The Duke of Olympia Meets His Match by Juliana Gray

Juliana Gray’s The Duke of Olympia Meets His Match is a delightful and charming novella! The fast- paced story takes place during an eight- day voyage from the United States to England on the White Star oceanliner Majestic. The Duke of Olympia is one of my favorite characters from the authors A Princess in Hiding series and I was excited to read a novella devoted entirely to him! 

The novella contains the expected shipboard romance between two couples with a bit of intrigue added to make the transatlantic voyage exciting! Olympia needs to locate a portfolio of papers and a female French undercover agent before the ship docks in London. He has eight days to figure out which of the guests is the spy and he encounters several roadblocks while on his quest. Mrs. Laura Morrison is one of the obstructions as she has decided that the Duke of Olympia is going to marry her daughter Rose. During the course of the voyage , she plots and schemes to get the couple together. Unbeknown to Mrs. Morrison, Robert Langley, Rose’s suitor from New York, booked a last minute berth on the ship and the couple is meeting in secret. And to complicate matters, Olympia is attracted to Rose’s companion Penelope Schuyler, a widow and poor relation to the Morrison family.

Olympia knows that Penelope has papers hidden in her trunk and suspects that she may be the foreign agent he has been asked to locate and capture! The author does a fabulous job balancing the couple’s growing attraction towards one and another and the Duke’s mission. The dialogue between the Duke and Penelope is very witty and affectionate as their relationship progresses. The author tucks in a bit of history and social commentary throughout the novella as well. The secondary characters are well developed and each plays an important role in the storyline. The conclusion to the novella was fabulous and the author kept me guessing as to the identity of the spy until the very end! The novella reads like a full length novel—great story, well developed characters and great descriptive writing infuses with humor!

Will the Duke of Olympia determine the identity of the spy before the ship docks?
Is Penelope working for the French government?
Read Duke of Olympia Meets His Match and find out! 

 
Reviewed by: Susan Gorman
Book purchased on Amazon

The Scoundrel and I by Katharine Ashe

"She backed away a step. 'You have ruined me."

The blue eyes flicked down her body, then up again before his grin broadened.

"Fairly certain I'd recall that." he said.

Her cheeks flamed. "That was not, of course, what I meant by those words."

His eyes laughed. "You don"t say?"

"You are a scoundrel, sir."

"Assuredly. Now tell me your troubles and I'll do my scoundrelly best to solve it."

The Scoundrel and I captivated me from the first paragraph. Katharine Ashe's rich, descriptive writing style lends itself to this Cinderella-themed story. Gabrielle Flood works at Brittle & Sons print shop where Lady Justice's  pamphlets are published. Gabrielle is startled by a stranger and drops a chase of type-set broadsheet on the ground scattering more than 50 pieces of type. Elle fears for her job and searches for the missing pieces on the street. She meets Captain Anthony Masinter; the scoundrel who startled Elle. He offers to help Elle and she reluctantly accepts.

Katharine Ashe is well-known for creating complex, honorable heroes in her novels and pairing them with forthright, educated heroines. She blends humor, passion and romance into each one of her stories. I was drawn to the character of Anthony Masinter as he was sincere in his motives to help Elle recover the missing pieces of type. Honor and duty are very important to this naval officer. Elle works at the print shop and proofreads the letters between Lady Justice and Peregrine. She believes that Anthony is a scoundrel but needs his help to keep her job. Elle cares for her ailing Grandmother and the scenes between these two characters are written from the heart.

There’s quite a bit of fun and great dialogue  between the characters during their journey. Anthony and his sister transform Elle from a shop girl to a princess. Loved the shout out to Lady Beaufeltheringstone from the author’s former Ballroom blog! Anthony and Elle attend Lady B’s ball as part of their scheme to steal some type from Anthony’s uncle. Loved the sense of suspense in these scenes.

 Anthony and Elle are keeping secrets from each other and the secrets are revealed as this well -paced novel reaches its conclusion. The last few chapters were intense and not what I expected. Katharine Ashe has the ability to deliver a 200 -page novella that reads like a novel! All of the characters are unique and well-developed, the plot is original and works within the Falcon Club series. I enjoy that the author writes great dialogue and keeps within her time period ( i.e. no Americanisms) in tone, dialogue and social setting. 

The importance of the written word is an important theme in the novel and the author gifts the reader with the collection of letters written by Lady Justice and Peregrine. After reading the letters, I can’t wait to read The Earl in October!! 

If you are looking for a fabulous summer romance filled with passion, humor and intrigue—pick up Katharine Ashe’s The Scoundrel and I!

Reviewed by Susan Gorman

ARC and graphics provided by the author.

Me Before You - Movie Review

Me Before You

Movie Review

Released 3 June 2016

Running time is 1 hour 50 minutes

When I saw the trailers for this movie, I was sure
it was going to be so sad. Depressing. A real downer.
Which, when I think about it, I wonder why anyone
would ever want to see such a movie?? But I did.
My husband even came with me.
Both of the starring actors were completely
new to us. We didn't recognize either of them.

There really is not much I can say about

Me Before You without spoiling it. Only that we

enjoyed it. We both did. I did tear up a

couple times.  But in the end, the story was a

magnificent one of love and broadening ones

horizons. I will say, please, keep your mind

open at the end. We both thought it was

a fabulously done movie and a great ending.

Really, the best possible way to end it.

Review by Lisa Hutson