Review: After Dark with the Duke by Julie Anne Long

Sparks fly when a daring diva clashes with an ice-cold war hero in the newest thrilling romance in USA Today bestselling author Julie Anne Long’s Palace of Rogues series.

AFTER DARK WITH THE DUKE

by JULIE ANNE LONG

Series: The Palace of Rogues #4

Publication date: November 30, 2021

Published by: Avon Romance

Genre: historical romance

 

SYNOPSIS

She arrives in the dead of night, a mob out for blood at her heels: Mariana Wylde, the “Harlot of Haywood Street,” an opera diva brought low by a duel fought for her favors. But the ladies of the Grand Palace on the Thames think they can make a silk purse from scandal: They’ll restore her reputation and share in her triumph...provided they can keep her apart from that other guest.

Coldly brilliant, fiercely honorable, General James Duncan Blackmore, the Duke of Valkirk, is revered, feared, desired...but nobody truly knows him. Until a clash with a fiery, vulnerable beauty who stands for everything he scorns lays him bare. It’s too clear the only cure for consuming desire is conquest, but their only chance at happiness could lead to their destruction.

The legendary duke never dreamed love would be his last battleground. Valkirk would lay down his life for Mariana, but his choice is stark: risk losing her forever, or do the one thing he vowed he never would...surrender.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Well, where should I start? I've lived in San Francisco for more than a decade, usually with at least one cat. I won the school spelling bee when I was in 7th grade; the word that clinched it was 'ukulele.' I originally set out to be a rock star when I grew up (I had a Bono fixation, but who didn't?), and I have the guitars and the questionable wardrobe stuffed in the back of my closet to prove it.

But writing was always my first love. 

I was editor of my elementary school paper (believe it or not, Mrs. Little's fifth grade class at Glenmoor Elementary did have one); my high school paper (along with my best high school bud, Cindy Jorgenson); and my college paper, where our long-suffering typesetter finally forced me to learn how to typeset because my articles were usually late (and thus I probably have him to thank for all the desktop publishing jobs that ensued over the years).

Won a couple of random awards along the way: the Bank of America English Award in High School (which basically just amounted to a fancy plaque saying that I was really, really good at English); and an award for best Sports Feature article in a College Newspaper (and anyone who knows me well understands how deeply ironic that is). I began my academic career as a Journalism major; I switched to Creative Writing, which was a more comfortable fit for my freewheeling imagination and overdeveloped sense of whimsy. I dreamed of being a novelist.

But most of us, I think, tend to take for granted the things that come easily to us. I loved writing and all indications were that I was pretty good at it, but I, thank you very much, wanted to be a rock star. Which turned out to be ever-so-slightly harder to do than writing. A lot more equipment was involved, that's for sure. Heavy things, with knobs. It also involved late nights, fetid, graffiti-sprayed practice rooms, gorgeous flakey boys, bizarre gigs, in-fighting—what's not to love?

But my dream of being a published writer never faded. When the charm (ahem) of playing to four people in a tiny club at midnight on a Wednesday finally wore thin, however, I realized I could incorporate all the best things about being in a band — namely, drama, passion, and men with unruly hair — into novels, while at the same time indulging my love of history and research. 

So I wrote The Runaway Duke, sent it to a literary agent (see the story here), who sold it to Warner Books a few months after that...which made 2003 one of the most extraordinary, head-spinning years I've ever had. 

Why romance? Well, like most people, I read across many genres, but I've been an avid romance reader since I got in trouble for sneaking a Rosemary Rogers novel out of my mom's nightstand drawer (I think it was Sweet Savage Love). Rosemary Rogers, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Laurie McBain...I cut my romance teeth on those ladies. And in general, I take a visceral sort of pleasure in creating a hero and a heroine, putting them through their emotional paces, and watching their relationship develop on the page. And of course, there's much to be said for the happy ending. :) 

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REVIEW

After Dark with the Duke by Julie Anne Long
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars



I've enjoyed every single installment of the Palace of Rogues series so far. While the newest book is regrettably my least favorite of the four, there were still moments to be swept away by Julie Anne Long's beautiful writing. She has a way of evoking passion and emotion between her characters that's a pleasure to read.

   He was a bloody castle. And she, like a wildflower, 

had been seeking out the chinks between the stones 

from the beginning.

This was a opposites attract romance where the hero and heroine have a significant age gap. In fact, Mariana Wylde is only a few years older than the hero, the Duke of Valkirk's son. She is a disgraced opera singer who was branded the “Harlot of Haywood Street” after a scandalous duel was fought in her honor. The newspapers printed conjecture and lies about her moral character which resulted in her fleeing one night from a sanctimonious mob. She arrived on the doorstep of the Grand Palace on the Thames in desperate straits. Near penniless, friendless, and with no prospects of getting hired by anyone in the near future, she hoped the proprietors would take pity on her and give her a place to formulate a plan. It so happens that England's most revered war hero was currently residing there in order to write his latest book, and her presence is an immediate affront to his honorable sensibilities.

These two rub each other the wrong way from the start. While Angelique and Delilah show her respect and withhold judgment, James believes every slanderous word printed about her in the papers and deems her unworthy. James has built his entire career and reputation around the concept of honor. That honor has made him God-like in the eyes of society and the weight of it has become burdensome. In reality, we are all human with the imperfections that come along with humanity. It's unrealistic to hold ourselves up to this unrealistic standard as an example to others. in the beginning of the book, James comes off as fairly pompous and condescending. Not only has he risen in society by having been given a dukedom, he's cushioned from judgement by the ton over any transgression he could possibly make. Not that he would ever allow himself a moment of weakness in any life decision that would tarnish the sparkling life he has built. Or would he?

Valkirk’s entire allegedly blameless life 

ensured he was spoken of only in hushed, 

reverent tones, and the details of his life 

had been reported as national news, 

safely on the front page of the newspaper. 

Never on the gossip pages.

Mariana's only sin was perhaps succumbing to her passion and taking a lover at a time when only men were free to explore their sexuality without limits. After she ended a consensual relationship that resulted in a duel, she was immediately blamed for the two men's foolish actions and slapped with the sensational label of Harlot. The judge and jury of public opinion was ruthless, setting out to destroy her with no questions asked. It's kind of a sad thing to think about that things haven't changed all that much in modern times. I enjoyed the author's exploration of this theme in the book. It illustrated how malicious gossip and slander could potentially have catastrophic effects on a person's life. If it weren't for Mariana's strong will and bravery in the face of all of the hate aimed at her, she could have easily folded like a deck of cards.Her inner pride didn't allow for self-pity or fragility. It's that strength that allows her to hold her own when it comes to James' disdain.

After one rude exchange between the two of them in which he attempted to shame and embarrass her, he regrets his actions and apologizes. He offers to give her private lessons in Italian as an olive branch which she accepts. It doesn't take long before their attraction starts to bloom. Their attraction eventually leads to clandestine nightly meetings that they both become addicted to despite their heads telling them that it can only end badly. The conflict between the two of them is pretty predictable. He feels obligated to maintain his pristine public image, and going public with a relationship with her would almost certainly decimate the legacy he has worked so hard to build. His life has been built around suppressing his emotions and controlling his desires. Then she comes along and shows him true passion and companionship. He's been undeniably brave on the battlefield, but doesn't know if he can face disapproving public scrutiny. Towards the end of the book, James makes an unforgivably insensitive and careless offer to Mariana that's basically like a knife in her back. You could chalk it up to pure stupidity, but really, for him to say what he said to her would mean that he didn't value her as a person at all. That he was ashamed of her and wasn't willing to show the world that he respected and valued her. By the end, he does redeem himself, and shows her with actions rather than simply words that he was wrong and deeply sorry. I respected him for that.

Some types of loneliness had only one cure. 

He was hers. She was his. 

But the notion of that was unbearable. 

God help him. He just wanted to keep her.

I did have some issue with the lack of natural progression in their feelings for each other. It felt as if one moment they were not attracted in the slightest bit (on his end he found her to be average and unremarkable in looks) and then suddenly they were fantasizing about each other uncontrollably. I needed a little bit more in order to believe this drastic pull between the two of them. Then when it was revealed what he had been writing in his book the whole time it didn't add up to what he had been thinking and saying in regards to her. I wanted to believe it but the mechanics didn't quite fit for me. 

    He had, in fact, never been this hungry for any other woman. 

He had the oddest sensation he was meeting his true self 

for perhaps the first time, and Mariana 

had somehow affected this introduction.

I also felt that the plot was a tad slow in the first half and I had to force my attention to stay on the pages. Maybe that was due to the focus being solely on the Grand Palace inhabitants' interactions and a lack of any relationship building between the hero/heroine. While the humor in JAL's books is always appreciated at some level, after three books the house banter and quirky cast can start to get stale if it's not freshened up. Also, there wasn't really any lead-in to the next book like the ones in the past which have always whet my appetite for the next installment. Not that I'm really complaining really, because this series has been such a resounding success that I would read whatever she puts out, even without a synopsis. Naturally, some books are bigger winners than others, this one just happened to not hit all the right notes. The eighteen year age gap was personally a bit much for me to wrap my mind around, though many particularly love reading books with this trope so it won't be an issue at all for others. I just couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she was basically the same age as his son and therefore in a whole different generation and stage in her life. Their children will be close to the same age as their grandchildren. If you find happiness together, more power to you, but I admit that it's an awkward thing for me to think about.

As always, I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next in the series and I'll be eagerly reading whatever it is, no questions asked. You Were Made to be Mine is due for publication in June of 2022.

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Blog Tour with Excerpt: Dark Tarot by Christine Feehan

Light and dark combine as the cards reveal hidden truths in this intoxicating installment in Christine Feehan’s #1 New York Times bestselling Carpathian series.

DARK TAROT by CHRISTINE FEEHAN

Series: Dark #31

Publication date: November 9, 2021

Published by: Berkley

Genre: paranormal romance

 

SYNOPSIS

Sandu Berdardi continues to exist only to protect his people. An ancient Carpathian, his entire long life has been dedicated to honor above all else. He knows his time has passed, especially since he has not been able to find his lifemate—the anchor to keep him sane in a world he no longer understands. But just as he truly starts to give up hope, a voice reaches out to him in the night and his world explodes into color.

 

Adalasia enters Sandu’s mind seamlessly, as if she has been a part of him forever. While she can see the shape of things to come in her deck of cards, her gift is both a blessing and a curse. The true course of Sandu’s quest remains unclear, with danger waiting at every turn. She cannot see everything the future holds, but she does know it is a journey the will take together.

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EXCERPT:

     Adalasia’s voice was soft. The notes like music, penetrating right through skin and bone, deeper still, through his heart to pierce his black, black, very tattered, very scarred soul. He could almost feel the way her amazing voice managed to weave together pieces of that broken travesty. He was at his most vulnerable, unable to see properly—and at his most lethal. An unknown male was touching his lifemate. There were enemies close, humans—but enemies nevertheless.

     “We’ve benefited from your guidance so many times, Lasia. I can’t imagine what we would do without you,” the other male said as he slung his arm around Adolf’s shoulders.

     The need to kill receded slowly as Sandu recognized that the two males were obviously a couple. He breathed away the monstrous response that had arisen so strong in him followed by so many other unfamiliar emotions he hadn’t ever had to cope with. Jealousy? Was that a true emotion an honorable Carpathian would feel? It was a little humiliating to think that he would experience such a thing. He stood still, breathing, letting the air move through his lungs, waiting for the terrible crash of unwanted feelings to cycle through and leave him so he could think rationally.

     Sandu allowed himself the luxury of drinking her in while the two men took their leave and moved down the steps and away. He immediately cut off anyone else from entering her shop simply by standing on the lowest step. There would be no way to get around his large body. He heard her swift intake of breath, and then her eyes met his.

     “Adalasia.” He said her name with deliberate gentleness. “Sandu Berdardi.” He gave her the courtesy of his name.

     Her gaze swept the width of his shoulders, his tall, intimidating form, his dark eyes and hard demeanor.      Because he was a man who noted every detail, he caught the slight tremor to her voice.

     “Adalasia Ravasio. How did you find me?”

He ignored the question and gained a step. That put him nearly to her. One more stair and he’d be on the same one with her. She didn’t give way.

     “You can’t be here. You have to go.” She whispered the warning, ducking her head as if she feared someone might overhear or be able to read her lips.

     He gestured toward her sign, the one that said she did readings. “I’ve come for your guidance.” He took another step, forcing her to back up to the shallow porch.

     “I read your cards. There was danger all around you. You have to go while you can, Sandu. You might think this is all silly and a game because I read cards, but I’m not wrong. You have to leave.”

He stepped up onto the porch beside her. She wore a dark, long, olive-colored skirt that fell around her ankles in soft ruffles. Her camisole was very modern, much more so than he would have approved, but now that he was close to her, he could see the way the lighter olive-colored material showcased the swell of her breasts. The laces going up the valley between her breasts drew attention, making him want to explore those curves.

     He put his hand very gently on her flat belly and exerted pressure to back her through the open door. “Are you concerned about the three men and the woman watching you from across the way?” He reached behind him and closed the door firmly.

     Adalasia gave a little sigh and moved around him to open the door and turn the sign around that proclaimed she was giving another reading. “You’re a stubborn man.”

     “It’s best that you realize I have no intention of leaving you behind. If I leave this place, you will be traveling with me.”

From DARK TAROT published by arrangement with Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House 

LLC. Copyright © 2021 by Christine Feehan.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christine Feehan is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the Carpathian series, the GhostWalker series, the Leopard series, the Torpedo Ink series, and the Shadow Rider series. Learn more online at christinefeehan.com.

 

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Blog Tour: Celebration at Christmas Cove with Excerpt by Carrie Jansen

In this humorous and heartwarming romance, sparks fly between a woman who can't wait to leave a wintry New England island, and a widower who would do anything to stay.

CELEBRATION AT CHRISTMAS COVE

by CARRIE JANSEN

Series: Sea Spray Island #1

Publication date: October 26, 2021

Published by: Berkley

Genre: contemporary romance, holiday

 

SYNOPSIS

Travel magazine writer Celeste Bell is in a terrible mood. Not only was her flight to the Caribbean diverted to a Massachusetts island, now it looks like she’ll have to spend Christmas there. Single and still mourning the loss her mother a year earlier, Celeste is desperate to avoid any emotional entanglements and all holiday festivities. She just doesn’t feel like celebrating.

 

But that’s exactly what community center executive director Nathan White and his young daughter, Abigail, want to do. Nathan is entirely focused on making sure that his daughter has a happy Christmas, especially with the knowledge that if he can’t raise money for the community center soon, it will close and they’ll have to leave the island. When he meets Celeste, Nathan begins to feel a connection and wonders if he’s brave enough to risk his heart once more.

 

Thawing their frozen hearts and saving the community center will require a Christmas miracle. But tis the season…

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EXCERPT:

Monday—December 19 

“You’re bumping me?” As a writer for an elite travel magazine, Celeste Bell had virtually flown around the world over the course of the past seven years and she’d never been bumped from a flight. She knew it was bound to happen sooner or later; she just didn’t want it happening now. 

“We paged you three times, but since you weren’t at the gate for initial boarding, we assigned the seat to another passenger,” the agent explained. 

Celeste wasn’t at the gate because she’d had to bring her luggage to the ticket counter after changing out of the ugly sweater she’d worn to her office holiday party earlier that day. This season, she’d been avoiding Christmas festivities like the flu, but since participation was mandatory, she reluctantly donned the most hideous apparel she could find: a fluffy, white sweater with a cartoonish fir tree emblazoned across the front. The tree was crowned with a blinking LED-powered star, and a dozen miniature, multicolored sleigh bells were strung from its boughs with silver tinsel. The sweater bore an uncanny resemblance to a yuletide craft Celeste had made in first grade from a paper plate, cotton balls, glitter and various geometric shapes cut from red, green and yellow felt. Oh, the things she did for the sake of her career. 

“I get it. Symbolism,” Brad, the college intern, remarked. Holding a plastic cup of eggnog in one hand and a chocolate mint brownie in the other, he gestured toward her midsection with his chin. “You chose that sweater because your last name’s Bell, right?” 

The bells were actually Celeste’s least favorite part of the sweater, which was saying a lot. Whenever she walked from her cubicle to her boss’s office or to the break room and back again, their jingling made her feel like a Clydesdale horse—it didn’t help that she’d gathered her long, thick blond hair into a high ponytail—and drew increasingly annoyed looks from her coworkers over the course of the day. 

She intended to switch wardrobes before a colleague drove her to Logan International Airport, but at the last minute, the magazine’s editor in chief, Philip Carrington, tasked Celeste with proofreading Brad’s post about the Boston Harbor Holiday Cruise. And by proofreading Philip meant rewriting. Brad’s draft was so poorly structured, it took Celeste half an hour to reword it, and by that time her coworker was threatening to leave without her. 

When she arrived at the airport, Celeste wheeled her luggage into the restroom so she could change. She removed her heavy winter coat, scarf and gloves, and she stuffed them into her suitcase, along with her socks and shoes. Then, she opened her smaller carry-on and checked to make sure she had a travel blanket with her before adroitly exchanging her slacks and ugly sweater for a casual slate-blue swing dress and crochet cardigan. Finally, she slid her feet into a pair of canvas sneakers. Celeste intended to be ready for the tropical Caribbean temps the moment she stepped off the plane. 

But first she’d have to step onto the plane. 

“Are you sure there aren’t any seats left?” It was an inane question, and Celeste could hear the whine of desperation in her own voice. 

“I can book you on the eleven-thirty-six flight tomorrow morning. Of course, we’ll compensate you for the inconvenience, as well.” 

Tomorrow was December 20. Technically, Celeste didn’t need to be in the Caribbean until first light on December 23. That’s when the Christmas carnival—or simply carnival, as it was called—for the particular island she was visiting kicked off a daybreak street party known as j’ouvert. The trip was a mix of business and pleasure; after taking a couple days to enjoy a much-needed break, Celeste would spend December 23, 24 and 25 attending carnival and describing its highlights in a Christmas Day post on the magazine’s blog. That meant if she didn’t leave Boston until almost noon tomorrow, she’d squander nearly a full day of vacation. Even so, Celeste cared less about that than she did about the weather forecast, which warned that a nor’easter was brewing. If it followed its projected course, the storm could pack a wallop in terms of snow accumulation, and who knew how that might affect air travel for the next few days. She couldn’t risk it. 

“Would you check for flights on other airlines, please?” 

The agent’s fingernails clicked against the keyboard, her expression impassive. After what felt like an eon, she said, “If we hurry, I can book a seat for you on a flight with our partner airline, IslandSky. There would be a brief layover on Sea Spray Island—” 

“I’ll take it,” Celeste said as the woman continued to speak. 

“—then you’d continue to New York City and from there you’d fly nonstop—” 

“Yes, thank you, that’s what I want to do.” Celeste didn’t care about the small print, she just needed to get on that flight. 

A few more minutes of keyboard clicking and then Celeste was off and running, dodging fellow travelers and circumventing airport vendors as she darted toward Terminal C with her carry-on bag in tow, the sweater inside it jingling all the way. As she ran, she recognized it wasn’t really the need for an extra day of relaxation that spurred her on. Nor was it solely that she’d made a professional commitment to cover the carnival. No, what really urged Celeste forward was the fear that if she didn’t leave now, right now, it would be too late and then there’d be no escaping for Christmas. 

And escaping was her primary purpose in volunteering to immerse herself in a Caribbean carnival while all of her coworkers were celebrating Christmas with their families. From the rollicking parades and music, to the lively dancing, vibrant costumes and mouthwatering food, the carnival wasn’t likely to evoke memories of the calm and cozy but joyful Christmases that Celeste used to celebrate. On the contrary, going to the Caribbean would keep her from thinking about how it had been just over a year since her mother passed away. And it would take her mind off the fact that she was still lonely. Still alone. 

Just thinking about not thinking about it made her lungs contract. 

Or maybe it was the exertion of tearing through an overly dry, hot and crowded airport trailing an unwieldy piece of luggage in her wake. As fit as she was, by the time Celeste arrived at her gate she was gasping. Light-headed, she hardly registered that the descending ramp the agent directed her to follow led outside to ground level where the plane awaited her on the tarmac. 

Celeste skidded to a standstill. The realization hit her like a gelid gust of air: it’s a prop plane. When it came to prop planes or Christmas festivities, it was almost a toss-up as to which distressed her more. Almost but not quite. Pressing her dress flat against her legs so it wouldn’t fly up in the wind, Celeste numbly soldiered forward, the end of her ponytail lashing sideways at her face. 

She climbed the four ladder-like steps and entered the dimly lit interior where a flight attendant—or was he the copilot?—reached to take her carry-on for stowing while simultaneously issuing safety instructions. Overcome with either regret or relief, Celeste plunked herself into the seat closest to the door, fastened the buckle around her waist and closed her eyes. She was finally on her way. 

From CELEBRATION AT CHRISTMAS COVE published by arrangement with Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. 

Copyright © 2021 by Carrie Jansen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carrie Jansen earned an MFA in creative writing and published many poems and short stories before becoming a novelist. An avid bodyboarder and beach walker, she spends as much of the year as she can on Cape Cod, where she draws inspiration for her contemporary romances. She also writes Amish romance novels under her pseudonym, Carrie Lighte.

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Blog Tour with Review: Luminous by Mara Rutherford

From the author of Crown of Coral and Pearl comes an immersive new fantasy about a witch who must learn to harness her power--or risk losing her loved ones forever.

LUMINOUS by MARA RUTHERFORD

Series: standalone

Publication date: October 5, 2021

Published by: Inkyard Press

Genre: Teen & Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy

 

SYNOPSIS

Liora has spent her life in hiding, knowing discovery could mean falling prey to the king's warlock, Darius, who uses mages' magic to grow his own power. But when her worst nightmare comes to pass, Darius doesn't take her. Instead, he demands that her younger sister return to the capital with him. To make matters worse, Evran, Liora's childhood friend and the only one who knows her secret, goes missing following Darius's visit, leaving her without anyone to turn to.

To find Evran and to save her sister, Liora must embrace the power she has always feared. But the greatest danger she'll face is yet to come, for Darius has plans in motion that will cause the world to fall into chaos--and Liora and Evran may be the only ones who can stop him. 

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EXCERPT

Excerpted from Luminous by Mara Rutherford, © 2021 by Mara Rutherford. Used with permission from Inkyard Press/HarperCollins.

     My father once described magic as an invisible beast, an unseen enemy that could snatch our lives away at any moment. As a small, impressionable child, I had imagined a lupine creature lurking outside among the whispering pines, breathing over my shoulder in our garden. For years, I didn’t even leave the house; it was magic that had killed my mother, after all.

     I was old enough now to understand that magic didn’t work that way. But as I hurried down the dark road, past the woods that had become my haven during daylight hours, my childhood fears didn’t feel so foolish. I glanced behind me, sure I’d find Belle Sabine, the fabled witch of every young woman’s nightmares, swooping down as silent as an owl, ready to steal my youth and leave an empty husk behind.

To my relief, there was nothing there. My only traveling companion was the wind nipping at my heels, spurring me forward. But in my brief distraction, I tripped over a rock in the road, falling hard onto my knees. Cursing myself for my clumsiness and superstition, I dusted off my hands, wincing as a sharp pebble dislodged from my palm. I couldn’t afford this kind of delay. It was close to midnight, and there was no moon to speak of, which made my situation even more precarious; my exposed skin glowed so brightly that moths circled me like a flame. But my little sister, Mina, was missing. I had to tell Father.

As I rose, I heard the sound of footsteps up the road. I glanced around for a place to hide, but there was no time. A moment later, a figure loomed at the margins of my glow.

     Some said Belle Sabine had died, others that she was biding her time until the townspeople became complacent once again. But I was convinced she had come to kill me on the one night I had dared to venture past our threshold.

     I shrank back as skirts and slippered feet came into view, followed by a woman’s arms cradling a basket, and finally, the face of Margana, the weaver who lived next door. Not here to kill me, then. But a witch, nevertheless. And one arguably as dangerous as Belle Sabine, given who she worked for.

     “What are you doing on the road, Liora? It’s the middle of the night.”

     “Mina is gone,” I said. “Father is still at work, and I didn’t know what else to do.”

Margana scrutinized me for a moment. “You’re a witch.”

     A chill that had nothing to do with the cool night air crept over my scalp. No one had ever called me a witch to my face before, though of course I knew what I was. My entire life revolved around my glowing skin and the fear that the kingdom’s most powerful warlock would discover it. Lord Darius was employed by the king himself, gathering mages and torturing them if they didn’t do his bidding.

     I pulled Father’s cloak tighter around myself, but it was futile. She already knew. I had wasted too much time getting up the nerve to leave the house after I found Mina’s bed empty, wringing my hands at the window, wondering if she’d been kidnapped by drifters or lured into the forest by a ghost lantern. Then, once I was on the road, I had foolishly stopped to look at the devil’s footprints, little white mushrooms that grew in pairs of two, resembling the cloven hooves of a demon. I’d seen them in daylight plenty of times, but never at night. They had caught my eye because their glow was so similar to my own.

Oddly, Margana’s basket was full of the mushrooms. Her cornflower-blue eyes and auburn hair were pale and otherworldly in their light. As if sensing my curiosity, she shifted the basket to her other hip. Margana was one of the few people who lived outside the gates of the ancient village of Sylvan, like us. She was also my best friend Evran’s mother—and the only other witch I knew.

     “I always wondered why your father moved you girls out here after your mother died,” she said. “Now it all makes sense. But something tells me your father wouldn’t be pleased to know you’re outside, exposing yourself.” She grabbed one of my hands and turned it over, examining it like a bruised apple at market. Against Margana’s dull skin, mine looked false, as if I wasn’t a real person at all.

     I pulled my hand free as politely as possible. “I should go.”

She sighed. “Keep your head down, and pray you don’t meet anyone on the road. Darius’s spies are everywhere.”

     My eyes widened in fear, and she chuckled to herself. “Not me, silly girl.”

     I swallowed audibly. If there really were spies in Sylvan, Margana was the most likely suspect. After all, she did work for Lord Darius. She might not be his servant by choice, but he was dangerous enough that no mage dared cross him. No mage who had lived to tell about it, anyway.

I was about to step around her when my eyes drifted to the basket once again. “I thought the devil’s footprints were poisonous.”

     Her lips curved in a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Oh, they are. Highly. Fortunately, I don’t plan on eating them. Good luck, Liora.”

     I nodded and hurried to the stone steps leading down to Sylvan, which was tucked away in a gorge, hidden from the roving eyes of river pirates. Above me, a heavy iron chain was suspended between the cliffs. As far as I knew, Sylvan was the only village in Antalla—maybe the world—that could boast having attracted not one, but two falling stars. A fragment of the first had been melted into the shape of a five-pointed star and hung from the chain. At night, it was only a glimmer overhead.

     The second star—my star—had disintegrated amid the flames when it landed.

I wound my way silently through Sylvan’s narrow streets, toward Father’s shop. He and Adelle, my older, more responsible sister, were likely the only ones working at this hour. Just as I quickened my pace, I heard a high-pitched shriek from somewhere above me. I looked up to where a lamp winked on in an apartment window, illuminating two silhouettes, then down to the shop on my left. The tailor’s shop.

Mina.

     Without thinking, I grabbed the cast-iron boot scraper sitting by the front door of the shop and hurled it through the window. Glass shattered, leaving a jagged hole that gaped like a mouth midscream.

Heart racing, I flattened myself against the alcove by the door as a man shouted and a window screeched open. The tailor, a young man nearly as alluring as the fabrics he sold, poked his head out for a moment, then disappeared, likely heading downstairs to look for the culprit. I scurried to the nook in front of the butcher’s, hoping my light would be hidden there.

     “Get behind me,” Luc said from somewhere inside the shop. “The thief could still be out there.”

     “You’re so brave.”

I sighed in relief at the sound of Mina’s voice, before fury shot through me like an arrow. I should have known she would come to the tailor’s; she had flirted with Luc relentlessly today, which was how we’d acquired four yards of the champagne-colored silk she wanted for the dress I’d spent all evening working on.

     A moment later, they emerged onto the street, Mina clutching at Luc’s sleeve as he lifted his lamp and peered into the darkness.

     He tossed his black hair out of his eyes and frowned. “It doesn’t look like they stole anything. Just vandals, I suppose.”

     “Or someone trying to send you a message,” Mina breathed, dramatic as ever. “Do you have any nemeses?”

     When he turned his dark gaze on her, something tugged at my heart. She was wearing a dress I’d made for myself when I was her age. It hung loose on her thin frame, but the hem grazed her calves, a sure sign she had altered it. She had nothing but a shawl pulled around her shoulders, and from where I stood, it was painfully clear that the tailor was not interested in her the way she no doubt hoped.

     “I have to find a member of the night guard and report this. You shouldn’t be here. If your father catches you, he’ll have me hanged. You’re a sweet girl, Mina, but this is inappropriate.”

     “But the silk…”

     “That was for your sister. Now, please, go home.”

     Mina caught her lip in her teeth to keep from crying. With a nod, she hurried away, tears already streaming down her cheeks. I waited for Luc to start up the street before I ran out of the alcove to catch her.

     She squealed in alarm when I placed my hand on her shoulder, and I quickly clapped my other hand over her mouth.

     “It’s me,” I whispered, lowering my hand slowly when I was confident she wouldn’t scream.

She swiped at her tears. “Liora? What are you doing out? What if someone sees you?”

     My anger softened at her concern, until I remembered that she was the reason I was out in the first place. “I might ask you the same questions. If Father had come home and found you missing, he’d have killed you.”

     “And what if he goes home and finds both of us missing? Have you considered that?”

I opened my mouth to scold her, but she was right. “You can explain what you were doing once we get back,” I said.

     In typical Mina fashion, she stuck her tongue out at me, then turned and ran toward home.

* * *

     We were indeed lucky. We made it home not long before Father and Adelle. By the time he came to our room to check on us, we were both in bed. I waved sleepily at him and Mina let out an emphatic snore, but once the door was closed, I threw back my covers and leaped out of bed.

     “I hope you have a good explanation for this,” I hissed.

     Her voice was muffled by the thick blanket pulled up to her nose, but I could hear the tremor in it when she said, “I thought Luc liked me.”

     “And I thought you were dead!” I whisper-shouted, then stalked to the window ledge to keep myself from throttling her. I plucked a pendant from the collar of my nightgown, running my fingers over the five points on the star charm to calm myself. Evran had given it to me, years ago, and its contours were as familiar to me now as the feel of his hand in mine as he pulled me through the Sylvan woods toward home at twilight. Perhaps I was being too hard on Mina. I would risk a lot of things for Evran.

     “Luc told me he was having a party tonight,” she said. “I didn’t realize how late it was when I got there. Everyone else had already left.”

     I was surprised that the thought of her getting ready for a party, the excitement she must have felt as she sneaked into Sylvan to meet a handsome young man, made me more envious than angry. “I heard you cry out.”

     The whites of her eyes flashed in the dark.

     “Don’t you dare roll your eyes at me,” I snapped.

     “I’m just stretching them, Ora.” The world-weary tone was classic Mina: so eager to be a grown-up, ever since she was little. “A moth got tangled in my hair. Anyway, Luc was a perfect gentleman. And as it turns out, it’s not me he wants.”

     The silk was for me. The last of my anger waned as I imagined how sure Mina must have been of Luc to do something so foolish, only to find she’d made a huge mistake. This was his fault as much as it was hers. “He was just being kind because I spend so much money in his shop.”

     She snorted. “He spoke about you the entire time. He asked why you hadn’t come to the party, and what you liked to do in your free time, and why he never saw you out in town.”

     “What did you tell him?” I dropped the pendant into my collar and pulled back the edge of the curtain just a bit to gaze at the real stars.

     “I told him you were making me a dress, that that’s what you’re doing most of the time.”

I sighed and let the curtain fall. For a girl with glowing skin, I sounded unbearably dull. But it was the truth. If I wasn’t sewing, I was cooking, cleaning, or rereading one of our few books.

     Father trusted me enough to let me go out on sunny days now. The smallest stars don’t shine at noon, he said, and my glow could be kept dim as long as I stayed in control of my emotions. But the downside of having even just a little bit of freedom was that it came with responsibilities. Father had only given me permission to go to town for errands, never to dawdle, which made taking Mina along particularly frustrating. She had made an art form out of window-shopping. I missed my afternoons in the woods with Evran, those glorious days when I could sneak out unnoticed while Father was working and my sisters were in their lessons.

     I climbed back into bed and pulled the covers up, a wave of guilt washing over me. Had I really believed Mina was in mortal peril? Because if not, there was no excuse for my own behavior. What if some part of me had risked going out tonight because I wanted to prove to myself, finally, that my magic wasn’t as dangerous as Father feared?

     If that was the case, I had failed spectacularly. It had only taken a few minutes for me to undo all our years of hard work, and I couldn’t blame my sister for that.

     “Promise me you won’t sneak out again, Mina. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”

     She twisted onto her side to face me. “I’m sorry. I should never have put you at risk like that. I won’t do it again.”

     “It’s all right. Get some sleep now.”

     Mina responded a moment later with a very genuine snore.

     I smiled and tried to fall asleep myself, but I lay awake for hours, thinking about Margana. Would she tell Darius about me, potentially destroying not just my life but those of everyone I loved? I thought of Father and wondered if all this time it hadn’t been me he was protecting, but them.

     Because as much as I had wanted to believe that the invisible beast was out there, that if I simply hid myself away like a secret, we would be safe, I had known for quite some time that the beast Father feared most lived inside of me.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mara Rutherford began her writing career as a journalist but quickly discovered she far preferred fantasy to reality. Originally from California, Mara has since lived all over the world with her marine-turned-diplomat husband. A triplet born on Leap Day, Mara holds a master's degree in cultural studies from the University of London. When she's not writing or chasing after her two sons, she can usually be found pushin_g the boundaries of her comfort zone, whether at a traditional Russian banya or an Incan archaeological site. Mara is a former Pitch Wars mentee and three-time mentor.

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REVIEW

Luminous by Mara Rutherford
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



The Crown of Coral and Pearl series is one of my favorites fantasy series in the last couple of years, so when I saw this new offering from Mara Rutherford, I jumped at the chance to read it. If you take the fact that I'm a huge fan of this author's writing out of the equation, the synopsis and gorgeous cover would have hooked me alone. Immediate points for originality. A heroine with luminous skin that has magic that she doesn't know how to harness and must hide from a corrupt, powerful warlock? I was all in.

My entire life revolved around my glowing skin 

and the fear that the kingdom’s most powerful 

warlock would discover it. 

Lord Darius was employed by the king himself, 

gathering mages and 

torturing them if they didn’t do his bidding.

Liora has been laying low with her father and sisters in the small town of Sylvan. Her father once held a high position at court, but left in order to protect her from Darius, the man who controlled the King and uses mages to acquire their power. There is a variety of special abilities by those who have magic such as teleportation, "weaving" things into creation, fire starting, and the ability to see in the darkness. However, there didn't seem to be an actual magic system as mainly we were just told that some inherently had magic and some didn't. The magic needed to be activated somehow and everybody's abilities were varying degrees in strength. There wasn't a complicated list of rules or an elaborate backstory to how the magic in the world came to be. So if you are a reader who likes simple fantasy without all of these things this could be the perfect book for you. For me personally, I would have appreciated some more detail. It didn't have to be intricate world building, just enough to bring me more firmly inside the story.

Liora has been sheltered from the world by her father for a long time, so she is a bit naive at times, but you can't fault her bravery. She frequently disregards her own safety in order to protect her loved ones. Whether it's her best friend Evran or her sister Mina, she puts herself in harms way in life or death situations in order to try to save them. However, because of being sheltered, she often seems a tad reckless in her actions. She has absolutely no knowledge of what she is capable of magically because she thinks she is a danger to other people and doesn't try to learn. But secretly...she wishes to see more outside of the four walls of her home. To explore the side of herself that must always be kept hidden, to understand herself completely. After she begins working for Evran's mother the weaver, she discovers that those closest to her have been keeping more secrets than she could have imagined. Is she strong enough to set to rights what Lord Darius has set in motion without destroying her only chance of happiness with the boy who holds her heart?

  Through Margana, I was beginning to see 

how magic could be a force of 

creation and destruction, 

of good and evil.

This was an original fantasy and it was easy to immerse myself in, but there was something missing for me in the heroine. I tried to put my finger on where she felt lacking and I felt that it was almost as if she was a secondary character in her own book. It's not that I disliked her, but she failed to make me feel much concern over her situation or even anticipation for the romance subplot. As well, the ending was a little dissatisfying because it ended quite abruptly without showing the resolution to a twist that occurred in the final chapters.

If you're looking for a fantasy standalone that's very straightforward without a complex magic system, this could be the book you're looking for. This wasn't my favorite by this author, but as always I loved her writing style and look forward to seeing what she has to offer next.

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Review: The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath

New York Times bestselling author Lorraine Heath continues her Once Upon a Dukedom series with this lush love story of a duke who discovers what he desires in a wife may not be what he needs...

THE DUCHESS HUNT 

by LORRAINE HEATH

Series: Once Upon a Dukedom #2

Publication date: September 28, 2021

Published by: Avon Romance

Genre: historical romance

 

SYNOPSIS

Hugh Brinsley-Norton, the Duke of Kingsland, is in need of a duchess. However, restoring the dukedom—left in ruins by his father—to its former glory demands all his time, with little room for sentiment. He places an advert encouraging the single ladies of the ton to write why they should be the one chosen, and leaves it to his efficient secretary to select his future wife.

If there exists a more unpleasant task in the world than deciding who is to marry the man you love, Penelope Pettypeace certainly can’t imagine what it might be. Still, she is determined to find the perfect bride for her clueless, yet ruthlessly charming employer.

But when an anonymous note threatens to reveal truths best hidden, Kingsland has no choice but to confront the danger with Penelope at his side. Beguiled by the strong-willed, courageous beauty, he realizes he’s willing to risk everything, including his heart, to keep her safe within his arms. Could it be the duchess he’s hunting for has been in front of him all along?

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Praise for Lorraine Heath:

“Heath opens her Once Upon a Dukedom series with a satisfying, character-driven Victorian romance... a promising spin-off.”  -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Scoundrel of My Heart

“Heath is known for her beautiful, deeply emotional romances.”  -- Washington Post

“This Sins for All Seasons series finale is full of heart.”  -- Kirkus Reviews on Beauty Tempts the Beast

“Heath concludes her Sins for All Seasons series...with a true treat of a Victorian romance... when Althea asks Beast for lessons in seduction, their already simmering chemistry comes to a boil. Heath may have saved the best for last.”  -- Publishers Weekly on Beauty Tempts the Beast

"Heath has crafted a love story dedicated to the inherent romanticism of books; she understands the sensual, comforting, compassionate appeal of books, reading, and those that treasure them. The Earl Takes a Fancy possesses all her usual skill for devising romance, but more potently, it also celebrates a more deep-seated emotion and sense of connection familiar to any bookworm." -- Entertainment Weekly

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lorraine Heath has always had a soft spot for emotional love stories. No doubt because growing up, watching movies with her mom, she was taught that the best movies "won't half make you cry."​​​​​​​

She is the daughter of a British beauty (her mom won second place in a beauty contest sponsored by Max Factor® during which she received a kiss from Caesar Romero, (the Joker on the original Batman TV series) and a Texan who was stationed at Bovingdon while serving in the air force. Lorraine was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, but soon after moved to Texas. Her "dual" nationality has given her a love for all things British and Texan, and she enjoys weaving both heritages through her stories.

When she received her BA degree in psychology from the University of Texas, she had no idea she had gained a foundation that would help her to create believable characters—characters that are often described as “real people.” She began her career writing training manuals and computer code for the IRS, but something was always missing. When she read a romance novel, she became not only hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She's been writing about them ever since. Her novels have been recognized with numerous industry awards and have appeared on bestseller lists, including ​​​​​​​USA TODAY and the New York Times.

The author of more than 60 novels, she writes historical and contemporary romance for adults and historical romance for teen readers. Under the names Rachel Hawthorne and Jade Parker, she writes popular contemporary, historical, and paranormal r​​omance for teens readers. She also writes young adult novels with her son under the name J. A. London.

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REVIEW

The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If there existed a more 

unpleasant task in the world 

than selecting the woman who 

was to marry the man you loved, 

Penelope Pettypeace 

certainly couldn’t imagine 

what it might be.

Sometimes you open up a book and the very first line of the book is so attention grabbing that you're immediately compelled to read more. I experienced that with The Duchess Hunt and continued to be pulled in the deeper I went. Likewise, I was intrigued by both main characters from the start.

Hugh was shrewd, intense, a bit aloof, but far from cold. He was an enlightened man for that time because he had no qualms about hiring a female as his right-hand woman. Not only that, but he views at her as his equal in intelligence and competency. Getting into his inner thoughts early on, you notice that after eight years of working closely together, he's more intrigued by her than he allows himself to acknowledge. He frequently pulls himself back from his awareness of her as a woman, mainly because of the power dynamic between the two of them, and that caused a tug of war between his heart and his head. I really enjoyed the angst as it built in momentum during his inner struggle. What was funny was that his latent feelings for her were glaringly obvious to not only the reader, but his mother and closest friends as well. The only one who seemed to be in the dark (or denial) for much of the book was the hero. Penelope was aware of her own feelings, but completely unaware of his. 

Blast her impertinent heart. 

Why did it always have to 

leap with joy whenever 

her gaze fell on him? 

Why did it have to yearn for 

what it could never possess?

If Penelope Pettypeace had any inkling that the Duke who employed her had any feelings for her other than professional, she just might have run. Though she has been secretly in love with the man for years, she isn't really the person who allows herself to get close to people because of her past. She's a very private person who has been burned badly because of the secret she holds, which ironically could be the thing that sparked Hugh's curiosity to look at her more than surface deep. She has an air of mystery about her that presents an appealing puzzle to a man like him. 

The more he unveiled, 

the more curious he became. 

He was desperate to know everything. 

She’d always been an important part of the 

business side of his life, but it seemed 

at some point today a shift 

had occurred in his world, 

and he could no longer 

relegate her to only a portion of it.

Hugh is an investor, problem solver and astute businessman. The fact that he has known Pettypeace for so long and knows very little personal information about her makes him appreciate even the smallest insight as a gift. And the way he secretly craved being able to make her smile and laugh was the sweetest. It was these small details that made me root for the two of them and feel that they were made for each other. As well, it was refreshing to read a romance where the couple was so similar in personality rather than complete opposites.

They were both on the same wave length to the point that they could even finish each other's sentences and anticipate what the other would want or need. He put his complete trust in her abilities to handle his business empire if he had to travel in search of new opportunities. More importantly, he believed that she knew him so well, that she could even handle the tedious task of finding him a suitable wife better than he could. I will say that once the two of them started to explore their interest in each other a little bit, it felt a bit odd that they continued their discussions of her quest in finding him a wife. They were being a bit willfully ignorant about reality. The reality was that he was behaving jealously at the thought of her dancing with another man, he was possessive, and protective over her when she got sick. Then he would turn those thoughts off like a light switch and pretend that everything was casual until his permanent partner was found.

They both also had very big secrets that they held back from sharing with each other for the majority of the book. Once his secret came out, I'm not going to lie, it made me uncomfortable. I couldn't quite wrap my head around how this was so casually explained away because to me, I think there needed to be something much more drastic pushing Hugh to do something like that. Up until this point, the book was easily five stars, but this plot point did detract from my enjoyment. Then Penelope's secret was outed and while is was quite tragic, my sympathy wasn't completely there for her because she continued hiding it from him until the bitter end. I understand the shame that went along with it but there was a lack of trust on her part that was disappointing after he opened up to her with his massive secret.

The chemistry and drawn out anticipation over this couple made this romance really enjoyable for the most part. While there were some issues I had with the plot, the dynamic between Hugh and Penelope made up for a lot. I also really liked the detail that Lorraine Heath put into the epilogue, and thought it was an interesting way to close the story. If you're looking for a historical romance that's a little different from the common opposites attract, this could be the right book for you.

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