Heartwishes Edilean by Jude Deveraux

Seriously, what is it with normally good romance authors deciding that it's perfectly okay to write sex scenes without condoms? Would have been a four star book if the characters had decided that they loved each other enough to protect each other rather than just fall into bed because Gemma is on the pill?

Otherwise, really liked her character (hiring a historian instead of an archivist to organize your family papers aside). Devereaux often writes about physically strong women and Gemma is one of them. She isn't necessarily beautiful but she certainly captures the attention of Colin Frazier, a descendant of one of the seven founding families of Edilean. He's super rich (like all good romance heroes?) but works as the local sheriff, and oh, he's a Pied Piper with children.

It might seem a little too good to be true but they'll have to deal with Colin's not-so-ex-girlfriend, many small emergencies, a magical wishing stone, and even an international thief.

Three stars

This book came out August 30, 2011

Follows Scent of Jasmine

Followed by Moonlight in the Morning

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Scarlet Nights by Jude Deveraux

Jude Deveraux... light fluff, incredibly enjoyable. Sarah Shaw was introduced in the first Edilean story as the neighbor/cousin who was involved with a man nobody liked. In this story, we find out that the man is actually a maniacal con artist and Mike Newland (the brother of another character from the first novel) has been dispatched to the town to entice Sarah away from her fiancee. 

Not to deep, not a lot of character development and the characters fall into bed WAY too fast, but some great dialogue and I just love the wackinesss.

Three and a half stars
This book came out August 1, 2010

Follows Days of Gold

Followed by The Scent of Jasmine

Borrowed as hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

Lavender Morning by Jude Deveraux

When Miss Edi (short for Edilean) leaves Jocelyn Minton a house, she's shocked. She has never even heard of the town of Edilean and she thought Miss Edi shared everything. Joce grew up with a handyman father who's a little... earthier (not all handymen are unenlightened, not sure why this is supposed to be such a big "social class" difference.) Her mother was genteel so when her mother dies and Joce is left with her father and then her biker stepmom and two bitchy stepsisters, her time with Miss Edi comes as a great relief. The greater shock is that Miss Edi, known (at least to Jocelyn) to be a great prognosticator of relationships (though the example in the book seems to be "I knew they wouldn't last," which, arguably, anyone could say) has told her that the perfect man for her, Ramsay, is in Edilean.

Luke is a grumpy Gus who seems to be hiding a lot. A LOT. But he likes Joce. Is it because she's meant for his cousin Ramsay or just because of her? Who can tell?.

Really two and a half stars but I keep re-reading (PURE fluff) so I rounded up.

Three stars

This book came out March 31, 2009

Followed by Days of Gold

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Ever After by Jude Deveraux

I'm pretty sure I had said that I would stop reading Deveraux's books but this one was available to borrow immediately, so I did. Of course, the characters are treacly sweet. Even the so-called evil step-sister wasn't as bad as she appeared. Was it a book I would read again? Maybe. It's mostly the time travel ones that drive me over the top. And the fact that this was Jamie, one of Cale's sons (one of my fave short story romances) made it a little easier to swallow.
So, Hallie finds out that her step-sister has been posing as Hallie and is about to claim her inheritance AND take over physical therapy on a wounded trustifarian. But Hallie finds out and jumps on the private jet instead of her sister and ends up falling in lust, then love, with wounded soldier/Doctor Jamie Montgomery.
I did end up reading it again and wonder why I didn't mention at all that there are two ghosts working to ensure the HEA. AND this is the first book that I think I know of Deveraux's that actually mentions condoms! It's a really stupid reason (OMG, the Taggert's are so fertile, you HAVE to use condoms... but don't worry about disease) but it's mentioned!

Three stars

Follows For All Time

Followed by The Girl from Summer Hill

This book came out June 23rd, 2015

Borrowed as ebook from CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

For All Time by Jude Deveraux

I have such a hard time with Deveraux's time traveling books. They are just not as good as her other books. And this one was no different. 
Graydon is in town to watch his cousin get married. At least, that's why he's supposed to be in town. As the heir apparent to the Lanconian throne, he is most certainly not supposed to be ogling bridesmaid Toby. And yet... there's a draw. One more powerful than his mother's disapproval and even overriding his good sense to remember that he's supposed to be engaged. But he and Toby have a history. A long history. One that they're willing to go back time to make sure that at least one version of themselves can end in true love...
Oh. My. God. The push-me-pull-you lasted the whole damn book. No seriously. It only got resolved in the last... twenty pages? I mean, good God. Yes, most books have issues like this but the couple at least tries to do something. Not just sit around with an, "Oh woe is me" attitude the Entire. Freaking. Time.

Two stars

Follows True Love

Followed by Ever After

This book came out July 1st, 2014

Borrowed as ebook from CloudLibrary

Opinions are my own

A Forgotten Murder by Jude Deveraux

Kate, Jack, and Sara need a break after two books of solving murders. Sara decides to fly them all to England, to an estate that her book earning help to reinvigorate. To an estate where a couple ran away twenty years ago and the heir killed himself, maybe because of the couple who disappeared. Now, Sara has invited the group who was there when the two young adults vanished in an attempt to either figure out what happened, or to gather information for the book that she claimed she wasn't writing. Neither Kate nor Jack is amused. Especially when it seems that someone doesn't want the truth of two decades ago uncovered.
If you enjoyed the first two books, you will probably find this one about the same. I find Deveraux to be often uneven, ranging from 2 to 4 stars in my opinion but this one is very much like the first two in this series.

Three stars
This book comes out March 10th
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin-Mira and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Met Her Match by Jude Deveraux

Ever since her mother supposedly left town with a lover, Terri Rayburn has been painted with the same brush. It doesn't help that she's "from the lake" which is definitely not the same as being from "in town." You know who's from town? Stacy, the mayor's daughter. She's also the one engaged to Nate Taggert. Of course, she doesn't know that Nate Taggert is living in Terri's house... and so is Terri.
Of course, like all Deveraux novels, Terri and Nate are perfectly matched. They may not realize it yet but they are. Both tall and muscular and incredibly handy -- perfect. This is unusual for a Deveraux novel in that the hero is engaged to another woman for 3/4 of the book. And there's sort of a mystery but it's in the background and then quickly wrapped up.  Regular Deveraux readers and people looking for a fluffy beach read with no character development will enjoy this book.

Three stars
This book comes out September 17th
ARC kindly provided by HARLEQUIN - MIRA and NeGalley
Opinions are my own

A Justified Murder by Jude Deveraux

Sara, Kate, and Jack are back in a new mystery. When Janet Beeson is stabbed, shot, and poisoned, everyone in town looks to the trio that solved the last big murder. But they aren't interested in helping. That's not what they do. But somehow, they are dragged into the story of a woman who was seemingly the most liked person in town. So who would want to kill her that bad?
This was a completely scattered book with parts of the story stuck in here and there and things said about characters that weren't backed up in the story... and yet Deveraux manages to charm. Sentence structure is odd and unnecessary asides are plentiful but I think people who enjoyed the first book will like this one as well.

Three stars
This book came out February 26th
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

A Willing Murder by Jude Deveraux

Kate Medlar only recently found out that her father's sister, Sarah Medlar, is a famous romance author. She's excited to find out that the town she's just found a realty job in is the same town as her aunt and she can live with her aunt while she finds a place to live.
Jackson Wyatt is living with Sarah Medlar while he recovers from a broken leg. And to make sure that this long-lost-niece isn't just after Sarah's money. Then their lives get tangled up even more when the three of them find two dead bodies buried beneath a tree and discover that Jack knew one of them.
Kate's a little annoying and the "mystery" is easily solved if you've read Devereaus before. The author also has a disconcerting habit of spelling out everything (making a joke and then pointing out that it was a joke, etc.) Even so, it was fast, fun, and fluffy.

Three and a half stars
This book came out September 18
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

The Girl from Summer Hill by Jude Deveraux

Deveraux's books for me can be good or WAY too twee. This book was quite fun. Especially with the play on Pride and Prejudice with chapters that were just fun. Of course, knowing P&P made particularly squirm-worthy when Tate Lander's (Mr. Darcy) ex-brother-in-law Devlin manages to pull the wool over Casey's eyes. The phrasing is the same as ever, just a little TSTL, but in a re-working of an old favorite, it really works.
Acacia "Casey" Reddick is sipping her tea one morning when she's shocked to see a man come jogging into her yard, onto her porch, and then... he strips down. And takes a shower. Then, he runs in yelling at her before storming out again.
Tatton "Tate" Landers (where the HELL do these names come from? I mean, I know where they come from  but as names for romance characters?) is a bona fide Hollywood hunk. He's been typecast into the role of the brooding hero in period pieces. Which is fine as long as the paparazzi isn't following him around taking pictures when he's supposed to be on his down time. Tate's only in Spring Hill as a favor to a long-lost relative who helped Tate buy his family's estate. How annoying that he has to read for Mr. Darcy in the community theater play. But that's what you do for family. And, if you're Tate, that includes family you'd rather forget (i.e. Devlin).
I really dislike the "I'm on the pill so let's forgo condoms" especially in an otherwise very cute novel. I mean, it's nice that it was included but there are SO many other reasons to use condoms than just birth control (all of them STDs). Definitely took me out of the story and knocked it down a half star overall.
Four Stars
Will be published May 3

Change of Heart by Jude Deveraux

The best thing I can say about "Change of Heart" is that, between this book and "For All Time," I'm finally ready to give up Deveraux as a Must-Read. I will probably never be able to give her up fully (Sweet Liar alone keeps my hopes up) but the last few two and a half miler books have gotten rounded up to three stars based on sentiment alone.
I actually squeed and did a happy dance when I realized that Eli and Chelsea were getting a story. Children from an earlier Deveraux short story, the two drifted apart but are now ready to find each other and their own HEA.

Wow. Just. wow. I kept reading to see if Chelsea would really put up with all of Eli's shit. I was so hoping that she'd just pop him one. I mean, Eli heads straight past Alpha and sails into Asshole. He sees Chelsea in a picture, decides she's not happy and that he's going to fix her life. She's too skinny, so he changes her restaurant order. She hates camping so he takes her into the woods (and then gets pissed off when she complains). He pours the guilt on her for their childhood friendship ending and her never noticing him as a male, when he never stepped up to show her how much he loved her. And then tells his teenage doppelganger Scully that he knows she would have just laughed at him. And she puts up with all of this shit. I wasn't too impressed with Chelsea either. She complains that no one ever expected anything of her because she was so pretty. This is after Deveraux has clearly shown that her parents did expect more of her and then goes on to explain that Chelsea wasn't even the prettiest of her sisters. Pilar- she doesn't want to work with Eli and doesn't really like him but then they're portrayed to be friends. She helps out disconnecting lights and stealing papers but then tells Chelsea that she's never given any responsibility. And what school in this day and age would let unknown adults attend prom? I just... I can't even... My level of suspended disbelief was so beyond stretched at that point that I... argh.

True Love by Jude Deveraux

Oh, Jude Deveraux. I don't know why I still read your stories. They are so... twee. Alix is just TSTL and Jared... why the hell is he keeping all these secrets from her? He knows that she is the One For Him but still won't let her know all of the information she should be privvy to. These are the things that piss me off most in reading romance novels. Add to that the insistence that Jared has that he's too old for Alix (why spell it like that anyway?)
Well, part of the reason I still pick up your books is nostalgia because you, Ms. Deveraux, were one of my favorite authors  when I started reading romance and I can't get enough of the Montomery/Taggert family. We get to see Jilly again! She's one of my favorite characters that never got a story. So happy to see her HEA.
But the main reason is because even though I have all of these frustrations with the story, you absolutely pull me in to these people's lives. You even address Jared's secret keeping and how Alix deals with it! When she forgave him, I immediately did as well. What other author can make you do that?
Overall, this book is a wonderful addition to the Deveraux canon and I can guarantee that if you loved "Sweet Liar," "High Tide," or any of Deveraux's contemporary novels, you will LOVE this book as well.
Solid three and a half stars here.