Madeline Hunter: The accidental duchess

Madeline Hunterin neliosaisen viihderomaanisarjan viimeinen osa kertoo vedonlyönnin seurauksista: The accidental duchess (Jove Books, 2014; ISBN 978-0-515-15131-2).



Tarina on yhtä lailla polveileva ja sisältö höttöinen kuin teossarjan aiemmissakin osissa. Sivumääräkin on maltillinen, joten kirjojen lukemiseen ei aikaa mene kovinkaan paljon.

When Lady Lydia Alfreton is blackmailed over the shocking contents of a manuscript she once wrote, she must go to the most desperate of measures to raise the money to buy back the ill-considered prose: agreeing to an old wager posed by the arrogant, dangerous Duke of Penthurst. At least Penthurst is a man she wouldn't mind fleecing--and she's confident she'll win.

Penthurst long ago concluded Lydia was a woman in search of ruinous adventure, but even he is surprised when she arrives at his house ready to bet her innocence against his ten thousand pounds a wager he only proposed to warn her off gambling.

When she loses to a simple draw of the cards, Lydia is shocked. Now, her problems are twofold: a blackmailer determined to see her pay and a duke determined to tame her rebellious ways. One misstep and Lydia could find herself ruined - or bound to the seductive man who would make her his duchess.

Madeline Hunter: Counterfeit mistress

Madeline Hunterin historiallisessa viihderomaanissa leikitellään Englannin ja Ranskan välisellä vakoiluteemalla: Counterfeit mistress (Jove Books, 2014; ISBN 978-0-515-15138-1).



Hunterin teksti on paikoitellen töksähtelevää, viimeistelemättömän oloista, mutta tarinaa hän osaa kuitenkin pyörittää kohtalaisen mallikkaasti, ja rakastavaisten onnen tiellä on luonnollisesti iso määrä karikkoja ja esteitä.

Spy hunter Alban Norwood, Viscount Kendale, tries to resist his attraction to French refugee Marielle Lyon, whom he is convinced is a spy, while Marielle is willing to make use of his interest in her to help save her father.

Madeline Hunter: The conquest of Lady Cassandra

Madeline Hunterin viihderomaanissa on monenlaista käännettä, ja vehkeilyä riittää isossa määrin ennen kuin onnellinen loppu häämöttää: The conquest of Lady Cassandra (Jove Books, 2013; ISBN 978-0-515-15111-4).



Teoksessa on dekkarin aineksia leivottu mukaan historialliseen rakkausromaaniin, ja vaikka lopputulos on osittain muotopuoli, on teoksessa pirteää omaperäisyyttäkin.

As headstrong as she is beautiful, Lady Cassandra Vernham defied convention when she refused to marry the man who had compromised her. Now, estranged from her family, Cassandra struggles to make ends meet. A recent auction of her jewels has brought her a modicum of relief, but one of the most valuable lots was never paid for by the highest bidder: handsome, rakish Viscount Ambury. Cassandra needs that money badly, and not to buy a new hat.

Ambury has only to look at Cassandra to begin imagining her in his bed. He has not settled that outstanding debt for a reason. He suspects that the expensive baubles were stolen, perhaps even by Cassandra herself. Erotic fantasies about her notwithstanding, the vixen is not to be trusted, for she has already destroyed his good friend--the man she refused to marry who later lost his life in a duel, which Ambury suspects was fought over Cassandra. But nothing is as it seems.

As the seductive lord and the scandalous beauty are drawn together, the passion that flares between them will illuminate shocking secrets that will change both their lives forever.

Madeline Hunter: The surrender of Miss Fairbourne

Madeline Hunterin historiallinen viihderomaani kertoo huutokauppatalosta, jota Emma Fairbourne pyörittää, ja haluaisi jatkaa myös isän kuoleman jälkeen: The surrender of Miss Fairbourne (Jove Books, 2012; ISBN 978-0-515-15046-9).



Teos aloittaa neliosaisen Fairbourne-romaanisarjan. Viihteellisyyttä on paikoin äitelyyteen asti, mutta toisaalta kerronnassa on omaperäisyyttäkin, eikä historiallinen aikakausi ole ihan hukassa.

A woman running a prestigious London auction house? Preposterous! But that is exactly what Emma Fairbourne intends to do when her father dies, leaving her the reins of this fabulous enterprise. Of course, she is not addlepated enough to do this openly and scare away her wealthy collectors. So she and her friend concoct a deception, hiring a handsome and charming front man who will do her bidding.

All would have proceeded smoothly--if it weren't for the maddening interference of Darius, the arrogant Earl of Southwaite, who has been her father's "silent partner" and now shares ownership of Fairbourne's. An earl, of course, has no interest in running an auction house--and Darius is certainly not interested in allowing the lovely Miss Fairbourne to run it either, her ludicrous scheme notwithstanding. Clearly the business must be sold.

But the headstrong Emma is like no other lady he has ever encountered, refusing to follow his dictates. Holding his temper in check, Darius decides to attack on a different front. There is another way to achieve her surrender, one far more pleasurable for both of them.

Madeline Hunter: Dangerous in diamonds

Madeline Hunter punoo historiallisessa viihderomaanissa monimutkaisia juonia saadakseen päähenkilöt kanssakäymisiin keskenään: Dangerous in diamonds (Jove books, 2011; ISBN 978-0-515-14934-0).



Kekseliäisyyttä kirjoittajalla piisaa, mutta henkilöhahmojen luominen ja uskottava historiallinen ajankuva sen sijaan on haastavampaa. Ei ihan mahdottoman huono lopputulos kuitenkaan.

The Duke of Castleford has been so bad for so long that scandal can’t be bothered to rise up around him anymore. To alleviate the boredom of his privileged life, he occupies himself with drinking and whoring, not to mention the occasional duel. When something piques his interest, however, he has been known to emerge from his ennui and employ his considerable mental faculties to finding answers to the questions that fascinate him.

When Daphne Joyes rejects this notorious hedonist’s seduction, she assumes that he will forget about her and continue on his path to hell. Instead her beauty, grace and formidable composure captivate him, and she becomes one of those fascinations to him. That he intends to have her, and soon, is actually the least of the dangers that his pursuit of her presents. More troublesome is his interest in her past and her history, and the way he keeps poking his nose into the secrets behind the distant relative’s bequest that gave him ownership of the property where she lives.

Madeline Hunter: The rules of seduction

Madeline Hunterin historiallisessa viihderomaanissa painotetaan viihdettä siinä määrin että romaanista ei juuri jäänyt muistikuvia. Tulinko tätä edes lukeneeksi: The rules of seduction (Bantam, 2006; ISBN 0-553-58732-3).



Jos olen oikein ymmärtänyt, tämä teos aloittaa Rothwellin veljeksistä kertovan neliosaisen kirjasarjan. Helmetistä ei noita muita teoksia ole lainattavissa, mikä ei harmita yhtään.

Dangerous. Sensual. Handsome as sin. Meet Hayden Rothwell, the shamelessly erotic hero of The Rules of Seduction and author Madeline Hunter’s most irresistible alpha male yet: a man of extraordinary passion and power, a man who can bring out the seductress in any woman.

He enters her home without warning or invitation–a stranger of shadowy motives and commanding sensuality. Within hours, Alexia Welbourne is penniless, without any hope of marriage. Until Hayden Rothwell takes her to bed. When one impulsive act of passion forces Alexia to marry the very man who has ruined her, Hayden’s seduction of Alexia is nearly complete. What Alexia doesn’t know is that her irresistible new husband is driven by a secret purpose–and a debt of honor he will risk everything to repay. Alexia is the wild card. Reluctant to give up their nightly pleasures, Hayden must find a way to keep Alexia by his side...only to be utterly, thoroughly seduced by a woman who is now playing by her own rules.