Review: THE DUKE OF DARK DESIRES by Miranda Neville
Finally! Lord Julian's book is here and it definitely delivers! From the first chapter you'll become enraptured by this seductive tale of mutual subterfuge which is sprinkled with wit and heart. An unwanted dukedom, three unwanted wards, but a very much wanted governess will drive Julian Fortescue to commit unthinkable acts-- such as love and rising to responsibility.Read an excerpt: here
If you thought Marie Antoinette had it bad, those aristocrats who survived the French Revolution might beg to differ. One fortunate (or unfortunate) noble who made it was Jeanne-Louise Marie-Adoree de Falleron, the once pampered daughter of the Marquis de Falleron. She endured the horrors of witnessing her family's execution and jumping from traitorous "protector" to "protector" to stay alive. She vows revenge against the man named Fortescue who betrayed her father's trust and foiled her family's escape plan- just as soon as she finds him.
Going by the alias of Jane Grey, Jeanne's hunt leads her to London and the home of the new Duke of Denford. The unexpectedly handsome new duke has just been saddled with the care of his precocious half sisters. This allows for the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the home of a member of the Fortescue family and with that Jane applies for the position of governess. The dubious potholes in her past notwithstanding, the duke finds her (and her looks) satisfactory and gives Jane the job. A dangerous dance of balancing pretenses and desires ensues, becoming further complicated with the entry of some treacherous characters in the form of an evil surviving cousin of Jeanne/Jane and a nemesis from the art world who has his eyes on Julian's treasured collection.
Rating:
4 Red Roses
My Favorite Part of the Story: Was witnessing Julian rise to the challenge and become an admirable brother, friend, lover, and peer of the realm. From the previous book, you know Julian isn't as dark and careless as his persona lets on, but it was very gratifying to see his evolution and the ways in which Neville displayed this. I was in love when he was a rotten apple, so I am positively smitten now.
I am no longer surprised when I reach the back cover of a Miranda Neville novel and realize she's done it again. This has to be one of my favorite stories and a perfect end to an exciting series. I can't think of much I didn't enjoy in this book. The references and respect of art (some aspects I could actually identify!) were always well represented and complimentary to the story. That rat of a cousin Jeanne/Jane had truly got under my skin, and the three step sisters were endearing and funny. I am never one for a long, drawn out, secret identty plot, but Neville made it bearable with her amazing secondary characters and scenes filled with heat. I am already anxiously awaiting what Neville conjures up next!
Review: LADY WINDERMERE'S LOVER by Miranda Neville
This latest offering from Miranda Neville is richly entertaining and expertly arranged. 1 part Marriage of Convenience + 1 part love triangle + a little dash of national intrigue = Your next fun read!When the husband that abandoned her shortly after their wedding returns to town, Cynthia Chorley's battle with temptation and the past comes to a head. She is no longer the provincial nobody the Earl of Windermere married, but a fully grown woman with admirers a plenty and a stubborn streak that will test the Earl's resolve as much as it intrigues him.
Read an excerpt: here
The rift between Damian Lewis, Earl of Windermere and Julian Fortescue, newly minted Duke of Denford, dates back 7 years to Damian's majority. A bad turn of cards and one too many spirits led to the divesting of an important sentimental asset which Julian could have supposedly prevented. In retaliation, Damian interfered with Julian's (an untitled art dealer at the time) career prospects which set him back significantly and led to the lines being drawn in the sand.
One of those lines took the elegant form of Cynthia Lewis, née Chorley- the dukes neglected, provincial bride. Neither husband nor wife entered into the union under false impressions; In marrying Cynthia, Damian regained the asset lost to him all those years ago and also enjoys an infusion of cash. Cynthia gains a title and her family enjoys exalted status and their legacy continuing with the Earldom. Whatever the pretenses of the marriage, Cynthia was enthusiastic about giving married life with her handsome new husband a real go. Sadly, her chance would be delayed a year because shortly after consummating the marriage, Damian accepts an assignment from the Foreign Office which sends him trapezing all over Persia- sans wife.
Damian's slights and inattentiveness to his wife have festered and while the husband is away the devil will play. Julian tries his damnedest to seduce the wife of his ex-cohort almost as soon as he left the scene. When Damian returns he finds himself in an awkward love triangle that has deep seated issues and implications that run farther than forbidden attraction. It doesn't help that the biddable, country bumpkin of a wife he left behind has blossomed into a fashionable, polished temptress. Damian's newest assignment will have him biting his tongue and allowing the flirtation (and perhaps more) between his wife and nemesis to persist. Can he rein in his jealousy long enough to complete his objective? And what of the dizzying attraction he now feels for his wife- will that get in the way of a well-laid plan?
Through all of the misunderstandings and suppressed feelings, Cynthia and Damian will first have to make peace with the past and learn how to forgive if they ever hope to achieve future bliss in love and friendship.
Rating:
3 1/2
My Favorite Part of the Book: I really enjoyed the Bhang scene where Damian teaches Cynthia about the hookah-like activity he brought home with him from his travels in Persia. The Bhang is a psychedelic which is inhaled and leaves a person feeling relaxed, happy, and "drunk". This scene occurs about 50% into the book and is the first time we see husband and wife truly connect and explore their chemistry. The more relaxed the couple became during the scene, the more enjoyable their interactions became to the reader. One of my favorite aspects of a romances novel is seeing first-hand how the protagonists' love develops and blooms. This scene was unique and sweet.
You can always expect to NOT be disappointed with a Miranda Neville novel. She has a way of putting together scenes and developing characters that secretly burrow their way into your subconscious and differentiates her stories from everyone else's. Her secondary characters are also always a delight and the misunderstood bad boy Julian was no exception (Yes, I am a Julian Fan-Girl). I like how the sub plot of the new assignment with Foreign Affairs that brought Damian back to London was both interesting and not as intrusive on the story as it could have been- leaving more room for relationship reconstruction. That being said, I really wish the love triangle element would have been explored more. If the journey back to harmonious marital bliss was going to take up the majority of the book than I would have enjoyed an even more compelling opposition in the form of Julian and Cynthia's relationship.
I feel as though Cynthia and Damian encountered so many road blocks which stalled their development as a couple and I would have much preferred a furthering of the forbidden connection to fill in some of that space than the rehashing/going nowhere interactions that dominated the middle-end of the book (in other words: a more proportioned distribution+ diversity of plot development). I also didn't connect much to the heroine- I admired her charitable characteristics and resolute attitude that developed from the trials she went through earlier in life, and her vulnerability and loneliness at being neglected by her husband endeared her more to me, but overall I stopped caring about her as an individual character.
As stated, you can never go wrong with a Neville novel, and this latest offering is no deviation from that fact.
Three Dukes and a Baby...with Miranda Neville (+Giveaway)
Three Dukes and a Baby
On Christmas Eve
With Miranda Neville
Miranda Neville moved to New York from her native England to work in Sotheby's Book Department. She later married and moved to Vermont, where she still lives and almost always gets a white Christmas. When she started to write historical romance, she set out to prove that, contrary to actual experience, rare book collectors are young and hot. She is now attempting the same transformation with art collectors and connoisseurs. The Importance of Being Wicked is the first in her new series The Wild Quartet. There will eventually be four books. Probably.
No one loves a hot duke more than I do. But to fit three of them into one short story seemed like overkill. So I took a different approach to my Christmas tale of separated lovers. -Miranda
Three Dukes and a Baby
by Miranda Neville
Jonathan Bradshaw hated dukes. To be specific he hated one duke.
The day a duke ruined his life he’d ended up face down in a ditch on the Scottish side of the border, stunned and aching from the beating he’d suffered at the hands of His Grace’s lackeys. The smell of whisky cut through the mud clogging his swollen nose. That was the last straw. His pocket flask, fully charged against the chill of a northern journey in early spring, had cracked. If he managed to lug his bruised body out of the dirt, he wouldn’t be able to console his bruised soul and broken heart with the Scottish breath of life.
Waiting for his miserable existence to evaporate along with his last source of comfort, he became aware of a faint lapping sound close to his ear. Then a tiny snuffle and a wet little tongue licking his cheek. Something else was chewing on his boot. The ignominy of ending his life a meal for rats lifted him out of his torpid despair. Rolling onto his arse he found himself surrounded by a trio of puppies. Funny little things, they were, with snub noses and floppy ears and madly wagging tails. They must have been abandoned since their breeding was, to put it kindly, indeterminate. He felt a kinship with the mongrels. Had he not also been rejected by the Duke of Windlesham for his lack of the proper parentage?
The creatures yelped with joy, butting their little heads against his legs and nuzzling his hands with wet noses. One of them demanded to be picked up. When he obliged a wet warmth trickled through his fingers.
The little devil had wet himself.
#
Jonathan averted his eyes from his housekeeper’s festive sprig of holly and checked that the decanter was full. It was Christmas Eve, an occasion he’d dreamed of celebrating in his elegant hundred-year-old house with his wife. If he had a wife. The Duke of Windlesham said not, when he dragged his daughter from the Gretna Green smithy where the smith had just declared Mr. Jonathan Bradshaw and the Lady Anthea Winslow man and wife. A Scottish marriage apparently didn’t count unless it was consummated. As it happened the consummation had taken place, but before the ceremony. In any case, the question was moot. All efforts to find his bride had proved futile. Anthea had vanished from society, from her father’s many mansions, and, as far as Jonathan could discover, from the face of the earth.
So he’d returned to the estate he’d purchased in a vain attempt to impress the duke, who’d declared he’d never give his daughter to the son of a tradesman, however rich. Jonathan wasn’t in the habit of indulging alone, but tonight he intended to get rip roaring drunk.
Something was missing. Or rather three somethings.
“Dukes!” he called into the garden where moonlight glittered on frosted trees. “Come in boys!”
In his loathing for all things ducal, he’d decided to insult the highest rank of nobility by bestowing the title on his brood of curs. Clarence, who had a penchant for spirits, was named for the duke who was unfortunately drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine. Wellington was the boot chewer. And the dog who peed on him was honored with the title of Windlesham. But since he was fond of the little fellow, he usually just called him Widdle. Except when he widdled.
“Clarence! Wellington! Widdle!” he shouted. Ill-bred yapping arose from the shrubbery. The dogs had either cornered a creature or found something vile-smelling to roll in. “Come, boys. If you stink it’s the stables for you, and not a bite of my supper.”
Jonathan’s amble across the lawn turned into a run when a new sound joined the cacophony of barks. Good Lord! A capacious basket wedged into the shelter of a rhododendron emitted the unmistakable howl of an angry baby.
In short order he carried the foundling inside. Without knowing much about infants, he was sure this one was very young. His ridiculously small and very red face was topped by a spindly mop of dark hair. With eyes screwed shut he emitted a level of noise astonishing for such a tiny body.
“Hey there,” he whispered, touched by such fragile helplessness. “What’s the matter?” Was he hungry, cold? Both? The only response was a continuing howl. “What do you want, little one?”
The child was tightly wrapped, a good idea outside, but his library had a good fire. He gently removed a blanket and loosened the swaddling. The perfection of the miniature hands tempted him to touch. Little fingers clutched at his giant one. The baby fell silent and regarded him with big, unfocused eyes.
The dukes sat around him, regarding him with adoring trust. He’d cared for them as orphaned babies and now it apparently fell to him to do the same for a human one. Reaching below the child’s bottom, he smiled. “Well, well,” he told the dogs. “We’ve acquired another widdler.”
His competent housekeeper, whom he’d previously dismissed for the night, responded to his rung. “Newborn, sir. I’ll take care of him and we can decide what to do tomorrow. The mother must be in a sad way to abandon her child at Christmas.”
“Bring him back here when you’ve made him comfortable.”
The infant had fallen under his protection and he’d care for it, as he would any one in need. But he felt more than casual charity for this waif. His company for Christmas was far more appealing than the bottle.
Her company, as the housekeeper informed him when she returned. “Ring again when she cries, sir. She’ll be hungry in the night. I’ve rigged up a bottle and teat for her but tomorrow she’ll need a wet nurse.”
“Show me what to do. I’ll see to her.”
For now the tiny girl slept peacefully while he watched. Dry napkins, a wet nurse, a foster mother. The needs of so helpless a creature were overwhelming. Perhaps he’d keep her. The notion surprised him. When he’d persuaded Anthea to elope with him to escape her arranged marriage, his mind had been possessed by love and earthy passion, the consequences of domesticity little regarded. He wondered if she had wed the middle-aged earl with his two dead wives and rakish reputation. Surely he would have heard.
Unmanly tears prickled his eyes yet his heart was lighter. Fortune had brought him someone to care for, besides his trio of dukes.
He didn’t know how long he kept vigil. It was the dukes who disturbed the silence first, starting up from their sleeping heap of fur on the hearth rug. Distantly he heard the front door knocker. A glance at the mantle clock told him it was after midnight.
Christmas Day.
He opened the door to a pathetic and wondrous sight. She was bedraggled and shivering but he’d recognize her in a full face mask in the dark. His one and only love.
“Anthea!” he cried and she collapsed into his arms.
“Joanna? Do you have her? I put her down because I couldn’t carry her another step. I was coming to the house but I fainted. When I awoke she was gone.”
“She is safe, my love. Come.”
He lifted her up and bore her trembling body into the library. Her care was all for her daughter but he could wait.
Their daughter. He was a father.
“What happened?” he asked, when he had his wife curled in his lap in a large armchair, their child in her arms.
“Father kept me locked at his hunting box until the birth. He was going to take her away from me and I couldn’t bear it. Finally I found a way to escape and come to you. I’m sorry it took so long, Jonathan. I love you and I’ve never loved another.”
“Nothing matters now. I love you, I love Joanna, and we’re together.”
“I was so afraid I’d never see you again.”
He stroked her smooth dark head and drank in the lovely face he’d feared lost forever. Her cheek was chilled beneath his palm, as were the lips he traced with his thumb. Then he kissed her and felt nothing but warmth and the promise of a blissful future.
A tug on his boot interrupted the tender interlude. There was a puddle on the carpet, and one pair of eyes gazed longingly at the untouched decanter.
“My darling,” he said. “I must introduce you to the dukes.”
* Don't forget to stop by Ramblings From This Chick for Maya Rodale's scene*
Available Now:
Thomas, Duke of Castleton, has every intention of wedding a prim and proper heiress. That is, until he sets eyes on the heiress's cousin, easily the least proper woman he's ever met. His devotion to family duty is no defense against the red-headed vixen whose greatest asset seems to be a talent for trouble...Caroline Townsend has no patience for the oh-so-suitable (and boring) men of the ton. So when the handsome but stuffy duke arrives at her doorstep, she decides to put him to the test. But her scandalous exploits awaken a desire in Thomas he never knew he had. Suddenly Caro finds herself falling for this most proper duke...while Thomas discovers there's a great deal of fun in a little bit of wickedness.
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Author Interview and Giveaway with Miranda Neville
I am ubber excited to share with you guys this great interview I did with an amazing author and a fast favorite of mine. She WOW'd me with her book 'The Dangerous Viscount' , which featured a Virgin hero, and now, it looks like another Virgin will make themselves notable in outstanding fashion with her latest book!
Please enjoy my chat with the lovely, Miranda Neville:
About The Author:
A few years ago I decided to write an historical romance. How hard could it be? Wrong. Several manuscripts under-the-bed (or deep in the hard drive) later, HarperCollins bought NEVER RESIST TEMPTATION, published in 2009 by Avon Books.
I now live in beautiful rural Vermont with my daugher Becca, a college student and confirmed drama queen, and two cats who are never on the right side of any door."Source
About the Book:
Being kidnapped teaches Miss Celia Seaton a few things about life
LESSON ONE
Never disrobe in front of a gentleman ... unless his request comes at gunpoint.LESSON TWO
If, when lost on the moors, you encounter Tarquin Compton, the leader of London society who ruined your marriage prospects, deny any previous acquaintance.LESSON THREE
If offered an opportunity to get back at Mr. Compton, the bigger the lie, the better. A faux engagement should do nicely.LESSON FOUR
Not all knowledge is found between the covers of a book. But an improper book may further your education in ways you never guessed.And while an erotic novel may be entertaining,
the real thing is even better
The Interview
RJ: Hello Miranda! Welcome back to Not Another Romance Blog! Congrats on the release of your latest historical, The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton (Book 3-The Burgundy Club series, July 26th, 2011, Avon)! How excited are you for this book’s publication? Does this book have special meaning to you?
MN: Tarquin, the hero of The Amorous Education, has been with me a long time. He was the hero's best friend in my first book, a work that will never see the light of day. I still wanted to write Tarquin's story so I transferred him, with some tweaking, into the Burgundy Club. I'm very excited that his book is finally appearing after such a long journey.
RJ: Why don't you tell me and the readers a little bit about what they will find when they crack open The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton?
MN: Tarquin is a dandy and a society leader who can be quite rude, especially to debutantes. He needs to be brought down, so I stripped him of his clothing and his memory and left him at the mercy of one of his victims. The story is about how Celia discovers the heroic and lovable man beneath the social polish. Along the way to HEA they overcome hunger, villains, interfering relatives, lost treasures and their own views of themselves and each other.
RJ: This release is the latest book in the Burgundy Club series. During your last visit to this blog, you told us about the premise of the series, but as time goes on I think the series begins to grow and change as well. What changes or notable additions to the series can you remark on?
MN: Each installment of the series has turned out differently. The Wild Marquis has a strong mystery as background; The Dangerous Viscount is purely a relationship book, without external subplot. The Amorous Education is a combination of the two but with a different flavor - a sexy romp. Each is very much its own book but tied together by recurring characters.
RJ: Did you pick up any interesting tid-bits while researching for the book and/or did you incorporate any unique elements in your story?
MN: Celia's "Amorous Education" comes from The Genuine Amours, a naughty novel. This is a real book, dated 1796, and all the quotes are from a rare volume I discovered in the British Library in London. Celia learns a lot from Tarquin, too!
RJ: Tarquin Compton is the most fashionable dandy in all of London, but who is the man behind the smartly cut waistcoat? Tell us more about his character. And tell us about the woman who brings him to his knees. How do they work as a couple?
MN: I had to ask myself, what makes a man a dandy? The story of his childhood and the uncle who influenced him is revealed in the book. A big part of Tarquin's emotional journey is rediscovering the person he was before a youthful tragedy, and balancing his own desires with gratitude to his mentor. Celia, on the face of it, is his opposite: unfashionable and socially awkward. But she has a snarky humor blended with courage that brings out the best in him. I hope by the end readers will be in no doubt of this unlikely couple's happiness.
RJ: I love strong main characters, but having amazing secondary characters gives a book that extra “umph”. Give us the scoop on a notable secondary character in The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton. What’s their name, occupation, and a random fact about them?
MN: Diana and Sebastian, the couple from The Dangerous Viscount, play a part in the book, as does Diana's sister Minerva. There's one new character, the mysterious and charming Countess Czerny, whom I think quite intriguing. She's a potential rival for Tarquin's hand and something of an adventuress. Don't worry, Celia has another admirer too. Equal opportunities for jealousy! Fact: Countess Czerny buys her clothes in Paris.
RJ: In a small paragraph, write the blurb to your life as it is-but exaggerated to how you ideally wish it were.
MN: I grew up in England and moved to New York City to work at Sotheby's auction house. After my marriage I moved to Vermont where I still live. I have one beautiful daughter who has never left her room untidy in her entire life. I now write romance novels which flow from my pen without the slightest effort. (Guess which bits aren't true.)
RJ: What makes a good romance to you and who are your favorite authors?
MN: All I want is a pair of likable and convincing characters whose story I can enjoy as they wend their way to an emotionally satisfying HEA. I love smart people, clever dialogue and humor. On the other hand Patricia Gaffney's To Have and To Hold is one of the best romances I've ever read and there's not much humor there. With so many authors I adore, I will restrict myself to a handful of the very best: Loretta Chase, Eloisa James, Madeline Hunter, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Mary Jo Putney … I could go on for hours!
RJ: What projects are you currently working on and what do the readers (and me!) have to look forward to next from you?
MN: I'm in the middle of revisions for Confessions from an Arranged Marriage. The heroine is Minerva Montrose and the book will appear in April 2012.
RJ: Picture this: Some major motion picture studio buys the film rights to The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton and want to make it into a movie. They bring you in as a consultant (since you wrote the book and everything-LOL). They ask you to come up with an ‘ideal’ cast list. Which actors would make that list?
MN: Richard Armitage! Without him as Tarquin, the deal is off. For Celia I envision Cate Blanchett: not conventionally pretty but stunning and with a strong personality.
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Miranda's Question:
Summer's the traditional time for lazing in a hammock with a good book. What are you planning to read? One commenter will win a copy of The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton to take to the beach.
~*~GIVEAWAY DETAILS~*~
Miranda has generously offered to giveaway a copy of 'The Amorous Education of Celia Seton' to (1) one lucky commenter! All you have to do to be eligible to win is answer Miranda's question above in the comments below! The giveaway will end on August 11th and the winner will be announced and contacted shortly thereafter.
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