12 March 2013

Book Review: With This Kiss Part 1 by Eloisa James

Eloisa James




Book Title: With This Kiss
Author: Eloisa James
Publisher: Avon Impulse, March 12, 2013
Series: With This Kiss
Source: Purchased
Amazon|Goodreads
Review: 

Lady Grace Ryburn, the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Ashbrook, has fallen wildly in love with Colin Barry, a dashing young lieutenant serving his country in the Royal Navy. When he returns home to exuberant celebrations, will he even notice the quiet wallflower he grew up with … or will he fall for Grace's sparkling, gorgeous sister?

Author's Note: Lady Grace is the eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Ashbrook, from The Ugly Duchess, and Colin is the eldest adopted son of Sir Griffin Barry, from Seduced by a Pirate.


Review:

With This Kiss is the reason why I love Regency Romance Novels
and why I loathe cliffhangers!



I should have taken the hint with the part 1 and wait for the two more e-copies for this series before starting. But then again - the blurb was too good to pass. And since it was short, and it's for $0.99 on Amazon, why not insert it on my reading list? (Get Your Copy From Amazon for Only $0.99!)

Lady Grace had been enamored of Colin at a young age. Their families have been friends, and they tend to spend some times together annually. So when young Colin goes off to join the navy, Grace started sending him letters so that he wouldn't miss home.

But the moment he came back, he went straight into Grace's sister's arms: Lily's. Lily is the beauty of the family, the girl whom they all adore. Seeing them waltz together, laughing and enjoying each other's company broke Grace's heart and it did mine.

Confession: I spent half of the novella crying.


For a short novella, I didn't expect that it would be so heartbreaking to see Collin reached for Lily instead of Grace.

Yet the kindhearted Grace didn't hate her sister. She cried, said her goodbye and tried to move on. This is what I love about her. She knew it wasn't Lily's fault that Colin fell in love with her despite the fact that Grace was the one who had been writing to him religiously. So, she did what was best, wrote her final letter, made a very beautiful gift for him and let go.

At first, I'd like to hate Lily. How dare her to that to Grace? She can have any man at her disposal - why not spare Colin? But then, Lily - the troublesome Lily seem to have no idea what was happening to her sister and Colin. Grace wasn't the one to share her feelings with her sister. She had kept it to herself.

Doting Parents
Okay. Another confession: I haven't read the Ugly Duchess Yet. But I will insert both stories (including Seduced by a Pirate) in between my reads one of these days. 

The Duke and Duchess of Ashbrook are amazing parents. They may be quite busy with their responsibilities but they made sure that they are always there for their children. I appreciate both of their gestures when Grace was heartbroken - they were very supportive of her and it makes all the difference in the world.

As for Colin: He might be too late to realize, but I say he deserves it if he looses Grace.

Final Words: I WOULD HAVE ADORED THIS EVEN MORE IF MS. JAMES MADE THIS INTO A FULL LENGTH NOVEL.

However, I have no choice but to wait patiently because the next two books are coming within the month as well - Thank goodness!

Book Freak

With This Kiss Part Two
Expected Publication: 03-19-2013

Lady Grace Ryburn has accepted another man's proposal after the love of her life, Lieutenant Colin Barry, asked for her own sister's hand in marriage.

But when Colin returns home from the wars, injured in body and spirit, will she be able to turn her back and marry another? Or will she throw away every rule her mother taught her and try to seduce a man who has shown no interest in her kisses?

Author's Note: Be sure to read Part One first! You need to know the story of how Grace fell in love with Colin . . 

Book Freak

 With This Kiss Part Three
Expected Publication: 03-26-2013

Lieutenant Colin Barry returns from the wars injured in body and spirit, knowing that he has no right to steal Grace from the arms of her fiancé. Yet the same warrior's spirit that won so many battles at sea is prompting him to throw propriety to the winds, imitate his pirate father, and simply take what he most desires!

Author's Note: Don't forget to read Parts One and Two! Reading this installment first would be like eating the icing before you even get it onto a cupcake









About The Author:
Book Freak
New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James writes historical romances for HarperCollins Publishers. Her novels have been published to great acclaim. A reviewer from USA Today wrote of Eloisa's very first book that she "found herself devouring the book like a dieter with a Hershey bar"; later People Magazine raved that "romance writing does not get much better than this." Her novels have repeatedly received starred reviews from Publishers' Weekly and Library Journal and regularly appear on the best-seller lists.



After graduating from Harvard University, Eloisa got an M.Phil. from Oxford University, a Ph.D. from Yale and eventually became a Shakespeare professor, publishing an academic book with Oxford University Press. Currently she is an associate professor and head of the Creative Writing program at Fordham University in New York City. Her "double life" is a source of fascination to the media and her readers. In her professorial guise, she's written a New York Times op-ed defending romance, as well as articles published everywhere from women's magazines such as More to writers' journals such as the Romance Writers' Report.

Eloisa...on her double life: 

When I'm not writing novels, I'm a Shakespeare professor. It's rather like having two lives. The other day I bought a delicious pink suit to tape a television segment on romance; I'll never wear that suit to teach in, nor even to give a paper at the Shakespeare Association of America conference. It's like being Superman, with power suits for both lives. Yet the literature professor in me certainly plays into my romances. The Taming of the Duke (April 2006) has obvious Shakespearean resonances, as do many of my novels. I often weave early modern poetry into my work; the same novel might contain bits of Catullus, Shakespeare and anonymous bawdy ballads from the 16th century.

When I rip off my power suit, whether it's academic or romantic, underneath is the rather tired, chocolate-stained sweatshirt of a mom. Just as I use Shakespeare in my romances, I almost always employ my experiences as a mother. When I wrote about a miscarriage in Midnight Pleasures, I used my own fears of premature birth; when the little girl in Fool For Love threw up and threw up, I described my own daughter, who had that unsavory habit for well over her first year of life.

So I'm a writer, a professor, a mother - and a wife. My husband Alessandro is Italian, born in Florence. We spend the lazy summer months with his mother and sister in Italy. It always strikes me as a huge irony that as a romance writer I find myself married to a knight, a cavaliere, as you say in Italian.

One more thing...I'm a friend. I have girlfriends who are writers and girlfriends who are Shakespeare professors. And I have girlfriends who are romance readers. In fact, we have something of a community going on my website. Please stop by and join the conversation on my readers' pages.




♥.♥.♥


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