Happy Easter everyone … unfortunately I was distracted by family events and didn’t get a book review up yesterday.  So today, we’ll get a two for one special.

*****

Miss Emma Harlow hasn’t earned the reputation as a hoyden for nothing, so when the Duke of Trent discovers her in his conservatory stealing one of his orchids, he’s isn’t surprised—charmed, delighted and puzzled, yes, but not surprised. It is Emma who is amazed. She has naturally concluded that the man reading in the conservatory must be the country cousin (who else in London would actually read?) and is quite vexed to discover that he is the Duke of Trent himself—imagine, stealing the duke’s prize Rhyncholaelia digbyana under his very nose!

But her vexation doesn’t last long. For Emma is a practical young lady with a mission: to end her dear sister Lavinia’s engagement to the villainous (and dreadfully dull!) Sir Waldo Windbourne, and she thinks that the famous libertine is just the man for the job. If he would only seduce her sister away from Sir Waldo…. Well, not seduce exactly, but flirt mercilessly and engage her interest. Perhaps then Lavinia would jilt the baron. The Duke of Trent is resistant, of course. Despite his reputation, he does not toy with the affections of innocents. And besides, it’s not her sister he longs to seduce.

The misfit is one of my favorite character types and Emma is as misfitty as they come.  She’s strong willed, smart, impetuous, and blunt – definitely not your typical Ton lady.  I really enjoyed getting to know her because, while her thoughts might be different than the norm, they are logical and make a lot of sense.   She’s amusing, especially when she doesn’t mean to be, but has a huge heart for those she loves.  Most especially her sister.  Her plan to have Trent flirt with her might not have been well thought out but it was made with love.

Trent, like most historical romance bachelors, isn’t in the market for a wife but that doesn’t mean everyone else isn’t looking for one for him.  And while he is content with his life the way it is, one meeting with Emma throws that out the window.  He’s strong of mind and body, smart, caring and open-minded especially for the time.  He’s quickly enthralled with Emma, even if he doesn’t want to be, and it is a quick slide from there to their happy ending.

Not to say there isn’t some trouble along the way.  Getting rid of Sir Waldo isn’t that easy and it definitely leads to quite an adventure.  You definitely can’t be a stickler for the authenticity of the time with The Harlow Hoyden but then again I’m not reading historical romances for a history lesson.  I want the romance and it delivers that in spades.  It’s fun and humorous and love wins out, so who could ask for anything more!

*****

Ridley Wells has no idea what to do with her life now that she’s graduated from college. But when a friend is murdered and her apartment is trashed, she runs to the only person she trusts, her twin sister. No one will think to look for her in the rinky-dink Virginia town of New Haven.

Of course, her luck lands her passed out in the grass in front of resident bad boy, music producer Jackson Alexander. Strike 1! Then she realizes Raina’s out of the country and she has nowhere else to go. Strike 2!

So when the handsome producer with the platinum smile mistakes her for her sister, she gets an idea.

Where better to hide than in plain sight?

WARNING: This book contains cloak and dagger intrigue, family drama, brothers fighting, supermodels with attitude and hot sex between people who can’t keep their hands off each other. Just saying…

I really like the third book in this series, He’s the Man, and I was super excited to give this one a try.  And while it was good, it wasn’t quite as good.  I’m not good with deception romances and while I understand why Ridley did what she did, I also think that she should take the consequences that goes along with lying.  At one point Jackson doubts her and she gets upset, which is understandable because she thought their relationship was on better footing than that, but she also needs to understand that he has good reason to have doubts.

They mystery around who killed her friend is very intriguing and plays out very well.  I was hooked and was anxious to see how it all tied together.  And I really liked getting to know the other Alexanders a little better.  I’ve read the prologue to the series, Teasing Trent, and book 3, He’s the Man, so it was like coming home to see them again.  It didn’t even really bother me that I read them out of order because Matt’s story only involves the Alexanders a little bit.  Most of it is about him and Penny.

I’m going to read All I Need is You, book 4 in the series, and see how I like it.  I’m curious, since I liked the mystery so much, if it was just the lying that threw me off.  If that sort of thing doesn’t bother you, then I highly suggest giving One More Day a shot based on how much I enjoyed the others that I’ve read by Malone.