Woo’d
in Haste & Wed at Leisure
Taming
Series Books One and Two
By: Sabrina Darby
Woo’d in Haste- Releasing May 13th,
2014
Miss Bianca
Mansfield is ready for her debut. If only her older sister didn't insist on
marrying first. She's doomed to wait to find love. Until she meets … him. For
Lucian Dorlingsley, Viscount Asquith, recently returned from an extended tour
abroad, it is love at first sight. He's determined to meet Bianca, even if it
means masquerading as a tutor to her young half-brother. Soon Bianca is torn
between love and duty and about to make a desperate decision. Can Lucian calm
her fury over his betrayal when he reveals that he's not nearly as improper a
match as he seems? And will they ever be able to find a match for her older
sister to turn this masquerade into wedded bliss?
Buy Links
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wood-in-haste-sabrina-darby/1117005052?ean=9780062304483
{Details} ebook,
160 pages. Published
May 13th 2014
by Avon Impulse. Source: ebook provided in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Avon Impulse and Sabrina Darby.
{Rating} 3/5 -- I liked it!
{Review}
"A man's life can change in an instant." (page 1, line 1)
I liked the premise, Taming of the Shrew + historical romance. Poor Bianca is stuck at home in the country with her father and little brother while her big sister Kate, the villain in Bianca's story, is keeping her from the joys and excitement of a season, from marrying, having a family until Kate is wed.
Unbeknownst to her Lucian Dorlingsley has fallen in love with her and is determined to marry her, so determined that in order to get close to her that he'll give up the trappings of the ton and pretend to be a tutor. I liked Lucian, he's a good-hearted man and a very determined man.
I enjoyed seeing how Bianca changed through the story, how she started to take control of her life, the little bit of control a woman could in those times, to stop caring about what people think of her and grabbing on to the happiness she has found.
I did find the ending a bit jarring and think to really enjoy the story, to better understand the strife between the sisters, you definitely need to read the next book, Wed at Leisure, Kate's story.
Wed at Leisure-
Releasing May 27th, 2014
The stunning follow-up to Darby's
Woo'd in Haste.
In all of
Sussex—scratch that—in all of England, there is no one prettier than Kate
Mansfield, and Peter Colburn, heir to the Duke of Orland, has known that since
the age of 15. But since her vivacious nature comes with a temper to match,
Peter has always masked his hunger for her behind ruthless teasing. As far as
Kate is concerned, there is no one as annoying or as incredibly handsome as
Peter. So when he surprises her with a sudden and romantic courtship, Kate is
sure this must be his idea of a sick joke.
After all,
he's the one man who knows how flawed she really is. And the only man to whom
she has ever been so attracted. It's only after she rejects him that she
realizes he might actually have been serious. And she just might be regretting
her hasty decision. As Kate's determination wars with her traitorous heart, it
may be too late. Now she's putting everything, including her reputation, on the
line to give this accidental tragedy a happy ending.
Buy
Links
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wed-at-leisure-sabrina-darby/1117005053?ean=9780062304513
{Excerpt}
“Your Grace,” Kate acknowledged with a nod of
her head, but the curve of her lips and the tone of her voice were mocking.
“Miss
Mansfield,” he returned, equally sardonic. “Lindley. I thought I’d steal Miss
Mansfield away for a set.”
Her eyes
widened and then narrowed. He didn’t know what continually possessed him to
needle her, but this had been the way between them ever since that day by the
river. Kate was a brat. And he had little doubt she was about to claim some
prior commitment, whether it existed or not. She was popular enough for each
dance to be already claimed.
“I do
believe this dance is free,” Kate said, tilting her head in silent challenge.
“But I am a bit out of breath. Would you settle for a stroll about the room?”
“Your wish
is my command.” He steered Kate away from Lindley, oddly happy to have
disentangled the two of them.
“I confess,
I am astonished to see you in Brighton. I understood you to be a man of habit
and these last two years you have decamped home at the end of the London
Season.”
“I am
flattered that you have noticed my comings and goings.”
Her eyes
narrowed and a surge of anticipation filled him at what she would next say.
“It is rather
hard not to notice,” she said, pointedly perusing his form. Yes, her favorite
form of insult, that of his tailor. Or more his valet, as it was not his
tailor’s fault that these two patterns had been matched together. The more Kate
noticed, the more determined Peter was to allow his valet his questionable
taste. “Such a relief when your sartorial mishaps no longer offend my eyes.”
“Never
fear, Miss Mansfield. I am only here for a week at most. I shall have to make
the most of these few moments we have together.”
“Don’t make
too much of them.”
“You wound
me.”
She
laughed. “The one thing I never have to worry about from you, Peter, is that
anything I say could hurt you. You exist simply to torture me.”
Perhaps it
was the use of his Christian name, so rarely said, but for one instant he was
reminded clearly of why he was drawn to her again and again, acrimony aside.
She was a part of his youth, a part of the green earth and the rolling hills.
Yes, she had acquired that town bronze, but she was still the Kate he’d longed
to kiss for more years than he could remember.
{Details} ebook,
100 pages. Expected publication:
May 27th 2014
by Avon Impulse. Source: ebook provided in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Sabrina Darby and Avon Impulse
{Rating} 4/5 -- I really liked it!
{Review}
"Kate ran through the thicket, gasping, her face hot with suppressed tears." (page 1, line 1)
When I began reading Wed at Leisure I wondered how I was ever going to like Kate. In the first book, Woo'd in Haste, I saw her as cold and jealous and spiteful but there is so much more to Kate. I came to empathize with her, like her, and hope that she would get her happily ever after.
I love characters with a history and Peter and Kate certainly have that, run ins, disappointments, hurts and seeing each other at their worst and most vulnerable. Though they've both grown up Peter and Kate are still haunted by painful childhoods, something that binds them together. Peter sees beyond the Kate that she shows to the world, a Kate that needs control and order, and to the strong, imperfect woman who is just trying to find her place in the world. Of course it's not an easy road, there is subterfuge, sisterly strife, a bit of scandal, a stubborn shrew and a determined duke but I certainly enjoyed the journey.
{Giveaway}
(Two Digital
Sets of WOO’D IN HASTE & WED AT LEISURE)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/NTIxYWM0YzhjYmFkNDc1MDkxYzA3ZDNmMjhhM2RjOjM0Mg==/
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Author Info
Sabrina
Darby has been reading romance since the age of seven and learned her best
vocabulary (dulcet, diaphanous, and turgid) from them. Her debut book with Avon
Red, On These Silken Sheets, was a Favourite Erotic Romance finalist in the
Australian Romance Readers Awards and a Best First Book finalist in the
National Readers’ Choice Awards. Her new Regency novella, The Short and
Fascinating Tale of Angelina Whitcombe, released July 31st from Avon Impulse
and her first contemporary romance, Entry-Level Mistress, released February
2013.
