Welcome to Smugglivus 2009 – Day 11!

Throughout this month, we will have daily guests – authors and bloggers alike – looking back at their favorite reads of 2009, and looking forward to events and upcoming books in 2010.

Today’s Guest: THE Loretta Chase, writer of Historical romance novels. The person responsible for writing Lord of Scoundrels, which is considered to be by many, including Ana, the ultimate romance novel. For a recent interview we did with Loretta, please go here.

Recent Work: Don’t Tempt Me, second in the Fallen Women series. Reviewed here by Ana.

Loretta was kind enough to come out of the Writing Cave for a short time to write her Smugglivus piece about the next book:

LORETTA CHASE SMUGGLIVUS 2009

As usual at this time of year, I’m in the last stages of a book, and short on time or mind for anything else. What I’ve been reading in 2009 isn’t going to thrill anybody, because a lot of it’s pretty boring (even to me) historical material, and my fiction reading tends to be about three years behind everybody else’s. Old news, in so many ways.

New news, then.

The new book. Olivia and Peregrine of LORD PERFECT return. In that story–#3 of my Carsington books–they were twelve and thirteen years old. LAST NIGHT’S SCANDAL brings them back ten years later. Olivia has become a great beauty, and she’s still the Regency version of Lady Maverick. Peregrine, the Earl of Lisle, has been making a name for himself as an Egyptologist, a Regency-era Indiana Jones. In other words, some things haven’t changed; they’ve simply developed. Though they’ve been apart for long stretches, they’ve stayed close through their letters, which Olivia composes by the ream. When Lisle comes back for an important Carsington family event, Olivia upends his well-ordered life again. He ends up on the road with her again, this time with a couple of bawdy old ladies along to complicate matters–and headed for a haunted castle in Scotland. LAST NIGHT’S SCANDAL will be out in August 2010. A reissue of LORD PERFECT is expected as well, though I don’t yet have a date.

The new blog: Late in the summer Susan Holloway Scott & I launched our new blog, Two Nerdy History Girls, wherein we ponder the past and its mysteries, some of which are hilarious–or at least we think so. We post short pieces about people who’ve been dead for hundreds of years and what they wore (or took off and threw on the floor) and who or what they were sleeping with. One day you can learn exactly what I saw from the carriage window and what the carriage taking my heroine to Scotland really looked like. Another day you might encounter drunk noblemen getting naked and making bawdy speeches in Covent Garden balconies. Yet another time you can admire Barbie’s Louboutin shoes or the size of Queen Victoria’s knickers. In short, we love history but we aren’t all that mature.

Thanks very much Loretta, for taking the time to tell us about the book and the blog! Ana can’t wait for Last Night’s Scandal!

Hello! We leave week one of Smugglivus behind and prepare ourselves for week two with loads more of exciting posts – if we may say so ourselves. But first, last week’s giveaway winners:

Joel Sutherland Giveaway

This is a special giveaway: the three winners get an e-copy of Frozen Blood -which by the way, was nominated last week for yet another award, The Black Quill award for Best Small Press Chill, congratulations, Joel! – plus the chance to become a character in his next book. Drum roll, please. The winners are:

Mariska (comment #29)
Veronika F (comment #44)
Sharon K (comment #14)

Congratulations! We will email you with further details!

Jackie Kessler Giveaway

The winner of one copy of Black and White is: Danielle (comment #40)

Alma Alexander Giveaway

The winner of ONE AUTOGRAPHED copy of Spellspam is: Caitlin Usignol (comment #25)
The winner of ONE AUTOGRAPHED copy of Cybermage is: Mishel (comment #18)

Congratulations! You know the drill – send an email to contact AT the book smugglers DOT com with your snail mail address, and we’ll get your winnings out to you as soon as possible! Thanks to all that entered, and if you didn’t win this time, don’t worry. There’s plenty more where that came from!

And you can still enter the fabulous Simon and Schuster UK giveaway (they are giving away 6 upcoming titles to one lucky winner) .

This week on Smugglivus

We start the week with a post by YA writer Dan Waters later today, in which he talks about his favourite 2009 reads.

On Monday, our guest author is contemporary romance writer Julie James! She talks about the books she loved this year and in the spirit of Smugglivus, gives away copies of her two books. Her post will be followed by Thea’s review of Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines.

On Tuesday, PNR writer Nalini Singh talks about her favourite reads of 2009, and about what she is working on at the moment. You will have a chance to win two of her latest books too! Later on that day, Ana reviews Fantasy novel The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick.

Wednesday’s guest is Lee Harris, Assistant Editor for Angry Robot (the new HarperCollins imprint specializing in Fantasy, SciFi, Horror, and WTF!), talking about exciting releases for 2010. His post is followed by a guest review by Harry of Temple Library Reviews of Born of Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon and will have a major swag to giveaway with Harry’s post.

On Thursday, YA author Jennifer Echols lists her own 2009 faves and tells us all about her upcoming books. Her post will be followed by Thea’s review of YA fantasy novel The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima.

On Friday, historical romance writer Loretta Chase dishes all about her upcoming release, and later we post a joint review of Going Bovine by Libba Bray.

Finally (phew), on Saturday it’s horror author Kaaron Warren’s turn to talk about the books she read in 2009, and we will have a huge Smugglivus giveaway.

Stay tuned, Smugglivites! And as Mr Spock would say:

Welcome to another Guest Dare – the August edition. For those new to the feature, our Guest Dare is a monthly endeavor in which we invite an unsuspecting victim to read a book totally outside of their comfort zone.

This month we invited Angie (from Angieville),  one of our favorite bloggers and book pimps. When we asked what sort of genre was outside her comfort zone she answered “Romance” and Ana jumped at the opportunity to introduce someone else to one of her own favourites: Loretta Chase. What we did not know was that Angie had never EVER read a romance before. Here is what she has to say about her experience.

Title: Mr Impossible

Author: Loretta Chase

Genre: Romance (Historical)

Publisher: Berkley
Publishing Date: March 1 2005
Paperback: 320 pages

Stand Alone or series: Part of the Carsington Brothers series but can be read as a stand alone.

Summary: Blame it on the Egyptian sun or the desert heat, but as tensions flare between a reckless rogue and beautiful scholar en route to foil a kidnapping, so does love, in the most uninhibited and impossibly delightful ways.

Angie’s Review:

Thanks for accepting the dare Angie. I hope you will try other romance novels – maybe give Julia Quinn’s What Happens in London a go next?

Next month on the Guest Dare: Lusty Reader accepts our dare to read the Graphic Novel Fables, Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham.

Until next month!

5 weeks, several guests posts and giveaways and a grand total of 49 books reviewed later, we hereby declare our YA Appreciation Month closed. It was the best of times, but also the most mental of times and we wouldn’t have any other way! Now, while Thea is away celebrating her birthday, I bring you our stash and if you think that we are taking time off before we collapse, think again! YA Appreciation Month may be over for now – because we are bringing it back next year, baby – but we have Halloween Week ahead of us ( I hear Thea is making me have another marathon of horror movie watching) and of course, Smugglivus to organise. Plus there are simply too many books in the world to be read and as god is our witness: we will read as many as we can or die trying!!!!

Ahem. Where was I? oh, the stash.

Giveaway winners:

The four winners of the Alexander Gordon Smith contest and giveaway are:

Mishel (comment # 6)
Celia (comment # 26)
Christine (comment # 13)
Michelle M (comment #7)

And the winners of our Flash Giveaway :

Batch 1 – Veronica F (comment #7)
Batch 2 – Jess (comment #116)

Congratulations! Please send your snail mail address to contact AT thebooksmugglers DOT com and we will send the books ASAP.

This Week on The Book Smugglers:

Monday – Ana reviews the much talked about gothic novel, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber.

and later in the day, Leanna guest blogs with us on Inspiration and Influences plus you will have a chance to win a copy of the book.

On Tuesday , Angie of Angieville posts her Guest Dare review of Mr Impossible by Loretta Chase

And Ana reviews The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer

On Wednesday – It’s Powerpuff Review day when Ana and Katie from Babbling about Books and More review the lovely romance novel Surrender of a Siren by Tessa Dare

On Thursday , we have another guest reviewer! Gav from NextRead reviews classic Fantasy novel Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock and the author’s new release in the same world, Avilion.

On Friday Thea and Ana review Nekropolis by Tim Waggoner. There will be Zombies!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand, that’s it from us today. It’s a short one, yes but you see, there is this book that I am reading…..

~ your friendly neighborhood the book smugglers

Loretta Chase, fabulous historical romance writer, is one of our favourite authors. Writer of Lord of the Scoundrels (the One Romance to Rule Them All) , Mr Impossible, Your Scandalous Ways amongst many others, her books are constantly praised as some of the best the genre can offer. Her latest novel, Don’t Tempt Me will be released in June 30 and it has been reviewed here.

It is with great pleasure that we present you with : A Chat with Loretta Chase

The Book Smugglers: Thank you for agreeing to have another chat with us: it is always a pleasure to have you around here.

Loretta: Thank you for inviting me. I do like this place!

The Book Smugglers: Don’t Tempt Me is your new book in the Fallen Women series. When you first visited us you talked about how the series came to be and how they would have heroines that have become “fallen”. The first book in the series, Your Scandalous Ways had a courtesan as the heroine. Can you tell us about how the heroine in Don’t Tempt Me is a fallen woman?

Loretta: I think that “fallen” essentially means that one has sunk in Society’s esteem. For women, this could happen very easily, and it was all about sex. A fallen woman’s had sex or is believed to have sex in violation of social rules. My heroine Zoe’s been in a Cairo harem for twelve years. (Here’s English Society’s idea of a Harem:

People assume she’s been doing all kinds of kinky things and participating in orgies. This is OK for guys but not OK for unmarried English ladies. Zoe was married–but since she was a second wife, does that count? The British public finds it all thrilling, and naturally, the media’s having a field day. The caricaturists have filled the print shop windows with titillating pictures .

These windows are the counterparts of the magazines we see at the supermarket checkout, and Zoe’s situation is like one of today’s celebrity scandals. In her time, though, a lady would shun notoriety. Ladies could get away with a good deal, but if they made public spectacles of themselves they were in disgrace, and an upper class woman who’s socially disgraced is a pariah. It’s difficult these days to grasp just how grim a situation this could be. As annoying as Zoe’s sisters are, their bleak appraisal of her position is on target. Of course, like my other heroines, Zoe’s going to fight back.

The Book Smugglers: Most of your heroines are women of a certain experience (even if not necessarily sexual) but you seem to be taking that idea that women “can” a step further with this new series. How was the reception so far to this concept?

Loretta: All of my story ideas have to pass muster with my agent and my editor. If they don’t shriek, “Have you lost your mind?” then I figure I’m good to go. So far there’s been no shrieking. As I’ve mentioned before, I never did know what the rules of romance were–apart from Love Conquers All, so I have no clue when/if I’m breaking them. It’s purely a matter of what’s captured my imagination at the time. For instance, reading Harriette Wilson’s biography inspired me to explore the Unrepentant Whore. Reading about harems got me thinking about that claustrophobic world and the effect it would have on a European girl’s psyche. And of course I thought about how English Society would react to a Harem Girl, and immediately saw the comic potential. As to how these kinds of heroines are received: So far so good. Naturally there will be readers who don’t like it, but no author can please every single reader. All we can do is our best.

The Book Smugglers:Your heroine , Zoe , has spent a few years in a harem. Did you end up having to do a lot of research on the subject?

Loretta: Definitely. I love research. Learning new things feeds my imagination. I learned a lot about harems while researching Mr Impossible. Starting out, then, I knew that the harem of an important man like my imaginary Yusri Pasha would be more like a sultan’s harem than that of the average well-off Egyptian. The latter was much smaller (the word, after all, simply refers to the women of a household), and the women weren’t as closely confined. Zoe had to be in a large, strictly guarded harem, or she would have escaped right away. Such harems did exist throughout the Ottoman Empire. Pashas would have hundreds of women, even in small countries like Albania. It was all about power and status, of course. And it wasn’t as much fun as some would think–even for the pasha or sultan. There’s a complicated hierarchy, both in terms of wives and concubines as well as in terms of the staff. It’s the ideal incubator for jealousy, intrigue, and treachery. And Mr. Powerful ends up having to bed his women according to a strict schedule–the only practical approach in a large harem. BTW, if anyone’s wondering, Zoe’s story isn’t as farfetched as you might think. Aimee DeBucq de Rivery , a cousin of Josephine de Beauharnais (Napoleon’s first wife) was kidnapped and ended up in a harem. She was 21 at the time, fresh out of convent school.

The Book Smugglers: Similarly, there is great insight into the day to day life in Regency England especially because Zoe, having being basically brought up in a very different society allowed for an “outsider” look that carried a lot of criticism for some of the rules. This added a degree of humour as Zoe attempted to conform – was that something that you set out to do when you started writing the story?

Loretta: Definitely. As you may have noticed, my stories tend to avoid the London Season. It’s not easy to make that endlessly worked-over ground feel fresh. But an outsider will have a fresh outlook, and Zoe’s definitely an outsider. For twelve years, during a crucial stage of development, this upper class English girl has been absorbing a culture completely unlike her native one, The harem world is all about sex. This is what the women are for; it’s mainly what they think and talk about. The goal is to be a favorite, and the competition is formidable–hundreds of beautiful women, all of them working on their seduction skills. Because it’s a Middle Eastern culture as well as an estrogen-overloaded environment, the atmosphere is emotionally supercharged. Zoe comes home to a world where feelings and sex tend to be hidden. This culture shock allows me to bring up some interesting details that the average aristocrat doesn’t pay attention to, as well as show English Society’s comic side, its weirdness and irrationality. And certainly Zoe needs to have a unique perspective, to be different and funny, to enchant my profoundly jaded duke.

The Book Smugglers – at the same time that there is criticism there is also admiration and Zoe’s need to be accepted by society. I particularly like that scene in the Drawing Room, where debutantes were shown to Her Majesty. Is that based in your research?

Loretta: It’s based on first-hand accounts and a nice collection of illustrations I acquired. Here is one:

So often in books we refer to the debut or coming-out, but rarely take the readers through the presentation–with good reason. Having someone make a slow progress in an immense crush of people simply in order to curtsey to the Queen is not exactly page-turning material. But since this event is going to make or break Zoe, it’s a major scene. I fussed over every detail because she’s an outsider, and will notice what insiders take for granted. Happily, I found an excellent description of this precise Drawing Room, so all I had to do was decide how Zoe would view it and where she’d fit in the proceedings and how she’d behave. The scene’s funny but it’s also emotional–partly because so much is at stake for her and partly because the Royal Family still hasn’t fully recovered from the loss of a loved one. The hoops are important, too. People tend to have the wrong (i.e., Victorian) mental picture of hoops as well as corsets. I studied everything I could get my hands on. I wanted not only to get it right but to use the hoops–and I think I milked that costume element for all it was worth. (Ana’s note: definitely one of the best scenes in the book.)

This Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition (and book)

deals with an earlier time period, but provided a good sense of the hoop and its comical and seductive possibilities.

The Book Smugglers: Can I just say how much I loved Lucien? The whole Mental Cupboard thing, the need of not to “ wear expression”, his code of honour, his own story arc of accepting responsibility, it was all amazing. I don’t think this is really a question though, but feel free to talk about Lucien!

Loretta: You may say it all you like, because I fell desperately in love with my lazy duke from the moment he entered the morning room of White’s. In developing his character, I was thinking about how a young man reacts and who he becomes as a result of a series of painful experiences. And then how he reacts when someone he thought was dead suddenly crashes back into his life. Of course, since my books aren’t angst-focused, he had to be funny. Yet we need to know there’s something under the jaded, witty aristocrat’s cool facade. So it was important to juxtapose the dry wit and the “I don’t care” attitude with the mental cupboard. Then there are his two simple rules, his code of honor. The implication is that he’s too lazy for more than two rules; the reality is, those two rules tell you who he is at heart, and why he’s worth loving. It also helps explains how he is eventually able to fully accept the position that cost him so much and that he never wanted. Still, I hope it’s clear that only someone like Zoe could aggravate him into doing this.

The Book Smugglers: Don’t Tempt Me is on top of being a Fallen Woman story is also a combination of two of my favourite tropes: the Reformed Rake story and the Childhood Sweethearts. Do you have any favourites tropes yourself: what sort of stories are closer to your heart?

Loretta: I love Childhood Sweethearts. I love the past that comes back to haunt. It seems that most of my stories deal with people coming to terms with the past in some way. Second chance stories of all kinds are favorites. As you know, I’m a big fan of do-overs, and have more than once rewritten some element of a Victorian novel.

The Book Smugglers: Let’s talk about inspiration and influences!

What inspired you to become a romance writer – and why historical romance particularly?

Loretta: What inspired me was the need to write, preferably for pay. I’d been writing professionally, for video, for some time when my husband posed the horrific question, “Don’t you want to write a book?” Well, yes, I did, and had, but my early efforts went nowhere, and I thought that was just a dream, completely impractical. But he kept pushing, and so I did a rethink. I knew I was capable of writing a novel–had I not written many thousand pages of one?–but incapable of finishing it unless I had some sort of structure. Genre fiction offered structure. I chose romance because I’ve always been partial to love stories and usually felt that they didn’t get enough attention in the Great Literature I’d read. Romance gave it plenty of attention. I chose historical romance because I love social history and doing research and think of it as a way to travel in time.

Who are your greatest influences or favourite authors?

Loretta: The greatest influence is Charles Dickens. He’s the superstar in a large group of English writers I love, especially the writers with a sense of humor. I simply responded, on a gut level, to his voice, and I learned just about everything from him: characterization, dialogue, narrative. It’s so easy to see what he does, how he does it. Easy to see, impossible to do: He was a genius, and he had his own peculiar view of the world.

But he taught me what the tools were and showed me how to use them. Other writers with a sense of humor would include the obvious ones like Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde and P.G. Wodehouse, and the less obvious, like George Eliot, with her wry view of human nature. The list is much longer than this: I’ve been a devoted reader all my life, and a great many authors have influenced and inspired me.

The Book Smugglers – Are you working on the next book already – what comes next in the Fallen Women series?

Loretta: I’m working on another Fallen Woman book that’s also a Carsington book (two in one!–Again!) I finally felt ready to move into the early 1830s to tell the story of Peregrine and Olivia, who were adolescents in Lord Perfect. (Ana’s note: squeeeeeeee)

The Book Smugglers: We Book Smugglers are faced with constant threats and criticisms from our dear significant others concerning the sheer volume of books we purchase and read—hence, we have resorted to ‘smuggling books’ home to escape scrutinizing eyes. Have you ever had to smuggle books?

Loretta: Yes, I am a smuggler–even through books are my business! But let’s just say that there’s some Pot Calls Kettle Black going on in my household, as I don’t doubt is the case in others’.

That’s it from us and Loretta this time, gentle readers. A huge thank you to Loretta for, if I may so, an utterly fascinating chat (the bit about Josephine’s cousin was surprising, to say the least) . But enough with the fan girl stuff and on with the giveaway:

We have one copy of Don’t Tempt Me to giveaway to one lucky commenter. Just leave a comment on this post by Saturday 27th June. Contest open to US and Canada residents only. The winner will be randomly selected and announced on Sunday 28th. Good luck!

Title: Don’t Tempt Me

Author: Loretta Chase

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Avon
Publishing Date: June 30, 2009
Paperback: 384 pages

Stand Alone or series: Stand Alone (although part of a “series” of books about Fallen Women)

Summary: “Spunky English girl overcomes impossible odds and outsmarts heathen villains.”

That’s the headline when Zoe Lexham returns to England. After twelve years in the exotic east, she’s shockingly adept in the sensual arts. She knows everything a young lady shouldn’t and nothing she ought to know. She’s a walking scandal, with no hope of a future . . . unless someone can civilize her.

Lucien de Grey, the Duke of Marchmont, is no knight in shining armor. He’s cynical, easily bored, and dangerous to women. He charms, seduces, and leaves them—with parting gifts of expensive jewelry to dry their tears. But good looks, combined with money and rank, makes him welcome everywhere. The most popular bachelor in the Beau Monde can easily save Zoe’s risquÉ reputation . . .

Why did I read the book: It is a Loretta Chase book. I would read a book about the Working Pieces of Your Dishwasher if it was written by Loretta Chase

Review:

It is a truth accepted and confirmed by us, Book Smugglers, that if you are in search of a good romance novel you should look no further than the “C” in your local book store. It is there that you will find Loretta Chase’s books in all their splendid quality that comes from all The Loretachaseness in them: wonderful dialogue, the light and yet deeply emotional plots and wonderful heroes and heroines.

Don’t Tempt Me is yet another one to those books by the author in which every single thing works. And it is with great delight that I report that this is a story with two of my favourite tropes – the Reformed Rake and the Childhood Sweethearts.

Our heroine is Zoe, was twelve years old when visiting Egypt with her family when she is kidnapped and taken as a slave to a Harem. Her disappearance is never understood or explained to her family. But her father never stops hoping for her return – that happens 12 years later with not a small amount of scandal. Zoe is thoroughly changed by her experience. Her thought process is alien to English society and her sexual experience is not one that Ladies should have. She needs to find a place in Society, the place it was always meant to be hers and for that she needs the help of someone who can guide her in her launch and that person is Lucien de Grey, the Duke of Marchmont. Lucien is a rake, a bored Lord who spends his days without purpose and who respects only one person in the world: Lord Lexham , his father’s best friend and the man who guided him when all his family was lost when he was a child. It is because of this respect for Zoe’s father that he accepts to tutor Zoe. That, and the fact that 1) they used to know each other when children 2) the powerful pull he feels towards the woman.

They met when Lucien was ten and Zoe Octavia was five. She, the youngest of 8 siblings- he, the recently orphaned boy who needed help from her father to get over his sorrow. Lexham helped alright – but Zoe, Zoe was the antidote to his unhappiness. The cricket incident in the prologue shows all we need to know about Lucien and Zoe:

“She was eight years old. The boys were organising a cricket game. She stormed up to him.
“I want to play, Lucien. Tell them to let me”
“Girls don’t play cricket,” he said. “Go back to your dolls and your nursemaid, brat”
She snatched up a bat and swung it at him – or tried to. She swung as hard as she could, and kept on going. Round and round she went, like a whirligig, and down she went, on her arse.
And there she sat, her disorderly golden hair standing on end and her vivid blue eyes wide open and her mouth open too, so startled she was.
He laughed so hard, he fell down, too.
She was annoying, sometimes infuriating, generally impossible. And she was a bright, bright spot in his life.”

The girl who was a spitfire and very stubborn, who was always disappearing and the boy who would always find her and reign her in. The dynamics remain the same even after the years they were apart even if the two people have changed. The boy who laughed is somewhere underneath a pile of restrained emotion – unwelcome thoughts, unwanted memories, unused emotions are all stored in his Mental Cupboard. Plus, he can’t believe she is back. He won’t believe she is back. And yet, there she is. Different, but the same.

“I crossed the seas, and it was like crossing years”

she says.

He has given his word he will help her (and when Lucien gives his word, he won’t take it back) even if it kills him. It might as well do so. The words Zoe utters as soon as she is back , taunt and haunt him:

“I know all the arts of pleasing a man”

And this is a book filled with the most amazing sexual tension and innuendos. Every sex scene works to develop the plot – from the most unusual to the most funny: like when they can’t help but to fall in each other’s arms even there in the park. Where they laugh and are drunk in each other kisses, and they hardly even notice that they are in public until one of her sisters find them and proceeds to smack Lucien’s head with her parasol. “It is like separating dogs” she says. Then Zoe, this amazing heroine raises herself in her elbows and glares at her sister

“I am going to kill you”, she said. “Are you a crazy woman ,to interrupt at such a time? I do not care how pregnant you are. There is no excuse…”

This freedom that Zoe experiences for the first time in 12 years is all that she cares about , it is all that is important to her coupled to her need to exist in her own world. To be presented to the Queen is the answer to the latter (and when she does so, the scenes that follow with Lucien are wonderfully tender) and to be with Lucien is the answer to the first. Even if it is difficult at first.

Because Loretta Chase’s books may be light in tone but that does not preclude emotional depth. Like for example, the guilt that Zoe feels – it was not her fault that she was taken but because she had a reputation for disappearing acts, it isn’t a surprise that she would wonder if that wasn’t expected . In a way , it reminded me of the Boy Who Cried Wolf fable.

Similarly, her heroes usually go through a lot before the book ends and Don’t Tempt Me is no different. Lucien only holds his position in life because of the horrible losses of people he loved – and yes, that includes Zoe as well. That causes not only emotional detachment but also avoidance of his responsibilities as a Duke. Once he is able to open the emotional side of his heart and he is freed from his own restraints, it is time to confront what his (in)actions have caused . Regular readers of this blog will know that I am not a big fan of secondary suspense plots but in Don’t Tempt Me, the secondary is necessary and important – it is has not only verisimilitude (it was bound to happen given how Lucien lived his life) but it is also important for him to face the result of his way of living. He too, is guilt-ridden. And it is painful.

One last word about a detail I am sure some readers may not like. This is not really a spoiler as it is disclosed in the first pages. I was surprised to learn that even though Zoe lived in the harem as a second wife she was still a virgin. I really wanted her to a True Fallen Woman. But Loretta Chase plays the virgin card with aplomb – because Zoe is well and truly experienced and this virginity is only but a detail that is put aside so very easily – and you will know what I mean when you read the carriage scene. Plus, and this is really good: there is a perfectly reasonable explanation why she is still a virgin that it’s even part of the reason why she was taken in first place.

Basically: anything Loretta Chase throws at me, I will bite, chew and swallow with gusto as everything will inevitably taste as chocolate covered strawberries. This is the case with Don’t Tempt Me and I finished it with the satisfied feeling that I just read a good Romance, a good book, a good story.

Notable Quotes/ Parts: This excerpt shows when Lucien sees Zoe for the first time in years.

As he usually did upon entering a room, the Duke of Marchmont paused to size up the situation. Even now, after the bottle or two or three, his gaze was not as sleepy as it appeared to be.
He saw:
1. Lexham standing in front of the fire, looking ready to tear his hair out.
2. Lady Lexham fluttering upon the chaise longue, in her best dying moth imitation.
3. At the large central table, the four married Lexham daughters, all in black, a color particularly depressing in women of their complexion. As usual, the two eldest appeared to suffer from an obstruction of the bowels. As usual, the two younger ones suffered the consequences of a lively conjugal life. They looked ready to drop brats any minute now–twins or ponies, judging by their circumference.
4. and at the window…
…a girl with a book in her lap.
A girl with golden hair and startled blue eyes, the bluest eyes in all the world, set in a heart-shaped face, all creamy white and pink…
That was as far as Marchmont got. He was aware of his own eyes widening and of a curious galloping sensation in his chest and a feeling of being set on fire then thrown into a deep pool of water. He was equally aware of the way the pink in her cheeks deepened and the way her shoulders went back while he stared and the way the movement drew his attention downward to a figure with the elegant curves of a statue of Venus he’d seen somewhere or other.
All of this happened so quickly that it disrupted the already uncertain connection between his tongue and his brain. Even at the best of times, he might speak first and think later. At present, thanks to the bottle or two or three, his mind was in a thickish haze.
He said, “Ye gods, it’s true. That dreadful girl is back.”
“Marchmont.”
The masculine voice uttering his name in a familiar patient tone made him blink. He climbed out of the very deep pool and into the present. He tore his gaze from the girl and aimed it at his former guardian.
Lexham’s expression had changed to one all too recognizable: a mixture of exasperation and affection and something else the Duke of Marchmont chose not to put a name to.
“Thank you, sir, I should indeed like a glass–or ten–of something,” he said, though he knew perfectly well that Lexham was not offering a drink. Marchmont recognized all of his former guardian’s tones of voice. When he said “Marchmont” in that way, it meant, “Recollect your manners, sir.”
Nonetheless, his grace persisted, as he often did, in willfully misunderstanding. “Something strong, I think,” he went on. “I find myself in need of a bracer.”
Zoe. Here. Alive. It wasn’t possible. Yet it must be, because there she was.
He looked at her again.
She looked right back at him, up and down, down and up.
The back of his neck prickled. He was used to women eyeing him. This sort of survey usually occurred, however, in gatherings of the demimonde or in a private corner of an ostensibly respectable social event. It did not happen in the open in an unquestionably respectable domestic setting.
He was not disconcerted. Nothing disconcerted him. Disoriented was more like it. Perhaps he should have had a little less to drink before he came. Or perhaps he hadn’t had enough.
“But of course you want something to steady your nerves, dear,” said Lady Lexham. “I fainted dead away when I saw our Zoe.”
This didn’t surprise him. The calamity of twelve years ago had sent Lady Lexham into a dangerous decline. When she did recover physically, she did not recover the steadiness and strength of mind she’d once possessed, though he was not sure she’d ever possessed great stores of either quality. These days her ladyship spent much of her time agitated, swooning, or trembling–sometimes, all three at once.
At the moment, he himself felt oddly lightheaded. “Zoe, indeed,” he said. “So it is.”
He made himself meet the assessing blue gaze again.
The girl smiled.
It was and it wasn’t Zoe’s smile, and for some reason the image of a crocodile came into his mind.
“And now I’ve lost a thousand pounds,” he went on, “for I made sure I’d find another Princess Caraboo in your drawing room.”
“Good grief!” cried one of the sisters.
“Is that what they’re saying?” said another.
“What would you expect?”
“I daresay it isn’t the worst of the rumors.”
Marchmont’s gaze swung toward the Four Harridans of the Apocalypse.
“You ought to see the satirical prints,” he said. “Most…inventive.”
“You needn’t rub it in.”
“You find it all hilarious, I don’t doubt.”
“If you’d been harried from pillar to post, as we have been–”
“Don’t waste your breath. He–”
“You are a duke,” came a feminine voice that didn’t belong to any of them. It was like theirs but different.
Marchmont turned away from the Matrons of Doom and toward the girl at the window: the girl who was and wasn’t the Zoe he’d known so long ago.
She had risen from the chair. Her deep red cashmere shawl set off handsomely the pale green frock and was draped in a way that perfectly framed her figure. The high-necked frock’s narrow bodice outlined an agreeably rounded bosom. The fall of the skirt told him her waist was smallish and her hips full. She seemed taller than her sisters, though it was hard to be sure, given that two of them had expanded so much horizontally, and all four of them were seated.
In any event, she was not a pocket Venus by any means, but a full-sized model.
Her potently blue eyes held a speculative glint. Or was he imagining that? His vision was in good order. He had no trouble focusing. His brain, on the other hand, was unusually sluggish.
“You speak English,” he said. “More or less.”
“It was much less at first,” she said. “Lord Winterton hired a companion and a maid for me. They couldn’t speak Arabic. No one else but he could, and he would not. For all the journey home, I had to speak English. And it came back.” She tipped her head to one side, studying his face as though it, too, were a forgotten language. “I remember you.”
In the voice that was like and unlike her sisters’ he detected no trace of anything one might call a foreign accent. Yet she spoke with a lilt that made the sound exotic. It was a voice with shadows and soft edges.
“I should hope so,” he said. “You tried to kill me with a cricket bat once.”
She nodded. “I went round and round, then I fell on my bottom. You laughed so hard you fell down.”
“Did I?” He remembered all too clearly. The mental cupboard would not stay closed.
“I remembered that while I was away,” she continued. “I often pictured you falling down laughing, and the recollection cheered me.” She paused. “But you are…different.”
“So are you.”
“And you are a duke.”
“Have been for some time,” he said. “Since before you went away.” Forever. She’d gone away forever. But she was back. He knew her, yet she was a stranger. The world was not altogether in balance.
She nodded, her smile fading. “I recall. Your brother. It was very sad.”
Sad. Was that the word?
It was in the way she said it. He heard a world of sorrow in that word. He remembered how she’d wept and how shocked he’d been, because Zoe Octavia never wept. And that had somehow made his own grief all the more unbearable.
“It was a long time ago,” he said.
“Not to me,” she said. “I crossed seas, and it was like crossing years. To everyone it must seem as though I have come back from the dead. If only I had done so in truth, I might have brought your brother with me.”
One devastating moment of shock, a sting within as of a wound opening–but then:
“Good heavens, Zoe!” a sister cried.
“Pay her no heed, Marchmont,” said another. “She has acquired the oddest notions in that heathenish place.”
“What does he care? Blasphemy is nothing to him.”
“That doesn’t mean one ought to encourage her.”
“One oughtn’t to encourage him, either.”
“But I must speak to him,” the girl said. “He is a duke. It is a very high rank. You spoke of dukes and marquesses. Will he not do?”
A collective gasp from the harridans.
“Do for what?” he said. The wound, if wound it had been, vanished from his awareness. He glanced from sister to sister. They all looked as though someone had shouted, “Fire!”

Also, Harper Collins has the first three chapters available online:

Additional Thoughts: We will post a Chat with Loretta Chase tomorrow where we talk about the book, the series, harems and more. We will also be giving away a copy of the book.

Verdict: Loretta Chase has yet to disappoint. Don’t Tempt Me is another fresh, witty, full of the wonderful, typical lorettachaseness that I have come to admire and love. Romance novels don’t get much better than this.

Rating: 8 – Excellent

Reading Next: Bound By Your Touch by Meredith Duran

Happy Sunday, everyone! Another huge basketball game on the line, so everyone send some good thoughts the Lakers’ way.

Giveaway Winners:

We held THREE giveaways this week, and it’s time to announce the lucky winners. Drumroll please…

We had over 210 entries for all Demon’s Lexicon contest – THANK YOU to everyone that entered! We asked people to comment by answering the question, “Who is your favorite character?” and the entries are very interesting, with loads of book recommendations. We highly recommend you check them out.

Without further ado, the five winners of a copy of Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan are:

And the grand prize winner of the goody bag, containing the audio book, a sterling silver knife charm, and character quote bookmarks is:

The lucky (or perhaps unlucky!) winner of Night’s Rose and The Frog Prince ARCs by Annaliese Evans is:

And the two lucky winners of our Flash giveaway of paranormal romance titles are:

Phew. You know the drill. Winners, please send an email to contact AT the book smugglers DOT com with you snail mail address. We will get your winnings out to you as soon as possible! Thanks again to everyone that entered – and if you didn’t win this time, don’t feel too bad. We have plenty more giveaways coming up very soon…

The Stoker Awards 2009:

This weekend, the annual Bram Stoker awards were held in Burbank, California. On Thursday, yours truly (that’s Thea) headed out to Dark Delicacies to pick up some great books, and to meet some of the nominated authors. Although I didn’t get to stay very long (since 1: I am a ginormous stuttering pansy when it comes to meeting authors, and 2: the Laker game was on), I did finally get to meet honorary smuggler and author Joel Sutherland! We’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Joel, and have read and reviewed both his edited anthology Fried! Fast Food, Slow Deaths as well as his Stoker nominated first novel Frozen Blood, so it was great to finally meet him in person!

Joel didn’t take home the award, but he was up against some very tough competition, and I have the utmost confidence in him and his future work! Here are the official winners for 2009:

NOVEL: DUMA KEY by Stephen King

POETRY COLLECTION: THE NIGHTMARE COLLECTION by Bruce Boston

Good thing I picked up a copy of The Gentling Box while at Dark Delicacies…

Other Randomness:

In other bookish news, we have participated in our very first Book Carnival online! You can check out the other paranormal entries HERE.

New trailers have been released for Tim Burton’s film Nine and for the new Scorsese flick Shutter Island.

Ooooooo. We likey.

This Week on The Book Smugglers:

On Monday, Thea reviews Alex Bell’s sophomore effort, Jasmyn.

Tuesday, Ana reviews The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns by Elizabeth Leiknes.

On Wednesday, Thea tackles Slights by Kaaron Warren – the first title from brand spankin’ new Harper imprint, Angry Robot. (On a shallow note, isn’t this a fantastic cover?!)

Thursday, Ana takes on the new, highly anticipated release from THE Loretta Chase, Don’t Tempt Me! AND on Friday, we have an interview with Loretta herself, so stay tuned!

That’s it for now. Until next time….

Howdy !!!

We shall start by saying: yay, Roger Federer beat Roland Garros!!! He now holds the record (along with Pete Sampras) of 14 grand- slams titles. Congratulations to Federer – we are great fans here at the UK based office of the Book Smugglers!

OK, not that I got that off my chest, moving on to:

Winners of the Flash Giveaway:

The two winners, randomly picked by Ramdon.Org are

Christina (comment number 41)

And

Kimik (comment number 4)

Congratulations! Please send your snail mail address to contact AT thebooksmugglers DOT com

We would also like to say thank you to all of you that entered the contest – we will have a few more of Flash giveaways in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned!

This week on the Book Smugglers

Monday

Last week, Ana reviewed a YA book, The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan, a book that is already shortlisted for her top 10 of 2009. Because the book is so damn good, we invited the author to write a piece on her Inspiration and Influences for us and are delighted to say that she said yes. So tomorrow come by to see what she has to say and for a chance to win one of 5 copies of her books and a special goodie bag she is so generously giving away.

Tuesday

Ana reviews the Fantasy novel The Adamantine Palace by debut author Stephen Deas. There will be dragons, folks!

Wednesday

We will do a joint review of Night’s Rose by Annaliese Evans. The book is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale and we were both really looking forward to reading it and…. the book is not quite what we expected.

Thursday

Ana reviews Mark of the Demon by another debut author, Diana Rowland. The book is not out till June 23rd but already the word on the internets is that it is very good.

Friday

Thea reviews two YA post-apocalyptic novels : Gone and Hunger by Michael Grant.

Upcoming:

The next few weeks will be sort of crazy around these bands. We have LOADS of new books to review and super cool guests. On the Romance front, Loretta Chase will be interviewed by Ana on her new book Don’t Tempt Me in two weeks;

Then, on the Fantasy front, author Jacqueline Carey has written an exclusive article for our Inspiration and Influences feature. We will publish it around the 24th when her new book Naamah’s Kiss is coming out.

We are very excited about both of these and also about:

YA APPRECIATION MONTH.

It is coming.

~ your friendly neighborhood book smugglers

Day 4 (22 days to Smugglivus and counting)

Who: Loretta Chase , THE Loretta Chase, writer of romance novels. One of her books, Lord of Scoundrels, is considered by many to be the ultimate romance novel. It is one of Ana’s top 5 books of all time. For an interview we did with Loretta, go here.

Recent work: Your Scandalous Ways, first of a series of books in which the heroine is a Fallen Women. Ana’s review of Your Scandalous Ways is here.

Loretta was extremely busy with her work in progress when we invited her for Smugglivus. But she did not want to miss out on the fun and sent us a present- an exclusive excerpt of her upcoming novel: DON’T TEMPT ME.

The book will be released in July and it doesn’t have a cover or an official blurb yet but here is what is all about, in the words of Loretta:

When Zoe Lexham returns to England after twelve years in the exotic east, she knows everything a young lady shouldn’t and nothing she ought to know. She’s a walking scandal, with no hope of a future…unless someone can civilize her. Enter Lucien de Grey, the Duke of Marchmont. Sarcastic, cynical, and easily bored, he’s known for loving women and leaving them–with parting gifts of expensive jewellery to dry their tears. He’s got everything–money, rank, and popularity. He’s welcome everywhere. Make Zoe respectable? Nothing could be simpler…he thinks.

And here it is, the excerpt from DON’T TEMPT ME.
_______________

Excerpt from DON’T TEMPT ME
by Loretta Chase
Avon Books
July 2009

As he usually did upon entering a room, the Duke of Marchmont paused to size up the situation. Even now, after the bottle or two or three, his gaze was not as sleepy as it appeared to be.
He saw:
1. Lexham standing in front of the fire, looking ready to tear his hair out.
2. Lady Lexham fluttering upon the chaise longue, in her best dying moth imitation.
3. At the large central table, the four married Lexham daughters, all in black, a color particularly depressing in women of their complexion. As usual, the two eldest appeared to suffer from an obstruction of the bowels. As usual, the two younger ones suffered the consequences of a lively conjugal life. They looked ready to drop brats any minute now–twins or ponies, judging by their circumference.
4. and at the window…
…a girl with a book in her lap.
A girl with golden hair and startled blue eyes, the bluest eyes in all the world, set in a heart-shaped face, all creamy white and pink…
That was as far as Marchmont got. He was aware of his own eyes widening and of a curious galloping sensation in his chest and a feeling of being set on fire then thrown into a deep pool of water. He was equally aware of the way the pink in her cheeks deepened and the way her shoulders went back while he stared and the way the movement drew his attention downward to a figure with the elegant curves of a statue of Venus he’d seen somewhere or other.
All of this happened so quickly that it disrupted the already uncertain connection between his tongue and his brain. Even at the best of times, he might speak first and think later. At present, thanks to the bottle or two or three, his mind was in a thickish haze.
He said, “Ye gods, it’s true. That dreadful girl is back.”
“Marchmont.”
The masculine voice uttering his name in a familiar patient tone made him blink. He climbed out of the very deep pool and into the present. He tore his gaze from the girl and aimed it at his former guardian.
Lexham’s expression had changed to one all too recognizable: a mixture of exasperation and affection and something else the Duke of Marchmont chose not to put a name to.
“Thank you, sir, I should indeed like a glass–or ten–of something,” he said, though he knew perfectly well that Lexham was not offering a drink. Marchmont recognized all of his former guardian’s tones of voice. When he said “Marchmont” in that way, it meant, “Recollect your manners, sir.”
Nonetheless, his grace persisted, as he often did, in willfully misunderstanding. “Something strong, I think,” he went on. “I find myself in need of a bracer.”
Zoe. Here. Alive. It wasn’t possible. Yet it must be, because there she was.
He looked at her again.
She looked right back at him, up and down, down and up.
The back of his neck prickled. He was used to women eyeing him. This sort of survey usually occurred, however, in gatherings of the demimonde or in a private corner of an ostensibly respectable social event. It did not happen in the open in an unquestionably respectable domestic setting.
He was not disconcerted. Nothing disconcerted him. Disoriented was more like it. Perhaps he should have had a little less to drink before he came. Or perhaps he hadn’t had enough.
“But of course you want something to steady your nerves, dear,” said Lady Lexham. “I fainted dead away when I saw our Zoe.”
This didn’t surprise him. The calamity of twelve years ago had sent Lady Lexham into a dangerous decline. When she did recover physically, she did not recover the steadiness and strength of mind she’d once possessed, though he was not sure she’d ever possessed great stores of either quality. These days her ladyship spent much of her time agitated, swooning, or trembling–sometimes, all three at once.
At the moment, he himself felt oddly lightheaded. “Zoe, indeed,” he said. “So it is.”
He made himself meet the assessing blue gaze again.
The girl smiled.
It was and it wasn’t Zoe’s smile, and for some reason the image of a crocodile came into his mind.
“And now I’ve lost a thousand pounds,” he went on, “for I made sure I’d find another Princess Caraboo in your drawing room.”
“Good grief!” cried one of the sisters.
“Is that what they’re saying?” said another.
“What would you expect?”
“I daresay it isn’t the worst of the rumors.”
Marchmont’s gaze swung toward the Four Harridans of the Apocalypse.
“You ought to see the satirical prints,” he said. “Most…inventive.”
“You needn’t rub it in.”
“You find it all hilarious, I don’t doubt.”
“If you’d been harried from pillar to post, as we have been–”
“Don’t waste your breath. He–”
“You are a duke,” came a feminine voice that didn’t belong to any of them. It was like theirs but different.
Marchmont turned away from the Matrons of Doom and toward the girl at the window: the girl who was and wasn’t the Zoe he’d known so long ago.
She had risen from the chair. Her deep red cashmere shawl set off handsomely the pale green frock and was draped in a way that perfectly framed her figure. The high-necked frock’s narrow bodice outlined an agreeably rounded bosom. The fall of the skirt told him her waist was smallish and her hips full. She seemed taller than her sisters, though it was hard to be sure, given that two of them had expanded so much horizontally, and all four of them were seated.
In any event, she was not a pocket Venus by any means, but a full-sized model.
Her potently blue eyes held a speculative glint. Or was he imagining that? His vision was in good order. He had no trouble focusing. His brain, on the other hand, was unusually sluggish.
“You speak English,” he said. “More or less.”
“It was much less at first,” she said. “Lord Winterton hired a companion and a maid for me. They couldn’t speak Arabic. No one else but he could, and he would not. For all the journey home, I had to speak English. And it came back.” She tipped her head to one side, studying his face as though it, too, were a forgotten language. “I remember you.”
In the voice that was like and unlike her sisters’ he detected no trace of anything one might call a foreign accent. Yet she spoke with a lilt that made the sound exotic. It was a voice with shadows and soft edges.
“I should hope so,” he said. “You tried to kill me with a cricket bat once.”
She nodded. “I went round and round, then I fell on my bottom. You laughed so hard you fell down.”
“Did I?” He remembered all too clearly. The mental cupboard would not stay closed.
“I remembered that while I was away,” she continued. “I often pictured you falling down laughing, and the recollection cheered me.” She paused. “But you are…different.”
“So are you.”
“And you are a duke.”
“Have been for some time,” he said. “Since before you went away.” Forever. She’d gone away forever. But she was back. He knew her, yet she was a stranger. The world was not altogether in balance.
She nodded, her smile fading. “I recall. Your brother. It was very sad.”
Sad. Was that the word?
It was in the way she said it. He heard a world of sorrow in that word. He remembered how she’d wept and how shocked he’d been, because Zoe Octavia never wept. And that had somehow made his own grief all the more unbearable.
“It was a long time ago,” he said.
“Not to me,” she said. “I crossed seas, and it was like crossing years. To everyone it must seem as though I have come back from the dead. If only I had done so in truth, I might have brought your brother with me.”
One devastating moment of shock, a sting within as of a wound opening–but then:
“Good heavens, Zoe!” a sister cried.
“Pay her no heed, Marchmont,” said another. “She has acquired the oddest notions in that heathenish place.”
“What does he care? Blasphemy is nothing to him.”
“That doesn’t mean one ought to encourage her.”
“One oughtn’t to encourage him, either.”
“But I must speak to him,” the girl said. “He is a duke. It is a very high rank. You spoke of dukes and marquesses. Will he not do?”
A collective gasp from the harridans.
“Do for what?” he said. The wound, if wound it had been, vanished from his awareness. He glanced from sister to sister. They all looked as though someone had shouted, “Fire!”

____________

Ana says: is July here already?

Thank you, Loretta!

NEXT ON SMUGGLIVUS: Joanna Bourne

For this month’s dare we invited Karen Mahoney, writer of YA Urban Fantasy (her first story will be published in a YA anthology, The Eternal Kiss in Autumn 2009) . We love Karen’s livejournal (how could we not? A fellow comic book, Neil Gaiman and Melissa Marr lover!) and we dared her to read a *gasp * Romance Novel. (Actually make it, Teh Ultimate Romance Novel) (*side note: Says Ana*).

So without further ado, we give the floor to Karen!

Title: Lord of Scoundrels

Author: Loretta Chase (*Ana says*: AKA, The Amazing Loretta Chase)

Genre: Historical Romance

Stand Alone/ Series: Stand Alone but the characters appear in another book by the same author called The Last Hellion (*Ana Says*: also very good, as is any book by Loretta Chase. Just saying)

Summary: They call him many names, but Angelic isn’t one of them . . .
Sebastian Ballister, the notorious Marquess of Dain, is big, bad, and dangerous to know. No respectable woman would have anything to do with the “Bane and Blight of the Ballisters”—and he wants nothing to do with respectable women. He’s determined to continue doing what he does best—sin and sin again—and all that’s going swimmingly, thank you . . . until the day a shop door opens and she walks in.
She’s too intelligent to fall for the worst man in the world . . .
Jessica Trent is a determined young woman, and she’s going to drag her imbecile brother off the road to ruin, no matter what it takes. If saving him—and with him, her family and future—means taking on the devil himself, she won’t back down. The trouble is, the devil in question is so shockingly irresistible, and the person who needs the most saving is—herself!

Why Did We Pick This Book For The Dare: It is one of our favorite romance novels. One of the few Thea really likes and one of Ana’s favorite books of all time. (*Ana says*: it makes my top 5!No, seriously.)

Karen’s Thoughts:

I have no idea how to write this review without going on for endless pages, so I will do my best to keep it as brief as possible. First of all: THANK YOU to Ana and Thea for inviting me to do one of their infamous Guest Dares, and to take on a book completely out of my comfort zone. It seems more appropriate than ever – given my new position as a romance buyer at the Murder One bookstore in London – that I should be tackling historical romance. I haven’t read anything in this particular romantic genre since my teens, and spend much of my time now reading and writing urban fantasy.

I love how LORD OF SCOUNDRELS takes elements of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and makes them refreshing. Admittedly, there were times while Dain and Jess are talking that I couldn’t help picturing them like this:

Jess and Dain…

Or perhaps, this:

Jess and Dain?

But, no. Ms. Chase does a wonderful job of incorporating the classic fairy tale into a new version. Jessica Trent is more than a match for her Beast, Sebastian Ballister, the Marquess of Dain. The first time we are introduced to Dain, it is through the eyes of Withers (Jessica’s brother Bertie’s manservant):

The great brute was an abomination, a disgrace to his country, an idle reprobate with no more conscience than a dung beetle.

Dain, himself, seems to almost revel in his reputation as someone to be despised. When he first speaks to Jessica, he catches a glimpse of his reflection:

His dark face was harsh and hard, the face of Beelzebub himself. In Dain’s case, the book could be judged accurately by the cover, for he was dark and hard inside as well.

Sometimes, I have to admit, I found his self-hatred a little overdone. The amount of times he refers to himself as a monster, I couldn’t help thinking: Okay, Dain, we get the message!

Sweet, was he? He was a gross, disgusting pig of a debauchee, and if she thought she’d get off with merely one repellent peck of his polluted lips, she had another thing coming.

Issues! But it’s true that Dain was brought up under very difficult circumstances. His mother ran away from his elderly father when he was a small child, and his dark features and (supposedly) unattractive appearance didn’t endear him to his carers. Of course, every time his father looked at him, he was reminded of the woman who deserted him for a much younger man, so I did feel some sympathy for Dain. Chase writes so well that it’s impossible not to.

And yet I didn’t find myself falling in love with him. (Sorry Ana and Thea!) However… I did fall in love with Jessica. (Phew!) She’s a wonderful heroine, and I found myself wishing that LORD OF SCOUNDRELS was more focused on her. Still, we do get a wonderful insight into her independence, incredibly strong will and deep compassion. I loved that she’s a ‘lady’ and yet wants to go into business for herself, despite the objections of her useless brother. And she’s a great shot with a pistol!

I also adore the interplay between Jess and Dain, and this is where Dain truly comes alive for me. They spar throughout the book, and it really does have some of the funniest dialogue I’ve read in any novel:

“I must be besotted,” he said evenly. “I have the imbecilic idea that you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. Except for your coiffure,” he added, with a disgusted glance at the coils and plumes and pearls. “That is ghastly.”

She scowled. “Your romantic effusions leave me breathless.”

Jess is strong and smart, beautiful and feminine – and she absolutely knows her mind. Despite reaching 27 without having a husband, she is not ‘on the shelf’ and considered a spinster. Men still flock to propose marriage to her, but she just hasn’t yet met her match. Until – of course – now. I do like how the intellectual bond between her and Dain is presented. They reminded me, to some extent, of that other ‘Beauty and the Beast’ couple from classic literature:

Dain even ends up – at one point – with a damaged hand and arm, which made the comparisons between him and Mr. Rochester even more apparent. Not that I found the similarities a negative thing… JANE EYRE is my favourite novel of all time, so I guess there’s hope for me and the romance genre yet!

Despite some reservations regarding Dain, where I just couldn’t bring myself to feel for him as deeply as I know I was ‘supposed’ to, I did enjoy reading LORD OF SCOUNDRELS. I loved the development of the relationship between Jess and her “Lord Beelzebub” – it was so well done and had such sparkling dialogue, that it was impossible not to get carried away with the story. And of course, I was fully engaged with the bright, witty and resourceful character of Jessica Trent.

To borrow The Book Smugglers’ very own ratings system, I would give this a 7 (Very Good) – I did consider only giving it a 6, because I found Dain a bit too self-involved at times, but the sparkling banter lifted the novel beyond these (mostly) minor issues. I look forward to reading more historical romance!

- Karen Mahoney

So, there you have it: Karen’s foray into the Romance Genre.
Thank you Karen for being a good sport – now, go on and pick up a Julia Quinn: you know you want to! (<<< *Ana says*)