Just One Kiss

Desperate and Daring #3

by Ella J. Quince

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Just one kiss…

It began like a dream. A moment stolen, a kiss given. Lady Hazel finds herself walking down the aisle towards a man she barely knows. Or does she? She knew she wanted to give her heart to him. She just knew it.

But her wedding day is where the dream ends and the nightmare begins…

A short novel. 46,042 words

~*~
Ella J. Quince has been in love with romance since she was a little girl. She spent her high school years and the years of her husband’s deployments escaping into the novels of her favorite bestselling authors; Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Mary Balogh, Lisa Kleypas, and Julie Anne Long. She strives to reach their level of success and stand beside them in achievement.

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 20, 2015

About the author

Now publishes under Dayna Quince.

Reviews

[Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 good fun stars. Men can be so silly and superfluous!
I did not leave off for even a minute after I began reading.

*Major spoilers*Although it's more of a clash of the (female) titans than a regular h/H romance or moc woes.
The poor clueless H caught is between two women and is completely unaware of the malevolent vibes as those two circle each other - gladiator like - for the prize (that he's not!). He's so happy that he has his two very favorite people in the world with him and of course, world will be rainbows and pink ponies from hereon.
Men! *eyeroll*

This book also begins like the last - prologue at a wedding and the h/H stealing a kiss.
But then, strangely, chapter one begins on her wedding day with the h waking up, soused and scared of the big day. (We are not told/shown about the courtship or proposal and dumped right there on the wedding day.) Remember that feeling that something's is going to go wrong and it does? Well, the bride gets it...and it does.
Hazel is shown crushing on the stuffy Bainbridge in the last book and so I thought she'd be thrilled to be married. But I guess, this is more realistic as it is all very precipitous they don't really know much about each other. But anyhoo, they marry and the h realizes that there are three people in this marriage. His aunt - who veritably raised him from early childhood after his parents died. Her stunned reaction to the manipulative and clearly crazed woman's strange edicts and rules is almost hilarious.
Her tentative (and then not so) feelers to her new husband are brushed aside as the silly guy is completely wrapped around the wily old woman's finger. (To be fair, he's besotted with his new wife too.)
But the h soon rallies and battle is on.
Her only ally is her maid!

Also there's a lot of sex in the book. Yes, they are newlyweds and I also get angry/makeup sex but to solve every argument/ disagreement with sex? Especially if these disagreements feature a third person who is fast becoming the wife's bete noire. I could not relate with the h so easily letting her husband sway her with sex. Alternatively, I could not buy the H's calm and un-angry reactions when the h (and her maid) attack him with an (very deserving) accusatory diatribe. They actually insult him a bit too much. Realistically, I don't see a man/nobleman not reacting when his ego and pride is so bruised.

Many wink wink hints are alluded to about the past but nothing comes to pass. I had hoped for more evil (history) from the aunt but she leaves without a whimper, forget a bang.

[Margaret Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Garrett and Hazel's shy courtship takes wings after the marriage of her twin sister. Before long, they are married and whilst together, their happiness is complete. Hazel very quickly realises that she has competition for Garrett's affections from an unexpected source, but doesn't realise just how insidious and manipulative it can be. I found this novel to be a little disturbing, given my own horrors regarding manipulation and was relieved when Garrett finally came to his sense regarding his family members. If the measure of a good book is that it stirs up emotions and makes one feel strongly for the characters then this book is very well written and comes to a successful conclusion. Although this story is part of a series and characters from the previous novel appear in this one too, it is nevertheless a standalone.

[Christina Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was different from the previous two in this series. Instead of the courtship then wedding happening, this book had a wedding almost immediately and followed Hazel and Garrett as they adjusted to martial life with Garrett's overbearing aunt. I felt for Hazel as she dealt with the despicable woman and had to fight for her place. When she finally had enough, I completely understood the steps she took. Garrett was portrayed in a very realistic way and handled the two feuding woman as I'd imagine many would, asking his wife to give it more time. When he finally was able to see the light, he got one heck of a wake up call. I devoured this book in one sitting and definitely enjoyed it. Just like the other books in this series, I highly recommend this story.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure how historically accurate this was and there were some issues which I think an editor could've helped with, but I noticed these were self published, so I would say very good quality for that. And sort of just what I needed...

[Tagseen Samsodien · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm rounding this up from 1.5 stars.

It's so darned frustrating because EJQ doesn't write badly, she just writes badly, you know?

While I liked that this book's plot seemed different to the previous two, the story bordered on ridiculous. Hazel and Garrett barely know each other but decide to get married. They then move to his home where his Aunt arrives shortly after their marriage to literally ruin everything with her craziness.

By the end of the book I still don't feel like I know who Hazel and Garrett are as people. When he's first introduced as a character, we're told he's a bit of a recluse who likes architecture and history. Apart from a fleeting mention of this somewhere, this is never tackled to any satisfaction. These two people just have sex, (not even great sex, tbh) and don't have real conversations because they're too busy fighting over his deranged aunt. *insert eye-roll* It just fell flat and seemed stupid rather than intriguing or interesting.

They're in love at the end of it, but I'm still wondering how they managed to get there.

All my issues from the first book, still remains.

Instead of becoming better, this mediocre series is becoming worse.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Basically a long drawn out story about a couple that barely knew each other, got married, then had to deal with his insane relation. Nothing more than arguments back and forth with the guy in the middle.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read!

[Patricia Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

I am so happy that the crazy lady got her due. This was a quick read and hard to put down. Now on to the next one. Happy Reading everyone