Rose Gordon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Officer and the Bostoner by Rose Gordon is a June 2013 release by Night Shift publishing. I received a DRC of this book by the author via Netgalley for an honest review. Allison is traveling by coach to meet her fiancé, Nicholas. The driver gets lost and they wind up in a community made up of Army personnel. Making a brief stop, Allison gets off the coach and winds up being left behind by accident. Due to the fact that all the women in town were married and the show more rest of the population were single men, it wasn't too safe for someone in Allison's position to be on her own. Meeting up with Army officer, Wes, she is stunned by his explanation and his offer to marry her for her own protection. He promises she can have the marriage annulled when her intended comes to get her. So, Allison and Wes are married. They go about pretending the marriage is legitimate. But, Wes recognizes Allison's breeding. She is obviously from money and culture and he presumes balls and frivolous social gatherings and high society position is the only important things in the world to Allison. But, while they are waiting for Nicolas to arrive, Wes begins to gain a certain respect for Allison. Allison also realizes she is falling in love with Wes. So, why don't they just explain to Nicholas when he arrives that they wish to stay married? Allison doesn't know the first thing about cooking, sewing, and doing things the other wives do for their husbands. She feels like she would not make a good wife for someone like Wes. There are also a few complications regarding her marriage contract with Nicholas. So, despite her feelings for Wes, Allison insist on going through with her marriage to Nicholas. Wes naturally misunderstands why she won't stay with him. He presumes she has chosen money and position over him, making him feel as though she thinks of him as second class. What Allison doesn't know is that Wes could provide Allison with the class position and the wealth he believes is her priority. But, he believes she can not accept him without those things. When Nicholas arrives though, things really get sticky. I discovered Rose Gordon through an Amazon promotion a little while back and was really impressed with her writing style. I was really glad to see a Historical Romance set in the United States. Those seem to be few and far between these days. Allison is completely out of her element here, but gives it the old college try. Her attempts to sew her own clothes were hilarious. Sounds like my sewing. Wes, had a wonderful sense of humor and I loved his determination to be his own man despite his family's wealth. Both Wes and Allison have to adjust their attitudes a little to make the relationship work. Allison's innocence in regards to business affairs that left her at the mercy of men was an accurate portrayal of how things were done in the past, in many instances. Infuriating, but true. Life with Wes would most certainly be a learning experience for Allison, and a much richer life than she ever would have had with Nicholas. A very enjoyable read. This one gets an A. show less

I picked this book up for free in the kindle store. This is a fine example of how promoting a book through e-readers can widen an author's audience. I probably wouldn't have discovered this book, if not for my kindle. What a shame that would have been. This is very good, above average Regency period romance novel.
Brooke and her family , Americans, are visiting England. Brooke isn't all that aware of the strict rules of polite society in England, thus she offends a man, Gateway, at a party. show more Soon afterwards, Gateway commissions an old school chum to somehow ruin Brooke's family and send them packing back to America.
Andrew, deeply in debt allows himself to be bribed by Gateway. He sets out to find some sort of family secret that would ruin the American family, but ends up attempting to compromise Brooke.
As the story moves on we sit by helplessly as Brooke is led into a trap. Andrew wars with his conscience, but it appears to be a losing battle.
Brooke is funny, not your typical Regency period female protagonist. Her sister, Liberty was a riot, while Madison, her other sister, was a bit more reserved.
Andrew has had a sad childhood and still bears the scars. He wants to win back his financial freedom and repair the damaged relationship with his mother. But, he doesn't count on falling for Brooke.
I found myself completely absorbed in this tale. I loved all the characters, except of course, Gateway.
I highly recommend this book. It's a great start to a series. Overall I have to give this one an A. show less

His Contract Bride is the first story by Rose Gordon I have had the great pleasure to read. I loved this story, it contains great characters and a compelling plot. I have more of the series in my to be read pile and let me tell you I can not wait to start devouring them.

Regina is a sweet young woman that has been treated all her life like she doesn't really matter, she is to marry well and that is her job in life. I loved how Regina gains her self respect and is able to grow as the book show more goes on. Edward helps her to become respectful of who she is and that her opinions in life really do matter. I loved how Edward shows this wonderful lady that he loves her in ways that are a little different for their time.

Edward is a scientist and enjoys his plants and scientific matters. Most people find him rather dull but not Regina. She really enjoys spending time with him and chatting about what ever he may want to do or discuss. I really liked Edward, he didn't marry for love but he soon finds himself every much in love with his wife. He finds that he not only wants to do things he likes but he also wants to do things to please his wife.

I positively loved watching Regina and Edward's story unfold. I was totally enthralled with these two from the beginning. What a wonderfully sweet story Rose Gordon has written for us to enjoy. I can not wait to see what Ms. Gordon has in store in the other 3 book in this series. I am sure they are all going to be wonderful, since I so enjoyed this one.

I was lucky enough to be given this book to read in exchange for an honest review. show less

This certainly isnt your traditional Regency romance - whilst there are plenty of Lords, Ladies and Barons (at least in title), in act they are not what you would expect! Some of the people in here use words and talk about concepts that you wouldnt expect Regency people - especially women - to be aware of, so if you prefer your romances to be more traditional, this isnt the book for you.

Olivia is an absolute fright and thankfully doesnt make too many actual appearances during the story, show more although some of her actions do. Marcus is her brother and rather a recluse after an accident several years previously had left him badly scarred and with a permanent limp.

"Arid" Alex Banks is not the traditional romance hero - he is scientific minded, hasnt made too many romantic conquests, wears glasses and sometimes struggles with banter. Alex's has an extensive family, none of whom could be classed as "traditional" and many of whom could be classed as having skeletons in the closet - such as pre-marital sex, seductions, and babies that arrive "premature" not long after a wedding. Caroline is well aware of the nature of her past, who her parents are, and what it can mean to her having a decent future in the marriage stakes. She grew up as an only child, who from 7 years old was brought up by her uncle whilst living with the her cousin, the horrendous Olivia. Alex's family do have reasonable relationships, which gives Caroline a glimpse into how other families can do it.

Alex and Caroline are well rounded characters, some of the secondary characters are decent and are likely to be the source of future books (there's at least 2 potential grooms in this book!). Alex's social awkwardness and lack of experience with women, and Caroline's insecurities and lack of a knowledge in the finer points of life (she knows of the birds and the bees but not how that translates into the marriage bedroom) means there are plenty of opportunities for misunderstandings and the big confrontation near the end.

So in summary: a Regency romance that is more romance than Regency, with some moderately spicy sex scenes, and a non-Regency take on things show less