Quick Reviews #12 | Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue by Stephanie Laurens // The Duke of Defiance by Darcy Burke

Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue by Stephanie Laurens

Synopsis: Determined to hunt down her very own hero, one who will sweep her off her feet and into wedded bliss, and despairing of finding him in London's staid ballrooms, Heather Cynster steps out of her safe world and boldly attends a racy soiree.

But her promising hunt is ruined by the supremely interfering Viscount Breckenridge, who whisks her out of scandal-and straight into danger when a mysterious enemy seizes her, bundles her into a coach, and conveys her out of London.

Now it's up to the notorious Breckenridge to prove himself the hero she's been searching for all along...

Quick Thoughts: I'd been meaning to read this one for years, but when I finally got around to it, I was extremely disappointed with how boring and long it felt for such a tiny paperback. The premise was promising, with a kidnapping and a hero and an escape from captors, but the "mystery" was dull, the sexy scenes just as dull, and the whole story felt meh. Very predictable and not at all what I was expecting from a romance/historical fiction. It could be that I no longer enjoy this genre as much as I used to, and this just wasn't for me anymore. This could be read as a stand alone even though it is part of a series.

The Duke of Defiance by Darcy Burke

Synopsis: Difficult and defiant as a child, Bran Crowther, Earl of Knighton left England as a young man to pursue independence and adventure. He never expected to inherit the title and when duty calls him home, he still finds Society’s codes constricting and others’ expectations oppressive. Nevertheless, he needs a wife to be a mother to his young daughter, preferably a woman of intelligence and warmth who is, above all, immune to his idiosyncrasies—and to falling in love. 

Widow Joanna Shaw isn’t interested in a second marriage, not after the loveless, passionless union she endured. She’d much rather dote on her young niece and nephew since they will likely be the only children in her life...until she meets a precocious girl, in desperate need of a mother. But her father, the so-called Duke of Defiance, is as peculiar as he is handsome, and Jo won’t take another risk with her heart. Their rules, however, are made to be broken, even when the consequences could destroy them both.

Quick Thoughts: This one surprised me by how easily I got into the story, especially because I had tried starting it a couple times and hadn't really gotten around to actually reading it. Once I got a few chapters in though, I really dived into the story. The characters were great, different than other historical romance that I'd read, and I was really interested in where the story was going to go. It felt a little repetitive after a while though, and I have to admit I did skim a good chunk of the book. It wasn't bad, I just lost interest. This could be read as a stand alone even though it is part of a series.