Author: Amalie Howard & Angie Morgan
Genre/Age: Historical Romance/Adult
Series: Lords of Essex Series (Book Two)
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Format: ebook via Tasty Tours
Rating: ✺✺✺✺.5
Links: Goodreads
Synopsis: "A hearty dose of secrets and burning passion. A page-turning escape!" – Eliza Knight, USA Today bestselling author
A princess who had it all. A lord with everything to lose.
Lord Graham Findlay, the shamelessly virile Viscount Northridge, has a disgraceful secret, one he’ll do anything to hide. Holding his passions at bay, Gray has sworn off the fairer sex. But when temptation comes in the form of an intriguing woman he cannot easily avoid, Gray’s integrity—and his most depraved desires—are put to the ultimate test.
Self-assured and carefree Princess Svetlanka Volkonsky never dreamed she would one day become a lady’s maid to avoid a dangerous traitor. But danger also comes in many guises, especially in the sinful and devastatingly attractive lord of the manor who introduces her to a world of singular pleasure.
When Lana’s past emerges to threaten the life and the false identity she’s built in England, she and Gray find themselves falling into a tangled web of lies and intrigue...and the last place either of them expected to fall...in love.
The interior of the coach felt hot, and she could swear that Lord Northridge’s body was closer than it had been moments before. Lana’s pulse spiked, every inch of her skin prickling with bright awareness. She had been courted by suitors before and had been the recipient of hastily stolen embraces in the arbor at Volkonsky Palace. But no man had ever made her feel the way she did now—like a fox in a hunt with nowhere to run. Her short nails dug into her palms even as she feigned continued indifference. It was a talent she’d inherited from her mother: the ability to remain tranquil and unruffled in any situation.
But, lord, the man pushed her to the limits of her skill.
Despite her composed exterior, Lana was acutely conscious of him. With each inhale and exhale, she could scent the spice of his cologne and the bite of whiskey and cigar smoke, see the rise and fall of the pulse in his neck, hear the rustle of his clothing against the plush velvet seat. She could feel his hooded eyes settling upon her as if they were hands pressing against her flesh, boldly pushing past the confines of her cloak.
Undressing her.
Refusing to succumb to his debauchery, she met his eyes with cool hauteur, and they dropped provokingly to her lips. He was trying to shock her, she knew. But Lana held his stare, refusing to be cowed by whatever new perverse game he was playing. She swallowed a biting response that would remind him of his place, and hers—Lord Northridge at the best of times was unpredictable, and after a night on the town with liquor in his blood, she would do well to curb her tongue. Lest he force himself upon her like some lovelorn swain.
No, not lovelorn. Lord Northridge would not allow such a common emotion as love to rule him. The art of his seduction, if at all, would be calculated and ruthless…meant only to serve him and no other. Lovesick females fell at his feet, not the reverse. Lord Northridge’s eyes met hers as if her thoughts had grown transparent, and she flushed when another knowing smirk appeared.
Lord have mercy, he made her want to kick him. Hard.
Flustered, Lana couldn’t quite help herself as the coach finally rolled to a sharp stop in front of the manor. “Like what you see?” she asked in succinct tones.
A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of his lips at her veiled mockery. “Very much.”
Lana went still at the candid admission. He looked as surprised as she did. An arctic flush suffused her chest and climbed her neck as James opened the coach door. She slid forward, taking the footman’s hand and making her escape with every ounce of grace she could manage. “Perhaps you should endeavor to foist your attentions where they will be better welcomed. Good day, Lord Northridge.”
His husky chuckle at what would have been a crushing setdown in any other circumstance followed her all the way to the front door.
Blast the arrogant clodpole to Hades.
Amalie Howard’s love of romance developed after she started pilfering her grandmother’s novels in high school when she should have been studying. She has no regrets. A #1 Amazon bestseller and a national IPPY silver medalist, she is the author of My Rogue, My Ruin, the first in the Lords of Essex historical romance series, as well as several award-winning young adult novels critically acclaimed by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, VOYA, School Library Journal, and Booklist, including Waterfell, The Almost Girl, and Alpha Goddess, a Kid’s IndieNext pick. She currently resides in Colorado with her husband and three children. Visit her website for the latest news and information.
Angie Morgan lives in New Hampshire with her husband, their three daughters, a menagerie of pets, and an extensive collection of paperback romance novels. She’s the author of MY ROGUE, MY RUIN, the first book in the Lords of Essex historical romance series, as well as several young adult books, including The Dispossessed series written under the name Page Morgan. Critically acclaimed by Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, School Library Journal, VOYA, and The Bulletin, Angie’s novels have been an IndieNext selection, a Seventeen Magazine Summer Book Club Read, and a #1 Amazon bestseller. Visit her website for the latest news and information
**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book.**
When you fall in love with a lady's maid... who's really a princess...
Lana is a Russian princess in hiding. After discovering her uncle intended to marry her off and then dispose of her after, she fled with her sister to England. Pretending to be a lady's maid isn't easy for a pampered royal, but she does her best to aid her lady and stay under the radar. That is, until the lord of the manor begins to take notice of her.
Gray can't help but notice Lana. There is something different about her that he can't quite put his finger on. But he'd like to... put his finger on her, I mean. All of his fingers and in some promiscuous places. Despite the improper manner in which she continues to speak to him, he can't help but lust after her.
Their tiny flirtations take a big turn when secrets begin to come to light. Lana uncovers Gray's scandalous fabrication and he finds out that she is in danger when a Russian man comes to town seeking two runaway princesses. Together, our couple must protect the ones they love and try not to fall in love with each other.
I loved this book! Historical romances are my to-go subgenre for a feel-good read. I may not always be blown away when I read them, but I'm usually left feeling satisfied. This book was a step above most historical romances that I've read.
So why the missing half star? Because even though I loved almost everything about this book, I found it to be on the wordy side. It's 400 pages and there are a few spans of internal thought which could definitely be shortened. I found myself skimming long paragraphs when our couple were contemplating their situations for the tenth time. It became repetitive to hear the same "I can't do this" or "We shouldn't be doing this" thoughts over and over.
Yet, there was still so much to love about this story. The plot is exciting. A royal in disguise, who falls in love with a titled gentleman but must hide her feelings because servants are not allowed to consort with men of his stature. And a lord who desperately wants a woman beneath his station but must fight against the rules of society, all the while he's unknowingly falling in love with a royal.
It's a story filled with scandal, danger, steamy romance, and so much forbidden lust that I needed a cold shower after reading. This is the second book of the series and I realized after reading it that the first book runs concurrently alongside this one. I am definitely itching to read the story about Gray's sister.
Lana is a Russian princess in hiding. After discovering her uncle intended to marry her off and then dispose of her after, she fled with her sister to England. Pretending to be a lady's maid isn't easy for a pampered royal, but she does her best to aid her lady and stay under the radar. That is, until the lord of the manor begins to take notice of her.
Gray can't help but notice Lana. There is something different about her that he can't quite put his finger on. But he'd like to... put his finger on her, I mean. All of his fingers and in some promiscuous places. Despite the improper manner in which she continues to speak to him, he can't help but lust after her.
Their tiny flirtations take a big turn when secrets begin to come to light. Lana uncovers Gray's scandalous fabrication and he finds out that she is in danger when a Russian man comes to town seeking two runaway princesses. Together, our couple must protect the ones they love and try not to fall in love with each other.
I loved this book! Historical romances are my to-go subgenre for a feel-good read. I may not always be blown away when I read them, but I'm usually left feeling satisfied. This book was a step above most historical romances that I've read.
So why the missing half star? Because even though I loved almost everything about this book, I found it to be on the wordy side. It's 400 pages and there are a few spans of internal thought which could definitely be shortened. I found myself skimming long paragraphs when our couple were contemplating their situations for the tenth time. It became repetitive to hear the same "I can't do this" or "We shouldn't be doing this" thoughts over and over.
Yet, there was still so much to love about this story. The plot is exciting. A royal in disguise, who falls in love with a titled gentleman but must hide her feelings because servants are not allowed to consort with men of his stature. And a lord who desperately wants a woman beneath his station but must fight against the rules of society, all the while he's unknowingly falling in love with a royal.
It's a story filled with scandal, danger, steamy romance, and so much forbidden lust that I needed a cold shower after reading. This is the second book of the series and I realized after reading it that the first book runs concurrently alongside this one. I am definitely itching to read the story about Gray's sister.
In closing...
A historical romance that really had it all--sex, secrets, and scandals galore! 4.5 suns!
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