If Looks Could Kill by Andi Marquette

If Looks Could Kill by Andi Marquette

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is one of those lesbian fiction books that have an immediate and obvious ‘Devil Wears Prada' vibe. Older powerful woman with an ice queen reputation and a much younger underling/intern. There is also an immediate and obvious twist.

Marya Hampstead is the ‘much older’ ‘ice queen’ fashion mogul. She does not have a point of view in this book, only the ‘intern’ does, more on her later. ‘Much older’? Well, that intern lied about her age (that setup reminds me of a television series that features a woman who is pretending to be something like 20-something (may or may not get a job as an intern in the publishing industry, forget if so), but is actually 40 something – her friend is a lesbian and there’s some vibe that the star might be, maybe, bisexual, but I’ve only seen episodes with her dating men (well one man, very very young man; the other is innuendo that the 'boss who is the same age as her real age might be into her if she was also his age and not pretending to be 20', not sure if there is any lesbian fanfiction for that show (oh, it is TV Land Younger, by the way)). ‘Ice Queen’? Well, just like the intern is lying about her age, Myra is lying about her persona (that specific part is revealed early on, other aspects of Myra’s backstory is revealed much much later).

So, why is the ‘intern’ lying? Because she, Ellie O’Donnell, is a NY police detective working on an undercover assignment (break here for: good god the scenes with her with her police co-workers made my skin crawl, all that sexual harassment just casually ‘there’, and Ellie not fucking caring that it was there, but meh, whatever – book is from 2016, only 2 years old, and it’s a different world).

Got distracted. Let’s try that again.

Ellie is working on an undercover assignment. The case involves investigating Myra Hempstead (the logic chain to insert Ellie into Myra’s life was twisted and kinda dumb – Myra was once seen, two months ago, near a guy who had a particular last name that’s the same as a person who does not now run guns, but is said to be getting into that business and has had one shipment of ‘legitimate’ stuff intercepted only to find it filled with guns (‘I do not know how that got in that box’), but whatever).

Two Russian families are running guns. One has family members being killed. The other might be a rival. Ellie is inserted to investigate . . . a fashion mogul who has no clear connection to the case other than being spotted in the company of someone of vague suspicion.

Ellie is shown to be brilliant at detective/investigative work; her co-workers (and others investigating the case) seem kind of dim-witted (since they didn’t spot what Ellie spotted – seriously, some of the things Ellie spotted were clever of her to spot . . . but still should have been spotted by the others). Also shown to be brilliant at undercover/intern work.

This is not a romance book, so I’ll skip that section of the review. Well, first: yes Ellie drools over Myra; Myra flirts with Ellie (not a quote ‘holy crap, is Myra flirting with me? Is she actually into women?’); stuff happens that does not correspond to a romance.

Interesting book. Not 100% sure why I feel this way, but feel as if it was vaguely ‘thin’ in certain aspects. Not sure what ‘aspects’ were thin. And good grief I hated every other person Ellie worked with in the police department. Gah. Sexist pigs the lot of them. Even Sue.

Rating: 3.75

June 30 2018



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Unraveled (Turner #3) by Courtney Milan

Unraveled by Courtney Milan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a weird situation for me to be in for two reasons:
1) Smite was never the character I’d warmed to or wanted anything to do with;
2) This book here involve Smite in the lead male POV . . . and I liked this specific book best of all in the series.

Smite Turner, of no title, is the middle child – when his brother (Ash), at the tender age of 14, ran off to India to make his fortune, Smite took over as guardian to the youngest brother (Mark). This is not a young adult book nor is there much in the way of flashbacks to younsterdom. I’m not sure if Smite’s age is ever given, though I expect he’s somewhere in his thirties.

At some point between being the son of a mill owner (father), insane religious zealot (mother), and the start of this book, Smite both spent time on the streets of Bristol and time in high class schools (Eton and . . . I believe Oxford). Unlike his eldest brother, or for that matter his youngest, Smite never had a title added to the beginning of his name – neither from being born (you know, inherited titles), nor through other means. Other means include through the court (Ash got to become a Duke by having the children of the present Duke declared illegitimate, and he was the next in line); or there . . what’s the word used? Well, the Queen liked Mark’s book so much she Knighted him. Smite? Didn’t care about those things. He got a law degree and became a magistrate in Bristol.

The book opens with Smite on the bench hearing cases, though the book does not start from his point of view. No, it starts from the point of view of the female lead character. Miranda Darling (I forget her age, I had her in my mind as being 20, but she might be . . . closer to 24). She’s in a wig and dress that alters her appearance and has a fake name. She’s there to perjury herself. It’s not something she wants to do but has to do – as she has an agreement with the ‘Patron’ who is both the criminal head in the poor area of Bristol, and the giver of justice to that area.

Smite, as those who have read the series up to know would have been informed before now, remembers everything. Miranda was in court before now – and Smite recognizes her despite the different name and appearance. He stops her from actually perjuring herself and warns her.

So, as I mentioned in another review for this series, this is a different type of series. The lead male is a law trained judge. He has the blood of titled people (somewhere back in the past), and is the brother of a Duke, though he wasn’t born into the branch that serves as the heir family. Gah, I’m wording that badly. He’s from the business/professional class. And the female lead is from the working class (daughter of actors).

There are no ballrooms visited, no dances, no young girls giggling over ‘the ton’, or watching the ‘dandies’ do stuff. No, there are instead people who work for a living going about their lives. Granted the prior book in this series also had this touch, though there the fella had a title. So this is a different type of historical fiction. At least for those set in Britain in the 19h century (this one takes place . . hmm, 1843 I believe).

Right, so. One thing leads to another and . . . shockingly Miranda becomes Smite’s mistress. That particular branch can get hinted at and/or feared in other books, but rarely actually gets used.

They learn to like each other and stuff. As expected when one of the characters I a mistress and the other is ‘putting her up’ as a mistress, graphic sex occurs.

Rating: 4.5

June 29 2018




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Unclaimed (Turner #2) by Courtney Milan

Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Mark Turner pulls into the main point of view male character in this book. Previously a major character in the first book; and a briefly mentioned person in the short story between this book and the first book in the series.

In that first book, Mark is shown writing a book about chastity. With a title something like ‘A Practical Guide to Chastity for Men’. Between that first book and the start of this book here, that guide has been published, been read and loved by the Queen – which resulted in Mark being knighted.

The book, unexpectedly for him, has made him vastly popular and famous. He cannot go anywhere in London without a crowd of men and women (yes, despite the book being called ‘for men’ women have read it as well) hounding him with adoration. This is the start of the book – watching him walk across the street in London being hounded. The book then turns to him trying to flee to the countryside to think about a job offer he has received.

Watching him cross the street, and the person actually in the point of view position at the start of the book, is Jessica Farleigh. She’s watching him with a man named Weston nearby. Weston, you see, has made a wager, or bounty, or something like that. He wants Mark’s reputation ruined (for reasons, mainly because they are up for the same job). Jessica is going to take Weston up on his offer. She needs the money, see, so she can ‘retire’ to the countryside.

Retire? Well, for the last seven years Jessica has worked as a courtesan. A prostitute by any other name. A woman who fucks for money. Jessica cannot stand being a courtesan any longer and would do anything to stop being one, including ruin the reputation of Sir Mark Turner. By seducing him. And having proof of his ‘fall’.

And so the action turns (or, in a way, returns) to Somerset in the south west of England, in a little village there named something like . . . well, I cannot recall. Shipplet or something like that. Mark’s there in the old family home. Jessica is there as Mrs. Farleigh – widow.

Mark, to his own disappointment, finds that his reputation preceded him. They know about him in the tiny village and wish to worship him. A the same time, the same villagers have given the opposite reaction to the other stranger amongst them – they treat Mrs. Farleigh with disdain and try everything they can to keep the ‘dangerous woman’ away from the ‘saintly chaste’ Mark.

Mark, though, is intrigued from the start by Jessica. Less because her clothing is scandalous (not so much if worn in London, but definitely so worn in the country – too . . . exposed she be). Partially because of her displayed with when she didn’t know she could be overheard (the Vicar had pulled her aside to try to push her away, to make her leave the village square while Mark was there – their words, unbeknownst to them, though, echoed – and Jessica was quite witty). Mostly, though, Jessica intrigued Mark because of a flinch. The Vicar, see, had basically groped Jessica (okay, put his hand quite near her massive breasts (the size of her breasts are important to the story (nods)) – and the touch made Jessica flinch. A woman wearing ‘scandalous’ clothing but flinching at the touch of a man? Intriguing. She is not what she seems.

Jessica, recall, is there to seduce and ‘ruin’ Mark. I mention, so I can note that the villagers spend a lot of time trying to keep them apart . . . because of their perceptions of her, and their adoration of Mark. She takes matters into her own hands, though, by appearing at his cabin one day. When it was pouring rain. And she’d forgotten a coat, umbrella, or shrew. Her clothing might have been scandalous for the village, but her appearance when Mark opened the door? Well, nothing was hidden – the reader learns of this as Mark takes in her visible-beneath-the-wet-but-basically now see-through clothing. And other visible attributes.

This . . . seduction technique by Jessica actually backfires. Badly. Jessica knew other courtesans had tried, and failed, to ‘tame’ the ‘virgin’. But . . . well she wasn’t thinking clear enough; she was under tight time constraints. Mostly due to her ever dwindling bank account, but partially due to Weston’s hounding letters.

Mark and Jessica then procced to circle each other. Once Jessica admits certain things (and no not everything), Mark begins to court her.

Things proceed.

Many barriers stand in the way of happiness, though. Enemies to overcome. Reputations to . . . get around. Job offers to be thought of.

Rating: 4.25

June 28 2018




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Unveiled (Turner #1) by Courtney Milan

Unveiled by Courtney Milan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It is difficult to write a review for this book now for an important reason:
- immediately after completing it I started reading the short story that appeared between it and the second book in the series. There might have been minutes between the end of one and the start (I’m referring to reading, though the series does follow a chronological order).

So, some of the easy things I can mention:
1) this is the first book I’ve read by this author that was not part of Brothers Sinister series (or, in other words, this is the fifth book, and 8th overall work that I’ve read by this author, counting short stories (and not counting the book and short story I read after reading this one).
2) This book takes place roughly around 1837 and ends roughly around 1840.
3) Set in southern England. Which I say because part of the book is set in Somerset, which is in South West England; while part of the book is set in London, which is in South East England.
4) The book is sexually graphic.
5) The people involved, the main characters I mean, are in their 20s.

This is an odd book in its way. A good many historical fiction romances tend to involve titled people and/or people of that blood. This one does as well, don’t get me wrong. It has the heir to a Dukedom and the daughter of a Duke as the circling main characters. Except…

The lead female character works as and calls herself a nurse. And when asked, gives a name other than her own. As far as the future Duke knows, his love interest is a servant. A relatively high ranked one that appears to hold herself well, and be well respected by others in the household, but still a servant. There are reasons for this. I’ll get to them.

And the future Duke? It’s true that the blood in his veins, to put it bluntly, is of a ‘higher class’. His, hmm, which one was it? His grandfather was either a Duke or an Earl. I believe a Duke. That grandfather’s son (hmm, I think there might be more generations involved) married a wealthy but ‘common’ woman. Ash Turner grew up, partway, as the son of a mill owner (father), and a religious zealot who descended into madness mother). Partway because the father died, and the mother gave away their money – an ancestor married for money, but by the time Ash reached adulthood, that Turner money was gone. He had money, but he got it himself, made it himself, doing something in India. By being a businessman.

So, while he is – now – the heir to a Dukedom, he wasn’t always. Oh, he was somewhere in the line, but there were people in between him and being a Duke, a lot of people. Which he removed. The current Duke, you see (and all of this occurred before the start of the novel, and is known by the reader fairly soon afterwards, well the Dukedom part), married for love. His mistress. Of no special class or status. His parents, the Duke of the time, ejected her from the family, but couldn’t dissolve the marriage.

That Duke, still living, later remarried. He and his Duchess had three children – two boys and one girl. All of whom are adults, and living, at the start of this book. As is that current Duke. So how did Ash become the heir apparent? By going to court and pointing out that the Duke is a bigamist, that the children are illegitimate. He turned them into bastards (literally, in the ‘a person born of parents not legally married to each other’ way).

So – the book opens with Ash and his brother Mark riding horses toward the estate in Somerset that probably will become his (the current Duke’s children have been declared illegitimate, and another court (same court?) has allowed Ash to make an examination of the accounts, but Ash has not been formally named heir – that’s one of the main things in this book, one of the main conflict points, the illegitimate children fighting Mark’s attempt to be named heir to the Duke; and to pass a law legitimizing them – making them unbastardized).

Once Ash and Mark arrive, they find the servants standing around outside to be reviewed. Ash catches sight of one of them in particular and tells Mark that she’s his (or words to that effect). That’d be . . . I forget the name she used, Miss Lowell?, but she is also Lady Margaret, or was until Ash made her a bastard.

Going back to the current Duke’s children attempting to fight to pass a law (which apparently is possible) legitimizing them – Margaret is there as her father’s nurse under an assumed name to act as a spy – to find something, anything, to use against Ash. To fight against him being officially named the heir.

And so the two circle each other. One is the daughter of the highest ranking hereditary title in the British Isles (outranking Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron); the other is attempting to become named heir to that same dukedom. These are not commoners, though one comes more from the business class background, and the other is holding herself out as being a servant . . . and if she and her brothers fail to get a particular law passed she’ll remain what Ash made her – illegitimate, a bastard, someone who would have to find work as a servant or the like.

This is where having read this book, a short story, and another book before writing a review becomes problematic. I know I liked the book. I know that I, mostly, enjoyed the book. But it is difficult, now, to give a more detailed listing of my feelings/emotions/thoughts on the book.

Rating: 3.75

June 28 2018



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Unlocked (Turner #1.5) by Courtney Milan

Unlocked by Courtney Milan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Except for cameo’s there are no actual Turner’s involved in this story. The story includes two people who appeared in the previous book - Lady Elaine Warren and . . . I forget her name, Lady Cosgove? The one in the prior book who had a reputation as being bitchy/catty/etc. Lady Elaine, in turn, is the one known for her loud laugh.

This is a short story, which I wasn’t 100% sure about when I started reading. I should probably mention that I’ve been reading this series in the omnibus edition, so one book/short story follows the next without my ability to carefully mark how far I am in the book, or . . . other stuff. Not a huge issue.

This specific book stars, as in POV character stars, Lady Elaine Warren (of a very good family), and Evan Carlton, Earl of Westfield.

Of the three works in this series I’ve read so far: this one has the people with the highest pedigree. It’s true that the prior one involved the Duke heir and an offspring of a Duke (with Duke being the highest hereditary title in the British Isles), but the heir wasn’t Duke yet, in that book, and had a business-class background (though his grandfather or further back had titled blood) and the Lady, the Duke offspring, was illegitimate. In the second book in the series – the lead female, while a Vicar’s daughter, is also a courtesan/sex-worker, and the lead male is a knight (albeit second in line to a Dukedom – his brother still, by that point, hadn’t fathered a child).

Lady Elaine, despite being ‘of a very good family’ has spent, what is it now, something like 11 seasons in London. At this point she’s basically a spinster, though her mother keeps bringing her out for all to see at balls and the like.

Earl Westfied, for his part, has spent the last 11 (10?) years wandering Europe and climbing mountains.

They knew each other, though, when Elaine was in her first season, and Westfield was 19. Westfield, you see, was quite taken with Elaine – her massive bosoms (what, he mentioned it repeatedly), and her laugh that showed her strong passion and vitality. Being 19 and stuff he wanted to make sure Elaine noticed him. So he teased her. To the point that he killed her vitality – she made her the laughingstock of society because of her laugh.

He knew what he had done and couldn’t fix it. So he fled to Europe.

Elaine, for her part, would have cut herself off from society but her mother loved going to balls and the like and . . . Elaine is there for her mother. Especially since the second most laughed at person in society is her mother, who doesn’t seem to realize she’s the butt of everyone’s jokes (she’s laughed at because she ‘apes’ men by being quite scholarly and spending lots of time researching and talking about astronomy).

So – the Earl is back now and wants to, at the very least, apologize to Elaine, and if possible court her. Elaine, naturally, figures he just wants to laugh at her more. The Earl’s attempts are undermined by his childhood friend, previously briefly mentioned, Lady Cosgrove (whatever her name is, it is something like that).

Interesting enough story. Short. Kind of . . . bland.

Rating: 3.50

June 28 2018




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