Two gamblers make a wager. Neither realizes they are gambling with their hearts. Ariane de Valmont prizes her independence above all else, and to secure it, she’s willing to enter into a risky alliance with a wickedly attractive American.Chris Blanchard has reluctantly traveled to Paris to fulfill a deathbed promise to his father. An intriguing challenge by Ariane promises to provide a beguiling … promises to provide a beguiling diversion—a bet he’s sure to win, given his impeccable seduction skills.
Both get far more than they bargained for.
*****
Surrender the Heart is the fifth book in the Fearless Women Historical Romance Series by best-selling author Nina Beaumont.
Gutsy heroines and dashing heroes. Love, passion, and sensuality. Intrigue, rebellion, and revolution. A thrilling journey through 19th century Europe, packed with vivid, true-to-life historical detail.
Read all of the books in the Fearless Women Historical Romance Series. Each can be enjoyed as a standalone romantic adventure.
Sapphire Magic
Promises to Keep
Tapestry of Fate
Tapestry of Dreams
Surrender the Heart
more
Writing a Bit Heavy-Handed
When I saw this book at a book review site, the idea of a historical romance taking place in late 1850s Paris intrigued me. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the book as much as I had hoped for several reasons. First of all, when both viewpoint characters were introduced, the author engaged in two rather prodigious information dumps. Like most readers, I do not enjoy this type of info shortcut employed by far too many authors. This is a proper novel-length book, and the author should have had time to artfully weave in the information she shared without resorting to dumping. On top of this, I felt like the writing itself was a bit heavy-handed, making for a ponderous read. The author also did not have a good grasp of grammar, punctuation, and usage. Here’s an example of a very poorly done sentence: “The ladies, either alone or in the company of parents, chaperones, or, since this was Paris, after all, lovers, occupied the boxes, and the men, who were either unattached or pretending to be so, were in the stalls.” Yes, that’s just one sentence! Perhaps the artful use of em-dashes would have helped break up this overlong sentence so that it may be at least a little more visually appealing… as well as break up the pieces of information so they can be more easily read. All in all, I found myself disappointed in this book, though the couple did have chemistry.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
The last part in the series Fearless Women Historical Romance Series is distantly linked to the other books. This part tells the story of the niece (described in part 2) living in France. She has managed her parents estate for years and does not want to marry a man and thereby lose her independence. She also never wants to fall in love and thus let her happiness depend on what someone else allows her. However, her father wants her to get married and takes her to Paris for the season.
Chris returns to France to inform his father’s wife of his death. He is hardly tolerated by high society when his eye falls on comtesse Arianne.
She decides to use the American as a shield against the young men seeking her company and proposes Chris to pretend. He agrees but his goal is to seduce her. Both have no desire to get married. But how do you keep your heart from getting involved when the stakes are high?
In the other stories in this series, love was an important part and the tensions of the revolt lingered in the background. Above all, this was a beautiful love story
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the fifth book in the Fearless Women Historical Romance series and I have really been enjoying all the stories. The story is set in Paris and we are introduced to Chris and Ariane, an unlikely pair. Ariane is forced to participate in the season and she makes a deal with Chris so that she doesn’t have to deal with unwanted suitors. She is an independent woman and wants more from marriage than just gaining a husband. I enjoyed the interactions between Ariane and Chris and they had really excellent chemistry. There are some twists and turns that definitely kept me interested. This is an enjoyable book and a nice addition to the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the 4th book I’ve read written by Nina Beaumont; she has done a great job at writing a good book; I can’t wait to read more of her books.
The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.
I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
What will he decide?
I am so glad I kept reading this series after having some doubts at the beginning because each book got better! This one has two gamblers who are both a bit wicked. I loved these characters. Ariane wants more than just finding a husband. She rather be home taking care of the family’s stable. Chris had also seen Ariane and the sparks were flying even without them knowing who each other were. The first chapter was such a great set up for the piece. There some twists in the piece and choices that will need to be made and not till the very end will all questions be answered. This was a splendid read and I highly recommend it. I did receive a free copy of this book and I voluntarily chose to review it.
The book was ok, but I think it’s a one time read for me. Sorry to the author.