The Hazards of Hunting a Duke by Julia London

Ava Fairchild and the Marquis of Middleton, Jared Broderick's book




The Hazards of Hunting a Duke


by Julie London


Book Blurb:
When the young ladies of the Fairchild family learn that their stepfather has absconded with their late mother's fortune, Ava, the eldest, hunts down the notoriously wealthy rakehell Jared Broderick, the Marquis of Middleton and heir to a dukedom. Much to her shock and delight, the marquis sweeps her into a whirlwind romance and proposes marriage. But after their passionate wedding night, Ava discovers Jared has ulterior motives of his own. Not only does he expect her to deliver an heir while he continues to enjoy a rogue's life, but Ava also suspects she is a pawn in her husband's quest for revenge. Marriages of convenience work for some, but for Ava a loveless bond won't do. So she devises a bold plan to confront her husband's demons so that he might be free to choose to give her his heart for the right reason: because she is the only woman he will ever truly desire.




Did you notice the title of the book? It's called The Hazards of Hunting a Duke, yet the male protagonist was a Duke's son, a Marquis named, Jared. I thought that was very odd. Why title a book about a Duke when the character wasn't a Duke???


Anyhow moving on...that was not my only issue with The Hazards of Hunting a Duke. I felt all over the place in this book. There was also a lack of originality missing from the story. 


Normally I love a story where the protagonists gets married near the beginning or in the middle of a book as The Hazards of Hunting a Duke did. They are my favourite coupling stories by a long shot. Especially in historicals because I love reading about why they married and the various circumstances that lead to an early wedlock. I also love to read about the couple falling in love with each other as they start out their married lives. But The Hazards of Hunting a Duke put me off just a bit. There were a few story plots thrown in the story that I thought were unnecessary as it didn't really provide any growth to the story as I kept waiting for something more to happen. It felt like Jared's former mistress was forced to be a villain and I tired of her quickly.  The same reaction to Jared's father, the Duke. It was almost as if the author couldn't decide if he was to be a wicked man or if he was to be forgiven. 


I did enjoy Ava's maid Sally as she added some relief from the couple's tension and she was a great scene stealer. I'd actually love to read a book about her! 


I have to say that I did really enjoy the actual writing as everything was very well described and emotions were well communicated. The Hazards of Hunting a Duke did retain my attention and there is more story to be told here in a book 2. I will just not be in a rush to read it but perhaps check it out of the library some time. 


Teasers: great idea for free labour, wrong way to church, who is Mr. Percy?, harem dance

Nice Girls Don't Live Forever by Molly Harper

Jane Jameson's book 3




Nice Girls Don't Live Forever


by Molly Harper


Book Blurb:
Nothing sucks the romance out of world travel like a boyfriend who may or may not have broken up with you in a hotel room in Brussels. Jane Jameson’s sexy sire, Gabriel, has always been unpredictable. But the seductive, anonymous notes that await him at each stop of their international vacation, coupled with his evasive behavior over the past few months, finally push Jane onto the next flight home to Half Moon Hollow — alone, upset, and unsure whether Gabriel just ended their relationship without actually telling her.

Now the children’s-librarian-turned-vampire is reviving with plenty of Faux Type O, some TLC from her colorful friends and family, and her plans for a Brave New Jane. Step One: Get her newly-renovated occult bookstore off the ground. Step Two: Support her best friend, Zeb, and his werewolf bride as they prepare for the impending birth of their baby . . . or litter. Step Three: Figure out who’s been sending her threatening letters, and how her hostile pen pal is tied to Gabriel. Because for this nice girl, surviving a broken heart is becoming a matter of life and undeath...

I'm really enjoying this Jane Jameson series. This third book, Nice Girls Don't Live Forever is probably my favourite so far. There was a lot of character development and a captivating story line. I loved it.

I wish Jane was a real person because I'd love to have her as a friend. She is so good to her friends. She is supportive, generous and humourous and in return, her friends are just as companionable back to her. What a brilliant cast of secondary characters this series has. Molly Harper relies on this secondary cast to carry their weight of the story almost as much as her main protagonist, Jane. If it wasn't for Jane's friends, there wouldn't be much of a story at all. This opinion is not meant as a slight at all. Please accept it as the highest praise because I love a story that includes an engaging cast of characters that can hold a reader's interest. Kudos!

Nice Girls Don't Live Forever held quite the puzzling mystery over on the readers trying to figure out what Jane's sire/boyfriend, Gabriel was up to. I believed from the beginning that Gabriel would never have cheated on Jane but why was he so distant and mysterious? If he was so in love with Jane, why couldn't he share some of his deep dark secrets? Gabriel's holding back of information sure did a mind number on Jane and I was feeling sorry for her. Jane handled herself really well. She earned my respect by not chasing him down, crying and forcing him to talk. She held her own by carrying on and being with her friends. She did a great job not sticking them all in the middle. 

The only wee bit of respect I lost for Jane was when Gabriel and her do start and have that long overdue talk, she blurts out a few insecurities about not understanding why Gabriel would want her. GAH! I was so hoping she wouldn't be THAT girl. I mean in real life, those girls are a dime a dozen but I wish Jane thought of herself more highly. I wanted to mold Jane into role model and I guess that's not fair. 


Jane comes around again for me though with a few  awesome sister scenes and I continue to love her relationship with her mom. The pair crack me up. I want to limit the amount of spoilers because there is a lot of great scenes in Nice Girls Don't Live Forever. But I have to share one of my favourite scenes. 


"Andrea opened her door, wearing Dick’s “Virginia is for Lovers” T-Shirt and no pants, drinking a Budweiser from the can. A Wrestlemania highlights DVD was playing in the background. 

“Baby, who is it?” Dick asked, coming out of the kitchen, wearing one of those beer-drinking helmets, jeans and no shirt. 

“I take it back, you are not the same woman I met a year ago,” I told Andrea. 

Andrea burped noiselessly under her breath. “I’m aware."


Funny, emotional, frustrating, the whole package is here to enjoy and I so hope you take the time out to introduce yourself to Jane and her wonderful friends. 


Teasers: Courtney nightmares, silver explosion, cryptic letter messages, fresh new bookstore

Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men by Molly Harper

Jane Jameson's book 2




Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men

by Molly Harper

Book Blurb:Once a devoted children's librarian, Jane Jameson now works at a rundown occult bookstore. Once a regular gal, she's now a vampire. And instead of a bride, she's an eternal bridesmaid — which leads her to question where exactly her relationship with her irresistibly sexy sire, Gabriel, is headed. Mercurial, enigmatic, apparently commitment-phobic vampires are nothing if not hard to read. While Jane is trying to master undead dating, she is also donning the ugliest bridesmaid's dress in history at her best friend Zeb's Titanic-themed wedding. Between a freaked-out groom-to-be, his hostile werewolf in-laws, and Zeb's mother, hell-bent on seeing Jane walk the aisle with Zeb, Jane's got the feeling she's just rearranging the proverbial deck chairs.

Meanwhile, Half Moon Hollow's own Black Widow, Jane's Grandma Ruthie, has met her match in her latest fiancé. He smells like bad cheese and has a suspicious history of dead spouses. But Jane's biting her tongue. After all, would a nice girl really think she has a future with a vampire?

I really enjoyed the pop culture reference lovin Jane Jameson in Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men. I preferred this book two over the first book, Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs. This book was toned down comedy wise compared to book 1 and I found the humour to be less forced and more natural. Jane Jameson has some great lines. I was at work when I read these lines in the lunch room and I was giggling like crazy. 

Fortunately, among werewolf women, the word "bitch" is not offensive. I was having a lot of fun with that. 

     "Hey there bitches!" I called as I came through the door. "What are my favorite bitches up to today?"

     The only response was a chorus of unenthusiastic, drawled "Hi"s" and "Hey's"

In my review of the first book, I made a mention of how Jane didn't seem to really put much thought into her being a vampire and the repercussions of her new life. I found that a lot of those issues I had previously disappeared with Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men. She had an eye opening epiphany when she babysat an infant for a few hours so I feel she firmly came to terms with the no child bearing issue and comfortably resolved that. I also felt she made a lot of headway with her family. I liked her new backbone and how her sister is set up to be a villain. Jane's mom could be so many moms I know. She is perfectly written and I actually like their mom/daughter dynamic. 

Jane has accumulated a great new set of friends while still remaining close with her lifelong best friend, Zeb. I liked the various sub stories going on in the book with the secondary characters and the few mysteries popping up. Some of which are unresolved so it's a great catch for readers to move on to the next book, Nice Girls Don't Live Forever. 

Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men was still really light on the romance but that isn't a complaint. Jane and Gabriel are definitely in a relationship (albeit not a steaming one) but they are in a very believable relationship where they don't spend 24/7 with each other or heavily rely on each other every waking moment. In fact, Gabriel is obviously doing something secretive behind Jane's back and I hope that secret is revealed in book 3, Nice Girls Don't Live Forever. I am strongly confident that it is not cheating with another woman however it does make me curious.  

All in all, Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men was a great read that had some really great scenes. I love the secondary cast and the over feel of the story. I am eager to move to book 3. 

Teasers: Unicorn secret revealed, monetary winfall, Dick's Vampire ability is awesome, a wedding of Titanic proportions