I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
All For You
by
Lynn Kurland
It is part of the De Piaget #14 series and is a paranormal romance, time travel in Paperback edition that was published by Berkley on April 24, 2012 and has 303 pages.
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Other books in this series include [books_series]
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Love Came Just in Time, Tapestry, Stardust of Yesterday, One Enchanted Evening, One Magic Moment, From This Moment On, Spellweaver, Gift of Magic, Roses in Moonlight, Dreams of Lilacs, Ever My Love, A Tapestry of Spells, Star of the Morning, The Mage’s Daughter, Princess of the Sword, Dreamspinner, River of Dreams, Dreamer's Daughter, A Dance Through Time, This is All I Ask, The Very Thought of You, Another Chance to Dream, My Heart Stood Still, If I Had You
Fourteenth in the De Piaget paranormal romance series about the De Piaget family throughout time. The couple focus in this story is on Peaches and Stephen de Piaget, the future Earl of Artane in a contemporary England.
My Take
The ghosts are matchmaking again.
Peaches makes me nuts. She’s magnified some comments Stephen made into this HUGE thing, and he’s actually the fairy tale she claims to want. Not believable. She is so bloody overly sensitive about organic chemistry. Why be so damned sensitive when it’s a field in which I’m sure she gets lots of weird comments? Stephen says he thought it had to do with manure in the garden…pretty much the same comment that David makes later at which she laughs. Even when he makes it worse with all the put-downs about Stanford being in California and obviously mediocre because of that fact. She’s a stupid bitch, and she’s just pissing me off.
No, I don’t buy the set-up at Kenneworth House at all. The room she’s put in, the maid’s attitude, the horse David is insisting she ride. And Peaches just rolls over and takes it??? WTF? I just don’t get how Peaches can think David is “just so right”. And Stephen so wrong. Why would Peaches think so little of herself to allow the Prestons to abuse her? David is an ass. Irene is a bitch.
Look, Kurland, it’s one thing to write the words to tell us this, it’s another thing completely to show us and make us feel it! I have to assume that Kurland was simply trying to create tension, and all it’s doing is making me nauseous. Peaches thinks the incredibly rude David “taught advanced studies in manners”? Where was Kurland’s editor?? It’s that or Peaches is on some really fine drugs… Wait, maybe it’s me? Maybe I’m on drugs…??
I’m not sure Kurland was “with it” at the start of this story. She seems to have been rather desperate for filler. Very poorly done.
Okay, on the bright side, there’s a touch of Cinderella when Peaches loses her slipper going through the timegate.
Gimme a break! Stephen is busy fighting for their lives, and Peaches thinks it’s a good idea to try and get his attention to chat?? Again, WTF…
Oh lord, the clichéd “I have no money or titles” gag… Well, at least it’s consistent with most of the triteness in this story.
The Story
Subbing for Tess at a Cambridge luncheon and faking her way through it, Peaches meets Stephen de Piaget again. A quite chivalrous Stephen who covers for her deception and insists on seeing her back to Holly’s. However, the day doesn’t end well when Stephen encounters those matchmaking ghosts.
Back in contemporary England, Peaches finds herself undergoing a sea change and has another much more fairy tale-like ball to attend, albeit a bomb of a scandal drops.
The Characters
Peaches Alexander‘s career as a life coach is dead in the water when her twin lets loose. Fortunately, John knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who can help with Peaches’ sudden visa problem. And, well, Peaches has been wanting a change, she’d just had the idea that the change would be more organized.
Tess, Peaches’ twin, is the Lady of Sedgwick, Sedgwick Castle, and married to the ancient John de Piaget.
Stephen de Piaget, Viscount Haulton and Baron Etham, practices swordplay with Ian and Patrick MacLeod when he isn’t teaching Medieval History at Cambridge. Winston Humphrey is his extremely enterprising man.
David Preston, the Duke of Kenneworth, has marked Peaches for his next vic-…ah, love, and invited her to a ball. His sister Irene is a right bitch. Raphaela Preston is the Duchess of Kenneworth — David and Irene’s mother. Surprisingly, she’s a decent women unlike others, and she likes Peaches very much. Andrea Preston is David and Irene’s cousin and “seems” nice enough. Hubert of Kenneworth is a serious enemy of Robin’s.
Edwina has been hired to act as lady’s maid (and security) for Peaches while at Kenneworth House. Louise Heydon-Brooke, Lady Chattam, is also Stephen’s picky, pushy grandmother. An interfering, autocratic woman with high standards. She has no objections as to whom Stephen marries as long as she suits. And it’s not Peaches. Lord Gideon and Lady Megan have a daughter and appear in a cameo along with Lady Helen, Gideon and Stephen’s mother. Their father, Lord Edward, has an extremely brief appearance. It seems that Lord Reginald de Piaget, an early nineteenth century ass, er, earl, has a lot to answer for along with the cheating Lionel Preston, Duke of Kenneworth. Samuel and Theophilus de Piaget make an appearance in our time.
The Cover and Title
The cover is framed in the leafy greens of spring, flowers floating in the moat below the bridge that leads up to the castle. It’s almost a vacation just looking at it!
The title comes from a young man proposing to his girl — a violinist, the dancing and — “it’s All For Uou… Isn’t that reason enough?”
