Love is a Rogue (Wallflowers vs. Rogues #1)

Love is a Rogue (Wallflowers vs. Rogues #1)

By: Lenora Bell

Blurb:

They call her Beastly Beatrice.

Wallflower Lady Beatrice Bentley longs to remain in the wilds of Cornwall to complete her etymological dictionary. Too bad her brother’s Gothic mansion is under renovation. How can she work with an annoyingly arrogant and too-handsome rogue swinging a hammer nearby?

Rogue. Scoundrel. Call him anything you like as long as you pay him.

Navy man Stamford Wright is leaving England soon, and renovating Thornhill House is just a job. It’s not about the duke’s bookish sister or her fiery copper hair. Or the etymology lessons the prim-yet-alluring lady insists on giving him. Or the forbidden things he’d love to teach her.

They say never mix business with pleasure. But when Beatrice and Ford aren’t arguing, they’re kissing.

Sometimes, temptation proves too strong to resist…even if the cost is a heart.

Review:

For some reason, I was hesitant to read Love is a Rogue once I’d checked it out from the library. It’s got a premise I like. I think my concern was that Beatrice would end up being too passive. I don’t need my heroines to be strong and stubborn, but I don’t like them to be doormats. I don’t like it when an alpha hero comes in and steamrolls over her. Thankfully, none of that happened, and once I got into the story, I had fun.

Beatrice doesn’t want to get married. She wants to live in the country and work on her dictionary. Sadly, a perfect manly specimen is remodeling her brother’s house and makes it impossible for her. This whole part of the story is over pretty fast, and they’ve quickly moved to London, where the fun begins.

Wright is a Navy carpenter that has no desire to spend his life taking orders from the gentry. His father has worked as a duke’s carpenter (cause apparently that’s a thing), and Wright has no desire to do that. Unfortunately for him, the woman of his dreams keeps watching him build, and he can’t stop himself from trying to impress her.

Their relationship is cute with lots of verbal foreplay. It was fun to read them together. The weakest part of Love is a Rogue, for me, was the ending. I thought that her mother needed a really good telling off, and so did his grandfather. Instead, they went the route of forgiving everyone for being superficial, arrogant, disgusting assholes. I’m not forgiving. Of either of them, though the grandfather is a bigger ass.

The way the book referenced other characters, I think there’s probably another series that this is a spin-off of, but it didn’t impact my ability to understand the story. I don’t usually read regency romances where there isn’t a form of nobility involved, so that was nice. All of that being said, I still have this feeling like I don’t want to continue with the series. Ultimately, it will depend on the story that follows, and if I enjoy any other novels by Bell.

3/5

Christmas Movies I’ve Watched This Week – 12/13/2020

A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish – I’ve never seen a High School Musical movie, but I assume it’s like this.

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas – This was the first movie that I saw in 3D and I love that. This is a yearly movie and I find it hilarious and awesome each time. I hope they’re able to make a 4th one day.

Midnight at the Magnolia (Netflix) – Yeah no. I didn’t like this one. Plus, it’s not really a Christmas movie even though it’s categorized as one.

The Santa Clause – A Christmas classic that I watch every year.

Hometown Holiday – If you are into the whole country is better than city life, and if you have no idea what living in the country is like, this is the movie for you. The only win for me was that they didn’t try to do accents.

This Christmas – A family that ultimately loves each other, but are hiding a few things come together at Christmas. The scene where the sister beats her husband with a belt while he’s covered in baby oil is perfect.

Godmothered (Disney+)– A movie set at Christmas time, where Christmas plays a minor part, but isn’t the main thing. It was cute and funny. I’d watch it again, but it’s not going in my Christmas rotation.

Klaus (Netflix)– My kids watched this last year, but I missed it. I’m glad I was able to catch it this year. Definite add to my yearly list.

The Midnight Bargain

The Midnight Bargain

By: C.J. Polk

Blurb:

Beatrice Clayborn is a sorceress who practices magic in secret, terrified of the day she will be locked into a marital collar that will cut off her powers to protect her unborn children. She dreams of becoming a full-fledged Magus and pursuing magic as her calling as men do, but her family has staked everything to equip her for Bargaining Season, when young men and women of means descend upon the city to negotiate the best marriages. The Clayborns are in severe debt, and only she can save them, by securing an advantageous match before their creditors come calling.

In a stroke of luck, Beatrice finds a grimoire that contains the key to becoming a Magus, but before she can purchase it, a rival sorceress swindles the book right out of her hands. Beatrice summons a spirit to help her get it back, but her new ally exacts a price: Beatrice’s first kiss . . . with her adversary’s brother, the handsome, compassionate, and fabulously wealthy Ianthe Lavan.

The more Beatrice is entangled with the Lavan siblings, the harder her decision becomes: If she casts the spell to become a Magus, she will devastate her family and lose the only man to ever see her for who she is; but if she marries—even for love—she will sacrifice her magic, her identity, and her dreams. But how can she choose just one, knowing she will forever regret the path not taken?

Review:

I’ve never read anything by Polk before, but I’m going to start. I don’t remember what list I got this book off of or what made me pick it up. I’m so glad I did, though.

The Midnight Bargain has a magic system that involves summoning spirits and carrying them within the sorcerer or sorceress. You have to maintain control over them because they can be like children. The way you progress up their hierarchy involves calling more powerful spirits until you pass a final test. Because spirits are residing within you, women are barred from carrying one during their fertile years because the spirit would take over the unborn child.

Beatrice is a strong sorceress, but her only value is to make an alliance with another family through marriage because of her social station. Her father married up the social ladder and has a complex because of it. Unknown to him, Beatrice has sought magical knowledge using hidden means meant for oppressed women to find. She plans to take the final test so that she can be an asset to him that way. It means that she can never be married, and she’s okay with that decision until she meets Ianthe.

The allegory to birth control in the real world was obvious. Women had to wear collars that suppressed their magic as soon as they were married, and their husbands had complete control over those collars. The ending was exactly what plays out in the real world. It’s frustrating but realistic, and I’m glad Polk went that way. I was on edge through the last half of the book, wondering if Beatrice would find a way to have her cake and eat it too. It was very well done.

Beatrice and Ianthe were great characters. It was easy to see why she would fall in love with him, but he wasn’t so perfect that it was eye-roll worthy. He had a hard time grasping what her issues were, but he tried, which set him apart from others.

I was less of a fan of the two’s sisters. Harriet acted younger than her fifteen years, and Ysbeta was selfish. They weren’t truly horrible, so I didn’t hate them, but they both needed a good slap.

The more I think about this book, the more I love it. It’s not listed as the first in a series, and I’m okay with that. It has a very satisfying ending and, while the world was interesting, I don’t need to read more. However, I will look into the rest of Polk’s catalog, and I hope I enjoy her other books as much as I did this one.

5/5

Currently Reading 12-12-20

I finished reading The Midnight Bargain by C.J. Polk. My review is posting tomorrow. I stayed up late and then woke up earlier than usual to finish it. I liked it.

Next up is Love is a Rogue by Lenora Bell. I’ve not read anything by her and the blurb isn’t really doing it for me. I feel kind of bad for the book because it’s following one I enjoyed so much. Someone had to.

Simmer Down

Simmer Down

By: Sarah Smith

Blurb:

In this finger-licking good rom-com, two is the perfect number of cooks in the kitchen.

Nikki DiMarco knew life wouldn’t be all sunshine and coconuts when she quit her dream job to help her mom serve up mouthwatering Filipino dishes to hungry beach goers, but she didn’t expect the Maui food truck scene to be so eat-or-be-eaten—or the competition to be so smoking hot.

But Tiva’s Filipina Kusina has faced bigger road bumps than the arrival of Callum James. Nikki doesn’t care how delectable the British food truck owner is—he rudely set up shop next to her coveted beach parking spot. He’s stealing her customers and fanning the flames of a public feud that makes her see sparks.

The solution? Let the upcoming Maui Food Festival decide their fate. Winner keeps the spot. Loser pounds sand. But the longer their rivalry simmers, the more Nikki starts to see a different side of Callum…a sweet, protective side. Is she brave enough to call a truce? Or will trusting Callum with her heart mean jumping from the frying pan into the fire?

Review:

At least in this book, the dad was dead instead of the mom. I point this out because I’ve been feeling a bit expendable in media lately.

I enjoy books that feature food. I’ve never tried Filipino food, but it sounded incredibly yummy. Sadly, for me, that was the only part I enjoyed of Simmer Down.

Nikki, the heroine, was not a very enjoyable character to follow. Since the book was only written from her point of view, you never got a break either. She’d experienced a considerable loss but wasn’t trying to work through it. She kept pushing people away, except for her mom, which she smothered. It was exhausting to see someone keep making the same mistakes while everyone around her was pointing it out.

Callum, the love interest, came off as incredibly hostile in the beginning. Apparently, this was how he showed his interest. Once he and Nikki talked, he did almost a complete one-eighty. He was sexy, a finance whiz, an excellent cook, an animal lover, and the best big brother you could ask for. It was a bit much.

Together they were boring. There was passion between them; it just leaned too hard into cliché for me. There was lots of misunderstanding and lack of communication. Sex scenes were a bit awkward also.

Simmer Down dragged for me. It felt like tropes were just thrown in for the hell of up. Seriously, what was going on with that pub scene?? I wasn’t a fan, and I found it challenging to get through the middle to the point where I was skimming pages for a while. The ending was even worse. Callum had the worst timing to declare his feelings and intentions toward Nikki. Nikki chose the worst medium for her grand gesture to Callum. It all felt so contrived.

2/5