englishwoman who faces a downed German paratrooper in her kitchen. Yes it’s sentimental and clearly crafted to serve as encouragement for war-weary Brits, but it makes me long for the past.
  3. Shining Through – this takes place during World War II but it was filmed in the early 1990s. If you can sit through this without shedding a tear – well, pass me the Kleenex, because I start crying just thinking about the scene in the nightclub . . . 
  4. Yanks – another movie not actually made during the war. Richard Gere in his prime. Courageous Brits. Cocky Yanks. Three romances for the price of one. How can you go wrong?
  5. Pearl Harbor – yes, the one with Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett. The one that everyone hated. I love it. What can I say?
  6. Hanover Street – I’m not a Harrison Ford fan, but I love this one. Again, it’s Yanks in Britain and all that entails. 

What are your favorites? I’m off to watch Shining Through for the 827th time!

Many thanks to Indigo Quill for inviting me to stop by. It’s been great fun. 

* * *

5.01.2014

Review: Her Grace In Disgrace by Claudia Harbaugh







Title: Her Grace In Disgrace
Series: The Widows of Woburn Place #1
Author: Claudia Harbaugh
Publication Date: June 20, 2013
Publisher: Createspace
Genre: Regency Romance
Pages: 262
Rating:

Synopsis (from Author): Reginald Aiken, Duke of Warwick is dead and his young widow is not grieving…until the will is read.
Isobel Kennilworth Aiken, Duchess of Warwick spent 6 years of her young life in a loveless marriage. Now, at the age of 24, Isobel is a widow. As Isobel awaits the reading of her late husband’s last will and testament, she feels no grief, but in fact is quite hopeful. She is eager to start her life anew. But, as the droning of the solicitor’s voice washes over her detailing the bequests to various servants and family members, a shock awaits her. The "other woman" was not his mistress, but his lawfully wedded wife and together they had a son. Six year old Reggie is now the Duke of Warwick, displacing Reginald’s brother Charles. 
There is a collective gasp as the revelation is made that instantly cuts off Isobel and Charles and 
dashes their hopes for the future. Isobel must indeed start again, not as a titled, influential and wealthy widow, but as plain Miss Kennilworth, tainted by scandal, something to be avoided at all costs in Regency England. Can she get past the disgrace and humiliation she has endured and fight her way back into society? Will she find love again with her childhood sweetheart, Andrew Stafford, former vicar, now Lord Saybrooke? Or perhaps she will rekindle the romance with Jeremy Ingles, Lord Westcott, who had caught her fancy at her come out six years earlier, but had not been ready to be leg shackled. 
But before Isobel can 
find true love, she must come to grips with her past mistakes and the people she has hurt along the way. She must discover who she is without the title of duchess to her name.

 



Claudia has had a love of "story" for as long as she can remember. Reading has always been a passion for her. Writing began a bit later in life. She has written and performed in numerous plays that have been produced by amateur drama groups in Rochester, NY and Yorktown, VA. She has been happily married to John since 1981 and together they have two daughters. She is also the proud grandmother of three amazing boys! Her faith, family and love of spinning stories are the heart of who she is. Her Grace in Disgrace is her first novel and the first book in a planned series: The Widows of Woburn Place.




If you're a fan of Regency Romance, this book is for you! Claudia Harbaugh is the essence of eloquence and regal prose. I had so much fun reading this book. This is the first Indie author I've stumbled upon who has written a regency romance and I wish there were more out there!

We hit the ground running at the funeral of Reginald Aiken, Duke of Warwick. Oddly, his widow does not seem to be grieving. Honestly, it was very difficult to like the main character, but I found this kind of refreshing. The main character was selfish and a conniving, especially in the beginning of the book, but in a way it added to the tone of the story and allowed an interesting plot line. We get to watch the two main characters rediscover their true selves, thus also becoming much more likable.

Harbaugh writes very similar to a contemporary version of Jane Austen (which I love!). This story is quite akin to Jane Austen's Emma. I do wish that she included more wit in her writing, as that would have made reading even more enjoyable and a more humorous story. There were also times that it seemed a bit wordy, but the language was fairly consistent throughout the book and that can prove to be difficult for authors. However, I did enjoy it and I am looking forward to reading more in this series!

1.22.2014

Review: Gunpowder Tea (The Brides of Last Chance Ranch #3) by Margaret Brownley






Title: Gunpowder Tea
Series: The Brides of Last Chance Ranch #3
Author: Margaret Brownley
Publication Date: October 8th, 2013
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Christian Fiction, Historical Romance, Mystery
Pages: 336
Source: Paperback from Publisher

Rating:


Synopsis (from Publisher): In a case that could change her career, Miranda uncovers a love that will change her life.

When Miranda Hunt sees the classified ad for an heiress to the legendary Last Chance Ranch, she knows assuming the identity of Annie Beckman is the perfect cover. As one of the finest agents for the Pinkerton Detective Agency, Miranda has been tasked with apprehending the Phantom—an elusive and notorious train robber thought to be hiding on the sprawling ranch.


But she isn’t the only one at the ranch with something to hide. Wells Fargo detective Jeremy Taggart is working undercover as well. Their true identities may be a secret, but it is impossible for Jeremy and Miranda to hide the sparks flaring between them.

Neither is about to let romance interfere with such a huge case. Besides, Miranda hasn’t removed Jeremy from her list of suspects yet. The closer they get to uncovering the identity of the Phantom, the more dangerous he gets—and no one on the ranch is safe.
The longer Miranda and Jeremy spend working together, the harder it becomes to keep their feelings in check. Their careers—and their lives—depend on solving this case. Love will just have to wait.

 


Thrills, mystery, suspense, romance: Margaret penned it all. Nothing wrong with this--except Margaret happened to be writing for the church newsletter at the time. After making the church picnic read like a Grisham novel, her former pastor took her aside and said, "Maybe God's calling you to write fiction." So that's what Margaret did. 

She's now a New York Times bestselling author and a Romance Writers of America RITA finalist with more than 25 novels to her credit. Her first non-fiction book "Grieving God's Way: the Lasting Path to Hope and Healing" has won much critical acclaim. She is currently working on the third book in her "Brides of Last Chance Ranch series." Not bad for someone who flunked 8th grade English. Just don't ask her to diagram a sentence.



     This is the second time I've had the opportunity to read and review Miss Brownley's work, the first being a novella in the Bride for All Seasons collection. It was such a pleasure, and it most definitely will not be the last time.

     Although it claims to be part of a series, Gunpowder Tea is easily read as a stand-alone book. I have not read any of the others in this series yet, but I didn't feel like I missed anything. I was able to follow along just fine, and enjoy this book for what it's worth.

     Gunpowder Tea has a little bit of everything. Mystery, history, and of course, romance. Nothing was spoiled along the way, and the character development was well-planned. I was unable to figure the villain out for myself until it was revealed in the story. In the meantime, I enjoyed the game of cat-and-mouse between our hero and heroine as they slowly unfolded the other's role within the context of the whole. I enjoyed both the mystery and the romance of it all.

     The only thing that seemed slightly inconsistent was whether to use undercover names or real names. Once we discovered who Branch really was, he was referred to as his real name except in conversation. However, Miranda/Annie was called her undercover name the whole time. I think once 'Branch' discovered who she really was, she should have also been referred to by her real name as well.

     This was honestly a very fun, laid-back read that kept me interested to solve the crime right along with them. I look forward to reading more of Brownley's books in the future.

* * *
     Also, here is a fun recipe to try that was included in the back of the book. I have yet to try it, but I hope to in the next week or so:

Gunpowder Tea Bread
By Chef Daniel

Ingredients
1 lb mixed dried fruit
12 tbs well-steeped Gunpowder Tea
6 oz soft brown sugar
1 egg
1 oz melted butter
9 oz white flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar in the raw

Directions
Cut up fruit to raisin size. Mix tea, fruit, and brown sugar in a bowl. Cover and leave overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 360 degrees. Coat loaf pan with butter and flour. Stir in egg and melted butter. Sift flour and soda and blend into wet mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. When partially cool, top with sugar in the raw.

Let me know if you give it a try!

8.14.2013

GIVEAWAY: Her Grace In Disgrace by Claudia Harbaugh







Title: Her Grace In Disgrace
Author: Claudia Harbaugh
Publication Date: June 20, 2013
Publisher: Createspace
Genre: Regency Romance
Pages: 262

Synopsis (from Author): Reginald Aiken, Duke of Warwick is dead and his young widow is not grieving…until the will is read.
Isobel Kennilworth Aiken, Duchess of Warwick spent 6 years of her young life in a loveless marriage. Now, at the age of 24, Isobel is a widow. As Isobel awaits the reading of her late husband’s last will and testament, she feels no grief, but in fact is quite hopeful. She is eager to start her life anew. But, as the droning of the solicitor’s voice washes over her detailing the bequests to various servants and family members, a shock awaits her. The "other woman" was not his mistress, but his lawfully wedded wife and together they had a son. Six year old Reggie is now the Duke of Warwick, displacing Reginald’s brother Charles. 
There is a collective gasp as the revelation is made that instantly cuts off Isobel and Charles and 
dashes their hopes for the future. Isobel must indeed start again, not as a titled, influential and wealthy widow, but as plain Miss Kennilworth, tainted by scandal, something to be avoided at all costs in Regency England. Can she get past the disgrace and humiliation she has endured and fight her way back into society? Will she find love again with her childhood sweetheart, Andrew Stafford, former vicar, now Lord Saybrooke? Or perhaps she will rekindle the romance with Jeremy Ingles, Lord Westcott, who had caught her fancy at her come out six years earlier, but had not been ready to be leg shackled. 
But before Isobel can 
find true love, she must come to grips with her past mistakes and the people she has hurt along the way. She must discover who she is without the title of duchess to her name.

 



Claudia has had a love of "story" for as long as she can remember. Reading has always been a passion for her. Writing began a bit later in life. She has written and performed in numerous plays that have been produced by amateur drama groups in Rochester, NY and Yorktown, VA. She has been happily married to John since 1981 and together they have two daughters. She is also the proud grandmother of three amazing boys! Her faith, family and love of spinning stories are the heart of who she is. Her Grace in Disgrace is her first novel and the first book in a planned series: The Widows of Woburn Place.





6.11.2013

Review & GIVEAWAY: Beauty and the Wolf (The Cursed Princes #1) by Marina Myles










Title: Beauty and the Wolf (The Cursed Princes #1)
Author: Marina Myles
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: June 6, 2013
Pages: 232
Genre: Historical/Paranormal Romance
Source: ARC from Publisher
ISBN: 978-1-60183-099-9
ASIN: B00B86NOEY

Rating:


Summary (from the Author):  A Union of Curses

Isabella Farrington’s marriage was hasty. For all her new husband’s riches, Lord Draven Winthrop is whispered about, avoided, and feared. Yet Isabella is drawn to Draven’s good looks, his strength, the charm he can turn on as easily as she can blink. The impoverished daughter of an Egyptologist, she knows there are rumors about her, too, and the amulet she wears. Nothing more than superstitious babble…
But when Isabella returns to Draven’s remote coastal manor, she senses there is something more at work in the grim gardens of Thorncliff Towers than superstition. Draven is passionate and seductive, but he has a brutal, uncontrolled side too, and a history of secrets. To live in peace she must discover the reasons behind a gypsy curse and a mother’s scorn. Especially when she learns Draven believes his sweet young bride is doomed to a fate even darker than his own…


Amazon | BN | Kensington | ARe


England, 1818

            I am getting married today.
The realization bubbled to the surface of Lord Draven Winthrop’s liquor-weighted mind. 
At the gong of the town clock, he shot up in bed and peered at his surroundings. The décor of the small space was unfamiliar, but the stench of stale ale and the sound of muffled laughter told him he was in a room over the tavern.
How had he ended up here—naked?
As he forced his cloudy vision to focus on the bedside clock, he gave another start. Ten 
A.M. Bloody hell!
In precisely thirty minutes, he was scheduled to exchange wedding vows with Miss 
Isabella Farrington. That didn’t leave him much time to return to his estate, dress, and reach St. John’s Abbey on the opposite end of town.
He stroked a hand over his face and stopped when he felt the rough fabric of a bandage. 
An image broke through the fog in his head. The wolf coming out of nowhere, toppling him from his horse, and lunging for him before he could get away. He’d gone for his revolver just as the wolf sunk its teeth into his hand.
Draven reached for the bandage and peeled it back. The wounds were gone. Am I seeing 
things?
“Is the roguish Earl of Dunwich having second thoughts about getting married today?” 
The raven-haired beauty lying beside him propped herself up on one elbow.
He stared at her, trying to remember how he’d ended up in her bed. He had been on his 
way to the tavern for a drink. She was the barmaid who’d attended to his wounds; he remembered that much.
He also remembered that, despite her beauty, the pleasure in his balls had evaporated and 
he’d failed to perform for the first time in his life. While the girl’s cat-like blue eyes had shone with mischief and her creamy breasts had filled his hands like two, perfect mounds of silk, her lips couldn’t match his fiancée’s plump glossy mouth. Nor did her nose twitch enchantingly as did Isabella’s when he attempted a joke.
Good God. Was he developing feelings for the woman he was marrying? It was 
impossible. Love was something Draven didn’t believe in.
“Are you having second thoughts?” she repeated.
His mouth went dry. Ignoring her question, he climbed out of bed to search for his 
clothes.
“If you’re to marry, m’lord, I hope you won’t lose your lust for fun.” The barmaid 
giggled like a school-girl. “Perhaps you can come back to my room later to finish what we started last night.”
He pointed an unsteady finger at her and smiled. “You’re a tarty one. But I do not intend 
to disgrace my new bride.”
“You mean to say the Earl of Madness is going to be a respectable man now?” she asked.
The mention of his public nickname made Draven cringe. It wasn’t a secret he had spent 
time in an asylum when he was sixteen years old. Who wouldn’t have come to the edge of madness after that horrible night in the woods—a night he could barely bring himself to think of? Being released had been a godsend, but it was a wonder he still had his wits about him—under the threat of the Gypsy’s curse, that is.
Why couldn’t he bury the reason for his incarceration along with the rest of his dark
past?
He stared at his hand again. Could there be any truth to the blasted hex?
Despite his drunken state and the overzealous barmaid, maybe the wolf attack happened. 
If it had—and if his curse came to life beneath this evening’s full moon—what would he have gotten his new bride into so bloody soon?
Draven yanked on his clothes and left the tavern room in a hurry. Once he reached his 
estate, he managed to prepare himself for the wedding—though the preparation was done between rounds of whiskey shots. His late arrival at the abbey garnered him a barrage of contentious stares, but he couldn’t care less. He faced the sour expressions of the guests with his shoulders pinned back. After all, he was Lord Draven Winthrop, infamous rake and nonbeliever in love. His reputation entitled him to carry on the worst wedding in the world and that was damn near what was about to take place.
His gaze wavered to the back of the church. There stood his bride. Draped in an 
understated wedding gown of tiny pearls and lace, Isabella beamed as brightly as the flowers encircling her head. Draven gulped, and as sunlight fell upon Isabella’s sheer veil, he saw hope crest in her eyes. 
With her shining auburn hair and fine features, she was a beautiful woman—even 
breathtaking. Why then did she represent a dark cupid about to pierce him with a fatal arrow? Draven was minutes away from losing his freedom, but that wasn’t what was bothering him most. Under the threat of his curse, he couldn’t afford to get too attached to his new wife. It was true that she’d begun to tug at his heartstrings, but he was marrying her for a specific purpose—and he intended to keep things to that.
The first strains of organ music bellowed and Draven’s vision blurred. Isabella slid a foot
forward and while she made her way down the aisle, he remembered the wolf bite he’d suffered last night. Suddenly he felt nauseous.
What if I transform into a werewolf for the first time tonight?
In that moment, Draven experienced a new emotion: fear. As Isabella inched closer, he 
knew this was all wrong—that he was putting her in danger—yet he accepted her hand when she presented it to him. Turning toward the priest with a knot in his gut, he heard something about Isabella honoring and obeying him, followed by something about him taking her for his lawfully wedded wife. Uttering words he couldn’t be sure were correct, he swiveled to face his bride and groped for her hands. He lost himself in the warmth of her stare before she tilted her pert nose upward in anticipation of his kiss. Responding, he lifted her veil and cupped her small, cameo-shaped face. Then he brought his mouth to her lips. A tremendous spark ignited within him—and he was scared for the second time that day.
Disliking the feeling intensely, Draven forced his heart to freeze into the iceberg it had 
always been. And as he drew away from the kiss, he was left with nothing but cold insensitivity.

***  
Isabella Farrington—now Lady Draven Winthrop, Countess of Dunwich—had only been 
married for seven hours but she was certain that she’d just made the worst mistake of her life. Jostling inside the polished coach that bore the Winthrop crest, she lunged forward in an ungraceful heap when it came to a stop.
Her groom shot her a callous look. “We have arrived.”
Catching a glimpse of her new home through the window, Isabella pressed her fingers in 
her lap to keep them from shaking. Draven’s scowl prompted her out of the carriage and dread raced along her spine as she looked at the imposing structure before her.
Set on a sloping bluff, the house known as Thorncliff Towers loomed over her like an
enormous, vine-clad fortress. With its sky-high turrets, repressive stone façade, and arcane courtyard, it appeared as unwelcoming as Draven had been inside the carriage.
Her husband exited the coach behind her, a mess of a newly married man. Tugging on the 
points of his vest beneath his great-coat of gold brocade, he indicated to the footman to open the front doors. Then, ignoring Isabella completely, he careened across the pebbled driveway in a cloud of port and cigar fumes.
Isabella watched him reach the portico before she gathered her skirts. As she scurried 
through the open doorway, she nodded to the aged female servant who greeted her. Then, turning her gaze to the manor’s interior, she gave a shudder. Its décor was the epitome of melancholia and neglect. Worn carpets covered yards of scuffed parquet flooring while furniture upholstered in shades of gray filled a vast parlor. An enormous staircase, flanked by gryphon-topped newel posts, anchored the main hall and faced an unlit hearth positioned on another wall.
Draven stood beside Isabella in the foyer. Twilight’s haze slanted through a window and 
illuminated his profile. From his straight, patrician nose to his darkly curled lashes that brushed the rise of his cheekbones, he looked like he could be her Prince Charming. But today her boorish groom had destroyed her dream of living a fairy tale.
Draven had appeared at the altar thirty minutes late, unrecognizable and completely 
foxed. After mucking their vows—who on earth was Laura?—he had either forgotten or disregarded her one request: a bridal bouquet of red roses. Following an embarrassing reception during which he went on to serve cold finger sandwiches and cheap wine, he actually fell asleep in the carriage on the way to Thorncliff Towers. Mouth agape, he’d snored like a pig.
Now he gave Isabella an impatient frown as he gestured her up the stairs. She climbed the 
grand staircase in excruciating silence, highly aware of his hand pressed to the small of her back. Amid walls that seemed hushed by dark secrets, the contact—and thoughts of the intimacy soon to come—made her legs quake.
Maybe, she considered, Draven was still too drunk to mind her lack of experience.
Perhaps he’ll fall asleep in the middle of our lovemaking.
But when Isabella turned around, his sharpened stare plunged those hopes into a dark 
abyss.
He took the lead once they reached the fourth story of the house. She continued to follow 
him until they arrived at a set of double doors.
“My bedchamber,” Draven said without flourish.
She crossed her arms while he looked as though he preferred to be miles away from here. 
From her.
“Isn’t it traditional for a groom to come to his bride’s bedchamber on his wedding 
night?” She couldn’t hide her disappointment at his lack of gallantry.
“I sleep best in my own bed,” he growled. “The sooner you come to know my 
preferences, the better off we will be.”
Isabella didn’t dare tell him he was more fun when he drank, especially after he had 
suggested she try the wine at the reception for the same reason.
With barely a look in her direction, he reached for the door handle.
“You have done nothing but humiliate me today,” she said, biting back a full verbal
assault. After all, Draven was her only hope for what she desperately needed: financial help for her down-trodden father. “The least you can do is carry me across the threshold.”
Her husband eyed her for a moment, his dark eyes boring into her very soul. “Very well,
but it is the last time I shall carry you anywhere.”
Lifting her off the ground as if she were the lightest of feathers, he transported her 
through the doorway only to plop her on her feet at once. Then he marched to the window and gazed at the night sky awash with clouds. “You can change in there,” he said, pointing to his
dressing room without tearing his stare from the window. 
Isabella hurried to the box-sized room. The faint odor of tobacco mixed with sandalwood 
clung to the air. Since she had refused the help of an abigail, she took her time removing her 
wedding gown and securing it on a hanger in the wardrobe.
Had Draven noticed that the dress was second-hand and frayed?
She set aside her shame and pulled on a cream-colored negligee he had supplied and 
stole a look in the mirror. She was a rather plain sight for a bride. With her auburn curls swept off her face in a simple chignon and her face free of rouge and lip-stain, she had put forth little 
effort this morning. And why not? Her mother, dead a year and two months now, hadn’t been
there to help—or hug—her as she prepared to marry a man she hardly knew.
Isabella had been introduced to Draven at a cousin’s birthday fête six weeks ago and his 
unexpected appearance at the Farringtons’ home in London the next day left her to wonder what a man like him could want with her. When he began to court her, he claimed that his title demanded he marry someone. Isabella, in return, had seen Draven as her last resort.
Isabella’s eyes shifted to the very object responsible for her social eviction: The cursed 
amulet of Tousret. The trouble began when word of her dark prophecy spread through London. In no time at all, suitors who’d previously shown her interest vanished into thin air. Further ruination occurred when she was released from her governess position.
Brushing her fingertips over the stone that hung around her neck, she told herself to think 
of her father. She was doing all of this for him.
A noteworthy archaeologist, Sir Harris Farrington had spent the family’s last half-penny 
on a trip to Egypt to find the amulet. He managed to unearth it, but the necklace wasn’t nearly as valuable as it would have been if he’d found its counterpart, the bracelet of Amenhotep. To add to the disaster, Isabella’s father had pushed the limits of the dig by sending three workers into a deep ravine to search for the bracelet. When the workers died, the gross mismanagement of the venture sank Harris Farrington’s reputation.
After that, finding sponsors for future digs proved impossible.
Isabella ran a finger along the stone’s thin, silver chain. When her father had given her 
the necklace for safe-keeping, he had begged her never to don it. But she was a skeptic at heart and didn’t believe in curses. She felt the best way to protect it was to wear it, and now with the pin money Draven gave her as a wedding gift her father would be able to return to Egypt and search for Amenhotep’s bracelet. It was an enchanted piece of jewelry thought to have the power to undo the stone’s prophecy—as well as restore her father’s professional viability. 
“What’s taking so long?” Draven’s gruff voice penetrated the wall.
“I’ll be out in a moment!” The mirror bounced back the quiver of Isabella’s voice and the 
paleness of her face.
Just breathe. To calm her nerves, she unraveled her hair from its tight chignon and 
smoothed her freed curls.
“I may fall asleep if you don’t come to bed!” Draven’s snarl caused her to jump.
Sucking in a breath, she entered her husband’s suite. As Draven reclined in bed, the 
hunger in his obsidian eyes made her heart skitter. His smooth chest rose and fell beneath an 
opened, white shirt while the lights and shadows bouncing from the hearth enhanced his 
hollowed cheekbones. Stepping closer, Isabella couldn’t help but notice how enticingly his 
black, shoulder-length hair glimmered in the firelight.
At the very least, she was grateful that Draven was handsome. She had even softened
like a wet leaf during their brief wedding kiss. If only his dark nature and intimidating scowl 
didn’t alarm her so.
He threw back the bed-sheet. A defined torso rising out of a pair of low-slung breeches
made her avert her eyes.
“Join me,” he commanded.
She turned away from him, braced her legs against the side of the mattress, and slid into 
bed. After drawing the counterpane beneath her chin, she stared up at the ceiling. She could hardly believe she was here.
“I must admit that I’m nervous,” she said. “This will be my first time, well…”
The words hung in the air as heavily as if someone had used foul language in church.
Draven frowned. “If you weren’t a virgin, I wouldn’t have married you.”
He rolled closer to her but when she locked eyes with him, his ravenous stare made her 
draw back. In a slow, sultry motion, Draven tugged the counterpane down and traced her amulet with his fingertips. His touch on her chest was incredibly hot, as if his entire body were engulfed in flames. She, in contrast, shuddered icy jolts in her nervous state.
“Is this the stone that put gossipmongers in a dither?” he asked.
She nodded and looked down at the curio. It felt strange to have someone else touch it.
He cocked an eyebrow. “Do you ever take it off?”
“No.”
“You’re not afraid of the stone’s prophecy?” Draven looked puzzled.
She shook her head.
He retracted his hand. “What, exactly, does the legend foretell?”
Staring into his fiery eyes, she could hardly think. “Well”—she scrambled to gather her 
thoughts—“nearly three thousand years ago, the amulet belonged to a headstrong, Egyptian princess named Tousret. This princess made Amenhotep, a high priest in her court, one of her secret lovers. As punishment for her selfishness—and for this priest breaking his holy vows—the Underworld God saw to it that Princess Tousret was drawn to Amenhotep in the worst possible way: a fatal attraction as it were. The God’s dark forces willed Tousret to stab Amenhotep before turning the knife on herself. Now any female who wears the stone even once is doomed to take the life of her true love before committing suicide.”
Draven’s eyes widened. “You are braver than I thought.”
She blushed. It was the first compliment he’d given her. “The amulet is a part of my 
father. He risked his life to find it.”
Draven fell into silence before he met her gaze again. “Lucky for you, I don’t believe in 
curses.”
The small tremor beneath his eye told Isabella he was lying.
“Still,” he said, “the amulet symbolizes too much dark history for my taste. Next time, I 
want you to remove it.”
Next time? She was barely managing this round of intimacy.
Desire darkened Draven’s eyes and Isabella gulped. He leaned closer, his mouth hovering 
hers. She pinched her eyes shut and folded her hands over her stomach to prepare for his kiss.
He stopped. “There is no reason to be prim and proper with me. You’re no longer a 
governess.”
Isabella’s eyes flew open at his condescending tone. It took all the restraint she could 
muster to hold her tongue.
Draven shoved the counterpane to the foot of the bed and studied the outline of her body. 
He drew her to him. Her breasts pressed against his chest, igniting a crackle of energy between them. Isabella’s throat caught and in a surreal moment, he clamped his mouth over hers. When his tongue forced its way past her lips, her blood moved in wild rushes—and control over her emotions slipped from her grasp. She closed her eyes in silent ecstasy, surrendering to the deepness of the kiss and to the excitement it stirred in her.
The jab of Draven’s knee between her thighs snapped her back to reality. Chiding herself 
for reacting to him with such passion, she composed herself.
His hand swept over her breasts and when it descended to the flat plane of her abdomen, 
Isabella stiffened. She found it difficult to breathe under the pressure of his mouth and she had no idea to which side to tilt her head. As his arousal grew solid against her leg, her pulse leapt at the foreign feel of it. Rolling on top of her, Draven’s shirt-tails draped over her negligee and, as he traced her lips with the ease of an expert, Isabella remembered his previous kisses. She’d known him to be tender, at least in those moments, so she began to relax a bit. Then he began pawing her. Reaching down, he pried her knees apart and slipped his hand into the open space. When he rubbed her core in rough motions, her limbs froze. Her groom was a devastatingly handsome man but she was only willing to acquiesce to him at her own speed.
“Forgive me,” she said. “I’ve heard that creating a child can be a magical experience. It’s 
just that—”
She blinked against a bright light. Shifting her gaze to the window, she saw that a full 
moon had emerged through a pair of parted clouds. As the ivory cast spilled across Draven’s face, he pulled away from her with eyes that flashed a profound fear. “I must inform you that I have no intention of fathering any offspring,” he said.
The admission couldn’t have knocked Isabella more off balance. “I…I don’t understand.”
Draven bolted out of bed. His entire body began to shake. “I have personal reasons for 
not wanting a child. But what you need to know is that we will use a modern form of prevention.”
She pulled herself to a sitting position. “You choose this moment, our wedding night, to 
inform me of this? Didn’t you think I should have a say in the matter?”
As the veins on his temples bulged and pounded, she recoiled against the headboard.
“Something is happening to me,” he said, spinning away from her. All at once, his shirt 
split up the middle of his back and fell to the floor. Then, with his face hidden from view, he picked up a chair and hurled it through the window.
Isabella whipped back the bed-sheet, her hand pressed to her mouth in horror.
What is happening?
            Fearing for her safety, she rushed inside the dressing room and locked the door. Through 
her sobs, she heard a loud cry then more breaking glass. A minute later, all was quiet.
She grabbed Draven’s wool coat and draped it over her negligee. Turning the doorknob 
with a quaking hand, she forced herself to peer into the bedchamber. Wind whistled into the room through the shattered window and the fire in the hearth had all but died out. But Draven was nowhere to be found.
Seizing the chance to flee the room, Isabella escaped into the corridor and raced 
downstairs. She’d known this loveless marriage was a bad idea, but now she was truly frightened. Refusing to stay at Thorncliff Towers a moment longer, she ran for the stables. And with every step she took, she vowed never to return.



Although Marina Myles lives under the sunny skies of Arizona, she would reside in a historic manor house in foggy England if she had her way. Her love of books began as soon as she read her first fairy tale and grew by leaps and bounds when she discovered Nancy Drew/Agatha Christie mysteries and rich, historical romances.
Dreaming of becoming a published author, she went on to study creative writing at Southern Methodist University—where she received degrees in Communications and English Literature. During her time in Dallas, she had the unique experience of being a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.
Now with her loyal Maltese close by, she relishes the hours she gets to escape into worlds of fiery—but not easily attained—love affairs. She’s busy being a wife (to her Italian-born husband) and a mother (to her two beautiful daughters), but she is never too busy to hear from her amazing readers.
Represented by Louise Fury of L. Perkins Agency


     Here we have a more adult version of the beloved fairytale, Beauty and The Beast. Mix that with a touch of the traditional werewolf and you have a hero that you really hate to love. If you're a fan of the TV series Once Upon a Time like I am, you will be intrigued with Marina Myles' spin off of the tale. Just as they integrate old stories to have a more in depth plot, so has Miss Myles in Beauty and the Wolf

     I'll be honest, I was a little wary of this being another book about a werewolf, but it really wasn't too bad. Just like the vampire stories, I can only read one of these every once in a while because they have been so incredibly worn out. Lucky for me, the plot was enough to keep me going.

     There were twists where I was entirely caught off guard and everything I believed up until that point was a lie. But it's okay, I survived it. And that just adds more meat to the story. The main characters were pretty well developed. Sometimes I felt that Isabella, the heroine, was slightly inconsistent, but Draven was such a well in-depth tortured soul that it made up for it enough. I thought it was a little odd that they claimed Isabella was "so beautiful" and had many prospects before Draven, yet no one had proposed to her. If this was written back in the 1800s, that seems slightly out of place. 

     Easy read. Good storyline. Steamy romance. Probably could use a little more work to be fully well-rounded, but it's definitely worth a read and I am looking forward to the next installment!