To Bed a Beauty (Courtship Wars, Book 2) by Nicole Jordan
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Book Reviews of To Bed a Beauty (Courtship Wars, Book 2)
Book Review: A very disappointing trilogy
Summary: 1 Stars
I am very sorry I bought all three books at once. The first two are just terrible(except that she writes good love scenes)... but there is the barest shadow of a plot in each connected by love scenes! Now I read that Book 3 is even worse. Do yourself a favor and read some of her earlier books and skip these.Book Review: Historical excellence
Summary: 5 Stars
When an independent beauty asks for lessons in love from a rake who is notorious for his extraordinary lovemaking skills, a tale of sensually blistering passion and unexpected emotion is guaranteed to follow.
Having seen her parents destroy themselves in a loveless marriage, Roslyn Loring is determined to marry for nothing less than true love. She attends a Cyprian's masked ball in an attempt to find out what makes a man fall for a woman. It's there that she meets Drew Moncrief, the Duke of Arden, who is on the prowl for a mistress. Roslyn successfully evades him for a short time, but doesn't escape him altogether until after the two have shared a briefly passionate encounter. When Roslyn is confronted by Drew at her sister's wedding to his best friend, she has no choice but to admit to the suspicious Drew the true reason behind her attendance at the ball. When she goes so far as to ask him for lessons in seduction so she can seduce her handsome neighbor into proposing, Drew cannot refuse.
When Drew sees the familiar face of Roslyn Loring at his friend's wedding, it doesn't take long before he places her as the young woman he met at the ball. He threatens to expose her to her family if she doesn't tell him the truth behind her risqu? behavior. Once he gets past the initial shock of Miss Loring's request to teach her the ways of seduction, he finds he cannot refuse her. When those lessons go beyond simple instruction and the two become intimate, Drew can no longer bear the thought of continuing to prime Roslyn for another man. He wants her for himself, but convincing Roslyn that he is ready to put his rakish ways behind him won't be easy. It appears that Drew may well have a lesson or two to learn from his delicately beautiful pupil.
TO BED A BEAUTY is the second in a three-book "Courtship Wars" series by Nicole Jordan. I read this book before reading the first book and enjoyed it very much as a stand-alone novel. I didn't feel as any details were missed by my not having read the first book. Roslyn is an independent, highly intelligent woman who is determined to marry on her own terms rather than those set out by society. Her strong feelings after the heartache and pain she and her sisters experienced at the hands of their parents are excellently written. Drew is a rake, a real ladies' man who is determined to never marry. Having been raised by a coldhearted mother he has his own reasons to avoid shackling himself to a woman. Watching these two fall for each other, incredulous at the deep emotions the other has stirred, was highly enjoyable. Secondary characters and events serve to enrich this wonderful story without detracting from Roslyn and Drew. Ms. Jordan is undoubtedly one of the masters of historical romance and I highly recommend this book as well as any of her previous work. I did go back and read the first book in this series, TO PLEASURE A LADY, and equally enjoyed it, but haven't yet read the third book, TO SEDUCE A BRIDE. If you enjoy fine historical romance, I hope you won't miss this latest series from Nicole Jordan.
Book Review: Roslyn's clever plans of 'orderly' love are shaken by the Real Thing
Summary: 5 Stars
I love all three books of the Courtship Wars Trilogy! Jordan's tone in this trilogy is 'lighter' (there's more light humor) than in her previous romances, but that doesn't mean the LOVE is any less intense -- the simmering heat between hero and heroine are very much alive and kicking.
In fact, Roslyn (the middle sister of the Lorings) has a very carefully planned strategy for winning the hand of a respectable gentleman, which involves pleasing him as a mistress would... since she has always noticed that men seem to LOVE their mistresses more than their wives. She hopes to act like a mistress in order to attract the 'right' man to marry her (and, fall in love with her, for she wants genuine love), but she has no experience in these matters. The man who can teach her these things is the Duke of Arden; he doesn't believe in love matches at all, so he feels he can teach Roslyn these things without falling for her -- this will prove to be much more difficult than he ever dreamed!
Roslyn and Drew are full-blooded, four-dimensional characters, complete with hearts and souls, who fall hard for each other. And wow do they have some beautiful love scenes together. Another reviewer wrote that Nicole Jordan puts the 'steam' in steamy. I'll second that!
She is an amazing author who draws you in, page by page. Her plots and characters are believable, real, and you cannot help but want to know more... and THEN you want to read the third book (To Seduce a Bride), another winner!
Enjoy the ride!
Book Review: The second book in the Courtship Wars series
Summary: 4 Stars
Roslyn Loring is determined to forge her own path of love and happiness. To that end, she engages her friend Fanny, a notorious Cyprian, to help Roslyn learn the art of seduction from a courtesan's point of view, so that Roslyn might snag a husband. Roslyn believes that husbands are generally more enamored of their mistresses than their wives, and she wants more than just a marriage of convenience. However, at the ball, Roslyn encounters the Duke of Arden, a reputed rake and the best friend of Roslyn's future brother-in-law. Attempting to escape his notice, lest he later recognize her as the sister of his best friend's bride, Roslyn escapes to a private room at the party--not expecting that the duke will follow her.
When Drew Moncrief attends a Cyprians' masked ball, his first intention is to find a new mistress. When the only woman he finds himself interested in, an innocent-looking blond temptress, flees his company, Drew finds himself determined to give chase. He attempts to secure the woman as his own, using skilled seduction and soft words, only to find that the woman then flees his company for good. And when he meets up with her again at his best friend's wedding, he realizes why she fled. Roslyn is a lady, not at all the sort of woman who should be in the company of courtesans. And when she asks Drew's help in learning the art of seduction, he finds himself compelled to assist her.
To Bed a Beauty is the second book in Nicole Jordan's Courtship Wars series, following To Pleasure a Lady (Courtship Wars, Book 1). This series is focused on a push-pull relationship between the hero and heroine, keeping tensions high until the pair manage to fall in love. In this book Roslyn was an absolute delight, a strong, confident woman who refuses to settle for anything less than true love. Roslyn is content with her simple life, but wants more for her future than just a marriage of convenience. She saw her parents endure such a union and knows that a marriage full of secrets and infidelity would not suit her. She wants passion, she wants children, and she wants love. To that end, she is willing to do anything to obtain them, even using the more-than-willing duke as her tutor. On the contrary, Drew Moncrief is a man who knows nothing of love. His mother is a purported ice queen, and Drew has been used for his money and title more often than he can count. He agrees to help Roslyn in her attempts to find love, though he finds the idea abhorrent, just so that he can get his hands on the beauty, though he doesn't expect to fall in love.
I liked To Bed a Beauty infinitely more than the first book in the series, and am eager to see how Jordan wraps up the story of the third Loring sister in To Seduce a Bride (Courtship Wars, Book 3). This series is full of confident young heroines who don't need a man to make them happy, but who understand that finding true love will round out their already fulfilling lives. These books can be read out of sequence, but I'd definitely recommend picking up To Pleasure a Lady before reading this book.
Book Review: Same old song
Summary: 3 Stars
If you were expecting a new turn on this tired theme then I am the bearer of bad news.
The first half of "TBAB" is good and slowly builds the sensual tension to a fevered pitch. There is chemistry between Drew and Roslyn and some excellent hero-jealousy. However, from the moment these two have sex for the first time, "TBAB" follows every formulaic romance you've ever read. There was nothing fresh or new to hold my attention. I was so disappointed I actually groaned aloud at one point because at every turn I seemed to know what would happen next.
I read book 1 and 2; book 3 I will save my money.