The Duke Is Mine by Eloisa James

Olivia Lytton has been betrothed since before she was born to the also yet unborn son of a duke, Rupert.  Thanks to a promise made between her father and Ruperts father when they were friends in Eton, she has been 'duchified' since she was a child, along with her twin sister Georgiana.  Olivia knows all the proper rules and etiquette but it is just not her personality.  Olivia is bawdy, sarcastic, and far too witty to truly be contained in a perfect duchess box.  But as she was born seven minutes earlier than Georgiana, who is exactly what one looks for in a duchess, she has accepted her fate to marry the five years younger Rupert.  Olivia knows she will bear the marriage to the much simpler Rupert as she plans to dower Georgiana right away so her perfect, beautiful sister can find her true happiness.  As the betrothal papers are signed, as Rupert is finally eighteen, and scandalous promises are made by Ruperts father, one of the funniest scenes in this book happens.  As Rupert heads to war to achieve the glory he so desires, Georgiana is invited to the home of Tarquin Brook Chatfield, Duke of Sconce by his mother as a potential new wife for Tarquin.  Georgiana, with Olivia at her side, heads to his home with hope alight in her heart.

After his disastrous and heartbreaking first marriage, Quin knows it is his duty to remarry and he is more than willing to turn the process of choosing a wife over to his mother.  She invites out two prospective women and is intent of putting them through a series of tests.  It becomes clear quickly that Georgiana is the obvious choice but his mother continues on with her tests and in the process, asks Quin to entertain Olivia who is not in the running being betrothed already and totally unsuitable.  The slight problem with that is Quin is quite attracted to Olivia but knows it can never be but the more time they spend together sparring and trading wits she slowly uncovers Quins hurtful past and together their hearts know they belong together.  But the road to happiness has quite a few hurdles to overcome including Rupert, Georgiana, Quins mother and even Olivias belief that she is not good enough.

This is a fun, quirky, delightful retelling of the fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea.  I adored the beginning, it had me laughing quite a bit.  Olivia is smart, sassy, and unconventional but honest, fierce, and protective at the same time and it was a delight to meet her.  Quin is a bit proud and stuffy but he suffered a great loss and Olivia is the perfect balm for his heart and she, along with some words from Rupert, makes him complete again.  I am sure there will be a bit of discussion about the situation that Quin and Olivia find themselves in.  She is engaged to Rupert who is off at war and Georgiana thinks that Quin will be the perfect husband.  But, I have to say in my opinion, Eloisa James handled the delicate situation well and the resulting actions are something that I could believe happening.  I do not want to say to much because I don't want to give away to much of the storyline and I want you to be able to judge for yourself, but I believe fans will be happy with the situations.  And then we get to the ending and it ties it all up perfectly.  I was wondering how a pile of mattresses would fit in with this story but Eloisa James found a perfect solution so fairy tale fans will be pleased.  Overall, a true delight that will make you laugh out loud. sigh, and root for this couple.  4 1/2 stars

I received this ebook from Avon via netgalley.com

Happily Ever Afters series
All are standalone but enjoyable reads :)

Ugly Duchess   Later in 2012


And on a totally unrelated note, every time I see this title this song pops into my head.  Like I said, totally unrelated but here it is to get it stuck in your head now :)

A Midnight Dance by Lila DiPasqua

Hmm, steamy retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales, Cinderella...check!  I have been eagerly waiting for Lila DiPasquas newest Fiery Tales to come out and I was surprised when my library notified me that it was in already, last Friday, four days before it was supposed to come out.  Naturally, I hurried over to check it out and then proceeded to devour it over the weekend.  Did it live up to the high hopes I had for it?  Absolutely.

Sabine Laurent is desperate.  Her family needs to pay taxes or they will be thrown into the debtors jail.  She comes up with an outlandish plan to steal chests of silver from a camp of men...by posing as a whore and hopefully getting the men to drink some tainted wine before anything should happen.  Sabine is floored when she shes who is in charge though.  It is her childhood crush, her Dark Prince, one of the reasons her family is in the desperate circumstances, Jules de Moutier.

Jules de Moutier is desperate as well but for a different reason.  His father was falsely accused of a crime and hanged for it and his family lost their titles and lands.  For someone who grew up as an Aristo, this is unacceptable and he needs all the silver to find out who set up his father and get the title and lands reinstated.  He initially doesn't trust Sabine but he can not get this blond fairy and the two start a very steamy, hot relationship.  Jules is amazed at the feelings he feels when with Sabine, it is nothing like he has ever felt before but that all comes crashing down when Sabine finally succeeds in stealing his silver.  Then he is bent on revenge on her as well but still...he can't quite shake his feelings and when it is revealed that Sabines beloved missing twin may have been involved in his fathers death, they set out to find out the truth.

Sigh, what a book and what a story.  I mean the villain of the story, whoa, whiplash, I did not see that one coming and he is just an evil man. We have the stepmother, who really isn't that evil, two stepsisters, who are just a bit silly, some special glass slippers and a fabulous ball.  Sabine was a wonderful female, strong, independent and she went for what she want.  Jules, now he took a bit for me to warm up too as his nose was stuck for far in the air I was surprised he could walk.  I don't think he completely redeemed himself but he did change enough to make me happy.  I loved watching Sabine and Jules fall in love.  Their lovemaking was scorching hot but it was also special.  And the ending!  Oh, I can not wait for the next book!  Overall, 5 stars and a definite keeper and reread.

When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James

Miss Linnet Thrynne is a great beauty but when she is given the cut direct from the ton and her charming prince suitor due to her gown, which makes her look pregnant, she knows she needs to leave as no one will believe the truth. She hears of the Duke of Windebank who is infatuated with royal bloodlines and needs an heir as his son, the current Earl of Marchant, Piers, is impotent. He gladly accepts Linnets fathers arrangement of a marriage between Linnet and Piers as the Duke is more than happy to accept the baby. Of course there is no baby but Linnet decides to travel and try for the best with this new arrangement and just claim she lost the baby. But then she meets Piers.

Piers, a doctor, knows instantly that Linnet is not pregnant and tells her he refuses to marry her (due to a very strained relationship with his father) and he will not fall prey to her great beauty and charms. Piers is rude, arrogant, snaps at everyone and you are put off by him right away. But not Linnit. She is sassy and snappy and keeps right up with Piers sarcasm. She slowly begins to make her presence known in the castle by helping care for the feelings of his patients and making Piers realize that is more to caring for patients than just curing them of whatever ails them.

Watching these two fall in love was so much fun. Piers has his tough exterior but he has no problem falling deeply in love with Linnet but of course, lets her go when an epidemic breaks out with some very harsh words. Linnit has already professed her love to him at this point and leaves brokenhearted. When he finally realizes he loves her, with a bit of help from his slowly mending relationship with his father, it is almost too late and there is a bit more of a twist to the Beauty and the Beast theme. I did think the ending wasn't the best for this story. I understand the twist but I thought Linnit started acting stupid and then things were resolved a bit too quickly. The epilogue helped wrap up this happily ever after fairy tale but I wanted just a bit more. I can not wait for the next story! 4 stars

Storming the Castle by Eloisa James

This was a fun, sexy short story that follows A Kiss at Midnight and gives us the yummy Wicks happily ever after. Phillipa has been betrothed to Rodney since they were children and he proclaimed his love for her, but as the story opens and they consummate their engagement...in the stables....Phillipa realizes she can not marry him. Ever. As she does not want to do that ever again! She hears how the new prince and princess are having difficulties with their new baby and runs off to help with the little guy...and to get away from Rodney.
After she arrives and meets Wick, they both know that they have found their soulmates. However, even though Phillipa is posing as a nursemaid, it becomes evident that she is a lady and Wick, as the butler (though truly he is the illegitimate half brother of the prince) know he can never marry her and force her to downgrade her station. But still, they continue to meet up and have some lovely kisses and when Phillipa finally breaks down Wicks barrier about not sleeping together, ah, so sweet. He shows her what true lovemaking is like and she of course, wants more.
Phillipa returns home with her father and gets a promise from Wick that she will wait one week for him to come get her. The ending is very sweet and shows the deep love that Phillipa and Wick have for each other and also the love that Phillipas father has for her, and his desire to see her happy. This was a great little story to tide me over until the next book in the series, When Beauty Tamed the Beast, comes out in a month and I can't wait! 4 stars for this short, sweet love story! (And thanks to Ms James to listening to her readers who wanted dear Wicks story!)