The Perfect Kiss by Anne Gracie

Book Description:
Before she sets out to see the world, Grace Merridew must first help her timid friend, who is being forced to marry Dominic Wolfe, boorish heir to a huge estate. To that end, Grace disguises herself as a plain and mousy chaperone. But when they arrive at the estate, Grace finds herself being pursued by a big bad Wolfe.

I loved this final book in the Merridew Series - the best of them all!  A great way to end the series! 

The youngest of the Merridew sisters, Grace grew up without the benefit of knowing her mother and father who died before she could remember them.  Her abusive grandfather enjoyed tormenting Grace, informing her that she would never really be loved by anyone since she killed her mother (in childbirth).  Fortunately, Grace is made of sterner stuff and was not entirely cowed by her grandfather, though she could never forget his words.   Deep down she began to believe that no one would ever love her in the same way her sisters did.  And so sets the scene when Grace agrees to pose as her friend's lady's maid en route to Shropshire.  The last thing she expects is to find love in a filthy dirty castle disguised as a non-descript, mousy maid servant.  Grace is there to help her best friend, Melanie, who is being forced to marry Dominic Wolfe, Lord D'Acre of Wolfstone.  Although I found it hard to believe that Grace could pull off the deception for very long, it opened the door for some interesting developments between Grace and Dominic.

Dominic Wolfe is an angry man.  Although the heir to a vast estate and castle in Shropshire, he has no interest in remaining there.  To come into his inheritance, he must marry Melanie Pettifer, but it will be in name only.  He wants nothing to do with anything that had to do with his father, who abused his mother to the point where she ran away with Dominic as a baby to get away from him.  Dominic barely knew his father and grew up abroad, except for his English schooling.  In order to come into the money from the estate, he must marry Melanie who he has never even met!  Poor Melanie has no desire to marry him either.  She has always wanted to have babies!  If she married Dominic that will never happen, for he has no intention of ever consummating the marriage!  He'll make sure she's taken care of, but he doubts he'll ever see her again.  What a sad existence!  Dominic seems more like a monster than a bridegroom!  When Melanie and her father - and Grace, who is now known as Greystoke - arrive at Wolfstone, they have a lot to put up with.

Arriving in the middle of a rainy downpour with Melanie's ailing father and a broken carriage - who is the first person Grace meets?  Dominic, of course.  Although, Grace thinks he's a groom from the stable, and he thinks she's a comely servant girl.   You can guess the rest.  They're immediately attracted to each other, but there's the sticky situation that he doesn't know who she really is and he's her best friend's fiance!  It really was a good story with lots of details I'm leaving out.  Dominic's friend, who happens to be the new curate, comes on the scene and it's love at first sight - for Melanie! How can we get the right couples together and keep everyone happy?

I really enjoyed this entire book and Grace had her hands full, not only with Dominic, but fixing up his castle, hiring staff and convincing him that he shouldn't let his hatred for his dead father rule over reason.  They had a couple of sizzling romance scenes as well.  Lots of fun side characters too - the whole thing was a lot of fun!  It was sexy, funny and heartwarming.

Anne Gracie's website has a great page devoted to A Perfect Kiss, here.  It's fun to see the pictures on it that she used for inspiration for Wolfstone, the worn steps and the wooden carved gargoyle, in particular. Take a look - I had fun browsing her site!

Overall, I loved this Merridew Sisters series and The Perfect Kiss was my favorite book of the four!  I highly recommend it!  The chemistry between Grace and Dominic was great, they were fun together, whether sparring together or loving together, I was rooting for them!  I loved the side story with Melanie and Dominic's old school friend, turned curate.  Plus, I loved seeing Dominic's transformation from angry young man to loving, benevolent master of his domain.   I'm leaving tons out, but it really was a pleasure!

4.5/5

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The Perfect Stranger by Anne Gracie

Book Description:
They vow to love, honor and cherish ... and then get to know one other...

With her signature spirit, Faith Merridew has left everything she’s ever known for the man she thought was the love of her life. Instead he leaves her name - and dreams - in the dust. That is, until she crosses paths with Nicholas Blacklock, a Waterloo veteran, who offers to save her reputation with a marriage of convenience.

A hardened soldier, Nick hides a deadly secret - and tries to keep Faith at arm’s length. But even though Nick can command legions of men with a word, his orders go sweetly ignored by his convenient bride. And as they come to know one another more deeply, she brings out in him things he thought dead: gentleness, laughter…and love…

Quickie review.  I've been distracted and busy of late and need to do some catching up.

This is Faith's story, third in the Regency Merridew Sisters series.  Twin sister to Hope, from the last book in the series, The Perfect Waltz, Faith is a beauty with a love of music.  Duped by a con artist who passes himself off as a Russian violin virtuoso of royal lineage, she elopes with him, only to find out months later that he's already married.  Left high and dry, she is ruined.  Stranded, alone in France, with no money and no food, she has nothing but the clothes upon her back.  Just as she is about to face the end at the hands of a few Frenchmen with rape on their minds, she is miraculously rescued by a handsome stranger who handily dispatches the villains and takes Faith under his wing and protection.  She owes him her life.

Her prince in shining armor's name is Nicholas Blacklock.  As soon as he hears of Faith's sad story he tells her he will marry her to save her reputation, in spite of the protestations from his friend, a giant Scot, who is wary of women and distrusts all of them.  Faith is aghast at the idea as well.  She can't just up and marry some stranger she knows nothing about!  But, the alternative is unthinkable.  She's stuck and soon acquiesces and accepts his proposal.  Nick carries a secret.  Raised in England from a noble family he is a man who thinks his days are numbered.  By marrying Faith, he will give her his name, status and a home in England with his mother, where she will be well taken care of.  A last good deed before he dies.  No strings and no future attached.  A marriage in name only.  He intends to send her on a packet to France the day after they marry, never to see her again. 

What secret is he hiding and can they avoid falling in love despite their promise not to? Nick is convinced he is dying, yet, we, the readers, have no idea why.  Migraine headaches plague him, but that's about as much as we know.   Faith is completely oblivious, having no idea that he expects to die soon.  All she knows is he has saved her and she doesn't want to leave him.

Of course they fall in love, this is a romance after all.   Faith proves to be irresistible and she refuses to leave for England, no matter what Nick tells her to do.  She keeps coming back to him after he thinks he's sent her off and good bye for good.  He can't get rid of her, and soon he doesn't want to.  They fall in love quickly, yet it is bittersweet, for all the while, there is this sense of doom hanging over them - what is it?  How can it be prevented?  Is there any hope?  And what is in Spain where he is heading - and why?  Yet, despite the impending doom, their nights together are blissful, their only chance to be alone - the idea of a marriage in name only went out the window their first night together!

Faith is adorable and I liked her.  She will not accept no for an answer from Nick and tries her best to be a good military wife to him as they travel on horseback, sleeping rough sometimes, camping and cooking over fires throughout the French countryside  Faith has come a long way from Bond Street in London.  His friends soon accept and love her as well and do all they can to make the road easier for her.  But they also know Nick's secret, and the closer they get to their destination in Balbao, Spain, the more uneasy everyone becomes.

This turned out to be a poignant story after the slow start of when Faith and Nick meet and before they marry.  It picked up about half way through and became a page turner.   I had to find out what his secret was and how it was resolved.  The secondary characters were well drawn and the side story between Nick's Scottish friend and the young and wild Spanish girl they meet was an interesting diversion that ultimately led to the big finale when everything came together.  I didn't feel like I really got inside Nick's head, maybe it was due to his secret for most of the book.  Although, I liked him as a hero and kept hoping for a happy outcome!  I loved his idea of swimming lessons!  Faith's character was deeper and more involved..  It also helped that I knew her from the two previous books as well.  She was persistent and strong, she grows up in this book and becomes a resilient woman, no longer a victim.

I recommend this series, although this book was my least favorite, primarily because it had the shadow of death overhanging most of it.  Still, I enjoyed it and I can assure everyone it ends happily, albeit with a touch of the supernatural.

3.5/5

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The Perfect Waltz by Anne Gracie

Book Description:
Hope Merridew dreamed of dancing the perfect waltz with the perfect man — and he's not the tough, dark stranger who has come to London to court another woman. Only how can she resist him?

Sebastian has his own demons: a dark past to come to terms with and two desperately needy little sisters to care for. For their sake he must resist Miss Hope Merridew — but can he?

I loved this sweet regency romance, I thought it was even better than the first in the series! Sebastian Reyne is a great big bear of a man who tries to find a staid wife to help take care of his two younger sisters.   Instead, he meets and falls for the beautiful and vivacious Hope Merridew who surprises him with her sisterly know how.   This was a great story filled with emotion and poignancy, not to mention an adorable love story that develops between Sebastian and Hope.  Not a lot of sizzle between them, it's tame for a romance novel, but their relationship grows and grows with each meeting.  I loved him and the way he was so big and forbidding, yet such a sweetheart inside.

Sebastian lost his sisters years earlier which has greatly affected him as an adult.  Searching for them for years adds to his complicated background.  A widower and self made man who has a factory in the North (a la North and South), he comes from a good family, but his father ran into numerous debts when they were children and killed himself leaving his mother to manage for all of them.  The strain on her is too much and she dies, leaving a twelve year old Sebastian as man of the family.  He must work to put food on the table.  Too young to take care of his infant sisters, he pays for a woman to take care of them and visits them regularly.  But one day, they all disappear and he cannot find them for years and years.  Finally, as a grown man who is now a successful industrialist, Sebastian's detectives find the girls, but they are introverted and have seen a lot of the world, much of it scary and Sebastian blames himself for losing them, he fears they will be scarred for life for what they went through.  He's too scared to even ask them what happened, fearful for what he will learn.  All he knows is they don't trust him and it's going to be a long, hard road to get them to accept him as their brother.  Wracked with guilt, he is convinced he must marry the plain and sensible Lady Elinore who has an interest in running a orphanage for girls like his sisters based on the rules of "Rationality."  Her mother founded the orphanage and Sebastian thinks that if he marries the practical Elinore, his sisters will be in good hands.  How wrong he is, even though his heart is in the right place.

His plans go awry at a ball when he meets Hope Merridew.  Hope is a breath of fresh air and the most beautiful girl he's ever seen.  She's vivacious and naturally full of charm, guiless in every way.  She likes the way Sebastian looks at her too, yet he resists her at first until they waltz together at the end of the night, Hope's special last waltz that she reserves for only someone special.  Both are affected greatly by their dance and so begins the romance.  After that, they meet in the most unexpected places and they gradually fall for one another. Soon, Hope meets his two little sisters and is able to work her magic on them, for Hope has had a frightful childhood herself.  She knows what little girls need - much more than Lady Elinore and her school of Rationality!

Hope and Sebastian are drawn to one another, but he's torn for wanting the best for his sisters.  He's convinced Lady Elinore is the one he should marry - even though he's falling for Hope!  After some amusing episodes (one at a musicale that was especially funny) Sebastian succumbs to the siren song of Hope and sees for himself how right she is for him - and his sisters.  But there's also a lot of action and excitement before he reaches this conclusion for someone from his sisters' past is trying to kill them!  Hope and her equestrienne riding expertise saves the day! A daring rescue, some much needed soul searching and important secrets are all revealed to clear the path for happiness.

A short review, but take my word for it, this was an enjoyable story, more than just your typical romance.  The character development, writing and atmosphere were first rate.  Hope, the beautiful sister could have been just another pretty faced heroine, but she's so full or life and her riding antics bring personality to what could have been a boring heroine. I loved the side story of Lady Elinore and Sebastian's society friend, Giles.  Sebastian is a tortured hero, full of guilt over the loss of his sisters.  Hope is able to make him see that it wasn't his fault what happened to them and we have a happy ending for everyone.  I recommend this highly, mostly because I loved Sebastian.  He was such a great big lug with a kind heart and I loved the way he completely gave in to Hope's charms and finally saw what was best for his sisters - and himself.

4/5

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The Perfect Rake by Anne Gracie

Book Description:
She ran from a brute...

Fleeing the harsh guardianship of her grandfather, Prudence Merridew escapes with her beautiful younger sisters to London. One of them must marry - and fast. To act as her sisters' chaperone, Prudence invents a secret engagement to a reclusive duke... But when the duke arrives unexpectedly in London, she needs his help to avert disaster.

...into the arms of a rake

Aristocratic Gideon, handsome, rakish and with a strong frivolous streak, casually hijacks Prudence's game, awarding himself a stolen kiss or three along the way. Used to managing sisters and elderly men, Prudence is completely out of her depth with a charming, devious and utterly irresistible rake. And her plot goes terribly - if deliciously - awry...

Just a quickie review at least to say that I found this regency romance adorable and really enjoyed it. It would have been a total froth fest for me if the girls' grandfather, who they were running away from, hadn't turned out to be so awful! He would beat them repeatedly and he was the worst of villains, it just did not sit well with me. But aside from that I had a good time reading this on the beach.

I loved Gideon, he was handsome and devilish and I loved his antics and the mix ups that ensued between Prudence and her great-uncle Oswald in regard to her supposed betrothal to Gideon! Some of the side characters were memorable, such as Oswald and Gideon's aunt, but the younger sisters were not fully developed, though I suspect they have books of their own to look forward to. The youngest had some spunk and I liked her direct approach when it came to Gideon and her sister. Much of the story was implausible, yet entertaining. I love runaway adventures, especially when dukes and earls are involved who have lots of money! *grin*

Prudence was endearing and wasn't overly bogged down by that "I'm the ugly one, all my sisters are so much more beautiful than me" syndrome, though this was the general theme of the book, but it was offset by the fact that Gideon completely felt the opposite way! It was refreshing, and for once we have a less than perfect heroine. Prudence had some smarts, but she was a complete ninny when she kept insisting she had to remain true to her secret fiancee who was somewhere in India.

It all came out well in the end, and I felt like clapping when it was over. Not much in the way of sex, though there was always a deep undercurrent of sexual appeal between Gideon and Prudence - plus, he was always trying to seduce her! But, for the most part, it was all sweet and light (not including the dark undertones of their brutal grandfather, but he gets his just desserts in the end). I'll definitely be reading the rest of the Merridew Sisters series in the future!

4/5

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