Books are my life... discussion

Claiming The Courtesan by Anna Campbell - Historical Romance

From the book:
The Duke of Kylemore knows her as Soraya, London's most celebrated courtesan. Men fight duels to spend an hour in her company. And only he comes close to taming her. Flying in the face of society, he decides to make her his bride; then, she vanishes, seemingly into thin air.

Dire circumstances have forced Verity Ashton to barter her innocence and change her name for the sake of her family. But Kylemore destroys her plans for a respectable life when he discovers her safe haven. He kidnaps her, sweeping her away to his hunting lodge in Scotland, where he vows to bend her to his will.

There he seduces her anew. Verity spends night after night with him in his bed . . . and though she still dreams of escape and independence, she knows she can never flee the unexpected, unwelcome love for the proud, powerful lover who claims her both body and soul.

My review: *Contains Spoilers*
Claiming The Courtesan is one of those novels that is subjective… open to interpretation. Each reader will react differently to certain events, perhaps drawing on their own life’s experiences and emotions. I am no different and this review will be a collection of my own thoughts.

I will start by saying that Anna Campbell did a brilliant job of allowing us a glimpse into Kylemore’s mind, not only as an adult but as a child, and it couldn’t have been an easy task. It’s impossible to talk about the man without also talking about the boy.

My first thoughts of Justin Kinmurrie, Duke of Kylemore were that he was protecting himself. I couldn’t help but feel that he held back, and when you’re a child raised in fear, not knowing what love feels like, in many ways you become a solitary being, closing yourself off from everyone around you. If we don’t allow people in, they can’t hurt us. If we don’t express our emotions, they can’t be mocked. If we don’t tell people what we are afraid of or what causes us grief, they can’t use that information to hurt us.

I see The Duke of Kylemore as two separate people; Justin, the innocent, frightened child and Kylemore, the bitter and still frightened man. As a child, Justin had built a wall around himself, a fortress that protected not only his heart, but his very soul. I don’t think he was aware he had done it; it was just a vulnerable child’s way of surviving. It was instinctual and I don’t believe he could have his sanity any other way.

As children, we know fear and disappointment, sadness and longing and if we are fortunate enough, we have parents, family, friends or guardians who help us learn to deal with those emotions. Justin had no one, really. While some of the servants who lived with the family cared for him, there was only so much influence they could have on the lad. When the time came, Justin was sent away to school where he was even more alone and had to endure the taunting from the other children when he would cry out in the night because of his horrible dreams.

As a grown man, a wealthy nobleman of title, The Duke of Kylemore no longer had to deal with people’s mocking, scorn or ridicule. Did that mean his peers cared for him? No, of course not and he never deluded himself into thinking that they did. They merely respected him and dared not do anything that would put them on his bad side.

The romantic in me can’t help but imagine that the first time he saw Soraya from across Sir Eldrith Moore’s drawing room, he recognized her as his ‘other half.’ The missing part which would make him whole and his soul needed her to be complete. It wasn’t about self gratification or merely lust. No, I believe he was drawn to her in a way he couldn’t explain nor could he have stopped had he wanted to.

Soraya also had quite a reaction to seeing Kylemore across that room and again, it’s the hopeless romantic in me that believes her soul knew his and that frightened her. She had her life all planned out; she would work as a well paid whore until she had enough money to care for her brother and sister and when she could finally leave her shameful past behind her, she had resigned herself to living alone, never loving or being loved. I think this is why she did what she could to discourage Kylemore’s request to be her protector. The feelings he stirred within her would surely make a mess of the nice, tidy little package of the future she envisioned for herself, and no doubt she saw him as another pompous, wealthy nobleman who thought he was entitled to anything he wanted, including her.

As events unfolded leading up to Soraya’s departure, I could feel a tightening in my chest and found myself thinking, “No, don’t do this… not this way.” Kylemore was stunned by her refusal to his proposal. I thought it interesting that he didn’t actually ask her, he told her: “You will make a most spectacular duchess.” And, “I want you to be my wife.” At this point, Verity noticed how the muscle in his cheek and he was gripped by strong emotions. I believe she took this to mean that he was angry and determined to have his way, which of course he was… but I also believe there was more.

I sensed a degree of panic in Kylemore when she refused his proposal. No one ever told him ‘no’, and wasn’t he offering her the world? Their relationship had been purely physical, as far has he had been able to tell, but in truth, he needed her on a level and with a desperation he didn’t understand. He felt it, but didn’t recognize it for what it was. He thought she was merely an obsession of his lust, something to possess, and to admit he needed someone would be like lowering the drawbridge to the fortress that was his safe haven.

I also felt in Verity – not Soraya – the same panic at his proposal. He was the only man who could undermine everything she had built, everything she had worked for…and again, she didn’t recognize it for what it was, an emotion that went deeper than the sexual attraction she held for him. I think this scared her because as Verity, she needed to be needed. She is a healer, and fixer and a caregiver. There was nothing about the Kylemore the world was allowed to see that she could fit into any of those categories.

I wasn’t surprised by Kylemore’s anger in response to Soraya’s leaving without saying goodbye or giving him her reasons. I understood completely why he assumed she left him – she was a thief, a whore, and all other manner of gutter names he could think of. Because he always assumed the worse in everyone, (and why wouldn’t he with the way he had been raised?) he never considered that she might have had good reasons to leave.

Now, I’m going to get straight to the rape scenes which I thought, if it’s possible given the subject matter, were handled and written well. Now, I’ll make this disclaimer right up front… “No” means “no.” As soon as Verity indicated she was not giving herself willingly, he should have stopped. I don’t think any one of us feels differently about that. However, I don’t think he, at that moment, could even fathom the idea that she didn’t really want him because as we are told, her body betrayed her and she was ‘prepared’ to receive him. Again, he should have stopped and had he been in his right mind, in control of his emotions, I believe that Justin would have but Kylemore was still feeling betrayed, angry and bitter himself. I think that, especially in historical romance novels, the sex act is a form of ownership, which also lends credence to the idea that Kylemore was desperate to own her, to make her his and since he was emotionally detached, the only way he knew was sexually. And hadn’t he literally owned her that way already?

As I stated earlier, it is in Verity’s nature to fix things. She is a comforter and a protector and even though she was held against her will and yes, raped, when she finally understood what was happening to Kylemore, that caregiver part of her was summoned and she responded to his need. The same thing happened to Kylemore when he finally understood why Verity had conjured Soraya. All I can say is thank God Verity had presence of mind enough to keep her true self sheltered while she lived as Soraya.

I remember the part where she had awakened him from a nightmare and then held him and I recalled a puppy we had gotten from the shelter when I was a kid. The poor little thing would sit in our lap and tremble. Wouldn’t look at us, wouldn’t move away but still trembled. I was reminded of this when I read that part. That’s the way Kylemore acted and as Verity began telling her own tale, he wouldn’t interrupt her, wouldn’t look at her… he just let her hold him and comfort him afraid that she might stop talking or worse, let go of him. While I’m not suggesting Justin/Kylemore had split personalities, it was at this point that I believe Justin began to emerge more fully.

I loved watching their relationship become not one of Courtesan and Protector, but one of lovers, true lovers in every sense of the word.
And while there were still obstacles to overcome, I was thrilled with the ending of the story. I’ve come to adore Kylemore as much as I do Justin, and Soraya every bit as much as Verity.

The most frustrating part of the story for me was the whole “I’m not worthy” theme. That bothers me and I think it’s overwritten in many stories and I felt like it was laid on a little heavily in this one, especially since Justin still wanted to marry her. It wasn’t until he called her a coward for not even trying that she considered that perhaps she was worthy after all.

Both characters had much to overcome and their strengths and weaknesses complimented each other beautifully

The Bottom Line:If I had to sum up this story in four lines it would be done with a poem by Edwin Markham and in my heart, mind and soul it defines Kylemore, the man as he was, and the woman who was Verity.

He drew a circle that shut me out--
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win;
We drew a circle that took him in

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase - Historical Romance

From the cover:
DETERMINED LADY
Tough-minded Jessica Trent's sole intention is to free her nitwit brother from the destructive influence of Sebastian Ballister, the notorious Marquess of Dain. She never expects to desire the arrogant, amoral cad. And when Dain's reciprocal passion places them in a scandalously compromising, and public, position, Jessica is left with no choice but to seek satisfaction...

LORD OF SCOUNDRELS
Damn the minx for tempting him, kissing him...and then for forcing him to salvage reputation! Lord Dain can't wait to put the infuriating bluestocking in her place -- and in some amorous position. And if this means marriage, so be it -- though Sebastian is less than certain he can continue to remain aloof...and steel his heart to the sensuous, head strong lady's considerable charms

My Review: *Contains Spoilers*
This is one of the best stories ever written. Lord of Scoundrels is a story so well laid out and so beautifully told that it will forever hold a special place in my heart.

What do you get when an emotionally detached, 42 year old widower marries the 17 year old daughter of a French nobleman? A poor match, unhappy relationship, and a child who bears the brunt of it all.

Lucia was truly only a spoiled young woman herself when she gave birth to a son, Sebastian. He wasn’t an attractive child and his proud, Florentine nose which came from his mother’s side of the family was referred to as a beak by those who looked upon him. His own father considered him a punishment because of Lucia’s enjoyment of “lewd unnatural conjugal acts,” and after the birth of his son, never again went to her bed.

Eventually, Lucia went away with another man, leaving Sebastian in the care of his father. She thought she was doing the right thing by leaving him behind. It was left to his father to break the news gently to his son. He failed.

Excerpt from the book:

His father called him into his study.

“You are to stop plaguing the servants about your mother,” his father told him. “You are not to speak of her again. She is an evil, godless creature. Her name is Jezebel, and ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’”

Somebody was screaming very loud in Sebastian’s head. So loudly that he could hardly hear his father. But his father didn’t seem to hear the screaming. He was looking down at the Bible.

“’For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honey-comb, and her mouth is smoother than oil,’” he read.

“’But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down on earth; her steps take hold on hell.’” He looked up. “I renounce her, and rejoice in my heart that the corruption has fled the house of my fathers. We will speak of it no more.”

I felt it important to include that snippet in this review, because it speaks volumes about what Sebastian's young life was like. While reading this, I cried. I can’t imagine how little Sebastian felt. He had spent most of his short life being ignored when all children should be loved and adored and worshipped as the gift they are. But Sebastian was given only the occasional attention by his mother, and none by his father. To hear these horrid things being said about his mother, the one person in his life who showed him any affection was devastating. This, along with a life filled with taunting and torment, created a bitter, ruthless man.

Now, let’s take a child raised in a home full of love, praise and support, encouraged to be all she could be. You have Jessica Trent who has grown into a capable young woman who is determined to save her brother from the now grown Sebastian’s evil influence. Now known as Lord Dain, he held quite a bit of influence over Bertie Trent, Jessica’s brother, and was driving him to ruin. Bertie’s determination to be just like Lord Dain was bankrupting him. Spending his money on women every night, drinking and gambling was what Dain enjoyed…and could easily afford. He seemed to take pleasure in watching those around him fail, though. It didn’t matter than Bertie was losing everything in his attempt to live the same self serving, self indulgent lifestyle that Dain did. This is where Jessica steps in and tries to save her brother, and in the process finds that there is much more to Lord Dain than meets the eye.

This novel takes ‘one-ups manship’ to a whole new level, and is so well written that nothing seemed absurd or unlikely. I loved these two, very well written characters who were both so strong and so set in their ways they could not, no matter how hard they tried, destroy each other. They were perfectly matched, each possessing a strength and a quality that the other did not.

I loved how Dain would figure things out in his mind. Having been so emotionally scarred, he always expected the worse from Jess. Always felt that there was some, underlying dark ulterior motive in the things she did. But her unfailing love and perseverance finally broke down the walls he had built around his heart and in the end, when it was all said and done and when it mattered the most, he accepted her love and gave her his own, freely.

I could go on and on and still not do this story justice, so I'll stop trying and instead I would just strongly encourage you to read the book. It is worth every page, every minute, every hour.

Night Falls Darky by Kim Lenox - Paranormal Romance

From the cover:

A new voice in paranormal romance...

A brand-new chilling saga....

A cunning immortal who’s been called upon to reclaim a marked soul...

Ever since an accident took away her memory, Miss Elena Whitney can’t recall the secrets of her own past. All she knows is that with her mysterious benefactor Archer, Lord Black, returning to London at the behest of Queen Victoria, she should seize the chance to get some answers.

A member of the immortal Shadow Guard, Archer has been summoned to London to eliminate the soul of an evil demon—Jack the Ripper. Archer feels not only bound to protect the women of the night, but also his beautiful young ward, Elena, whom he spared from death two years before. But with a wave of panic spreading across London, Archer fears that Elena is his weakness—a distraction he can’t afford, especially since she’s likely to become the Ripper’s next target....

My Review:

The first words that comes to mind when trying to describe Night Falls Darkly is refreshingly different. This book was recommended to me by Jan (thank you, Jan!!!) as part of a “Pick-it-for-me” book challenge. It’s not something I would have ever chosen for myself, so to be totally honest, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like it. Wow, was I ever wrong!

This is the first novel in the Shadow Guard series by Kim Lenox. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book because, for me, the first book in any series drags. There is so much information that has to be conveyed to the reader that it seems as though the author just drones on for pages and pages “telling” us the details rather than “showing” the details. This is not the case with Ms. Lenox. From the prologue to the epilogue I felt as though I were watching a good movie. There was nothing ‘text book’ feeling about the unveiling of her new paranormal world and at no time did I find myself skipping pages to get past something boring.

I have to admit that one of the reasons for my hesitancy regarding this story is that I had never heard of Archer, the hero, before. Usually on some GoodReads thread somewhere, any hero worth his weight in drool is mentioned and certainly lusted after by the readers, but I don’t recall ever reading a single *fanning myself*, *drooling*, or *sighing* over Archer! And he is, in the words of Danielle, very “thudworthy.” He is honorable, noble, caring and sexy!

Elena is a great heroine. Despite her loss of memory due to an accident, and the painful uncertainty of her own past, she was determined to get into medical school, which was extremely difficult for women of her day. Her greatest desire is to help the less fortunate members of society who couldn’t afford medical care; those women who had fallen on hard times and had to sell their bodies to put food on their tables, children who either had no parents or their parents couldn’t afford doctor’s’ fees. She is definitely the kind of woman I love to root for. Caring, loving, generous and kind – those are the words I would use to describe Elena.

In addition to our main characters there are several others who offer a supporting cast and I enjoyed them all as well. While they may have played, to some extent, a lesser role in the story, Ms. Lenox took the time to ensure that they were well developed, nonetheless. Again, I became invested in them am very much looking forward Marcus, Lord Alexander’s story in the next installment, So Still The Night.

If you’re looking to read something with a little twist, this might be the book for you. Night Falls Darkly pumps fresh blood into a genre saturated with the “same old, same old.”

On A Highland Shore by Kathleen Givens - Historical Romance

From The Cover:
From acclaimed historical novelist Kathleen Givens comes a magnificently conceived, intricately detailed novel that brings to vivid life the tumult, adventure, and passion of thirteenth-century Scotland, when Norse invaders laid claim to the land and its people -- and an explosive clash of cultures, politics, and personal pride changed the world forever.

1263: On Scotland's western shore, the village of Somerstrath prepares for the joyous wedding celebration of Margaret MacDonald, the laird's daughter. But a dark storm of bloodshed and betrayal is closing in, as a merciless band of Vikings threatens the Highlands. Margaret is determined to hold the MacDonald clan together and to locate her abducted younger brother. But can she trust the noblemen from King Alexander's court, who insist that only by adhering to a betrothal conceived for political gain will she find safety? Or should she put her trust in an imposing half-Irish, half-Norse warrior? Gannon MacMagnus alone offers her hope of reuniting her family and vanquishing the barbarous Norsemen who would continue to rob her people of their God-given right to determine their own destinies. In whom should Margaret entrust the fate of the rugged, magnificent land she calls home?

My Review:
The Biblio-gods must be smiling down on me because the last few books I’ve read have been “cannot put it down” fabulous. On A Highland Shore is no exception.

When you’re the laird’s daughter, what you want is not as important as what is best for your people. Margaret MacDonald learns this heartbreaking lesson the hard way, when she finds her future husband in the bed of her very best friend, Fiona, and is expected to marry him anyway. Refusing to listen to those around her, including her own parents, who tell her that “for the good of her people” she must marry Lachlan despite his “lack of judgment,” Margaret tries to find ways out of the betrothal without breaking her marriage contract and shaming her family. As it turns out, that is the least of her problems and she finds herself working to reunite her family, while helping overthrow a barbaric Norseman who has begun terrorizing Scotland. Of course she can’t do it alone and finds herself having to put aside her social and cultural biases, while learning to trust a man she barely knows, yet finds herself falling in love with.

This was my first read of Kathleen Givens’ writing and it won’t be my last. While On A Highland Shore is a romance novel, it is also so much more. Not your run of the mill fluffy historical romance novel – which I love as much as the next gal – it is a complex novel full of twists and turns, political maneuvering and treachery. I appreciate the detail Givens gave to historical accuracy, and at the end of the book she lists those events that were real and how she was able to weave them into her own story.

Using these actual historical figures and events to fill out this tale, Givens takes us to a time and place of great turmoil. Years of peace have left the Highlanders complacent, vulnerable and an easy target for one greedy and power hungry Norseman who has decided that the best things in life are his for the plundering. Who cares if a few lives – or a few thousand – are lost in the process? He’s just the kind of bad guy you love to hate and by the end of the story, as far as I was concerned, there was nothing brutal enough or too heinous that could have been done to him in the pursuit of punishment or revenge.

On A Highland Shore has a strong cast of characters, too many to name, but memorable all the same. In ways it reminded me of The Lord of The Rings in that everyone was willing to do their part no matter how difficult, trusting in their fellow men (and women) to also be doing their own parts as well. And because everyone did what they needed to do and trusted in each other, it all came together and worked out beautifully.

Kathleen Givens took words on a page and breathed life into them. The characters were wonderfully developed and were all people we cared about. Margaret, the eldest daughter, was such a strong, opinionated woman yet so full of love and trust. I cried at the loss of her innocence, sharing the pain she felt upon learning of the betrayal. To see her so vulnerable and so hurt was heart wrenching. She loved and trusted both Lachlan and Fiona and could never have imagined what was going on right under her nose – then to learn her mother and others knew of it. I can’t imagine what she must have felt, another level of betrayal by her mother, the woman who was supposed to love and protect her and look out for her?

Though Margaret no longer wanted the marriage, and knew it was for her own personal reasons – pride being one of them, she would never turn her back on her people. She understood the necessity of uniting clans for the betterment of all, but she wasn’t going to lie down and be Lachlan’s doormat, either. I was completely invested in her as not just a character, but a person and I cheered her on as she kept stating her case and exhausted every avenue available to her so as not to have to marry Lachlan.

Gannon MacMagnus was the perfect hero. Strong, compassionate, honorable and committed to aiding the Highlanders in rebuilding what they had lost and ridding them of the constant threat of more attacks, he was a force to be reckoned with. Having endured much loss in his own life, he well understood the emotional pain Margaret was going through and was one of the few people who knew how to help her.

Do you love a good battle, or 2 or 3 mixed in with your romance? Then this is the story for you. The battle scenes were so well laid out and described that I could truly see, in my mind’s eye, the fighting as it played out. I could see the layout of the shore, the men defending the keep, the ruthless Vikings as they charged up the hill and the brave Highlanders who awaited them.

*sigh* Again I am rambling on.

While I wouldn’t compare this to War and Peace or The Lord of The Rings on the greatness scale, On A Highland Shore is an amazing tale of love, loss and the willingness to risk everything you have and everything you are in the fight for freedom and all you hold dear.