Review: Discovery of Desire by Susanne Lord

From the Back Cover:

AN EXPLORER LOST...
To the East India Company, he's the ideal explorer: unwed, uncomplaining, strong as an ox and profitable. There's nothing Seth Mayhew can’t find—until his sister disappears en route to India. The expedition is the first he fears he may fail, until he discovers a valuable, and irresistible, ally sailing on the same ship to Bombay. 

A LADY FOUND...
But Wilhelmina Adams is on an expedition of her own—for a husband. With six sisters, no dowry and no marriage prospects in her Derbyshire village, Bombay promises a husband and security. But assisting a dangerously distracting explorer won’t improve her prospects. 

A LOVE DISCOVERED…
It’s an inevitable partnership, but the winds of fate are ever changing. Adventures that begin in the bazaars of Bombay can diverge to the slums of London and patchwork fields of England. And at each port of call, Seth and Mina will have to risk everything to unearth the heart’s greatest prize.

My Thoughts:

Seth Mayhew is on a mission to find his missing sister. With a reputation of being able to hunt down the rarest botanical specimens, he has high hopes of being able to pick up Georgie's trail to bring her and her young ward home. On a steamer bound for India with dozens of "venture girls," young women with limited prospects at home who are coming to India to find husbands, he manages to steer clear of them until they disembark in Bombay. But as he meets with Tom, an associate who has promised to help him track down Georgie, he comes face-to-face with venture girl Wilhelmina Adams, and Cupid's arrow strikes hard. But there's one big problem: Mina is promised to Tom. And besides, he doesn't have time for courtship; he's got to work with Tom to find the people in the East India Company who can help him find his sister.

From a large family with no dowries for their many daughters, and with one sister already fallen into disrepute,  Mina Adams and her sister Emma have come to India in search of a better future. Both sisters have been in correspondence with gentlemen and have arrived at an understanding, but only one meets them when their ship arrives. Emma's intended is a no-show, and while Tom is there for Mina, he is nothing like the man she has come to know via his letters. And she can't leave Emma. While the rest of their fellow venture girls choose their husbands and set off for their new homes, the Adams sisters are desperately hoping Emma's fiance will arrive. But each day that passes diminishes the hope that he will come, and each day gives Mina more time to fall in love with a man who is not her fiance. Drawn to Seth's strapping masculinity, self-deprecating wit, and flirtatious charm, she vows to do all she can to help him find his sister. But as new information comes to light and time runs out, Mina and Seth will have to decide whether they want to make the riskiest venture yet: taking a chance on true love.

Quick Review: Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas

From the Back Cover:

Their marriage lasted only slightly longer than the honeymoon—to no one’s surprise, not even Bryony Asquith’s. A man as talented, handsome, and sought after by society as Leo Marsden couldn't possibly want to spend his entire life with a woman who rebelled against propriety by becoming a doctor. Why, then, three years after their annulment and half a world away, does he track her down at her clinic in the remotest corner of India?

Leo has no reason to think Bryony could ever forgive him for the way he treated her, but he won’t rest until he’s delivered an urgent message from her sister—and fulfilled his duty by escorting her safely back to England. But as they risk their lives for each other on the journey home, will the biggest danger be the treacherous war around them—or their rekindling passion?

My Thoughts:
 
I admit, I'm tough on romances. But it's because I love them! There are just so many out there, and many talented authors that I may never get the chance to read, so when a romance falls short of my expectations, I rarely give the author another shot. Thus I'm always searching for a romance that rises above the rest, and an author who makes me want to run out and read her entire backlist. And I'm happy to say: this is one of them!

Several things really made this romance stand out for me. First, the set-up: Estranged husband and wife find their way back to each other. A well-used convention, true, but one I usually like. And in this case it's particularly well done, with a lot of raw emotion, and serious, valid issues standing between Leo and Bryony. Second, Leo and Bryony themselves. Two great characters! Bryony's a little strange, but she's very well written and believable, and after all, they say there's a fine line between madness and genius. Third, the location: India. Yes! Something different! A lush, exotic backdrop, rich in period detail, and frightening for our couple. Which brings me to my fourth point: a strong, well-researched historical element--an exciting race to safety as Leo and Bryony find themselves in the middle of an uprising, and are forced to make a stand with the lean and pitifully unprepared British garrison. And finally, a healthy dose of hot, yet tasteful, sex never hurts! I loved just about every minute of this novel, and I was really pulled in emotionally. This one's earned a spot on my Keeper Shelf, and I have already added Ms. Thomas's other novels to my To-Buy list. Highly recommended to fans of historical romance looking for something a little more meaningful.

My Rating:  5 Stars out of 5

Review: The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran

From the Back Cover:

From exotic sandstone palaces...

Sick of tragedy, done with rebellion, Emmaline Martin vows to settle quietly into British Indian society. But when the pillars of privilege topple, her fiance's betrayal leaves Emma no choice. She must turn for help to the one man whom she should not trust, but cannot resist: Julian Sinclair, the dangerous and dazzling heir to the Duke of Auburn.

To the marble halls of London...

In London, they toast Sinclair with champagne. In India, they call him a traitor. Cynical and impatient with both worlds, Julian has never imagined that the place he might belong is in the embrace of a woman with a reluctant laugh and haunted eyes. But in a time of terrible darkness, he and Emma will discover that love itself can be perilous - and that a single decision can alter one's life forever.

Destiny follows wherever you run.

A lifetime of grief later, in a cold London spring, Emma and Julian must finally confront the truth: no matter how hard one tries to deny it, some pasts cannot be disowned...and some passions never die.


My review:

Part One of this book is utter perfection. Not a word out of place; two wonderfully original, compelling characters; an exotic yet deadly locale where unrest and uncertainty lurk in the shadows; and a grand adventure that finds our lovers fleeing for their lives through the desert seeking only to survive but finding so much more.

Part Two takes place in London, oceans away in terms of both time and place. Here the story lapses into more standard Regency romance form and I found myself becoming annoyed with the characters' actions, (though they would not have been out of place in any other romance), and the magic was dimmed a bit for me.

Even with my disappointment that the second half did not live up to the standards set in the first half, I still thoroughly enjoyed this story, finding myself on the edge of my seat and unable to put it down, and several weeks after finishing it, I still think about it and pick it up to reread certain passages. An excellent plot featuring star-crossed lovers alternating against a backdrop of war and savagery and the ignorant opulence of high society. The best historical romance I've read this year.


Rating:  5 out of 5 Stars