Jane Charles

I love a book with an older woman as the heroine. Even if she is only 36, Rose is already a mother, grandmother, and a widow. It just goes to show that you don’t have to be a beautiful 18 year old in your first season to find love.
Can a woman fall in love with the man who has kidnapped her? What if she is a widow who was married at 15 to a man old enough to be her father? What if she was a woman who has never known what it was like to be with a decent man; a 36 year old woman, widowed 2 years with a married daughter? Rose Trent was 15 when she was married and became stepmother to the Trent boys. She never has known love. She has never had any control of her life. She went from her father’s house, to her husband’s house and now lives with her stepson Clayton, the new Marquis of Bentley.
Rose’s husband had received some jewelry from the previous Laird MacGregor and Aiden, the current Laird, wants it back. After asking and being refused. His friend Fergus decided to kidnap Rose to trade for the jewelry.
While holding her as a guest (hostage) in his home, the two become acquainted and start to fall in love. There’s only one problem, when the Trents come to retrieve Rose, they will want to have Aiden arrested and possibly jailed or even hanged.
I love a book with an older woman as the heroine. Even if she is only 36, Rose is already a mother, grandmother, and a widow. It just goes to show that you don’t have to be a beautiful 18 year old in your first season to find love.
I hadn’t read many other books in the Tenacious Trents series but that wasn’t necessary to read and enjoy this book. Ms Charles has a way of making the characters come to life. You feel their joy and pain, you want to cheer for them to find their happily ever after. This was a delightful read and it certainly makes me want to read more of Ms Charles’ Tenacious Trent series as well as her other series.… (mer)

How does a newly inherited Duke who has been living in Barbados find a bride? The Duke of Roxburg knows he will have a target on his back when he returns to London for the season. Marriage minded mamas will all be on the hunt. His only option is to find a bride before the Season begins.
To do this, he assumes the identity of a dance instructor. As he’s giving his lessons, he will meet a variety of young ladies and can sort them out before they put on their best manners to attract him. The only problem is he only has eyes for the woman who is accompanying him on the piano. Bianca Valentine is in London to visit her sister who has recently married into the ton. But she knows that her background will not allow her the same luxury. While the family tells the story of being orphaned children born in India, the truth is that she is a bastard and no man would accept her background in a wife.
The Duke is enchanted by her piano playing and her music composing. When she mentions that she is trying to write music for strings as well as the piano, it encourages him to go back to playing the violin. The two make beautiful music together on and off their instruments. Everything is going well until the Season begins and Bianca finds out that the man she loves and can’t have is even farther out of her reach.
This is a lovely story of finding love and passion both in music and in life. The characters are part of a close knit group of family and friends. They are well written and this book is a quick easy read that makes you want to pull for the happiness of the main couple. Jane Charles never disappoints in providing readers with a great story and great characters.
… (mer)