The Mad Earl's Bride by Loretta Chase

When Gwendolyn Adams is asked to marry a man considered mad and soon to die, she takes it in stride and accepts the offer. By marrying the Earl of Rawnsley she will gain his name and position which will make it easier for her to accomplish her dream of opening a hospital. What she does not expect is to be drawn to this 'mad' earl. She researches his condition, and that of his late mother, and attempts to help him find ways to cure him. During there discussions together, this couple find a type of love they never thought possible. But with Dorian certain he is going to die, he tries to distance himself from Gwen while at the same time, encouraging her to discover as much as she can about medincine. He learned at a young age to keep his feelings to himself so these emotions he feels for the steady, level headed Gwen are new and a bit terrifying. The truth of Dorian's disease is revealed and watching this couple come to the new terms was enjoyable. Well written, emotional (the storyline is a bit dark) and sexy with a bit of humor, this novella was a treat to read! 4 stars

eARC provided by Avon Books via edelweiss

Scandal Wears Satin by Loretta Chase

When Lady Clara, the Maison Noirot best and most wealthy customer, finds herself engaged to the broke Lord Adderly, Sophia Noirot and her sisters find themselves at odds.  Without Clara's patronage, there is a strong chance there shop will not survive.  Especially with Clara's mother boycotting the shop since Sophy's eldest sister married Clara's almost betrothed.  The situation goes into more upheaval when Clara runs away and it is up to her brother, Harry, the Earl of Longmore to fetch her quietly.  And while he is attracted to the blue eyed beauty of Sophy he is uncertain as to why she cares to much about his sister.  As Sophy is quite an accomplished master of disguise, she knows she can safely and quickly find Clara and also find a creative solution to keeping her as their star customer and saving the shop.  Naturally, traveling together allows for this mutual attraction to grow and deepen but it takes awhile for it to truly heat up.  As more of Sophy's plans unravel to help Clara escape her betrothal, will Sophy be able to save her beloved dressmaker shop and in the process, find some true happiness for herself?  How will Harry react when the truth of her background is fully known?

I absolutely adored the first book in this series, Silk is for Seduction, so I was very eager to read this book and while I enjoyed this one, I didn't love it either and I can not quite put my finger on why.  I loved all the fun quips between Sophy and Harry:

"You admire her," he said.
"Yes," she said. "She was brave."
"Reckless is more like it.  Stupidly reckless."
"Like her brother."
Another pause.
"You have a point," he said.

I loved watching Harry and is high strung family come together and put Clara first and Sophy slowly maker her own place in the family as well.  I think, for me, I just didn't feel the connection right away between Harry and Sophy.  Still, it was enjoyable watching them fall in love and then bumble about trying to find a way to make it work to everyones satisfaction.   I also felt like Clara almost stole this book as she is featured so prominently again and I am really hoping this poor girl finds a man who is worthy of her.  I loved all the attention to the details of the gorgeous gowns and the warm friendship between the sisters.  Sophy was a delight to read with her bold and decisive nature and her passion for protecting what is hers.  Harry did not really seem to have much to do except escort his sister to the dressmakers so I would have liked to have seen him have more of a purpose for his life but I think is fun loving attitude is a wonderful balance for Sophy.  I breezed though this expertly written romance and I am looking forward to the last sister getting her story.  Not much was hinted at for it so I can't wait to see who she might be paired up with!  Loretta Chase is an auto buy author for me for her gorgeous storytelling balanced between love, heat and humor so even though I did not love this one, it was a wonderful story to immerse myself in after a long days work.  4 stars

I received this eARC from Avon via edelweiss.com.  Quote subject to change in final version.

The Dressmakers series
Could be read as standalone but best enjoyed in order

At least one more to come plus a surprise according to her website!

New Covers

Some lovely new covers for your viewing enjoyment this week.  Well, this started with just four covers but I keep seeing more so it is a bit long now!  Enjoy :)

First up is a debut that I am eagerly awaiting, Secrets of a Wedding Night. It doesn't come out until Sept 25th (boo!) but Valerie Bowman shared her beautiful cover on Twitter this past week. Love the blue and that we get to see her garter.

These two covers are for the upcoming books from Jayne Fresina, who is a new to me author but looks like she has been self publishing and these could be her traditional print debuts?  I'm not positive about that though!  Based on the titles and the cuteness of the covers I am expecting these to be light-hearted fun and I am looking forward to reading them! The Most Improper Miss Sophie Valentine releases June 5th and I don't see a release date for The Wicked Wedding of Miss Ellie Vyne yet.  

I'm a little on fence about this next cover.  I love the color of the dress but I don't particularly like the dress itself.  I like the man peeking through her arm though.  Look for The Mad Lord's Daughter in August.

Michele Sinclair is another new to me author and hello gorgeous cover!  I will definitely be picking up A Woman Made for Pleasure in August!

Another debut! This one from Nina Rowan will be releasing in Sept...so far away!  If you head over to her website, there is a great little video about the book.  I'm really looking forward to this one!

Here is the sexy cover for the second in Katharine Ashe's Falcon Club series.  I can't wait to see the step back!! (Well, if there is one)  How to Be a Proper Lady releases June 26th.

Gah!  LOVE!  I can not wait for this one!  Scandal Wears Satin also releases June 26th. 

Yes, yes another new to me author.  Where am I going to find the time to read them all? The Casanova Code looks to be the start of a new series called The Rake Patrol.  It should be out June 5th.  

And lastly, a gorgeous purple one from Mia Marlowe.  This is book three in her Touch of Seduction series and Touch of a Scoundrel looks be out July 31st.

Whew!  Quite a few covers popped up this week!  Which one caught your eye?  Are any of them new to you authors as well?

Silk Is for Seduction by Loretta Chase

Marcelline Noirot is on her way to becoming the greatest dressmaker in all of London, she just needs one big splash from a high profile client and she has found it in the the future Duchess of Clevedon. But since Lady Clara is not officially the Duke of Clevedons bride yet, Marcelline and her two sisters create an elaborate plan to seduce Clevedon with their fashions and bring his new bride to them. Marcelline sets of to Paris where Clevedon has been the past few years, sowing his oats. She observes his habits and plans to make quite an introduction to him at an opera and her boldness captivates Clevedon immediately. When the heat gets to be a bit to much for Marcelline, she tries to make a quick exit to London but Clevedon follows her and surprises her by joining her on the return trip, which turns out to be a good thing as their ship encounters a rough storm.

Back in London, neither one of them can quite forget each other but Clevedon goes about his duty to pursue Lady Clara, with whom he has had an understanding to marry since childhood. He does bring Lady Clara to Marcellines shop and she is able to secure her high profile client that she needs. Then a tragedy happens that throws everything into a tail spin and keeps the scandal tongues working overtime. After all, how can a duke fall for a lowly dressmaker, especially while his almost fiancee is watching?

This was such a fun, fascinating read! I loved how the sisters are dressmakers and we get to see quite a bit of that and how much fashion meant to them. I loved how self confident, bossy, and caring Marcelline was. I loved how Clevedon calls Marcelline Noirot through half the book because he doesn't know her full name. I loved how Clevedon starts out the book not caring about fashion at all but grows to notice it and develop his own ideas. Now, I was a bit concerned about the cheating angle but since Clevedon is never officially engaged to Lady Clara it was a concern that did not need to be worried about. I do hope Lady Clara is featured in a story sometime as it was wonderful to see her grow into herself throughout this story and she certainly deserves her own happily-ever-after! Sigh, when Clevedon tells Marcelline his true feelings for her and her reaction to that, so heartbreaking and sweet at the same time! But as Marcelline has never revealed her true past to him, she feels it is necessary. Thankfully, her sisters set her straight and all works out in the end. I am really looking for to the other two sisters books and hope, again, that Lady Clara turns up again as well. If you are looking for a fun (I laughed quite a bit at all the batter between these two!), sexy, fascinating read, grab this one! 4 1/2 stars

I received this ebook via netgalley.com

Royal Weddings: An Original Anthology by Stephanie Laurens, Gaelen Foley, and Lorreta Chase

These are three very short stories to keep up with all of the excitement around the big real life royal wedding this April. This first short is by Stephanie Laurens and is the longest and was just ok for me. It is about a wedding planner, which I loved, and an old crush that comes home to his royal cousins wedding. The attraction is still there naturally and he bids his time with the lady. Nothing spectacular but I do believe it features a few characters from previous books of Laurens. Having read none myself, I'm not quite certain. 3 stars

Next is Gaelen Foleys story and really the best of the bunch. It is about a married couple who have lost that spark and are not communicating with each other. One good slap changes that and you get a nice, quick, sexy read set during Princess Charlottes wedding. It worked very well for the length of the story. 4 stars

Finally is Loretta Chases story. Hers is about a titled male who needs to marry a wealthy women to pay his debts. However, at the last minute the young lady decides she wants to marry for love, just as Queen Victoria is. As the heiress loves the male and she believes he cares nothing much for her except for her fortune, she calls off the wedding. This drives the man to despair and true love comes out in the end. I liked this one but felt the storyline would have benefited being full length, or a longer short story. 3 1/2 stars

Overall, a nice addition to the Avon Impulse line and worth the $1.99 price. Just a nice bit of HEAs with a bit of royal wedding history to keep in line with the current royal wedding celebration.
I received this ebook via netgalley.com