I made the “mistake” of discovering the All About Romance this year while looking at reviews of one of my favorite reads. I liked the review enough that I signed up for their Steals and Deals newsletter and have been paying ever since. (Heh…). I look forward to the newsletter daily.

Every book below was from the newsletter, which often includes reviews if the book has been reviewed on the site. With the exception of one particular book below, I’ve generally liked the books I purchased via their reviews. Check out the website for reviews!

One liner: Troth Montgomery makes her way to England to tell her husband’s family that he has died only to have him return from the dead.

This is my first Mary Jo Putney book but I’ve seen Putney’s name on so many novels. The book jumps between the first time Troth meets Kyle and after his death. I found myself more interested in the present timeline because I wanted to see Troth’s growth and I wanted to find out when happens when they’re reunited. While I enjoyed most of it, the ending was frustrating. Crossed wires or the lack of communication is a trope I dislike immensely and it’s rampant in the latter part of the book. Troth doesn’t know if he loves her and wants her to stay but she would like to. He doesn’t know if she loves him or wants to stay but he wants her to. They never talk to each other about it. I had to skim some of the end because I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted to scream, “Just talk to each other!!”

One liner: Alasdair is looking for a wife but first sees revenge against Willow, who previously rejected his proposal for being a third son but is now dowry-less.

This is a book that’s short and sweet. It can be a bit dramatic at times but because it’s short, the scenes are not drawn out. It doesn’t take long for Alasdair to decide if he is still in love with Willow and an even shorter time for Willow to decide that she’d be okay with an affair but definitely not marriage. For my first Stacy Reid novel, I loved it. I just wished it had been longer. I look forward to reading more from Reid.

One liner: Lady Jocelyn Kendal marries wounded and dying Major David Lancaster to secure her inheritance but then he makes a miraculous recovery.

I didn’t know what to expect of Jocelyn. If she was just trying to get her inheritance and then be with the guy that she likes well enough, I was thinking a spoiled and unlikeable character but she wasn’t. I liked her a lot. She’s quite the spinster and when David makes a miraculous recovery, she still remains the nice person that she is. Because I liked her character, I also felt sympathy for her fear of love and relationships. I loved David’s patience with her. While Jocelyn and David are the main couple, the book also has a secondary couple in David’s sister Sally and his surgeon Kinlock. While Sally and Kinlock were interesting, I would have preferred the focus to stay on Jocelyn and David. I liked the book a lot more than I expected.

One liner: Five years after going to the U.S. to make his fortune, Leon returns to consummate his marriage to Emily.

**This will be a rant and will be spoiler-filled. There will be sarcasm.**

I needed something to cleanse my palate after reading this book, turning to recent favorites to try purge this from my mind. Thornton is a fine writer. The writing is fine. Parts of the book are as well, but I couldn’t get over the main plot even though I tried to remind myself of the time period. I’m completely over books like this but I kept on reading because I needed to know if it would get better. Spoiler: It doesn’t. When they’re forced to get married, Emily is 16. Leon is 10 years older than her. Her uncle okays the marriage. They don’t consummate the marriage but Leon returns a few years later for her, with the intention to do so. **Shudder** He abducts her with her uncle’s permission, and forces himself on her–they’re married, it’s okay. She gives into him. Her body, you know, had a mind of its own, as if it’s now completely okay that he sexually assaulted her. I sped through the rest of the book hoping it could redeem itself somehow–I don’t know if that could even be possible–and it doesn’t. Leon never apologizes for anything. Obviously as the husband, he has the right, and Emily just eventually gives into her fate. Yup, it doesn’t look like she’s getting out of the marriage. It also turns into a suspense story. But surprise, Leon has always loved Emily, and Emily didn’t realize that when she was younger she loved him too. The book made me so mad.