Yes, it was a bit silly and the story very very predictable.
But it was sweet to read and gave me a nice distraction for a whole evening, so no complaints here.
A nearly clean regency romance with some "cinderella" element and the duke in disguise - not exactly a novelty or orginal trope in romances (the "she should love me for myself, not my title/position/money"), but at least it was well done.
Like often, the praise for this claimed this would be like Georgette Heyer.
It was not.
It was a nice and sweet romance, a good and entertaining read. But it was nowhere in Georgette Heyer spheres.
I will definitely check out other novels by this author, but it is significantly different from the "original" that set the standard.
Sometimes buidlings become characters in books.
I sometimes select a hotel just because of its history.
These are some best Historic Hotels around the world.
Yamanashi, Japan
Opened: 705
Freiburg, Germany
Opened: 1120
Malmesbury, UK
Opened: 1220
Interlaken, Switzerland
Opened: 1323
Location: Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Opened: 1651
Fairmont The Norfolk Hotel
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Opened: 1904
Don't you just want to pack your bags?
Here are some great Historical Romance Novels that featuring Inns that you can visit.
My lists are never in particular order. Enjoy!
1. It Happened One Night by Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh, Jacquie D'Alessandro, and Candice Hern
It Happened One Night . . . and nothing was ever the same again!
Once upon a time, four superstar storytellers—New York Times bestselling authors Stephanie Laurens and Mary Balogh, along with Jacquie D'Alessandro and Candice Hern—came up with a delicious idea. What if they each wrote a story about a proper young lady stranded at a remote inn away from society's constraints? What would happen? And how long would it take for her to give in to desire?
In these four amazing tales, four heroines will come face-to-face with the men who got away . . . only to discover that, instead of anger, there is still a passionate connection that cannot be denied. And while each of their lives is quite different, and their pasts utterly unique, they will all make a common discovery—that one night can change everything . . . forever.
2. Parting Gifts by Lorraine Heath
Marrying Maddie, a woman who works in a brothel in order to survive, widower Charles Lawson hopes to provide his three children with a loving mother until his terminal illness causes him to arrange a match between Maddie and his brother.
3. Tempt Me at Twilight by Lisa Kleypas
Poppy Hathaway loves her unconventional family, though she longs for normalcy. Then fate leads to a meeting with Harry Rutledge, an enigmatic hotel owner and inventor with wealth, power, and a dangerous hidden life. When their flirtation compromises her own reputation, Poppy shocks everyone by accepting his proposal--only to find that her new husband offers his passion, but not his trust.
Harry was willing to do anything to win Poppy--except to open his heart. All his life, he has held the world at arm's length…but the sharp, beguiling Poppy demands to be his wife in every way that matters. Still, as desire grows between them, an enemy lurks in the shadows. Now if Harry wants to keep Poppy by his side, he must forge a true union of body and soul, once and for all...
4. A Man and a Woman by Robin Schone
Widowed Megan Phillins longs to experience the intimacies shared with a man just once more. Playing the role of a harlot, she travels to the Land's End Inn, where she knocks upon the door of a mysterious stranger. After a night of forbidden passion Megan is shocked to discover the traveler is actually Connor Treffrey, an Englishman who was marooned and sold into slavery. But now Connor has returned to reunite with his well-bred family. And together, he and Megan will embark on a breathless journey of indescribable pleasure.
5. The Grand Hotel by Elisabeth Fairchild, Barbara Metzger, Carla Kelly, and Allison Lane
London's luxurious Grand Hotel is the perfect setting for romantic rendezvous, glittering celebrations--and Cupid's good works. The impeccable staff and a host of most intriguing--and attractive--guests, will pamper, entertain, and romance readers in five heartwarming stories of love by five award-winning writers.
6. Make Me Yours by Betina Krahn
Mariah Eller was only trying to save her inn from being trashed. So how did the widow manage to attract the unwanted—and erotic—attention of the Prince of Wales? Not that being desired by royalty is necessarily bad… Only, Mariah much prefers the prince's best friend….
Jack St. Lawrence is very tempting, and very loyal. And he knows that the prince gets involved only with married women. So he figures sexy Mariah is safe…until the prince demands Jack find her a husband!
The problem? Jack and Mariah can't fight their sizzling attraction. And once they give in to their desires, the situation is even worse. Because the prince's man has found a husband for Mariah.
Himself…
7. A Place Called Rainwater by Dorothy Garlock
The small town of Rainwater, Oklahoma, has become a notorious boomtown now that a gusher has flooded its streets with drillers, welders and roustabouts of every description. Jill, a young woman who runs the hotel for her aunt, is unprepared to cope with the attention she receives from the woman-hungry men.
8. In the Heart of the Highlander by Maggie Robinson
Ever since Mary Evensong’s elderly aunt Mim got sick, Mary’s masqueraded as the owner of the Evensong Agency, finding housemaids and husbands, and solving pesky problems, for the peerage. Someday she’d like to shake off her silvery wig and spectacles and be the young woman she truly is, but desperate clients are waiting for “Mrs. Evensong” at the office.
Like a scandalous Scottish baron. Honor forbids Lord Alec Raeburn from explaining the suspicious circumstances surrounding his wife’s death, but he knows who’s responsible. He just needs to hire an actress to lure the scoundrel into a trap.
After listening to Raeburn’s story—and seeing him in his kilt—Mary knows the perfect person for the role. Letting her red hair down, she heads off to the Scottish Highlands to pose as a seductress, but soon finds herself with more than her virtue at stake in a tug-of-war between two powerful men. She could wind up in danger—or in the heart of the highlander.
9. Hooked by Stef Ann Holm
Using an alias, stunt reporter Matthew Gage arrives in Harmony, Montana, to uncover the cheating going on in the town’s famous annual fly-fishing contest—not to tangle lines with a husband-hunting miss. But as soon as Meg Brooks gets stuck under his hotel bed, he’s hooked on her high-spirited charm. Besides, he hopes she’ll provide him with insider information—and a few kisses—while he snoops around.
But innocent Meg believes Matthew is “Vernon Wilberforce,” a polite carpet-sweeper salesman, the gentleman caller of her dreams. As the fishy scandal threatens to upset Harmony, Meg employs every lure in the book to land Matthew. But her heart will be broken by a man who isn’t what he seems…unless they each learn the truth: The best prize in life is given, not won. It’s love.
10. The Earl of Her Dreams by Anne Mallory
Facing the choice of flight or a wedding she cannot abide, Kate Simon has chosen to flee. Disguised as a boy, she takes refuge in a roadside inn, and finds herself rooming with intensely secretive Christian Black. Kate is breathless in the presence of this handsome, mysterious rogue whose piercing gaze seems to strip her naked. But neither suspects that a savage storm and a murder will draw them closer together still. But not the passion in their hearts
Christian dares not let anyone learn of his haunted past—or that he is, in truth, the Earl of Canley—especially not a slip of a girl whose masculine attire cannot disguise the exquisite female form beneath. But now that destiny and a dastardly crime have united them, Christian can no longer contain his desire to taste the nectar of Kate's sweet kiss. Danger certainly abounds, but the gravest peril might be resisting a once-in-a-lifetime passion that can heal all wounds.
Vote for the best of the best on my Goodreads list: Room for the Night: Inns in Historical Romance.
I read book #2 first and then went bass ackwards and read #1. This one wasn't as good as book #2. It took almost the whole book before the hero figured out who he really wanted and that was only because the girl he was attached to found someone else. So I felt like Merrianne was 2nd choice really. And her little game at the end of "punishing" him was really childish. I don't know if I'll read the rest of the series.
This book started out super hot and then kind of fizzled and never seemed to get back up to the beginning. It was good but seemed to have the potential of being great. Still overall - 3-1/2 stars.
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