avid_reader_53's review
5.0
I got this book from the Authors for a review. I love these ladies of historical fiction separately, and together back at Keynvor Castle, they are delightful. Loved this antholgoy, a must read if you love historicals and these authors never disappoint you.
We are back for a double wedding from the Halloween book, and the ghosts and pixies are right on point. in Deb Marlowe’s tale of Lord Locryn and the Pixie’s Kiss. A not-so-old-by-Pixie-standards Pixie, Thistle takes umbrage when a young lord goes sparking at a full moon. It might have mattered if she had not seen him with another young woman earlier and while nothing had happened, a spark had been lite. So she kisses him stead an set a curse in motion that only true love’s kiss will break. But will true love be able to prevail when another of the fairy realm mistakes the curse as something else? Oh, the fun to be had and the missed kissing adventures. A must read with well developed characters. Five stars.
The Determined Duchess by Erica Monroe
In this fun little tale, Miss Felicity Fields is dabbling in chemistry best left alone. Her beloved guardian, the only one who she thinks loves her and respects her love of science has died. But Felicity has a plan, through chemistry she will create the Philosopher’s stone and bring her aunt (not any blood relation, just the woman that took her in and loved her.) back to life. But she has two time limits, one the decaying body of her aunt and two … well two is more complicated. Lady Margaret’s nephew is coming to reclaim the house and land now that she is gone, and Miss Felicity will be out of a home, or worse forced to traverse the wilds of the Mating Market in a London Season. Or will she? Good read, fun and nicely filled out. 4 stars.
A Duke by Any Other Name by Claire Delacorix
Simply the cutest read I’ve have the pleasure of reading lately. Joyful and insightful. The Duke of Inverfyre, Alexander is trying to catch a thief, this time it puts in the path of a young lady that is determined to marry a Duke, no so much for the title, parties or fine things that brings, but for the safety and security that will calm her orphan’s heart. Daphne Goodenham and her younger sister were orphaned at a very young age, but she remembers the sennight she and her sister were alone with nobody to rely on till her Grandmama came to get them. She has vowed to make a Duke a good wife in exchange for that security. But in noticing the contradictions of the flop of the Duke of Inverfyre and the man she has seen underneath, will she foil his plans or come out loving her Duke? Love this characters, grabbed you at the beginning and you rushed through to find out who did it and if the duke had to keep up his costuming. Five starts, delightful and well planed out.
We are back for a double wedding from the Halloween book, and the ghosts and pixies are right on point. in Deb Marlowe’s tale of Lord Locryn and the Pixie’s Kiss. A not-so-old-by-Pixie-standards Pixie, Thistle takes umbrage when a young lord goes sparking at a full moon. It might have mattered if she had not seen him with another young woman earlier and while nothing had happened, a spark had been lite. So she kisses him stead an set a curse in motion that only true love’s kiss will break. But will true love be able to prevail when another of the fairy realm mistakes the curse as something else? Oh, the fun to be had and the missed kissing adventures. A must read with well developed characters. Five stars.
The Determined Duchess by Erica Monroe
In this fun little tale, Miss Felicity Fields is dabbling in chemistry best left alone. Her beloved guardian, the only one who she thinks loves her and respects her love of science has died. But Felicity has a plan, through chemistry she will create the Philosopher’s stone and bring her aunt (not any blood relation, just the woman that took her in and loved her.) back to life. But she has two time limits, one the decaying body of her aunt and two … well two is more complicated. Lady Margaret’s nephew is coming to reclaim the house and land now that she is gone, and Miss Felicity will be out of a home, or worse forced to traverse the wilds of the Mating Market in a London Season. Or will she? Good read, fun and nicely filled out. 4 stars.
A Duke by Any Other Name by Claire Delacorix
Simply the cutest read I’ve have the pleasure of reading lately. Joyful and insightful. The Duke of Inverfyre, Alexander is trying to catch a thief, this time it puts in the path of a young lady that is determined to marry a Duke, no so much for the title, parties or fine things that brings, but for the safety and security that will calm her orphan’s heart. Daphne Goodenham and her younger sister were orphaned at a very young age, but she remembers the sennight she and her sister were alone with nobody to rely on till her Grandmama came to get them. She has vowed to make a Duke a good wife in exchange for that security. But in noticing the contradictions of the flop of the Duke of Inverfyre and the man she has seen underneath, will she foil his plans or come out loving her Duke? Love this characters, grabbed you at the beginning and you rushed through to find out who did it and if the duke had to keep up his costuming. Five starts, delightful and well planed out.
dianed's review
4.0
Charmed at Christmas is the first in the continuing series of Castle Keyvnor Christmas books. I love the way that 12 authors have come together to create 4 fun books with overlapping characters and locations all focusing on falling in love at Christmas. In this book, 3 of my favorite authors do the holiday justice.
Deb Marlowe continues her theme of pixies and fairies that she started in the first series with Lord Locryn and the Pixie’s Kiss. Not even an accidental curse by a pixie’s kiss or a meddling Cornish chough can keep Locryn and Gwen from finding each other after meeting 8 years earlier. This story works in both the human story and the pixie story and both find the Happily Ever After that they deserve.
Erica Monroe presents a much darker and sadder story in The Determined Duchess. Felicity Fields has lost the one person who she loved and who loved her unconditionally when her aunt dies. She feels alone in the world and thinks that her only solution is to try to create a Philosopher’s Stone to bring her aunt back to life. When her cousin Nicholas (now a Duke) shows up offering/ threatening to bring her to London for a season, she is terrified. They had spent summers together as children but she hadn’t seen him in 6 years. Nicholas’s attraction to her helps him understand her solitary life and instead of chiding her for her experiments he attempts to understand and help her. This story was filled with so much sadness that it makes the ending even happier.
The final story in this collection is A Duke By Any Other Name by Claire Delacroix. In this story, Claire tells the delightful tale of a handsome Scottish Duke who disguises himself as a fop to find a jewel thief who had ruined his sister’s reputation. Alexander, the Duke of Inverfyre travels to the Castle Keyvnor area with a plan to catch a thief. Little did he know that he would meet a woman who would see through his disguise and help him catch the thief. She also managed to catch a husband. The descriptions of the Duke and his outfits and padded belly were hilarious. The attraction between Alexander and Daphne was immediate and the Happily Ever After was well worth the read.
I received an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Deb Marlowe continues her theme of pixies and fairies that she started in the first series with Lord Locryn and the Pixie’s Kiss. Not even an accidental curse by a pixie’s kiss or a meddling Cornish chough can keep Locryn and Gwen from finding each other after meeting 8 years earlier. This story works in both the human story and the pixie story and both find the Happily Ever After that they deserve.
Erica Monroe presents a much darker and sadder story in The Determined Duchess. Felicity Fields has lost the one person who she loved and who loved her unconditionally when her aunt dies. She feels alone in the world and thinks that her only solution is to try to create a Philosopher’s Stone to bring her aunt back to life. When her cousin Nicholas (now a Duke) shows up offering/ threatening to bring her to London for a season, she is terrified. They had spent summers together as children but she hadn’t seen him in 6 years. Nicholas’s attraction to her helps him understand her solitary life and instead of chiding her for her experiments he attempts to understand and help her. This story was filled with so much sadness that it makes the ending even happier.
The final story in this collection is A Duke By Any Other Name by Claire Delacroix. In this story, Claire tells the delightful tale of a handsome Scottish Duke who disguises himself as a fop to find a jewel thief who had ruined his sister’s reputation. Alexander, the Duke of Inverfyre travels to the Castle Keyvnor area with a plan to catch a thief. Little did he know that he would meet a woman who would see through his disguise and help him catch the thief. She also managed to catch a husband. The descriptions of the Duke and his outfits and padded belly were hilarious. The attraction between Alexander and Daphne was immediate and the Happily Ever After was well worth the read.
I received an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.
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