In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende

A blizzard in Brooklyn and a car accident is what is needed to bring three lives together and turn them around for the better.  

Richard owns a Brooklyn brownstone with a lower floor rented to Lucia.  Lucia stays in during the blizzard, but Richard forces himself to head for the store.  On his way, he rear-ends a Lexus that Evelyn is driving. 

This small accident creates the three to need more from each other than could be guessed until the story relays the details of their lives.

Richard obtained an academic position at NYU after his regrettable life in Chile.  In Chili, he started with a wife and two children.  Shortly after moving to the states, he no longer has children or a wife.  He sank into a rigid life of work and little socialization.

Lucia moves from Chile when Richard offers her a teaching job and a place to rent.  Her former life had also been full of family losses and humanitarian grievances.  She feels empty and alone.

Evelyn immigrates to the US from Guatemala seeking asylum and a job for a young woman barely speaking English.  

The accident proves more than just a fender bender.  Evelyn has her boss's car.  In the car is evidence of a horrible crime.  

Evelyn, Richard, and Lucia grouped together to plan how to hide someone else's crime to save Evelyn.

During their quest, each learn and begin to love one another. Richard and Lucia find a need to be together, and Evelyn becomes a pseudo daughter to them.   

Their fragile lives are reconstructed out of love.

Happy reading,

Dawn Kunda

The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar

A fabulous contemporary/historical romance!  As an auctioneer in New York, NY, Emsley Wilson's life is on auction.  Her grandmother, Violet, passes after a "free bird" life in painting and social connections.  

Emsley inherits Violet's New York brownstone and a blue box with an old painting and a pile of yellowed letters.  The initial intention is to sell the home along with saving her auction business, ditching one of the partners who wants to ditch her, and meeting the real estate attorney Violet suggested.

Can we add a little more to Emsley's to-do list?  Of course.  

Bram Dekker, attorney, meets with Emsley to help her with legalities.  He wears a wedding ring, so Emsley doesn't understand his interest in her.  He's gorgeous, kind, and respectful, but he has a ring on.  

In between cleaning the house, and everything else. Emsley takes a minute to transport us back in time through the old letters in the box.  The letters are written about Johanna Bongor-van Gogh. 

The story is rich in contemporary and historical romance along with such an interesting background of Vincent van Gogh.  I may have to pick up his biography to see how close the information is.  It also exemplifies the fight women take up to be recognized.  

I hope, if you pick up any of the books I review, this is one of them!

Happy reading,

Dawn

 

Anything But a Gentleman by Elisa Braden

 The rules of London in the early eighteen hundreds don't favor women.

Augusta Windmore is determined to change that around for her sister, Phoebe.  Phoebe was promised a betrothal before the pregnancy, and the future groom has fled the situation. 

Doing anything for her younger sister, Augusta has one choice.  She needs to convince Sebastian Reaver, owner of the Men's Club, to help her.

In disguise as a maid, she gains access to Sebastian's private quarters.  And she won't budge regardless of his brutish candor.  

Sebastian likes things simple and utilitarian.  The constant badgering by the spinster, Augusta, has thrown him for a loop and he's not quite sure what to do with her.  

He makes an unconventional deal with her, sure she'll run, but an agreement confounds him.  Especially since they will be in close quarters for an extended time.  Time for them to realize or deny why they look forward to seeing each other.  Time to get a husband for Phoebe.  Will there be time for Sebastian and Augusta to lower their shields of pride and realize they aren't that different?

Read to find out if a double romance can survive an unconventional start!

Happy reading,

Dawn Kunda

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

 Author Carrie McClelland finds a humble cottage to rent in Scotland where she plans to write an historical fiction novel of the nearby Slains Castle.  

The owner of the cottage has two sons, one kind and helpful, the other both kind and helpful and a university history professor.  Not to mention, the second, Graham, the mutual attraction building through walks around the castle and horse rides.

In the 1700's, Carrie's focus for her novel, the French and Scottish attempted to reclaim the exiled James Stewart crown.  She created in her mind the setting of the castle and the people involved.  Yet, it became apparent that her memory matched the history and she may be dealing with ancestral memory.  

As Graham shows up at her cottage frequently, her connection to her character begins to cause problems in the current day.  She knows what really happened between the invasion and mysteries surrounding Slains Castle and the relation to her character and Graham's family.

The atmosphere of The Winter Sea is richly produced giving the reader a feeling of being in the present and the past along with Carrie.  The intensity between Carrie and Graham is spine tingling while you read to find out if the past will remain a problem with the present. 

Happy reading,

Dawn Kunda

 

 

Always Believe in Love by Maureen Driscoll

 1823 near London.  

Nicholas Chilcott, Earl of Layton, must relieve his mind of the accusations of his late father as a traitor.  Nicholas's cousin, Simon, has other ideas such as relieving Nicholas of his duties, even if it means by death.

Traveling to Weymouth looking for evidence of his father's

                              

past, Nicholas encounters the church archivist.

Kate Winston pens the records of the church under the new vicar who has planned to marry her out of his necessity.  She wants nothing to do with him.  The previous vicar, God rest his soul, had lovingly cared for her since her parents demise.  Now she must survive without a family and few friends.  Her wit and determination make her a strong character and ready to deal with an Earl looking for information.

Nicholas does his best to fit in and befriend the locals by giving a helping hand in trades he's never done along with traveling in perilous conditions.  With Kate lending a hand in dangerous ways, their hearts seek each other out.

Yet, Nicholas doesn't want to mix Kate up in his family mess, and Kate feels she won't fit into his royal circle.  

Their story is a delightful read with matching wit and strength between lovers from different backgrounds.

Happy reading,

Dawn

In Bed With the Earl by Christi Caldwell

This historical romance will take you back to tough times in London, England where born of nobility doesn't always come with the rights.
Malcolm North spends his nights dragging the sewers for precious articles to later sell.  He likes working in the dark of a day and doesn't like people.  At least he won't admit it.  How he came to this profession, he doesn't know as his childhood is but a blur in his mind.
Verity Lovelace has an equally rough life above ground during the light of day.  Since a child, she's taken care of her younger sister and was gifted a job as a reporter at The Londoner.  An orphan needs a way to put food on the table.
Malcolm and Verity both have fathers that are Lords.
So where's the good life?
Verity is assigned an impossible task by her editor.  The only way to complete the story is to find her subject in the sewers.
I love the way Malcolm and Verity meet.  It's the opposite of romantic.  It stinks, it's dark and dirty, and neither knows how special they are.
Verity's boss wants to get rid of her, so he makes her assignments nearly impossible.  That calls for Verity to make a deal with Malcolm.
Will he agree?  Will he play fair?  Will he get to know her?
It's a beautiful story and I couldn't wish for a sweeter love to be played out under more dank circumstances.

Happy reading,
Dawn

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Just a warning...This is a tragic romance.
Nella Oortman is married off by her family to a merchant, Johannes Brandt, at the age of eighteen.  Moving to Amsterdam and becoming the new head of house in a rich home doesn't turn out quite as she expected.
Johannes treats her with respect, although he's rarely home.  Nella is left with a secretive family consisting of Johannes's sister, a house maid, and a black house man.  It is rare in the sixteen hundreds to give a person of color the status and comfort of a home and job.
Johannes gives Nella a wedding present of a miniature house replicating their home.  When Nella is left alone and longing to get to know her husband, she turns to filling the little house and calls on an artist to create the furniture and people.
The artist, or miniaturist, matches the interior of the house strangely with exactness. This includes the current items and those that somehow tell the future.  When a small baby doll arrives for Nella, she wonders if it's her that will be blessed with a child.
More clues that tell the future and aren't understood fill Nella with many questions as to the fate of her marriage, her new family, and the household.
Johannes has his own difficulties with his trading business, his new wife, and his private social life.
Some secrets must be kept hidden and others dealt with.  The strange love circling the Brandt house brings a shattering change to all.

Happy reading,
Dawn

The Submission of Lady Pennington by Em Brown

I must say, this erotic historical romance has everything imaginable in a fast paced tell-all.  The story revolves around BDSM and creative naughty acts that are just right to take a break from the holiday planning and shopping.
Lady Pennington, Georgeanna, has come back to the Red Chrysanthemum after a year since her husband died.  To work here again for men and women looking for a naughty twist in their sexual lives is only part of her plan.
The man Georgeanna specifically wants hasn't been around, yet she has a hold on him and he doesn't even know it yet.
Mr. Cedman Ashley has straightened his life out as far as staying away from the Red Chrysanthemum after an incident he couldn't forgive himself for.  Now, he has to return and ask a favor of Georgeanna.
Just who she was looking for!
How she pulls him into her lair and he demands creative sexual favors without even touching the sheets keep the two busy all night long.
Many body parts swell along with their hearts, making for a delightful tryst.

Happy reading,
Dawn

The Spitfire by Christi Caldwell

What do you do when you find someone assaulted in the streets, and the assailants are present?
It might be different today, but in 1826 London, England, a woman certainly wouldn't stop to help.
Clara Winters wasn't just any woman, though.  She's beautiful, street smart, and happens to have medical experience.
A former Madam, Clara is working so hard to right her life and be treated like a human.  She's opening the Muses, a music hall.
When she sees a noble lying in a seedy part of London with two mean accosting him, she takes her pistol and scares of the bad guys.  Going against her better judgment, she hauls Henry March to her home and dresses his wounds.
He won't admit to himself that he's infatuated with the thirty-three year old.  He's forty and needs a family.  Clara finds him to be the most fair noble man she's dealt with.
Henry works for the Parliament and owes Clara his life.  Yet, months after she puts herself at risk to help him, he sends notice that her business will be shut down.
A confrontation by Clara starts sparks of all kinds.  Not to mention the intense kiss she leaves him with to think about.
History doesn't typically favor the nobility mixing with lower level people in family matters.  As we've learned through the ages, love can beat out so many norms and allow happiness to flourish, but it's a road chosen with many potholes to plow through.
Great story with a colorful path to happily ever after!  I really enjoyed Clara's character, and Henry better straighten up or I'll give him a shove for her!

Happy reading,
Dawn

Falling the the Highlander by Lynsay Sands

How could I not pick a historical romance after watching Meghan and Harry tie the knot!

I knew I would flip the pages fast when I picked Sands’ novel. 

Murine was sent to England from her home in Scotland to live under the guardianship of her half-brother after her parents died.  That’s fishy from the start.

And worse yet, the half-brother does not treat her with respect or concern.  He’d rather sell her for a horse or less.

Dougall, a handsome and fearless Scot, finds this out when he and his brothers bring horses for the half-brother to buy. 

The purchase fails because of lack of money, and the Scots leave.

Murine has had it with the horrible treatment stowed upon her and escapes the same night the Scots leave.  She leaves riding Henry, her cow.

The Scots catch up to her quickly and do the honorable thing by helping her escape the wretched life she lives.

When she reveals her background, Dougall makes it his obligation to protect her.  Murine’s background is quite astounding and she wants to go back to it.

Dougall thinks marriage to him will solve Murine’s problem, but what a maze they must go through to avoid all the traps.

Only love and determination will save them and keep them together and I’m sure there’s a lot of that!

Happy reading,

Dawn

Royal Mistress by Anne Easter Smith

 I highly recommend this novel due to the historical virtue and the fictional emotions, conversations, and thoughts interpreted by Anne Easter Smith. 

The novel includes Edward IV in the 1470’s and his last mistress, Jane Shore.  Love is not a typical reason for marriages, especially in the noble circle, at this time.  But it does exist.

Jane has what we would see as a tumultuous life in today’s standards.  It was, yet it was also normal survival in the reign of Edward the IV.

Jane, a daughter of a top mercer (clothier) was married to her father’s pick, although she had found the man of her dreams with little knowledge of who this man really was.

A lot of men find Jane amazingly attractive and with a quit wit. And the man with his eye on her is none other than the king. 

Is the king the one she wants, though? There are many top nobles noticing her, and it’s customary for them to have mistresses- yes, it was expected back then.

The story is priceless in its path through Jane’s adult life, the men who love her, a need for true love, and the consequences of living in England in the fifteenth century.

Happy reading,

Dawn

Her Highness the Traitor by Susan Higginbotham

Romances were a little different in the 1500’s, affiliation over love. 

This story involves the “Jane’s” of the Tudor succession, Jane Grey, Jane Dudley, and Jane Seymour.

Frances Grey, Jane’s mom, tells a good part of the story, always with the hope of her daughter marrying nobility.  Henry VIII is available once again and what parent wouldn’t want her daughter to have such security?  Yet, the pitfalls, danger, and instability of the nobility, especially wives of Henry VIII, give her pause.

The relations to the court, whether they work for the king or are family, constantly have to prove their faith and allegiance.  The Tower is filled, heads are lopped off, people disappear, and yet the parents and young ladies continue to vie for ultimate closeness to the crown.

The emotions and sentiments expressed take the reader to a fragile existence, always on the edge and under scrutiny of the society.

Happy reading,

Dawn                                                      

Dark Angels by Karleen Koen

Growing up in Louis XIV’s France, Alice Verney returns to her homeland, England under the rule of Charles II. 

Alice has many ladies-in-waiting that she feels in charge of and to find them suitable matches, or more to keep them from the wrong matches they’re headed for.  She has her eye on her own fantasy match with Balmoral. 

She hopes her father can help her with Balmoral, but can she trust her father?

When Alice returns to England, she finds that the loyalties have switched.  She needs to reorganize her plan.  The ladies-in-waiting have gone their own ways, falling in love instead of looking for a “good” match.   

Alice insists on keeping her mind on the perfect match with Balmoral, who is considerably older and fraught with health concerns.  Although…there is a young man who notices her and becomes close to her.

Will she go with love or connections for herself and her young lady friends?  It’s a twisted route throughout the palace to find the answer.

Happy reading,

Dawn

A Question of Guilt by Julianne Lee

Definitely a historical novel not to miss. 

Mary Stuart, cousin of Elizabeth I, wife of several heartless and childish men, beautiful and tall, and Queen of Scotland, was a naive and gracious queen.  The last years of her life ended for a questionable reason.  The story retells Queen Mary’s turbulence in the1560’s.

Her sincerity and kindness to all, even the traitorous, held her in a constant position to be attacked by her enemies.  She loved the men she married and some were her enemy.

Too bad these men didn’t have better ideals for their queen and wife.  The last two husbands were her downfall.

While married to Henry Darnley, he was killed.  Mary could not believe her next husband, Bothwell, may have set her up as the murderer.

Back to present day 1587 where Janet de Ros, wife of a wealthy merchant, cannot hold back her interest in Queen Mary’s true story. 

Janet doesn’t believe Queen Mary killed her husband, Darnley, nor is she certain that Queen Mary plotted against England’s queen, Elizabeth I. 

Against her husband’s wishes, Janet continually meets with restricted people who may have a clue to the truth about Queen Mary.  Janet’s inquiries leave her and her husband in danger of resurrecting the past and possible family connection to the treachery, which could lead to problems of their own.

Julianne Lee chose a spectacular route to study all the stories and rumors about the end of Queen Mary’s life and who’s to blame.  Love can lead to a dangerous path, and sometimes history should be left alone.  

Happy reading,

Dawn

Wolf Runner by Constance O'Banyon

It was easy to figure out where the story took place, the Midwest from New Mexico to Colorado.  The difficult part was figuring out what century. 

The start of the story sounded contemporary, yet it took a hundred pages to assure me that the early 1900’s were a better bet. 

Wolf Runner is a hotty Blackfoot Indian, which held me in the story.  I say this because I’m highly impressed and interested in the Indian culture, yet I’m not a historian and the failure to let me know as a reader what time frame the story covered left me wondering.

Wolf Runner is a half-breed and is ordered by his family to help Cheyenne, who is also a half-breed left to herself after her adoptive grandmother passes. 

They both wear contemporary clothing, vehicles exist, what years I’m not sure, and later (after the first hundred or so pages again) Wolf Runner and Cheyenne ride horses from New Mexico to Colorado.

I very much enjoyed the last half of the book when Wolfy and Cheyenne are able to meet and have to ride horses far and long through the wilderness with nothing but each other and the landscape to survive by.  This half of the book was seductive, genuine, and full of romantic tension. 

I’m glad I didn’t put it down, but the beginning confused me and Wolf Runner and Cheyenne didn’t meet till long in the story.  The first hundred pages are necessary to understand the conflicts, yet to summarize them in two or three chapters would’ve brought us into the romance and story a lot faster and with more satisfaction.    

Happy reading,

Dawn

Best Summer Novels

To tie up the ever-fast fading summer, I'd like to share my reviews on my co-bloggers most recently published novels.  I did  sneak a blurb of my own in as it would be "weird" to review it myself! 

 

As bloggers, we love to share our thoughts on reading and writing and we hope you love the variety of genres we have for you...

Loons of a Feather by Kayce Lassiter

Kayce attacks many date nightmares on the trip she takes us on with Shannon and Michael. 

He’s currently married, he’s a cowboy, and it’s a blind-date.  What could be worse to Shannon who’s already afraid of her own choice in men?

Michael is also gun-shy to hooking up with a woman.

Delta, fairy godmother extraordinaire, and her side-kick, Bubba Ray (even his name makes me laugh), are practicing their art of “making things happen their way.” 

Between the bumblings of the “god people,” the unexplainable happenings, and the defiance of Shannon and Michael being pushed together, read this witty, chuckle-out-loud, and romantic novel and you will want to search for the rest of Kayce’s stories.

Passions of Sleepy Hollow by Lexi Post

Lexi Post mixes the old with the new and creates her own masterpiece in Passions of Sleepy Hollow.

Kat Van Tassel of Sleepy Hollow reluctantly offers her services to Braeden Van Brunt, a replica of her lost lover.  They have an instant attraction, but there are problems with this.

They live in different centuries and they must figure out the curse on Sleepy Hollow in order to break it.

In the limited time Kat and Braeden can physically be together, they make the most of it.  Braeden, larger than life in many ways, teaches Kat to master her sexual needs.

But is that enough for one of them to cross the time difference?  

Follow Kat and Braeden’s fight to stay together through the torments of Sleepy Hollow’s curse and the Headless Horseman.  It’s a chilling ride that sweeps you into an intense love story.  Lexi Post is a master at mixing the allure of classics with the heart-rendering passion of today’s classics.

 

Mischief and Magnolia’s by Marie Patrick

Shaelyn Cavanaugh had no idea what the handsome uniformed man, Major Remington Harte, brought to her home as she opened her front door of her Mississippi plantation.

His strong, powerful, and gorgeous packaging didn’t go unnoticed, but she did attempt to not allow herself the luxury of enjoyment.  Harte announced her home had been chosen as a living quarters for his troops.

Fine.  Shaelyn  made sure he enjoyed many tricks to keep him on his feet. 

The next announcement came as a shock and drove all the foolery out of her.  The soldiers took over her family’s shipping business.  She attached one condition, that she went along.

Mischief and Magnolias is a delightful recount of the inconveniences and hardships taken with a gulp and swallow of the Civil War.  An undeniable romance can give a bit of relief hope for the future even for the stubborn at heart.  

 Inked (From the CIA #1) by Dawn Kunda

Guns and sex make Mary go round…

CIA agent Mary Reiss is teamed with the agent of her nightmares, Cal Guevin.  He nearly got her killed and now they’re teamed to infiltrate Egyptian terrorists.  The imminent danger reignites their fiery past, yet mistrust and a deadly enemy block their advances.

 

 

The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks

Based on the Battle of Franklin in 1864, the deadliest hours of the Civil War have found Carrie McGavock’s plantation. 

She had no choice.  Her home was chosen as the nearest and best solution for the upcoming war hospital.  She had no idea what she was in for as she waited for her love to return from his part in the war.

Yet Carrie knew his return was unlikely.  It was a hope she hung on to while literally piles of wounded and dead men scattered her yard and home.

One man had a special place in her home.  She gave him her bedroom to recover in and she kept him longer than any other mending soldier.

Something about the warmth and companionship in Zachariah Cashwell’s eyes tore at her heart.

He left with the last of the soldiers.

Carrie tended the garden of the dead where all soldiers had a proper burial.  She mourned for their families and mourned for the return of Zachariah.  She knew he was somewhere, still alive.

An amazing account of how the unseen chemistry will work and last the years until reunited when true love cannot be denied.

Happy reading,

Dawn

 

 

Highland Scandal by Julia London

 

I can’t help but pick up a novel by Julia London when I’m in the mood for a lot of Scottish kilt and gown mixing.

Jack Haines, Earl of Lambourne, is on the run from a false accusation amongst the London nobility.

Lizzie Beale remains unwed and waiting for her knight in the highlands.

When Lizzie’s uncle captures Jack, Jack thinks he’s done for, and so does Lizzie.  Her uncle forces Jack and Lizzie into a hand-fasting for a year.  In other words, a pretend marriage for her uncles benefit. 

From this decree, a pot-pouri of trouble begins…Lizzie challenges Jack’s “rights” as a husband, Mr. Gordon arrives to take Lizzie away, and the most challenging situation is a secret.

The uncle has a reason for uniting his niece and a strange man.

Lizzie and jack quarrel, butt heads, and argue as they try to uncover her uncle’s devious endeavors.

Lizzie and Jack really get to know each other during this long and arduous time.  It’s tantalizing to follow their relationship and to watch the blunders and accidental camaraderie.  

 

Happy reading,

Dawn

The Mercy Seller by Brenda Rickman Vantrease

In the fifteenth century Europe, freedoms were not as liberal as in many countries today.  Heresy was high on England’s King’s list to be done away with.

Do not believe what the King considers wrong, do not write the Bible in any language other than Latin, and do not counter the word of the Church. 

Anna Bookman writes in multiple languages and can’t ignore what the English translation of the Bible tells her.  Her manuscripts will hang her if found out.  She lives in Prague with her grandfather until he dies, and then she is directed to find help in England. 

At the same time, a priest, Brother Gabriel, encounters her under a tip of heresy.  He disguises his identity and against church rules, has incredibly lustful feelings for the maiden. 

Both hidden behind false agendas, their paths take many wrong turns.  Danger and enemies multiply for each until they are forced together and their true works and goals revealed.

The historical detail of the fifteenth century and the range of characters give a heart-pounding and fearsome reality to the challenges Anna and Gabriel must overcome in order to be true to themselves and their love for each other.

Happy reading,

Dawn

A Lady Can Never Be Too Curious by Mary Wine

I love a smart woman and in the 1800’s of London, women were supposed to be trinkets to toy with as a man saw fit.

Janette Aston would have nothing to do with that lifestyle.  Her mom brought her up to be curious and to learn.  To learn what the Illuminists knew.  Illuminists are those who know and use science for advancement in technology-just so you don’t have to look it up, if you weren’t sure.

Darius Lawley is a studly form of an Illuminist, smart and knowledgeable with a carved body straight from a wet dream.

Janette’s first venture into their world led her to be a captor of Darius as he’s in charge of infiltrators wanting to steal the advancements they’ve achieved.

Sparks fly between them, and not just the electric form.  Janette has a special power and is caught between the Illuminists and their enemies.  Her life’s on the line and Darius wants to save her, yet if there’s a chance she’ll be in the hands of the enemy, he must kill her.

Mary Wine had me flipping the pages as I wanted Darius to save Janette and for them to get it through their thick skulls that they needed to be together and get over their pride of being independent and self-sufficient.  Nothing wrong with that but let the love flow!  Why deny yourself when you both want the same thing?  It’s good to have a curious mind-and body.  A fabulous read for those who enjoy the London setting along with strong characters.