Sugarbeat's Books

The Home of the Romance Novel

Grace Burrowes

Winner for the Canada Day Giveaway and Blog Hop

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Welcome to Sugarbeat’s Books – the home of the Romance Novel!

Today we are finally posting the winner of the Canada Day Giveaway! It’s been a rough couple of days around here.  We’ve been having one accident after another pulling down wires or knocking over poles and messing with my internet connection!  Drives me batty not to have internet…..I guess I am well and truly addicted:)

Anyway, the winner of two books by Grace Burrowes – The Heir and The Soldier is:

Julie aka A Voracious Reader

Thank you to everyone who entered!  As always, I wish I could give something to everyone…..the next giveaway on this blog will be in August.  I’m taking the rest of the month of July off from contests.  Stay tuned for lots of reviews!

The Soldier by Grace Burrowes

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Welcome to Sugarbeat’s Books – the home of the Romance Novel

Today we are talking about the second book in Grace Burrowes’ Duke’s Obsession series.  Both this book, The Soldier and the first book, The Heir (reviewed yesterday) are being given away in my Canada Day giveaway and Blog Hop.  To enter to win both books, Click HERE and fill out the form.  Take advantage of the  blog hop and visit some blog to win some prizes!

The Soldier by Grace Burrowes
ISBN: 978-1-4022-4567-1
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Release: June, 2011
Source: The publisher sent me a copy of this book to read and review

This Regency era battle of wits, wills, and the sexes features a wily duke determined to see the succession of his line secured. The duke can’t force his sons to marry, but he can make their lives miserable until they do. Resisting his pressure, each gentleman holds out for true love.
The second book in the series features Devlin St. Just, the duke’s oldest, but illegitimate, son. He arrives at his new estate weary in body and spirit only to find the previous owner’s bastard daughter and her beautiful cousin are his responsibility and making his life almost unbearably complicated.
He is weary in body and spirit…..Devlin St. Just has tried everything to escape his demons.  But his responsibilities are miltiplying and his despair deepening, until  beautiful, enigmatic neighbor Emmaline Farnum steps in…

She’s got everything to hide…Devlin’s torn spirit calls to Emmaline, but even as she gives in to his irresistible caresses and her own growing desires, she’s keeping a devastating secret…Protecting Emmaline becomes Devlin’s urgent mission, if only he can overcome the forces that are driving them irretrievably apart….

Book two in Grace Burrowes’ Duke’s Obsession series is The Soldier.  Devlin St. Just is “The Soldier”. He is the eldest son of the Duke of Moreland and has been given the title of Earl of Rosecroft and a run down property to go with the title.  Although he is the eldest son, he is illegitimate and as such, can’t inherit the dukedom; that title will fall to his younger brother Gayle (The Heir). He was a calvary officer during the war and is haunted by his experiences – a classic tragic hero!  He doesn’t want anything to do with titles or property, but it seems that he has not been given any choice.  During his first tour of his new property, he discovers a child who is apparently the offspring of the former owner.  Winnie is supposed to be under the care of Emmaline Farnum – Devlin’s nearest neighbour, but she does her own thing.  Going where she wants and generally causing stress to Emmie!  At 6 years old, Winnie should not have the freedom that she has. Since Winnie is a ward of the estate, Devlin decides the best solution is to move Emmie and Winnie into the house so that Emmie can serve as a governess while the house staff can help her with her baking business.  Seems like the perfect solution to Devlin!

Emmie seems to be the poor relative of the former owner of the estate, but her story doesn’t add up.  Although the community is willing to buy her baking, they generally shun her.  Emmie is good medicine for Devlin and Winnie is great medicine for him!  The two of them work in different ways to help him with his problems from his experiences in the war.

This book is a wonderfully touching romance!  It takes a war scarred vetern, and a life scarred lady and has them combine their strengths to heal each other’s scars.  Both of them have horrible stories to tell, but they are good together.  Other than Winnie, there aren’t many notable secondary characters.  Dev’s brother Val comes for a visit and we get a further glimpse into his life.  I believe that Val is going to be the subject of the next book in the series.

The story moves along gently, with the relationship between Emmie and Dev and the actions of Winnie being what propels the story.  The characters of Emmie and Dev just fit together so well.  This isn’t a chemistry driven, fast paced story that leaves your breathless.  It is a wonderful almost classic love story of two tragic individuals that fit one another.  If you are in the market for a wonderfully gentle love story, pick up this book!

The Heir by Grace Burrowes

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Welcome to Sugarbeat’s Book – home of the Romance Novel

Today I’m reviewing a book that I won in a giveaway some time ago.  This book – The Heir by Grace Burrowes is one of the two books that I’m giving away in the Canada Day Giveaway and Blog Hop.  To enter this giveaway, just scroll further down to find the form.

ISBN: 978-1-40224434-6
Release: Dec 7, 2010
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Source: I won this book in a giveaway

AN EARL WHO CAN’T BE BRIBED

Gayle Windham, Earl of Westhaven, is the first legitimate son and heir to the Duke of Moreland. To escape his father’s inexorable pressure to marry, he decides to spend the summer at his townhouse in London, where he finds himself intrigued by the secretive ways of his beautiful housekeeper…

A LADY WHO CAN’T BE PROTECTED…

Anna Seaton is a beautiful, talented, educated woman, which is why it is so puzzling to Gayle Windham that she works as his housekeeper.

As the two draw closer and begin to lose their hearts to each other, Anna’s secrets threaten to bring the earl’s orderly life crashing down – and he doesn’t know how he’s going to protect her from the fallout…

The Heir is the first book in the latest series by Grace Burrowes. As you can see from the blurb, the hero of the story is Gayle Windham who is the earl of Westhaven and the heir to the Duke of Moreland. I think the Duke is a riot, but we’ll get to him in a bit. Gayle is not the first born, but is one of 10 children, several have died due to various reasons. Since he is the heir to the dukedom, he is hot property! He is pursued by mothers and scheming young ladies everywhere. In an attempt to avoid the ladies he decides to spend the summer in London rather than making the rounds of various country house parties.

We first meet Anna Seaton when she mistakenly assumes Gayle is molesting a house maid and hits him to get him to release her. Quite the embarrassing first meeting between housekeeper and employer! The more that Gayle and Anna get to know each other, the more he realizes that she is hiding secrets, and the more he likes her. They develop a friendship that is quite close in private, but they still maintain the formality in public for a time.

I liked the character of Gayle. He was not raised to take over the dukedom, but has been put in this position through the death of a beloved brother. Not only is he mourning his brother, but he is having to sort through the mess his father has made of the dukedom. Add to this, he is suddenly the target of matchmaking, and he is fed up. He just wants some peace and quiet. He wants to get on with his work. He likes his housekeeper on many levels. She makes his lemonade just right, and keeps a supply of marzipan on hand for his sweet tooth and she even serves as his secretary when necessary. He has some interesting quirks, but his is honestly interested in making Anna his wife, regardless of the opinion of others.

Anna is hiding secrets and we find out that she is on the run, so to speak from her past. I like that she is a strong, sensible character. She does what is necessary to make her way in the world and to protect her sister, Morgan. She is pragmatic, hardworking, but mistrusting of most men. The last point is what creates the division between herself and Gayle. It is something that makes the story more interesting!

I find that sometimes the secondary characters are present to almost provide background noise to a story. The simply are there, not not memorable. That is not the case in this story. The character of the Duke was completely enjoyable! He sounds like he was a handful in his youth, fathering two illegitimate children with different women after he was married. His duchess seems to be responsible for most of his molding into a more responsible character and encouraged his acknowledgment of the children. He is at times a pompous, puffed up little frog, demanding that his children marry the person he chooses for them and start producing grandchildren, and at other times, he is a scheming little manipulator. The third side of him is seen around his wife – that of a dutiful, sober minded lovable husband. I think Ms. Burrowes needs to create a book for his story! Two of Gayle’s siblings are introduced in this book – Val and Dev. Devlin St. Just is the subject of the next book (which I will review tomorrow) and one of the illegitimate children of the Duke. He’s a tortured war hero and I’m looking forward to talking about his story. I understand that Val is the subject of the third book in the series.

I found this book to be a wonderfully romantic read. It isn’t a short story by any means – not something that you can race through on a rainy afternoon. It’s a book to be savored and meandered through slowly. It has a different feel than many books that I have been reading lately and I enjoyed it. I look forward to reading Dev’s story in The Soldier.