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Nov 05, 2011

Dina rated it:

AMAZING! That's the word that came to my mind when I finished this book. I'm always a bit wary when I start reading a book that's been highly praised by "everyone", as sky-high expectations can turn an otherwise excellent read into a "somewhat disappointingly good" read, so I didn't know what to expect from Bound by Your Touch when I picked it up. Well, I'm glad to say that "everyone" was right and I'm joining the chorus. I loved everything about this book: James, L More...

26 comments like (27 people liked it)

Feb 22, 2011

♡KarLynP♡ rated it:

Hands down one of the best historicals I've read this year. I am a sucker for a good historical romance read, and I couldn't ask for more with this book. Wonderful writing, interesting characters, a good dose of sexual tension and steamy sex, and a captivating plot. There was some cute funny moments, but mostly it is a tender and intellengent story of two opposites finding they have more in common than they first realized. This book is much better than her debut book from last year (Duke of Shad More...

1 comment like (8 people liked it)

Feb 25, 2010

Fani rated it:

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6 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 10, 2012

Kinga rated it:

Girly porn time!!

I was slightly disappointed with this one. It didn't do what I wanted it to do.

And Mariel gave it 4 stars, and she is like my Bible, so I thought I couldn't go wrong.

Anyway, it started off nicely. The premise was almost realistic and the characters acted almost like normal people. We had a bookish, no nonsense heroine who still does like a good shag (well, that's totally me), and this libertine, self-destructive hero who is not a complete idio More...

5 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jun 22, 2009

Katie(babs) rated it:

Lydia Boyce is a spinster and firmly on the shelf at twenty-six. She loved a man once, but he married her sister instead. With Lydia’s father in Egypt finding priceless artifacts, she is the matriarch of her family. She wishes she could be in Egypt with her father, but has much responsibility in England. Lydia will try to find funding for the Egypt Exploration Fund which will enable her father to continue his excavations. But things go badly when her father is accused of trading fraudulent piece More...

7 comments like (13 people liked it)

Jul 21, 2011

Moss rated it:

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4 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jul 27, 2009

Mitzi rated it:

Lydia Boyce is a spinster. Her father is an archaeologist (always away from home) and she is in charge of relating his newest findings and securing financial support so he can continue with his projects. She considers herself smart, but not beautiful like her 2 sisters. She's already been burned once (thinking herself in love, but the man choose to marry her younger sister)and now has no desire to get involved with any man.

Viscount Sanburne (very handsome and a rebel) hates his fath More...

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jul 13, 2009

Kate rated it:

Many people have raved about this book, I am merely one of them. This was probably the most anticipated book - for me - of the summer.

***SOME SPOILERS POSSIBLE - read at your own risk***

Lydia is a bookish spinster, a "bluestocking", who assists her father in raising funds for his archaeological expeditions. Society alternately pities and scorns her. But James, Viscount Sandburne, is intrigued by what lays beyond her stiff exterior - because he finds him More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 08, 2009

Cam rated it:

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0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 19, 2010

Tina rated it:

I did not enjoy this one as much as Duran's first romance novel. The characters didn't seem as developed. However, Duran is an amazing storyteller and the plot develops well. Duran is somewhat unconventional when it comes to personalities, attitudes, and events in her historical tales. I think that is what I enjoy most. I can't wait to crack open the next one.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 15, 2011

Eggletina rated it:

Now I see that I should have read Duran’s books in the order they were written. WoYS and BBYT share some common characters (most notably Phin, James and Elizabeth who grew up together and share the same social circle). BBYT was Duran’s 2nd novel, WoYS came directly after it, and they do seem to play off one another, though can stand alone. When I was reading WoYS, I wondered about the chronology and now discover that they actually happen concurrently, but reading BBYT first might make reading Wo More...

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Mar 13, 2010

Rose rated it:

I have had such good luck with romances lately! This was just as good as everyone said it was, too. I loved the family stuff, its complexity and ambiguity, and I loved that there were no easy resolutions. I'm not sure how I feel about the end of the storyline with the hero's sister, but I'm hoping she'll get her own book eventually. The romance was brilliant and the reckless attraction between the protagonists was amazingly hot. This bit:

"She swallowed an animal urge: she w More...

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Jul 06, 2009

Jocelyn rated it:

Everything I loved about "Duke of Shadows" with the pacing and the emotional connection problems solved. Still has a terrible cover, though. I'll be re-reading this one for years to come.

Why did I like it? Why is it so much harder to pinpoint things that I like than things that annoy me?

The heroine was beautifully portrayed, her emotions and reactions lined up perfectly. The hero's motivations unfolded slowly over the course of the book, and you could see More...

0 comments like

Aug 28, 2010

Katyana rated it:

This one was a lot of fun! Though strangely, I kept envisioning the heroine as Evie, the heroine from The Mummy. But whatever, it worked for me.

The odd thing is, despite the fact that I'd guess 65% or so of the book was told from the heroine's POV, I felt more involved in the hero. His life just seemed to have so much more depth. Hers was... I don't know. Dutiful. She really had never strayed outside of her role. And I know that's not atypical of HR, but usually the heroine ha More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 27, 2011

Sara ♥ rated it:

3.5 stars. I had the same issue with her dialogue or something that I had last time, only worse. There wasn't enough explanation to back up the character's words and actions, and so I found myself getting lost. I'd go back and be like, "Did I skip something?" But no, I hadn't. Some parts were just kinda confusing. And some of the dialogue sounded too modern... and I did NOT appreciate the f-bomb (or was it 2?). Is that necessary in the 1880s? Really?

Anyway, this boo More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2010

Willow rated it:

There is a lot to like in this book, starting with the hero. It is fun to watch the decadent Viscount Sanburne respond, often with delight, to the proper and often disapproving spinster Lydia Boyce. The two team up to address Ancient Egyptian forgeries and jewel smuggling that Lydia's father seems to somehow be caught up in.

For some reason, I thought there was going to be more action in the book but the forgery subplot moves at a fairly leisurely pace. The real story is Sanburne More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 03, 2011

Stevie rated it:

I really like Meredith's writing style. I would say she is going to be added to my favorite author list. She develops her character very well with intelligence and depth. I loved how she managed inner dialogue for her main characters. Normally, I grow tired of that style quickly and in most books it becomes redundant, but not so in Bound By Your Touch. MD illustrated the character's complete thought process in an almost poetic manner but with complexity of intellect, from concept to epiphany. I More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 05, 2010

Sandy rated it:

I have a new favorite author. This book was brilliant. The writing, the characters, the plot, everything was damn near perfect. Meredith Duran is the reason I will never, ever try my hand at writing historical romance. There's no way in hell I could even come close to writing a book as well as she does.

I loved James. He was a complete scoundrel. I loved the scenes where he was inebriated (or high or whatever?). I loved and mostly understood the reasons for his behavior. I loved his b More...

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Dec 22, 2009

Amanda rated it:

This book was so well crafted and beautifully written that it will go down as one of my all-time favorites. The writing was just... exquisite. For example:

"She pursed her lips. The movement exposed a hit of dimple. In conjunction with her starchy manner, it seemed wholly incongruous. A mere anatomical fluke, he told himself, just a trick of her tightened lips. Nevertheless, he found himself staring at it, wondering what he might do to make it deepen. Breathy gasps, flashing dimp More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Dec 29, 2010

KatLynne rated it:

Wow, what can I say about this book that hasn’t already been written. This was my first novel by Duran and I admit that at first I could not seem to get into the story. There are times when, whether due to being too tired, too rushed, or too something, I just need a light read. Maybe this is what I thought this book would be. For whatever my reason, I had put this one aside for a better day.

I am so glad that I picked it up again, for this is a wonderful story, full of emotion More...

6 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 15, 2010

Julia rated it:

I bought this book by virtue of it's placement on All About Romance's 2009 Romance of the Year survey. I will certainly be mining AAR's other lists, as this book was the best historical romance I've read in awhile. Both hero and heroine were interesting and complex, and the personal growth they displayed (and the growth of their relationship) was beautifully written. James, in particular, was my favorite. He is high as a kite when we first meet him, and for once I felt the anger and angst of More...

0 comments like

Jul 10, 2009

Kim rated it:

An emotionally powerful & engrossing effort by Meredith Duran, but it lacks some of the punch, and much of the originality, of Duke of Shadows. Duran is a brilliant, gifted writer, but this book felt somewhat like watching an immensely talented aerialist opt to use a safety net. Where DOS was daring & innovative, Bound by Your Touch felt all too familiar. However, it's almost petty to quibble about something so clearly exceptional, simply because it wasn't what I expected, and this story is c More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 15, 2010

Isalys rated it:

Lydia Boyce is the eldest daughter of Henry Boyce, an archeologist who has spent a large part of his life digging in Egypt in search of rare artifacts. Lydia lost the man she loved to her sister and by 26 years old, accepted her fate as spinster and head of the family. One of her responsibilities was securing funds for her father's expedition(s). She was attempting to do this during a meeting with some very important and wealthy gentlemen when she was rudely interrupted by James Durham, Viscount More...

3 comments like

Aug 25, 2010

Kalynn rated it:

I stayed up late into the night reading this book, and in the end, I did enjoy it. I like Meredith Duran's writing and her attention to character development. The one problem I had with this was that I felt distanced from the story. I'm not sure if this was due to to the occasionally over lush language or something else. Even with the beautiful writing and the well structured scenes, the book occasionally felt like an ethnography rather than a romance novel.

My problems, however, a More...

0 comments like

Nov 07, 2010

Donna rated it:

I really don't know what to say about this book. It took me over 200 pages to start really liking it and then I just loved the ending. There were a lot of things I didn't like about the beginning; James' sister's situation, James' and friends' drug use, Lydia's treatment by Sophie, and so on. James certainly wasn't a very empathetic character at the beginning and even though I liked Lydia, my lack of empathy for James tended to put me off of the entire book. But by the end, everything just fit t More...

0 comments like

Jun 22, 2010

Nadine rated it:

This book really took me by surprise. It's got a cheesy title and a tawdry cover, so I didn't expect much (I know, I know, but I DO still judge books by their covers). To my delighted surprise, I discovered that this book has a lot more in common w/ Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody mysteries than it does w/ a trashy romance. I stayed up far too late reading this. I positively fell in love with the two main characters. Perhaps, if I'd been expecting it to be good, if I'd not been reading it More...

0 comments like

Nov 16, 2011

Suzie rated it:

Early in the book, I thought I wasn't going to like this as well as other books I've read by Ms. Duran. When will I learn? I was wrong. I loved these two characters. The heroine managed to be vulnerable even while she was being strong, and I loved the way the hero kept discovering things about her that were counter to the image she projected--and then rediscovering them later when she'd lulled him again into believing the image. The emotional content of this story is as deep and satisfying as ev More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 07, 2012

Abby rated it:

It's taken me a while, goodness knows why, to get back to Meredith Duran, even though DUKE OF SHADOWS is one of my favorite books ever.

BOUND BY YOUR TOUCH is just as interesting, sexy and heart-breaking as DUKE OF SHADOWS. Lydia Boyce is a confirmed spinster at 26 and has dedicated her life to assisting her father in his excavation work in Egypt. When James, Viscount Sanburne latest roguish escapade threaten Lydia's work and her father's reputation, she is determined to handle it herse More...

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Jan 30, 2012

Rowena rated it:

This is the first book that I read for the DIK Reading Challenge that the lovely ladies over at the DIK blog is running. I chose this book from Carolyn Jean's list and I have got to say that I really enjoyed this book.

I don't really know what I was expecting when I started this book but I heard a lot of good things about it and wanted to try it out long before now but it kept falling off my radar but boy am I glad that I finally picked it up to read. Duran did a great job of sucking me More...

0 comments like

Jun 30, 2011

Punya H. rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

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