His Wicked Kiss by Gaelen Foley

From emerald jungles to the high seas to the glittering ballrooms of Regency London, beloved author Gaelen Foley tells a sweeping, sensual tale of the ruggedly handsome Lord Jack Knight and the passionate beauty who lays claim to his heart.

An English rose blooming in the untamed jungles of South America, Eden Farraday lives a life of independence–unheard of for a lady–with her doctor-turned-scientist father. But Eden misses England desperately. When the dangerous and darkly charming Lord Jack Knight sails into her life, she seizes her chance to return to civilization, stowing away aboard his London-bound ship.

Roguish and charismatic, a self-made shipping tycoon with a shadowy past and a well-guarded heart, Jack is sailing on a vital secret mission. When the redheaded temptress is discovered aboard his vessel, he reacts with fury–and undeniable lust. Forced to protect her from his rough crew, the devilish Lord Jack demands a scandalous price in exchange for Eden’s safe passage across the sea. As his wicked kiss ignites an unforgettable blaze of passion between them, Jack and Eden confront a soul-searing love that cannot be denied.

And so, I come to the end of the seven book Knight Miscellany series, and it has been a fun ride! The writing has been consistently good (I have rated them all at between 4 and 4.5 out of 5), the story lines different in each one, and yet, still felt connected. There is only one book in the series that I can't clearly remember, despite the fact that I read the first in the series about 18 months ago. In terms of His Wicked Kiss being the final book in the series, it was great to see all the previous characters featured, but the author got the balance just right, while also managing to introduce the basic background for the next trilogy that features relatives of the family in this series. There have been other series where there were too many special guest appearances in the final book and the storyline gets a bit lost, but this didn't happen in this book.

This books starts out in the jungles of South America - a very unusual setting for a Regency romance that's for sure, and dealing with historical events that I never knew about that were taking place elsewhere in the world at the same time as my own country was only just being founded!

Eden Farraday is desperate to leave the jungles behind her. She has been working there with her father, a renowned doctor who has been exploring looking for new medicines. Eden really wants the chance to try to see how she survives in a very different environment - the ton in London!

When Jack Knight meets her in the jungle as he is finishing up some dodgy political dealing and other lucrative trading, Eden sees her chance to escape to England, and she is not about to let Jack's refusal to allow her to accompany him stop her, so she stows away on his ship. Trapped in close quarters with each other, Eden and Jack come to find what they were both looking for, but in a completely different place than they were expecting.

There were times, particularly later in the book when I just wanted to slap the two of them and say talk to each other, but for the most part this was just an engrossing and fun story, with a hero who is part pirate, part gentleman, very dangerous and totally charming. Eden actually held her own in this book pretty well as well. She is able to survive in the jungle, and in the ton - in fact the only place she seems to struggle is really in learning to deal with her husband!

I did have one problem with this book, and it was one that jarred me out of the book every time I saw it mentioned. A lot of historical romance novels rely on a suspense subplot, which generally involves some kind of crazy father/cousin/jilted lover etc who endangers the heroine and then the climactic ending is the reunion and declaration of love between our hero and heroine, and this book is no different.

**SPOILER WARNING**

In this case the bad guy who was obsessed with the heroine was her father's research assistant, Connor, who was identified throughout the book as being Australian. Now, I am not about to say that there can't be any psycho Aussies, because we have our fair share, but the problem I had related to the identification of Connor as an Australian.

This book was set in 1818. The first colony had been set up in New South Wales in 1788, only 30 years previously. I don't recall Connor's age being mentioned, but I assumed that he was in his mid twenties to early thirties. That would have meant that Connor would have had to have been one of the earliest babies born in the new colony, or he had travelled there either as a settler as a young kid, or perhaps even transported although there was no mention of a previous conviction.

The thing that threw me a little, was that I can't imagine that after only 30 years of settlement that anyone would have been referring to themselves as an Australian. With the only colonies that had been established being either in New South Wales or Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), would there have been much of a feeling of national identity yet? The other thing that was mentioned was about the time that Connor had spent in Australian rain forests, but I am not sure that they would have had those areas explored at the time that this book was set. Maybe some in Tasmania, but they would certainly be completely different if you were to do a comparison between those and the jungles in South America.

It could well be that Gaelen Foley was right in terms of this characterisation and time frames, but it just FELT wrong. Every single time that Connor's nationality was mentioned it was jarring and it took me a couple of minutes to get back into the book.

I am not a reader that is worried too much about my historical romances being 100% historically accurate, and this is something that probably wouldn't have bothered most people at all, but it definitely was a distraction to me!

I have requested the first book in the Spice trilogy which is not part of this series, but features some relatives of the Knight family. If the books in that trilogy are as good as this series has been, then I will be one happy reader.

Rated: 4.5/5

Two Knight Miscellany reviews - Lord of Ice and Lady of Desire

Damien Knight, the earl of Winterley, 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 even 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. . . .

After absolutely loving Lord of Fire, I was pretty confident that I would like Lord of Ice. After all, we had already been introduced to Damien, and already knew that he had issues to deal with relating to his time fighting against Napoleon.

Knowing that tortured heroes are one of my favourite types of heroes, I was all set to adore this book, but then I started reading and found that if this book had a promising hero, it also unfortunately had one of my least favourite types of heroines - the young, just out of the school room heroine. Having said that, this certainly was still an enjoyable read, but I would have much preferred an older and wiser heroine for the lovely Damien.

The book opens with Damien being informed of the death of one of his close friends. He had apparently been murdered, and Damien had promised to look after his friend's niece should anything happen to him. Damien is insistent on doing the right thing and therefore journeys to the ward's school to inform her of her uncle's death.

The night before going to meet his new ward, he ventures out to watch a performance on stage and is enchanted by the young actress on stage. Little does he know, the woman on stage is the girl who is now his ward, and should have been taken out of the horrible school environment that she was in a long time ago.

Damien is insistent that he will find Miranda a husband, but finds it increasingly difficult to even contemplate such a thing as his own feelings for Miranda grow. Along the way he has to deal with the remaining members of her estranged family, who would like nothing more than to get hold of Miranda and her fortune.

Miranda also seems to be a target of some one else with far more sinister motives than just getting hold of her fortune, as she has not one or two but three 'accidents' that could in all honestly have been fatal. As Damien draws on the resources available to both himself and his brother (including some rather shady characters from the criminal underbelly of London), there is a desperate race to find out who could be targeting the young lady, and also a race for Miranda to find a way through Damien's barriers in time to save him from his own demons.

There is a lot going on in this book. There is not only the burgeoning relationship, and the threat to Miranda's life, but also Damien needs to figure out who murdered his friend and why, save some orphans from the horrible school that Miranda had been left in for years, neglected by everyone who should have been protecting her.

I did like this book. If I had to choose between the twins though, I would have to say that my heart belongs to Lucien! It would likely to have been a much closer competition if the heroine in Damien's book was not just out of the schoolroom!

Lady Jacinda Knight is the daughter of a notorious woman. Her mother - Georgiana, the Duchess of Hawkscliffe - had scandalised society with her affairs, earning her the moniker of the Hawkscliffe Harlot. All her life Jacinda has been aware that the eyes of the ton are upon her - waiting for her to follow in her disgraced mother's footsteps.

Now - faced with the prospect of an arranged marriage - Jacinda may well be about to prove her critics right. Running from her fate, Jacinda finds herself alone on a dangerous street face-to-face with Billy Blade, the notorious leader of a band of thieves. Jacinda is dangerously attracted to the handsome, mysterious rogue and only just escapes the experience with her reputation intact.

But Billy is no ordinary criminal. Years before he had turned his back on his tyrannical father, the Earl of Rackford. But Jacinda makes him contemplate the unthinkable - returning to the civilized world to reclaim his title.

Having matched off the three elder brothers, it is now the turn of Miss Jacinda Knight to get her happily ever after.

After reading the first few pages of this book I was a little concerned that I was not going to be able to enjoy this book. We meet the beautiful Miss Knight as she has made her way to a coach house in a less than savoury part of London. She is running away from an arranged marriage, and is determined that she is going to escape to Paris...alone. Whilst at the coaching house, she flashes her cash a little too openly (and we won't mention the diamond necklace that she is wearing), and is quickly seen as an easy mark by a young thief. Not content with having been robbed, Jacinda chases after the thief into one of the little lanes nearby (can anyone say TSTL??), and soon finds herself having to hide as the lane becomes the setting for a fight to the death between two rival gangs. Anyway, Jacinda is discovered lurking behind some crates by one of the gang leaders, who goes under the name of Billy Blade. Given that she has just witnessed the fight Billy feels that he has no choice but to escort her back to his home.

Billy is immediately attracted to the young lady, and they share a passionate encounter, which wouldn't be a problem really until Billy realises exactly who the young society lady is that he has been improper with. Once he knows who she is, he quickly takes steps to return her to her brothers, assuring them that whilst he has kissed her, he did so before he knew who she was!

Of course, Jacinda has no clue who Billy 'really is' either. She is attracted to the wild young gang leader, and she is sure that this attraction must be as a result of the bad example that she got from her mother. After all, all of society is just waiting for Jacinda to put a foot wrong, just like her mother. After being banished to the country because of her actions, Jacinda fixes upon a plan where she can be free to do as she wants. She just needs to find an old man to marry, and then wait for him to die, and then she can be a merry widow - the perfect solution to her problems.

In the meantime though, Billy's crimes are about to catch up with him, and it is only be revealing his true identity that he escapes with his life. It is from this point that the novel changes a little, and becomes a more standard kind of romance, where there is an unpolished young man who is being tutored by a society miss. However, whilst everyone believes that Billy has truly reformed, he has found a way to get revenge against those who have crossed him.

I loved Billy, well as much as one can love a gang leader who has sent more than a few people on their way to their grave. I loved getting to know him, and finding out how it was exactly that he ended up leaving his childhood home, and the journey that took him to the top of the gangland tree. I loved that his heart was set on Jacinda from very early on, and that he was patiently building the intensity of his pursuit of her. From a very rocky start, Jacinda ended up growing on me, although there were a couple of eye-rolling moments throughout the book when it came to her actions.

I can definitely see why this Knight Miscellany series has been so successful. I've already picked up the next book in the series from the library and I am definitely looking forward to reading it, and the rest of the books in this series.

Lord of Fire by Gaelen Foley

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...

This book is the second book in the Knight Miscellany series by Gaelen Foley. With the first book in the series (The Duke) I apparently quite liked it when I read it, but couldn't remember a darned thing about it when it came to writing the review. Even when I was reading this book, there would be a mention about Robert and Belinda, and I seriously could remember very little. I have to say...there is not much chance of not being able to remember this book.

Gaelen Foley has written a historical romance that features spies the way spy romances should be written. Many times it feel as though the spies that we meet in romances are spy drama - the lite version, but that was definitely not the case here.

Lucien Knight has captured my imagination - the man is everything I like my heroes to be. Dark, tortured (literally), struggling with the darker side of himself whilst falling deeply in love with his heroine. The fact that he basically blackmailed Alice to stay with him, and tried to then corrupt her only to suddenly find that he wanted more than he thought he did from her was well done, and the scene where he finds himself unburdening himself to Alice, stepping out from the facade of invincible spy was really well written.

Alice has a few moments that border on TSTL - if I was in a strange house, the very first thing I would do is to follow the crowds who are all hiding their identities, get into a boat and follow a stream, and then stay in the midst of what would appear to be an orgy. Other than those moments, she was definitely a match for Lucien, prepared to walk away from him when he will not be honest with her, despite knowing that she could well be ruined, and would be totally heartbroken.

The villain in this one was definitely not cardboard cut out as so many romance novel villains are, and there were definite consequences for all the characters as the events unfolded.

i can't wait to read the story of Lucien's twin brother, Damien. I loved reading about the relationship between the brothers - estranged by circumstance and choice but still connected to each other in many, many ways.

If you like historical romance novels that feature dashing and daring spies, then this one could well be worth a read.

The Duke by Gaelen Foley

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. . . .

Uh-oh! Even when I have read a book months ago, I can usually remember some details, but I am drawing a complete blank on this one! Apparently I quite enjoyed it when I read it as I gave it a 4/5, but it seems to have merged with every other historical romance I have read over the last few months! Which probably says a little something about this book anyway!

I really must catch up on my reviews so this doesn't happen again!

Prince Charming by Gaelen Foley

"There is star quality in this writer!" raves the Romantic Times about gifted author Gaelen Foley. Her love stories are filled with glorious settings, stunning characters, and unforgettable passion.

Destiny casts its hand one perfect moonlit night when Ascencion's most elusive highwayman, the Masked Rider, chooses the wrong coach to rob. For inside is Rafael, the prince of the kingdom, renowned for his hot-blooded pursuits of women and other decadent pleasures. The failed raid leaves the equally notorious Masked Rider wounded and facing a hangman's noose. Then Rafe realizes his captive criminal is Lady Daniela Chiaramonte, a defiant beauty who torments him, awakening his senses and his heart as no woman has before.

Dani can only wonder if she's been delivered to heaven or hell once she agrees to marry the most desirable man in the Mediterranean—until forces of treachery threaten to destroy their tenuous alliance and bring down the throne itself. . . .

Gaelen Foley was Author of the Month in April in the Historical Romance Chat Yahoo group, and for once, I was able to read the AotM in the right month. Luckily, I already had this book out from the library so it fitted in nicely with my reading timetable!

This is the third and final book in the Ascension trilogy following on from The Pirate Prince and Princess and features the brother of the heroine from the second book, Rafael. He is portrayed as the ultimate playboy prince. Whilst destined to one day become king of Ascension, he has little responsibility of his own, so spends his days with his friends, womanising and partying, and not much else. Not that that is all his own fault...his father Lazar finds it difficult to let go of the reigns of power to his playboy son. However, when Lazar becomes ill, then there is no choice but to hand over the throne to Rafe whilst he goes to get treatment. But there is a condition, Rafe must agree to marry one of several specially chosen women who would make suitable queens.

In the meantime, Rafe has met Lady Daniela Chiaramonte - albeit when she was disguised as the Masked Rider who has been doing her best to terrorise the nobility - stealing from the rich to give to the poor. But Dani lives in a very different world from Rafe, one where she has to work her family's holding to make ends meet, and so when Rafe invites her to a ball she feels very out of place. And whereas it was Rafe's intention to have his way with her and then forget about her, his feelings begin to grow, and once the Masked Rider is unmasked, he decides that he can solve two problems at once by marrying her.

One thing that was a bit unbelievable was that a royal wedding could be arranged in a matter of days, without the presence of any of the rest of the royal family, but that is a minor quibble. The newlyweds are not left to live an idyllic life though, because it seems that there are those within the government that are determined to get rid of Rafe - either by framing him for attempting to murder the King or if necessary by killing him, so the second half of the book concentrates on trying to identify who the bad link in the government is - could it be someone very close to the royal family themselves. This subplot was kind of a distraction from the love story between Rafe and Dani, but the resolution drew the characters that we had come to know and love from all three books back together nicely.

This story was really hard to put down - a really strong story, like the first book in the trilogy, but what was is with the cover? Such a boring cover! Then again, the cover for Princess was pretty average too if I recall correctly.

So now I have finished the Ascension trilogy, I will be moving on to the Knights Miscellany series...can't wait!


Rating: 4.5/5

Princess by Gaelen Foley

Dear Reader,

I'm so proud to introduce Gaelen Foley, a captivating new writer who will sweep you away with this unforgettable story of forbidden love and wondrous destiny.

Darius Santiago is the King's most trusted man, a master spy and assassin. He is handsome, charming, ruthless, and he has one weakness—the stunning Princess Serafina. She is all he has ever wanted and everything he cannot have. Serafina has worshipped Darius from afar her whole life, knowing that deep in the reaches of her soul, where she is not royalty but a flesh and blood woman, she belongs to this dangerous, untouchable man. Unable to suppress their desire any longer, they are swept into a daring dance of passion destined to consume them both until a deadly enemy threatens to destroy their new love.

PRINCESS is historical romance at its best—full of adventure, intrigue, and pageantry—from an amazingly talented new author whose storytelling career is just beginning. . . .

Enjoy!

Shauna Summers
Senior Editor
The Ballantine Publishing Group

This is the follow up book to The Pirate Prince which was the first Gaelen Foley book I read. In an endeavour to actually get up to date this is going to be a very short review!

Because I was in a bit of a slump when I started reading this, it took me ages to get into it. Darius was dark and brooding and handsome - just the way I like them, but I did find Serafina a bit difficult to get to like because she was a typical spoiled princess. I do love the scope of the two books I have read, despite the fact that a couple of the plot twists were pretty far fetched! The other thing that I felt was a bit far fetched was the ending which seemed to be a completely different Darius than the one we had gotten to know previously, although I do understand that it was designed to show how far he had come! There was quite a bit of action throughout this book, but it was well balanced with sections where Darius and Serafina were alone that were really nice too.

Lazar from Pirate Prince played a fair part in it, although in many ways he seemed quite strict and rigid compared to how he was portrayed in his book, but Allegra was reduced to cameo appearances - seems unlikely from the feisty girl we met in the first book.

The next book in the series features Serafina's brother Rafe. I am not quite sure what to make of Rafe yet - guess we shall see in the next book!

Rating 4/5

The Pirate Prince by Gaelen Foley

On a calm moonlit night, as the scent of jasmine and pine embraced the island of Ascension, the pirate prince Lazar di Fiori returns with lethal grace to avenge what was stolen from him: his kingdom, his birthright, his soul. . . .

Allegra Monteverdi, the daughter of Lazar's sworn enemy, proves an uncommonly powerful adversary. She throws herself on his mercy, her courage and beauty touching his cold, unforgiving heart. He agrees to spare the lives of her family--but only if Allegra sails away with him as his captive. For his quest for vengeance still burns fiercely, and he will settle for nothing less than Allegra's body and soul.

Alone at sea with this dark, intriguing man, moving between seduction and fear, Allegra gazes into eyes as deep and mysterious as the night and sees who this pirate really is. Lazar--the prince of her childhood dreams. Though he was rumored to be murdered years ago, she always believed someday he would return. But it will take more than her love for this pirate prince to bring peace to her beloved home. For Lazar must face the demons of his shattered past--if he is to forge the destiny that is theirs to claim. . . .

Not too long ago on someone's blog (and I am thinking it was either on Suisan's or Kristie's but I can't remember for sure!) the call went out for good pirate romances...and this book was mentioned.

If I had the energy I would do the rest of this post in pirate talk....but I'm too tired tonight, and besides our pirate, also known as Prince Lazar di Fiori didn't even have a pet parrot!

Lazar was just a young boy when he escaped from the massacre that killed the rest of his family, who happened to be the King and royal family of Ascension. Now he has returned to his homeland with vengeance on his mind. He is determined to get revenge on the man he blames for his family's destruction, and he has chosen his weapon well - his enemy's daughter Allegra. His plan doesn't quite work, and he ends up having to take her back to his ship as his captive, and as he makes his escape, his life is about to change dramatically.

It takes a while for Allegra to believe that Lazar is who he says he is, but once she does believe, she takes it upon herself to try and convince him that Ascension needs him, and that he will make a great King. She also begins to fall in love with the man that she knows wants to sleep with her, but who really is such a gentleman that he is willing to wait until she is ready to give herself to him! And as the feelings begin to grow between them, so does the despair, because if Lazar goes back to Ascension and claims his birthright, he can no longer be Allegra's due to a formal engagement that was negotiated many years before when he was still a young boy.

This book really has it all...not only is our hero a pirate, he is also a handsome prince. There are battles of wills between our hero and heroine, sea battles, land battles, daring escapades such as when Lazar has to go back to his nightmarish past to claim his ring so that he will be able prove his identity to the people of Ascension, hot sex and so much more!

If there is any criticism I would say that the ending was a bit rushed, but other than that I really enjoyed it! This was my first read by Gaelen Foley. I have already got the next book in this trilogy out, and I am very much looking forward to reading it. I also have to say that the author's website is really very good. Very easy to use, and lots of interesting titbits to be found there.

Well done darling, well done!! (Sorry, obscure Australian Idol reference there!!).

Rating 4.5/5