It Happened One Midnight by Julie Anne Long

What I liked:
Jonathan Redmond:  He was strong, sexy and much deeper and smarter than most people, including his own family, give him credit for.  When his father gives him an ultimatum-marry or lose the family money-he scoffs it off until the lovely Tommy captures his attention. When he learns the true nature of what Tommy is dealing with, he can not help but be drawn in and help her, protect her...fall in love with her.
Thomsina de Ballesteros:  Tommy holds many secrets close to her and has built up a persona that London believes.  Is she a courtesan? Does she have Spanish princess blood in her?  Beneath all that is the scars from her past and running into Jonathan one midnight changes her life forever.
The romance:  Tommy and Jonathan just connect right away and it was such a delight to watch it grow into a deep, permanent love.  Jonathan handles his arrogant father in a good way and it really showed his depth of feelings for Tommy.
The mystery aspect:  I'm a little bit vague here since Tommy's secrets come out in their own time and they add a deeper undertone to this story.  I loved how the mysterious gypsy reading Jonathan receives in the beginning comes true in a most unexpected way!
Family:  I loved Jonathan and his expecting sister Violet together.  It added humor and heart which I enjoyed.

What I did not like;
Not much really but I did feel like the romance almost moved a bit too slow.  Nitpicky I know, but I felt my attention shifting a little too easily.

Overall, another solid winner from Julie Anne Long in a very strong historical romance series.  This story could easily be read on its own but it will make you anxious to read previous ones and new ones yet to come.  Wit, charm, true love, heat, family with a deeper undertone that is sure to touch your heart, It Happened One Midnight is sure to please historical romance fans!

eARC provided by Avon Book via edelweiss

Pennroyal Green series
Can be read out of order but best enjoyed in order as it focuses on two families

                 
Between the Devil and Ian Eversea March 2014

New Covers

Quite a few really lovely covers found out and about this past week. It's long! :)

I am so excited that Maggie Robinson's new series is going to be a mass market paperback release (her previous books are all trade which equals higher prices).  I have really enjoyed her work so I am looking forward to the start of the Ladies Unlaced, In the Arms of the Heiress out July 2nd.  The house in the background reminds me a bit of Downton Abbey :)

Oh, pretty!  The Secret Life of Lady Julia will be out May 28th.  Love the blue and the flower and the little attention to detail on her dress.  I will definitely be reading this one.

I really like gold on the cover and with the addition of the purple sky in the background..lovely.  Love and Other Scandals is the start of a new series or a stand alone, not sure yet.  Look for it July 30th.

And now for a stretch of really lovely green covers!  I have yet to read anything by Adrienne Basso so maybe I will change that with How to Be a Scottish Mistress, which is set for release July 2nd.

Nicola Cornick is also an author I have been meaning to read and collecting all her books.  The Lady and the Laird is the start to her new Scottish Brides series so hopefully I get a chance to read it.  Look for it July 30th.

Yay!!  A new Julie Anne Long!  And the cover!  Love.  I love that she is looking right at you and her dress is gorgeous.  It Happened One Midnight is book eight in her Pennroyal Green series and one I can't wait for its  June 25th release!

Juliana Gray was added to my auto buy list this past year and How to Tame Your Duke is the start of a new series, set for release June 4th.  Added to my list to buy!

How to Lose a Bride in One Night (what a fun title!) is book three in the Forgotten Princesses series by Sophie Jordan.  This cover reminds me a bit of Cinderella fleeing the ball so it will be interesting to see if something like that happens in the book which will be out July 30th.

This is such a fun and flirty cover for the newest Cynster novel by Stephanie Laurens.  I also love the attention to the background detail.  The Taming of Ryder Cavanaugh reaches shelves June 25th.

Isn't this an eye-catching cover?  The lighter colors really work well together.  My Notorious Gentleman is book six in the Inferno Club series and should arrive July 30th.

And finally here is the lush cover for the newest from Karen Ranney, The Devil of Clan Sinclair.  I love when they include stepbacks and the gold is very striking.  Look for this title July 30th.

 Whew!  What a great batch of covers!  Which titles are you most looking forward too?

A Notorious Countess Confesses by Julie Anne Long

Evie Duggan has had to do some things to provide for her family that the proper woman of Pennroyal Green just can not accept or ignore and they shun the widowed countess upon her move there.  As her life, which involved theater, becoming a courtesan, and being one in a card game, has left her quite lonely she sets about to make friends with the woman and enlists the help on the one man who is a central part to all the woman, Vicar Adam Sylvaine.  Adam is the delectable vicar who has captured the heart of all the young ladies and they don't exactly take to Evie with her sinful past, catching his attention.  Yet, Evie's vulnerability strikes a cord with Adam and he agrees to help her find the friends she desperately desires.  Together they launch a plan of attack but the woman of Pennroyal Green still do not quite believe in Evie's redemption and toss her numerous obstacles that she has to overcome.  All the while, Evie can't quite understand her feelings she is developing for Adam and knows that nothing can truly happen as her past will destroy his future.  Can Adam convince himself, Evie and his congregation that they belong together?

Julie Anne Long has delivered another sensual, witty, enjoyable romance!  Adam is a vicar I think we all wish we could see every Sunday; kind, strong, sharp, caring and very easy on the eyes.  Evie was strong, funny, smart, loyal, loving and courageous yet unique with her loneliness.  She has a brother and sister that she communicates with and her trusty maid, Henny, but you could not help but empathize as her loneliness is a hard void to fill.  She thinks she will easily be able to convince Adam to help her but Adam sees right through her act and sees her heart but he also can not shake her notorious past and it causes quite a bit of friction, especially when men from her past turn up in town.  While I loved the slow build up and sexual tension, I wished it had moved a little faster.  It was over the halfway mark before they even shared a kiss but I did feel it fit with the storyline and the surroundings...but still.  Even though there is a slow build up, Adam and Evie share some very tender, hot, swoon worthy moments together.  The secondary characters add a wonderful layer of humor, hijinks, heart and humility and I thought the ending involving them was very appropriate.  Even though this is book seven in this series, it can be read as a stand alone and the ending left me very hopeful a long awaited reunion may soon have its story!!  Overall another strong addition to a wonderful series.  A delicious romance filled with the trademark wit and loveliness you can expect from a Julie Anne Long novel!  4 stars

eARC provided by Avon Book via edelweiss

Pennroyal Green series
(can be read as stand alones)

 

New Covers

Maya Banks shared this delicious cover this week.  I really enjoyed her first Highlander series and I very excited for her new series!  And the covers...wowza. Highlander Most Wanted isn't out until Feb 26th though...sigh.  

I don't see much about this title yet, but it looks to be the start of a new series from Celeste Bradley.  I love the softness of the cover and the heroine looks to be up to no good :)  Hopefully more info will be coming soon.  Look for When She Said I Do in January 2013.

Wow, purple is usually my favorite color for covers but I am thinking gold might take over that soon!  This is one seriously sexy cover!  Usually there is some semblance of clothes but not for this one, lol! Seducing Mr. Knightly is book four in the Writing Girls series and one that I have been looking forward to for awhile.  It will be out October 30th.

Sin With a Scoundrel is book four in Sara Bennett's Husband Hunter Club series and I enjoyed the previous books so I will be picking this one up.  Love the pop of green!  This one is also out Oct 30th.

Cathy Maxwell's next title, The Scottish Witch: The Chattan Curse, will be out Oct 30th and I really like the nod to the Scottish theme.  This is book two in this series.

Another very anticipated release for me is A Notorious Countess Confesses. Book seven in the Pennroyal Green series, one I'm still not fully caught up on yet, but has had some wonderful books so I have high hopes for the new one.  The cover is very pretty and romantic.  This is also an Oct 30th release.

One last one that was shared this week. The Bridegroom Wore Plaid is the start of a new trilogy from the delightful Grace Burrowes.  Love the plaid and the softness this one.  It will be set in the Victorian era.  Look for this one in December.

Not a bad bunch of covers, huh? :)  Some really great titles coming!!  Which ones are you most excited about?

How the Marquess Was Won by Julie Anne Long

A chance encounter.  Seemingly dismissed.  Fate has other plans though...

Phoebe Vale, teacher and broadsheet lover,  has no clue her life is going to change when she goes into a shop to admire a bonnet and get the latest gossip.  When she hears the latest scandals of Lord Ice, Julian Spenser, Marquess Dryden, she is rather amused but she is quickly startled because who just happens into this shop?  None other that Julian in all his black and white glory.  With just a cursory glance about the shop, Julian asks to see the fans and purchases the best one as everything is the best for Julian.  Everything is neat and tidy and has its place in life and he is on the hunt for a wife and not just any wife, oh no.  He is courting the perfect, beautiful heiress Lisbeth Redmond.  And Lisbeth is the last piece of his future he needs to finally clear up his fathers gambling mess as Lisbeth will bring the lands that were lost in a card game.  But even though Phoebe feels like she was not even noticed in the shop, Phoebe is on his mind but he has to dismiss her as she does not fit in with his plans.

When Phoebe receives an offer to be Lisbeths companion for a few days she initially hesitates but then decides to go and earn some more money for her future plans to travel to Africa.  It just happens to have the added bonus of running into Julian again... who had stopped by her school to inquire about his sister attending and a tour of the school with just the two of them leads to quite a few sparks!  The sparks, the attraction, the desire all continue to grow especially as Julian lets down some walls and lets Phoebe see the real him, not the Marquess that all of society loves and tries to emulate.  Stolen kisses and heated embraces that are almost caught lead to some absolutely delightful situations for our pair to try to overcome!  But when the ton starts to take serious notice of Phoebe, only then does the story start to take a shaky path that leads to heartbreak but Julian takes strides to right the wrongs all while possibly endangering the perfect future he had mapped out.

Overall, this was an absolutely delightful book!  I really adored Julian!  When Phoebe hits him in the head and it leaves a bruise on his forehead, he is forced to have a forelock to cover it and all of society copies him.  The results, hilarious.   But beneath the perfect facade is just a man who wants to be loved for him and seen past his fathers failures and Phoebe is just the woman who sees him.  I will admit I feel in love with Julian when Phoebes cat, Charybdis (funniest cat ever I swear!), goes missing and Julian flies off to find him immediately. Sigh, yeah, I was in love with him then and I knew how deep his love was for Phoebe.  And Phoebe was a true delight as well.  She is smart and witty and fought her way from the slums to become a teacher of girls who have the impulses and desires as she did at their younger age.  Together, these two are near perfection and it is only that little shaky bit near the end I disliked.  I just personally do not like that type of storyline but I have to say, I was very proud of the way Phoebe stood up for herself and Julians eventual resolution of the situation.  Overall, if you enjoy an instant attraction story with some great laugh-out-loud moments this is a perfect story for you.  I am sorry to say I have only read the first book in this series and I know I have to read the previous book, What I Did For a Duke, like yesterday and I know I can not wait.  Julie Anne Long has made it onto my auto buy list for all future books with this delicious, sparkling, witty book .  4 1/2 stars

I received this ebook from Avon via netgalley.com


Pennyroyal Green series
Can be read as stand alones