I can hardly think after all the emotions. The feelings. Oh, how these feelings and thoughts are still resonating within me even after hours I had put my tablet down. And it was a struggle to put it down. I kept going back, wanting to re-read my favorite parts and just soak in these moments LaValle created.
LaValle's voice is very distinct and I'm kind of in love with the way she can string words together and create these profound sentences that unravel in such a moving way. Her voice. Her characters. Her characters' voices.
Both Lord Radford and Mazie are incredibly well developed. The way they speak, their personalities, so defined and complex. Love how they are so very telling in how they express themselves by their actions and words and words they choose not to say.
The chemistry between Lord Radford and Mazie is undeniable and present and so very real, it hurts in the most delicious way.
One thing that I absolutely loved about Radford and Mazie is that neither lost themselves, they stayed true to their character from start to finish! None of the OOC business to suit the plot. Mazie and Radford were all about learning who they were and learning to trust in that, whatever they were to be and become.
Minerva Highwood, one of Spindle Cove’s confirmed spinsters, needs to be in Scotland.
Colin Sandhurst, Lord Payne, a rake of the first order, needs to be…anywhere but Spindle Cove.
These unlikely partners have one week - to fake an elopement - to convince family and friends they’re in “love” - to outrun armed robbers - to survive their worst nightmares - to travel four hundred miles without killing each other
All while sharing a very small carriage by day and an even smaller bed by night.
What they don’t have time for is their growing attraction. Much less wild passion. And heaven forbid they spend precious hours baring their hearts and souls.
Suddenly one week seems like exactly enough time to find a world of trouble.
And maybe…just maybe…love.
If I only had one word to use for this awesomely delicious adventure, it would be 'revelatory'. I've caught myself surprised numerous times in my reading, which, needless to say, is thoroughly wonderful and satisfying. I was already more than halfway in lustlove with Colin and I already held Minerva dear, dear to my heart in ANTS, but AWTBW elevated that love for them to new heights.
Welcome to Spindle Cove, where the ladies with delicate constitutions come for the sea air, and men in their prime are... nowhere to be found. Or are they?
Spindle Cove is the destination of choice for certain types of well-bred young ladies: the painfully shy, young wives disenchanted with matrimony, and young girls too enchanted with the wrong men; it is a haven for those who live there.
Victor Bramwell, the new Earl of Rycliff, knows he doesn't belong here. So far as he can tell, there's nothing in this place but spinsters... and sheep. But he has no choice, he has orders to gather a militia. It's a simple mission, made complicated by the spirited, exquisite Susanna Finch—a woman who is determined to save her personal utopia from the invasion of Bram's makeshift army.
Susanna has no use for aggravating men; Bram has sworn off interfering women. The scene is set for an epic battle... but who can be named the winner when both have so much to lose?
(Just moving the review I posted on Goodreads to this blog ..)
How is it there's only five stars available? I'd pluck some more from the night skies if I could because this is just made of so much win. The kind that really awesome romances are made of. The kind that would engage your mind and not just yor heart. You know the one. Yup, that's the kind that would make you laugh out loud, swoon and sigh and grin goofily because your heart is just so, so full of love. I still have so much to say but I'm feeling indescribably happy and I'm just bursting with joy that review will just have to wait. Hehehe.
Music plays a huge part in my life, as I would imagine it would for many people as well. Music naturally enhances everything it touches ... it lifts us up, inspires us, stirs emotions that we may or may not even want to surface. It goes straight for the heart.
Most of the time when reading my romance novels, a song or two would pop up and I'd connect it to a moment, a character, or the couple. I don't think I've ever felt as driven to create a soundtrack than for Pippin and Dash, Elizabeth Boyle's star-crossed lovers in Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress. Ah, Pippin and Dash. Oh, my heart.
Lady Philippa Knowles and Captain Thomas Dashwell's love story spans years, decades even. They first meet in This Rake of Mine, the second book in the Bachelor Chronicles, when Pippin was merely a schoolgirl. We only get fragments of their story in each installment, and it's not till we get to the fifth book, their book, that we see how their romance truly developed and how their love for each other has evolved. Kudos to Ms. Boyle's storytelling magic that while reading the other books (which I love very much too!) I very much was anticipating Pippin and Dash's story and was really eager for the next installment. By the time I got to the end of the fourth book, their narrative had left me euphoric and miserable and curious and hopeful and worried and enchanted .... I really, really just wanted to get my hands on the book so I can find out what choices they made and where those life-altering decisions had led them to. ;)
Happy Ending by Mika. That is the one song that kept replaying in my head, from the moment I picked up their book. Don't be fooled by the title and the music. The lyrics. Oh, gosh. My heart is breaking again. I really liked how Pippin and Dash's story is not your typical formulaic romance. I don't want to give too much away and mention specifics, but when you do decide to read this book, I would really recommend that you start from the beginning (read There's Something About Emmaline too! Because it's so much fun!) to get the full effect. It's part of the genius of their plight as a couple. But anyway, Happy Ending is just one of the many songs that came to mind, and certainly, this is not where I would end my mix. I think you'll know what I mean when you read it.
I wonder though, how many readers automatically attach a song(s) to a character they love, a memorable moment, an unforgettable story? Does it easily come to you? Do you like creating fanmixes? :D
(Look, an aside! Hehe. I found out about this series via twitter (ab contest - srsly.). I saw the cover for Lord Langley Is Back In Town and my interest was piqued by this gorgeous cover. Heh. Found out it's the latest (last?) in the series and I only had a few days till the book would come out, so I took it upon myself to start from Book One and finish by the time Lord Langley comes back (and hey, mission accomplished!:D) I'm so glad I did. I got to read about this wonderful group of family and friends, all delightful, smart, and very endearing mischief-makers. Heee.) You guys, go and buy the books and start reading now!
"Pippin?"
"Yes, Dash?"
"How did we get here?"
"Aboard this ship?" she teased. "Nate ordered the sails raised and then --"
"Very funny," he said, cutting her off. "You know what I mean. Here. To this place."
"Oh, this place," she said, her face growing solemn. "I've wondered that as well, and all I can think of is that we are like our stars."
"How so?"
"You and I are the two outer stars, and the one between us is everything that keeps us apart."
He set his lips together and gazed out at the waves. "Like this ocean," he offered."
