[BOOK REVIEW] Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn

Title:  Just Like Heaven

Author: Julia Quinn

Genre: Historical Romance

Year Published: 2011

Number of Pages: 436 pages

Date Read: 12/30/2011

Series: Smythe-Smith Quartet #1

Publisher: Avon Harper Collins 

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Sex Scenes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I have been reading so many historical romance novels that I must have read almost every one, mainly works from Lisa Kleypas, Teresa Medeiros and Jennifer Ashley. But, this is the first novel I have read from Julia Quinn and it is called “Just Like Heaven.” Actually, “Just Like Heaven” is Julia Quinn’s most recent book to date, so I had the pleasure of reading one of Julia Quinn’s books. 

The story starts off with Honoria Smythe-Smith meeting up with her childhood friend Marcus Holroyd, who is the Earl of Chatteris and the two of them just claim that they are only friends. However, when a terrible tragedy strikes Marcus, when his leg is affected in an accident and he is struck by a terrible fever, both Marcus and Honoria will soon discover their true feelings for each other!

I have read many historical romance novels where the hero and the heroine had an attraction for each other throughout the book. However, this is the first romance novel I have read where the hero and heroine start off as good friends and slowly start to realize their feelings for each other, which was quite unusual for me. Julia Quinn has done a great job at writing this story as the story is extremely cute and playful. I loved the way that Julia Quinn set up the conversations between the characters, especially between Honoria and her cousins as the dialogue that goes on between them is hilarious and comforting, as you can feel the close relationship that these cousins share with each other. I also loved the dialogue that Julia Quinn sets up between Marcus and Honoria as they always have friendly and spirited conversations between them that always make me smile every time I read them! It was also really cute seeing Marcus Holroyd go head over heels for Honoria Smythe-Smith as he clearly cannot understand these “lovely” feelings he keep having and yet, he cannot stay away from Honoria. The story about Marcus’s life as a child was heartwarming and sad as he had a lonely life as a child since he did not have a loving family like the Smythe-Smiths did. However, when he became like a little brother to the Smythe-Smith family, my heart just filled with joy at seeing Marcus being happy with this family! I also liked Honoria Smythe-Smith as she is so kind hearted and understanding towards Marcus’s situation and the scene where Honoria was trying to help Marcus heal from his injury was probably the most emotional and wonderful scene in the entire book since it showed how much Honoria truly cares for Marcus.

Notice that I have not mention much of a romance blossoming between Marcus and Honoria because this novel spends too much time with Marcus and Honoria trying to sort out their feelings for each other. That is not to say that this is a bad thing because I really did enjoy the friendly conversations that Marcus and Honoria had with each other, but as a fan of romance novels, it felt like there was not enough romance, fire and passion between the two of them to make me really believe that their love for each other is real. Marcus and Honoria’s love for each other does not really show up until towards the end of the book and it felt like their relationship with each other was being forced towards the end instead of letting it naturally run along throughout the book. Also, there were many slow moments throughout this book that I was finding it hard to keep up with the story because there were scenes that dragged on for too long before they got to the exciting part of the story. 

Overall, “Just Like Heaven” is a really cute story for romance fans who love stories where the hero and heroine start out as friends and then become lovers. Also, this novel is great for readers who are uncomfortable with sex scenes since this novel does not contain too many sex scenes. Now that I am interested in Julia Quinn’s books, I think I will check out her “Bridgerton” series! 

* 2012 All About Romance (AAR) Annual Reader Poll for Most Disappointing Romance & Honorable Mention for Funniest Romance

You might also like: 

• The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

• The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn

• Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt

[BOOK REVIEW] Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean

Title:  Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord

Author:  Sarah MacLean

Genre: Historical Romance

Year Published: 2010

Number of Pages: 357 pages

Date Read: 4/15/2011

Series: Love By Numbers #2

Publisher: Avon 

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Sex Scenes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

After reading the first book in Sarah MacLean's “Love By Numbers” series, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake I was practically dying to read the sequel “Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord.” Unfortunately, this novel did not seem to capture my attention like Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake and I have often found myself trying to finish this book as quickly as I can.

Ever since Nicholas St. John was named “London's Lord to Land” in a ladies' magazine, he has been avoiding all the women in London. However, when the Duke of Leighton told Nick about his missing sister, Nick was glad to take this opportunity to escape! However, when Nick comes to the secretive Townsend Park, home of Minerva House, he finds the daughter of the late wastrel, Lady Isabel Townsend and he realizes that she is no ordinary woman! But will both lovers ever truly love each other once their dark secrets are revealed?

There were a few good things that I did like about this book. I really loved the love scenes and the hero and heroine! Sarah MacLean had done an awesome job at making Nick the all-time, sexy and ever handsome hero! Whew! I just loved how Nick was willing to help out Isabel and the girls of Minerva House with their financial troubles and I just adored Nick for being honest with his feelings about Isabel. But, not only do I love Nick's personality, but his physical appearance is like the body of a god! I loved how Sarah MacLean described his body as being large and muscular, which are two things I love about my romance heroes! Now about Isabel, I loved the fact that Isabel is such a strong heroine and I loved the way that she stood up to any kind of authority that threatened to tear her apart from the girls of Minerva House. But, probably the best part about this novel were the love scenes between Isabel and Nick! I mean, this book is littered with love scenes galore and man, these scenes are hot and sizzling!

Now, here are some reasons why I gave this book a three star rating. For one thing, I often get annoyed with the heroine, Isabel, since she has some major trust issues to work through. I know that Isabel is scared to trust men because of what her father did to her mother and I do understand what she is going through, but still, I think that she could have at least put a little trust in Nick. I also felt sorry for Nick throughout the book because it is evident that he truly does love Isabel, but Isabel always seem to push him away from her no matter what Nick does to earn her love and it got so irritating after awhile. Also, I thought that this book was a little boring at times because the plot seem to slow down in many scenes and there are barely any action scenes in this book, so it was sometimes hard for me to get through this book without a bit of action.

Overall, this book is an average read for me. Even though “Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord” has some really cute scenes between Nick and Isabel, I just wished that Isabel was a little more trusting of Nick and I wished that there were more action scenes to keep my attention to the plot. Even though this is not my favorite book out of the series, I cannot wait to read the third book, Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart

You might also like: 

• Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart by Sarah MacLean

• Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

• Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt

[BOOK REVIEW] Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

Title:  Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake

Author:  Sarah MacLean

Genre: Historical Romance

Year Published: 2010

Number of Pages: 397 pages

Date Read: 12/15/2010

Series: Love By Numbers #1

Publisher: Avon 

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Sex Scenes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

After reading so many romance novels with a generous and kind hero, I have finally stumbled upon a romance novel where we have here a “bad boy” hero. “Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake” is an amazing tale by Sarah MacLean about romance, drama, betrayal and lots of love making scenes that will have romance fans flipping over with excitement!

Lady Calpurnia Hartwell (Callie for short) has always wanted more out of her life since her life as a spinster to make a list of nine rules to break to make her life more interesting. While completing her list, Callie meets notorious and handsome rake Gabriel St. John, the Marquess of Ralston (Gabriel or Ralston for short) who she seems to have feelings for since ten years ago. Now Callie’s notorious list will either break her and Gabriel apart or bring them together.

Oh my goodness! Oh my gosh! I have never read a romance novel quite like this before! Sarah MacLean has certainly done an awesome job at writing this wonderful tale of love and betrayal! Now, I will talk about what I loved about the characters and the story. Sarah MacLean has probably created the most controversial yet most memorable characters in romance novels history! Callie is such a headstrong and passionate character, that I just loved her from the beginning! I loved the way that Callie was willing try something different in her life; even if it meant that she has to break the rules of the society she lives in to be a more daring person. Another character that really grew on me was Gabriel St. John and I will admit that when I first read about him, I was so annoyed by his rude and arrogant behavior towards Callie, but once I found out about how his mother had abandoned his family when he was small which caused him to distrust the power of love, I actually felt sympathy for him and when he stood up for Callie, watch out because Ralston truly shows his “bad” side when it comes to Callie! I also loved the fact that Gabriel is a true “bad boy” hero of the story as he has one rude and arrogant attitude, but he truly does have a heart of gold when it comes to protecting Callie. Now onto the juicy parts of this story! There are plenty of love-making scenes in this book from the very beginning to the very end and each love scene in this book will make you literally sweat and tingle all over as the scenes really go into great detail.

This book is basically filed to the brim with sex scenes, so anyone who is uncomfortable with reading about sex scenes might find it a bit difficult to read through this book.

Overall, “Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake” is definitely one of the most irresistible and unique romance novels ever written and any romance fans looking for pure love scenes and “bad boy” heroes will definitely get a kick out of this book!

* 2010 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Romance
* 2010 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award (RT Award) for Seal of Excellence
* 2011 RITA Award by Romance Writers of America Nominee for Best Regency Historical

You might also like: 

• Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart by Sarah MacLean

• The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

• Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt

[ARC REVIEW] Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt

Title:  Wicked Intentions

Author:  Elizabeth Hoyt

Genre: Historical Romance

Year Published: 2010

Number of Pages: 531 pages

Date Read: 2/18/2017   

Publisher:  Gale Cengage Learning (Large Print)

Series: Maiden Lane #1

Source: eARC (NetGalley) / Library

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Gory Violence and Sex Scenes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

I would like to thank NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Every word you have ever uttered, is engraved upon my heart.” 

Hoo boy! It has been a while since I had last read a historical romance novel and what better way to start off the new year than to read a historical romance novel by a new author?  When NetGalley offered me a new historical romance book online, I was tempted to try this novel “Wicked Intentions” by Elizabeth Hoyt out, since I had never read a romance novel by Elizabeth Hoyt before, despite hearing her name pop up in many romance discussions.  After reading this book, I was so blown away by the raw and real romance shown in this novel!

Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, was known throughout London as being a notorious rake who would pleasure himself with any woman he came across.  However, his main goal in this story is to find the person who murdered his former mistress Marie and he ends up enlisting the help of Temperance Dews, who was a widowed woman running a foundling home that her family established.  Unfortunately, Temperance and her family were having a hard time trying to maintain the home since they did not have enough money to support the home.  So, Lord Caire decided that he will introduce Temperance to high society so that way she can find a benefactor who could support the foundling home.  But in exchange for that, Temperance must help Lord Caire find Marie’s killer in the dangerous streets of St. Giles and even though Temperance and Lord Caire did not get along with each other at first, they both soon realize that their feelings for each other might grow into a passion that might consume them both!

Wow! I must admit that this was a pretty awesome read for my first novel by Elizabeth Hoyt!  I was amazed by the dangerous yet sensuous world that Elizabeth Hoyt had crafted and how the characters all try to survive in this type of world without being corrupted themselves.  Elizabeth Hoyt has done a fantastic job at intertwining the murder mystery plot of Marie’s murder into the romantic plot line between Temperance and Lord Caire as it was interesting in not only trying to discover who Marie’s murderer is, but it was great seeing the growing romantic relationship between Temperance and Lord Caire!  But what I loved the best about this book was how Elizabeth Hoyt wrote each character, especially Temperance and Lord Caire!  I loved the fact that both Lord Caire and Temperance are shown as both having flaws (Lord Caire is a rake, while Temperance has a dark past that she has trouble telling people about) and I loved the fact that Lord Caire was trying to get Temperance to open up about her past and Temperance was trying to show Lord Caire what true love is all about.  Although, the only nitpick I have about the characters was that I wish we knew more about Temperance’s family members like her brothers Winter, Concord and Asa and especially her sister Silence who has her own side story in this book.  Also, I have to say something about the…. SEX SCENES.  I must say that this novel probably has the most graphic yet sensual depiction of sex scenes I have ever read in any romance novel and it was quite an unusual yet mesmerizing experience to behold!

For anyone who does not like strong violence and sex scenes, this novel has plenty of violence and sex scenes that might make some readers squirm a bit.  Regarding the strong violence, there are scenes where the victims of the murders have their stomachs torn open by the murderer and it is described in graphic detail.  The same goes for the sex scenes are they are described much more graphically in this novel than in any other romance novel.

Overall, “Wicked Intentions” is a fantastic read if you are into historical romances that manage to combine murder mystery into the plot line and I definitely cannot wait to read more stories from the rest of the characters in this story!

* 2011 All About Romance (AAR) Annual Reader Poll for Best Love Scenes

[BOOK REVIEW] What's in Fox's Sack? by Paul Galdone

Title:  What's in Fox's Sack

Author:  Paul Galdone

Genre: Animals / Folktale / England / Trickery

Year Published: 1982

Year Read:  2015

Publisher: Clarion Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Depictions of Kidnapping)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

Wow! I have certainly been on the roll when it comes to reading Paul Galdone’s books!  So, I just recently stumbled upon another picture book written and illustrated by Paul Galdone called “What’s In Fox’s Sack?” which is based off an old English tale and man, was it a pretty interesting tale!

The story starts off with Fox finding a big bumblebee in the ground and he decides to put the bumblebee into his sack.  Later on, Fox meets up with a very little woman and he asks her to watch his sack while he goes off to visit his friend Squintum.  After Fox had left, the very little woman looked into the sack anyway and out flew the bumblebee, who ends up being gobbled by the very little woman’s rooster.  When Fox comes back, the very little woman confessed to Fox that she opened the sack and her rooster ate up the bumblebee after it flew out of the sack.  So, Fox decides to put the very little woman’s rooster into the sack instead and he continues to travel across the village, meeting up with different women while getting many different creatures into his sack! 

I have read many folktales that deal with tricksters trying to get want they want in various ways, but I have never read a tale where said trickster uses a normal sack to capture his prey in exchange for something much bigger and better!  Paul Galdone has done an excellent job at retelling this ancient English folktale as it shows how trickery against innocent bystanders can have its own consequences and I really enjoyed seeing Fox going to different houses in each page and put something even bigger and better than the last prey he captures into his sack, such as putting a rooster from a little lady into his sack to putting a pig from a very big woman into his sack after the rooster escapes from the sack.  I also loved how unique this story is since I had never read a story that dealt with the trickster tricking everyone he meets by taking their possessions and putting them into his sack while he looks for a much larger prey on his journey through the village. Paul Galdone’s artwork is as usual gorgeous to look at as the characters look so scratchy and yet they really convey the traditional sense of this story, especially of the images of Fox looking so sneaky whenever he is taking his sack to different places in the village.

Overall, “What’s in Fox’s Sack?” is a truly fantastic book about tricky animals and I am sure that children and parents will enjoy this book for many years!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.