Duty to the Crown by Rebecca Cohen

Title: Duty to the Crown

Series: The Actor and The Earl

Author: Rebecca Cohen

Genre: Historical, Elizabethan Era (1599/1600)

Length: Novel (210pgs)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (4^th March 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4½Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Despite the uncomfortable clothing and the gossip at court, Sebastian Hewel is still enjoying the role of Lady Bronwyn, wife of Earl Anthony Crofton. But when Queen Elizabeth asks a favor of Anthony, Sebastian’s world fractures and his heart threatens to break. The Queen wants Anthony to seduce Marie Valois, the beautiful daughter of a French noble, to discover the whereabouts of her father, who is wanted by the King of France.

Sebastian knows Anthony can’t refuse the Queen, especially since he has something of a reputation at court. But the situation is further complicated when Marie meets Sebastian without his disguise—and starts flirting with him. Her brother, Nicholas, arrives at Crofton Hall, not happy that his sister has been linked to a man like Anthony, only to find his own head turned by Lady Bronwyn and her acerbic wit. Contending with the attentions of both siblings—and a very jealous Anthony—would be bad enough. But then Sebastian’s uncle demands Sebastian and Anthony stage Bronwyn’s death to avoid discovery….

A Timeless Dreams Title

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3637

Review: This book is part of a series and must be read in order. Sebastian is still enjoying his role as Lady Bronwyn, the wife of Earl Anthony Crofton, but things start to become sticky when Anthony is asked by Queen Elizabeth to do his duty to the crown and seduce the whereabouts of a French noble from Marie, the nobles’ daughter. Anthony’s duty becomes difficult when Marie meets Sebastian and becomes charmed by him and then her brother, Nicholas, arrives only to fall under Bronwyn’s charm. Now, Sebastian has to charm the whereabouts from the siblings and Anthony has a taste of his own medicine. It is complicated further when Sebastian’s uncle insists that the farce ends. Just how are Sebastian and Anthony to cope with the pressure of pleasing a Queen, an interfering uncle, a suitor who becomes obsessed and bandits?

Ah an excellent second book of Elizabethan forbidden love with a dose of political intrigue. Sebastian is appalled when Anthony confides the Queen’s request (more like royal decree), that instructs Anthony to do whatever he has to in order to seduce the whereabouts of a French noble from the man’s daughter. Sebastian struggles with his jealousy and begins to doubt Anthony’s love for him, as Anthony seems to be enjoying the seduction just a bit too much. But, the tables become turned and not only does Sebastian become the focus of Marie’s attention, he also, in the guise of Bronwyn, becomes the focus of Nicholas, Marie’s brother. Anthony and Sebastian both struggle with the task that has been laid on their heads. But, they soon discover that whittling out hidden nobles is not where the danger lies.

I really enjoyed this second story of The Actor and the Earl. Picking up just over a year after the first book we see Anthony and Sebastian are still madly in love and devoted to each other. I will have to say that in this book I could see how much they care for each other and the connection between them was much stronger and more tangible. The relationship between them is something to be envied and it is, by other women in the Elizabethan Court. The storyline is really good. I enjoyed delving into the political intrigue of the Elizabethan Court and seeing the effects on those who are involved and I really liked the twist near the end, it was an added bonus. I must admit I am intrigued as to what will happen to Anthony and Sebastian, and I am really hoping that there will be more to their story in the future.

I will recommend this to those who love historicals, forbidden love, hot sex, jealousy, duels, political intrigue, bandits and a very happy ending.

Beloved Enemy by Star Noble

Title: Beloved Enemy

Series: NA

Author: Star Noble

Genre: M/M Historical

Length: 193 pages

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press/ Timeless Dreams (February 13th, 2013)

Heat Level: Mild

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts

Blurb: At the edge of the Roman Empire, Cheruscans Kjeld and Dafried forged the bonds of childhood friendship, playing and hunting together along the mighty Rhine—until Romans ripped Kjeld away from his idyllic life and best friend to live as a Roman soldier.

That was ten years ago. Kjeld, now a Roman general, returns to his foster parents to prepare for a glorious celebration: a battle in the Coliseum. What he doesn’t know is that Dafried, after being captured during an assault on Roman military post, now trains as a gladiator in preparation for the upcoming competition. When the childhood friends reunite in the sands, it could spell death for one of them.

A Timeless Dreams title: While reaction to same-sex relationships throughout time and across cultures has not always been positive, these stories celebrate M/M love in a manner that may address, minimize, or ignore historical stigma.

Product link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3573

Reviewer: Cat

Review: The story starts out about two boys and their friendship. Kjeld and Dafried’s world seem to revolve around each other and you can feel their closeness and know they have a deep bond. They are also boys who want to help fight for their families against the Romans. Then one day the Romans come and take Kjeld away. They say they will not bother the clan if they let them have him; he will be taken to Rome and taken care of. The boys’ worlds are shattered. Then it moves ten years later and tells of how Kjeld was raised in a wealthy environment. He finally had to put his past behind thinking his family and Dafried had been killed. One night his servant was administering to him and was especially endearing and he remembered Dafried. Marcus misinterprets Kjeld’s reaction and kisses him. Kjeld is shocked and doesn’t return his feelings, so he knows he has to let him go. But, now he can’t stop thinking of Dafried. To his surprise he finds Dafried is a gladiator and is in a death match against his step- father’s best gladiator.

I thought this story was beautifully written and I wasn’t able to put it down once I started. I thought the characters well-developed, inspiring and the story fast paced and intriguing.

Recommendation: I recommend this book to anyone that loves a story of friends to lovers, a well- developed historical setting, love lost then found again, Soldiers, Gladiators, and sensual and beautiful lovemaking.

The Auspicious Troubles of Chance by Charlie Cochet

Title: The Auspicious Troubles of Chance

Series: The Auspicious Troubles of Love # 1

Author: Charlie Cochet

Genre: Timeless Dreams

Length: Novel (172 pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (June 20^th)

Heat Level: Medium

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4½Hearts

Blurb: Chance Irving is a young man with a gift for getting into trouble—not surprising, as trouble is all he’s ever known. After losing everything he held dear one fateful night, he decides to leave New York and his past behind, and joins the French Foreign Legion. But even in Algiers, Chance can’t seem to shake his old ways, and he ends up being transferred to a unit made up of misfits and rabble-rousers like him—a unit he finds just in time to be captured and thrown into a cell with his new commandant, Jacky Valentine.

A highly respected commandant with a soft spot for hard luck cases, Jacky is the kind of guy who would go to war for you, and the three equally troubled youths from his unit he’s more or less adopted feel the same way about him. Suddenly Chance starts to think that his life doesn’t have to be as desolate and barren as the wastelands around him.

But even after their escape, with the promise of a future with Jacky to buoy his spirits, or maybe because of it, Chance can’t stop making mistakes. He disobeys orders, lashes out at the boys in Jacky’s care, and blazes a trail of self-destruction across the desert—until someone makes him realize he’s hurting more than just himself.

Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3049

Reviewer: Any

Review: To talk about this book, I have to divide it into three parts. Beginning, middle, and end.

Beginning: (♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts)

It came as a shock, at first, to be spoken to directly from the narrator. It took a little adjusting, but Chance’s wit carried me through the slight awkwardness, and soon I fell in love with the style. Chance’s voice is funny, rude, blunt and sobering. The way he thought and narrated just made his character all the more endearing.

In the first part, we know “Jackie” is an important person to Chance, and we get glimpses of him in the narrative “a man continuously accompanied by chaos and some form of deep-seated lunacy”, which left me curious to know more about the man. Especially since the story opens with Chance shot in the stomach, and Chance knowing he has to get to Jackie. The stakes high, right from the start, and I wanted to know more—would he make it back to this Jackie? And why is this person so important to him? What is their story?

Also, this first part of the story shows us Chance (Chauncey at the beginning) growing up and the momentous events in his life that lead him eventually to a desert in Africa. I don’t want to give too much away, but reading it was emotional and engaging. I certainly sympathized with him.

Middle: (♥♥♥♥♥5+Hearts)

Gah. I was totally swept away in this story. Let me just say, once we got to Chance’s life in the desert I was a goner. Nothing could pry me away from reading. Nothing. I stayed up very late, consequently.

Here’s why:

It’s full of tension.

It made me swoon, swoon, and swoon some more.

The settings the author used made her scenes unique. For example, and this was the shining star of all scenes in the book (and many of them were good) but she had our two main characters, Chance and Jackie, meet in a box. Yes, a box. I refuse to say more, except that I recommend everyone read it! J

The sex was hot and it fit the characters perfectly.

Also, and this was what worried me a little when I first started reading—and was relieved to find it not the case—this is not a full on war story. The war is a background and we don’t “see” much of it. The story really does focus mostly on Chance’s growing and his and Jackie’s relationship.

End: (♥♥♥♥3.5Hearts)

Don’t get me wrong, here, I still LOVED the book, but the ending didn’t quite click with me. It seemed too neat somehow. I think I got irritated that we find out Jackie was suddenly wealthy. It seemed too fairytale, and while I love fairytales, it didn’t seem to quite match the rest of the book.

On the other hand, the lead up to the resolution was very emotional, and I got teary. All pluses for this wonderful book.

Overall: Great characters. Chance and Jackie are particularly well drawn, but also Johnnie, Alexander and Bobby, who I suspect we’ll see more of in future books.

I’ll leave you with my reaction after reading the last page:

Oh hell yeah. More from this author, please.

Tag: Timeless Dreams

Duty to the Crown by Rebecca Cohen

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Beloved Enemy by Star Noble

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The Auspicious Troubles of Chance by Charlie Cochet

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