Just Finished:
Synopsis: It was love at first sight for Lady Viola the night she met the dashing viscount John Hammond. Swept into a whirlwind courtship, it wasn’t until after their vows had been spoken that Viola learned the shattering truth: her beloved John had never loved her, had married her for her fortune…and worse still, saw nothing wrong with that. Heartbroken, she vowed never again to let the deceiving scoundrel into her bed.

John never intended to hurt the headstrong beauty who has become a stranger to him. Now, after years of sham marriage, he is in need of an heir, and John is faced with a luscious, intriguing challenge—seducing his own wife. He must persuade Viola back into their marriage bed, but this time, he may be the one to lose his heart.

My Thoughts: I had my mind made up before I ever started this book that I wasn’t going to like it. I didn’t like the character of John in the first two books of the series and just didn’t see how LLG would redeem him. He was a man who married for money and then left his wife in order to pursue his sexual exploits in what seemed to be the bed of every other woman in London. When his cousin dies and it is forced upon him to produce an heir he must try to win Viola’s affections and persuade her to give their marriage a second chance.

I really enjoyed the character of Viola ever since she schemed to bring Anthony and Daphne together in Guilty Pleasures. I thought she deserved better than John and felt like he had a lot of work to do in order make up for the past 9 years of adultery. As I read the book, I just wasn’t sure that he did enough. Sure, he seduced her back into his bed, but I didn’t feel that he did enough to cause Viola to forgive him and fall in love with him again. Maybe that’s just me. I tend to read too much into my books sometimes, tend to personalize too often.

But then, John made the ultimate sacrifice. He made a speech that rivaled the one Anthony made in Guilty Pleasures. The man made a fool of himself all for the sake of proving his love to Viola, and even I forgave him.

Verdict: This was Very Good. It was great seeing Anthony and Daphne (Guilty Pleasures), and Dylan and Grace (His Every Kiss) again and I enjoyed seeing all of the couples interact together. In spite of myself, I found myself really liking this story and I was so glad to see that LLG made John a redeemable and even likable hero.

Labels: Avon, Guilty series, Laura Lee Gurhke, Very Good

Just Finished:
Synopsis: Everyone knows about Dylan Moore—his brilliant talent and his pleasure-seeking ways—but no one knows the torment that lies beneath his reckless veneer. Only one woman gets a glimpse of the forces that drive Dylan’s soul, a woman who haunts his dreams and evokes his passions as no other woman ever has before.

Disgraced and destitute, Grace Cheval wants nothing to do with the seductive man who desires her. When Dylan offers her a position as governess to his newfound daughter, she knows his true intentions are dishonorable. Yet she finds this charismatic man hard to resist, and she returns his passionate kisses with a fire that matches his own. Can Dylan dare hope that this proud, spirited beauty will melt the ice around his heart?

My Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. I loved that both of characters were flawed in some way and had demons they were trying to deal with. Dylan’s was that he was a composer who could no longer compose; Grace’s was that she had fallen in love with a temperamental artist before and knew the pain of when that fiery love died.

I wasn’t quite sure what to think when the daughter, Rachel, was left with Dylan. Sometimes stories that have children in them seem to focus more on the child and not on the main characters. Luckily this was not the case here. Rachel was a great addition to the story ~ and really, the catalyst to Dylan and Grace because without Rachel, Dylan would have never needed a governess.

Verdict: This was Very Good. I thoroughly enjoyed Dylan and Grace’s story and look forward to reading the third book in this series, The Marriage Bed, soon.

Labels: Avon, Guilty series, Laura Lee Gurhke, Very Good

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Synopsis: For prim and shy Daphne Wade, the sweetest guilty pleasure of all is secretly watching her employer, Anthony Courtland, the Duke of Tremore, as he works the excavation site on his English estate. Anthony has hired Daphne to restore the priceless treasures he has been digging up, but it's hard for a woman to keep her mind on her work when her devastatingly handsome employer keeps taking his shirt off. He doesn't know she's alive, but who could blame her for falling in love with him anyway?

Anthony thinks that his capable employee knows all there is to know about antiquities, but when his sister decides to turn the plain young woman in gold-rimmed glasses into an enticing beauty, he declares the task to be impossible. Daphne is devastated when she overhears… and determined to prove him wrong. Now a vibrant and delectable Daphne has emerged from her shell, and the tables are turned. Will Anthony see that the woman of his dreams has been right there all along?

My Thoughts: This is the first book in the Guilty series.

First off, I disagree with the book synopsis. Anthony’s sister, Viola, really didn’t have anything to do with Daphne’s transformation. I just have to say that up front.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved Daphne’s spirit. Here is an intelligent woman working for a man she is secretly in love with. Until she overhears him describing her as a stick insect on a twig with no feminine appeal who works like a machine. From that point on, she vows not to love him anymore. In fact, she quits her job and tells the man it is because she just does not like him. Being a Duke, Anthony is not used to people talking to him this way and is completely baffled by it. And then he sets out to change her mind. First about the job. Then about him. The end result was a great tale, with him proposing and her rejecting him.

I loved how the relationship between Anthony and Daphne flowed, even if it did seem too convenient. But, I’m a fairly forgiving reader and will overlook almost anything if the story is good enough. And the story was good enough. The development of the friendship between the two characters was done very well and I could hardly put the book down once I started it.

And by the way, probably the best last two pages of a book I’ve read ever. Ever. Really.

Verdict: This was Very Good. I enjoyed Anthony and Daphne very much and am looking forward to reading more in the series soon.

Labels: Avon, Guilty series, Laura Lee Gurhke, Very Good

Just Finished:
Synopsis: Lily Morgan may be Shivaree, Georgia's most talked-about lady. Everyone in town knows about the bitter breakup of her marriage five years before, when Daniel Walker, her husband's tough, uncompromising lawyer, tore her reputation to shreds and left her with nothing but a wish to get even. But now something about Daniel makes her blood boil and her pulse quicken . . . not with righteous fury, but with passion.

Daniel has returned to Shivaree to once again match wits with Lily Morgan. The thought of a rematch with Lily delights him, for he has never forgotten her hot temper--or her lovely looks. But when a shocking murder shakes the town, Daniel joins Lily to find a killer, and their unexpected partnership sparks something between them they never expected--desire. Now Daniel, the strong-willed lawyer for whom winning is everything, realizes he must win the one reward he can't live without: Lily's forgiveness--and her love.

My Thoughts: I first heard about this book from a guest review that Nath did at Book Binge, and usually if Nath likes it, I’m pretty much guaranteed I’ll like it too.

By page 7 I was laughing out loud and that pretty much continued throughout the majority of the story. Lily is a stubborn character and I love how Daniel’s mission in life seems to be to get her riled at every turn. What he does to her and how she responds kept me laughing throughout most of the book. The amount of hatred that Lily had for Daniel seemed to leap right off the pages. Literally. But then, slowly the hatred turned to tolerance. Which turned to respect. Which turned into a friendship. Which turned into something else entirely.

I enjoyed Lily’s tenacity. She was a smart, stubborn, flawed woman. The fact that she was wronged, but still held her head up high just made me like her more. The fact that she hid her hurt and sadness behind acting out by wearing outrageous outfits or displaying a naked statue of David (no fig leaf) in her foyer just added depth to the character.

For the most part I enjoyed Daniel’s character as well. I enjoyed his sarcasm, his wit, and his sense of humor. He’s smart, shrewd, and driven to succeed. He’s also arrogant and cocky ~ which I guess adds to his charm. I also like how he is with Lily. First as an adversary, then as a friend.

The story was a wonderful read from beginning to end with not only great lead characters, but also a host of well-written side characters that gave great depth to the book. I loved every minute of it, and of course the ending left me with a goofy grin on my face with is a sure-tale sign that I enjoyed it.

Verdict: This was Very Good. This was the first book of Laura Lee Guhrke’s that I’ve read, but it definitely won’t be the last. I’m looking forward to catching up on some of her other stories and have her Guilty series on order.

Labels: Historical Romance, Laura Lee Gurhke, Pocket, Very Good