The Art of Temptation by Genella deGrey
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BLURB:
After seven failed seasons, Valerie Hempstead decides to take her fate into her own hands, and a tour of the continent is just the thing. Accompanied by a female cousin, and the girl’s childhood companions--all of whom live fast and for the moment, Valerie is about to discover more about life than she anticipated.
Travis Elijah Colin Wade, the son of no one in particular, has just been handed a vast amount of money and a large country estate and, of all things, a bloody title. However, he's not at all pleased about leaving his care-free bachelor days behind. Determined to spend some of his money and relax before assuming his duties for Queen and country, Travis goes abroad. Little does he know that he is about to be utterly swept away by the seduction of innocent surrender.
Excerpt:
“Come here, my sweet kitten. Let me hear you purr.” He moved closer, now loosely holding her masked face between his hands.
Praying to God that he would be dissuaded from whatever it was he was about to do to her, Valerie swallowed and half-succeeded in twisting away from him again, but his hands wouldn’t permit a complete rotation. “You mistake me, sir. I am here with some friends. I had no idea what this party was about,” she said, her voice higher than normal and her pounding heart nearly audible. Much to her embarrassment, he seemed to snuggle his body even closer to hers and her head turned back to him of its own volition.
“So, you’ve never attended a Shadow Party before?” he whispered.
Valerie shook her head almost imperceptibly as his face inched nearer to hers.
Her senses heightened, whether by the champagne or the heady sensation the man’s proximity was causing, she didn’t know. Nevertheless, he did smell wonderfully masculine. His gentle touch had been quite foreign to her, and yet she welcomed it; hand to elbow, finger to chin, palm to cheek, body to body, whatever the combination, it was wonderful.
And very dangerous.
“I’m on holiday,” she whispered, the tone of her voice rose, hoping she didn’t sound too flustered.
“Are you?” Without letting her answer, he continued speaking softly. “I’ve stolen away to the Continent for a holiday as well.”
“I—I’ve never been abroad before,” she said in a shaky voice trying to continue with the new direction of the conversation.
“No?” was his response, his face perilously close.
Valerie took a breath. It wasn’t working. He was still inching towards her.
“Nor have I been kissed be—,” her whisper was cut off when his lips touched hers.
Her first kiss was nothing like she’d expected. He was gentle with her. His mouth softly brushed hers—like warm champagne-scented feathers. Her lips pursed, pliant against his and he pressed in to meld with her. With her mouth occupied, she inhaled through her nose. God, he did smell good; a manly cologne, clean and leather, cedar and soap, faintly done, not in the way the French used perfume. Valerie sighed, she didn’t mean to, but it was too late to call it back.
“Are you enjoying our kiss?” he murmured against her lips.
“Yes.” She sighed the word.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Born and reared in Southern California, Genella deGrey longed to be your typical blonde, tanned, surfer girl but failed miserably. Unable to sit idle without falling asleep, she embarked upon several artistic endeavors. Makeup and set dressing for the entertainment industry, Resort Enhancement for The Walt Disney Company and writing sexy historical romance top the list of her favorite activities.
Genella has a keen interest in the spirit world. She loves wandering around in graveyards, traveling to battle fields and other haunted destinations, the older the better. New Orleans is one of her favorite places to encounter the supernatural, as is Tombstone, AZ.
Links:
Twitter: @GenelladeGrey
FB: Genella deGrey Books
Amazon buy page for all books: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00ATTE19S
The Art of Temptation Amazon buy link:
Amazon
Genella will be awarding a large goodie grab bag comprised of 'author swag' gathered from the Romance Novel Convention in August 2013 to three randomly drawn commenters during the tour. Comment often for a better chance of winning, you can follow the tour here.
The Art of Temptation by Genella deGrey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
First, I would like to thank Genella deGrey for giving me this book for an honest review. I love historical romance, and I tend to love the historical aspects of the historical romances. Many things about this book were not historical accuracy. That being said, I enjoyed this book, Genella took a different outlook and went with it. It tended to be a fun read, its not your normal historical romance, but that is ok, that is why it is called fiction to begin with. You can make your world be what ever you want it to be, even if you put more modern things like names and/or actions to a historical read.
View all my reviews
Genella will be awarding a large goodie grab bag comprised of 'author swag' gathered from the Romance Novel Convention in August 2013 to three randomly drawn commenters during the tour. Comment often for a better chance of winning, you can follow the tour here.
My Review: July 2013 ~ Review Copies ~
The Art of Temptation by Genella deGreyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
First, I would like to thank Genella deGrey for giving me this book for an honest review. I love historical romance, and I tend to love the historical aspects of the historical romances. Many things about this book were not historical accuracy. That being said, I enjoyed this book, Genella took a different outlook and went with it. It tended to be a fun read, its not your normal historical romance, but that is ok, that is why it is called fiction to begin with. You can make your world be what ever you want it to be, even if you put more modern things like names and/or actions to a historical read.
View all my reviews
Most welcome.
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Dalene!! And congratulations to Genella on her new release!
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by, Arial!
DeleteSounds like a great read!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance to win!
natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com
Thank you, Natasha!
DeleteYup - My heroines jump in and do whatever it takes.
:)
Thank you, Dalene!
ReplyDeleteyou're welcome
DeleteQuick question for Dalene: I noticed you said the following, "...even if you put more modern things like names and/or actions to a historical read." Which names and actions seemed modern to you? Just curious as you are not the first person to say this in a review about this book. Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteOK, I was trying to make a point, as I seen others had given less stars for what was perceived to them as to modern, like the names of Travis and reference to the queen as Queen Vickie, being on point in ballet first time doing ballet. These things were no big deal to me, now the fact that women did not go off on their own in that era is very not historical, since men dominated what women did or did not do, etc... but I said it to make the point that its fiction so it does not matter that its not spot on accurate. Because I base my reviews on what I like and don't like, not how historically accurate it may or may not be, since it is as I said fiction and not non fiction.
DeleteThanks so much for your honest reply, Dalene. I know exactly what you mean about the story being fiction. I appreciate you focusing on the positive points of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it myself and was completely confused by the reference in some other reviews about the "modern" names. I actually looked them up and none of the names Genella uses in the book are historically incorrect. Travis (and most of the other names) dates back to at least the 14th century. As for "Vickie"...that's a nickname and the usage of nicknames and the "recording" of them for etymology purposes is so unreliable, I really don't know where those people are coming from. Etymology states that many words are used anywhere from 50 - 200 years orally before they're written down (at least prior to the 20th century).
DeleteYou are correct in that women generally did not go around traveling by themselves, but there are several instances in Jane Austen's books where her female characters do just that. The heroine in The Art of Temptation is past the expected marrying years, having several failed seasons and she is taking matters into her own hands. Not only that, she does so as GREAT consequences. I believe I know what reviews you're speaking of and I just rolled my eyes when I read them go on and on about how a woman of her time would never go off on her own. It just wasn't allowed, they said. No...it wasn't COMMON...but it most certainly happened. And her naivety is what puts her into the troubles she encounters. Personally, I think people need to lighten up. I LOVE it that Genella's books are NOT your typical historical novel and her heroines don't sit around drinking tea and making doilies. These gals push the limits of their circumstances and get into a heap of trouble because of it. Yeah baby! That's what makes her stories so much fun. ;)
Again, thanks for the honest response and I love the open conversation. ;)
Oh, bother! One more thing I forgot to address...Valerie only goes on point in ballet after 3 straight weeks and at least 8 hours a day learning to do so, so she doesn't do it the first time she puts the shoes on. It's afters a lot of hard work. Again, I'm not sure what these gals were talking about. I guess they just skimmed the book and didn't really pay attention to what they were reading. Oh well. ;)
DeleteI know what you mean, now if my name had been used then people could say not historically accurate... lol... I mean it was a fun book, and I just did not get all the negative, this would not happen they did not have these names etc.. going on.. like wow... your right people need to lighten up. :) I like seeing women that do things against the norm. I mean heck it would be beyond boring if everything was as you say tea drinking and making doilies. I have not read any of Genella's other books yet, but eventually I will be getting around to them.
Delete