Grade: C-
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: HistoricalSeries: Sin Trilogy #1
Reviewed by Kate
After the battle of Culloden the king declares that the daughters of Scottish chiefs shall marry English lords. And so, 7 year old Christy Macdonald finds herself married to 14 year old St. John (Sinjin) Thornton, a marquis. Flash forward 15 years and Sinjin has become known as Lord Sin, a notorious rake who has never returned to his wife to consummate their wedding. Christy is now the laird of her clan in the highlands. She is under a lot of pressure to have her marriage annulled so she can marry a man from the highlands. Christy travels to London to seek out Sinjin. Her clan thinks she is going to get the annulment, but she has other plans. She’s going to seduce her husband.
I loved the premise of this book and it started off strong. I soon came to dislike Christy. She quickly developed a pattern of lying to Sinjin, then running away. Then Sinjin would take his own sweet time chasing after her and the cycle would begin again. I found this book overly dramatic. Romance does not have to equal drama. The whole thing could have been resolved by locking the two of them in a room until they talked (of course the same could be said for a lot of romances). However, if you like your highlander romances to read like a soap opera, give this one a try.
Kate
To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn
Grade: A-
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Historical
Series: Bridgertons #5
Reviewed by Kate
Eloise has been corresponding with Phillip since his wife passed away over a year ago. When he invites her to visit him to see if they might suit each other, Eloise (a spinster who is starting to feel lonely) decides to be daring and go by herself. She is surprised to find Phillip has a set of unruly twins. Having learned a little about each other through letters, they get to know each other quickly. And then Eloise’s four brothers show up on Phillip’s doorstep.
I am enjoying each Bridgerton book more and more. Eloise and Phillip’s story is my favorite so far. While both strong characters, there is a fragility about them that is so realistic it tugs at your heart. There are moments of the Bridgerton humor I’ve come to love and appreciate, but I actually like the more tender tone of this book.
Billion Dollar Cowboy by Carolyn Brown
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, Cowboy
Series: Cowboys & Brides #1
Reviewed by Kate
When Colton, a lottery winning ranch owner, is drugged by a gold digger, the family decides somehing must be done. Laura is working at the ranch as an office assistant to pay off a loan she took out to cover her sister’s gambling debts. She and Colton reluctantly agree to pretend to be in a serious relationship to keep the gold diggers at bay. But when pretends start to feel real, both Colton and Laura have to search inside themselves to see if it could really be love.
I enjoy a rich hero. I really enjoy a hot cowboy hero. Combined together, you can’t go wrong. Add the sad story of his childhood and Colton becomes a sigh-worthy hero. Laura is one of those rare poor girls who doesn’t care a stitch for money. Strong and self-assured, she provides a nice contrast to Colton.
The only thing that pulled me out of the story was the scene when Laura helps Colton deliver a calf. (Despite his wealth Colton is a very hands on ranch owner). In my prior life as a farmer’s wife, I have helped in more calf deliveries than I care to remember. Unfortunately, my personal experience only served to point out the inaccuracies in the scene. However, I would guess that the scene would not affect most readers the same way.
I look forward to more hot cowboys and more strong heroines in the rest of the series (and hopefully no more calf deliveries.)
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