The Diplomat's Pregnant Bride - Merline Lovelace (HD #2274 - Dec 2013)

Series: Duchess Diaries (Book 2)

Will inconvenient pregnancy lead to convenient matrimony?

A wild weekend changes Gina St. Sebastian's life, but one thing won't change -- her marital status. Ambassador Jack Mason, the dashing, arrogant father of her unborn baby, can forget about a marriage of convenience. She's perfectly capable without him. Never mind the heat between them. That's pregnancy hormones!

Jack will deploy his formidable charms to do what's right -- marriage for the baby's sake. Yet the more he tries to convince Gina, the more he realizes he wants her as much as he wants his child….

Very good book.  We first met Gina in A Business Engagement, as Sarah's flighty younger sister.   At the end of that book, Gina has called on Sarah for help after finding herself pregnant with Jack's baby.  Gina has decided it's time for her to grow up and face her responsibilities.  She's decided on a career and feels quite capable of raising her baby on her own.  Jack wants Gina to marry him right away for the baby's sake.  It doesn't hurt that he's hot for her too.  

Gina was great.  She's been pretty flighty and definitely ready for a good time.  She had a really great weekend with Jack but wasn't expecting anything more.  Finding out she was pregnant really freaked her out and she panicked, leaving him a somewhat incoherent phone message before fleeing to Switzerland.  While there she calmed down and decided to get her life in order and raise the baby.  She didn't expect Jack to come tearing after her and propose that they get married right away.  Gina still feels the same attraction for him, but she's not going to marry a man she doesn't love and who certainly doesn't love her.  She knows that he's still hung up on his late wife and that's not what she wants in a marriage.  I loved the way that Gina had enough respect for herself to stand up to Jack.  She wasn't going to settle for anything less than what she felt she deserved.  I also liked the way that she went after the job she wanted on her own merits not by getting assistance from people she knows.  I enjoyed seeing the way that Gina did her job so well and earned the respect of her coworkers.  There are a couple places that made me laugh out loud.  One was when she was every inch the Grand Duchess's granddaughter and told off Jack's chief of staff.  She stood up to Jack's father quite well too. I also liked seeing how Gina and Jack spent time together and got to know each other.  This enabled Gina to realize that she was falling for Jack.  She suffers from a bit of an inferiority complex when she compares herself to his late wife and that makes her doubt their chances even more.  I loved her reaction to Jack's confession right before they were attacked.  It was great to see how things finally worked out for them.  I hope we get to see them again in the next books.

Jack is determined to get Gina to marry him.  He hates the idea of his child not growing up in a family.  However, he makes the mistake of thinking that Gina would be fine with a marriage of convenience.  Jack had been deeply in love with his wife and doesn't expect to ever love like that again.  He has been trying everything he can think of to get Gina to say yes and she refuses every time.  His frustration is pretty satisfying since he's being an idiot.  I liked the way that he decided to back off on the demands and just try to stay involved with her.  I loved seeing him come to respect her the more he got to know her and see her work.  It was great to see him step in a play bartender for awhile at one of her events.  He also discovered that he was thinking less about his wife and more about Gina, admitting to himself that maybe things hadn't been as terrific as his memories made them.  It was great seeing him stand up for her against his father, and I loved the jealousy that popped up around Gina's cousin.  The kidnapping scene had me really confused about whether Gina's cousin was a good guy or a bad guy.  Loved the conclusion to that bit of drama.  

There's also a nice setup for two more books in the series -- can't wait!

A Business Engagement - Merline Lovelace (HD #2256 - Sept 2013)

Series: Duchess Diaries (Book 1)

When the glossy magazine where Lady Sarah St. Sebastian works as an editor names Devon Hunter one of the Ten Sexiest Single Men, he is besieged by embarrassing attention. The perfect revenge? Force Sarah to play his fiancée during a business trip to Paris. Because of a recent family indiscretion, Sarah must agree if she wants to protect the St. Sebastian name. But in the City of Lights, their fake engagement unexpectedly leads to real desire -- and dangerous complications….

Fun and fast paced book.  I really liked both Sarah and Dev.  Dev's life has not been the same since Sarah's magazine named him one of the Top Ten Sexiest Single Men.  He can't go anywhere without women accosting him and now it's impacting his business also.  He's a very private guy and all the attention is making him really grouchy.  To top it all off he has video of Sarah's sister stealing an artifact from his home during a party.  He needs help countering the female attention and he has picked Sarah to provide that help.  To keep him from going to the police, she is going to have to act as his fiancee for the next six months.  I loved the way he started out intending a strictly business arrangement but quickly decided he wanted something far more.  The conversations between the two of them were great and the chemistry was explosive.  He didn't take long to declare his love for her, but also ended up making her doubt that love.  When he discovered a photographer from her magazine taking pictures, followed by a kidnapping attempt, he accused her of using their engagement for publicity.  He quickly realized his mistake, but the damage was done.  I really liked the way he thought about it and went into romantic courtship mode to show her his feelings.  And I loved the way he showed up in Switzerland.

Sarah is a fairly reserved woman who works hard at her job.  When she is confronted by "Number Three" Dev Hunter, she can't deny the attraction.  She is dismayed to hear about the trouble that Gina is in and will do whatever she can to prevent distressing her grandmother.  She consents to the fake engagement and rapidly finds that part of her wishes it were real.  I really enjoyed their interactions.  It was fun seeing her step in to protect him from one female on the first night they had dinner together.  She was a reluctant participant at first but was beginning to enjoy it while they were in Paris.  Things were going well for them and they decided to make their relationship real.  The next day someone attempts to kidnap her and Dev accuses her of participating in a publicity stunt.  She is devastated by his accusations and tries to break things off.  When Dev apologizes the next day she lets him know her feelings.  She thinks they rushed things and should back off and try to get to know each other better before going any further.  I loved the way that she was willing to work with him over the disagreement.  I also loved the way she had been standing up to her boss and how the latest bit was the final straw.  Things were starting to go better with Dev when she finally heard from her sister and went tearing off to see her leaving Dev behind.  Loved those scenes in Switzerland - now I can't wait to read Gina's story!