Review: The Wedding Affair by Leigh Michaels

A wedding is a wonderful event. Love is in the air and everyone is happy.

Well, not quite. Not if you're the Simon, the Duke of Somervale, whose sister's twelve (twelve!) bridesmaids are on the hunt for a ducal matrimonial prize. What to do? Why, hire the beautiful widow, Lady Olivia Reyne, as your pretend fiancée until after your sister's wedding. Especially after she propositions you. And not if you're Charles, the Earl of Townsend, who married cit's daughter Penelope for her money to save the bankrupt estate he inherited. But her father's purse strings haven't opened, and Penelope is as much a victim of her father's machinations as you are. And not when you're impoverished vicar's daughter, Kate, and you again meet Andrew, the man you fell in love with when you were seventeen, and who never came near you again.

With a setup like this, how can Leigh Michael's latest Regency historical, The Wedding Affair, but anything but lots of fun?

Ms. Michaels has given us another whopping good read with three intertwined stories of unlikely love threaded with secrets, and all with a wedding theme. The duke's sister's wedding forms the backdrop of the novel, while the three couples are in various stages of wedded bliss--or non-bliss. Each story also has a different emphasis. Simon's and Olivia's story is mainly funny, Charles's and Penelope's sad, and Kate's and Andrew's poignant, although all these elements exist to some degree in each tale. I love Simon, the mighty duke, when he's spattered with grape juice, the way Charles and Penelope circumvent her father, and the real reason Andrew never came near Kate again. And the secrets remain secret until the end.

Again, Leigh Michaels has nice-guy heroes (my favorites) and heroines who fight for what they want. And she manages to fit all this action, doing justice to each couple, into one book. Truly the hallmark of a master. I loved each hero, but my favorite is Andrew. I like a man who makes his own way.

Funny and sad situations, witty and pointed dialog, and a quick pace keep us turning the pages until the end. The Wedding Affair is another winner from Leigh Michaels. I can't wait for her next book.

Thank you all,
Linda
ARC provided by Sourcebooks

Review: THE MISTRESS' HOUSE

When the Earl of Hawthorne buys a second London townhouse whose garden connects with his own, he has no idea his purchase will become a trysting place. In a trio of connected tales in Leigh Michaels's delicious The Mistress' House, three noble cousins find their matches in their mistresses.

First is the Earl of Hawthorne himself. Thorne meets the widowed Anne, who wants the not-as-rakish-as-he-appears earl to ruin her so she won't have to marry again. Second is Richard, the Earl of Colford, whom mill-owner's daughter Felicty shocks when she demands he stand in for his older brother, the previous earl, who betrayed her. And lastly, virginal miss Georgiana and returning soldier Julian, both fleeing arranged marriages, find each other.

I liked Richard's and Felicity's tale the best. This touching story of the wronged cit's daughter and the former spare, who must yet again clean up one of his brother's messes, catches at our heartstrings as their devil's bargain blossoms into love. A tale to remember and savor.

With deft storytelling, abundant humor (laugh at the hilarious asides from Julian's body, which pants "Yes, yes, yes!" when the vivacious Georgiana asks Julian to seduce her, even as his mind shouts "No, no, no!"), and tenderness in all the right places, The Mistress' House will remain with you for a long time to come.

Thank you all,
Linda
ARC provided by Sourcebooks