Feature and Giveaway: The Duke of Dark Desires by Miranda Neville

Rebellious Julian Fortescue never expected to inherit a dukedom, nor to find himself guardian to three young half-sisters. Now in the market for a governess, he lays eyes on Jane Grey and knows immediately she is qualified--to become his mistress. Yet the alluring woman appears impervious to him. Somehow Julian must find a way to make her succumb to temptation . . . without losing his heart and revealing the haunting mistakes of his past.

Lady Jeanne de Falleron didn't seek a position as a governess simply to fall into bed with the Duke of Denford. Under the alias of Jane Grey, she must learn which of the duke's relatives is responsible for the death of her family--and take her revenge. She certainly can't afford the distraction of her darkly irresistible employer, or the smoldering desire he ignites within her.

But as Jane discovers more clues about the villain she seeks, she's faced with a possibility more disturbing than her growing feelings for Julian: What will she do if the man she loves is also the man she's sworn to kill?

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A Reunion...with Miranda Neville and Giveaway

A Reunion on Christmas Eve - Miranda Neville

Miranda Neville grew up in England but she has lived in Vermont for many years. She is the author of seven historical romances and a novella for Avon Books, plus a novella in the anthology At The Duke's Wedding. Her cat Ernie has all the talent on the family and starred in a book trailer.

Find Miranda at:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

Guest Post with Katharine Ashe, Caroline Linden, Miranda Neville, Maya Rodale and Giveaway

The Lady Authors, four historical writers, have gone contemporary with At the Billionaire’s Wedding: As Caroline Linden, Maya Rodale, Katharine Ashe, and Miranda Neville discovered, writing about the modern era requires a different kind of hero.

Award-winning Katharine Ashe writes lushly intense historical romance with a touch of adventure. She is the author of How To Be a Proper Lady, one of Amazon's Ten Best Romances of 2012, and eight other acclaimed novels set in nineteenth-century Britain. Readers can visit her website and discover how parts of her time-traveling heroine's story are in fact autobiographical (though she refuses to admit precisely which).

Find Katharine at:

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ARC Review: Lady Windermere's Lover by Miranda Neville

This was my first time reading Miranda Neville so I was not sure what to expect. I had some issues with the plot and the story. I found her writing to be engaging and it flowed. There were times that I really enjoyed the book and times I struggled with it. I made my peace with a three star rating.

So when the story begins, our hero, Damian, Earl of Windermere, is out partying with this friends celebrating his twenty-first birthday. In the mist of all this partying he gambles away his mother’s home which was a part of his inheritance. So right off we are starting off with a hero that is very questionable. The story continues as he has to tell his father the news but Damian eventually ends up gaining it back… So one way that he wins back his mother’s home was by marrying Lady Cynthia. Although Lady Cynthia is not a peer of the ton her uncle set up a nice inheritance for her making it very appealing for Damian.

Lady Cynthia is very simple. Her dresses are picked by her aunt and she is not a reigning beauty. Also, because she lives in the country she does not have polished manners of London society. These are traits that apparently bother Damien. He is not in the least bit interested in his new bride. Damien is such a snob and really a right down jerk to Lady Cynthia. After a short time married he goes off to serve in the Foreign Service, but not before making it clear to Lady Cynthia that she is to turn herself into the proper wife for a diplomat. I felt so horrible for Lady Cynthia… she went into the marriage knowing that it was not for love but it didn’t stop her from trying to be the best wife. All this takes place in the past… In the present, Lady Cynthia is a London society lady. She is beautiful, elegant and knows the proper manners for London society. She is no longer the young bride that she was a year ago. Damien returns to London from his assignment and finds Lady Cynthia at the theatre with his once friend now enemy- Julian Fortesque, the Duke of Denford, Julian is after Lady Cynthia but has really provided her only with the company that she lacked.

Ok, in the mist of all this Julian is said to have some priced paintings in his possession. Although Damien still bares a grudge against Damien for things that happened that fateful night he has a duty to the Foreign Office to uncover if he really has these paintings. This means that he has to start up an acquaintance again with him after their falling out and even after he believes that he is Cynthia’s lover. Julian was a fascinating character in this story, and I really enjoyed reading about him. So Damien is back and tries to make amends with his wife. He realizes that he treated her very poorly and is making amends for his past.

Some issues I had… One besides the incredibly irritating hero, the jumping around from past to present. It made the story choppy. First it’s the past then it’s the present then it’s the past… It was hard to figure out where we were. Also, a HUGE part of the drive of this story was miscommunication or lack of communication. There was a lack of communication with his wife/ new bride and a miscommunication with Julian. I don’t want to give away what that was since it also was a driving force in the storyline. If all these characters sat down and had a conversation much would have been resolved earlier. These miscommunication/lack of were a little irritating. Even after Lady Cynthia and Damian are living together again they have very poor communication skills. Lady Cynthia was fantastic. She was a great heroine and I really enjoyed her. Overall, I enjoyed this story. I would have liked there to be more of drive in the plot then the above mentioned. I do recommend this story and will read more by this author.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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Feature and Giveaway: Lady Windemere's Lover by Miranda Neville

Damian, Earl of Windermere, rues the day he drunkenly gambled away his family's estate and was forced into marriage to reclaim it. Now, after hiding out from his new bride for a year, Damian is finally called home, only to discover that his modest bride has become an alluring beauty—and rumor has it that she's taken a lover. Damian vows to keep his wife from straying again, but to do so he must seduce her—and protect his heart from falling for the wife he never knew he wanted.

Cynthia never aspired to be the subject of scandal. But with her husband off gallivanting across Persia, what was a lady to do? Flirting shamelessly with his former best friend seemed like the perfect revenge . . . except no matter how little Damian deserves her loyalty, Cynthia can't bring herself to be unfaithful. But now that the scoundrel has returned home, Cynthia isn't about to forgive his absence so easily—even if his presence stirs something in her she'd long thought dead and buried. He might win her heart . . . if he can earn her forgiveness!

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A Scandalous Rumor...with Miranda Neville and Giveaway

A Scandalous Rumor on Christmas Eve - Miranda Neville

Miranda Neville grew up in England but she has lived in Vermont for many years. She is the author of seven historical romances and a novella for Avon Books, plus a novella in the anthology At The Duke's Wedding. Her cat Ernie has all the talent on the family and starred in a book trailer.

Places to find Miranda: 

| Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

Feature and Giveaway: At the Duke's Wedding Anthology

Will you be AT THE DUKE'S WEDDING? Award winning, best-selling authors Katharine Ashe,  Caroline Linden, Miranda Neville and Maya Rodale serve up delectable Regency fun and a sexy contemporary twist in this anthology of original novellas.

Four authors, four couples, four deliciously romantic surprises. When it comes to love, anything can happen...

ARC Review: Confessions From an Arranged Marriage by Miranda Neville

I really wanted to like this book. This was one of those books I was greatly looking forward to and it just did not meet my expectations. In previous books the sparks between Minerva and Blake were explosive and when I found out they were going to be each other's HEA I was ecstatic. I couldn't wait for the insults and the back and forth bickering that would turn into explosive sexual chemistry. Sadly none of that occurred in this book.

While I enjoyed this book, it just seemed to drag on in some parts. I very much did enjoy the relationship between Minerva and Blake (even though it wasn't what I was hoping for) I just felt like it was overshadowed by all of the politics in the book. It felt as if the politics took over and became the main characters while Minerva and Blake became secondary characters. I understand that it's a big part of the book and it's very important to Minerva, I just felt bored by it. I wanted there to be more focus on Minerva and Blake and their relationship.

I really enjoyed watching these two achieve their HEA. They went from two people who couldn't stand one another to a couple that loves and trusts each other. There were quite a few scenes between them that I loved and completely moved me.

Overall, I enjoyed the this book. Do I wish there was a bit more chemistry between the Minerva and Blake? Yes, but I still enjoyed what we were shown and I enjoyed watching them both grow. They went from two people that virtually hated each other to such a strong unit that loves and trust one another. I hope we get to see more of them in future books. I give this a 3 1/5 stars.

**ARC copy provided by publisher**

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RATING:

On the 5th Day of Christmas My True Lord Gave To Me...With Miranda Neville and Giveaway

Five Golden Rings...Stolen By a Highwayman - Miranda Neville

Miranda Neville lives the glamorous life of a romance novelist, which means wearing pajamas all day during terrifying deadlines. She writes historical romances set in her native England, though she wasn’t actually alive during the Regency era. Publishers Weekly has praised her “mixture of hilarity, mystery and passion.” THE DANGEROUS VISCOUNT won the 2011 Gayle Wilson Award for Excellence in the historical category. Her fifth historical romance for Avon, CONFESSIONS FROM AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE, will be released March 27, 2012.

Places to find Miranda:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | The Ballroom Blog |

ARC Review: The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton by Miranda Neville

When I first began this book and realized that the hero and heroine were on the run from kidnappers and that the hero Tarquin would have amnesia I was a little hesitant. I'm not the biggest fan of these kinds of tropes. Boy did this book prove me wrong. I loved this book. It was so enjoyable! In fact, my favorite part of the book is when they are on the run.

I completely fell in love with Terence Fish and was sad to see Tarquin regain his memory. I admit, that it took me awhile to warm up to Tarquin. I found him very pompous and quite stuck up. I did enjoy watching him transform from this type of person into someone Celia could love and trust. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him fall in love with Celia and seeing her true beauty.

Celia was a great heroine and I loved how she doesn't just roll over when things don't go her way. She is constantly thrown opstacles and it was great to see how she would overcome them all. She didn't just cower in the corner and wait for others to help her. She figured out solutions for herself. It's great to read about strong heroines, especially in historicals.

I loved watching both Celia and Tarquin fall in love. They both had such strong negative opinions of one another and it was great to see them overcome them and become more accepting and friendly towards eachother. Their love for eachother didn't feel rushed or nonexistant. I truly felt them falling in love with one another and it was great to see.

Another thing that I loved in this book was that we got to see more of Sebastian and Diana. I admit that I haven't forgotten these two at all. It was great to catch up with both of them and the rest of Diana's family. One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Celia and Tarquin show up and Diana has gone into labor and both Sebastian and Diana's father are reacting to her being in labor. It was truly hilarious and I could not stop laughing. It is definitely one of my favorite parts in the book.

After reading this book, I am extremely anxious for the next one in the series. I am really enjoying this series and I can't wait to see what happens with the other characters. Hopefully we get to see more of Diana's siblings.

RATING:

**ARC copy provided by the publisher**