I dared the Duke - Anna Bennett

Alexander Savage, the Duke of Blackshire, is known throughout the ton for three things: the burn scars on his neck, his ornery disposition, and the trail of broken hearts behind him. None of which would concern Miss Elizabeth Lacey in the least—if she weren’t living under his roof. As his grandmother’s companion, Beth is all too concerned with the moody and compelling duke. Incensed by his plans to banish the sweet dowager duchess to the country, Beth refuses to do his bidding. If Alex wants her help, he’s going to have to take her dare…and grant her three wishes.

Alex adores his grandmother, which is precisely why she must leave. A string of unfortunate incidents has him worried for the safety of everyone around him—including the dowager’s loyal and lovely companion, Beth. But the notorious wallflower isn’t as meek as she appears, and as their battle of wills heats up, so does Alex’s desire. He’s dangerously close to falling in love with her…and revealing secrets he’d rather keep hidden. How can he convince her that his darkest days are behind him—and that, for the first time in forever, his heart is true? 

My thoughts:

I liked book 1 so I was curious to see how the next wilting wallflower got her man (oh, that name, what an ahole thing for a man to come up with and spread.)

Elizabeth becomes the companion of a dowager duchess. It's nice. Sure maybe she could get a better chance now when her sis married an earl, but Elizabeth is done with all that, and the name they were called.

I liked the duchess, I liked Elizabeth. They made a good team. And in comes the Duke. They argue, they banter (don't they always). She challenges him. He is annoyed and intrigued. And of course there is the drama. Someone wants him dead! Oh and he has issues from his childhood. So yes this is another pretty Duke, we already came to the conclusion they always are ;)

He fights of the attraction. She falls for him. And they lived happily ever after.

I so want a blurb for book 3 now, but they are none! So sad, I want to know who her other sis will end up with.

Conclusion:
A lovely romance.

Kindle Edition, 320 pages
Expected publication: April 4th 2017 by St. Martin's Paperbacks
The Wayward Wallflowers #2
Historical romance
Netgalley

Madam Tulip and the knave of hearts - David Ahern

Author:  David Ahern

Title: Madam Tulip and the Knave of Hearts (Madam Tulip #2)

Genre: Mystery and Fiction

Pages: ebook

Published: Oct 2016

Where I Got It: My Shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

When out-of-work actress Derry O'Donnell moonlights as celebrity fortune-teller Madam Tulip in an English Stately home, she’s trying to make some cash. 

Instead, she is drawn into an alien world of wealth, titled privilege and family secrets. 

A countess once a chorus girl, a gambling earl and his daughters, a cultured and handsome art expert—all caught in a terrifying web of ghastly threats, murder and 

abduction. As an aristocratic engagement party turns into a nightmare, Derry and her friend Bruce face the prospect of a gruesome and infamous death. 

This is the second book of the Madam Tulip series. However, it could be read as a standalone if need be. I do encourage reading the first one first just to really get an understanding of Derry and her entourage. 

Again, poor Derry is out of work again as an actress. She really should hang up her acting career and focus on being Madam Tulip and work with the police force. Maybe she can do some undercover work? That takes acting skills! But yes...the stage and her are not meant to be. 

She is back at it again and this time there is a lot more mystery going on. I must admit I had no idea who was the baddie and I had no idea where the story was going to go. Kuddos to the author on this! 'Tis a hard feat to really throw me for a loop. 

Now, I must admit this was not as funny or action-packed as the last one. Sure there was a lot going on, but the pace seemed stretched out and not as well done as the last book. There were a few times it seemed to draaaaaaaaaaagggggggggg, but then an event would happen and I would be hooked again. As for the humor? There were some funny moments especially with Derry and her crazy parents, but it seemed very scarce compared to the last one where I was nonstop laughing. I blame the boring rich people...they are rarely fun. 

I must give a hand to the author for his writing style and his character development. He certainly knows how to bring the characters alive and make them feel real. I adore Derry, but she really needs a kick of reality that she is not meant for the stage anymore....solving crimes and future-reading is her trade. 

In the end, this was okay. Not as good as the first book in many ways, but it did have a better mystery than the first one. I am curious to see where and what Derry has in her future. I recommend this series to those who like a good mystery. I shall give this a 3. 

About Carole the Reviewer

What is there really to say? I am of course a lover of books, poetry, movies, plays, and music. Nothing is better than enjoying a cup of tea and immersing yourself in another world and forgetting about the world for just a little bit. My cat and chinchillas keep me entertained over here in Michigan (the mitten state of the USA). I'm game for any genre of book or movie. You can find me over at Carole Rae's Random Ramblings.

Best of March

This went up by mistake yesterday, so new try today ;)

Hi All! Happy April! 

This is just a fun little meme that Carole and I are going to try  and do once a month. Give a little shout-out and "badge" of honor to our favorite book and movie of the previous month. This month we'll share our favorites of March

First, favorite movie:

For March, My pick....................Pete's Dragon (2016)

"I think the honor of best movie of the month goes to Pete's Dragon. The reason being that I sobbed through that whole movie. OH how I cried. Floods of tears I tell you. So it sure brought out emotions."

Carole's pick is...................Beauty and the Beast (2017)

"This was a no-brainer for me. I watched this twice and I can't wait for it to go to DVD. This was simply magical and beautiful. The cast was good and the story itself did well to balance the old story and new twists. See it. So wonderful."

Now, favorite book:

First, here is Carole's pick.................................The Ugly Teapot by Fred Holmes

"Oh boy...I had a hard time picking one for March. Nothing super great. I'll pick the most interesting which was The Ugly Teapot. Yes, it good...not great, but it was by far the most interesting book I read. Great ending, intriguing story-line, and it makes you think. "

My pick is ..................................Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

"Best book of the month was tricky because I have read some great ones. But Howl's Moving Castle stood out for being so charming and I just felt like everyone could enjoy it. Old as young."

~*~*~*~*~

What was your favorite book of the month? Please share below! 

Saturday Movie Night: Admiral

Hello everyone! This month Carole and I are reviewing, Admiral. Blodeuedd in green and Carole in blue. 

Title:  Admiral

Genre: Action/Adventure, biography, & Historical

Running Time: 2 hours and 31 mins

Rating: Not Rated (I would say a R)

Released: 2015

When the young republic of The Netherlands is attacked by England, France and Germany and the country itself is on the brink of civil war, only one man can lead the country's strongest weapon, the Dutch fleet: Michiel de Ruyter.

TRAILER: 

DISCUSSION: 

Ok, so this was a LONG LONG movie. Omg Carole, really...really

I had no idea it was so long xD. I thought it was like max 2 hours. Dang near 3! D:

I thought 2 too and then I was all wtf, noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. It was way too long. I did like the naval battles, even if there were too many, but still edit out some stuff,

For sure. It needed some editing and cutting. There was ONE scene I wish they would’ve gotten rid of….bleh!

Are you talking about the disgusting scene that made me wish the Dutch would burn in hell? Cos I did!

Yaaasss. Poor dudes ;( I got all teary-eyed and had to look away. Normally I do okay with scenes like that...but for some reason it really got to me.

That was so effed up. I was all for the Dutch fighting for their country, but after that  I wanted him to walk away and say FU! Let that stupid country rot. It was disgusting. Omg, I felt sick.

Same, same. I was hoping he would go to England or France...they would’ve welcomed him with open arms. The Prince/King dude was a weasel.

I even had to go google it. Sick bastards. But yes he would have done well and they did respect him.

Respected him more than his “countrymen”. Aholes the lot of them.

FU you Dutch people! LOL, I can’t believe one scene made me so mad, but it did. It was horrible. Still...fine I am glad they did win, but those motherfs should pay.

Yes, yes. They should. I’m glad Michiel got to give that Prince a piece of his mind. Speaking of the guy. What did you think of the actor playing him? He was good. He was chunky, but very athletic. It made me laugh when he was swinging around on ropes. Not an easy feat. LOLLLL

At first I was all damn he is old, his wife is so young, but well he WAS old in RL so that was good. Dunno what age his wife really was though. He felt good as an honest hardworking sailor that had risen in the ranks.

He was good. I didn’t like the girl who played his wife though. Her voice grated on my nerves. She reminded me of the stereotypical fisherman’s wife. But I liked him and his buddies. Johan was cute. LOL

Oh Johan..yes.

LOL. nope her voice did not get me like that. I did see a commercial on tv today and a woman’s voice was all ugh, noooo! So I get the feeling. I thought she did well. Nothing to complain about.

And now I forgot what to say…..

LOL preggo mind! But yes, her acting was decent, but that voice. GAH!!!! I’m glad I didn’t cheat with this movie. Normally I am doing research as I read/watch a historical to see what is fact or fiction. I watched this from beginning to end without looking. Very interesting story and time in history. Brutal for sure. It for sure reinforced my idea that I would never want to be a sailor during these times. I love the ships...but manning them and being at war? NO THANK YOU.

It was SO long that I cheated. I was bored. I had done everything I meant to do online so I checked a few things, and then I checked a few other things cos that is how I roll. And it was not like I was bored bored, it was just so long. Preggo me does not want to sit still that long. I watched it in two turns.

I used to like Hornblower, that tv series, it’s just something about ships, but damn what a way to go when you go.

If I was on a ship like that, I don’t want to get eaten by a shark or anything like that. Or be alone because I am the only survivor. Scary! But I agree. It was just long. I think they should’ve done a mini-series with this. There were some things I was confused about since they didn’t have time to really go into detail.

You go to sharks, I just did not want to die with splinters of the ship stuck to every part of me. *shudders* Horrible.

What things?

Just some of the historical parts. Hahaha. After watching I had to give myself a quick history lesson and then it all made sense. My history knowledge is not familiar with Dutch history ;D

Yes I did not know the rest of the world was such bitches and declared war. But then they ruled the seas. They were great.

One thing I liked about the movie is that I did understand quite a lot without reading subtitles, so sometimes I did some things online and did not look up ;) But then they said something strange and I did check.

LOL jelly. I understood a sentence here or there when the French or English spoke. But the rest? I had read the subtitles. GAH.

I know German so that helped, and sometimes they said things so similar to my dialect. Of course Dutch is so different! I  can understand words, I would never have understood the whole movie.

Dutch is a weird language. When we had a Dutch foreign exchange student, she tried to teach me some but it has so many influences that I would need a long time to try and learn it.

It’s the way they speak. It feels like Danish, I have such a hard time understanding Danish cos of the way they speak.

Languages, I swear. I wish we had a common language like they do in Lord of the Rings. Each country has their own language, but we all speak a common language too! XD BUT anyways, I’m glad it was the original language and they had the right accents. I hate when they don’t try and be authentic.

The only guy who annoyed me was the English king, his accent felt wrong ;)

It was very American trying to sound British badly. LOL But at least he kinda sorta tried. The French mistress’s accent was SO thick...she should’ve just spoke French D:

Totally! He did not feel like a king to me then. I guess they did not get another actor.

He sounded like he didn’t want to be there. XD

Should we wrap it up? Your lunch is over?

LONG movie, but interesting

Boo! I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK TO WORK!!!!!!! But yes, I agree. Long movie and interesting. It needed some editing or split into a mini-series. LOL

Still a movie was good, cos a miniseries would have to be done well.

My turn next then :D

Hehehe good luck. The end?

The end.

About the Authors

Carole and Blodeuedd have been blogging a long while now. The last couple of years the epic duo have been discussing books, watching movies, and even wetting the pen and sharing their stories with the worldwide web. They both love cats, chocolate, and a good story.