"Light or dark, serious or silly—we need equal portions of laughter and tears to stay balanced."
These words from Emily Bryan are the perfect mantra to follow not only in reading but also in life and I do believe this is the 'soul' in Emily's writing that has me lining up for all of her books.
First published under her real name Diana Groe, with Maidensong, Erinsong & Silk Dreams - " epic, dramatic tales—full of passion and angst in exotic settings" this historical romance author then went on to write Distracting the Duchess. The light-hearted and frankly sexier style was such a departure from the first three books, Diana's editor suggested an alternative penname. Emily Bryan was born & Pleasuring the Pirate & Vexing the Viscount are subsequent novels under her nom de plume.
Distracting the Duchess is set in 1851, early Victorian while Pleasuring the Pirate and Vexing the Viscount are set in the Georgian era, 1720 and 1731 respectively.
These words from Emily Bryan are the perfect mantra to follow not only in reading but also in life and I do believe this is the 'soul' in Emily's writing that has me lining up for all of her books.
First published under her real name Diana Groe, with Maidensong, Erinsong & Silk Dreams - " epic, dramatic tales—full of passion and angst in exotic settings" this historical romance author then went on to write Distracting the Duchess. The light-hearted and frankly sexier style was such a departure from the first three books, Diana's editor suggested an alternative penname. Emily Bryan was born & Pleasuring the Pirate & Vexing the Viscount are subsequent novels under her nom de plume.
Distracting the Duchess is set in 1851, early Victorian while Pleasuring the Pirate and Vexing the Viscount are set in the Georgian era, 1720 and 1731 respectively.
So without further ado, here's my two-penneth on two Emily Bryant favourites.
Don't forget to leave a comment, one lucky person will receive one of Emily's novels.
Vexing the Viscount by Emily Bryan
Published: March 2009
Pages: 301
Emily Bryan is now firmly entrenched as a favourite writer of mine in the historical romance genre. Vexing the Viscount truly is a captivating blend of romance, adventure, amusing banter & saucy moments. The deliciously 'naughty' scenes kept me enthralled but there is just something about the humour in Emily's novels that keeps me coming back for more!
Daisy Drake was first introduced to us as a precocious child in the story, Pleasuring the Pirate. All grown up, she is now a woman ahead of her time, one who loves nothing more than the thrill of adventure. Daisy speaks fluent French and can read ancient Latin but all that she knows of 'pleasures of the flesh' has been discovered from the journals of Blanche La Tour, an infamous French courtesan & Daisy's Great Aunt.
Lucian Beaumont, Viscount Rutland is determined to discover the location of an ancient Roman payroll & return his family's estate to its former glory. Childhood adversaries, Lucian and Daisy meet again as adults over an ancient phallus-like lamp at the Society of Antiquaries, and the sparks fly in more ways than one. Daisy masquerading as Blanche La Tour becomes Lucian's financial backer in his search for ancient treasure & Daisy herself assists him on the excavation site. What follows is a hilarious ride complete with searing sexual tension ~ Lucian will steal your heart & the pair will steal your breath as you laugh at the antics of a fast learning virgin & a virgin playing courtesan.
The pacing of this story is perfect & I loved the quotes from the journal of Blanche La Tour at the beginning of each chapter
"There comes a point in every chase when the vixen must slow her pace, lest the hound lose the scent."
The flashbacks to Londinium A.D. 405 were haunting insights into the love story of Caius & Deirdre & the subsequent tragedy. These excerpts add an intense, dark feel, something that takes this story to another level.
Engaging, Slightly Naughty & Oh So Satisfying but don't just take my word for it ~ check out these reviews of Vexing the Viscount
Book Reviews By Bobbie
Distracting the Duchess by Emily BryanPublished: 2008
Pages: 306
"I'm going to have to shorten his willie." With such witty promise in the opening sentence, Distracting the Duchess does not fail to deliver. It is an amusing romp through the world of art, romance & espionage.
Lady Artemisia, widowed Duchess of Southwycke, shocks polite society in her passion for painting nudes. She is independent, sassy & smart. Knowing society's intolerance of females in business, Artemisia conducts her dealings behind a nom de guerre, Mr. Beddington.
When Trevelyn Deveridge, the youngest son of an earl, arrives at the Duchess' home masquerading as Thomas Doverspike, Artemisia mistakes him for her new life model & commences work on Mars, the God of War. Looking for an entre to the Duchess' man of business, Trevelyn figures this is as good a way as any to get information but he may just have met his match in the Duchess of Southwycke.
Emily Bryan's characterisation in Distracting the Duchess is delightful, also a strong point in her 2nd novel, Pleasuring the Pirate (my first read from this author.) Secondary characters are not forgotten either, well developed, enjoyable & an integral part of the story.
Emily Bryan's characterisation in Distracting the Duchess is delightful, also a strong point in her 2nd novel, Pleasuring the Pirate (my first read from this author.) Secondary characters are not forgotten either, well developed, enjoyable & an integral part of the story.
The intimate scenes in Pleasuring the Pirate may be slightly more polished but I loved the humour & innuendo in Distracting the Duchess. The witty banter between Artemisia & Trevelyn had me laughing out loud & Artemisia's 'naughty' thoughts at the most inopportune moments were downright hilarious & refreshing.
Sizzling romance, suspense & intrigue made this one a winner for me and the fact that Trevelyn pops into my thoughts after the last page has been turned means the author has done her job, and well!
Visit Emily Bryan's blog for news on her latest work, up and coming releases, interesting tidbits, blog tours, contests, author interviews & just plain fun posts, sure to give you a giggle.
PS. Emily's novels are a perfect choice for the Royal Reviews Romance Challenge
Join us tomorrow for 'A Candid Chat with Emily Bryan' & of course another book give away!
34 comments:
They sound go, I will by tomorrow :)
I have "Vexing the Viscount" in my TBR pile. From the review, I think I need to move it to the head of the line. Have a great day.
These sound good. I like to read a romance with some humor!
Hi RR,
I have never read Emily Bryan before, so I am so excited that you have devoted an entire week to this new to me author. What better way to find out more about the books you obviously loved so much.
I will definitely be adding these to my TBR list. Thanks!
Hey Em and Ladies,
Completely loving this week. Right now I'm half way through Distracting the Duchess. I'm loving every minute of it and having a difficult time putting it down. Dang! Why does real life interfere at the oddest times.:-)
All the best to haveing a great week!
Christine
http://romanticcrushjunkies.blogspot.com
http://www.eroticbookjunkies.blogspot.com
definitely sounds good!
oooh what an interesting book. count me in.
Both books sound great will have to add them to my list for the ROMANCE challenge.
I have Vexing the Viscount and would love to read Pleasuring the Pirate. Emily has a fun, breezy style that I enjoy reading.
Margay
I am disappointed the Hawaii State Library System (which I love and patronize) does not carry any Emily Bryan or Diana Groe books!
Those are awesome reviews.
Thanks to everyone for stopping by, glad you enjoyed the reviews :-)
etirv ~ hmm that is disappointing, you need to jump up and down!!
I really love this quote:
"Light or dark, serious or silly—we need equal portions of laughter and tears to stay balanced."
I know I will read them all but which one to start with...I am thinking Pleasuring the Pirate but I gotta say, I am also leaning towards Maidensong.
Vexing the Viscount really has my attention!
Wow!!! Thank you so much, Emily :). Thank you, Sheree, for hosting such a fun week!
Questions for Emily...
Which modern day actress/actor do you think would be perfect for the roles of:
Daisy (child)
Daisy
Lucian
Lady Artemisia
Trvelyn
Oh, no Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Colin, Kate Hudson... ot of the box casting, Emily...
Have fun!
Typo... meant Trevelyn... Em you got me so hyped.
Congratulations Diane!
These books sound great, I love to read romances with a little humor!
These sound good, it's almost convincing me to read more romance :)
The humor is what hooked me. I was never a fan of historical romance until I read Emily's Distracting the Duchess. Now I can't get enough of them!
Ash
P.S. No need to draw my name for a book. I have them all. (grin)
I have yet to read EB. I have heard so many wonderful things about her books. I went out and purchased one, I just haven't gotten around to it. EB is definitely on my summer reading list though. I started following her blog and she is a very sweet lady!
Wow! Thank you everyone for this love fest! I'm simply wallowing in it. And I received another big of very welcome news this morning:
DISTRACTING THE DUCHESS
is a finalist in the BOOK BUYERS BEST Contest!
My editor says this contest is important because it's judged by the likes of Sue Grimshaw (romance buyer for all of Borders!) and a rep from Levy (an important book distributor.)
Ok, now for Book Resort's question. I'm terrible at casting because I'm really quite stupid about popular culture. If I'm on your team for Trivia and the category is history, you're in great shape, but anything that happened after 1945 has me scratching my head. That said, here goes for my casting for long awaited film version of:
Vexing the Viscount--
Daisy, the younger: Dakota Fanning
Daisy as a young woman: I watched Legally Blonde over the weekend, so Reese Witherspoon is in my head. She brings a tenacity to her roles that would fit Daisy
Lucian--Brendan Frasier, for a couple of reasons. 1. He's one of the few leading men who tops 6 feet and Lucian is a strapping big fellow who looks terrific without his shirt. 2. There's a sweetness to Brendan, a brush of innocence that would fit Lucian since he's a virgin when the story opens.
For DISTRACTING THE DUCHESS, I need to go for more sophistication, so I choose:
Artemisia: Kate Winslet--She's smart, driven and has a smoldering sensuality.
Trevelyn: Ralph Fiennes--Since I saw him in THE ENGLISH PATIENT, I've been addicted to this talented man. He could slip into one of Trev's aliases and be utterly convincing. He's also very sexy in a very contained "Look out! This powderkeg's about to blow" sort of way.
Was that out of the box enough for you?
Etriv and everyone else who uses a library--I have page on my website with the information you need to request that your library stock my books. Pleave visit my "Free Books" page.
ibeeeg--Re: Where to start?
All my books stand alone, but a couple are what I'd call "connected titles," which means they share a few characters. Please visit my Bookshelf for a complete listing, blurbs, and links to excerpts to help you make your choice.
Em, love your casting pics until you got to Ralph Fiennes. I loved The English Patient but Ralphie just doesn't float my boat LOL
Ooh Ooh and congrats on finalist status, we'll be rooting for Distracting the Duchess!!
Teddy--I'm ok with that. (Please see my disclaimer on being popular culturally stupid!) Who would you cast as Trevelyn?
Em, can I opt in on the disclaimer too LOL. I have an idea, lets ask Diane from The Book Resort for a Trevelyn suggestion and we can yay or nay.
Is George Clooney too old? How bout Keanu Reeves?
Thank you, thank you for hosting Emily Bryan week! She is fantastic and so are her books! I cannot recommend her enough to romance readers looking for a great story!
Sabrina
Gorgeous George is easy on the eyes, and he has terrific comedic timing, but I don't picture him as Trevelyn.
Keanu Reeves is completely watchable, but I'm wondering how he'd come across as an Englishman. Has anyone ever heard him do an accent?
Colin Farrell might be good. He's got a "bad boy" sort of feel about him and Trev does thumb his nose at society.
Or Alec Baldwin back in his "Hunt for Red October" days when he was younger and more babe-like.
Attention those who've read DISTRACTING THE DUCHESS (you know who you are!)--Help us out here. Who would you cast as Trevelyn Deveridge, operative in Her Majesty's Secret Service?
Thanks for great suggestion and link, Emily! I like buying my own books even if the local libraries carry a book (that way I can take my time with a book and of course, I'm very choosy) but I've also discovered some really good authors from the library, excellent exposure for authors, too.
I haven't gotten to read Distracting the Dutchess or Vexing the Viscount. These sound really good and I've heard great things on them.
I hope to get a chance to them read soon.
Pam S
pams00@aol.com
Ahh Colin Farrell, I like, I like.
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