A Duke In Need Of A Wife - Annie Burrows

Sofia tries very hard to be good but she's impulsive, like that time a woman was on fire from a bunch of fireworks that go off suddenly and she runs towards her rather than away.  Oliver Duke of Theakstone noticed, so he invites her to come to his house where he's auditioning prospective brides by holding a house party. There she fails to fade into the background and instead he finds himself becoming more and more attracted to her.  But will she accept his illegitimate daughter?

I loved Sofia, cranky duke needed to learn more about how to treat other people, though stationing footmen around the place to ensure no accidental strayings was genius!

Fun read, nothing stellar but fun.

It was still enjoyable.  Still a good yarn.

The romance was good, eventually and the characters got to know each other well by the end but also by the end it finished as if the author was suddenly told that there should be another book in the series.

I missed reading book 1 (it's on the TBR shelf now) so there were bits and pieces that felt a little like I was missing things.  lare Cottam and the Marquess of Rawcliffe knew each other when they were children and now when they meet she's sufficiently annoyed with the world to punch him in the nose, all of this leads to marriage.  Rawcliffe fails to tell her that he's investigating her brother and there are a lot of different issues going on. 

Seriously he used kissing too much to shut her up, talking is important, yo.

5 Books I Appreciated this Year....and yeah I kinda cheated, lol:

1. With Every Letter (Wings of the Nightingale #1) by Sarah Sundin

     Finally a book that features a military heroine! I really loved this story of Tom and Mellie falling for each other in both letters and in person. Can't wait to read the other two books in the series.

2. Call of Crows series by Shelly Laurenston

     Got to love female rage mixed with Norse mythology and lots of humor. This trilogy is a great read for paranormal romance fans who want actual strong female characters. I refuse to name my favorite, they are all good in their own way. A very cathartic way of dealing with real life news.

3. A Lady for Lord Randall by Sarah Mallory/A Mistress for Major Bartlett by Annie Burrows

      These were the first two books in the Waterloo Brides trilogy (the last book stank). I loved that Regency romance left the ballroom and went onto the battlefield - such a departure from the normal Regency romance.

4. The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

     The artwork was stark and evoked such feelings as Satrapi told her life story, along with giving readers a history and cultural lesson on Iran. I would recommend reading both books to understand her fresh approach to the immigrant story.

5. Allie Pleiter

    Not a book, but an author of historical romance. This was the Summer of Allie Pleiter - from contemporary bull rider returning home, to 1906 San Francisco just months after the earthquake, to World War I knitters who get the Spanish flu and finally to an post-WWI orphange. There wasn't a moment of reading Pleiter's works that I did not enjoy.

Now I really want to read Zeus's story.  This is the story of several friends who nicknamed themselves with Greek classical names, so we have Zeus, Ulysses, Atlas and Archimedes aka Archie. Ulysses is Lord Becconsall and he literally falls at the feet of Lady Harriet Inskip who is out for a ride to try to feel somewhat free from the strictures of Regency society.  She's used to life in an unconventional family and doesn't expect that stopping the horse and going to the rescue of a man is going to result in a stolen kiss.  She hopes that this is the last she will see of him but he's interested and her ability to see him interests him. She is also interested in this man who seems to think that she's interesting and worthwhile spending time with after a lifetime of being ignored by everyone.