How to Entice an Earl (Ugly Ducklings #3) by Manda Collins

RATING:

4 Out Of 5

REVIEW:

Lady Madeline Essex is not ready to get married yet, even though her cousins Cecily and Juliet have both found love with their husbands. Before she even the considers the idea of matrimony, she wants to write a novel before she takes that next step. Her novel is at the center of a Gaming Hell, so she decides to go to one to get information for her novel. After brow beating her brother, he takes her to Mrs. Baily’s Gaming Hell, where she runs into her cousin’s husbands friend, Colonel Lord Christian Monteith, the new Earl of Gresham…
Christian has undertaken a mission from his former commanding officer to investigate a gamester for espionage, who happens to be a friend of Maddie’s brother. Christian is informed that they will be attending Mrs. Bailey’s he decides to attend to see what information he can gather. So when Maddie enters Mrs. Bailey’s with her brother he is not surprised since they become acquainted since his friend, Lucas Dalton the Duke of Winterson courtship with her cousin Cecily, but that doesn’t stop him from taking her aside and scolding her for being there…
When a murder takes place and Maddie happens to be the one to find the body and discovers its her brother’s friend. After her brother is found to have left Mrs Baily’s, people are suspicious that he his involved. Maddie decides to find the murderer to clear her brothers name and since Christian was going to look into it since the person he was gathering in tel about turned up murdered decides to help Maddie and protect her from trouble. Now that they are thrown together, they now face this undeniable attraction for each other that can’t be denied. And Maddie wonders if it will turn into a love that her cousins have found with their husbands…
This was a great conclusion to the “Ugly Duckling” trilogy. I really liked Christian’s character. He was honest, protective of those who he considers friends and his family, and patient, though Maddie has a way of running his patience thin. And though he disagrees with Maddie’s ideas and plans, he knows he wouldn’t be able to talk her out of it and decides to make sure he is there to protect her just in case. I like the friendship he has with Winterson and Deveril, and it was fun to see how it developed throughout the trilogy.
I liked Maddie in the first two books. And though I still liked her character, some of the things that she did didn’t seem like it was something she would of done. Like her other cousins, she has a stubborn streak when she decides to do something. But unlike Cecily and Juliet, she didn’t seem really smart on how she went about to do things, which I didn’t really notice when she was mentioned in the other two books. It just didn’t seem like it was natural, but I guess it did have story flow without holding it up or having something added that didn’t make since so in the end it worked out.
I do like how in all the books that the author had all the couples, Winterson and Cecily, Juliet and Deveril, and in the end Maddie and Christian in them which made the story fun when they were in it. I enjoyed how at the end of this book that you even read how Amelia Snow, Cecily’s, Juliet’s, and Maddie’s arch-nemesis turn a new leaf and it makes me wonder if the author has a story planned for her. And in a way I think it would be fun to see how her character grows, from this trilogy and to her own story, and to see the man that would finally sweep her off her feet. I do hope if Ms. Collins does one, that she mentions these guys in it. ;o)

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How to Romance a Rake (Ugly Ducklings #2) by Manda Collins

RATING:

4 Out Of 5

REVIEW:

After receiving a note from her friend and piano mentor, Mrs. Anna Turn, Miss Juliet Shelby, becomes distress at what happened to her friend. When Lord Alec Devenish, the Viscount of Deveril, comes upon her and sees her distress, he offers to help her find her friend. In her desperation, she agrees to allow his assistance, and in the process she tries to hide the feelings she has for him…
Alec is drawn to Juliet in a way he is quite unsure of. He has this urge to keep her protected and when he sees some of her mothers abuse towards her, he wants to keep her safe from her mother. After agreeing to help find Mrs. Turner, him and Juliet looks for clues to find her whereabouts. After both of them a thrown together, they are unable to deny the attraction that is between, though they both have secrets that they want to remain hidden from each other. After Alec discovers the plans her mother has in store for her, he offers to marry her and when she agrees, they find themselves on their way to Gretna Green to keep her safe from her mothers machinations…
This was a fun book to read, though I did enjoy its predecessor, “How To Dance With A Duke” a little better. As I was reading it, it just didn’t seem to have the same feeling to it, but it was still an enjoyable book to read.
Both Alec and Juliet grew up with a very domineering parent, that had some way left their mark on them. I loved reading how they both were able to overcome what they thought were fatal flaws, and they both helped each other to overcome it. I enjoyed how their relationship began as partnership that had developed into feelings for each other.
Though Cecily, Winterson, Maddie, and Montieth were mentioned in their story, they didn’t really have much involvement with Maddie and Deveril like they had in the first book of the series. I did enjoy however, how both Cecily and Maddie insisted on helping the gentleman save Juliet in the end and that the author still shown the girl’s stubborn nature of not leaving it just to the men.
The book was an enjoyable read, which did leave me wanting to read the book for Maddie and Montieth, so I can read what mischief they will all get into next and how this so far fun trilogy comes to an end.

 

How to Dance with a Duke (Ugly Ducklings #1) by Manda Collins

RATING:

4.5 Out Of 5 Stars

REVIEW:

RATING: 4.5 Out Of 5 Stars

Miss Cecily Hurston is trying to gain access her father’s club, the Egyptian Club. She is trying to locate he father’s journals of his last expedition, because she believes the hold the answer’s to what happened during that expedition. Not only does her father return very ill, but there our rumors circulating that about a curse circulating him and even more distressing that he may be responsible for the disappearance of his secretary, William Dalton. So, she is desperate to find her father’s coded journals, that only she can decipher. Just as she was leaving mad for being denied she happens to see a very attractive man, that happened to see most if not everything that happened…
Lucas Dalton, Duke of Winterson on a search to find clues about the disappearance of his brother, William Dalton. When he went to the Egyptian Club in hopes of finding some clues her runs into Cecily, not knowing at first that she is the daughter of the man who is said to be responsible for his brother’s disappearance. After clearing the air, they decide to help each other out in finding clues to there questions of, where is the location of her father’s journals and what happened to William Dalton. During the process however, they both seem unable to deny the sparks of attraction between them….

This was a really fun book to read and a great start to the “Ugly Ducklings” series. Lucas and Cecily were fantastic partners. I liked how they new each other strengths and were able to help each other in finding clues to solving their dilemmas.
The side characters were a great addition and makes you look forward to Cecily’s cousins and Lucas’ friends stories which are, Miss Juliet Shelby and Lord Alec Deveril story (How to Romance a Rake) and Lady Madeline Essex and Christian Monteith book (How to Entice an Earl).
I really enjoyed reading this book and was one of those that I could have read without putting down. The story was written really well and kept me interested until the end. They only thing that I didn’t much care for was how long it took for Cecily to get over her past heartbreak and admit that she loved Lucas. So other then that it was an absolutely delightful story.