Pearl's World of Romance - Reviews with a Passion: Gaelen Foley

Showing posts with label Gaelen Foley. Show all posts

July 16, 2008

Lord of Ice - Gaelen Foley

12:46 PM |

BACKCOVER:
Damien Knight is proud, aloof, and tormented by memories of war.   Though living in seclusion, he is named guardian to a fellow officer's ward. Instead of the young homeless waif he was expecting, however, Miranda FitzHubert is a stunning, passionate beauty who invades his sanctuary and forces him back into society. Struggling to maintain honor and self-control, Damien now faces an ever greater threat: desire. 

A bold, free spirit, Miranda has witnessed the darkest depths of Damien's soul--and has seen his desperate need for love. But before she can thaw his unyielding heart, she must endure a terrifying nightmare of her own. . . .

With Napoleon still imprisoned but his threat of war still lingering, Damien Knight returns home a celebrated war hero but no one knows the demons he faces with his fight against the darkness and cruelty of war that lingers inside him. He isolates himself on the estate he's inherited along with the honorary title as a courtesy to his late father and tries to adjust to the "normal" life. But then word comes that one of his fellow officers is murdered and he has become the guardian of said officer's ward. Little does he know what monumental changes this will bring in his life.

Miranda is the quintessential abandoned illegitimate child who has had no one to care for her or protect her. She has learned to take care of herself and has the utter conviction that she will make something of her life regardless what cruelty is thrown at her. She doesn't need a guardian who will only see her as a burden. But she didn't count on the warm and welcoming Knight family and neither did she expect that it would be Damien Knight, the tormented, battered warrior, who would melt her into opening her heart for him.

Damien is a complicated and intricate character. War has him on the verge of a mental breakdown with a kind of post-war trauma. This causes him to retreat both physically to his remote estate, as well as emotionally from his siblings and friends. He doesn't want to appear in Society until he's cured of these torments that can be triggered by the slightest things, such as fireworks or champagne corks popping.

Miranda is vivid, sparkling, defiant and vibrant despite her suffering at the School for Girls she grew up in after her parents' deaths. She has the ability to bounce back from anything and takes every adversity in stride, turning every bad thing into something positive.
With Miranda Damien is torn between his duty and honor and his promise to his fellow officer and his desire to have Miranda all to himself. She is a breath of fresh air and color in his darkened life. Despite his feelings for her and hers for him, he keeps pushing her away for her own protection. He doesn't want to taint her with the demons that haunt him. But Miranda wants none of this and persists in offering him her love and care to try and help him overcome his trauma.

Again the secondary characters form important supporting roles for Damien and Miranda and in the process some elaborate glances are given of some of the heroes and heroines of the previous books. It was nice to see how their lives have progressed since their own stories. Lucien, being Damien's twin plays an important role in assisting Miranda in her quest for Damien's heart but Bel and Alice also have their parts in introducing and escorting Miranda in the Ton's society.

The fact that the book starts with an important secondary character to the plot and this first chapter had me enthralled right way, says enough for how Gaelen Foley's characters have the ability to captivate and fascinate. The plot next to the romance is one where the reader is in the loop, knowing exactly who and why but the outcome and conclusion of it is the thing that makes it stand out and enrich the romance.

Gaelen Foley just keeps on writing these wonderful books in this series! This was another one that blew me away! I knew Damien was more than I suspected in LORD OF FIRE but this totally surpassed my expectations.
The story and feel of this book are very different from LORD OF FIRE, which is logical because Lucien and Damian are two totally different personalities and so are their heroines. This book was darker, more tormented but again it all utterly mesmerized me; the characters, the plot, the romance and Gaelen Foley's writing. It's outstandingly good.

Mixing historical facts with intense emotions her writing sparkles and sizzles, touching the wide range of emotions that are present in everyone's lives no matter what time period or what class they are from. But Gaelen Foley also manages to write books in a series that each have their own touch and feel but are still connected through the characters. She does this in way that is really amazing. I've read series where the basics of course are the same but the books are so similar in build up and plot that they become interchangeable. This is absolutely not the case with this series.

Every book is unique, every hero has his own issues to deal with and every heroine also has hers. Every plot, every couple and every romance has it's own uniqueness and that's what makes this series an excellent one and has me singing it's praises. Now if I only had the time to read all the remaining books in this series right away, one after the other...But alas, I will have to take them slow in between other books because unfortunately I don't have that luxury.

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Labels: awesome reads, Ballantine Books, Gaelen Foley, Historical Romance, Knight Miscellany Series, reviews | 0 comments |

July 15, 2008

Lord of Fire - Gaelen Foley

12:43 PM |

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BACKCOVER:
After years of preparation, he has baited his trap well, luring the depraved members of Society into his devil's playground so he can earn their trust and uncover their secrets. Yet no one in London suspects that Lord Lucien Knight is England's most cunning spy, an officer who has sacrificed his soul for his country. Now an unexpected intruder has invaded his fortress of sin, jeopardizing his carefully laid plans--and igniting his deepest desires.
Beautiful, innocent Alice Montague finds herself at the mercy of scandalous Lord Lucien. But as he begins his slow seduction to corrupt her virtue, Alice glimpses a man tormented by his own choices, a man who promises her nothing but his undeniable passion. . .

The background for this wonderful historical love story is the time when Napoleon has been imprisoned on Elba and the threat of war is still lingering.
Lucien Knight is a secret agent for the English Crown with many secrets to hide. He uses the country estate he's inherited from his father to attract other spies and pry information from them.
Alice Montague is a lovely, gently bred, young woman, living a quiet life but feeling restless, longing, wanting and waiting for something but she doesn't quite know what.
Circumstances brings them together in a time that is dangerous and they find in each other what they were unknowingly looking for: the soul mate that answers to their deepest desires. But before they can truly live in peace they have secrets to unveil, enemies to destroy and relatives to fight.

Alice is much more than meets the eye and a perfect match for Lucien. Underneath her meek and placid behavior there’s a fiery and passionate woman who will not let anything or anyone rule her. She is caring and sweet but she has a will of her own.

Lucien totally took me by surprise and from the first moment my heart broke for him. He is intelligent, cunning, wicked and sly, he knows how to seduce and manipulate but he's also lonely and lost, looking for someone who will see him as more the other Knight twin, next to his twin Damien who is a celebrated war hero. Lucien feels disconnected with Damien. He tries to come across as cynical and hard but deep inside he's very lonely and feels he will always be less than Damien for various reasons.
With Alice Lucien is completely thrown of his usual game of seduction and manipulation. He wants her to really want him. All of him, his good and his bad sides. Alice sees in him who he truly is and accepts that.
The same thing goes for Alice. People see her timid ways as prudish virtue but Lucien sees her inner desires and her longing for freedom. He sees her goodness and wants to revel in it.
There were numerous scenes between Alice and Lucien that brought tears in my eyes, speaking to my deepest emotions.

The secondary characters are complementary and a true addition to the main couple and the plot. There is Caro, Alice's sister-in-law, who is a selfish and malicious woman but without her Alice and Lucien would never have met. There's Damien, Lucien’s other half, the eldest of them. He has his own secrets and issues and I'm very curious to learn more about them in his own book. There's Harry, Alice's sweet little nephew who melts everyone’s heart, there are Lucien's young rogues, 5 young men in training to be spies just like Lucien and of course there's Lucien's archenemy, Claude Bardou, a French spy and the only one ever to capture and torture Lucien.

This book mesmerized me from the first page to the last. Gaelen Foley wrote a compelling historical romance that brings you back to London in the 19th century. A story with characters that have depth, background emotional motivation and a lot of issues to work out.

This series by Gaelen Foley is an undiscovered treasure on my bookshelf. It has, at least the first two books, everything I want in my romance novels; a couple that is perfectly matched, both emotionally as romantically, a thrilling, exciting plot, the historical facts are masterfully embedded into the story and the author knows how to keep my attention throughout the entire book, from the beginning to very end.

The emotions in this book had me in a very firm grip. Most present was the heartfelt loneliness both Lucien and Alice felt and the way they find the other to fill in the missing pieces in their lives. It's a heartwarming story with loneliness, pride and redemption as the main themes.

Every thing was right in this book: the plot, the characters, the pace, the emotions, the romance, the passion and the combination of all of the above put together. I was captivated, moved and entranced by it all. Even more than with the first book in this series, which I really adored.
The Knight Miscellany Series is one to treasure and a keeper on my bookshelves!

Quotes:
Alice and Lucien:
"Why must you kiss me?"
"Because I cannot bear waiting for you to kiss me."
"You actually expect me to kiss you?" She retorted in breathless indignation.
"Expect it? No. Desire it? Yes" He gave her a lazy half smile. "With every fiber of my being."

Lucien and Alice:
"You are mine now. Forever. Everything I have is yours. My body, my heart, my name."
"Lucien, my dark angel." She cupped his face between her hands and stared into his eyes. "I want your secrets."
"No, you, don't"

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Labels: awesome reads, Ballantine Books, Gaelen Foley, Historical Romance, Knight Miscellany Series, reviews | 0 comments |

June 30, 2007

The Duke - Gaelen Foley

5:35 PM |

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Driven to uncover the truth about the mysterious death of his ladylove, the Duke of Hawkscliffe will go to any lengths to unmask a murderer. Even if it means jeopardizing his reputation by engaging in a scandalous affair with London's most provocative courtesan-the desirable but aloof Belinda Hamilton.

Bel has used her intelligence and wit to charm the city's titled gentlemen, while struggling to put the pieces of her life back together. She needs a protector, so she accepts Hawk's invitation to become his mistress in name only. He asks nothing of her body, but seeks her help in snaring the same man who shattered her virtue. Together they tempt the unforgiving wrath of society-until their risky charade turns into a dangerous attraction, and Bel must make a devastating decision that could ruin her last chance at love. . . .

Sometimes you stumble upon a treasure when you’re least expecting it. And I really believe that’s the case for me with the Knight Miscellany series by Gaelen Foley.
After reading the blurb I was expecting a dime-a-dozen Regency and that’s why it sat on my bookshelf for quite a while before I picked it up to read. Well, colour me pleasantly surprised!

What a wonderful and very original plot, what a lovely and strong heroin, what a delicious and tormented hero, what great secondary characters! In short, what a great storyteller Ms Foley turns out to be.
The story building is superb. She really knows how to keep a reader pulled deep into a story you don’t want to put aside but you also don’t want it to end.

We have Bel(inda) Hamilton, a worldly courtesan, forced by appalling circumstances into the demimonde. Feminine, proud, bold and strong. Not compromising however painful it may turn out to be for herself.
And we have Robert Knigt, protector extraordinaire, the paragon duke on a vengance and ever so honorable, manly and kind.

They join forces to bring down the man responsible for both their sorrow and misery. But their joint-venture becomes a permanent love that eventually surpasses all difficulties.
Everything between Bel and Robert sizzles: their attraction, their interactions, their dialogues. The playful bantering between them was the thing I liked the most in the book. Both of them captured my heart!

Going on all the feelings going through me while reading it, from laughter to tears, from anger to excitement, this first installment of the Knight Miscellany is certainly a keeper. And I’m eagerly looking forward to the books of the other Knight-siblings. And needless to say that with this book Gaelen Foley has launched herself directly into my auto-buy list.

Quotes:

Robert: “I’ve been alone for so long but when I’m with you, oh, when I’m with you Bel, the earth sings and the stars dance and I don’t loathe myself so much for a bore.”

That night after Papa had left and the girls had gone to bed, he led her to the top of the keep and seduced her under the stars, coaxing tears of surrender from the deepest reaches of her heart with his whispers of eternal devotion.

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