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Showing posts with label Juliana Gray. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Juliana Gray. Show all posts
Monday, June 10, 2013
Review: How to Tame Your Duke by Juliana Gray
How to Tame Your Duke
Author: here Juliana Gray
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Publisher: Berkley
Three Princesses Series #1
ISBN: #978-0425265666
Genre: Historical Romance
Format(s): Paperback (320 pgs), ebook
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
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Three intrepid princesses find themselves targets in a deadly plot against the crown—until their uncle devises a brilliant plan to keep them safe...
England, 1888. Quiet and scholarly Princess Emilie has always avoided adventure, until she’s forced to disguise herself as a tutor in the household of the imposing Duke of Ashland, a former soldier disfigured in battle and abandoned by his wife. When chance draws her into a secret liaison with the duke, Emilie can’t resist the opportunity to learn what lies behind his forbidding mask, and find out what adventure really means...
The duke never imagines that his son’s tutor and his mysterious golden-haired beauty are one and the same. But when the true identity of his lover is laid bare, Ashland must face the demons in his past in order to safeguard both his lady—and his heart.
What Ang’s talking about:
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I want you all to know that I really wanted to like How to Tame Your Duke. I have enjoyed everything else Juliana Gray has written up to this point and frankly, I don’t want to make her mad. I want her to keep writing. Not that my one little review is going to keep that from happening, but if the next novel is as tepid as this one is, I probably won’t continue to read this series. Seriously, these characters were so unremarkable I can’t even remember their names sitting here writing this review. I know there was princess. She was smart and snarky. There was a wounded duke, his son who was hilarious, and a maid who was so clueless that she offered a lot of comic relief from the boredom.
There was a lot of potential here. There was a princess, spies, abductions, hidden identities—sounds good, right? The seduction was really beautifully written. I felt the emotion and struggle of it. The side characters offered a wonderful distraction from the main plot.
However, the rest of the story was like a roller coaster ride where you wait five hours in line, finally get to the top of the giant incline, and—nothing. It’s just a straight shot to the finish, no dips, no turns, no flips, no corkscrews. It really isn’t a bad book, it just isn’t a great one.
What went wrong? Here are my issues (and I freely admit they’re mine):
1. The title. It’s called How to Tame Your Duke. This Duke didn’t need taming. The only character in this book that needed taming was the son and he just needed a good spanking.
2. The whole disguise thing. It works in theory, but anyone who was paying attention to the newspapers within the book would have figured it out very quickly. A haircut and moustache does not a convincing disguise make…especially when living in the same house with a spy.
3. The princess does things that feel completely out of character. First and foremost she’s been trained to be a princess. I don’t think a princess, even one trying to save her country, would have participated in numerous improprieties. The duke is also guilty when he puts the princess in danger even after he knows who she is.
I feel like many of these and other issues could have been dealt with by better editing. (See, I’m quick to blame the editor because I LIKE Juliana Gray!) Although How to Tame Your Duke wasn’t a winner for me, I’m willing to read the next story because Ms. Gray does push the envelope with historical fiction, and that’s a good thing.
Ang’s Rating:
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Finished it - take it or leave it (C)
Purchase Info:
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Friday, February 8, 2013
Review: A Duke Never Yields
A Duke Never Yields
Author: Juliana Gray
Release Date: Feb. 5, 2013
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Affairs by Moonlight #3
ISBN: #978-0425251188
Genre: Historical Romance
Format(s): Paperback (320 pgs), e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
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Impatient with the strictures of polite British society, Miss Abigail Harewood has decided to live life on her own terms—and the first thing she requires is a lover. When the commanding Duke of Wallingford arrives on the doorstep of her leased holiday castle, she thinks she’s found the perfect candidate: handsome, dashing, and experienced in the art of love.
But tempting Wallingford into her bed proves more difficult than she imagined. Restless and dissatisfied with his debauched life in London, the formerly rakish duke is determined to spend a year chaste. But as Abigail tries her best to seduce him, Wallingford finds his resolve crumbling in the face of her irresistible charm…and her alluring secrets.
What Ang is talking about:
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Those that read A Lady Never Lies will enjoy this parallel tale about her sister Abigail and the Duke of Wallingford. Overall it is a delightful Shakespearean inspired lark complete with meddling ghosts, haunted castles, snarky dialogue and head strong characters. The chemistry between Abigail and the Duke is clear from the get go, and the building tension as guards come down and true characters are revealed is well written.
The characters are easy to like in their stubborn natures, and although I struggled with Abigail's relentless perusal of the Duke, it really did fit her nonconformist style. What I truly enjoyed about both of their characters though was the last third of the novel when Abigail stops fighting for Wallingford and allows him the opportunity to become the hero of the story. I love a good heroine, but I love it even more when the hero realizes who he is and steps up to the plate to get the job done.
The love scenes and foreplay were well written and romantic without being taken to the NC-17 level, which I appreciated. I also felt like Ms. Gray did a beautiful job of capturing the awkwardness, surprise and discomfort so many ladies experience upon loosing their virginity, and I appreciated that Wallingford didn't give up and let Abigail believe that that experience was what sex was always like.
Overall, I found the story to be a fun quick read with lots of twist and turns that, for the most part added to the story, keeping it fast paced and entertaining. However, with that being said, there was one twist that I felt was so unnecessary that it dropped my rating a full letter grade. This twist took up the last 15 to 20% of the novel, which was too much space. I felt like Ms. Gray had a beautiful ending with all the pieces tied up perfectly at the garden in the cathedral or even at the hotel room after the cathedral, but instead of leaving things there she wrote another one or two chapters that, in my opinion were completely unnecessary and added little, if anything, to the story line. It almost felt to me as if she added the pages so she could write one more sex scene, and it wasn't even well written. It just felt like an after thought and although it didn't ruin the novel for me, it definitely left with a nasty aftertaste. In fact, I dropped my rating from an A to a B because of this ending. The key to a great novel is having a great story that is well written and knowing when to end that story. Ms. Gray got the first to elements but missed the last one.
Despite the drop in letter grade I will say those that enjoyed A Gentleman Never Tells or A Lady Never Lies will likely enjoy this romp in the Italian countryside as well as having so many of questions answered about the castle and those living there.
Ang’s Rating:
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Liked it, but I had some issues - recommend (B)
Purchase Info:
Reviews in the Series:
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Review: A Lady Never Lies by Juliana Gray
Please welcome Ang, who brings you today’s Guest Review of...
A Lady Never Lies
Author: Juliana Gray
Release Date: Aug. 7, 2012
Publisher: Berkley
Affairs by Moonlight #1
ISBN: #978-0425250921
Genre: Historical Romance
Format(s): Paperback (320 pgs), e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
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Lady Alexandra Morley, an alluring widow, is desperate to devise a plan to reverse her fortunes. When fate lands her in the arms of Phineas "Finn" Burke, an attractive inventor, she despairs of ever getting what she needs...until they kiss.
Finn has always been impervious to the charms of the female species, intent only on perfecting his "horseless carriage" engine. He never dreamed he'd meet a woman like Alexandra, who is as stubborn as she is comely. Despite the brewing scandal, Finn longs to make Alexandra his wife, but he must first convince the maddening lady that their love is the only thing that matters
What Ang is talking about:
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A Lady Never Lies is a fun, witty and sensual romp in the Tuscan Country Side filled with memorable characters and interesting dialogue. Even the secondary characters were fun and memorable, which is a good thing since they are sure to be the main characters in upcoming novels. My one complaint is with the curse on the castle. The castle is almost a character in and of itself, and along with Giacomo and Morini, I felt like I needed their back stories (although, I've got a feeling the back story would likely be a novel in and of itself).
Despite the distractions, our main characters, Alexandra and Finn were completely engaging. The differences in their characters, backgrounds and personalities played off each other nicely, building a well written tension between them. I especially enjoyed the banter throughout the story, but I did struggle with Finn's scientific mind at times, especially when he often speaks of Alexandra’s menses. I'm sorry that simply isn't a term or a detailed conversation I want to read in a romance novel. I get that the author was playing up the Finn’s scientific mind and his natural concern in reference to those things but I found it off putting. It's like mentioning the wet spot in the bed after an especially romantic scene in a story, you just don't do it. Thankfully, Alexandra insures these conversations are short lived allowing us to to get back to meet of the story quickly.
I have to say what held my interest was not only the love story between Finn and Alexandra but also the self-discovery Alexandra finds herself apart of. As a young widow who married a much older man at a very early age, she really hasn't discovered who she is intellectually or sexually. The journey she takes in this novel is well written as she figures things out in reference to her relationship with Finn and her placement in the world around her.
Overall this is a fun escape and it was nice to read a historical romance placed somewhere other than England. I don't know that I'll put myself on any pre-order list to get the next two in the trilogy, but having experienced Ms. Gary's writing style, I definitively wouldn't pass them by should I stumble on them in a book store. If you like historical romance you'll likely enjoy this novel.
Ang’s Rating:
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Purchase Info:
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