Dance With Deception has received four hearts from Love Romances & More Reviews! Here’s what Dawn had to say:
Sebastian Montgomery is determined to never be like his father and in that regards he vows to never fall in love or marry. Well, that is until he finds himself knee deep in lust with Gwendolyn MacAlistair. She is all he can think about and he will have her one way or another regardless of what the lady thinks. But there is trouble looming as Gwen has to make a choice: Sebastian and the passion she finds with him or a loveless marriage to the one man who destroyed her family. Can Sebastian give Gwen her ultimate desire: his heart?
Ms. Goodwin introduces her first book in her newest trilogy, DANCE WITH DECEPTION as a wild and rocking time set in Victorian England. Full of intriguing characters, a fast paced storyline and a love not to be denied; Ms. Goodwin delivers a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat as the many twists and turns keep the reader entertained until the very end. I found DANCE WITH DECEPTION to be very intriguing as the author delves deep into the character’s heart and soul. This author is brand new to me and she is a delight as she captures her characters perfectly.
Meet Sebastian Montgomery, Ninth Duke of Davenport. He is determined to never marry or fall in love and he meets those goals admirably until he meets his match in a beauty that sets his passions boiling. He is determined to have her, at any cost. Strong, vulnerable at times and the perfect foil to Gwen, Ms. Goodwin captivates her readers’ with a strong alpha male hero who is determined to never fall in love. Well fate has another plan for him and when Gwendolyn MacAlistair comes into the picture, you literally feel the sparks fly and sexual tension blooms between these two. Strong multi-faceted characters help keep the plot moving and they interact well with the secondary characters. I was quite pleased to see how well some of the secondary characters step off the pages and wonder if they will be in the next two books planned for the series.
DANCE WITH DECEPTION is an exceptional blend of romance, mystery and explosive passion that leaves the reader breathless from start to finish. I found Ms. Goodwin’s writing to be fast and tight. She delivers a story that is worth reading again on those cold winter nights. If you enjoy a tale set in a time long gone, with characters that steal into your heart and simmering passion that explodes, than grab DANCE WITH DECEPTION and see what happens when a Duke finds his heart’s desire even though he is determined to not be snared by love’s delight. Get ready for a charming new historical romance author to add to your auto-buy list. Ms. Goodwin delivers a heart felt story that will leave you wanting more. I can not wait for the next in the series to come out.
Thank you so much to Dawn for such a fabulous review — I’m so glad she enjoyed reading Dance With Deception!
“An exceptional blend of romance, mystery and explosive passion that leaves the reader breathless from start to finish …” have you danced with deception? If not, what are you waiting for? It is available at select Borders Book Stores nationwide and is on sale at Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Borders.com, and LBFBooks.com. In addition, Dance With Deception is available in eBook at fictionwise.com and allromanceebooks.com.
Greg and I saw The Duchess last weekend and Wow! The Duchess is a fabulous movie with exquisite costumes, breath-taking sets and a stellar cast. Honestly, it was the most stunning movie I’ve seen since The Phantom of the Opera was released on the silver screen in 2004.
The Duchess stars Keira Knightley (who, with this performance, proves she is the perfect actress for period roles), Ralph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Atwell, and Charlotte Rampling. Based upon the biography by Amanda Foreman, it is the story of Georgiana Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire, who was the first wife of William Cavendish, the fifth Duke of Devonshire. Married just before her seventeenth birthday, Georgiana soon discovers that her husband isn’t the man she thought him to be when she witnesses his affairs with the help and discovers that her husband has an illegitimate daughter, one whom she is expected to raise as her own (which Georgiana does).
Ralph Fiennes plays the cold, heartless Duke so well that, at times, he disgusted me. Truly. He played the controlling man too well, in fact. The Duke allows himself his mistresses, all the while flaunting them in his wife’s face. To add insult to injury, the Duke has a lasting affair with Georgiana’s closest friend, Bess, who lived with the couple after her messy divorce. The tag line “There were three people in her marriage” refers to just that … Georgiana, the Duke and Bess living under the same roof until Georgiana’s death, when Bess then became the second wife of the Duke of Devonshire.
Georgiana herself has an affair and falls madly in love with Charles Grey who will later become Prime Minister. The Duke won’t accept his wife’s affair (hypocrite, anyone?) and Georgiana must sacrifice both her illegitimate daughter with Charles and her love himself for the sake of her children with the Duke. Heartbreaking … bring tissues! I needed mine.
Georgiana was a feisty woman, known for her beauty and sense of style (often imitated), her political views and campaigning, and her love of gambling. Keira Knightlely’s performance is strong, subtly blending Georgiana’s innocence and naïveté with her heartbreak, disappointment and commitment to her children and her duty.
Interesting tidbits: among Georgiana’s descendants are Diana, Princess of Wales (through Georgiana’s granddaughter) and Sarah, Duchess of York (through her illegitimate daughter with Prime Minister Charles Grey).
If you’re looking for a movie that is beautiful, heartbreaking and totally worth the high price of movie tickets, I cannot recommend The Duchess enough. Fabulous! Absolutely fabulous!
