Review: "England's Perfect Hero" by Suzanne Enoch

Book: England's Perfect Hero
Author: Suzanne Enoch
Release Date: 02/24/04

Excerpt:

Lucinda Barrett's best friends ended up married to the men to whom they delivered their 'lessons in love'. So Lucinda decides to choose someone who definitely needs lessons, but someone who will not complicate her life. And that person is definitely not Robert Carroway.

Robert is nothing if not complicated, and though he is the brother of a viscount, he rarely goes about society, and finds the weather and hat fashions ludicrous subjects for discussion. Robert is attracted to Lucinda's unpretentious ways, her serenity and her kindness. When she chooses someone for her love lessons, Robert offers to help her deliver her lessons, but sets out to convince the woman he has fallen for to take a chance on love ... and on him.

Review:
Funny, i've read this book tons of times, but have never written a review on it. First thing first i fell in love with Bit Carroway in "The Rake". I remember being ecstatic on finding out that he had his own book. I can safely say by the fact that i keep coming back and re-reading it that its one of my absolute favorite books of all time. Being that fact it is a bit hard for me to write a review on it.

The book reads the best when you read the whole "Lessons in Love" series in order. In a way the whole series has been a character development for Bit and Lucinda. You can see each of them growing in each book. This can be said of all the characters in trilogy, but especially true of these two.

Lucinda is the last of the trio to enact her lessons. She has no particular scoundrel in mind so she decides to find a man that she'll like to marry. After all, Evie and Georgie ended up marring their students. She chooses Mr. Geoffrey Newcombe. Handsome, the 4th son of a duke, and a war hero to boot. Simply perfect and safe. If not cheating a bit in terms of her lessons. Things would have gone smoothly if she hadn't stumbled upon Georgie's brother in law who had to ask about the lessons. Who "also" had to have those haunting blue eyes.

Bit has been quite the recluse the last three years. Think tortured and hurt hero and here's you man. (He's also mine if he ever decides to make himself solid and comes out of the book). He suffers from what is now known as Post dramatic stress syndrome and finds himself in a black panic whenever he gets out of his comfort zone. Yet he finds himself drawn to Lucinda. She's his ray of sunshine in his black world. Something that he can even admit to himself sounds stupid, but is true. Overhearing Lucinda talking with Evie and Georgie he can't help but be intrigued. When Lucinda brings him some roses to start a garden he offers to help Lucinda catch her suitor as a trade off. Anything to spend time with her.

The relationship between Bit and Lucinda is very heart warming. You can just tell from almost the get go that they're perfect for each other. They start off as amiable friends and work their way into love before either of them realize it. A perfect example of how love and bloom from friendship and not love/lust at first sight.

This is a brilliant book and one I HIGHLY recommend.

Final rating: 5 golden bunnies. Perfect in every way

Review: The Rake (Lessons in Love #1) by Suzanne Enoch

Book: The Rake (Lessons in Love #1)
Author: Suzanne Enoch
Release Date: 06/01/02

Excerpt:

Three determined young ladies vow to give three of London's worst rakes their comeuppance -- but when these rogues turn the tables, who truly learns a lesson in love?

Once upon a time, the notorious Viscount Dare charmed Lady Georgiana Halley out of her innocence -- to win a wager, no less! -- and now he must pay dearly. The, plan is simple: She will use every seductive wile she knows to win Dare's heart...and then break it. But his smoldering gaze once again tempts Georgiana to give in to desire -- and when he astonishes her with a marriage proposal, she wonders: Is he playing yet another game...or could it truly be love this time?

Review: 
It is book two in my re-read month. "The Rake" was the first book i read by Suzanne Enoch. I find it amazing that i always choose the best in authors series to read first. I was a little slower in reading this one since last week was a busy week. Anyways.... I really can't remember how old i was when i read this book. Nor can i remember where. I just remember loving it and being ecstatic to find out there were two others afterwards.

The hero and heroine unlike many other romances have known each other for quite a long time. In fact that have quite a long history. It was believed that Tristan and Georgiana were going to marry each other when Georgiana first came out. For Georgiana it was innocent love and bliss. And to quote Taylor Swift "She gave him everything she had for a boy that changed his mind". Except Tristan didn't as much change his mind, but seduce her to win a wager. And like the song "they both cried" except they became more plural to mean Georgiana and her "two" friends. Course the incident was summed up to a kiss and not a seduction which saved Georgiana reputation.

Still six years later Georgiana hasn't forgotten what Tristan did and she lets him know every chance she gets. So society seems them as enemies rather than possible marriage partners. So Georgiana and her two friends Evelyn and Lucinda come up with a plan to each teach a man a "love lesson" rather make the man fall in love with them and then dash their hearts to pieces. Georgiana chooses Tristan of course. Which leads her to moving in with him and his entire family to "Help" his one Aunt while she recovers from Gout. Which leads to a rather humorous and unforgettable romance.

I personally loved Tristan and his brothers more than i liked Georgiana. Then again that often turns out this way. I loved every interaction he had with his family. The playfulness and tenderness. He made me want to have him for a brother instead of mine. I'll trade anytime. You could tell from what we heard from various people and himself that he'd really grown up since his wager six years ago with Georgiana. It was nice to see and hear it on more than one front than a simple blanket statement.

Georgiana was quite the heroine as well. While i didn't love her as much as the guys i still loved her. She had a backbone and wasn't going to be a simpering female. She was her own woman and everyone was going to know it. She had her flaws which was a nice coutner point to her brashness and forwardness sometimes. Somethings she didn't think things all the way through and she wasn't above using others if it suited her (but not in a terrible way). It also helped that she had some nice sounding off room with Lucinda and her aunt Frederica.

Together the two of them made a witty couple that were clearly made for each other, but had a few realistic barriers to get through.

Final rating: 5 Bunnies. For great characters, story-line, and for introducing me to my fictional crush Bit Carroway.

Lady Rouge and A Lady's Guide to Improper Behavior

A Lady's Guide to Improper Behavior
Release date: April 27, 2010

Excerpt: 
The Rules: 

A lady should always make polite conversation . . . 

Theresa Weller understands the rules of decorum, and is appalled when Colonel Bartholomew James disrupts a perfectly civilized dinner. This rude, insensitive man is the complete opposite of everything a gentleman should be—but with one searing kiss, Tess can think of no one else. 

A lady should never lose her temper . . . 

Aggravated beyond bearing by a man who speaks his mind, Tess wishes there was a guide to men like Bartholomew. Surely, with such an assortment of handsome, polite suitors to choose from, Tess should not ache for him. 

And a lady should never pursue a gentleman. 

She invites him on carriage rides and dares him to dance, and almost makes him want to return to Society. Bartholomew knows Tess wants to be seen as a proper miss, but deep down, he knows she is precisely the sort to spark his desire . . . A most improper lady. 

REVIEW: 

FIVE STARS all the way. Suzanne Enoch is the queen of writing tortured/wounded heroes as far as i'm concerned. *Bows down*. The book is so utterly good that i'm finding it troublesome to write this review because everything about it was just so perfect. I have nothing to complain about. The pacing of the romance was good. Tolly was *la sigh* and Theresa has to be one of my most favorite heroines of all time. I think the thing i really love about this story is that their romance rings true even thought it took part in over a short period of time. 

After nearly being killed and left for dead by some Indian "Thuggie" Tolly comes back to England a wounded man in both body and mind. He wants nothing, but to be left alone. At the beginning he was determined to get that no matter how rude and how much he made people hated him. Theresa was the stickler for propriety at the beginning. That all ended with Tolly rubbed her the wrong way at dinner with her cousin (whom is married to Tolly's older brother) and she left it lose at him. This starts a battle of the wills between the two and an eventual friendship. This friendship later turns to love. The best part for me in the book was when Tolly got the operation on his knee, knowing he could possibly lose his leg, because he wanted to be able to dance with Theresa. I fell in love with him hard there. Then Theresa barging in on the surgery and helping the doctor... WOW. I could never do that. I would be with Tolly's brother, sister, and Amelia (Theresa's cousin) outside. 

Another thing that i really loved about the book was the ending. You know Tolly and Amelia get's their "happily ever after" without it being all perfect. Tolly's reputation is still up in the air. The only thing is that people accept him enough to not shun him anymore. To me this was perfection since it wasn't a perfect ending. It was as close to real life as you can get. And i thank Suzanne for this. 

Next up it's been confirmed that Bradshaw Carroway get's a book!! *squee* 

Rating: 5 Bunnies. Perfect plot, characters, romance, and just everything *\^o^/*

Lady Rouge
Release Date: 1997

Excerpt:  
When the dripping wet ragamuffin showed up on his doorstep late one night, Alexander Cale, Earl of Everton, quickly discovers that the cheeky lad was actually an enchanting––but infuriating––chit! Kit is astonished that the devastatingly attractive Earl saw through her disguise in record time. But his charms is something she can ill afford, yet cannot resist. When danger threatens both their lives, only love can can save them 

Review: 
Perhaps i went into this book with too much expectancy of it being as good as Suzanne's "Lessons in Love" trilogy because it feel flat to me. The first couple of chapters had me hooked. Then the plot started to slow. Get no-where. And basically repeat itself over and over again. Kit was "who is the Englishman trying to stop the shipment of weapons to my father, I hope no-one finds out i'm a girl,I love wearing mens clothing and hanging out with the guys, and gosh Alex is hot". Alex was "i want to sleep with Kit, Is Kit a spy, If she is can i trust her, & i hope no-one finds out Kit is a girl". It basically got really really dull and flat fast. Suzanne really could have wrapped up the story a 100 pages earlier and have gotten the same result. There is a thing called editing. If the book feels like your going no-where or repeating yourself then editing is your best friend Suzanne and all authors. Lesser pages doesn't mean a lesser quality book. Perhaps i'm being a bit harsh here, but i was expecting something better than repetitiveness and redundancy.   

Rating: 3 bunnies