Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart - Sarah MacLean

 

(Also this picture does not do this cover justice it is like HOT pink!!)

 
She lives for passion.
Bold, impulsive, and a magnet for trouble, Juliana Fiori is no simpering English miss. She refuses to play by society's rules: she speaks her mind, cares nothing for the approval of the ton, and can throw a punch with remarkable accuracy. Her scandalous nature makes her a favorite subject of London's most practiced gossips . . . and precisely the kind of woman The Duke of Leighton wants far far away from him.
 
He swears by reputation.
Scandal is the last thing Simon Pearson has room for in his well-ordered world. The Duke of Disdain is too focused on keeping his title untainted and his secrets unknown. But when he discovers Juliana hiding in his carriage late one evening—risking everything he holds dear—he swears to teach the reckless beauty a lesson in propriety. She has other plans, however; she wants two weeks to prove that even an unflappable duke is not above passion.

This is the third and final book in Sarah MacLean’s Numbers Series. (You can go here to read my reviews of the two previous books - Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake and Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord).  Even though this is only Sarah’s third romance novel I have to say she quickly became one of those authors who I absolutely adore!! I find myself excited to read her newest book.

This book is about Juliana Fiori the half-sister of Gabriel (Nine Rules) and Nicholas (Ten Ways). Juliana is not only the daughter of an Italian merchant but daughter to one of the most infamous Marchionesses that the ton has seen in a while. When she first lands in London she catches the eye of Simon Pearson whom she would later find out to be none other than the Duke of Leighton or more commonly known around the ton as the Duke of Disdain. After finding out about Juliana’s parentage he quickly lets her know that she is unworthy of any kind of association with him.

Simon Pearson wants nothing more than to protect his family. His sister is off in the country about to give birth without being married. He thinks by marrying a completely respectable English girl whose family has plenty of money and power and title then when his secret is revealed the ton may gossip but it won’t be much considering whom they will be talking about.

But Juliana has other plans. She wagers with Simon that within two weeks she will have him on his knees. She will make him succumb to passion which he finds to be a completely useless emotion in a good and proper English life.

Simon wagers that he will teach her a lesson that sometimes life must be lived stricter and that living a life full of passion can only lead to scandal and heartache.

The two set out to prove they are in the right. Juliana by tempting Simon at every turn with her sharp tongue and fiery passion. Simon by showing her that he still plans to marry the English “grape”. 

OMG let me just tell you this book was as I told Mrs. MacLean on Twitter – “bloody brilliant”!! At first you hate Simon and you are thinking how in the world is she going to redeem him? Because in the last book Ten Ways you get a bit of a taste of whom he is but then in this book you really see him. So you are wondering how she is going to turn this around. But she does so just beautifully!!  You actually start to feel a bit sorry for him especially after meeting his mother. Juliana wants nothing more than to fit in to the English society even though she claims it does not matter. She wants Simon to realize that a life lived without love and passion is a life only half lived. The story evolved naturally and without seeming pushy.

I know at the end of this story I was sighing and laughing and crying all at the same time. So if a book can do this then all I know is it has to be good!

I will say this the one character that really caught my eye in this book was Benedick the Earl of Allendale whom is the brother of Callie from Nine Rules. I soo would love to have his story!!

So if you want to read an incredibly beautiful and moving love story then you definitely need to read this book and I have a feeling you want be disappointed!! Get your copy here --> Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart

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Currently Reading: Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn (yes I got my copy early it was not supposed to be released until May 31st!!)

Up Next: Cloudy With a Chance of Marriage by Kieran Kramer

Watching: The French Open

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women:

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

Okay my faithful followers I'm going to be honest with you. The only reason why I decided to get this book was because of the movie coming out in August based off of it. The movie stars Emma Stone whom I love since seeing her in Zombieland and Easy A. So yes for that reason alone I decided to buy this book. I got my copy off of eBay for a great price for the hardback version.

This is perhaps one of the best books I've ever read. Period. The way Kathryn Stockett writes is new and refreshing. She has a way to keep you soo engrossed in the story that you absolutely will not want to put it down.

She tells the story from the perspective of three very different women:

Aibileen - She is an older maid who has seen many things in her time caring for white children. Even after the loss of her only child Treelor she continues to live her life after she overcomes her grief enough to move on.

Minny - A fast talking ball of fire. She speaks her mind to anyone and everyone (even her employers). However, even with all that fire and that attitude she is stuck in a marriage to a man just like her father (which she said she would never do) - a drunk.  He not only drinks but he beats her. She does not think she can leave because she has 5 kids of her own to consider.

Miss Skeeter - She is a white girl who has just returned to Jackson. However, she wants nothing more than to leave and go to New York City to become a writer. She has to deal with her Southern mother who is always trying to get her married and is constantly trying to fix all of her imperfections - too tall, skinny, crazy hair. However, she does not want to get married simply because that is what is expected of her.

How do these three come together??

Well Skeeter gets a job at the Jackson Journal writing the Miss Myrna column which is a weekly column about helpful household tips. But how is a girl who's never cleaned a thing in her life to write a column about that?? Well she goes to her friend Elisabeth and asks her if she can speak to her maid Aibileen about it. Elisabeth agrees.

Soon the talk turns from the Miss Myrna column to something else that has been plaguing Skeeter. Her beloved maid Constantine stopped writing her all of sudden while she was at Ole Miss and when she comes home she finds her no longer there. So she starts asking Aibileen about Constantine and at first Abileen is resistant to help.

After awhile Skeeter begins to notice how her "friends" treat their maids. Especially Hilly Holbrook. Hilly is cold and manipulative to everyone (except her children). She has dreams of her husband going to a government office and would do almost anything to make sure it happens. Hilly is also starting a movement to make it a law to have a separate bathroom for the help outside because of sanitation. It is with this that Skeeter begins to really examine the people around her and just does not see how Hilly could be like this.

So Skeeter goes to Aibileen with a proposition - how about writing a book from the prospective of the help. Aibileen agrees because it was her son Treelor's dream to be a writer. Soon Abileen is able to convince Minny to help them and soon after she is able to get quite a few more maids to help in secret.

What really gets the maids to agree was the actions of Hilly Hollbrook. First she fires Minny for allegedly stealing her mother's silver and for not feeding her. Which as everyone in the white part of town and the black part of town all know is Minny's food is excellent.

Also, during this time Skeeter gets her first love and soon has her heart broken not only by Stuart but also by the cold, hatred afforded to her by her "friend" Hilly Holbrook.

In the end their book is published under Anonymous and even with the name of Jackson changed to Niceville and names changed everyone who reads it just know it is about Jackson. But thanks to Minny's Terrible Awful Thing to Hilly they will not be able to speak it aloud for fear of facing Hilly Holbrook.

Skeeter finally finds out the truth of what happened to Constantine from Aibileen (after much prodding mind you). So she goes to her mother with the truth. Her mother does not deny it and feels she should tell her daughter because she gets sicker by the day.

I am not going to tell you what Minny's Terrible Awful Thing is (trust me you will be like "what!!!") and I will not tell you about Skeeter's maid Constantine because you guys to need to have something to look forward while reading the book.

I will tell you this book had me laughing and crying. I loved it and I very much recommend you reading it! So if you want to do just that you can go here --> The Help (paperback version) or The Help By Kathryn Stockett (hardback)


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Currently Reading - Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart by Sarah MacLean
Up Next - Cloudy With a Chance of Marriage  by Kieran Kramer
Listening To:

Dead Reckoning - Charlaine Harris

Here is my review of the latest Sookie Stackhouse novel or as they are also called The Southern Vampire Mysteries!!  Also this video is about 10 minutes long...sorry I just got some video editing software and I'm still learning how to edit video but I wanted to go ahead and get this up. I am also considering maybe making a YouTube channel but don't know yet!!

Also, don't forget to follow me on twitter it is @romancebooknerd or join up on my Facebook Page at The Romance Book Nerd

ALSO BE WARNED THIS VIDEO CONTAINS SPOILERS!!

OMG in my 10 minute ramble I forget to mention that Eric fights Victor and ends up killing him and some of his faction which is a HUGE thing to happen and will set up a lot of things in the coming books!!
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I will be posting my review of The Help by Kathryn Stockett in the next couple of days!!


Currently Reading: Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart - Sarah Maclean
Up Next: Cloudy With a Chance of Marriage - Kieran Kramer
Listening to:

Seducing the Governess - Margo Maguire

A Proper Governess Should Never. . .
Assist a handsome stranger, alone on an unfamiliar road . . . unless the rake happens to be her new employer.
Take a position in a crumbling manor . . . especially if the household staff has been replaced by unruly former soldiers.
Allow her young charge entrÉe to her heart . . . for once done, it will be impossible to maintain proper distance.
Permit her charge's uncle a breathtaking kiss under a star-lit sky . . . henceforth she will most certainly lose composure whenever he is near.
And above all, she should never, ever fall completely, irreversibly in love with her employer . . . for nothing good can possibly come of it.

This is my first book by Margo Maguire and I'm pleased to say that I've found a new author to watch.

This story was different than many. In the fact that our hero was scarred from a fire on his face during Waterloo. However, Mercy saw past all of that and still saw the raw sexual appeal of her new employer.

I loved the beginning it had me laughing and I love that. I loved the fact that one of our main characters wasn't perfect but yet our other main character could see past the outside and fall madly and hopelessly in love with him.

The intrigue woven within the story was enough to get the book a little more meat. Although I do love historical romance books that are simply romance only BUT I do also love books where there is a bit of mystery and intrigue added in.

Also, I fell really hard for Captain Briggs the guy put in charge with finding Mercy for her real grandfather the Duke of Windemere. (I want say anything more - I'm trying to not give so much away in my reviews....*grin*) So I cannot wait to read his story and about Mercy's still missing twin sister.

I loved Nash and Mercy. To me they fit well together and complimented each other in many ways. Their relationship was sweet and endearing BUT I did feel the end was a bit rushed so that is why I only gave it four stars but all in all I really enjoyed this book.  Mercy came from a family who had shown her nothing but cool disdain and Nash had been raised completely opposite but even after his losses he, in the end, was willing to risk his heart (because he was worried about losing more loved ones) to be with the woman he loved.

If you want to read Nash and Mercy's story just go here --> Seducing the Governess


ALSO, I just finished the new Sookie book but I plan on posting that review tomorrow!!

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Currently Reading: The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Up Next: Hmmm right now I'm not really sure, LOL!!
Currently Watching - NBA Basketball