The Danger in Tempting an Earl by Sophie Barnes

• Title:  The Danger in Tempting an Earl
• Series:  At the Kingsborough Ball #3
• Author:  Sophie Barnes
• Genre:  Historical Romance
• Published:  July 2014 – Avon
• Source:  Publisher

My take:  Lucien Marvaine has returned to England to assume the title Earl of Roxbury. His father and older brother died while he was away and he’s next in line. He’s also being pressured to marry and produce an heir.

Katherine is a widow and beginning to go out in society again. She intends to never marry again. Rather, she will raise her baby daughter and is thinking seriously of becoming a lady’s companion to her sister-in-law. Well, that was her plan. She didn’t expect her life-long friend Lucien to reappear after his abrupt departure following her marriage.

Can these two fall back into their comfortable friendship or will it become more? As they try to convince the other to court various people will they figure out they belong together?

There’s also another glimpse of a shooting at the Kingsborough Ball that has been featured from different characters’ perspectives in each of the three books in the series. In fact, the mystery of who the shooter is and why the shot has been taken is cleared up in this book. That added drama to the story.

If you enjoy a historical romance trilogy you’ll want to give the books of At the Kingsborough Ball a try. They are light and quick reads. I would recommend reading them in order.

The Scandal in Kissing an Heir by Sophie Barnes

• Title:  The Scandal in Kissing an Heir
• Author:  Sophie Barnes
• Series:  #2, At the Kingsborough Ball
• Genre:  Historical Romance
• Published:  December 31, 2013 – Avon
• Source:  Publisher

Synopsis:  Lady Rebecca is determined to find a husband on her own terms, rather than marry any of the aging suitors her greedy aunt and uncle foist upon her. Her chance comes at the Kingsborough Ball, where she meets several potential grooms…yet no one compares to the dangerously handsome Daniel Neville.

Daniel Neville, notorious rake and heir to the Marquis of Wolvington, is in need of a bride, but finding a lady who’s willing to accept his past, is an entirely different matter. When he spies a stunning woman across the ballroom, Daniel believes he’s found her…until scandal erupts around them. How can he convince Rebecca to take a chance on him…and on the love that could be theirs forever after?

My take:  Calling all debutantes and wallflowers! If you attend  the Kingsborough Ball, and if the first two books in the series are any indication, chances are you’ll find a marriage prospect! And he’ll either be on the road to being reformed from his rakish ways or he’ll be open to you setting him on that path 🙂

The Scandal in Kissing an Heir is the second installment in the series and I enjoyed it just as much if not more than the first. Daniel is the quintessential rakehell and Rebecca is the lady in need of rescuing. Her aunt and uncle have put the word out that she’ll go to the highest bidder. And that highest bidder would be a creepy old Duke. When Daniel sees that Rebecca would do almost anything to not be wed to the Duke he sees a way to redeem himself in the eyes of his uncle (whose title Daniel will inherit). The uncle told Daniel he must leave his old habits and find himself a wife. So. Daniel and Rebecca form an alliance and resolve to help each other – knowing all the while that it won’t be a marriage of love but at least they like each other.

Sophie Barne’s story was an entertaining way to spend a few hours. I enjoyed the characters and the happily-ever-after resolution – and I look forward to going back to the ball in the next book of the At the Kingsborough Ball series.

The Trouble With Being a Duke by Sophie Barnes

• Title:  The Trouble With Being a Duke (#1 At The Kingsborough Ball)
• Author:  Sophie Barnes
• Genre:  Historical Romance
• Published:  August 2013 – Avon
• Source:  Publisher

My take:  The Trouble With Being a Duke is the first in a new series by Sophie Barnes. I found it to be light and entertaining for the most part. I enjoyed the main characters. Anthony is rather new at being the Duke of Kingsborough but he shows great promise in his ability to fill his late father’s shoes. Isabella is delightful and fairly self-assured. Anthony is smitten almost at first sight of Isabella at his family’s masquerade ball. The attraction is mutual but she can’t allow him to find out her true identity. 

Isabella leaves the ball with Anthony wondering who she really is and where she lives. A search ensues the following day. A Cinderella story if there ever was one! It was fun seeing how the Duke handled the obstacles he found in his way as he tried to find their happily-ever-after.

I think most fans of light-hearted historical romance will enjoy this book. There’s a bit of drama but mostly it’s as light and sweet as cotton candy.

Lady Alexandra’s Excellent Adventure by Sophie Barnes

Title:  Lady Alexandra’s Excellent Adventure – Summersby #1

Author:  Sophie Barnes

Genre:  Historical Romance

Published:  May 2012 – Avon Impulse

Synopsis: Lady Alexandra Summersby is not your average society miss. Not only is she more likely to climb a tree than she is to wear a dress, but she has also sworn off marriage. Alex loves taking chances, which is how she finds herself embroiled in a secret mission as she races across the country with the Earl of Trenton. But Alexandra is about to discover that the real danger lies not in duels, but in her completely unexpected reaction to Lord Trenton’s company.

Michael Ashford, Earl of Trenton, is a man of duty. Honorable, charming, and a hit with the ladies, he’s never had trouble staying focused-until now. Lady Alexandra is like no other woman he’s ever met, and suddenly the prospect of marriage seems far more appealing. Now, to convince Alexandra that a life together could be an adventure like no other . . .

My take:  This historical romance is different from any I’ve read. It’s full of adventure, lacks the proper etiquette of the ton – at least where Alex is concerned, and then at nearly the last moment takes on the form of a fairy tale (think duckling turns into swan). It’s an entertaining story.

At it’s very core I found it to be the story of a young woman with commitment issues because of the loss of her mother at an early age. Alex resolved never to marry so she’d never feel the grief she witnessed in her father when her mother died. I thought Sophie Barnes’s treatment of this issue was honest and believable. With the rest of the story being somewhat larger than life I thought it was interesting to address that sensitive issue.

This is the first in the Summersby series with the second due out in the Fall (2012). Lady Alexandra’s Excellent Adventure might be a good one to take to the beach this summer. I enjoyed it.

Source:  Avon Impulse

Disclosure:  See sidebar. I was not compensated for my review.