Review - Never Less Than a Lady

Title: Never Less Than a Lady
Author: Mary Jo Putney
Publishing Date: 2010
Genre: Historical
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Hot
Book Diclosure: I received a used book through Paperbackswap.com

Never Less Than a Lady is the second book in Mary Jo Putney's Lost Lords series. I have to admit I put off reading this book because the first book in the series was just okay. But then one day I was in the mood for a historical and nothing was catching my eye until I read the back cover of this book. Nothing like a hero saving the day and rescuing a woman being kidnapped, and then since he's looking for a wife, decide that she will do! LOL! I am a sucker for these kinds of stories. Anyway, this one was pretty good and I enjoyed it better than the first book of the Lost Lord series.

Julia has some problems. Her late husband's family is after her and has plans to hurt her. Her first husband was abusive and to say Julia is skittish of men is an understatement. Alexander has always had a thing for Julia and once he learns of her precarious situation he comes to her rescue. Alex can't resist helping someone in need. He also has always emotionally distanced himself from people in the past to avoid getting hurt. Both he and Julia have a lot of leaning to do if they are going to make a successful go of their marriage.

Never Less Than a Lady is one of those books that is a study in marriage, especially for two people who are thrown together quickly. They have to learn to communicate and work through all their little quirks and insecurities. I found this book to be a quite enjoyable read. I recommend it for fans of the theme "Marriage of Convenience".

Review - Loving a Lost Lord

Title: Loving a Lost Lord
Author: Mary Jo Putney
Publishing Date: July 2009
Genre: Historical
Rating: B
Sensuality: Warm

Loving a Lost Lord is the first book in a new series by Mary Jo Putney, Lost Lords. It is about a group of unconventional school hood boys who grow up into upstanding men who find their true love. When the Duke of Ashton goes missing, the group presumes the worst that he is dead and begins a search to recover his body. Meanwhile off the coast of Northwestern England, Mariah Clarke finds the body of a man barely alive hanging onto a piece of driftwood. She manages to get him into her house and into bed. Mariah's father has just passed away and to keep a persistent suitor at bay claims the man she rescued was none other than her husband. Since Adam has no recollection of whom he is and this seemed like a smart plan at the time. Only, one lie leads to another and Mariah is quickly in over her head.

I love a good amnesia story and Loving a Lost Lord easily caught my eye. Even more fortunate for me, the book was free through Amazon last week as an e-book. The first part of the book I really enjoyed. It focused on Adam and Mariah getting to know each other as Adam struggled to recall his past. Mariah and Adam were instantly drawn to one another. Even though Adam couldn't recall Mariah being his wife, it felt right to him and gave him hope. Mariah felt guilty perpetuating the lie, but she couldn't seem to find a way to correct it without dashing Adam's hopes. She finds herself falling in love with him and hopes he will be able to forgive her when she reveals the truth.

The second part of the story lost some steam after Adam's friends find him and tell him who he is. Slowly, Adam starts to recover some of his memory, but unfortunately he can't seem to recall what happened just before his ship blew up. His friends uncover that there was foul play involved. Adam can't imagine who would want him dead. I thought the mystery portion of the book was weak. It didn't hold my interest and took time away from the real conflict which was Adam and Mariah trying to work through their feelings for each other.

In summary, Loving a Lost Lord is a very sweet, warm hearted romance. The first half of the book is wonderful, but the second half stumbles a bit with the mystery. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy amnesia themed books and also to readers who like their heroes on the beta side.

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This book can be purchased in print or kindle format at Amazon.

Review – The Bartered Bride

Title: The Bartered Bride
Author: Mary Jo Putney
Publishing Date: 2002
Genre: Historical
Rating: B-
Sensuality: Warm

Recently widowed, Alexandra Warren is returning to her family in England with her young daughter Katie when their ship is attacked by Pirates. Alex and Katie are separated and sold into slavery on an island in the East Indies. While on the auction block in a slave market Gavin Elliot notices Alex and is startled to see that a European woman is being sold as a slave. Gavin is an honorable man and is horrified to see Alex treated thusly and resigns himself to free her. Only Alex’s freedom doesn’t come easy and Gavin must make some tough decisions.

This story is told in two parts, the first part deals with Alex’s slavery and Gavin’s rescue. I really enjoyed this part of the book, especially the feats Gavin has to perform in order to win Alex’s freedom. The second part of the book was Alex and Gavin’s adjustment to normal life back in London. Alex has to come to grips with her captivity. It is affecting Gavin and Alex’s marriage on a physical level. There are also evil villains lurking in the corners to add suspense to the story.

Gavin is a Beta hero. He is very patient with Alexandra and allows her the freedom she needs to heal. I personally like my heroes more Alpha. This was a very sweet story. I like a little more passion to my romances. I was pretty impressed with Alexandra, though. She was a very strong woman who didn’t give up under conditions that would crush most people. I really enjoyed her character. The Bartered Bride has a lot of adventure and if you like Beta heroes this is a wonderful story. Putney is a master at her craft.

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Review - Thunder and Roses

Title: Thunder and Roses
Author: Mary Jo Putney
Publishing Date: 1993
Genre: Historical
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Warm

Thunder and Roses is the first book in the Fallen Angels series. School mistress Clare Morgan, the daughter of the local Methodist desperately needs the Earl of Aberdare’s help. The Earl, Nicholas, was once a good friend and pupil of Reverend Morgan so she seeks his help. The local mine, which is on the Earl’s property but is managed and run by another, has fallen into ill repair. The over-seer has allowed the maintenance to languish, thereby causing too many accidents at the mine resulting in needless injuries and deaths. She comes to the Earl with the hope that he will help improve the conditions at the mine. Nicholas though, has changed a great deal and won’t help her unless she will become his mistress for three months. He demands her reputation for his help. Clare agrees to his conditions and a bargain is struck.

Thunder and Roses is a very well written story. The characters are vivid and multi-dimensional. Clare struggles internally with her physical attraction to Nicholas. She has to come to terms with the fact that she is only human and not a saint. She tries so hard to be the perfect person, but she knows she is flawed and can only ask to be forgiven. She is a strong woman who wants so badly to do the right thing. I loved that she could see through Nicholas’s gruff demeanor and see that he had been injured by people he loved and trusted. She made sure, as their friendship grew, that he could always count on her and she never once betrays him.

Putney did a great job of showing how Nicholas evolved as a person throughout the story. Nicholas started out as a self-absorbed man that would lash out at others like a wounded animal. Yet he realized, through Clare, that there were others far worse off than him and he could make a difference in their lives. In the end he decided to become a better person and put his trust in Clare.

The only problem I had with this story was that it took me four days to read it. For me, that is a long time. For some reason, I could not stay focused on it. Now, I think this probably had to do with what was going on in my life this week, rather than the actual book. The romance between Clare and Nicholas was beautifully written and their happy ever after was very convincing. I highly recommend this book.

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