Engaging the heart instead of the fists can often make a more powerful statement.Miss Louisa Harcourt’s life isn’t exactly what she’d envisioned for herself. Widowed by the war, she returned home to protect her younger brother from domestic threats, but that put her into the soup as well. After constantly rebuffing unwanted attentions, she’s wearied of living in fear. Knowing something must be … must be done, she hires someone who can teach her the skills she needs to defend herself—a champion in fisticuffs—but her trust in men has been dented.
Mr. Cecil Carrington, fourth son of a viscount, is a glass blower by trade. It earns him a tidy income but not nearly as much as his second love—boxing. For years he’s funneled his energies into learning the skills as a pugilist, which has made him a celebrity in ton circles. When a woman arrives at his shop with obvious bruises, asking for him to teach her how to fight, his protective instincts flare. She’s pretty and determined, but he’s wary of every woman’s motives.
As the chilly autumn days slip by, Louisa learns the basics of fighting and Cecil continues to engage in illegal, professional matches. Through the small victories and failures, an unlikely friendship forms. When romance follows, it takes them both by surprise, but evil lurks in the wings, always threatening. Things come to a head one rainy night, forcing Louisa to take back her life on her terms. And if she’s lucky, she’ll win the heart of a jaded boxer.
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ONE HARD HITTING RIDE
Outstanding! Sandra serves up a double dish of scrumptious delight with this skillfully spun debacle, riding one heart pounding, pulse racing, adrenaline pumping, page flipping bombshell, hooking you from the start and reeling you in for the duration, fusing this gem together seamlessly. A roaring tempest of perilous mishaps and suspicious events, swirl with the arduous trials and thrilling tribulations, alongside the deadly twists and dramatic turns, keeping you riveted on a razors edge and frozen to your seat, blasting this baby to life spectacularly. Caught in a vicious game of daring drama, underlying threats, perilous intrigue, unimaginable violence, malicious acts, terrifying abuse, escalating danger, spiraling suspense and unnerving encounters, maneuvering through the dark cunning manipulation of heinous deeds and sinister intent, propelling this jewel to a whole new level. The characters, banter, interactions and charged atmosphere are realistic, complex and genuine with traits and qualities, add depth and diversity, blending into charismatic personalities. The scenes are abundantly descriptive with colorful details that blend and flow, creating one gruesome backdrop that’s so rich and lively it feels as though you were transported to ground zero with them. Remarkable job Sandra, thanks for sharing this thrilling treat with us.
Trimmed in Blue ( Colors of Scandal Book 3 ) by Sandra Sookoo. I am truly loving and enjoying this series. This story in particular brought it to life. The Heroine Luisa Harcourt is tired of being abused by her nasty stepfather and wants to learn how to defend herself by learning how to Box. cecil Carrington, the expert Boxer who felt bad for and also experienced rage on the abuse going on in the house hold he decides to help her defend herself. What I love about this author in this story is that she didn’t use a prince charming or a beautiful heroine. She is definitely one of my favs. The ending was amazing. I recommend this series you will not be disappointed. 5 + of course!
I enjoyed this romance story with Louisa Harcourt and Cecil Carrington.
Louisa Harcourt is a widow that has return to her mother after her husband death. Her mother has remarried. Her new step father is a very bad man. He is enforcing unwanted attention on Louisa. And also hitting her step brother and mother. So she has decided to take matters into her hand by learning how to fisticuffs. So she can defend herself and help her mother and step brother.
Cecil Carrington is a successful boxer and owns a shop in London. One day a young woman comes into his shop and require his help. She wants to learn how to fight.
It was a very entertaining book to read. It was a little different than most books that I have read. It was interesting how the author had Louisa trying to solve that problem of her step father. Because most woman of that time period would not do anything.
I received a complimentary copy via Booksprout. This is my honest unbiased opinion.
Not an Easy Read, But a Good One
I have enjoyed every historical romance written by this author that I’ve read. She has an easy and effortless immersive writing style that makes you forget the words and just imagine the world she is describing. I’ll admit to hesitating when I saw this book at one of my favorite book review sites. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read a book, even written by her deft hand, about such topics as she warned against. I read historical romance as an escape, and I rarely enjoy books that have darker themes. But I was intrigued. This book is not an easy read. In fact, after an early violent scene with her tormentor, I seriously questioned whether I wanted to continue reading the book. As I said earlier, this author is very skilled at painting a scene, and the one she created was raw and brutal. I decided to try a little more, and I am glad I did.
I have read a few Regency books in the last year where the heroine wants to learn how to box. I didn’t quite like those stories, but this author made it work here. The parts about boxing aren’t really about that, as it was in the other books. Rather, they show how the heroine grows in confidence and her desire (and ability) to take control of a world where she has very little power. During the scenes, too, the hero doesn’t make it easy for her, though there are a certain gentleness and protectiveness about him that both she and we respond to, but he coaxes her out of her fear and provides a safe place for her to build confidence and become comfortable with confrontation. In truth, it was very well done. At times, I felt a little exasperated by the heroine, who wouldn’t accept help when it was offered first by a good friend and later by the hero. I realize why that was done for plot purposes, but I hope no real woman out there reading this book thinks she cannot accept help from others. Sometimes, the greatest strength is knowing when you need to get out of a bad situation and accept the help that is available. But, back to the story. How this teases out, I’ll let you discover. If you can take the harsh scenes of physical violence and sexual malice, you might find this as amazing of a read as I did.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
This is not a story about a titled Lord swooping in to save a Lady who has fallen on hard times but is rather about two people dealing with the life they each had been given and having to learn to trust in another person again while finding themselves falling in love as they do so! When a person initially thinks of the Regency or Victorian time period the first thought is of chivalry and genteel conduct. But women were not only considered lower class citizens when it came to individual rights, they frequently suffered from the same issues that plague modern society in regards to rape and domestic abuse. Louisa was just such a woman. Even though she was a young widow she had to rely on the goodwill of her mother and her physically abusive and potentially sexually abusive stepfather! Since there was nothing “good” as far as goodwill was concerned to be found in that household she went looking for someone that could teach her how to defend herself! This is where Cecil enters the picture. He is a pugilist, or what we call a boxer, and is everything a man of any era should be! He is wary of the ulterior motives of women that stem from past experience but once he sees the bruises on Louisa his protective instincts kick in and he knows that he has to do everything he can to help her! While this book hits the reader hard from the very beginning and the issues are not written about in any type of graphic manner, it still does not sugarcoat what many women dealt with on a daily basis not only then but now as well! Kudos to Ms. Sookoo for writing about an issue that women have had to endure for so many centuries while managing to highlight it in a way that respects women of every era, everywhere!!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the third book in the Colors of Scandal series. I have really enjoyed this series so far and this book did not disappoint either. Cecil has given up on love after being burned by it years ago. After Louisa’s father passed, her mother remarried and the man she married was a monster. She was always in fear of him trying to violate her. She felt so alone. She reaches out to Cecil to help her learn to defend herself against her stepfather. This was an emotional and beautiful story of two people, afraid of getting close to someone for different reasons, beginning to let down their guards and help each other heal. The characters were amazing and the story pulls you right in from the beginning. A really touching story and I would highly recommend!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Louisa Harcourt was a 30 year old widow, now living with her mother and stepfather. Louisa was suffering from her stepfather, Baron Althrop’s unwanted attention. Anxious to be able to defend herself to to a certain extend her younger brother, she asks for help from Cecil Carrington, a successful boxer. What a man Cecil was! He was caring, thoughtful and protective. They both had a problem with trust due to past experiences. I enjoyed this story very much and loved how Louisa broke through her fears.
I liked this book for the most part. The characters were interesting and you could understand where they were coming from. There were some passionate love scenes and an attempted rape, but overall the story was good and an interesting and engaging read. The romance itself was wonderful and I really enjoyed how the characters interacted with each other. The boxing aspect was cool and added a lot to this story and was an interesting idea to add to a historical romance. The style of writing was smooth and easy to follow and sucked you in. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a good historical romance with a different take on it. Definitely get around to reading this soon!
A man who is a glass blower by day and a pugilist on the weekends. Cecil has sworn off women after a disastrous relationship years ago destroyed his heart. He was afraid to let any woman close to him because he would not be able to bare the pain if anything wrong happened. Louisa the daughter of country squire and when he passed her world was turned upside down. After her year of mourning, her mother remarried Baron Althrop an sex abuser. Many, many nights Louisa had a hard time sleeping for fear of the baron sneaking into her room attempting to rape her. She lived in constant fear and her mother did not believe her. She was alone. Her younger brother had his trials also and suffered physically and emotional abuse from the baron. She tried to protect him as best she could. Her fear of men kept her from seeking any assistance. She was convinced all men were like the baron. One day she took a terrifying chance and reached out to Cecil. She wanted him to train her to defend herself so she could fight against the sadistic advances of the baron. This story is much more than two people who feared. There was so much emotional damage that it was difficult to heal and pick the pieces up. I loved the way that the author Sandra Sookoo wrote the story. It details the tentative fearful building blocks of Cecil and Louisa start to heal each other. This is so realistic, so emotionally raw that it was impossible not to identify with Cecil and Louisa. A wonderful story of working through the fear to find the strength needed to move forward. I highly recommend this book. It is a must read. You will not be disappointed.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The third book in the Colors of Scandal series a well written story with a very good storyline. The Honorable Cecil Carrington and widow Miss Louisa Harcourt’s story there is suspense, drama, danger, villains, evil, and romance. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Evil stepfathers, cowardly mothers, sexism, and societal expectations all conspire to make Louisa’s life hell, but she figured out how to fight back, and yay for that. I really loved this story and would have given it 5 stars if they had agreed to get married and then she had to defend herself anyway, but for her to know the odds were stacked so far against her and then refuse any help because if she couldn’t save herself then she wasn’t worth saving seemed a little too much. And the whole fight scene felt a little unrealistic too. But aside from that it was a great book, the chemistry between Louisa and Cecil was yummy, and it was wonderful that they were both talented artists as well. Also, Cecil’s mom was a terrific character as well.
I received a free copy of Trimmed in Blue, but that did not affect my review.
Miss Louisa Harcourt lives in a time not always kind to women. Aside from having very few rights, and often none at all, women were at the mercy of men. In Louisa’s case, her step-father is abusive to both her brother and to her. Unfortunately her mother does not believe her, although there is little that could be done either way. Her step-father already had plans to marry her off to a man who agreed to share her body with him!
Louisa realizes she needs to learn to protect herself and she seeks out the services of a fighter who might provide training. Mr. Cecil Carrington, fourth son of a viscount, is a glass blower by trade, but he loves and is skilled at boxing. So when a woman with bruises asks him to teach her how to fight, his protective instincts flare up. A friendship forms, and even romantic feelings, despite his mistrust of women. When her step-father and Lord Wrycroft try to kidnap Louisa, she is able to use her boxing skills to fight her step-father. Lord Wrycroft comes out of the shadows below and attacks Cecil who has been standing by in case she needed help. The two of them end up surviving their fights and Cecil takes her to his parents’ home for safety. Is there any chance that Louisa can win Cecil’s heart so that the two of them can find happiness? He helped her defeat her demons. Now she just needs the love of the man she has already given her heart to.
The story is well written, action-packed, and pulls at the reader’s emotions to realize what women had to sometimes suffer in a society that should have protected them. This is not an easy read, but good does come out of it, and not all men are so evil and callous.
I enjoyed this new “Colors of Scandal” Regency read. It’s nicely developed and well written with a very intriguing plot. This is a good read with some sensitive subject matter. Louisa life is not what she anticipated and now she is in a very challenging situation and fighting. This story definitely keeps you glued from beginning to end. I really love Louisa and Cecil. What an incredible match! This is a good story and I love how it unfolded especially the end.
Trimmed in Blue
Cecil Carrington, the fourth son of a Viscount was also a very skilled pugilist and a glassblower by trade. Poor Miss Louisa really needed him for her life was one of misery. She had no one to protect her from the horrors that had become her life. When she learned of Cecil’s skills she took matters into her own hands. While Cecil was teaching Louisa skills to protect herself they found trust and love with one another. I’m glad there was a trigger warning I found myself skipping words in parts of the book only reading enough to keep up with the story line. Her stepfather was evil and nasty and her mother seemed to look the other way. I do recommend reading Trimmed in Blue it’s a good story about two underdogs coming out on top.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Inspiring and romantic. I loved the way the author portrayed the heroine fearful yet strong. Overcoming fear and taking her power back this story captured my heart. I look forward to reading more in this series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
An unusual and different story.
This piece starts right at the beginning speaking about domestic abuse. It is her step-father and her mother does not believe her. Louisa is a widow and now living with her mother and step-father the only really bright spot is her brother. There are some really horrible characters in this tale but on the other side of the coin, there are characters that you have to admire for their ability to rise above the challenges set before them. I was moved by this story it kept my attention completely the issues were handled in an excellent way. The author did an outstanding job on this one high praise for this talented author. This book may not be for everyone because it is hard-hitting but it is a book that I highly recommend. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
Cecil was the fourth son of a Viscount and needed to make his own way in the world by boxing and as a glass maker. Louisa was the daughter of gentry and a widow who was tormented by her step-father since she was fifteen. She had had enough and went to Cecil to teach her to box/fight so she could stand up to her step-father. Cecil listened to her, encouraged her and gave her the courage to do what she needed to do in her endeavors while he was teaching her all the while falling in love.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A different type of Historical Romance
4.5 Stars
Trimmed in Blue was a great read and exactly what I was looking for. I love a strong heroine, and as an author, I loved the writing style. This is not your typical Historical Romance; it’s so much more!
Louisa lives in a time when women have few to no rights and were left at the mercy of the men in their family. She needs to learn to protect herself and seeks instruction from a fighter named Cecil. In the end she wins but is almost raped/killed before this happens. The story is well written, full of action, and shows the vulnerability of women in the eighteen hundreds. I enjoyed the story and it is a good read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and are voluntarily leaving a review.
Miss Louisa Harcourt’s life isn’t what she’d envisioned. A widow, she returned home to protect her younger brother from domestic threats, but that put her into the soup as well. After constantly rebuffing unwanted attentions, she’s wearied of living in fear. Whilst returning to London from the country the carriage is halted due to a boxing match she hears the name of the victor & hatches a plan. The Honorable Cecil Carrington, fourth son of a viscount, is a glass blower by trade. It earns him a tidy income but not nearly as much as his second love—boxing. For years he’s funneled his energies into learning the skills as a pugilist, which has made him a celebrity in ton circles. When a woman arrives at his shop with obvious bruises, asking for him to teach her how to fight, his protective instincts flare. As the chilly autumn days slip by, Louisa learns the basics of fighting and Cecil continues to engage in illegal, professional matches. Louisa’s stepfather is determined to marry her to one of his cronies. Things come to a head one rainy night, forcing Louisa to take back her life on her terms. And if she’s lucky, she’ll win the heart of a jaded boxer.
A very well written book that although it was an uncomfortable read it was a compelling read that I couldn’t put down. I loved both Cecil & Louisa, he was a gentle giant who gradually made Louisa realise that not all men were brutes. Louisa was a strong woman living in fear but refused to leave her young half brother Jonas for which she has to be commended. Neither wanted another relationship but neither could deny their growing attraction. Two characters were despicable & deserved everything they got & more. Definitely not a run of the mill romance but it did highlight the plight of women & the weak
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read