Lynn Kerstan

Lynn Kerstan is an author whose books I generally enjoy very much, but unfortunately, she hasn't had anything new out for a while, so I'm picking up her backlist here and there.

Lord Hugo Duran is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and is captured in India after another Englishman stole the priceless golden leopard deemed necessary to the nizam's rule. He's sentenced to death as a spy and thief, but is granted conditional freedom when he says he's had a dream that he's to restore the show more leopard.

So he has one year to find the golden leopard or die, and to that end, he returns to England with an assassin as a bodyguard/valet and unseen "others" keeping him under constant watch. Unfortunately, the time of the journey is also included in that year, so he's down to a matter of weeks once he arrives in England.

To find the leopard, he applies to Lady Jessica Carville, whose heart he once broke, and who now works for Christie's auction house as an expert in antiquities.

This is not your usual historical romance. It's more an adventure, on the order of Indiana Jones. It's over-the-top and intense, and a fabulous page-turner.

Hugo and Jessica are both strong, intelligent characters, and neither is inclined to sentiment--maybe that's why I liked them so much. They're larger than life, both of them strong enough to keep their emotions to themselves to accomplish their goals. And despite their determination, they find themselves falling in love again, fighting it all the way.

The character of the assassin Shivaji is a lovely plus--he's mysterious and possessed of an iron-clad resolve to kill Hugo, yet they become friends of a sort.

The resolution of Hugo's dilemma is due to brains and cleverness, and is very satisfying.

All in all, an absolutely wonderful read. show less

A Regency Holiday is a solid collection of Christmastime novellas. The four have a bit of a rushed feel in parts, understandably due to their shortened size, but the overall effect of each is still a well-written story that leaves you with a warm glow. They all take place around the Christmas season, but they don't smack you in the face with overly saccharine seasonal sweetness, or use Christmas as an eye-rollingly obvious plot device, which is nice. I've made it a point to try and read show more Christmas-themed books this holiday season, and have found that for some reason the historical ones have by far been more satisfying reads than the contemporary--and this anthology is a perfect example. Of the four, the first and the last ("Coventry's Christmas" by Rebecca Hagan Lee and "Home for Christmas" by Alicia Rasley) were my favorites, but the other two (Lynn Kerstan's "Star of Wonder" and Allison Lane's "A Christmas Homecoming") were just as enjoyable. Any of them would benefit from being written into a full-length novel, but readers don't feel cheated at all with the shorter format. I hadn't read anything by any of the four authors before, but my experience with this collection will definitely have me looking for more from all of them in the future. show less

Francesca is tall, 31, intellectual, and illegitimate; not a likely candidate for suitors in Regency London. Viscount Clayburn has been humiliated by his father yet again and now said father wants to force him into a marriage to gain access to the land adjoining his estate. Clay determines to thwart his efforts by marrying another unsuitable woman. When he meets Francesca, he thinks she will be perfect and he falls in love at first sight, so... a win/win situation. Francesca has other ideas, show more since she recognizes his name immediately and knows he is the son of the man who has been trying to negotiate her marriage. This was a misunderstanding plot that actually had many variations and so avoided the typical pitfalls. It was also an older woman, younger man plot that was well handled. Enjoyed this. show less

4 STARS

A Midnight Clear was a surprising romance novel of the regency era. I did not expect what it would bring by reading the first couple of chapters. This is a clean book which at first I wondered about that. I liked the characters, the plot twists were charming.

Jane has just been kicked out of her lodging and has only one job to interview for. Their are a lot of others who are interviewing too. Everyone who comes out of the job interview looks at the horror of what she just went through. show more Some leave before the interviews even. Jane gets the job.

Her job is to transcribe and put together the novel telling all about the scandles that Lady Eudora Swann knows. And she knows a lot of them. While Jane hates the book she does her best to write it and keep her opinions about it.

Lady Swann has been married six times. She knows all the scandals and wants to leave a legacy so she won't be forgotton. Now she is confined to a bath chair. She has still a lot of gentleman callers who sneak out in the morning. She has a lot of money.

Charles Fallon's relatives are a big part of the book. He wants to restore his family name and reputation. He already has earned the wealth in India. He has heard about Lady Swann's book and wants his family left out of it. He threatens to sue Lady Swann but that will only make the book sell better.

He rejects her offer of sleeping with her. He has set up a house in London and plans to marry good to a lady of Society.
Lady Swann has a idea that will change her mind if he lets Jane find other things about the woman in the Fallon family. Over the Christmas holidays while she goes away to a party for the holidays.

This was quick read,fun in parts,sweet in others as they end up lost in the snow with plenty of drama thrown into.
I would look for more books by Lynn Kerstan in the future to read based on this book.

I was given this ebook to read and asked to give honest review of it when done by Netgalley.
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books (March 11, 2013) 186 pages ASIN: B00BY98QAM show less