Celeste Jones

Aaaand, I finally finished! Before Christmas, even! :)
Lots of interesting stuff here (varying time periods, settings, writing styles, editing, and levels/types of steam), but these were my favorites:

Hell’s Wedding Bells - Annabelle Anders
Home for Christmas - Celeste Jones
Holly and the Beast - Annabel Joseph
Mistletoe Kisses - Elise Marion
The Holiday Hussy - Merry Farmer
Christmas Charity - Beverly Oakley
The Russian Betrothal - Elsa Holland
Marrying Miss Bright - Dayna Quince
The Russian Prince’s Bride - Mariah Stone
Holly and Old Lace - Vanessa Brooks
Wedded in Winter - Scarlett Scott
A Wicked Wedding - Laura Trentham
The Angel of an Astronomer - Linda Rae Sande

Thanks to all of the authors for putting together this enormous collection and making it free. It kept me entertained off and on almost all year long, and now I have a bunch of new writers to check out…:)… (mehr)

4.5*

Sue Lyndon and Celeste Jones have teamed up to bring us a lovely Victorian-era age play story. They are both great authors, so teaming up just means that we are going to get one heckuva story, and that's totally the truth here.

Cammie was rescued off the streets of London when she was young. Her brother was trying to sell her into service, but Miss Wickersham saw her instead, and brought Cammie to her academy. At this academy, young women are loved and cherished as the little girls that they are. There they wait until Miss Wickersham can find them the perfect Papa for them to marry. The goal is to find someone who will love the graduates as both a bride and a little girl.

Lord Alexander Cavendish is looking for a bride and a little girl. He travels to Miss Wickersham's academy because he heard through the grapevine that he would be able to find a woman who would meet his needs. When he gets there, he's told about Camellia, who Miss Wickersham thinks will be perfect for him. When Cammie and her new Papa meet, there are immediate sparks.

This is a great story. Very sweet and loving. Yes, there is some spanking, but not as bad as it could have been. Papa is always very careful with Cammie, and she always tries to be a good girl. I really enjoyed reading it.… (mehr)

Sue Lyndon has taken us back to Victorian England and the Talcott House, the academy where Miss Wickersham rescues girls, lets them have their childhood back, and finds loving Papas and husbands for them.

Hyacinth is one of the lovely young ladies at Talcott House. Her wedding day to Lord Kensington is coming up soon and she's very nervous. She's worried that she will be a bad girl and her wedding will be canceled. She knows that her wedding is important to Talcott House. She's also worried about what men and women do together after they are married. None of her friends know and no one is telling her.

Lord Grayson found out that his father was a patron of Talcott House. He sent them money every month because he believed in what Miss Wickersham was doing. After his father died, Grayson wasn't sure that he would keep the money coming. When he is set right on what's going on, he decides to keep paying While he's at Talcott House, he meets Cynny, and falls instantly in love with her. When he finds out that's she's to marry in just a few days, he tells her that his bride is waiting for him too.

However, there isn't a bride and he can't get Hyacinth out his mind, so he rides to Talcott House to collect his little girl before she gets married to someone else.

There are a lot of secrets in this one, secrets which could really hurt a person, and come close to doing some real damage. But, there is also a lot of love between Hyacinth and her new Papa. Lots of romance, a quick check in on a past couple, some seriously hot sex, and you've got a great book.… (mehr)

I can't get enough of Sue Lyndon and Celeste Jones' Talcott House books. I love all the stories and have enjoyed reading all about the little ladies and their Papas, so getting a new one is just such a treat.

Rosie has fallen in love with her betrothed, Lord Caldwell, but she keeps putting off their wedding date. It's not that she doesn't want to marry him, it's that she's worried about it because she has a secret and she's afraid if he finds out, he won't marry her.

Lord Caldwell, tired of waiting for her to set a date, has decided to take matters into his own hands. He's going to visit her, kidnap her, take her to Gretna Green, marry her, and keep her captive in a Scottish castle. Rosie's pretty much on board with most of this, only she worries that it's not proper. But, it's seriously romantic, right?

I think Rosie is pretty awesome. She works really hard on being the proper lady, but deep inside she has a fire. She loses her temper and prods at people, but only when truly, truly, truly provoked. It takes a while. Of course, there are consequences, but I'm not entirely sure that Rosie minds them all too much.

Great story and I'm looking forward to the next one.… (mehr)