What Happens Under the Mistletoe... Anthology

What Happens Under the Mistletoe (anthology)

Sabrina Jeffries
Karen Hawkins
Candace Camp
Meredith Duran

Historical Romance
Published in 2015

Read in April, 2016.

My rating:

                                                    [spoiler alert]

This review and rating (3 stars) is solely based on Sabrina Jeffries’ “The Heiress and the Hothead”. Rating may change if/when I read the other stories.

“The Heiress and the Hothead”

H/h - Lord Stephen Corry/Amanda Keane

Setting: England, 1829.

I had no idea that a novella of Sabrina Jeffries’ latest series, the Sinful Suitors, was published in the Christmas-y anthology What Happens Under the Mistletoe. So after I finished book 2, which was published very recently, I had look it up and check out Amanda’s story “The Heiress and the Hothead”. Unfortunately, it didn’t float my boat as I had hoped it would. :(

I won’t go into the introduction to the series. Please find my reviews of book 1, The Art of Sinning or book 2, The Study of Seduction, where I’ve discussed it in detail. By way of introduction, I’ll only add the following. Amanda, the h of this series, was first introduced in book 1 as the American artist Jeremy Keane’s sister. Jeremy is the H of book 1, who has been travelling the world to pursue his study on arts and paintings of various kinds for a long time. Amanda was left in America with her widowed mother to run the family business of several mills (I’m still not sure of the exact details yet), all on her own. Jeremy had no interest in these things, but Amanda couldn’t just leave things that way. She had to take control.

Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Duran

Wicked Becomes You

Meredith Duran

Historical Romance

Published in 2010

H/h - Alex Ramsey/Gwen Maudsley

Setting: London, 1886.

Read in March, 2011.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5


                                                          [spoiler alert]

Well, this book's fun but that's all. I'm yet to be 'grabbed' by it. I like the characters, the story is good but... well, this theme of 'a rake's tutorials to lead a lady astray' has become kinda boring. I'm not even sure I care for rakes anymore, unless they make me eat my words one way or the other, then make me fall head over heels for them.

Written on Your Skin by Meredith Duran

Written on Your Skin

Meredith Duran

Historical Romance

Published in 2009

H/h - Phin Granville/Mina Masters

Setting: London, 1884.

Read in March, 2011.

My Rating: 2 out of 5

                                                                 [spoiler alert]

I've just about read 8 chapters of the book and I'm very disappointed. Except for a few scenes in the beginning, the book is just slow and boring. I thought I'd love Phin from whatever I read in Bound by Your Touch but I'm wrong. He seems too cold, emotionally detached for my liking. And the heroine, Mina, I'm not really impressed by her. There are just too many 'odes' to her 'porcelain perfect skin, petite figure and ice-blonde hair' all over the book and honestly, whatever MD is trying to pass her as, she isn't that smart, just plain irritating sometimes. The incidents of this book is happening simultaneously with Bound by Your Touch, except the incidents 4 yrs ago.

Bound by Your Touch by Meredith Duran

Bound by Your Touch

Meredith Duran

Historical Romance

Published in 2009

H/h - James Darhum, Viscount Sanburne/Lydia Boyce

Setting: London, 1884.

Read in March, 2011.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5


                                                                          [spoiler alert]

I like this book. At least the 1st 3 chapters that I've read so far. I like the heroine Lydia, smart, bookish, a blue-staking, confirmed spinster and pretty with dark hair and amber eyes but not beautiful. The hero, James is a veritable Adonis with blonde hair, gray eyes, a wastrel, drinks a lot, has problems with his father the Earl of Moreland etc etc.

The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran

The Duke of Shadows

Meredith Duran

Historical Romance

Published in 2008

H/h - Julian Sinclair, The Duke of Auburn/Emmaline Martin

Setting: India 1857/London 1861.

Read in March, 2011.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5


                                                                          [spoiler alert]

Oh, well, I like this book. 1st few chapters were slow, mainly due to all the historical stuffs/associations of British-India during 1857. It's always slow for me to get into the book when so much historical stuff is there but I have to say MD did her research well and her Hindi was quite good. I understand Hindi so had no problems getting the lines. Then, after chapter 7, specially after the 1st love scene, things got much much more better. I like both the H/H, but will come to my thoughts about them later. In the last chapters of part 1, the violence and slaughters of the Sepoy mutiny did make me speechless. I had trouble gulping them. It was akin to nightmare.