Seducing An Angel by Mary Balogh

Rating: 5 stars

After reading this book I couldn't believe I waited this long to read it. I loved the book that came before this, and I ended up really liking this one as well. I feel like the author has grown so much since her early books - so much that you can't really compare a book from years and years ago to one of her current books.

The basic story: For anybody who hasn't read about them - The Huxtables are one of those close knit families. The parents are both dead and the oldest daughter - Margaret acted as a kind of mother. They lived in the country for years until the "Earl of Merton" title was passed to the youngest Huxtable - Stephen.

At the time of this story, all of Stephen's sisters are married. He's a fair-haired, well-liked, mellow, friendly young man about town. The heroine is a widow. It is rumored that her husband died a nasty death at her hand. The reality is that she was married young to a man who got violent when he drank. The whole "Who done it?" is plaed throughout the book. She is rapidly running out of funds and she supports her former governess, her maid & the maid's young daughter, & a dog who is blind in one eye. She sets about looking for a wealthy protector and winds up finding Stephen Huxtable. She sets about "seducing an angel". It's interesting because, even though she's a good soul deep down, for obvious reasons....she pursues Stephen in the same predatory way that most rakes in these historical romances usually do. Once she attracts him she is very honest about what she wants and expects (a quality that I really like about my fav Balogh characters). Stephen helps her throughout the book - looking better in the eyes of society, repairing the relationship w/ her brother, encouraging her to try to reclaim her widow's settlement. Cassandra is a strong heroine & I like how complex the characters are. I like that after only being intimate (in secret, thus protecting her reputation such as it is) twice, Stephen helps her without having a sexual relationship - he just wants to help her because he cares about her and he thinks it's the right thing to do - one human being for another.

There is a lot of drama in this book, but a lot of fun & light moments as well.

Tender Rebel by Johanna Lindsey

I really liked Tender Rebel. The heroine had some very dopey ideas and acted very pissy at times but to be fair, she did have people after her, and she did own it later in the book by admitting she had been acting like a bitch. The hero was totally great and made this book for me. I liked how he reacted to how difficult the heroine was being. Some heroes in other books might not have taken that kind of treatment by the heroine as well and been really nasty or done some stupid stuff in retaliation.

Abandon by Jillian Hunter

I enjoyed Abandon - it's one of those stories with a heroine who is all earth mother/magic friendly/enchants all the males she comes in contact with. I liked the hero in this a little more. I'm not sure how to accurately say what I mean - he's set up as a little bit of a baddie because he's selling the island that all of the inhabitants don't want messed with, however his reasons for selling are the most altruistic. He's fair-haired (I'm pretty sure, at least that's how I picture him), intelligent, teasing, strong but not bulky. Interesting plot w/ surprising villain. The hero made this book for me though.

My Scandalous Bride by Dodd, Laurens, Bradley, LaFoy

I loved the stories in My Scandalous Bride by Christina Dodd (I swear I think she just does the best anthology stories) & Stephanie Laurens. The story by Dodd has a very smart, very capable heroine out to avenge her dead brother. The hero is a very sexy spy. The sparks were coming off the page w/ this one. I like what Dodd does w/ short stories - she creates characters that have had some type of prior relationship/interaction that happened in the past/"off stage" so that the short story doesn't feel like a rushed story with two strangers. Laurens does a similar thing in her story - the hero & heroine are not strangers. They grew up together, shared a kiss, and unbeknownst to each other had a tendre for the other. The hero has been out of the country for a few years and they have not seen each other during that time. They meet at the home of some other childhood friends who are now married. The couple is hosting a house party. What the heroine doesn't realize is that her two friends are swingers who host orgies. Some funny moments and nice chemistry between h/h.

Say You Love Me by Johanna Lindsey

This is book 5 in her Malory series. This is also the first book I've read by this author. This may be the nicest, as well as the only book I read, in which the heroine prostitutes herself. It's so "best case scenario", so wonderfully unrealistic, and not gritty. Almost up there with Pretty Woman as far as fantasy goes. What helps make it palatable - The virgin prostitute has a first and only client who is so charming, so good looking, and such a nice guy, with nice charming friends. I loved a lot of things about this book. The main characters are both likable, the hero is never cruel to the heroine, the hero's buddies - Jeremy & Percy remind me a little of Pennington & Berkley from the Effington series by Victoria Alexander. The villain in this is truly vile and gets such a good punishment. I also like the aunt's attitude toward her husband when she finds out about his shenanigans.

Move Heaven And Earth by Christina Dodd

I just finished Move Heaven And Earth by Christina Dodd. I have heard about this book for awhile now and it's been on my TBR list. Finally I snagged a copy yesterday for .50 @ a library book sale. Yea!

This book was very intense and I finished it in a day but it seemed to take me longer to finish than most books. There's just a lot of things going on and a lot of characters with some heavy issues. Sylvan Miles (the heroine) has been hired by a Duke to come nurse his crippled brother - Lord Rand Malkin. Sylvan comes from a family w/ money and doesn't have to be a nurse for hire. However she feels compelled to help heal and was a nurse during the battle at Waterloo. Her experiences as a nurse on the battlefield still haunt her. Rand can't walk and is confined to a wheelchair. Through the course of the book you find out that his paralysis is more of a mental paralysis. There is a sanctimonious preacher who tries to intimidate everyone. Garth, the Duke, is the oldest brother but has so far refused to marry for his own reasons. Garth is committed to building/running a fabric mill - it's something that helps the local economy but there are those who oppose the mill. Then there is Gail - a little girl embraced by all of the Malkin family but nobody speaks of who her father is. And then there is the ghost.....there is a "ghost" figure attacking local women - who could it be?

In spite of all the drama, I enjoyed the story. The only thing that makes me go back & forth between rating it a 3 or 4 stars is that toward the end the hero pulls one of those "I'll push her away for her own good/I know what's better" - grrrrr. Just one of my pet peeves.

His Christmas Pleasure by Cathy Maxwell

There some very involved relationships here. The heroine lusts after Sherwin who ends up getting engaged to Abby's cousin. He's really quite the worm - he & Abby would meet and had quite the little undercover (though entirely chaste) romance, but he won't run away w/ her and marry her to prevent her from an unwanted arranged marriage. And then gets engaged to her cousin. Jerk. Andres - our hero - overhears this and proposes to Abby himself. He's totally up front about needing to marry money. He's a total sweety, very kind, charming, hot guy from Spain. I loved both main characters. I love how they both supported each other even when times were tough and things didn't turn out exactly as they planned. Abby wasn't a whiner & Andres is so good to Abby and even when things don't work out for him, he never takes it out on her and says cruel things - as commonly happens in some novels under similar circumstances. All in all very good book. The ending is very good.