Let's have a little of that piano music in our Romance this fine morning--child prodigies all grown up, hockey players, jazz pianists...

 

1. When Venus Fell by Deborah Smith 

2. Girl on a Diamond Pedestal by Maisey Yates 

3. Miss Seton's Sonata by Meredith Bond 

4. Blank Slate by Heather Justesen 

5. The Orchid House  by Lucinda Riley

6. A Passion for Pleasure by Nina Rowan

7. Your Wicked Ways  by Eloisa James

8. The Shy Bride by Lucy Monroe 

9. Empty Net  by Toni Aleo

10. The First Crush Is the Deepest by Nina Harrington 

 

Did I miss your favorite? Let me know!

 

Remember, you can always request a list. : )

 

To vote of the best piano player in Romance, go to my Goodreads list: Keys: Piano in Romance. 

I made up this challenge because I love book covers. Read a book with a picture of something that starts with each letter of the alphabet on the cover. A book can be used for more than one challenge, but can be used for only one letter in this challenge.

 

A ~ is for Ant ~ 1-26-14

B is for Back ~ 1-18-14

C is for City ~ 1-17-14

D ~ is for Dress ~ 1-5-14

E ~ is for Egg ~ 1-5-14

F ~ is for Floor ~ 1-14-14

G ~

H ~ is for Handkerchief ~ 1-9-14

I ~ is for Island ~ 2-15-14

J ~

K ~ is for Keyhole ~ 1-4-14

L ~ is for Legs ~ 1-11-14

M ~ is for Mask ~ 1-21-14

N ~ is for Number ~ 1-11-14

O ~

P ~ is for Piano ~ 2-2-14

Q ~

R ~ is for Rose ~ 1-13-14

S ~ is for Shirt ~ 1-15-14

T ~ is for Tusk ~ 2-14-14

U ~ is for Umbrella ~ 3-19-14

V ~

W ~ is for Well ~ 1-12-14

X ~

Y ~

Z ~

 

'Twas the Night Before Mischief- Nina Rowan
Series: Daring Hearts #2.5
Published by: Forever, Grand Central Publishing, on 10 December 2013
Genres: Adult, Historical Romance
Pages: 100, Format: eARC
Source: ARC Netgalley

Twas the night before mischief and all through the house, a lady was plotting-it was time to break out!

When Penelope Darlington is persuaded to elope with a most unsuitable suitor, she wastes no time. With visions of passion and adventure dancing in her head, she steals away in the middle of the night, just before her father's Christmas feast.

Fearing for his daughter's reputation, Henry Darlington begs Darius Hall, the Earl of Rushton's daring yet discreet son, to bring Penelope home. When Darius finally catches up to Penelope he is shocked. She's not the silly little girl he expected, but a beautiful woman with a sharp mind and an allure that cannot be ignored.

Now forced to kidnap Penelope in order to bring her home, Darius and his new charge spend the next several days-and nights-in very close quarters. Penelope wanted passion and adventure, but she never could have imagined the pleasures Darius can provide . . .

*I received a free ARC of ‘Twas the Night Before Mischief from Forever / Grand Central Publishing via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*

‘Twas the Night Before Mischief is a very sweet historical romance novel set right around Christmas. Penelope has always felt a little out of place and almost invisible, but because she is such a good girl, she has never done anything to try and make herself more visible in any way. A good dose of suspense of disbelief is needed, but if you can manage that, you will enjoy this novella very much.

Penny has always been good, but when a Scottish rogue starts paying attention to her, she will not listen to her father, nor the one man who has been around more than any other ever since she was a little girl. Darius is a serious man, always thinking about different words and their meanings, and Penny thinks he has not a passionate bone in his body. Until that one evening when he kisses her under the mistletoe.

‘Twas the Night Before Mischief follows Penny after she runs away from home, thinking to elope with the Scotsman. When his mama doesn’t approve, he leaves her to fend for herself, though. Luckily for Penny, Darius is on his way to rescue her, and while she doesn’t really want to be rescued seeing him again after that one kiss is all she really needs. As they get to know each other better as adults, emotions and passion is positively crackling between them.

A quick read, ‘Twas the Night Before Mischief is a sweet story of two people who always showed the world what it wanted to see. Underneath the cool exterior, though, they both hide a passionate and loyal personality not many people have seen before. I will be reading more books in the Daring Hearts series, as ‘Twas the Night Before Mischief gave me romance and daring, even if some of it was a little too much it was very romantic and sweet all the same.

The writing is very good, and through only one hundred pages, I got a good idea who Penny and Darius are, as well as who they would like to be.

He was physically powerful, with hard, sharp features intensified by the darkness of his hair and eyes. his spectacles didn’t soften his features either; instead, the wire frames and clear glass enhanced his air of angular, focused intelligence.

Penelope’s heart pounded in an odd rhythm as she faced the door. Behind her, the sound of Darius undressing caused all manner of inappropriate thoughts to flood her mind. She imagined his long, capable fingers unfastening the buttons of his shirt.

A thousand other words appeared in her mind, like lily pads scattered over the surface of a pond. Intelligent. Kind. Determined. Thoughtful. Tender.

 

 

"It's not you it's me." 

I'm just not feeling it.  I'm a bit bored (to be honest) and not looking forward to reading more.  I wanted to like this book (nerdy heroine!), but so far it's not holding my attention.

Tis’ once again the time of year for Christmas novellas. Now, I don’t know about all of you. but I have never been very big into either novellas or Christmas themed romances. In fact, of the few that I have read, I have only truly liked one. That is until Nina Rowan gave us this lovely story. I was, for lack of a better word, enamored with this tale. It held just the right amount of seasonal inspiration while also giving us the whole story of the love between two people.

Penelope Darrington is the dutiful daughter. She faced the death of her mother at a young age with grace and maturity. In fact, in all her years she has only done one thing that was out of character. Well, until now that is. Having always felt like something was missing from her life Penelope knows that she must take a chance and seek out this unnamed feeling. She, however, didn’t count on her would-be fiance leaving her stranded with no means to go home her father. So, in return for room and board at a small coaching in she does small sewing repairs and general cleaning as she waits until she can send a letter to her father. When Darius Hall turns up instead of a Mail Coach she doesn’t know what to think. He seems so serious and unyielding. Yet, he has also awakened something with in her that she dares not look to close at. For maybe what has been missing from her life all along was much closer than she thought.

For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2013/12/nina-rowan-twas-night-before-mischief.html