Showing posts with label Wicked Widows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wicked Widows. Show all posts

Monday, July 28, 2014

Why Lords Lose Their Hearts by Manda Collins

Image linked from Goodreads
I'm not sure why I liked this book so much better than the first two. Perhaps it is because we got to meet Perdita and Archer in previous books. Or maybe it's because I'm such a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope. Either way, I quite enjoyed this book and was glad it went out with a bang. At least for me. There is at least one part of this story that I think other readers will take issue with and I'm looking forward to reading other reviews.
Perdita, the widowed Duchess of Ormand (never called the dowager, perhaps because her husband's grandmother is still alive?), became the duchess one night when her husband was trying to kill her and he was killed instead.
Her husband's secretary, Lord Archer Lisle (fifth son of a duke), wasn't in the room when death occurred but he learned of the circumstances soon after. He is ashamed that he didn't realize sooner what the duke was doing to Perdita, especially because he loves her. But, as the fifth son of a duke, he has hopes that he can marry Perdita but is realistic about how society will view the marriage. Plus, there's the inconvenient fact that Perdita will not marry for love (look where that got her the first time!)
Of course, the two are forced together, working to discover who blames Perdita for the duke's death and why they're trying to thoroughly discredit her before they kill her.

I really don't know what to think about the kidnapping. I mean, Perdita's friends conspired with the man who was wanting to "rescue" her so that they could get her out of town. Collins did a good job of running through Perdita's thoughts on the matter so I guess I could sort of buy that part of the story but... it still didn't sit quite right. And having the killer be a deranged woman who just so happened to be the daughter of the duke's grandfather as well as the lover of the present duke...? I just don't know. If this were a mystery story, I'd be disappointed that the killer was so clearly pointed at but this is a romance so that didn't factor into my rating.
Previous books: Why Dukes say I Do, Why Earls Fall in Love

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Why Earls Fall in Love by Manda Collins

Image linked from Goodreads
At the beginning of this book, we once again recap exactly why the three widows who are heroines in this series are so closely tied together. Georgina Mowbrey is forced to work for a living. She rather likes Lady Russell. That makes it hard when Georgie starts receiving mysterious threats against her life. She doesn't want anyone else harmed just because she helped a friend.
Lord Coniston "Con", is Lady Russell's nephew so he's also in Bath to attend her 70th birthday celebration. After meeting Georgie in London, he was intrigued. And after seeing her more in Bath, hes even happier to be a part of the party.

I was a bit disappointed that in both of these books, it was the husband's mistress that was trying to kill the wife. Can't there be a different sort of villain? Is the mastermind of the whole thing the former Duke of Ormond's mistress? And why do attempts on these women seem to stop as soon as they get married? You'd think the mastermind would keep trying.

Previous book: Why Dukes Say I Do

Next book: Why Lords Lose their Hearts

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Why do Dukes Say I do? by Manda Collins

Image linked from Goodreads
Isabella, her sister, Perdita, and their friend Georgie have formed a friendship based on the fact that they were all abused wives. With Isabella's husband being gone, she is enjoying her society lifestyle. For the most part. There are these annoying anonymous letters... and somebody might be trying to kill her. But that just seems silly. Why would anyone want to do that? 
Now her godmother, the grandmother of Perdita's husband, is blackmailing her into going to the country to bring back a reluctant duke (in fact, the man taking over after Perdita's husband passed away). While there, Isabela may learn a little bit more about herself as well as discovering that not all men are controlling bastards.
An okay story but I really had to slog through it. Neither Isabella nor Trevor was a compelling character. I was mostly reading to find out how MC was going to tie in the "I know what you did last season" to the movie.

Books after this one: Why Earls Fall in Love, Why Lords Lose their Hearts