Don't Bargain With The Devil by Sabrina Jeffries

I was fortunate enough to receive an Advanced Reader Copy of the new book, Don’t Bargain with the Devil by Sabrina Jeffries. It is due to be released in June 2009 and it is surely worth the trip to the nearest bookstore to get it.
This is another book in Jeffries’ School For Heiresses Series. One thing I have always enjoyed about this series is the correspondences between Charlotte Harris, the owner of the school and her mysterious “Cousin Michael.” In this book they were very enjoyable and sometimes humorous.
Lucy Seton, a former student at the school, has been hired temporarily to replace the art teacher. She arrives at the school to find out that the property next door is for sale and could be sold to a magician who says he would like to build a Pleasure Park there. Obviously this would not be good for a girl’s school to have such a park next door. Enter the hero Diego Montalvo ,conjurer par excellence. There is an immediate attraction between Lucy and Diego which Lucy tries to deny. As their relationship develops it is obvious that there is more to the reason why Diego is living next door to the school. Lucy, Mrs. Harris and the school’s supporters do everything they can think of to raise money to try and thwart the purchase of the property. All of this makes for some very interesting events and interactions between characters.
Without giving away the meat of the story let me just say that Jeffries has written a book that immediately draws the reader in. I found myself so involved with Lucy feelings that I was actually getting angry on her behalf at the way she was being manipulated. I shared her frustrations and her tears. She is a bright “hoyden” of a heroine who is full of spunk and in her own way tries very hard to do the right thing.
Diego is a handsome hero and I had some sympathy for him but his manipulation of Lucy and his friend Gaspar certainly made me dislike him at times.
I thought the characters were well developed and I liked seeing how they changed as the story progressed. The setting changes from England to Spain and while I usually dislike that feature in a story it was necessary and was done in a very seamless fashion. Jeffries has her own way of including humor into her stories and I always appreciate that.
As usual Sabrina Jeffries delivers an excellent tale for which I give it 5 stars. I highly recommend this book. Even better at the end she gives us just a glimmer into her next book in the series which is Charlotte Harris’ story and she gives us several clues to chew on as to the identity of the mysterious “Cousin Michael.” I think I will be so disappointed if he turns out to be Charles Godwin!!! That book Wed Him Before You Bed Him will be released in July 2009 and believe me I will be first in line to by it!

Highland Scandal by Julia London

You know I am so disgusted with the whole political landscape I don’t even know what to write about. I can’t believe that key Democrats in the House of Representatives are planning on blocking the energy bill just to cave into the interests of the coal industry. So lobbyists still have their grips into Washington. So what else is new? Then of course we now have swine flu to contend with now! Purell everyone?? What next?
So, I have decided to keep reading romance novels to escape into a better and more pleasant world. I have just finished Highland Scandal by Julia London. The book, set in Scotland in 1807, is the story of Jack, Earl of Lambourne who is being chased by bounty hunters set upon him by the Prince of Wales. Jack is being wrongly accused of adultery with the Princess of Wales.
In order to avoid the bounty hunters he agrees to a handfast marriage with Lizzie Beal. Lizzie is being forced into this marriage against her will by her uncle. All she wants to do is to save her property, take care of her crippled sister and be left alone.
I found this story to have a fast moving plot and well developed characters. Even some of the secondary characters such as Newton, one of the uncle’s men set to guard Lizzie and Jack, were very well developed. Scotland is one of my very favorite settings so this story had instant appeal for me. I like the geography of the country but I really like the loyalty of clan members to each other. Of course a handsome hero only adds to the attraction!
There is an element of mystery as the reader tries, along with Jack, to discover why the uncle insists on this handfast marriage. There is also some humor which I think adds to a story’s attraction. I loved the scene where Jack, who is considered a rake of the first degree, is up on the roof trying to patch it. This is surely not like a rake’s behavior and the dialog was very good in this scene as it is throughout the book.
Julia Long is a very good author and I am looking forward to the next book in the series which will be A Courtesan’s Scandal. This book is due out in November of 2009.
I gave Highland Scandal 4 ½ stars.

The Pirate Lord by Sabrina Jeffries

I know, I know, I promised reviews of romance novels! I have been so wrapped up in politics that I have let that promise lag. So this month I read the Pirate Lord by Sabrina Jeffries. It is the first book in the Lord Trilogy. Jeffries is one of my favorite authors and this book did not disappoint.
I have just finished The Pirate Lord. I have to admit when I first started reading it I was not sure I was going to like it. The premise of creating Utopia on an island named Atlantis seemed pretty far fetched, although the idea of a Utopia is quite appealing. The pirate ship, Satyr, captured an English ship that was carrying female convicts to New South Wales. On board was Sara Willis. Sara was accompanying the women to be sure they were treated well and to keep a journal about the conditions on board the convict ship. Gideon, the captain of the pirate ship, wanted the women to become wives of his ship's crew on the island Atlantis.
Gideon, the hero, was so filled with bitterness over the way he had been treated as a child that it was hard to like him at first. His willingness to change when they got to the island brought out his goodness.I did not care of the Earl of Blackmore (Jordan) and Sara step brother, as he was so dictatorial even though he was being protective of Sara. One of the funniest scenes was when Sara had been taken back to England and Jordan was making her go to a ball and she appeared dressed in a very provocative dress. I laughed out loud at the way she provoked Jordan! Sara was a very strong heroine and it was interesting to see how her actions and words changed the way Gideon thought and acted.
The character that I did not like at first became one of my favorites and that was Silas, the cook. He was such a grouchy human being but he ended up standing up for the women and especially for Sara. His love for Louisa, one of the convicts, grew into something very special. He was the one who helped Sara understand Gideon and why he so wanted to create this place of happiness and wonder. Sara was always putting others before herself and was very courageous.
I did not like Queenie, an ex prostitute, but was very surprised at the end of the book to find her married to Barnaby, the ship's first mate, and expecting a child. So I guess there is redemption for even the most disliked person.
I had a feeling all along that Sara would find Gideon's mother but I was taken by surprise to discover his real father alive. I did not see that coming at all.
I did enjoy watching the love between Gideon and Sara develop. Jefferies does write some very good love scenes and her level of sensuality is not over the top but quite nice and very romantic.
Jeffries is an automatic buy for me. I especially liked her School for Heiresses series. I have not read the other books in the Lords series but will surely do that now that I have read Pirate Lord. This was a good read for April! I gave the book 4 stars.