Review: Midnight Scandals by Courtney Milan, Sherry Thomas and Carolyn Jewel

3.5 Feathers
Midnight Scandals

by Courtney Milan, Sherry Thomas and Carolyn Jewel

(Fitzhugh Trilogy # 2.5)

I bought this book because a. the cover is gorgeous and b. I love Courtney Milan.  Overall, I thought the premise of how this anthology was set up was very clever and interesting.  See, all the short stories in this anthology revolve around one particular house.  Different people and different times, but always around Doyle's Grange.  I really liked that.  But I can't say the same for all the stories in this anthology and they are better analyzed individually.

One Starlit Night by Carolyn Jewel - 4 stars

Amazing!  Just amazing!  I have found another author I want to read everything she's ever written.  This story was sweet and romantic and hot.  The writing was beautiful. I felt like I wanted to keep making status updates on my Goodreads progress because there were so many beautiful quotes.  Viscount Northword used to live next door to Doyle's Grange and was very good friends with Portia and her brother all through childhood and adolescence.  Then he fell in love with Portia and although we don't know what happened at the beginning or the whys, they do not end up married.  He goes on to marry someone else and move away.  Years later Portia is now to be married to another man and the Viscount returns.  And all their feelings for each other come right back.  Their love trascended time and I could feel it from the very first page.  They didn't fight it, they didn't abide by propriety of the times.  They got kinky in the stables.  And they got a second chance at happiness.  Loved, loved, loved!

This time they were old enough to know there was nothing new in the world and that they did not invent passion, they created it between them, and it was that which was new and rare. 

What Happened at Midnight by Courtney Milan - 4 stars

Courtney Milan did not disappoint either.  Being that she was the reason I wanted to read this, her story was good.  Even though now it's my second favorite of this anthology.  Mary is hiding out after the death of her father and the charges of embezzlement against him.  John is looking for her for two reasons.  He hasn't stopped loving her, after all they were to be married.  But also, he's the one responsible for finding her, and hopefully the money, that was stolen from his nephew.  He finds her, maybe by accident, at Doyle's Grange where she had taken a position as a lady's companion.  John is a bit rough around the edges when you would expect someone with his money to be a bit more refined but that worked really well for me.  He knows he wants Mary but he still respects her, even though he really doesn't deny his attraction even when he thought she was a part of the theft.  A bit less hot than the previous read but still a lot of sexual tension and sparks between these two.

A Dance in Moonlight by Sherry Thomas - 3 stars

I didn't get it.  I couldn't connect with the character or the story all that much.  I didn't have a problem with the writing for the story itself was nothing that got me crazy.  Isabelle's husband died and she comes to Doyle's Grange in the hopes that she could finally be with the man she loved before, Fitzhugh.  But Fitzhugh is married and doesn't want an affair.  Except that one day a man knocks on her door and looks SO MUCH like Fitzhugh she thought he had come back and changed his mind.  Except it wasn't him.  Fitzwilliam was also staying nearby and had seen the beautiful woman before and was enthralled.  He even continues to be attracted after she jumped his bones because he looked like her ex-lover.  I guess I really never bought the fact that Isabelle loved Fitzwilliam instead of using him as a substitute for Fizhugh, and I couldn't understand how he could get over that.   I haven't read the series that this short story goes along with, but I don't think it relates that much to the Fitzhugh's that you couldn't read this first.  But I do have to say that, even though I have Sherry Thomas' series on my TBR and I'll get to those eventually, it's not going to the top of the list.

Purchase Links: Amazon

Review: The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan

 

 

The Governess Affair

(Brother Sinisters #0.5)

by Courtney Milan

Courtney Milan teases her readers with THE GOVERNESS AFFAIR, the prequel to her new Brother Sinister series. In this book, the hero is an ambitious man, known as the Wolf of Clermont. As a pugilist, he has a reputation of cleaning up the messes that the duke makes and in this book, Hugo Marshall must tidy up a night of regret and a ruined governess.

Pregnant and without a job, Serena Barton does whatever it will take to get her needs known to the man who tarnished her reputation. With a steel spine and a relentless attitude, Serena comes very close to getting what she wants. However, Hugo is also a man well acquainted with negotiating. As a bitter back-and-forth occurs between the two, the tone becomes less argumentative and more teasing.

Hugo and Serena cannot deny their attraction to one another. However, they cannot act upon it because there is the problem of taking care of Serena and her unborn babe. Milan does a great job of creating sexual tension and setting up an interesting storyline within the 100 pages of this novella. I was quite impressed by the way she was able to unravel these two opposing characters that were hellbent on getting rid of each other to instead, fall deeply in love.

With the interesting use of pins in a love scene, I have to say that Milan certainly comes up with unique ways to easing a character’s worries in the bedroom.

If this novella is any indication of what the rest of the series will be like, then readers are in for a treat!

 

 

***It's only 99 cents, people!! Such a steal! Highly recommend grabbing this ASAP!***  

Purchase Links: Amazon

Review: Unraveled by Courtney Milan

Unraveled

by Courtney Milan

(Turner # 3)

The third book in the Turner series features Smite. He's not the rake, but not the virgin either. What he is is a strict, cold, very serious lawman. I mean, his nickname is Lord Justice which he got because they tease him about being married to Lady Justice!

He's gone through a very traumatic childhood and, much like Mark, his mother truly left her mark on him. The events have traumatized him in many ways and they are the reason why he is the way he is today.

So when he meets Miranda, a girl from the wrong side of town, who's been working for The Patron doing some less than legal activities, it's a wonder that he wants to be with her. But what he offers her is a deal. She will be his mistress for a month, he will put her in a nice house and pay her for her services.

As much as Miranda would have never considered something like that before, the fact that she does have an attraction to Smite, and that the money would buy her a new life, she accepts. Even though she is a virgin herself.

But shortly into their affair her past comes calling. The Patron wants her back and will do and threaten whomever to get that.

I was enamored with Smite, his sentimentality quota, his stern ways, and his sweet and thoughtful moments. He showed he cared for Miranda from day one and he was not afraid to show that even in public. He wasn't hiding her and he stood up to others for her more than once.

The Turners just can't find love in all the normal places but they've all delivered great stories, and the writing by Ms. Milan is smooth and very easy to read. This one had me glued to the pages! 

Purchase Links: Amazon

Interview and Giveaway with Courtney Milan!

Thanks so much for stopping by UTC to talk to our maidens and being a part of A Scandalous Affair. We are very excited to have you here today!!   Please give a warm welcome to Courtney Milan!

Your next release, A Governess Affair will release in April 2012. Can you tell us a bit about it?

It's about a man of business whose employer asks him to take care of a governess who is making a pest of herself, only to discover that she's rather too intriguing for his peace of mind.

What's behind the saying "Wolf meets Bear" as it pertains to this book?

I give everyone of my books code names as I'm writing them. In this series, the hero, Hugo Marshall, is also named as the Wolf of Clermont--because he's relatively ruthless. But I wanted to write a heroine who was more than his match. And what's the only creature that I can imagine taking on a savage wolf? A bear--generally happy creatures when well-fed, and perfectly content to subsist on blueberries. But threaten them or the ones they love, and they're unstoppable.

That's my heroine.

Your Turners series is a hit! Congrats! For those readers who haven't had the chance to read or discover these books yet, can you tell us a bit about them?

The Turner series is about three brothers whose lives have been shaped--in very, very different ways--by a mother who was insane. I wanted it to be a chance to explore what happens when good people have a lot of baggage.

If you could create your own panel and choose which authors you'd like to have a conference with, which authors would you pick and why? What would you talk about?

Oh, gosh. That's a hard one. There are a lot of authors that I would like to put on that list. But here's a panel that would be just plain fun: Ann Aguirre, Tessa Dare, Victoria Dahl, and Zoe Archer. What would we talk about? I'm not sure, but I'm guessing it would not be safe for work. :)

What does a typical day for you look like?

I don't have typical days. I work a day job (for now), and it takes up a lot of time and in irregular amounts. I write when I can. I try to get an hour of writing in in the mornings; if I take a lunch break, I write over lunch, and then I spend a good amount of time in the evenings writing, editing, and taking care of the business aspects of things.

I wish I had typical days.

What does your writing workspace look like? Clean and orderly? Scattered with notes? Any visual would be nice.

It's a complete mess. I cannot express how utterly messy my workspace is. To give you some idea: right now, my laptop is placed on top of a big stack of paper. There is no non-papered part of my desk, and so I do not find this distressing. This particular stack is about an inch deep--20 pages of stuff for the day job, two pages of notes that I scribbled to myself when I was stuck on a scene, a napkin from a restaurant on which I have written "more mutual weaseling!" (that was a reminder about something to do in a book), some notes from a telephone conference, some notes from a meeting, a to-do list from (this shows you how old the geological strata are on my desk) January, 2011--and by the way, there are three items on that list that I have not yet done--all over a stack of notecards. The top notecard, by the way, contains the word "peanut butter."

Kind of a mess.

What draws you to do historical romances, have any particular authors inspired you?

I like writing historical romances because it allows me to look at historical patterns of change. I write in a time of great social and economic upheaval, a time when everything that people knew was changing, and when steamships and railways made the world small. I think that many of the changes that happened then are like what is happening to us now, and in some ways, writing in a historical period allows me to explore what change means to us today, but in a safe space.

There are a lot of authors who inspire me and who I admire--more than I can possibly list, but here are a handful:

* Lois McMaster Bujold
* Sherry Thomas
* Julia Quinn
* Eloisa James
* Lisa Kleypas

I could go on and on--I just finished reading everything that Ilona Andrews was ever written, for instance--but suffice it to say it's a long list. :)

What kind of hero do you like to read the most, a virgin/inexperience hero, or a rake? Which is the best to write, since you've written both?

I think variety is the spice of life. I like everything.

If there's anything I like to write, it's people who are slightly off kilter--maybe just a little different than the norm. Just about every hero I've written has been a little...odd, all in different ways. I often don't set out to write people that way, but as I write, my characters acquire quirks that I never intended them to have.

Coffee or tea?
Tea.

Hardcover or paperback?
No.

What kind of ereader do you own?
Two kindles, two Sony readers, a nook, and an old iRex tablet. Not counting multipurpose devices here.

Sunrise or sunset?
Sunrise.

Sun or snow?
Yes.

Heels or flipflops?
Flipflops.

Tattoos or piercings?
For me? Piercings.
On a guy? Tattoos.

As a special treat, Ms. Milan has a very generous giveaway to one lucky follower.  You will get the three full-length books in her Turners series.

Read our reviews of Unveiled, Unclaimed and Unraveled.

To enter:

1. Be a follower
2. Fill out the form below

Review: Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

Unclaimed

by Courtney Milan

(Turner # 2)

This is such a hard book to review, especially because it has some elements that I normally don't care for much, but somehow they work so well in this book!

Sir Mark Turner was left writing a book about chastity when we finished Unveiled. Yes, the hero is a virgin *cue the shocked gasps*. This is not usually the case, but for Mark waiting until marriage is very important and he wants to teach these values to other people. If you had asked me what I thought at the end of the last book, I would've said I didn't understand his point much. After reading what he had to go through as a child, maybe I see it in a new light.

The story was definitely eye opening in regards to the Turner brothers and all they've had to go through. It has not been an easy life for any of them.

Now that Mark is somewhat of a celebrity he will be faced with the biggest challenge yet. Jessica. While he believes she's a reputable woman and starts falling in love with her, she is actually hiding a secret with the sole purpose of destroying him. And she's the experienced one in this story.

This series has brought the heroines so far in somewhat of a bad light. They always have a big obstacle to overcome to achieve their HEA. Betrayal. And the hurt and deception that goes along with it. I think that's the best part about these stories. Seeing the heroines dig themselves out of really tough situations.

Now you're just left to find out if Mark will give in to his needs and throw everything he's achieved out the window for one moment of bliss in Jessica's arms. Totally worth it!

We'll have to see what Smite's story will bring, somehow I have a feeling his will be a tearjerker.

Purchase Links: Amazon

Review: Unveiled by Courtney Milan

Unveiled

by Courtney Milan

(Turner # 1)

Ash, Mark and Smite Turner were the victims of other people's greed from the time they were young. Their title and their money was basically taken away after their father's death, their mother went insane.

Ash Turner made something of himself by way of commerce. He traveled to India, he learned business, he did what he had to do. Then he came back for his brothers.

Now there's a way for him to reclaim the dukedom that should be his and he's taking it. He's moving right in to Parford Manor along with Mark. Except the old family left a spy behind. Lady Margaret Dalrymple, who now has to report back to his brother of anything that they can use in their legal battle to retain the dukedom in their family.

She never fit in her family, her family never had her back. So when Ash pays so much attention to her, and shows that he truly cares for her, it slowly disarms her and brings down her barriers.

Ash is the steady rock, the pillar of his family. That's all he knows how to be. So he wants to provide the same for Margaret, no matter what others might think.

I was a bit concerned as to how Ms. Milan would bring back the heroine from such a betrayal to our hero but it all worked out very well I think, without seeming completely out of reality.

Now I can't wait to read about the other brothers! Yummy!

Favorite Quote:

"You're important. You matter."

"I am trying to have you. Not for one night, nor even two. I want you every evening. Mine outright, not a few hours stolen here or there. I want you during the day, on my arm. I want to know that when we're apart you're missing me. I want to know that when we're together, I'm the one who puts the smile on your face."

Purchase Links: Amazon