Posts Tagged ‘family saga’

All “Hope” Is Not Lost

Posted: June 17, 2012 in fiction, historical romance
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I had the honor of receiving this book for an early review. Hope’s Betrayal is a historical romance in every sense of the word. It takes you back to the first romance book you read and evokes those feelings of wonder and anticipation. I can still feel the sun baking my skin as I lay on the pier, enthralled by the story of Hope and George.

Sometimes I like to comment on the cover art. This cover is seductive and the woman is now firmly implanted in my mind as Hope. I love it when the cover compliments the story inside.

Excerpt borrowed from Goodreads

One wild, winter’s night two worlds collide.

Known for his ruthless efficiency, Captain George Huntley is sent to stamp out smuggling on the south coast of England. On a night raid, the Captain captures a lanky lad, but finds his troubles are just beginning when the lad turns out to be a lass, Hope Tyler.

With Hope as bait, the Captain sets a trap to catch the rest of the gang. But in a battle of wills, with his reputation at stake, George Huntley starts to respect feisty, independent Hope. Challenged by her sea-green eyes and stubborn loyalty; Huntley now faces a new threat – his growing attraction to a sworn enemy. And a love where either Hope betrays her own kind, or Captain Huntley is court-marshalled, is not an easy destiny to follow.

I truly enjoyed Hope’s Betrayal. A sweet tale of falling in love despite their different places in society,  the risks of a damaged reputation and the loss of a dream profession.

Hope is forced to join the free traders to feed her family. Smuggling is not her first choice, but what else can she do. To protect herself, she wears a disguise.

Captain Huntley is hell-bent on furthering his career and will not stop until the smugglers gang are all rounded up. He manages to catch one of them, but the lad is injured and he is forced to take him to his estate lest the boy dies.

At first the captain thinks he is going crazy.Upon cleaning up the unconscious lad, he gazes upon his face and feels stirred by him. He leans closer and laughs in relief when he recognizes the lad is a lass. And a beautiful one at that.

The physical attraction might be quick, as it can be in real life, but the emotional attraction is developed slowly. There are many obstacles to overcome for Hope and George if they are to be together and the way will not be easy.

 

Grace Elliot‘s writing is like a wave, building to a crest as it approaches shore, then crashing down.  As you read the undertow pulls you deeper into the story, tossing you about and then gently depositing you safely on land.

There are a few places in the story where I felt it could have been explained in more detail, but maybe that is because I felt the need for more.

Historical romance has not been my first genre of choice since I was younger, but recently I have discovered some wonderful stories and I am left wondering, when did I wander away from reading them and what took me so long to come back?

Hope’s Betrayal is romance with a touch of innocence and I recommend it to anyone that enjoys falling in love, with all its angst and fervor.

5 STARS

I do not usually read the second book in a series first, so I am going to quickly get reading Eulogy’s Secret (The Huntley Trilogy – Book 1) so that I can tell you all about it.

More exciting news! Grace has graciously(grins) given me a working blurb of the third book in this trilogy, Verity’s Lie. Want to read it? Okay!

Lord Charles Huntley, notorious rogue…and government agent. His latest assignment is to protect a politicians daughter, Verity Verrinder, while her father negotiates an alliance against Napoleon. Huntley embarks on a campaign of seduction to keep Verity under his watchful eye, but hasn’t anticipated falling in love with his charge. When Lord Huntley turns his bone-melting charms on her, Verity suspects she’s exchanging an overbearing parent for a domineering rogue. Denying her attraction to the handsome Huntley, Verity goes in search of freedom, only to run into the clutches of French kidnappers. This leaves Lord Huntley with a stark choice between trying to save Britain’s peace negotiations or the life of the only woman he has ever loved.

I can’t wait to read more. I am hopelessly entangled in the Huntley family saga and these three brothers. What is really great is that each novel is written so that they can stand alone but why would you not want to read them in order. It is so much more fun! 

About Grace Elliot

Grace Elliot leads a double life as a veterinarian by day and an author of historical romance by night. Grace is an avid reader and believes intelligent people need to read romance – as an antidote to the modern world. She works in a companion animal practice near London and is housekeeping staff to five demanding felines.

She has now written three historical romance novels.

 

To purchase any of these books, just click on the cover images.

You can find out more about Grace Elliot and her books here:

https://www.amazon.com/author/graceelliot

http://graceelliot-author.blogspot.com

I Want More, Please

Posted: April 21, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Title: So Wonderful as Want

Author: Joyce DeBacco

 

This book was hard to review without including spoilers, so here it is, and no, there are no spoilers.

The story begins in 1911, in Caloosa, Florida, and takes place over 20 years.

Sitting on the pier with her cousin Virginia, watching the storm clouds gather, Dinah dreams of getting out. She wants to marry a gentleman and move into town. Anything is better than living out here in the back of beyond. The skies open up and they make a dash for shelter, joined  by a young man who  follows them out of the rain. Virginia is smitten with Zach, the handsome blue-eyed river rat, while Dinah gives him the cold shoulder.

I fell in love with Joyce’s writing. It is so descriptive. Here is a little taste.

The brief afternoon storm drifted out to the Gulf, and the sun returned to glorify the earth. Hissing and steaming, the thirsty soil drank greedily of the life-giving moisture, while the air, a heady combination of sun-baked earth and wildflowers, packed a one-two punch to anyone who dared take its lushness for granted.

Back to the story. Zach is just passing through but events occur that keep him in Caloosa. As he is heading out of town he hears shouting on the river and discovers two men and a young boy in danger of drowning. he manages to get all three to dry land, but only one survives. The two victims are Dinah’s father and younger brother,the survivor is her uncle.

Having lost her mother at an early age, Dinah is now alone. With nothing to keep her there, she decides to head out with Zach, but her Aunt Clara has other plans and convinces her to stay.

Zach decides to settle in Caloosa and moves into Dinah’s spare room in exchange for helping with repairs and such. He tries his hand at several jobs but nothing fits and he decides to look up an old aquaintance for help in getting into college. He is accepted into college  and so begins his journey.

Meanwhile, back in Caloosa, a tinker comes calling on Dinah and he is selling more than his wares.

Months later Zach returns to discover Dinah is pregnant and her Aunt Clara believes he is the father. This is where the saga really takes off.

I felt many things for Dinah. She never holds back and gives as good as she gets. As Zach puts it, “That girl can flatten a man’s ego faster than a ton of bricks.” At times I wanted to hate her and other times I wanted to shake her and slap some sense into her.

Zach made me laugh. The back and forth between him and Dinah is hilarious. From Zach, “To tell the truth Dinah, my life would be rather dull without you to complicate it.” Growing up with three sisters, he knows how to get a rise out of  her.

Joyce writes with such feeling and her knowledge of the south and the era is evident in her words. My emotions ranged from laughter, to sorrow, to frustration and even anger. I followed Dinah’s journey over the course of 20 years. There was never a dull moment and I would be happy to read more. I would like to know what happens to Dinah over the next 20 years. I feel she is just getting started.

Having really enjoyed this book, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a genuine taste of life and adventure. I gave it 4 STARS.

Here are a few excerpts that tugged at my heart.

The baby wrapped his chubby arms around her neck, wrinkled his button nose, and laughed, revealing six tiny teeth the size of seed pearls.

She wanted more of the world; all he wanted was her.

 

About Joyce Debacco

After reading women’s fiction for many years, Joyce knew she wanted to create stories of her own. As the mother of four grown daughters, she’s familiar with the problems women face finding love, raising children, and stepping back when necessary. All of her books place an emphasis on love and family dynamics. She is happiest when she’s secluded in her office creating new worlds and people to populate them. When she’s not taxing her brain with plot, structure, and grammar, she likes to sew, particularly quilts. When she really wants to rest her brain, she sprawls out in front of the TV and tries not to fall asleep. Please visit her website, http://www.joycedebacco.com for information about all of her books.