Twelve Nights

Clan Fraser #2

by Hope C. Tarr

Bad boy Callum Fraser is head over heels for the first time in his life. Only his beloved, the Lady Alys, is keeping him out of her bed until their wedding Christmas morning. It's enough to drive a man crazy

Still, he intends to make up for his restraint. There are many ways to seduce, and Callum's a master at all of them. His goal? To leave Alys shivering in desire, anticipating the many delicious ways he'll bring her pleasure on their wedding night and throughout the twelve days of Christmas.

At least that's the plan...until Alys's dead first husband shows up, very much alive

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Harlequin, Harlequin Blaze, Christmas, Historical

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Award-winning author of the American Songbook series: IRISH EYES and STARDUST (Joffe Books).

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Reviews

[Cheryl]

Uummmm... what to say about this one... ????

I picked up this book because I thought it would be a quick read and help give me some Christmas cheer. Well, I did read it pretty quick but it did not cheer me at all.

I didn't know that Harlequin Blaze novels could move one to tears! I cried, I actually cried quite a lot in this book!

The synopsis on the back of the book only tells what happens in the prologue, it tells nothing of what the book is actually about. Basically, you have a Scottish Laird who is supposedly a bad boy, unfeeling tough-guy. What you get is actually a love-sick pansy! I mean really, he kinda made me sick. He went on and on for paragraphs at a time describing his love for the heroine. Yuck!

The heroine is a reformed prostitute and refuses to do anything with the wimpy-Scot until they are married, and I mean she will not do anything! Well, maybe a few kisses.

Anyways, the story is dumb, maybe that is why I cried, maybe I was just tired or emotional or whatever. I do not recommend this book to anyone, unless you enjoy reading for pages on end of this supposed tough-guy acting like a delicate little flower and the heroine driving you insane! Glad to be done with this one!

[Mojca]

I’m a sucker for HR, yet I didn’t even finish the first chapter of this story. The heroine, a former prostitute, accepted a lord’s proposal, yet refused to allow him any access to her body, except for a few chaste kisses, until the day of their wedding. She wasn’t a virgin, she had also been married before, but wanted to feel like one on their wedding night. Stringing a guy along by his boy-club membership card for seven months was suddenly a huge reading-enthusiasm-dampener.
Until next time...Maybe.

[Janet]

HBZ #512 = 3+ stars

[Christy]

(scribd) finally the harlot gets the hea!

[Karen]

Well described romance book with believable characters and a good storyline.

[Jo Reads Romance]

Good romance, bad research
3 stars

This book follows on from Bound To Please, another Harlequin Blaze Historical that focuses on Callum's twin brother, Ewan. All the characters appear to have featured in the first novel and make an appearance in this one but you don't have to have read the first to totally understand the story or characters in this.

I'll start off with the good... Both Alys and Callum were likeable and realistic characters. Callum was strong but with a real weakness for Alys, and Alys, a girl with a past, was still relatable and someone to root for. The pair had good chemistry and a very real love for each other even if the sex scenes weren't particularly hot or plentiful.

The plot was interesting and kept me engaged and I really did enjoy Father Fearghas's journey and the things he encountered.

Now onto the bad... This book is set in Scotland in the 1400s but I was constantly thumping my head against the table while reading the book as the language, spelling and context of the words used was abominable. The characters "spoke" in an accent I've never heard anyone of the islands (or anywhere else in Scotland) speak and with words that I've never heard of. It was cringeworthy in the extreme. It's like the author thought to throw in a few "ochs", "ayes" and "the noos" and she's got herself a Scottish novel. I'm not expecting complete historical accuracy but a little research really wouldn't go amiss. Just because people say a word differently doesn't mean you have to spell them all differently! And some actually have proper spellings which the author completely disregards. Add to that the smattering of Americanisms and I was constantly jarred from the novel as I was reading.

I feel like I'm being extremely generous in giving this book 3 stars when I had so many bad things to say about it. However, I have to say that I liked the story, had no problem finishing it and that's despite all the flaws which is saying something! I'll admit that perhaps I shouldn't read novels set in Scotland as something invariably annoys me. If you're like me then perhaps I would pass on this book but if you're not bothered by things like that then I would recommend this book to you. The story's good and you can escape for a couple of hours.

[Maura]

Callum Fraser (Ewan's brother from Bound to Please) is in love with Lady Brianna MacLeod's maid - her name is Alys, she used to be a prostitute and she has a 1 year old son, Alisdair. She loves him too and they agree to marry at Christmas. But on the wedding day, her previous husband, Alisdair's father shows up and demands they accompany him back to London. And so, the angst begins in earnest. And I do meant it - there were moments that I was near tears feeling their angst. But then it became more of an adventure/mystery as I kept asking myself why on earth Alex, her previous husband, is doing this. So it was a good story overall. MUCH better than its predecessor. I liked Callum. He wasn't badass at all - very truly completely reformed. He showed wonderful restraint, he was celibate for the duration of their engagement and he was very fatherly to Alys's son. And boy did I feel for him and his reaction to Alys leaving with her husband. He was a lovely beta hero. Alys was just okay. I always had to cringe though when she began a thought, "In her whoring days," She was the least jaded former prostitute ever written. Light and innocence and all that.

I had a laugh out loud moment in which I honestly couldn't believe Alys's gall. She makes him promise to wait 7 months before the wedding - 7 months of celibacy. Then, on the night before their wedding, she tells him that a midwife said that because of her size, she might not be able to conceive another child. For a laird, that might just have been a deal breaker. That's the sort of thing you get out there well before the wedding night and certainly well before you make a man give up sex for 7 months. Had to roll my eyes.

[Lisbeth Eng]

The plot held my interest and the hero and heroine were well drawn and appealing. But because it is a sequel to Ms. Tarr's BOUND TO PLEASE, there was no build-up to the romance between hero Callum and heroine Alys. They seem to be in love before the book even begins. (TWELVE NIGHTS is the sequel to the romance between Callum's brother and Alys's friend, which I had not previously read.) I prefer to see the evolution of a romantic relationship, where the reader experiences its progression, and where hero and heroine are not in love and committed to each other in chapter one (or two).

[Joycee]

I read this as part of Blaze Historicals Bundle II.

This is my foray into Ms. Tarr's works - dunno yet if I'll delve deeper into her offerings. But I did enjoy this tale. I appreciated that both protagonists were "experienced" in the ways of love when they met - so I didn't have that little bit of "huh?" wonderment at how even virgins can suddenly be such bold experts. :)

[Maria Lina]

I've never rooted for, nor cried more for a couple, than I have with this book. It's brilliant!

[Dawn ♥ romance]

majority of the book spent in heartache ... not my kind of romance

[Jean Mc]

Not sure why this book was under blaze imprint it wasn't hot enough

[Darla Lee]

It was good, Bound to Please was better though as far as the love scenes were concerned.