Proposing Mischief (The Joplin Chronicles #2) by Regina Jennings book review

Proposing Mischief

(The Joplin Chronicles #2)

by

Regina Jennings  

Maisie Kentworth is stuck on the ranch. Having fallen in love with the wrong guy, she can't risk inflaming things between her former beau and her protective family. Left to rue her mistakes, she keeps busy exploring the idle mine at the edge of their property.

Boone Bragg is also stuck. With his parents on vacation, the management of Bragg Mining falls on him, and one of his advisors wants him as a son-in-law. One wrong move, and Boone will end up either offending an associate or getting married to a woman he can't endure.

While closing up a spent mine, Boone gets two surprises. One is an untamed farm girl who's trespassing with a pickax, and the other is the amazing crystal cavern that she's discovered. Suddenly Boone sees a way to overhaul the family business. With part of the cavern on Kentworth land, Boone makes Maisie a proposal that he hopes will solve all of their problems. Instead it throws Joplin into chaos.

 

 

My Review: 9/10

 When I read the previous book with Maisie as a side character, she gave me strong second hand embarrassment and frustration.

But wow, was it different reading from her POV! Maisie has definitely learned her lesson and come out better for it. She is intelligent, strong and self-sufficient. She is refreshingly direct. And she (and the shenanigans she gets into) is hilarious. Loved every minute of it.

Suffering the Scot (Brotherhood of the Black Tartan #1) by Nichole Van book review

Suffering the Scot

(Brotherhood of the Black Tartan #1)

by

Nichole Van  

Lady Jane Everard cannot abide the new Earl of Hadley. The unmannered Scot is a menace to genteel ladies everywhere, what with his booming laugh and swishing kilt and endless supply of ‘ochs’ and ‘ayes.’ Jane wishes Lord Hadley would behave as an earl should and adhere to English rules of polite conduct.

Andrew Langston, the new Earl of Hadley, knows that the English aristocracy think poorly of his lowly Scottish upbringing. This is hardly new. History is littered with the English assuming the worst about Scotland. By living up to their lowest expectations, he is simply fulfilling his civic duty as a Scotsman.

Jane sees Andrew as an unmannered eejit. Andrew considers Jane to be a haughty English lady. But, as the saying goes, . . . opposites attract.

And what if beneath his boisterous behavior and her chilly reserve, Andrew and Jane are not nearly as different as they suppose? Can Scotland and England reach a harmonious union at last? 

 

 

My Review: 9/10

 

There is so much to love about this book: unique and interesting characters, full of humanity and potential. Things progress in a natural way. Relatable complicated relationships. So much humor. Highly recommend. Can't wait to get my hands on another!

Games in a Ballroom by Jentry Flint book review

Games in a Ballroom

by

Jentry Flint 

London, 1815

Olivia Wilde has resigned herself to never finding a love match. Her father has insisted she marry a man with a title, if only to increase his own standing and reputation in society. But the men her father deems acceptable are, at best, boring and uninspiring, and at worse, are as brutish as her father, and are only looking to increase their own diminishing coffers. With her future looking dismal, Olivia decides to enjoy the last few months of freedom with her childhood friends, including the handsome Emerson Latham. His devilish smile and flirtatious teasing stirs up feelings she knows she cannot entertain.

Emerson is struggling to rise to his responsibilities after the death of his father. Though he might still be learning what he needs to do as the head of his household, one thing he knows for sure is that he wants Olivia Wilde to be his wife. Having grown up as childhood friends with Olivia, Emerson long ago had fallen in love with her quick wit, beauty, and passionate heart. However, without a title, he will never be permitted to court Olivia openly. But he has a plan that may give him a chance to court her in secret.

As the season kicks off, Emerson proposes a bit of fun with a playful game of tag. Olivia’s friends are delighted by the idea, though Olivia is more wary. After all, the game must be played in secret and they must be discreet when tagging each other at dinners and balls and the theater. As the romance builds between Olivia and Emerson, so does the risk of being discovered. Not only are their reputations at stake, so is their safety if they are caught by Olivia’s father, who has an explosive, and at times violent, temper.

Can their love find a happily ever after before the game ends? 

My Review: 2/10

DNF at 30%

Not my cup of tea. None of the characters make any sense or behave in a realistic way.

1. Olivia's father. Even if he had no fashion sense, any friend, family member, or sales person would direct him toward the most flattering choices for his daughter if he wanted to marry her off that badly.

2. Olivia herself. If she was that terrified of her father, I can't believe she would engage in the games (the main plot line for the book) or that she wouldn't spend every spare second trying to bring about a workable solution for herself.

3. Emerson. The quickest, more surefire way to make your ladylove view you in a romantic way is to state your feelings. Seriously, take 5 minutes to pull her aside and pour your heart out and ask if she could ever see you that way. THEN tackle the issue of her father together.

His friends are all over the place. I picked this up thinking the title was intriguing and that it was written by a man (my mistake I think), so I was hoping for a unique writing style.