2 Historical romances: Her Secret fantasy and The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie

Regency London's elegant ballrooms mask a daring world of erotic adventure. In this second novel in Gaelen Foley's Spicy Trilogy, a mysterious beauty with a devastating secret discovers, in the arms of a bold and fearless cavalry officer, passion that breaks all boundaries. 

Some say the aristocratic Balfour clan is cursed, a once-great family now in slow decline. Graceful Lily Balfour is her family's last hope, and she has come to London with one goal-to marry a rich man. Her well-laid plans are balked, however, by the irresistible Major Derek Knight, a handsome highborn soldier and adventurer newly returned from India. 

Hardened by battles on India's lawless frontiers, Derek is not just a fighter but a skilled and insatiable lover-a master of the Eastern arts of pleasure. Though Derek finds no shortage of willing women in London, it is the untouchable, aloof Lily who haunts him. After one stolen moment, he hungers for nights of sensual abandon to fulfill her fantasies and free her from her self-imposed prison. But he has come to England on a vital mission, and when Lily is pledged to a wealthy man suspected of corruption, Derek must thwart the treachery that ensnares them both-for only then will ecstasy and the sweet promise of her heart be his to claim. 

My thoughts:

Lily is old blood, but has no money. What is a lady of noble blood to do? Get a rich, hopefully stupid man. And she does manage to get the attention of a nobody with lots of money. And it's not like she is using him, he is using her right back. She is Ton. He is nothing. She has no money. He has money.

But that is not the way of a romance. Of course there needs to be drama.

The drama is named Derek. He is a good guy. Soldier through and through. Nowhere as rich as the guy she has on her hook. He is a player. She is pretty. He does want her.

So they start to fall even though they do not want to. But he is still all, I can't! And she is all, I must marry rich! And is everything ok with the guy she has on the hook?

Conclusion:

Yes a bit of drama. And the longest after the HEA ever, seriously, it went on and on and on. The book could have ended long before. Cute, light, fast. 

Cover

meh

Mass Market Paperback, 399 pages
Published November 27th 2007 by Ballantine Books
Spice Trilogy #2
Historical romance
Own

The year is 1881. Meet the Mackenzie family--rich, powerful, dangerous, eccentric. A lady couldn't be seen with them without ruin. Rumors surround them--of tragic violence, of their mistresses, of their dark appetites, of scandals that set England and Scotland abuzz. 

The youngest brother, Ian, known as the Mad Mackenzie, spent most of his young life in an asylum, and everyone agrees he is decidedly odd. He's also hard and handsome and has a penchant for Ming pottery and beautiful women. 

Beth Ackerley, widow, has recently come into a fortune. She has decided that she wants no more drama in her life. She was raised in drama--an alcoholic father who drove them into the workhouse, a frail mother she had to nurse until her death, a fussy old lady she became constant companion to. No, she wants to take her money and find peace, to travel, to learn art, to sit back and fondly remember her brief but happy marriage to her late husband. 

And then Ian Mackenzie decides he wants her. 

My thoughts:

I tried to read this book like a year ago, but could not. Not because it was not good, but because I got so mad. I do hate the falsely accused premise.

Still, I tried again. Since obviously it would all work out, and I just had to hate the guy accusing a long long time. And never forgive.

Ian was an aspie, but back then that would have meant he was just mad. With no explanation to why. Everyone knew he was mad, he thought he was mad. But the family loved him still.

Beth is a nobody, a widow, who inherited money from her employer. What I liked about her was that she was so accepting of him from the start.

But yes Ian is falsely accused of murder. And I still can't forgive the guy hounding him.

Conclusion:

A nice historical romance, and with a hero never really seen before. And yes I loved Ian, he was so logical. 

Cover

meh

Mass Market Paperback, 1st Edition, 320 pages
Published May 1st 2009 by Leisure Books
MacKenzies & McBrides, #1
Historical romance
Own