TBR Challenge Review: No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean

Format: Mass Market, ebook
Pub Date: December 2013
Publisher: Avon
Length: 382 pages
FTC: Received at RT14

Miracle of miracles, I had a book in the easily accessible part of my TBR that fit the theme. This book is a RITA finalist for this year, which means it hasn't been languishing in the pile very long at all...which is probably why it's accessible. Ah, well.

Looking at the list of finalists for this year, I was surprised by how many I have read. My reading time has been severely limited this last year, but I've managed to read 9 finalists. That's more than any other year. Woohoo!

I've read Sarah MacLean before, but I admit I've gotten out of the habit of reading historical romances lately. My tastes have been running to Urban Fantasy, romantic suspense, and small town contemporaries, but I decided to give this one a shot anyway.

Review: A Royal Pain by Megan Mulry

Format: Trade Paperback
Pub Date: November 1, 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks
FTC: ARC courtesy of the publisher

I am not a chick lit fan. I didn't like Bridget Jones or any of the other blockbusters of the genre. I'm just not a fan of stories mainly about self discovery. Especially if those stories feature someone painfully awkward, silly  or weak--which has been the norm for most of the chick lit books I've read.

There is, admittedly, some overlap between romance and chick lit. Women's fiction and chick lit often features a love story, and romance often has the heroine experience an emotional arc. But the focus is usually skewed in one direction. Megan Mulry's novel is one of the rare few to balance the expectations of both genres successfully. It works as both chick lit and romance. As a love story and a story about discovering inner strength.

Review: What the Duke Desires by Jenna Petersen

Jenna Petersen's newest takes a tried and true romance plot and flips it in this neat little historical romance.

The hero of What the Duke Desires probably ranks as one of the nicest, most decent heroes in all of the historical romances I've read over the years. Just to-the-bone honorable.

The same cannot be said of the heroine, who lies, snoops, cheats, and is--to me at least--not a good person.

Sure, she has a *good* reason to show up wanting to exact revenge against the current duke's deceased father by going after his family. But it becomes quite clear early on that the current duke is nothing like his father. Time after time she chooses deception over honesty. Even when given tailor-made opportunities to spill her guts. She knows she's acting in bad faith and continues to do it anyway. 

I had a difficult time with Lillian in this book. I REALLY didn't like her. Liked her friend, loved the Duke, hated her. I actually liked the mean, rude dowager duchess and the pompous, elitist best friend better than the heroine. I guess it says something about Ms. Petersen's writing that she can create a character real enough for me to actively dislike.

Even so, I found the plot twists quite clever. And the conclusion at the end quite unexpected. This is the first in a new series by Petersen, and I'm impatiently waiting for the next installment.

My Grade: B+