Devil in Spring | Lisa Kleypas | New Book

I just had to gush about it even if it meant that I’d have to blog from my office! I don’t know in which world I’ve been living this past month because I’m missing all the juicy news! Well it might be stale to you people by now but I just came across it and I cannot contain my excitement!

For those (if there are any left) who don’t know what the big deal is, remember the Wallflower series? Evie and Sebastian to be specific? Now their son is going to be the male protagonist in the upcoming third book of the Ravenel series!!! And the book is called Devil in Spring! I’m actually crying happy tears and grinning like a stupid since I read it’s prologue. If I was not in my work place I would be squealing and hopping around!

Here’s the link to Lisa’s video: Video Sneak Peek

Link to Prologue: Devil in Spring Prologue

If you are wondering what the fuss is all about you need to read Devil in Winter my friend. In fact read the entire series and trust me you won’t regret it a single bit. That is, if you are into historical romances and even if you are not, you’ll be hooked.

Here’s the Goodreads page: Devil in Winter Blurb

Here’s my (first ever) review: Devil in Winter Review

Now all I have to do is wait with bated breath for February 28th 2017!!

Thank you for dropping by and I hope you all are having a great time and stay happy and have fun lovely people! ❤ Love,

Three Weeks With Lady X by Eloisa James

Rating: 4.5/5

Oh my god! I seriously believe this is one of the best works by Eloisa James till date. Every single page was a delight to read it is so gorgeously written. This book was on my reading radar for a long time but I just couldn’t bring myself to read it..something about the name just didn’t appeal to me even though it had an awesome rating on goodreads. But with the next book coming out and that too with great reviews I decided it was high time I read it. And if I say so myself, it was a damn good decision.

 To begin with, Lady Xenobia India St. Clair is an orphaned daughter of a marquess who has been living with her aunt since her parents’ death. But unfortunately for her, being titled did not provide her with a happy carefree childhood. Her parents happened to be free spirited and often forgot to look after her. Sometimes they were so busy dancing and praying to the moon goddess that India had to hunt for food herself. When she goes to live with her aunt she realises her passion for arranging furniture (one could say interior designing). From that moment she decides to make a profession out of it and become monetarily independent. After working for years she decides to retire and marry. But before that as a favour to Eleanor, the Duchess of Villiers she agrees to help renovate a new place recently bought by her stepson.

Enter Tobias ‘Thorn’ Dautry, the bastard son of Duke of Villiers. Despite spending his childhood as a mud lark he’s become quite a successful businessman. He’s a complete copy of his father, including the single white hair and piercing grey eyes. To gain some more respect in London Society he decides to settle down with a meek and modest lady – Laetitia Rainsford. But in order to impress her horrid mother he needs to get his country house renovated.

As soon as India and Thorn come across, sparks fly, literally. Although they disfavour each other initially, but with time they form a sort of friendship and try to help each other in achieving their respective goals. And in between the notes passing and late night chummy chats they inexorably fall in love. I believe this note passing was the main reason that I adored this book so much. They both became a lot more real to me through their notes’ conversations. Even today I’m more susceptible to letters or notes than any other gesture.

Apart from Thorn and India, there were some lovely side characters and especially Rose – Thorn’s ward. She’s a precocious little girl but extremely lovable. Then there’s Vander, the perfect hero in the making. Of course the Duke and Duchess of Villiers (from A Duke of Her Own) also appear for a brief spell. Throughout the book I felt bad for Lady Laetitia as she was badly side-lined. So I was overjoyed when she finally found her happiness.

The only part that bothered me was the melodramatic ending to a perfect story where Thorn plans something foolishly risky just to get India back. It was a bit too Bollywood-ish for my taste. In all, Miss James kept me completely engrossed the entire time and I would give the book 4.5 stars.

Favourite Quotes – Love In The Afternoon

Fifth and the last Hathaway book, its the story of Beatrix Hathaway and Christopher Phelan.

“Bending his head over hers, Leo murmured, “When I give you away at the altar, Bea, I want you to remember something. I’m not really giving you away. I’m merely allowing him the chance to love you as much as the rest of us do.”

And another one..

“Captain Phelan,” Cam asked, choosing his words with care. “Have you come to ask for our consent to marry Beatrix?” Christopher shook his head. “If I decide to marry Beatrix, I’ll do it with or without your consent.” Leo looked at Cam. “Good God,” he said in disgust. “This one’s worse than Harry.”  

My cast for Beatrix and Christopher would be Rachel McAdams (especially in Sherlock Holmes) and Chris Pine.

      

           

Favourite Quotes – Married By Morning

Leo is definitely my favourite Hathaway and he’s perfectly balanced by Catherine Marks. Its the fourth Hathaway book by  Lisa Kleypas.

“I know I’m a bad bargain. But I’m begging you to have me anyway. Because I want a chance to make you as happy as you make me. I want to build a life with you.” He fought to steady his voice. “Please come to me, Cat, because there’s no surviving you. You don’t have to love me back. You don’t have to be mine. Just let me be yours.”

The second best quote..

“You seem to think you have a choice,” Cam said. “But you have it backwards. Love chooses you. The shadow moves as the sun commands.”

Matt Bomer and Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen (for her pale hair and vulnerable looks) would be the perfect cast for Harry and Cat.

            

    

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

For a long, long time Edenbrooke (by Julianne Donaldson) was on my to-be-read list. The blurb was excellent, ratings on goodreads remarkable and that pretty cover totally sold me out. But obviously with everything so much flawless I didn’t, even for a second, consider that the book was going to be a complete bummer.

Marianne Daventry, a seventeen year old girl has been rusticating in Bath after her mother’s death. Meanwhile her twin sister Cecily is busy enjoying the London season. When she is invites Marianne to Edenbrooke, a grand country estate, she is ecstatic. While Cecily wants to win over Sir Philip, the heir of Edenbrooke, all Marianne wants is to enjoy the country air and twirl, yes I’m not kidding. She never considers that she may herself get attracted to Philip. After a number of ups and downs – a threatening highwayman, morning horse rides, a few misunderstandings, a kidnapping – Marianne and Philip finally convey their feelings to each other and end up together.

To begin with, Marianne has got a thing for twirling, and she would love to do it wherever and whenever she can no matter the harm. Also she is embarrassed by almost everything and therefore it is mentioned everywhere (it literally had me gnashing my teeth). And also, according to her she never faints but she does so twice or thrice within the two weeks. As for Philip, he could have been a fine man if not for his ever changing temperaments and facial expressions. There were so many loose ends and the book felt all scattered. The death of Charles Wyndham is mentioned in passing and never again. Their mother has just died and their father runs away to France to cope with it when he should be looking after his daughters. And why is Cecily enjoying the season when she should be in mourning?

I respect the dedication and hard work the author put in in this book but she left a great deal to be desired.  Even a clean book as it is supposed to be could have been a lot more riveting. The writing style and the language used was extremely plain. It became somewhat tedious after a while. But for Marianne’s never ending devotion to her sister and author’s passion for writing I would give it a rating of two out of five.