Tina Gabrielle

Adeline knows she does not like her new neighbor when he complains about her dog's noise and her pig attacks him. All Daniel wants to do is work on his inventions without interruption. When he discovers her brother is a bully from his childhood, he states that he is courting her to keep her from being married off to a money lender to satisfy her half-brother's debt. As they grow closer, neither wants to be the first to use the L-word. When it looks like all might be lost, Daniel finally realizes what he might lose. Will he?

I enjoyed this story. I laughed so often. Daniel and Adeline are very strong-willed. They drive each other crazy but are made for each other. I liked that both went after what they wanted. It was fun to watch them trying to figure each other out and find that they were very similar in personalities. Her half-brother was a total jerk. Daniel should have done whatever he wanted to him.

I loved Daniel's godmother. She was also strong-willed. She let Daniel know what he should do. It made him stop and question his actions toward Adeline. I liked that Adeline knew what she wanted and would not settle for less. The characters are great in this story.

I look forward to the rest of the series.… (more)

The heroine and the hero met through the heroine's pet pig. The heroine's brother is forcing her to marry a stranger to pay off a huge debt, the hero came forward and pronounced that he was courting the heroine. As the charade of courtship continues, the hero and the heroine began to fall in love. But other such a false start to the relationship, will the hero and the heroine have their happy ending when there is an ending to their fake relationship.

This is the second book in THE DARING LADIES series by Tina Gabrielle. I enjoyed this historical romance with such a nice story vibe to it. I liked both the heroine and the hero as individuals and as a couple. I also liked the supportive cast of secondary characters that were there for the couple. I would have liked a bit more presence of the heroine's pet spread throughout the story. Also, there were some descriptions that were confusing and could have been fixed. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this Tina Gabrielle book and look forward to reading more books from the series in the future.

** Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own. **… (more)

This was a fun romp between two people who each have a problem and each needs the other to help with the solution. It starts with a ‘meet cute’ when Adeline’s pig, Harry, attacks the Duke of Warwick and ends with a lovely epilogue where Warwick realizes that “a man cannot live on logic alone. But he can live for love.” I enjoyed the characters, the plot, the pacing, and the writing style. Each book in this series is a standalone, so you don’t have to worry if you haven’t read the first book.

Lady Adeline Foster was much loved by both her mother and father as well as her half-sister, Mary – but she was reviled by her half-brother, Edwin. Edwin taunted and belittled Adeline her entire life because of her mixed Mediterranean heritage. While she and Edwin had the same father, they had different mothers and Adeline’s mother was the daughter of a traveling Arabic rug merchant and not in the least aristocratic. When her father passed away, Edwin inherited the Earldom, and had complete control of Adeline – or so he thought. Adeline inherited a small, run-down property from her father and promptly loaded up her belongings and moved to Chilham, in Kent. Of course, she quickly discovered her property needed a whole lot more work than she’d thought – but she would make it work and she’d use her medical skills – learned from her mother – to help the local people in Chilham. She was a happy and content woman – until . . . That nasty neighbor made an appearance at her door . . .

Daniel Millstone, the Duke of Warwick, moved to a small property in Chilham seeking peace and quiet so he could concentrate on his inventions. Warwick was a brilliant mathematician, engineer, scientist – you name it – and he was rich as Croesus. He discovered he had a new neighbor when the racket from the neighbor’s dogs became unbearable. He’ll just put a stop to that! Yep, he will – or will he?

When Adeline’s half-brother shows up and announces she is to wed a very unsavory moneylender – and Warwick wants to stop his Godmother’s matchmaking efforts for the rest of the season, they realize they can help each other by pretending a courtship. We all know that is going to work out well.

I loved Daniel and Adeline – both were strong, stubborn, bookish, scientific, misfits who were made for each other – although it really took Daniel much too long to come to that conclusion. You can’t blame him though. His upbringing showed him that love didn’t exist in marriages and that it was entirely a business arrangement. So, he’d channeled all of his passions into his scientific pursuits and had no clue love could actually exist in a relationship.

I enjoyed this book and watching Warwick and Adeline find their HEA. While I had some concerns about a few things, it was overall a nice read. Books where the villain(s) aren’t punished – or are even rewarded, as in this case – really attack my sense of fair play. As clever as both Warwick and Adeline are, they could have come up with a great punishment – I just know it. Anyway, I would recommend this book to a friend.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.… (more)