Quick Update: My Reading Preferences

I've added a section for my romance and erotica reading preferences. If you click to see my full profile, you will find these listed under "Interests". This is a general list and not all-encompassing, but this way my bias is more transparent. I am certainly open to reading things off this list as well. Thanks.

--Mary

New Book Review: "A Gentleman's Guide to Scandal" by Kathleen Kimmel

New Book Review: "A Gentleman's Guide to Scandal" by Kathleen Kimmel; published June 2016

Minor Spoilers Only.

Official Synopsis:

Even men of great certainty can be completely clueless when it comes to matters of the heart.

Colin Spenser, Marquess of Farleigh, is shocked when his feelings towards his best friend’s sister take a turn into the realm of helpless adoration. Unfortunately, Elinor is more inclined to ignore him than express her undying devotion, so Colin resolves to forget his troublesome feelings by entering a loveless marriage…

Elinor Hargrove has absolutely no interest in the infuriating and arrogant Marquess of Farleigh. That is, until he kisses her—twice—inspiring unexpected and inconvenient passions. Then Elinor finds out he’s engaged, and her desires are quickly surpassed by her outrage...

But when a ghost from their shared pasts resurfaces, Colin and Elinor must work together to puzzle out a complicated intrigue by attending an extremely exclusive party where secrets and lies flourish—and scandal is only a kiss away.


Review:

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. 

The main characters, Colin Spenser--the Marquess of Farleigh--and Lady Elinor Hargrove, were compelling and interesting. Their chemistry was established very early on in the novel and continued throughout. I found myself wanting more and more of their interactions and hated when they weren't alone together.

The main plot of the novel involves the death of Colin's oldest sister, with whom Elinor was friends: the event took place many years before the novel and now the characters have learned new information. This leads to what I've dubbed the "sexy masquerade" and of course our leads are in attendance. After learning new information, the plot continues on, as does the romance.

As far as my ratings are concerned, the positives far outweigh the negatives, although this novel is not perfect. 

The Good: 

*The good characters and chemistry drove this story for me, and I read it very quickly; I found myself not wanting to put it down. 

*Along with good characters and good chemistry, the sex was very good. The tension built up to these scenes was well-done and the scenes were satisfying to read.  

The Bad:

*The main plot was not all that interesting, ultimately. I didn't feel engaged because the novel didn't give me time to get to know the dead sister and her relationships with the main characters. I groaned every time the novel went away from the romance and back to the plot. 

*There was a lot of missed opportunity with the sex, in my opinion. As good as it was, it could have been far sexier given the situations involved. There was also not enough of it to give a satisfying conclusion with the two mains. 

Hotness Scale: 7/10 

Overall Rating: A-

Overall, the novel kept me interested for the most part and the chemistry was very good. A few faults with missed opportunities and lack of engagement kept it from higher scores. 

Check out my video review of this novel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NBcfbkDNG4&feature=youtu.be

If you'd like to purchase a copy of this novel, you can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Gentlemans-Guide-Scandal-Birch-Romance-ebook/dp/B015DLUSWK

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this review.

Terrible Book Cover Review: "Tender Deception" by Judith Steel

About Terrible Book Cover Reviews: 

I judge a book by its cover and see if I was right or not. 

Look at that mustache.

This book was boring.

Jacelyn has come out to the Arizona Territory to look for her brother, a map-maker for the U.S. Calvalry, in order to secure her inheritance. Along the way she is captured by bandits and taken to a ranch. This ranch will be the setting for 90% of the story.

Grant is the "Chief of Scouts" and commands many Apache scouts for the cavalry. He witnesses Jacelyn's capture and joins with the bandits in order to keep an eye on her. Grant is one of only two redeeming qualities in this novel. He is interesting and has some humorous interactions with his scouts. There are also a few somewhat interesting interactions with Jacelyn, but these are few and far between.

Jacelyn and Grant's chemistry is virtually non-existent.

Jacelyn is completely incapable of saving herself. On at least five separate occasions, she finds herself in a situation where Grant must save her. And the few times she tries to save herself or help Grant end disastrously. There is no character growth throughout this entire novel, and ultimately she just falls flat.

The main setting feels as though it could be picked up and placed in any time period, in any place and still be the same thing (just with a few words changed around). It feels completely generic and uninteresting, and this is where most of the story happens.

Ratings:

Hotness Level--5/10; the sex was decent, despite the lack of chemistry, though it was too sparse to completely redeem the novel.

Overall Rating--C-; without the sex, this novel would have received a solid D. It isn't the worst thing I've read, but there is little to recommend it.

Check out my YouTube video review for a more in-depth review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI4XPwy9nh8

Thanks! Hope you enjoyed this review.