Dear Author » Betina-Krahn

REVIEW: Make Me Yours by Betina Krahn

Jane — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:00:36 +0000

Dear Ms. Krahn:

I don’t think I’ve read a Blaze Historical before (and I’m not even sure what a Blaze Historical is). I’ll admit that I passed over this book initially when I was perusing the eHarlequin ebook website because the blurb which included a reference to Prince of Wales and I am always nervous about the incorporation of Very Famous People in books. But! I am so glad that I did get this as an ARC because I actually thought the book was great and I wouldn’t have read it had it not been sent to me.

Mariah Eller is a widow whose sole inheritance from her deceased husband is the Eller-Stapleton Inn. One evening she is called to the Inn because several wealthy gentlemen were about to smash out the windows, molest her serving girl, and generally destroy the inn. Worse, because the so called gentlemen have signed her register under fake names (Jack Sprat, Jack B Nimble, Union Jack, Jack A. Dandy, Jack Ketch, Jack O. Lantern), she can’t even hold them responsible if they do wreak havoc. Her only choice is to lull them into a drunken stupor. Upon arriving in the inn’s public room armed with her wits, a fiddler, and a lot of liquor, Mariah recognizes that one of her “guests” is Bertie, Prince of Wales. Mariah does her job well enough, flirting with six men and ostensibly drinking them all under the table that she catches the interest of Bertie.

The Prince of Wales dispatches Jack B. Nimble a.k.a Jack St. Lawrence and Jack O. Lantern, Baron Marchant, to procure the services of Mariah as Bertie’s new mistress. Bertie only engages in liasons with married women so Mariah is presented with the dubious honor of becoming a whore for the prince as well as being given over to some faceless man in marriage. Mariah has few options. As Marchant tells her, “One word from the prince and your thousand-pound loan can be paid and stricken from both ledger and memory. A different word, however, could bring the note due this very day. You are surely clever enough to see the advantage of allying yourself to such power.”

Mariah is clever enough to see she has no choice. Jack has provided her with a list of 4 gentlemen. Mariah insists on meeting all of them and Jack will be her escort. Mariah does not set out to seduce Jack, but the sexual attraction between the two is strong and Jack, well, “She was striking, sensual, self-possessed and had already proven she had as much command over his body as he did.”

But even if Jack where to marry Mariah, there is the problem that Bertie expects Mariah to be delivered to him and he would not be happy with Jack sampling the wares. The St. Lawrence family has always been a friend to the crown and in exchange for services rendered, Jack’s brothers have been able to gain advantageous marriages. Jack is expected to do the same.

There are some drawbacks to the story. Jack is portrayed as a man of science and learning but I felt that this part of his character was underdeveloped. The ending crumbled a bit for me because I didn’t feel like I had enough sense for the type of man Bertie was that would allow for the resolution that occurred. I needed more backstory or worldbuilding as it pertained to Bertie.

Overall, though, Make Me Yours read like a breath of fresh air. I loved Mariah and her embrace of her sexuality. Her husband was a worldly man and awoke in Mariah a passion that she hadn’t known existed. When he died, she missed that physical attention. While Jack is not the aggressor in this story, there is no denying that he has power from simply being a man and this power is well met by Mariah’s own self possession. One of my particularly favorite scenes is when Mariah is purportedly making a list of things that Bertie might like in terms of clothes, scents, and other female accoutrements. It’s a seduction scene of dialogue:

“What do you think–is her more visual or tactile?” When he scowled, she clarified, “Is he a looker or a toucher?” Holding her pencil poised, she appeared thoughtful. “He seemed to like having his hands in my hair.”

“It’s not for me to say,” he bit out, filled with images and indignation.

“I only ask because you are my sole source of information, and it has a direct impact on what sort of garments I buy. Some men like to see a woman’s bounty grandly and brazenly displayed. Others prefer to have to peel away layers of frilly armor to reveal a woman’s intimate secrets.”

A woman’s bounty…frilly armor… intimate secrets…Every word was an incantation conjuring salacious images in his head.
….
“Very well.” She broke the silence and made a note on her pad. “You refuse to discuss the prince’s preferences, so I shall just have to be guided by your own.”

“Mine?” His grip on his walking stick and his jaw both loosened.
…
“As a representative. Most certainly. You hunt together, attend the same functions and admire the same fashionable ladies, do you not? Then what appeals to you must, by all logic, appeal to him.”
….
“So, Jack St. Lawrence–” her voice lowered and lapped around his tensed body in warm, suggestive waves “–in intimate situations, do you prefer to see a woman arrayed in permissive silk lingerie or cinched into stern-boned corsets and twenty-button gloves?”

His teeth ground together. He squeezed his eyes tighter and his whole body tensed. Provocative flashes of nipples veiled by translucent silk and breasts bulging above black satin boning flared in his mind. Punishment indeed. The silk in his vision slid…the corset loosened…blue eyes burned and wine-sweetened lips beckoned…tempting and accusing him. Hypocrite.

I can see this appealing to many historical romance readers and I hope that they don’t miss it because it’s packaged as a category. B

Best regards

Jane

This book can be purchased at Amazon or in ebook format from Sony or other etailers.

REVIEW: Love’s Brazen Fire by Betina Krahn

Jayne — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 09:36:51 +0000

Dear Ms. Krahn,

Sheesh, what a back blurb. I almost didn’t want to read your book because of it until a friend persuaded me.

“She had to persuade him. Barter was a way of life in Rapture, Pennsylvania and Whitney Daniels learned long ago that everything has its price. So when an officer of the new federal government threatened to arrest everyone in sight for violating the unfair tax on spirits and distillers, Whitney was sure she could talk him out of it. But the innocent beauty soon realized that handsome, stubborn Major Garner Townsend was a formidable opponent. The only thing she might be able to entice him with was herself! And as she looked up into his piercing blue eyes and felt the heat of his lean, muscular body luring her nearer, she realized that there would be no losers in this tempting bargain …only tender lovers!

He had to possess her. Garner was determined to do his duty, even if that meant breaking the heart of the lovely, infuriating Whitney Daniels. But the green-eyed spitfire managed to cloud his judgment and melt his icy composure. Before long he was dreaming not of upholding the law, but of holding her close! He might have to silence her arguments with kisses, but that would be no hardship. Her lips were rosy and inviting, her skin creamy and soft, her eyes aglow with sweet anticipation. And somehow he knew that together they would set the night ablaze with the wondrous heat of

“LOVE’S BRAZEN FIRE”

Oh, the title. Oi, the cover. The old one has Garner with his shirt unbuttoned and half out of his breeches, Whitney with her lush, creamy bosoms heaving…my blogging partner’s dh, who has bought romance books before, would never have the guts to buy THIS one at a bookstore! And for all that, it’s surprisingly good.

The first half, when Garner is up against almost all of Rapture and most of his own men is great. Flat out over the top farce (which readers probably need to be in the mood for in order to enjoy it) and scathingly funny. Poor Garner is about to blow a blood vessel half of the time and Starched should be his middle name. I love the way Whitney and the townspeople keep getting the better of the poor man who is totally out of his element. But still he hangs in there and perseveres. And gets not only the illegal distillers he’s after but the daughter of the leader as his wife. Something stiff and proper Bostonian Garner doesn’t really want.

And after the arrests are made and the dust settles in Rapture, Whitney stirrs it up in Boston as she tries to make the best bargain of her marriage and breathe some life and family love into Garner’s unbending father, secretly rum swilling grandfather and spoiled cousin. But a final showdown is in store as Whitney’s father is on trial for treason against the fledgling United States of America federal government and Garner just might be the one who can save him.

First half was a B+ and the second half was a B- to average out overall as a solid B rating. Whitney reforming Boston is just too pat. You give us the overly uptight family who must be transformed into loving each other. Though the way you have it happen is different, still I’ve seen it too much. But for all that I still enjoyed watching the stiff Townsends unbend, especially the grandfather who nips at the family made rum and is the first to see how good Whitney will be for his proud grandson.

I was somewhat concerned that Whitney doesn’t appear, at least at first, to be that worried about the fact that her beloved pa is in a hellhole of a jail nor does she write or visit to inquire just what the charges are against him nor make any move to try and get him out. A mention or two of her worries or some more contact would have been more natural.

I do like how Garner and Whitney worked out their differences, each bending and giving to make their marriage work. The sex scenes are hot and fun (their bedsprings will need to be tightened on a regular basis).

You seem to have done your homework about the Whiskey Rebellion and worked it nicely into the story and the characters you’ve created. If readers are like I am, they probably don’t remember all that much about this event in US history and I’m off to do some internet searching to refresh my memory. B for you.

~Jayne

Dear Author » Betina-Krahn

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REVIEW: Make Me Yours by Betina Krahn

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