Celeste Bradley

Another fun Worthington tale. Orion is the scientific one in the family. He is logical and has walled off his emotions. He craves the peace and order that is the very opposite of what can be found in his home, among his eccentric family members. So he accepts the invitation of Sir Geoffrey Blayne to become his lab assistant and stay at his home. There is also the possibility of winning the hand of Sir Geoffrey's daughter Judith, as well as gaining entry to the scientific community.

Francesca show more is Sir Geoffrey's niece, the half-English half-Italian daughter of his brother. She came to England to stay with this part of her family, after realizing that she doesn't fit in with her Italian family, who considers her "too English". Francesca is intelligent, having her own scientific aptitudes, but also passionate, sassy, and playful. She plans to avoid marriage and devote her time to her research.

Orion's arrival at the Blayne house has all the seriousness that he could desire, until he meets Francesca. He is immediately struck by her beauty and her fire, to the point where everything else fades away. He is supposed to work on specific research and also be available to escort Judith, but his mind keeps drifting to her. I loved seeing his confusion at being so affected by her. Francesca has made a small place for herself in the lab, the only place her uncle allows her to work. She is just as drawn to Orion. I loved seeing them argue their scientific viewpoints, all the time fighting the attraction simmering below. Francesca eventually proposes that they give in to their attraction, expecting that it will then be out of their systems and they can return to normal life. It doesn't quite work out that way, and what they experience only serves to increase their need for each other. Francesca's realization of her feelings coincides with an event that forces Orion to end his relationship with her. His own epiphany takes a little longer, but is in time to rescue both Francesca and their relationship.

Sir Geoffrey feels a little off from the very beginning. His attitude toward Judith is not one of a loving father but of a man who uses others for his own purposes. For a scientist he seems to be terribly uninvolved in the research that he is promoting and it isn't long before his actions become suspicious. I had a feeling about his plans for Orion and it turned out I was right. I ached for Orion when he discovered the truth and cheered for what he did next. I loved what he and his family came up with and I loved seeing Sir Geoffrey get what is coming to him. The ending was intense and pretty scary as it was occurring, and also provided some humor at the end.

The secondary characters were pretty good also. Judith was a foil for Francesca, so quiet and always doing her father's bidding. But there was a little more to her than first appeared, and I liked seeing some bits of rebellion. I really enjoyed seeing her finally go after what she wanted. My favorite, however, was Orion's little sister Attie. In previous books she has tried to sabotage her siblings' relationships, but she has matured a little bit here and instead settles on trying to influence it instead. Attie is scarily intelligent and fearless in her actions. Her appearances in the book tend to herald disaster or mayhem of some kind, usually caused by something she has done. I also liked seeing more of the Worthington family. They are still just as odd as ever, but their love for each other still shines through. I really loved seeing how they simply absorbed Francesca into the group and how much at home she felt with them. show less

I am a big Celeste Bradley fan so it pains me to give a middling review to one of her books, but what's a girl to do? This book seems like it was written by two people or by one writer who started it, put it in a drawer, and finished up 10 years later.

The first half of the book is largely boring and frequently repetitive. It also provides us with a wildly unappealing hero. Calder is boring, taciturn, dismissive, condescending, and downright mean. He is also verbally abusive to his young show more child and at various points leaves her to wander freely through a textile factory (what could go wrong?) and hands her a loaded gun she is not trained to use when she asks for it. I need to note here that I am not clear on the age of the child because she is 7 in the first half and 9 in the second half even though the entire story takes place over the course of a week. One more note, I was really bugged by how Deirdre castigates herself for her impatience with Calder when he is being an ass. She should be patient with him when he orders her about (not is a sexy way) and treats her like temporary help? Its sad and embarrassing.

Calder redeems himself to some extent in the second half of the book, but that is insufficient. There is no reason our heroine could want him other than the fact that he has a title she needs to access her own inheritance and he is handsome. This makes it hard to sympathize with her incessant wailing about him only wanting her for her looks while protesting her deep love for him. She loves his title, she loves his abs and glutes (spoiler: she "notices" them a lot), but never explains why that is different from his loving her hair and her breasts (spoiler: he "notices" them a lot.) Its just a lot of stuff and nonsense filling pages where they should be getting to know each other better and/or banging.

The second half of the book has our hero suddenly becoming an Edwardian version of Liam Neeson in nearly every movie he has been in the last 10 years. There is no transition time. This guy instantaneously transitions from The Great Santini to Bryan Mills (for those who have not seen Taken or its 74 sequels that is Neeson's character.) Why?

I don't ask a lot from my bodice rippers. I would have overlooked most of this if I hadn't spent 200 pages bored to tears. But I did spend 200 paged being bored to tears so I am feeling unforgiving. Bradley has so many lovely books, but this one is a miss. show less

'The idea of excitement' brought to life!

Nary a story flagged! 5 star holiday season romances with a touch of spice and a dash of cheer that are all excellent inclusions centering around Christmas time in one way or another. From house parties to balls, to situations of intrigue where the stakes are high and the games deadly. Whilst the Eva Devon story did not have as much in common as the others, the central theme continues of female character who is an extraordinary woman looking to take show more unusual steps.

A Rake for Christmas by Eva Devon
Beautifully told story of the meeting of a rake (Anthony Basingstoke) and a wallflower (Lady Evangeline Pennyworth), a rake afraid of love and a wallflower unseen until he 'saw' her. What Evangeline wants is to be desirable, and to Anthony she is just that. But he knows the destruction of love. As a child he experienced the chaotic passion and discord of his parent's marriage and that has colored his perceptions. Love is painful and dangerous.

Up on the Rooftops by Elizabeth Essex
Loved this story! Tobias McTavish, ex jewel thief is targeted. Someone is robbing London's ton of their baubles and jewels exactly in the way the Scottish Wraith used to before being caught. Serving his sentence at His Majesty's Pleasure in the navy had Toby freed and pursuing a gentleman farmer's lot. Now he needs to clear his name. Little does he know that his former Captain's sister, Caledonia Bowmont, has decided he is innocent and she throws herself into helping him. Drat, but she's attracted to Toby! A scintillating, fast moving tale!

The Very Debonair Lady Claire by Heather Snow
Claire Barton is determined to find out who murdered her twin. A code breaker for the very secrative Abchurch section of the War Department, Clarence has used Claire's talents to help determine some of the codes. Now Clarence is dead and Claire assumes his identity to trap the killer. The new spymaster turns out to be an old friend, almost husband, Lord Andrew Sedgewick. He sees her immediately and it takes all of Claire's powers of persuasion to have him support her. For Andrew's part, he's racked with fear and guilt over the woman he loves whom he walked away from six years ago. A grand tale of love, betrayal, intrigue and romance.

A Liar Under the Mistletoe by Celeste Bradley
Amie Jackham takes what her father taught her and uses it for survival. The Liar's club uses those lessons in service to the Crown. Lord Elliot Hughes, a Liar's club spy surprises Amie as she is stealing from the lockbox he has his sights on.
Exciting and at times bewildering, currents of previous stories run deep as thieves vie at Christmas time.
An exciting chase with a young feisty female thief who gives Elliot a run for his money. Amie surprises!

A NetGalley ARC show less

Wow! Where to begin? I requested this book because it looked different from your typical "romance" books, and indeed it was. If you're used to reading "fluff romance" you may not want to pick up this book as the sex scenes are quite explicit. If you can, um, "handle" the sex scenes, them grab the book and go along for the "ride." (Sorry, I couldn't help it.)

Piper is a museum curator that must put together the exhibit on the town's most historical woman--Ophelia Harrington. Her last exhibit show more on telephone operators did not go so well and now she must prove herself. Add to that budget cuts, her slimy rival curator Linc, and her hot college professor Mick (that she desperately threw herself upon as a student) is now enlisted to help the museum out, and the odds are stacked against Piper. As she's working late one afternoon, Piper literally stumbles across the hidden journals of Ophelia Harrington and learns a great deal about the secret life she had as the courtesan known as"Blackbird" in London.

As Piper reads Ophelia's journals, she realizes that she must tell Ophelia's whole story and not the one the stodgy museum board members think she's going to tell--even if it costs Piper her job. Meanwhile, as she reads about Ophelia's life, Piper begins a complete transformation of her own as she realizes that she's a brilliant woman that needs to stand up for herself, just as Ophelia did so long ago.

The authors transition between the lives of Ophelia and Piper showing parallels along the way. The historical details were just enough to add ambiance to the story without overcrowding it with irrelevant details. I enjoyed learning about the life as a courtesan since I was under the impression they were "regular" members of polite society. I also enjoyed reading about Piper's life in the museum as I would LOVE to do the same thing. Overall I think it was a good book, and if you can get past the explicit sex scenes/language, I think you will enjoy the interwoven stories too. show less