Jane Ashford: Nothing like a duke

Jane Ashfordin historiallinen viihderomaani on sarjassa neljäs, ja jälleen kerran herrasmies ja neitokainen selvittelevät välejään samaan aikaan kun juonittelu tarjoaa jännitysmomentteja tarinalle: Nothing like a duke (Sourcebooks, 2017; ISBN 978-1-4926-2166-9).



Ashford on kohtalaisen taitava kirjoittaja, mutta romaani ei kummoista muistijälkeä jättänyt, siinä määrin tavanomainen viihdepaketti se on.

How does a gentleman rescue a lady?

Lord Robert Gresham has given up all hope that the beautiful and independent Flora Jennings will ever take him seriously. He heads to an exclusive country house party to forget about the beauty haunting his thoughts. When Flora shows up, Robert is nothing short of shocked.

When she insists on saving herself?

While Flora hates the expectations of fashionable society, she finds the annoyingly charming Lord Robert hard to resist. But while their attraction flares, someone much more sinister arrives and threatens Flora. Every fiber of Robert's being says to step in and save her... but some damsels in distress insist on saving themselves.

Jane Ashford: Lord Sebastian's secret

Jane Ashfordin historiallisessa viihderomaanissa fiksu nainen ja lukutaidoton aatelismies suunnittelevat naimisiin menoa, mutta mitä tapahtuu kun salaisuudet paljastuvat: Lord Sebastian's secret (Sourcebooks, 2017; ISBN 978-1-4926-2163-8).



Teos löytyi Helmetin e-kirjoista. Romaani on nopealukuinen mutta tarjoaa hiukan lajityyppiään syvällisempääkin sisältöä.

Lord Sebastian Gresham is a battle-tested soldier and brilliant strategist. Yet all his life he’s had to hide his complete failure to decipher letters. In his own mind, he’s just stupid. What a miracle it is that he’s found the perfect bride.

Lady Georgina Stane is beautiful, witty, and brilliantly intelligent. Sebastian is head over heels in love, proud as a peacock, and terrified. If she finds out his secret, will he lose her love forever?

Jane Ashford: Heir to the duke ja What the duke doesn't know

Jane Ashfordin kaksi The Duke's Sons -kirjasarjan viihderomaania löytyi Helmetin e-kirjoista, ja ihan näppäriä historiallisia seikkailuja nämä olivat, monenlaisilla käänteillä kuorrutettuja romanttisia höttöannoksia.

Heir to the duke (Sourcebooks, Inc, 2016; ISBN 9781492621577)

Life is predictable for a Duke's first son

As eldest son of the Duke of Langford, Nathaniel Gresham sees his arranged marriage to Lady Violet Devere as just another obligation to fulfill—highly suitable, if unexciting. But as Violet sets out to transform herself from dowdy wallflower to dazzling young duchess-to-be, proper Nathaniel sets out to prove he's a match for his new bride's vivacity and daring.

Or so he once thought...

Oppressed by her family all her life, Lady Violet can't wait to enjoy the freedom of being a married woman. But then Violet learns her family's sordid secret, and she's faced with an impossible choice—does she tell Nathaniel and risk losing him, or does she hide it and live a lie?

What the duke doesn't know (Sourcebooks, 2016; ISBN 9781492621607)

A proper English wife, or the freedom of the sea?

Lord James Gresham is the fifth son of the Duke of Langford, a captain in the Royal Navy, and at a loss for what to do next. He's made his fortune; perhaps now he should find a proper wife and set up his nursery. But the sea calls to him, while his search for a wife leaves him uninspired. And then, a dark beauty with a heart for revenge is swept into his life.

He can't have both, but he won't give up either

Half-English, half-Polynesian Kawena Benson is out to avenge her father and reclaim a cache of stolen jewels. There's nothing for James to do but protest his innocence and help Kawena search for the jewels, even though it turns his world upside down.

Jane Ashford: First season ja Bride to be

Jane Ashfordin kaksi lyhyttä historiallista rakkausromaania on paketoitu yhdeksi e-kirjaksi, joka löytyy Helmetistä: First season ja Bride to be (Sourcebooks, 2015; ISBN 978-1-4926-3095-1).



Ashford kirjoittaa näppärää tekstiä. Romaanissa First season näkökulmaa vaihdetaan kolmen lapsen ja aikuisten maailman välillä, eikä kerronta ihan mahdottoman huonosti toimi, vaikka paikoitellen tarina tuntuukin rutiinisuoritukselta. Kirjailija luo vastakkainasettelua Lontoon seurapiirien ja maalaiskartanon elämän välille, ja monta yllätystä on luvassa. Romaanissa Bride to be tarina lainehtii suuntaan jos toiseenkin, mutta lukukelpoinen on tämäkin romaani. Paikka paikoin tarinoissa on mielenkiintoisia fraaseja ja sanankäyttöä, esimerkiksi "Are you burnt to the socket?"

FIRST SEASON

Widowed Lady Anabel Wyndham was married right out of the schoolroom and has never before experienced the delights of a London Season. She's dazzled by the attention of the fascinating Sir Charles Norbury, a man whose touch seems to melt her very soul, but a notorious rake. She's drawn to handsome friend-of-the-family Christopher Hanford and the comfort and serenity he offers. But how does one choose between two such charming suitors? Anabel is finding that love is so much more dangerous the second time around.

BRIDE TO BE

Emily Crane is the toast of the ton—and she couldn't find it more tedious. Until she encounters the darkly sensual stranger whose life she once saved and the London Season becomes infinitely more exciting. Recently returned from the wilds of South America, Lord Richard Sheldon has only contempt for tiresome London chits, but he finds himself stunningly intrigued by the dauntless Emily Crane. When the two become embroiled in a budding scandal and are forced into an engagement, they discover a passion more dangerous than any killer...

Jane Ashford: Married to a perfect stranger

Jane Ashford tarjoaa historiallisen viihderomaanin, jossa yllättäen on aineksia enemmän kuin lajityypissä yleensä on, voisi jopa sanoa että tässä ollaan jo lähellä kaunokirjallisuutta: Married to a perfect stranger (Sourcebooks, 2015; ISBN 978-1-4926-0191-3).



Kirjan päähenkilöt, Mary Fleming ja John Bexley, menevät naimisiin sukujen keskinäisen sopimuksen pohjalta, mutta John lähtee lähes samantien kahden vuoden virkamatkalle Kiinaan.

Quiet and obliging, Mary Fleming and John Bexley marry to please their families and John immediately leaves on a two-year diplomatic mission. Now John is back, and everything they thought they knew about each other was wrong.

Kahdessa vuodessa nuori ihminen voi muuttua suuresti, ja niinpä aviopuolisot huomaavat olevansa naimisissa aivan vieraan oloisen ihmisen kanssa. Johnista on tullut urallaan menestyvä kunnianhimoinen diplomaatti, ja Mary puolestaan on oppinut omatoimisesti kantamaan huolta vanhan, dementiasta kärsivän sukulaisensa koko taloudesta.

Kaksi vahvatahtoista, aivan eri asioista kiinnostunutta ihmistä ottavat romaanissa toisistaan mittaa. Kirjan loppu on jonkinlainen lässähdys, mutta alkupuoli romaanista toimii vallan mallikkaasti.