Promise of Pleasure by Cheryl Holt

Cheryl Holt is one of my favorite regency romance writers.  Lately I've read a lot of regencies, so there will probably be a higher percentage of blogs on the subject than in a few years when my interests have changed. Promise of Pleasure is about a young woman who lives a less than perfect life with her step-mother and half-sisters. Her step-mother is interested in titled gentleman for her daughter Felicity and hopes to make a match with Jordan Winthrop, heir to the Earl of Sunderland.

In the meantime, Mary has taken an elixir from a peddler who promises that one drink in the presence of her true love and he will be hers. Everything goes wrong when Jordan blocks the man Mary has targeted just moments after she drinks the potion and she sees him instead.

What I love about Promise of Pleasure is the combination of humorous scenes with some heart-touching sorrowful moments when it seems that the story will end badly.  I truly love reading Cheryl Holt. If you enjoy romances and have somehow missed Cheryl Holt, I highly recommend her.

Until I Die Again by Jaime Rush/Tina Wainscott

(I'm actually reviewing On the Way to Heaven re-released as Until I Die Again by Jaime Rush/Tina Wainscott)

This is the single best romance that I have ever read.  And I’ve read A LOT!  This has every element of a successful love story with a beloved hero and heroine moving in different directions and lots of tension, but there is the added element of intrigue and danger, not to mention the touch of paranormal that makes this book soar into the stratosphere.

Tina Wainscott was ahead of her time with this release.  A Golden Heart Award winner, Wainscott should have hit New York Times bestseller list with On the Way to Heaven.  It’s just that good.

The book opens with the heroine Chris Copestakes driving across a bridge when a semi blocks her way, driving her off the road and plunging her down. She hears voices in the emergency room, blanks out again and then is drifting up and away.  She argues that she hasn’t done enough, that there are still things she wants to do. She is given a second chance, but her old body is broken.  The last thing the voice tells her is to ‘find his heart’.

The opening is powerful enough, but the rest of the story is a  rocket-ride to the finish. The story has enough emotional hooks that I have re-read it at least three times. (Tina Wainscott is another author that I will only read on weekends to preserve my sleep schedule.)

This is a ‘desert island’ book.  If I could only take one romance with me, this would be it.

Reviewer’s Note:

(I own the original version On the Way to Heaven and do not know the difference in the releases, having only read the original. I’ve read most of Wainscott/Rush’s books and trust the re-release to be just as good.)

 Ebook Version           Print Version

The Bedwyn Saga by Mary Balogh

I love historical romance, specifically the regency period. This is a series of books all related to the Bedwyn family. Slightly Married, Slightly Wicked, Slightly Scandalous, Slightly Tempted, Slightly Sinful and Slightly Dangerous.

What I love about Mary Balogh is that when she writes a romance, the characters come alive. I was doing a reading blitz of my library's historical romances last spring and many of the stories faded within a day or so of reading them. The Slightly series was the best that I had read in an incredibly long string of regency romances. 

The series spans the romances of all of the Bedwyn family brothers and sisters. The plots of each are unique, although true to romance, there are always the angsty separations, etc.  My favorite character is Wulf Bedwyn, a man who came early into his inheritance and must act as patriarch to the family, approving his sibling's partners. Throughout the series he comes across as cold and gruff with glimmers of emotion at poignant moments. I read through the books and realized that I REALLY wanted to hear his story.

Although it was the book I most looked forward to reading, my actual favorites were with Alleyne, Slighty Sinful and Aidan, Slightly Married, Wulf's two brothers.

I heartily recommend reading these books in order. While most romances are truly stand alone, the characters intertwine.  I read the first book out of order, but I'm really glad that I read Wulf's story last because after so long watching a fellow who seems set apart and even lonely in his ivory tower, it was great getting to that moment.