REVIEW: A Lesson in Chemistry with Inspector Bruce by Jillian Stone

A Lesson in Chemistry with Inspector Bruce by Jillian Stone

Series:The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard, #2.5

Publication Date:November 6th 2012

Publisher:Pocket Star

ebook, 100 pages
Useful Info: Goodreads, Author's Website

A force of attraction...too tempting to resist.

As readers of The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard series already know, Archibald “Archie” Bruce heads up the crime laboratory for Special Branch. Undervalued and overworked, the brilliant young man has no time for a social life—that is, until the heroine's father, a noted chemist in his own right, offers Archie a deal. He will modify a secret latex compound that will transfer fingerprints from the crime scene to the lab. In exchange, Archie must agree to tutor his charming but exasperating daughter, Miss Fiona A. Rose, for the major pharmacy exam.

But as Archie and Fiona attempt to study for the major, they can't help but get involved in a bit of sleuthing. Was the fire in the opium den accidental or deliberately set? Who was behind the lab explosion? Not to mention the strange and haunting memory of a masquerade ball and a very seductive kiss...

Amidst the pop quizzes and danger, Fiona and Archie ultimately find the force of attraction too tempting to resist.

A Lesson in Chemistry with Inspector Bruce is part of the very successful Gentlemen of Scotland Yard series, written by Jillian Stone. And if you read my reviews of the previous two books in this series, then you know that I'm in love with both Jillian Stone's writing style and her stories. So, it comes as no big surprise, that A Lesson in Chemistry with Inspector Bruce, didn't fail to impress me!

I'm usually not a big fan of novellas, because in most cases, the story and the plot are pretty basic, and the character development is non existent. Not that I haven't been impressed or really liked novellas, but in most cases, they fail me. So, I'm more than happy to admit that even with a novella, Jillian Stone manages to retain the same quality in her writing, that makes her stories truly stand out!

A Lesson in Chemistry with Inspector Bruce may be smaller than her full novels, but it's just as good as the previous two books in the series!

This story is about Inspector Bruce and Fiona, who fall in love during some seriously hot chemistry lessons and amidst a very dangerous setting! What's there not to love!

Inspector Bruce is as hot and smart and courageous as the rest of the Scotland Yard gentlemen, while Fiona is as independent as the previous two ladies we got to know in the previous books. One might believe that meeting characters that share the same qualities in each book in this series might be a little bit boring, but let me warn you here, that even though all the characters share some qualities, they are not alike, not by a long shot. You have enough reason to remember each and everyone of them for very different reasons :)

The story is again action packed, even if the resolution comes quicker due to the length of the story and probably for that very same reason, it was way to easy for me to guess the traitor. But even so, A Lesson in Chemistry with Inspector Bruce was a highly enjoyable read!

All in all, Jillian Stone manages to make me love her work more book by book! And with all those tempting glances at Agent Gunn, I just can't wait to read his story!

*This ARC was provided for a review from Edelweiss

REVIEW: A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis by Jillian Stone

A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis by Jillian Stone

Series:The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard, #2

Publication Date: August 28th 2012

Publisher:Pocket

Mass Market Paperback, 432 pages
Useful Info: Goodreads, Author's Website, Book Depository

The fates had been perversely mischievous of late—case in point, Raphael Lewis. . .

When Fanny Greyville-Nugent’s father suffers a gruesome death in the clutches of his own machine, mourning his loss is not the beautiful heiress’s only heartbreak. Scotland Yard is convinced he was targeted in a plot to halt the rise of industry, and Fanny’s former fiancé, dashing and dubious detective Raphael “Rafe” Lewis, has been assigned to the case.

For the estranged ex-lovers, bringing the notorious assassins to justice proves as tumultuous as quelling pent-up desires. Fighting peril and passion at every turn of a dangerous journey from Edinburgh to London, they are pursued by an anarchist group hell-bent on destroying her father’s mysterious entry into the London Industrial Exposition.

When an astonishing discovery about the couple’s failed engagement surfaces, the sleuthing duo realize they can trust no one. Rafe confesses new details about his infidelity and Fanny risks all to avenge her father’s murder. But will Rafe and Fanny triumph over the pain of their past?

I'm in love with Jillian Stone's writing style! Simple as that! A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis might be only the second book I read written by this author, but let me tell you, I'm pretty certain that she can't disappoint me, no matter what. There's just something unbelievably fresh in this author's style of writing that I simply can't get enough!

The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard is currently among my favorite historical romance and romantic suspense series for a number of reasons! Excellent writing style, a plot that makes it impossible to put those books down and heroes that you simply wish that they were real! In this second book in this series, we follow the adventures of Raphael and Fanny, who get reacquainted under the most difficult and dangerous situations and fall back in love, or to phrase it more correctly, manage to speak of their emotions to each other, because they never fell out of love!

Among the things that I love most in Jillian Stone's stories is the way she portrays her heroines. They are strong and independent in a time period that wanted women to stay in the shadows. I love how both Fanny, as well as Cassie in An Affair with Mister Kennedy, are women who speak their mind and don't just stay behind a strong male. Because let's face it, Stone knows how to write her heroes as alpha as one could hope! So, in the character department, no complains whatsoever from me!

Well, to be honest, I have no complains about anything in A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis! The plot is fast paced and action packed, with Fanny and Raphael being chased constantly, throughout the whole book, until the very end. The bad guys are also good and their cause believable whereas the writing style like I said at the beginning is just perfect! At least for me and my taste! From the moment I picked this book up, I just couldn't put it down!

All in all, Jillian Stone is among the most promising authors whose work I met last year and her stories simply addictive! If you love your Historical Romances from a fresh point of view and full of action, then just pick this series. You won't be disappointed!