Review: The Duke and the Lady in Red (Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James)

Author: Lorraine Heath
Original Title: The Duke and the Lady in Red
Release Year: April 2015

Literary Genre: Historical Romance
Setting: England, Victorian Era
Series: 3rd of Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James

Vote: 10+








This novel is amazingly sweet and extremely touching...I've cried so much!
Lorraine Heath, in my experience, always bests herself!
I've seen some of two her previous novels I've loved in The Duke and the Lady in Red; I'm talking about "Waking up with the Duke" and "Lord of wicked intentions"; but don't get me wrong, the plot here is quite different from the above mentioned, VERY different I would say (which, I understand, to the skepticals' ears might sound as a strange statment when it comes to Historical Romances...well you are wrong!).

Review: When The Duke Was Wicked (Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James) - ENG

Author: Lorraine Heath
Original Title: When the duke was wicked
Release Year: February 2014
 
Literary Genre: Romance 
Setting: England, Victorian age
Series: 1° of Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James

Vote: 61/2/10

Well...I've read heartbreaking stories (and with this adjective I'm not implying stories with tragic ending, but always romances with satisfying happy-ending, I wouldn't be able to go through the first kind), see Again the magic or Almost heaven which ripped my heart out for the perfection of their love stories...this one, When the duke was wicked, in my opinion tries really hard to have the same impact but exceeds in doing it. It's too sad!

Let's clarify that we are talking about one of my favourite author.

First, I really can't appreciate romances where one (or both) protagonist already found and sadly lost the love of his/her life.

Here, our hero, the Duke of Lovingdon, was before really, really, happily married and sooo much in love, but unfortunately he lost both his wife and their little daughter because of a illness. For pretty much the whole romance there is this strong presence of his dead-wife which really didn't permit me to appreciate the hero and heroine's love story.

Review: Waking Up With The Duke (London's greatest lovers) - ENG

Author: Lorraine Heath
Original Title: Waking Up With The Duke
Release Year: 2011
 
Literary Genre: Romance 
Setting: England, victorian age
Series: 3° of London's Greatest Lovers series



Vote: 10+/10



(Presto il commento in italiano)

You'll smile, you'll cry and you will be completely bewitched by Waking up with the duke.

...well, that's what happened to me.

Wow, it's an amazing love story, so sweet, suffered, heart-felt; a love path through grudge, sorrow, discoveries, joy, carefreeness, deep passion, forgiveness and the strongest feelings.

I loved the protagonists: Ainsley is the kindest character ever described, he is perfect! Jayne is stubborn, surprisingly strong, protective, caring and so sadly alone. They are amazing, both of them.

Three years ago, the Marquess of Walfort had a carriage wreck after a wild and dissolute night with his dearest friend, and cousin, Ransom Seymour, the Duke of Ainsley; unfortunately, while the Duke escaped unharmed, Walfort lost the use of his legs and the rest of his lower body.

Review: Lord of Wicked Intentions (The lost Lords of Pembrooke serie) - ENG

Author: Lorraine Heath
Original title: Lord Of Wicked Intentions  

Release Year: 2013

Literary Genre: Romance
Setting: England, victorian age
Series: 4° of the Lost Lord's of Pembrooke



Vote:  10/10

Wonderful, it's my first Lorraine Heath's romance and I must say, she has a beautiful style; beside I like the historical context, which is my favourite after the medieval one.

The book opening, that could generally be slow, exclusively descriptive and therefore not particularly compelling, here is splendid, I was capture at the third line; moreover the early pages are highly moving.

Rafe Easton is the younger of the Lost lords of Pembrooke; the three brothers (the oldest are the twins Sebastian and Tristan) who, after their father's death, the Duke of Pembrooke, were ousted by their evil uncle; this dramatic event forced the three kids (Rafe was only ten and the twins were four years older) to divide their paths for more than a decade. Unfortunately Rafe didn't accept the separation well; left to his fate, at the beginning he was subjected to the workhouse owner's brutality (where his brothers left him) and, after his successful escape from there, he lived for several years in the filthy of St. Giles, where, to survive, he had to make many compromises, often brutal.

Commento: Lord Of Wicked Intentions (serie The Lost Lords of Pembrooke)

Autore: Lorraine Heath
Titolo Originale: Lord Of Wicked Intentions
Titolo Italiano: (inedito in Italia)
Anno Pubblicazione: 2013

Genere: Romance
Ambientazione: Inghilterra, età Vittoriana
Serie: 4° della serie dei Lord perduti di Pembrooke



Giudizio:  10/10




 - Click here to read the comment in English -


Molto bello, è il primo libro che leggo dell'autrice e devo dire che ha uno stile meraviglioso, per di più mi piace il periodo storico, che dopo il medievale è quello che preferisco.
L'inzio del romanzo, che generalmente può essere lento, puramente descrittivo e quindi non particolarmente avvincente, qui è stupendo, io sono rimasta catturata alla terza riga; le prime pagine sono molto commoventi.

Rafe Easton è il più giovane dei Lord perduti di Pembrooke, ovvero i tre fratelli (di cui i primi due sono i gemelli Sebastian e Tristan) che dopo la morte del padre, il Duca di Pembrooke, sono stati spodestati dallo zio cattivo; questo risvolto drammatico nella vita degli, allora, molto giovani lord (Rafe di appena dieci anni e i gemelli di quattro anni maggiori), li ha costretti a dividere le loro strade per più di un decennio, perdendosi completamente di vista. Purtroppo Rafe non ha vissuto affatto bene la separazione; abbandonato a se stesso, prima ha dovuto subire delle dure sevizie dai proprietari dell'orfanotrofio dove i fratelli l'avevano lasciato e, riuscito a fuggire, è vissuto per molti anni nel sudiciume del quartiere più malfamato di Londra, St. Giles, dove per sopravvivere è dovuto scendere a molti compromessi, spesso brutali.

Lorraine Heath - bibliografia

Lorraine Heath

Titolo Originale	Titolo Italiano	Serie
Texas Destiny	(inedito in Italia)	Texas Trilogy 1/3	1997
Texas Glory	(inedito in Italia)	Texas Trilogy 2/3	1998
Texas Splendor	(inedito in Italia)	Texas Trilogy 3/3	1999
Long-Stretch Of Lonesome	(inedito in Italia)	contentuto in To Tame a Texan	1999
A Rogue In Texas	Un amore nuovo	Rogues in Texas 1/3	1999
Never Love A Cowboy	Liberi insieme	Rogues in Texas 2/3	2000
Never Marry A Cowboy	La forza dell'amore	Rogues in Texas 3/3	2001
The Outlaw And The Lady	Prendimi e portami via	Daughters of Fortune 1/4	2001
To Marry An Heiress	Sposare un'ereditiera	Daughters of Fortune 2/4	2002
Love With A Scandalous Lord	Un amore scandaloso	Daughters of Fortune 3/4	2003
Hard Lovin' Man	(inedito in Italia)	Contemporary Duo 1/2 (c)	2003
Smooth Talkin' Stranger	(inedito in Italia)	Contemporary Duo 2/2 (c)	2004
An Invitation To Seduction	L'uomo Ideale	Daughters of Fortune 4/4	2004
As An Earl Desires	Desiderio	The Lost Lords 1/3	2005
A Matter Of Temptation	Inattesa Tentazione	The Lost Lords 2/3	2005
Promise Me Forever	Amore per sempre	The Lost Lords 3/3	2006
The Reluctant Hero	(inedito in Italia)	in My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys	2006
A Duke Of Her Own	(inedito in Italia)	Rogues and Roses 1/2	2006
Just Wicked Enough	(inedito in Italia)	Rogues and Roses 2/2	2007
In Bed With The Devil	(inedito in Italia)	The Scoundrels of St. James 1/4	2008
Between The Devil And Desire	(inedito in Italia)	The Scoundrels of St. James 2/4	2008
Surrender To The Devil	(inedito in Italia)	The Scoundrels of St. James 3/4	2009
Midnight Pleasures With A Scoundrels	(inedito in Italia)	The Scoundrels of St. James 4/4	2009
Passion Of A Wicked Earl	(inedito in Italia)	London's Greatest Lovers 1/3	2010
Pleasures Of A Notorious Gentleman	(inedito in Italia)	London's Greatest Lovers 2/3	2010
Waking Up With The Duke	(inedito in Italia)	London's Greatest Lovers 3/3	2011
She Tempts The Duke	(inedito in Italia)	The Lost Lords of Pembrook 1/4	2012
Lord Of Temptation	(inedito in Italia)	The Lost Lords of Pembrook 2/4	2012
Deck The Halls With Love	(inedito in Italia)	The Lost Lords of Pembrook 3/4  novella	2012
Lord Of Wicked Intentions	(inedito in Italia)	The Lost Lords of Pembrook 4/4	2013

When The Duke Was Wicked	(inedito in Italia)	Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James 1/3	2014
Once More, My Darling Rogue	(inedito in Italia)	Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James 2/3	2014

The Duke and the Lady in Red	(inedito in Italia)	Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James 3/3	Apr. 2015
Falling Into Bed with A Duke	(inedito in Italia)	The Hellions of Havisham 1	Oct. 2015
The Earl Takes All	(inedito in Italia)	The Hellions of Havisham 2	Apr. 2016

* (c): contemporaneo