Review: Breathless by Anne Stuart

Blurb:

Ruined beyond repair and shunned by London society, lovely Miranda Rohan rebelliously embraces the freedom that comes from having nothing left to lose. However, this dangerous course throws her under the power of the darkly enigmatic Lucien de Malheur—known to many as the Scorpion.

Seeking to destroy the Rohans, Lucien traps Miranda in a marriage she thinks is based on friendship but instead is rooted in vengeance. Yet even when she realizes the truth, their enmity fuels a shocking passion—and perhaps even more.

Such a man might drive anyone to murder....

Caroline's review:
Breathless is the 3rd book in the House of Rohan series. I loved the first 2 books and I was a bit scared to read this one. Anne Stuart has been known for her abrupt endings and I knew this one didn't have an epilogue. This is why it took me months before I dared read it. How wrong I was! This book was amazing. It made me go all 'O_o' quite a few times but in the end it was just a fantastic read.

Lucien is the most wicked, the most ruthless hero I've ever read about. In comparison the heroes of the first 2 books were very very tamed. He's soooooo wicked. Lucien wants revenge for his sister's death. He wants to make the Rohan family suffer really bad. So in order to get this revenge, Lucien had Miranda kidnapped and ruined. He paid someone to do this and marry her but she escaped and her family protected her. Now a few years later she's happy to live outside society. But she feels lonely, she's been shunned by the rest of the world. This is not enough for Lucien, he wants to make her and her family suffer all their life. He bids is time, you know the saying 'revenge is better served cold', well this hero believes in it. He plans on winning her trust and then seduce her.

I think what really surprised me is that I thought Lucien would reform. He would soften with time, but he's one wicked son of a b*tch. Don't get me wrong, I loved this character but he's very evil. The whole book kept me on edge. Miranda is a fantastic character, she's strong and she is very courageous. I loved that nothing would keep her down, she tries to see the positive side of everything. When Lucien brings her to his gloomy ruin of an estate he thinks he'll kill her spirit (seriously that's his goal for the whole book! if that's not ruthless what is!). How wrong he was! It was hilarious to see Miranda remodel the house to her liking.

What had me in hysterics was that their fight for power never cease. The ending of the book was really abrupt and it was very bittersweet. More bitter than sweet though. I'm seriously hoping we'll see what happened to them next in the new book in the series (Shameless).

As in all the books in the series there is a secondary romance. I loved seeing Jacob Donnelly and Jane Pagett fall in love. He is London's most notorious thief and she is the heroine's best friend. I LOVED this romance. I was so eager to see what would happen to them. Their chapters were so good I couldn't stop reading. They meet by accident, she surprise him while he's stealing something and it's passion at first glance. She doesn't know who this wicked man is, it was too dark when they met. So when they meet again, she doesn't recognize him. Oh how I LOVED those 2! It was sweet and hot and I was rooting for them from the start. I loved everything about this story. Very satisfying. I even wish we'd seen more of their story.

Breathless is the best book in the series in my opinion. It had me raging and shouting at the book. I loved to hate the hero. Even a month after reading it I'm feeling strongly about it. Anne Stuart did her magic again and gave us a book you cannot easily forget.

I give Breathless 4,5 Stars

With a Devil of an ending!

Author Links:
Website

Book Links:
Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

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HEA Apocalypse

So today we were both thinking about what to post and thought it would be fun to share our latest acquisitions with you. Not so much fun because now I feel BAD. *head hangs in shame* So here you can see what fed our addiction in the last 2 weeks:

Susi: I might admit that I went a bit book shopping crazy and it seems I have to stop cuz the TBR shelves are full now. But look at the pretties. I got the signed Lauren Dane book from Stacie aka @GeishasMom73. She got it signed at RT and it took only 8 weeks to reach me. LOL I think the ladies at the German customs enjoyed this one. I bought the Olivia Cunning books cuz Caro dared me to get over my prudish self and now I have them and just have to start reading. LOL I wanted to buy Fragile for ages and it was on bargain at Book Depository so I just couldn’t resist. The cover is sooooo pretty. I love it. I bought Wasteland cuz I wanted the Lilli Feisty story and it has one by Eden Bradley and Sabrina @ About Happy Books always loves her books so I thought I should try them. (yes I notice that I have an explanation for everything LOL).

Caroline: Muahahaha and to think that I haven’t even read the Cunning book yet. I feel machiavellic *g* And Susi ...lol @ having an explanation for every book you ordered. I swear it’s the same for me and Netgalleys!

Susi: Has from The Book Pushers just wouldn’t stop raving about Vaughan’s books so I finally gave up and bought it. Hexed was a must buy cuz it has an Ilona Andrews story and I auto buy all her books. LOL The Thea Harrison book was actually a lucky coincidence. I swaped it for another book with Sullivan McPig. *g*

Susi: Yes I have a bit of contemporary phase right now. I won the Nora Roberts at Ally’s place. Unfortunately the German post hates me and damaged it while forcing it into my mailbox but non of the important pages is ruined so it’s okay. Still makes me sad. =( The rest were actually rec’s I got on twitter when I asked for contemp novels that rock. I so can’t wait to start the Lisa Kleypas ones! I lurved Sugar Daddy so much!
And let’s not talk about ebooks! *hides behind her new books*

Caro’s loot:

Caro: I have been (relatively) good this last 2 weeks. I will admit that I pre-ordered quite a few books though . But they don’t count...yet *wink*.
Usually when I order books I don’t read them asap, sometimes it takes months (*cough* years) before I read them. But I’ve been a good girl this month. On the pic, those are the books I got in the last 2 weeks. I’ve already read 4 and am reading the 5th. *g*

- The Wedding of the Century (anthology) I wanted the Charlotte Featherstone story SO bad!! NOM NOM
- Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews
- Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn Soooo cuuuuuuute
- Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison Hot hero *g*
- Hexed by Kevin Hearne ok so maybe I also got the Audiobook. But it’s totally worth it. <3 <3 <3 I’m in love with this series
- Hexed (anthology) I got this one for the Ilona Andrews story only.
- Hunt the Moon by Karen Chance I can’t wait for the Pritkin love.

So you see, in comparison to a certain German lady I won’t name...I feel like I have been a good girl *g*. I’ll still admit that I have a Netgalley addiction that I need to address (translation Susi is making me stick to a reviewing plan and I am on a Netgalley diet starting today! <==yes because i requested a book yesterday lol).

Susi: Gah I forgot Magic Slays and Kiss of Snow in my pics. *hides some more* And I want my copy of Hunt the Moon. Still not here. *super sad*

Since we started our 12 step program to stop ordering/requesting so many books, anyone has tips on how to do that? ;)

Anyone wanna hold our hair while we pu...huh I mean stare at empty Ordering Basket?

Do you always have a ‘good reason’ to buy a book? (Yes i’m talking about Susi’s explanations)

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We're talking about Japanese covers today!

This week we decided to cross European borders and give you...*drumrolls* Japanese covers!

Just so you know, searching for covers on the Japanese Amazon when you don’t know a word of the language is a risky adventure. We finally decided on a few covers from well known authors. 

I hope you’ll enjoy this visit to Japan.

Come on over and join us!

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Find the Difference!

A few months ago when the cover of Magic Slays was revealed, Susi and I couldn’t help but notice a few disturbing things. Since we’re not known to be silent about our qualms, we ended up making a post about ‘everything wrong about this cover’ over at Book Lovers Inc  (you can see the post here). lol

Now Magic Slays has been released and something struck us when we saw the cover...

To emphasize our point, we’ll show you the cover we posted a few months ago next to the new one.

So...did you see it?

Susi: I can NOT NOT stare it. LOL It screams to me now that I saw it LOL.

Caro: Yes ladies and well ...ladies (let’s be honest here!)... Kate finally got a boobjob! Look more closely at #3

Susi: A backward boobjob after the offending one we complained about LOL

Caro: You know, I’m very happy about this change. I’d like to think our collective venting (coz we weren’t the only one having a problem with her big boobs) was heard. ;)

Susi: Yeah it could be or Ilona was as offended as we were LOL. But we have to say great job Ace- another reason to love you.

Did you noticed it too? What do you think? 

Do you think bloggers' opinions can play a part in making publishers alter a cover?

Could we hope Orbit would finally see reason and change the new Gail Carriger covers too? ;)

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May's HEAs

Susi's Reads:
May was my recommendation months. Most books were highly rec’d or review books I actually hungered for- so this list is nearly completely full of win. YAY! Hope June will stay that way.

1. Goddess With A Blade by Lauren Dane - 4 stars
Surprisingly different from Dane's usual style. Gritty and witty urban fantasy with a slight touch of romance. Review will be posted tonmorrow at BLI together with an author interview and giveaway *hint*

2. A Brush of Darkness (Abby Sinclair, #1) by Allison Pang - 4stars
This was a recommendation from Caro and I have to admit I resisted for a long time cuz the only thing I could imagine while thinking of this book was unicorns.*shudders* But this best best and funniest unicorn ever. Funny and witty read with more smex than I expected. So YAY!

3. Come Back to Me by Julia Rachel Barrett - 4 stars
Such an emotional book. This one really touched me on the deepest level. It is a book about life and the bad times it has. Be warned it is full of heartbreak, pain and sadness but we shouldn’t look away from those. Recommended read.

4. Menage by Emma Holly - 4 stars
Another recommendation I got on twitter for smexy contemporary and OMG it was just that- smexy. LOL Nothing like I read before. It is focused on all things sexual but still adds a emotional twist to the story. Very nice done.

5. The Neon Graveyard (Signs of the Zodiac, #6) by Vicki Pettersson - 4 stars
This is one novel I hungered for over a year and it delivered what I wanted. Great final book in a great and unique series. My full review can be found here. You really should check that series out.

6. Contra Alliance: Shadows of the Past by Tom Kolega - DNF
I really looked forward to this book but it wasn’t as I expected it to be. Too much military in it for me- the pacifist in me can just take so much. LOL I was also confused by all the code-names and military abbreviations. But bf really loved this book so it seems to be me being picky. You can read bf’s review here.

7. Seeing Stars by Megan Hart - 4 stars
Set in the world of Passion Model- love that setting and the story really fits the overall “problems” of that society. Check it out.

8. Strange Attractions by Emma Holly - 3 stars

Again really nice and smexy but her approach to scientific part wasn’t for me. Perhaps my inner geek can’t handle this. LOL I even discussed her ideas with bf and we agree on this one.

9. Long Hard Ride (Rough Riders, #1) by Lorelei James - 4 stars
Another recommendation and oh why didn’t I start these sooner. Hot hot cowboys. Me likey- even though some parts were to much for me- made me feel like a prude. You can read the Cowboypst here.

10. Sugar Daddy (Travises #1) by Lisa Kleypas - 4 stars
Adored it- so different from the usual romance. Loved it. Rave about it can be found here. It deserves all the praise it got on twitter.

11. Enemy Games (Enemy, #2) by Marcella Burnard - 4 stars
I really love this series- Burnard writes wonderfully complex scifi romance. Great setting and characterization. Full review @ Book Lovers Inc.

12. Kamikaze (Last Call, #1) by Moira Rogers - 5 stars
This one was pure bliss. A short cute read, full of sexy times and wonderful geeky wit. I loved how you could feel their connection grow- always surprises me when this happens in such a short story. The characters are quirky and fun- and yes I just adore those hunky geeks- we need more of those in real life because seriously I agree with the heroine: geeks are sexy as hell. Very recommended- this really made my day sweeter.

13. Accidental Abduction by Eve Langlais - 2 stars
This one wasn’t what I expected. Silly at times and full of the annoyingly immature and antagonizing heroine. Also the story is weirdly familiar. More soon in review.;)

Note: I finished Kiss of Snow on June 1st but Caro forbade me to include so I won’t tell you how much made of awesomesauce it is. *sticks out tongue*
Caro: PS: Don’t you try to cheat Susi!!! June 1st is JUNE!!! LOL *g*
Susi: Most of it was read in MAY!!! LOL
Caro: I don’t wanna hear it!! You already read more books than me LOL *stick tongues out too*


Caro's Reads:
I can say this was a good month book-wise. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I stop reading book I don’t like? lol yes probably. But that’s something I’ll have to deal with sooner or later. I discovered a few new authors and I’m very happy with the result. Also I listen to Audiobooks while driving to work and the suspense is killing me. I can’t wait to go back into my car every time *g* :
1. Master of Crows by Grace Draven 4 ½ Stars
Very good fantasy romance. The world-building is intricate and fascinating. Top quality fantasy! And very smexy.

2. First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones (Audiobook) 4 Stars
What a funny UF! I giggled a lot both the book and the narrator worked for me! I’m pretty sure it worked because of the narrator. Made it very lively.

3. For I have Sinned by Darynda Jones 5 Stars 
I LOVED this short story. It’s from a ghost’s POV and it’s heart-wrenching, funny, cute. All that in only a few pages. Not to be missed!

4. Breathless by Anne Stuart 4,5 Stars 
(review to come soon) Wow, Anne Stuart did it again. This book made me go all O_O a few times. And the ending is so bittersweet. It has one REALLY evil and twisted hero! Def worth reading!

5. The Wedding of the Centuryy by Mary Jo Putney 4stars , Kristin James 3,5 stars, Charlotte Featherstone 4,5 stars
I loved this anthology. The Charlotte Featherstone story is the cherry on the top <3 <3 *swoon* Review can be found here.

6. The Truth about Lord Stoneville by Sabrina Jeffries 5 Stars
I loved this book. Start of a great series. I love the mystery unfolding piece by piece.

7. A Hellion in Her Bed by Sabrina Jeffries 5 Stars
Loved it too! Again I have nothing to say against this book. <3 Great series, great writing.

8. Spider Bites by Jennifer Estep (Audiobook) 4 Stars
It was a huge change from my usual funny audiobooks. It started slow but now I'm addicted. The narrator is growing on me.

9. Poison by Jennifer Estep 4 Stars
I started reading it before Spider Bites and I wasn’t getting interested. I went back to it after and I really enjoyed it. It’s easier to appreciate it when we know the characters. Cute.

10. The Devil in Disguise by Stephanie Sloane 3,5/4 stars
(review to come soon) I liked it but i wanted a bit more. I think some things were too rushed. Still good though.

Did you discover any great reads last month we should check out?

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