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 Reese’s Bride, Kat Martin
Reese Dewar left to fight for England with a promise from beautiful Elizabeth Clemens – that she would marry him when he returned. But days after he left, Elizabeth married an earl, gaining wealth and status beyond anything she’d achieve with Reese. Broken-hearted and determined to hate her, a wounded Reese returns to England, but finds his defenses alarmingly low when Elizabeth and her young son need his protection from her abusive in-laws.
I could probably complete this review with “meh”. The book was enjoyable, but nothing particularly special. Most of it felt like it had been done before, right down to the phrases the author used to describe various feelings. I remembered Kat Martin as a better author than this – I often find that my experience with authors I enjoyed as a teen is disappointing as an adult. This one was no exception.
 Bound by Your Touch, Meredith Duran
When she gives a speech on her archaeologist father’s research, Lydia Boyce is dismayed to find that James Durham, Viscount Sanburne, takes all the attention away from her father’s important research. She gets back at him by pointing out that the statue he’s brought is a fake – but as it turns out, Sanburne’s bust was in one of her father’s shipments. Lydia determines to find the answer to this mystery herself, with no help from the eloquent and mischievous James, but she is drawn to him, surprised that he sees beneath the cold spinster to the woman who longs for love.
I wish I had written this review sooner to reading the book so I could do it the proper justice. Suffice it to say that I loved it, that Meredith Duran is equally as skilled with two characters in ordinary England as she is with exotic ones, and that I think she only got better. I sincerely adored the relationship between these two people. They found each other’s flaws and not only did they learn to accept one another but they also learned that they had to compromise in order to stay with one another. Both of their stories were wonderfully done. The whole book was excellent and made me immediately want to pick up Written on Your Skin.
 Written on Your Skin, Meredith Duran
On the surface, Mina Masters appears to have it all. She can lay claim to beauty, charm, and wealth – but she’s not free. Trapped by a hateful stepfather and a looming unwanted marriage, Mina finds herself drawing close to a handsome stranger. But Phin Granville isn’t free, either, and has little interest in an empty-headed society girl. When Mina saves his life, however, he finds himself bound to her until they rediscover one another four long years later.
While I didn’t like this one as much as The Duke of Shadows or Bound by Your Touch, Written on Your Skin was still a great romantic read. Meredith Duran’s writing is, if anything, getting better, and I really look forward to what she’s able to write in the future. I think great things are on the way.
I liked the reversal of character roles in this one; Mina is the tough, clever girl who fakes a lack of brains to fool people into thinking she’s defenseless. I didn’t really appreciate that she had to fake stupidity, but I did like that she took on the role more traditionally assigned to men in romances. Phin has been forced into espionage, but he’s really a mapmaker at heart and wants to discover the world. I wouldn’t call him submissive, exactly, but he’s more so than Mina.
 Archangel’s Kiss, Nalini Singh
This second book in the Guild Hunter series again focuses on Elena and Raphael. Though her life has changed drastically, Elena is still a Guild Hunter. She’ll face great danger in her new role but still fights to keep her friends safe.
I liked this and I thought it was good for the Read-a-Thon, but I thought there was too much sex – there was much more than in the first of the series. It probably wouldn’t bother someone who liked more of it but I’m not really that person. I’ll probably keep reading anyway because I’m interested to see what happens!
I am an Amazon Associate. I purchased all of these books.
 Emmaline Martin is the only passenger rescued from a boat crash that killed her parents. They were traveling to India so Emma could marry her long-standing fiance, but he isn’t as happy to see her as she’d hoped. In fact, most people think she’s been compromised by the men on the fishing boat that saved her life. Sick of society and hating the way that the British in India simply pretend they’re in England, Emma finds herself meeting and sympathizing with Julian Sinclair, the heir to the Duke of Auburn. When the Indians mutiny, Emma and Julian are thrown together, and he is determined to keep her safe. But it isn’t until years later, marred by the tragedies they’ve endured, that they will meet again.
Okay, this is the way to write a romance novel. This book was simply stunning. Everything about it, in fact, was stunning. The book is so dark that it perfectly matches its setting, a rebel India defying the too-confident British occupation. It’s a beginning that neither Julian nor Emma can forget – and honestly, neither will I. The images depicted here are so powerful, Emma’s loss of innocence as she’s forced to keep herself alive is masterfully done. This is not light and fun – this is tragedy depicted as heart-wrenchingly as in any other type of novel. It’s not just romance between two people, it’s a struggle for nationality, for independence, for survival. It’s about figuring out who you are.
The romance is, simply, perfect. The couple are together for such a short time that I think, normally, I would have been perplexed how they managed to fall in love. Somehow Meredith Duran makes it work and work perfectly. The interactions between these two are pitch-perfect, from their frustrated meeting to their exile and fleeing together. And, in London later in the book, I just can’t describe how much I felt for these people. It was like they were real. Julian’s struggle to figure out who he is, rejection from both sides of his heritage, the way he blames himself for everything that’s happened, because he has nothing else to do – for once I understood why a hero was tortured, which believe me, is unusual. Similarly, Emma can’t escape her actions, and though I doubt she’d ever be able to, she can find some sort of peace in knowing why they happened. These characters grow and change throughout the book and it’s all spellbinding.
The writing is probably the most beautiful I’ve ever come across in a romance novel. Duran’s descriptions are gorgeous. I felt like I was in India. I was hanging from that wrecked ship just like Emma was. I could feel her later frenzy to paint. And her use of the title of the book to flesh out Julian’s character with shadows and light and depict the changes in him was really well done. I know there is good, bad, and mediocre in every genre, but this is truly one of the best, and I think it could hold its own against books in a variety of other genres, too.
Meredith Duran has written two more books, I own them, and I can’t quite tell you how glad I am about that. The Duke of Shadows is completely recommended.
I am an Amazon Associate. I purchased this book.
 Welcome to my stop for the Classics Circuit Georgette Heyer tour! As a modern classic, this fit perfectly in with Classics Month, and it was also an absolute delight to read.
 Celebrated dandy Sir Richard Wyndham is desperate to avoid marriage to a famed iceberg of a woman, who refuses to even consider love as a possibility between them. On the eve of presenting his suite to her father, he of course gets ridiculously drunk. On his stumble home, a young woman falls from a window, straight into his arms. She is trying to escape her own arranged marriage and is determined to get to her country house, where she can instead marry a friend. Richard decides to accompany her, and so begins a tale of hilarious adventure and, in the end, love.
Heyer’s Regency romances are among the most pleasurable books to read. Even when fraught with danger, theft, and compromise, like this one should be, they are still funny and sweet. This couple has a real adventure and it’s obvious that they adore each other as well as the unusual circumstances. As is fairly typical, neither of them realize that they’re in love until the end, but their relationship still manages to grow without them realizing it. And the character interactions really do sparkle. Heyer’s prose is obviously smart and witty and this book will have you smiling as you read it.
I also love that Heyer includes little historical details which more modern romance authors don’t always use to such magnificent effect, like quizzing-glasses and snuffboxes. And I’d never heard of a dandy referred to as a Corinthian before. I’d never heard the terminology anywhere else, but then I don’t generally spend too much time on this particular period in history. Even so, Heyer’s sense of the period is magnificent, and it’s easy to imagine yourself right there with the characters when reading one of her books. I was cheering for this couple from almost the moment they met, and it was utter delight to spend an evening with these people.
As far as Heyer’s Regency romances go, The Corinthian is definitely a good choice. It’s not particularly long, but it’s full of charm and wit, and is well worth a read.
I am an Amazon Associate. I borrowed this book from my local library.
 A while back, Tasha at Heidenkind’s Hideaway started this and hated it, ending up with a DNF review. She sent it on to me because I used to really like Gaelen Foley, and I’ve finally had the chance to read it. Today Tasha is reviewing a book I sent her in our exchange, so head on over there to see what she’s reviewing.
Max, the Marquess of Rotherstone, a member of the infamous Inferno Club, has decided that it’s time to take a wife now that his duties for the country have ended at the close of the war with Napoleon. He receives a list from his solicitor and from it chooses Daphne Starling, who is kind-hearted, sweet, and devotes her time to poor orphans in a very dangerous section of town. She’s also gorgeous, which plays no small part in his decision. They meet and begin to fall in love, but Max is unable to forget his past and the secrets he must keep steadily drive a wedge between them.
I’m definitely of two minds about this book. I’ve noticed a trend in many historicals towards having a wicked group of men as a centre point for a series. And Foley is trying to do that, but there’s a serious problem, namely that Max isn’t wicked at all. At least, no more than a normal romance hero, and to be honest no one treats him like the “Wicked Marquess” except to call him that. This couple doesn’t even “do it” before their wedding night and in a book where the courtship happens beforehand, I can probably count on one hand the number of times that happens. So, before I even start, my expectations are thwarted, although in this case I liked it because I think wicked men are overrated and I’d rather have a sweet hero who wants someone to actually love him than a cold-hearted rake who has to be forced into it.
Second, the mystery plot with the Inferno Club and a supposedly dead member of it takes up at least a third of the book and is simply not interesting. And this is what binds this forthcoming series together. This secondary “plot” requires way too much info-dumping, with one particularly notable section at the end which, frankly, I skipped over. I just could not take these men seriously as scandalous men and I couldn’t get what the big deal was. It felt so contrived, just to add on some suspense which doesn’t feel real anyway. Yes, the war was terrible, but now we have this mystical feud with secret societies dating back to the Middle Ages? Honestly, yuck. I hate that sort of storyline and I hate it more when it’s done badly. And then the worst part was that it didn’t end. No, instead half of the epilogue is taken up by a clear lead-in to Foley’s next book. I am not reading romance novels for unending plots, especially when I’ve been bored by it for an entire book.
On the other hand, though, I actually thought the love story was stupidly cute and sweet. Sure, the characters are stereotypes, especially Daphne (barring a strange personality shift for about ten pages towards the end), but that’s not really anything new. I went in expecting the book to be downright terrible in every way, but I liked Max and Daphne together, and having known a person with childhood deep control issues, I could understand some of her obstinacy in resisting the relationship better perhaps than some. There was a scene with the typical “stop arguing, I’ll control you with your passion!!” thing that I hate (seriously, this would never happen in real life), but it didn’t happen again and Daphne got properly irritated after the fact, rather than passively smiling at the way she’d been manipulated. But I guess I like corny relationships, because I was a fan of theirs by the end.
And that’s all I really have to say about My Wicked Marquess. Gaelen Foley is definitely not writing what she’s capable of, but I have to wonder if she added on the wickedness and the secret societies to placate her need to fit into the current mainstream. I guess I’d better stop expecting her to come up with another Prince Charming.
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 Miss Beatrice Corning has lived a very proper life in the household of her uncle, the Earl of Blanchard. That is until a sick, crazy man bursts into their home, demanding to see his father. This man is Reynaud St. Aubin, the true Earl of Blanchard, long thought dead. Even though he is determined to take his inheritance back from her uncle, who has always loved her, Beatrice can’t help but be attracted to Reynaud, particularly since his youthful portrait has ensnared her imagination every time she walks by it. The man she discovers now is no longer a carefree youth but a hardened man who has suffered through unimaginable atrocities, yet her heart is captured before she even knows it.
I really enjoyed the first book I read by Elizabeth Hoyt, To Beguile a Beast. I liked that it was different, that the hero and heroine weren’t what I expected. Unfortunately I found the opposite in To Desire a Devil, and am left wondering just what happened here.
This quartet of novels centers around a massacre that happened while all four of the heroes were fighting in the Colonies. The one who betrayed them all supposedly had a French mother, and the only man there with a French mother was Reynaud. They know he didn’t do it, but they have to figure out who did. And that’s all wrapped up in this installment, as it’s the last of the quartet. It’s clear that this overarching story is secondary to the romance plot, but they do fit together, so that part worked out well. I also still really liked the fairy tale excerpts at the beginning and how the concept was woven into the rest of the story. And I loved that Beatrice was a bookbinder, even if she seemed a little too bland the rest of the time.
Honestly, it was the romance that bugged me about this book. This is, for me, a classic case of the lust = love problem. I can’t figure out anything that the hero and heroine have really in common and I didn’t believe in them. Maybe men fall in love with their nurses, but most of their interaction in the book seemed to consist of Beatrice asking Reynaud to tell her about how he was tortured, and the intimate parts. There were too many intimate parts for my liking, let me just say that. Outside of those, there wasn’t really any chemistry in their conversation and nothing to indicate that they were going to last. I just felt disappointed, which is sad, because there was a lot of potential here.
I have another book in this series and I do intend to read and review it, but let’s just say my expectations are very, very lowered.
I am an Amazon Associate. This book was sent to me for free by the publisher for review.
 Lady Penelope Staines is the subject of Eloise’s research this time. Penelope and her husband Frederick, unwillingly married due to a compromising situation, head to India where the political situation is very unsteady. On their way to Frederick’s posting, the couple meet Captain Alex Reid, a British man born and raised in India, convinced that these inexperienced aristocrats are going to be ineffectual. In Penelope, however, Alex finds a courageous woman who has been damaged by years of criticism, far from his expectations.
I really enjoy this series and The Betrayal of the Blood Lily was no exception. The series’s change of location, even if temporary, is totally refreshing and brings in a new political atmosphere. I’ve read a few books set in India lately and this was a different time period, so I appreciated more history. I also felt like, even though this one restores the sex scene to the romance, this is more historical fiction than romance. The romance is certainly present, and very sweet, but there is also quite a bit of intrigue in the Indian court as well as Penelope’s painful relationship with her reluctant husband. It takes a little bit to get used to the different setting, but it’s worth it.
As usual, the modern day storyline with Eloise and Colin is somewhat less interesting. Not much happens, except that they’re still together. It’s hard not to feel for Eloise because she’s a charming character, and I too can imagine very little better than having the ability to delve through historical letters and documents for a day. She finds out some disturbing facts about Colin’s family but not much changes in her own personal or academic life.
I’m left wondering when this series is going to end, but as long as Willig keeps producing stories that are alternately fun and emotional, I’m going to keep reading them.
I am an Amazon Associate. I purchased this book.
 Lady Callista Taillefaire has been jilted three times and no longer expects to get married. All she wants is to go along with her engaged sister and raise her animals in peace for the rest of her single life. That’s until her childhood sweetheart, Trevelyan, the duc de Monceaux, returns to tend his ailing mother after years in France. She hasn’t forgotten the feelings she had for him, or the way her now deceased father insisted that their relationship was expressly forbidden. To make Callie’s life even stranger, her first ex-fiance returns to plague her, and her cousin gambles away her prized heifer Hubert, leaving her wondering in which direction her life is going to head next.
I have enjoyed Laura Kinsale’s books in the past, and was expecting another dark, passionate tale. Instead, I got a light and funny book, with humor and flirtatiousness between the characters that genuinely sparkled whenever they interacted. It turns out that Kinsale is just as good at writing lighter romances and this book did not disappoint in any way. It was as sweet and touching as it was hilarious by turns.
I liked Callie’s character; she’s somewhat on the shelf at 27, and even believes that she’s unlikely to have a baby at all because she’s so old (I laughed at this), and since she’s been jilted three times, all the men around clearly believe there’s something wrong with her. I really felt for her, as it must be so hard to be rejected over and over again in a world where marriage and babies were seen as the primary goals of women. She’s awkward but she’s sweet and it’s clear that she really cares for Trev. Although, I have to say, if you haven’t seen someone for ten years, can they still qualify as your best friend? I don’t know, but I did like that they had a friendship. It’s also hard not to love someone who loves animals, even if her preference leans towards cows.
I also liked that Trev had a genuine grievance and reason for not proposing to Callie when he wants to. There tends to be a big misunderstanding that fizzles out to nothing, but here they really had a problem, and I appreciated how it was solved. There isn’t much else to the plot, the focus is solely on the romance, but Lessons in French is a wonderful addition to the genre. I sincerely hope Laura Kinsale doesn’t leave such a long wait for her next romance!
I am an Amazon Associate. I received this book for free from the publisher for review.
I like the mini review format so much that I’m going to use it for a lot of my romance reading. In general, I don’t have enough to say about these books to generate a full review, and I like to clear out my review backlog, so I’ll be posting a set of four mini reviews every time I’ve finished four books!
 To Wed a Wicked Prince, Jane Feather
Prince Alex Prokov is an intriguing, compelling man and captivates Lady Livia Lacey from their very first meeting. What she doesn’t realize is that he is foremost intending to inspect her house, legally his because the eccentric woman who left it to Livia was his mother, and claim it if necessary. He finds Livia interesting enough to marry her instead, but their relationship is a minefield of secrets and half-truths. Will their love sustain them through Alex’s lies?
I was less than enchanted with this book. I liked the atmosphere, but Alex’s lies drove me up the wall. I could see that if he’d only told Livia the truth, practically all the bad things that happen to them in the novel would have been solved. I could see why he’d kept secrets about his activities, but about his mother’s identity? Not so much. Furthermore, he is very domineering, even wishing to get rid of Livia’s faithful servants despite the fact that they were first his mother’s. He’s just so hard to relate to and in the end I couldn’t figure out why Livia loved him. I did like her character, though, as I really like the more independent heroines as non-historical as they may be. Overall, this book was “eh” for me. Not a compelling plot, some irritating characters, and not enough genuine historical detail or good writing to override its faults.
 Compromised, Kate Noble
I’ve been looking forward to Kate Noble’s books for a good long time, ever since I heard about her on The Book Smugglers. In this, her debut, the Alton sisters have just returned from the Continent, new stepmother in tow, and it’s time for their first Season. Bookish Gail has no interest in a Season, however, and as an attempt to placate her, her father gives her a horse. That horse leads her to a gentleman, Maximillian, Viscount Fontaine, with whom she ends up in a lake, and who absolutely infuriates her. Things don’t get much better when that man is found in a compromising position with her sister – and they get worse when Gail starts to fall in love with him and vice versa.
I definitely had fun with this book. Gail’s interactions with Max sparkle and I could totally believe that they loved one another by the end. And I felt like they really knew each other before they hopped into bed, which is pretty much the standard by which I judge romances, especially historical ones. I like to read about love, not just lust. Anyway, probably the only thing that irritated me here was that Gail is quite a stereotype. There are so many books with the bookish heroine who shuns society, who doesn’t think she’s pretty, blah blah. She does get along with people eventually because she has issues, she’s not shy, but I don’t understand why a heroine can’t be bookish and still like to spend time with people occasionally right off the bat. I will also confess that I was largely drawn to this book by the cover, which is refreshingly not sexual and has the prettiest yellow dress on it. I’m not shallow at all, no.
 Crazy for You, Jennifer Crusie
When Quinn McKenzie meets a little dog she names Katie, she decides her life has to change. She’s gone along with everything her too nice boyfriend wants, with what her parents want, and has generally been the fixer of the family. She’s bored of her life and she’s had enough. When her boyfriend sends the puppy to the pound, she decides to leave him, and begins encouraging everyone to make little changes to make their lives better. She has no idea what she’s about to inflict on her family and friends.
I suspect all of Crusie’s novels are this delightful. While this has a similar premise to Welcome to Temptation, the other book by her that I read, it’s still totally charming. I loved Quinn and I was 100% behind her. Any guy who takes a puppy to be killed when his girlfriend has fallen in love with it probably deserves to be dumped. And after that boyfriend’s further behavior, I completely sympathized with her. I really enjoyed the love story and all the little tangents that followed, too. I can’t wait to read more of Crusie’s books. I hope they’re all this fun.
 Miss Wonderful, Loretta Chase
Alistair Carsington took great pleasure in falling love with women before he was involved in the Battle of Waterloo, where he nearly lost his life. Since his return, he has become obsessed with clothes to the detriment of everything else. Seeking activity and income, Alistair joins his friend’s scheme to build a canal through Derbyshire, and heads there to persuade the locals of the brilliance of his plan. Miss Mirabel Oldridge, practically on the shelf, is fiercely resistant of a canal cutting its way through her land, but soon she and Alistair realize they’re not particularly good at resisting each other.
This book wasn’t very memorable – I read it yesterday and I’ve already forgotten most of it. It struck me as a fairly typical romance. I liked that Mirabel was older and independent and had had a past with another man. I’d call it an enjoyable read but not much else.
As I just skimmed this post (which I put together over maybe a month), I realized that none of the covers are your typical half-naked embrace. I know British covers are way, way more conservative in this regard, but it doesn’t explain the two American ones. I am really, really tired of the endless parade of half-naked men and women on romance covers, and apparently I am showing my resistance by choosing books that don’t have it.
I am an Amazon Associate. I purchased these books or borrowed them from my local library.
 Or, the problem with older romance novels.
Belliane, better known as Lianna, is a Frenchwoman determined to keep her castle in Normandy at all costs. But Henry V is invading, and he wants to marry her to Enguerrand of England, both to promote his friend and make life easier for himself. In protest, Lianna marries a Frenchman, but meets Rand not knowing who he is. Lianna and Rand both lie to one another and begin to fall in love – until Lianna’s husband dies and marriage goes on as planned. Both betrayed in the midst of battle, Lianna and Rand must decide what really matters to them, love or country.
I almost gave up this book on every other page. I don’t honestly know why I kept going. It has all my least favorite aspects of a romance novel. These two lust after one another and suddenly decide it’s love. Their lies are the foundation for almost everything bad that happens to them, and they don’t forgive one another even though of course they have to sleep with each other all the time. Because when you’re furious with someone, you really want to have sex with them. Yep. And Lianna is almost too unconventional to be true; how many noble ladies went around in the smocks of poor women with their hair down and learned to shoot newfangled guns? Sure, it’s a war, but I just found it very hard to believe. Besides that, she’s too stupid to live. She doesn’t realize the French guy she’s marrying is a slimeball, she walks straight into at least two traps, and she leaves her baby in the care of the wife of slimeball’s son. She’s basically the cause of ALL the relationship problems as Rand is completely lovesick.
The love story was the most disappointing one I’ve read in a long time, and the characters had dialogue I couldn’t imagine anyone saying. It’s too corny, too impassioned, too ridiculous. Very few romances are historically accurate in this respect, but I have to at least believe in the chemistry to put all that aside. And here I did not. Reading this book helped me realize how people could easily disdain the genre.
I do have to give the author a little respect, though, because her history is largely accurate. All the hallmarks of Henry V’s campaign and Agincourt are here, and all in all once Lianna and Rand are married and stop stripping every five seconds the book doesn’t suffer quite so much. The only part that annoyed me with the history was the constant mentions of chivalry, and it’s clear that the author doesn’t quite understand that chivalry == war for medieval knights. It’s not the Victorian always-be-nice-to-ladies idea. That’s only a tiny part of it. Being violent is being chivalric. That’s the point. All medieval romances aren’t this bad; I just read Scoundrel’s Kiss and enjoyed it a lot. The Lily and the Leopard just reinforces all the stereotypes. When you seriously hope there isn’t going to be a happy ending because you hate the characters, you know you have a problem. Yuck.
No Amazon link; the book is out of print. And that’s a good thing. I bought this one so you don’t have to.
 Yesterday, I reviewed Carrie’s newest book, Scoundrel’s Kiss. I also had the pleasure of interviewing her recently and I hope you all enjoy the answers as much as I did!
1. I loved that Scoundrel’s Kiss was set outside the typical locations for a historical romance. Why did you choose to set it in medieval Spain?
It’s set in the Kingdom of Castile, which comprises part of modern-day Spain. Thinking back, I don’t remember exactly what first started me thinking about Spain as a setting, but I knew I wanted to feature two elements to this story: a warrior monk and an opium addict. That meant I needed to find a place where their love could blossom. Spain was not only a hotbed of religious and military activity in the 13th century, but it was also along Arab trade routes. The Arabs traded with the Chinese, which mean that opium was available for purchase in Spain. Ta-dah! I’d found my setting.
2. Ada is a far cry from the average blushing virgin heroine. Was it a difficult task for you to make an opium addict a sympathetic character?
Yes, Ada is…trying. It was difficult making her sympathetic, in that I disliked how Ada behaved toward the finale of my Robin Hood-themed debut, WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS. She makes her sister, Meg, make a really unfair choice, and her behavior is downright selfish. So I wasn’t in a sympathetic place when I sat down to write her love story. But then I remembered an old saying about villains: the villain is the hero of his own story. That jolted me into taking Ada’s side, so to speak, and learning where she was vulnerable, why she was hurting so desperately, and how I could help redeem her. In the end, I think her happily ever after is justly deserved, if only for how hard she works at earning it.
3. When it comes to writing, do you plot out your books carefully or does the story come to you as you go?
I start with the setting. Always. Then I research and brainstorm in tandem, trying to find my characters. What sort of people *could* have lived in this time and place? Are they native? Just passing through? There for the long haul? Bored and desperate to get out? Once I have the setting and the characters very firm in my mind, then I start writing and never look back. You could call me a prepared pantser!
4. Do you have a particular favorite time period in history?
I’ll always have a fondness for the American Old West. I did my master’s thesis on the lives and legends of Jesse James and Wild Bill Hickok, and how their stories helped shape American culture after the Civil War. Plus I was a sucker for western-set romances when I was a teenager, back when they were *everywhere*. I haven’t yet tried my hand at a western of my own, but I can’t help but think that I will someday. That period of history has been such a part of my life!
 5. Are you planning on returning to any of the characters in Scoundrel’s Kiss for another book? What’s next for you?
I’d like to continue with Jacob’s story, and then to find a partner for Blanca, but that remains to be seen. Otherwise, my historical romance set in Napoleonic Austria will help launch Carina Press, Harlequin’s new all-digital venture, in June. In it, a widowed violin prodigy begins a steamy affair with the renowned composer she’s always idolized, only to learn that he stole the symphony he’s most famous for. In addition, I’m co-writing with Ann Aguirre under the name Ellen Connor (http://EllenConnor.com). We write hot-n-dirty apocalyptic paranormal romances, and our “Dark Age Dawning” trilogy will be coming soon from Penguin.
6. What do you suggest we read while waiting for your next book? Any favorites you’d like to share with us?
I love lush, beautiful writing, so my favorite romance authors are Candice Procter, Penelope Williamson, Laura Kinsale, and Patricia Gaffney. They all craft such amazing stories, not simply packed with emotion and fascinating characters, but with poetic language to describe every aspect of the hero and heroine’s lives. I read those books and knew that’s what I wanted to write. Those are the kinds of stories I love to read, so why not give them a try in my own style with my own unique voice? I’d unabashedly recommend any of their books to those who haven’t yet read them!
Thanks for stopping by, Carrie!
To win a copy of Scoundrel’s Kiss for your very own, just leave a comment. There is one up for grabs. Readers in the US and Canada will receive a signed copy, whereas international readers will receive an unsigned copy from the Book Depository. Make sure you leave a valid email address in the “email” field of the comment form to win. This contest will be open until January 26th. Good luck! The winner of this contest is Lana.
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