A Lady by Midnight audiobook

4.5 STARS TO A FRUSTRATING AND HEARTWARMING HISTORICAL ROMANCE READ! Love is composed of a single soul, inhabiting two bodies. A Lady by Midnight is the 3rd book in the 'Spindle Cove' series. I have read the previous 2, and i absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them. They are amazing! Even though this book wasn't as good, it was pretty damn close!I was a tiny bit hesitant to read this because i didn't really like the characters when i first met them in book 1, but now? I'm happy to say my opinion changed. Meet the main characters! His embrace is all she's ever wanted. Kate Taylor finds friendship and acceptance in Spindle Cove after years of fending for herself. She finds everything, accept love, that is. The very last place she'd look for it is in Carporal Thorn's unwelcoming arms. The militia commander is cold to the bones but brutally handsome at the same time. But when mysterious strangers come searching for Kate, Thorn steps in as her fiance. He claims to only have her safety in mind, so why is there smoldering passion in his kiss?Long ago, Samuel Thorn devoted his life to guarding Kate's happiness. He wants what's best for her, and that's definitely not him. To outlast their temporary engagement, he must keep his hands off her and block out her warm smiles out of his empty heart. It's the toughest battle of this warriors life... one he's destined to loose. " You're like a gift," he said, his voice rough. "All wrapped up for someone else. A man can't look at you, but think of loosing those bows, one by one." I think i would enjoy this book so much more if it wasn't for the main characters. They were seriously getting on my nerves most of the time.Thorne was a very....cold character in the beginning. I really didn't like how he treated Kate, he kept on ignoring her and being rude. But he had his reasons, and i understood why he was the way he was. And even if he was sometimes a cold hearted asshole, you could still see the good in him. He is probably one of the most strongest characters i have read about. It's hard not to love him. I really liked how crude he was - I'm not a smoothly spoken man. If i put my wants into words, i'd have you blushing so hard your frock would turn a deeper shade of pink." What i didn't like was how he constantly kept thinking he wasn't good enough for Kate. Throughout the ENTIRE book he thought of himself as unworthy and as a result did things that just made me want to put my fist through a wall. "Am i causing you pain?" she asked."Always. Every time you're near."She turned her face away to hide her wounded reaction. "I'm sorry.""Not what i meant." He souded drunk. With his healthy hand, he nudged her jaw until she faced him. "You're too beautiful. It hurts." Kate was a great character that i kinda loved. She had such a good heart! She was kind to everyone, even those who tried to bring her down. She was smart and funny. What i didn't like about her, and what was most annoying, was how hard she tried to make Thorne like her. She literally begged him for complements. Even when the man pushed her around like shit, she was still clinging to him like freaking glue. Ever heard of something called dignity, girl? "Katie, i want you. I can't make it poetry. I can't make it sound anything other than crude, because it is. I want you in my bed. I want you under me, holding me. I want to bury my cock so deep inside of you." Wow. If that doesn't make you swoon, then i don't know what will! The sex scenes between Kate and Thorne were so passionate and hot, but also sweet and tender. Loved them! Especially naked Thorne *wink*Overall,A Lady by Midnight was definitely not a disappointing read! It was funny, passionate and entertaining. A beautifully written Historical Romance that i recommend to anyone! I'm really looking forwards to reading book 4! :) ...."Whatever soul i had, Katie, i think i placed it in your keeping twenty years ago. And now, it's as if.... every time we kiss you give a little piece of it back." Thanks Susanne for reading it with me!

Now,i have finally read Thornes and Kates love-story,in this unforgettable,funny,enlighting and sexy romance novel "A Lady by Midnight".I got intruged by the hero and heroine already from the first time in "A Night to Surrender" as supporting characters,and i just longed for their story as i longed for Colins and Minervas.[image error]Kate Taylor was light and flowers,Samuel Thorne was dark and thunder,together they matched completely.Loved them,adored them.The scene where Thorne gave her the puppy was so ADORABLE.He always were her forgotten protector from child-hood,and he did everything for her not to remember him.He was a hardened man who had lived with brutality and blood all his life,and seeing Kate as a lady,he thought himself undeserving of her and that he was far below her.Still Kate bewitched him and made him her slave with just one smile,small seduction,and he went weak for her.Their passionate love was so beautiful,and the steamy scenes was...so HOT as i expected after their smothering hot sexual chemistry.The scene near the end when Thorne make Bram (hero in "A Night to Surrender") swear that he will not release him from the chains in the prison until Kate married Evan was just so hilarious i really laughed until i fell off my chair.Oh THORNE!!!!LOVE LOVE YOU!So adorable that he made Colin (hero from "A Week to be Wicked" teach him how to behave as a gentleman and dance,just so he could be deserving of Kate,when he so much despised Colin.That just made me melt.Ohhh..Kate was a heroine with fire,with all the hardships and the abandoned feeling she always had,thinking that no one ever wanted her,and all the while bravely put on a smile just made me apload for her.She was a strong heroine with hope and so much love to give,and i just love the way she fighted for her man.He was so scarred and destroyed inside,he needed it.Love that we get to meet the former heroes and heroines from the other books,and i just love the epiluge...where we see the happy ever after future of theirs..!***He shook his head. “You’re dreaming. Or confused. Overwrought by the day, perhaps. You can’t mean to suggest you’d give up everything here. The Gramercys, the wealth, all your friendships.”“To be with the man I love? Absolutely.”“Don’t.” His arm whipped around her and he turned, pressing her against the wall. “Don’t say it. You can’t love me.”“Are you doubting my sincerity? Or are you forbidding me to love you?”“Both.”He pinned her with a glare that was stern and fierce and ice-cold blue. So blue it made her heart sing. At last she knew why she’d carried that memory of blue in her heart.It was him. It had always been him.-Thorne and Kate

Loved it!

In the first two delightful volumes of this series, Tessa Dare introduced us to Spindle Cove, a Sussex coastal hamlet run by an extraordinary group of females. Women who don’t quite fit in to genteel society – spinsters, bluestockings, abandoned wives, and even the odd promiscuous young miss – find a haven among the denizens of the Queen’s Ruby rooming house. Miss Kate Taylor has found a comfortable life there teaching music to the visiting young ladies. Their cozy retreat was disturbed a year ago, however, when several of the King’s soldiers arrived to organize a militia to protect Spindle Cove from invasion by Napoleon. And for Miss Taylor, no man was more disturbing than the large, dark, taciturn Corporal Thorne. Although he pointedly ignored her, his very presence made her skin prickle, and her efforts to be friendly were invariably rewarded by his finding some excuse to leave her company.Kate is a orphan, a foundling educated at the forbidding Margate school, who has never attracted the notice of any man. Although she is relentlessly cheerful and chatty, she is self-conscious about a port wine birthmark on her temple and believes that Thorne is repelled by it and her. One day, however, when she finds herself stranded in nearby Hastings without sufficient funds to return to Spindle Cove, Corporal Thorne comes to her rescue. On the way home, they share a passionate kiss, and Kate discovers that Thorne harbors a deep attraction to her, along with a surprisingly fiery protectiveness. When they arrive in Spindle Cove and find a decidedly odd family of aristocrats waiting to meet Kate, Thorne is immediately suspicious. When this family declares that Kate may be a long-lost illegitimate cousin, Thorne decides she needs protection from these strange strangers and declares himself to be her fiancé. Kate goes along with Thorne’s deception, agreeing with him that if she is indeed taken into the Gramercy family she can break the betrothal and Thorne can follow his plans to leave the army and move to America. There are many more secrets to be revealed, however, about not only Kate’s past but also Corporal Thorne’s. (Some of the early reviews, I think, give too much away, so perhaps should be avoided.) Kate finds herself falling in love with the handsome, forbidding Thorne, and Thorne finds it hard to resist her tempting charms. Along the way, we are treated to visits by Bram and Susanna (from A Night to Surrender) and Colin and Minerva (from A Week to Be Wicked). Their stories were fun and filled with humor, but A Lady by Midnight is much more somber and touching. Still, Dare fills the story with good humor and her usual collection of entertaining secondary characters, a disastrous ball, and a farcical duel. I can’t wait to return to Spindle Cove, but how will I bear to wait until 2013 for Any Duchess Will Do?One final note: although this books works well as a stand alone, I think that for maximum enjoyment the series really should be read in order. Heartfelt thanks to Avon and Edelweiss for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this highly recommended story.

Oh Captain, my Captain…well I guess Thorne is a corporal but that is close enough for me. He is a hard and sturdy man who seems to have a little soft spot for Kate, not that she would ever know it as he has kept his distance for both their own good. Thorne seems to know something of Kate’s past and wants to keep if hidden from her as the truth might hurt more than not knowing.Kate has always noticed Corporal Thorne and she had heard many tales of his exploits with women but she has always assumed his indifference to her was because of the heart shaped port birthmark on her temple. Little could she know that he is holding a key to her past. They are thrown together in unexpectedly when a group of people come to town believing she is their long lost relation. As they spend more time closely together everything starts to unravel and the secrets of the past will not stay at bay forever. Kate must decide what she wants more, the family she has always longed for or a love she never knew existed. ‘Love is composed of a single soul, inhabiting two bodies.’ ” He took her by the shoulders, drawing her close. “It rang true for me, in a way nothing else did. Whatever soul I had, Katie, I think I placed it in your keeping twenty years ago. And now, it’s as if . . . every time we kiss, you give a little piece of it back.” I like Kate, she is stubborn and headstrong but also very loving and tender. I felt very sympathetic to her from the beginning as she had such humble beginnings and was an orphan. If anyone was going to break through that hard shell around Thorne it was her. Thorne is very likable even though he tries to put on a tough exterior he is very broken inside from his past and all of his actions are what he believes to be in the best interest of Kate Tessa Dare novels are usually fun and flirty with just enough angst to make it interesting but not over the top. I really like the way the two of them gradually came together and the bond they were able to create. I also enjoyed how their past played a role and how.Sometimes side characters are what make a novel as well and I do have to say the marquess, his sisters and aunt were fun additions. Harry cracked me up with her unusual manners for a woman of means, Lark with her complete obliviousness to anything dubious and Aunt Marmoset with her wicked tongue.“Well, that’s a lovely view for a picnic,” Aunt Marmoset said, joining them. “I do enjoy gazing upon a well-carved man.” “He’s called ‘the Long Man of Wilmington,’ Aunt Marmoset.” Lark scribbled in her journal.“How odd. I’d been under the impression his name was Corporal Thorne.” Aunt Marmoset came and put her hand in Kate’s pocket. “My dear, hold onto that one. Tightly, and with all four limbs.” Kate blushed. “I don’t know what you mean.” “Yes, you do. We have similar tastes.” The old lady withdrew her hand, leaving Kate’s pocket oddly heavier—full of spice drops, she assumed. “Remember what I told you,” Aunt Marmoset whispered. “Strong. Overwhelming at first. But with a bit of work, you arrive at the sweetness.”What I have learned from reading novels set in Spindle Cove is that anytime there is a ball something eventful is going to happen, they do seem to be cursed. I really did enjoy the characters of this novel and the very cute ending to their story.Solid Fluffy Happy Day Historical Romance.

An absolutely fabulous romance. I ADORE both the hero and heroine. Goes straight to the top of my favorite of 2012 list. The heroine Kate has a birthmark on her face, and she was abandoned as a young child, ending up in an orphange type school. While her childhood was not horrid, she has always been lonely, having no true family. She lives in Spindle Cove and teaches music.For the past year, Thorne has been stationed with the militia in Spindle Cove. He crushes on Kate..from a distance. To her, he is aloof and cold and never converses with her. For him, Kate is the epitome of beauty and he wants her. But he doesn't think he is good enough for her. *sobs* Oh Thorne! And Kate is so lonely! *sobs* Oh Kate!!!!!And then one day, he has to help her home, and all of a sudden emotions overcome him and he kisses her. SO now she knows he likes her, but he is so stubborn he keeps pushing her away. But Kate is too adorable and won't let him go. And the tables turn, as she is the one that must convince him HE is worth it. He is handsome. SO romantic. SO sexy. I adore.

Rating: A ... Heat: HotKate Taylor has found a home and true friends in Spindle Cove. After a childhood spent at an austere school for young ladies, she has built some measure of peace and happiness for herself at the seaside locale. That peace is transformed into chaos when a kooky family, the Grammercys, come calling upon Kate--claiming her as their long lost cousin.Corporal Thorne doesn't trust the Grammercys. When it comes to Kate's well-being and happiness, he will do anything to protect her. Even if it means breaking his vow to himself to stay away from her. Becoming betrothed to her, in order to offer her his protection, seems like the natural thing to do. After years of watching out for her, it's the least he can do before departing from her life for good.Kate was such a delightful heroine. From the very first, she had my heart. And it was tugged and poked and prodded at with each hurtful comment or painful memory she had to endure. Eternally optimistic, with a strength deep within, Kate had me rooting for her. It was gratifying to have a heroine so wholly her own person and not dependent on anyone else. Her desire for a connection, to know someone out there wants her - loves her - was deeply touching. Kate and I clicked immediately.Corporal Thorne had me with a puppy, a turnpike, a loaf of warm bread, and an even hotter first kiss. A man haunted by his past, he suffers from low self worth. He has seen and done things he believes makes him unworthy of love or affection. Or even capable of love himself. And yet he has such a strong, beating heart buried under many, many protective layers. Thorne is brave and honorable and chivalrous. His need for connection, for someone out there to see him and still want him - to know his darkness and not punish him for it - was so heartrending.And then there are the Grammercys, a nutty bunch of aristocrats who sweep into Kate's life and shake things up. There is Harry, a fun and modern woman with a sharp tongue... Lark, a sweet young lady who can cut to the quick of the matter... Evan, the patriarch of the family, filled with such turmoil, such fierce devotion... And Aunt Marmoset, full of open arms and pockets full of spice drops.I also loved Miz Dare's use of tattoos. They were such powerful markers of a rough life, the hardships Thorne had to face. And the epilogue featured such a moving way to transform them into something loving and beautiful.A Lady by Midnight is a sensational and stirring tale of two people finding themselves and each other. It is fraught with heartache and hope and love and laughs. Kate and Thorne heat the pages hotter than an adder snake venom-induced fever. (Which will make more sense once you’ve read it.)In March I declared A Week to Be Wicked (also by Miz Dare) to be my favorite Regency Era Historical Romance of 2012... Well, now I believe I'll revise that statement and declare it a tie! Favorite Quote: “Katie.” He groaned. “I burn for you.” Just a few husky words, but coming from a man so taciturn, she thought they must equal poetry. I burn for you. So hot, those words. So dangerous. Their effect was incendiary.-- A Romantic Book Affairs Review Find us on Twitter and Facebook too!