Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom (The Renegade Royals)

Started out with much promise but then stated to drag after one third of the way through. I didn't care about the main characters, they seemed flat and one dimensional. There was lack of sensual tension . The plot dragged on unnecessarily . Towards the end I wasn't invested in the lead pair at all and was skipping to the dialogue. The heroine was lack luster . Nothing captivating about her personality.

Griffin Steele, bastard nephew of the Prince Regent, is a notorious owner of famous gambling hells and brothels. Just when he intended to slowly transfer his business ownership to others in preparation to leave for the Orient, an infant is mysteriously delivered on his doorstep with a note that it's in danger. Frantic, his mentor-cum-annoying-guardian Dominic Hunter (also Justine's godfather) sends over the indomitable Justine Brightmore to be the baby's nurse, and when an accidental scandal occurs, Griffin has no choice but to take Justine as his wife. Will their marriage ever brew affection, and possibly, love? Also important, just who is after that infant?

While the plot of this novel can be easily divided into halves - first being Griffin and Justine's earlier interactions as caretakers of the baby, and second is the trials of their marriage-of-convenience - their characterizations are far more complex, Griffin's more than Justine's. Justine, being the daughter of a well-known spy, had her fill of adventures from her unconventional upbringing by relatives (since her father was often away for his agent work), and wants only a quiet, respectable life in the countryside. She came to help Griffin as a owed favor to Dominic, and life with him is the exact opposite of what she intended, or what she thought she wanted. Justine's innately inquisitive nature clashes well with her outwardly prim and starched demeanor; her modest nature contrasting the nerves of steel within her, exhibiting in her not afraid to shoot a man down if necessary. Brava, Mrs. Kelly, for writing this wonderfully vulnerable yet tough heroine.

Griffin, on the other hand, fits the Bryonic hero of "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." In truth, he is one giant puzzle box that perplexes Justine to no end. He is fiercely protective of his independence after being oppressed by others while growing up, which shifted his loving side into those in his care. In this, he and Justine are the same - both are always trying to give and take care of others, without regard to themselves. Griffin, though, hides a world of pain with his mother abandoning him as a baby, his unwelcomed royal parentage, which creates the current him that is in between light and darkness. While his reputation is earthed in darkness, he himself baths in the light that was robbed from him in his childhood, and this melancholy realization endears him to Justine.

As Griffin and Justine come to understand each other, they discover something new of the other in every day of their lives, and the mystery surrounding the infant heightens to a climax as well. While that mystery is fairly predictable, I felt the action was too crammed near the end of the novel that seemed almost like deux ex machina. Aside from that, it may be a bit frustrating for Justine's insecurities to cloud the pages of her wondering if Griffin truly love her, but given her character, I overlooked it as a sign of her inversion - revealing more of her true self than the one she has attempted to mold.

Overall, I enjoyed Vanessa Kelly's writing and her nice blend of romantic action. Griffin's paternally antagonistic relationship with Dominic was a delight to read as well, and I can't wait to read Dominic's book with his lost love Chloe, Griffin's mother. (Then he'll become Griffin's stepfather! ^_^)

*Review copy courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley; yes it's an honest review

Great historical romance!

Griffin Steele, bastard son ofthe duke of Cumberland and well known rogue owner of gaming hell and a brothel is finalizing divesting him self of his last business the brothel; when a ruckus has him called to the front door a young street urchin carrying a basket with a baby claiming it is Griffin's . Finding a note and a ring within the basket reveals the mystery that the baby is in danger and for some reason the women who saw to the baby being dropped off believes the infan boy Stephen will be safe with Griffen, knowing his past.
Griffen wishes to find this women and get the infant returned he wishes to finish divesting his business and scoff on his world travel he has planned so he sends for his freind, cum guardian and spy. Dominic Hunter. Dominic arrives and agrees that the infant is most likely in danger and the ring seems to lead to Italian parentage agreeing with Griffen that a brothel and it's ladies are not the best source of care for the infant.dominic returns several days later with Ms Justine Brightmore a very proper young lady that he claims will be the babies nurse and to spite Griffen pointing out that his home next door to a brothel and with his reputation is no place for. A proper young lady, scandal can only follow , but lack of sleep and no desire to wait longer for help with th infant he agrees, with rules, Justine can not leve the house, she can not risk being seen.

Justine Brightmore is the Goddaughter of Dominic Hunter and her deceased father was a well known and respected spy for England , so she is familiar with the ups and downs of danger and prepared to protect herself if need be, though her nice quiet life as a ladies companion in the country is interrupted to be a nurse for the infant she is also determined to protect the child, now if she could just stop finding herself distracted by Griffen Steele.
Justine being a prime, proper and a bi of a blue stocking continually finds herself at odds with Griffen Steele, however the attraction between the too is evident and griffens respect for her immense, which becomes evident whenJustine defends the ladies in the brothel in Griffen and his men's abscence, which exposes her to rumor and scandal of the ton the very honorable and very attracted to Justine , Griffen wastes no time in stating and taking Justine for his wife to protect her reputation.
For Justin ethics is not the solution she wanted ,Moshe did no want backon a roller coaster life of ups and downs that she had a a child with her father, can these two work a marriage of conveinance into a real loving marriage, will they fnd baby Stephens mother, protect the infant from danger. Will Griffen leave to travel, will Justine travel with him?

Wonderful regency, well written hero and heroine, truly liked this was not a a insta love romance!

Book provided by Netgalley for honest review

The book's back cover provides an excellent summary to this story's plot, so I will not go into it- (no need- the description fits to a "T.").

The characters in this story remained truly consistent to their given traits and talents. Justine Brightmore is refreshingly a complete innocent, but very intelligent young woman. I truly enjoyed this character. She was paired with such a rake of a man (Griffin Steele)- the illegitimate son of Prince Ernest running a brother and gaming hall because he was raised by a good, hardworking couple that taught him all about caring and helping others, no matter the circumstance. Griffin learned to save his hard earned money and one day he had so much of it, that he purchased the businesses from his former employer.-- a circumstance that I can totally relate to and very much admire in a character.

The story starts off really slow and drags for the first 160 pages because it takes this long for the author to detail Justine's reasons for being summoned by her British Spy of a Godfather, Dominic in order to assist his dear friend Griffin to look after a mysterious baby that was left at the brothel's doorstep with only a note and a signet ring, signifying that the child must also come from royalty. Griffin can totally relate to these circumstances and allows for his friend Dominic to manage things so that he can run his businesses. But when mysterious break-in's and attempted baby-napping occurs, Justine is put in a very precarious situation. Thus Griffin can only do the right thing, and marry the innocent girl because if the London ton gets a hold of the gossip that the prim and proper Justine Brightmore was seen at a brothel, then she will be completely ruined.

Griffin is the biggest flirt and doesn't mind being put in this position, especially since Justine has all the nice curves in all the right places. I loved that Griffin was such a rake, but deep down inside, he had a heart of gold. Justine was very educated and loved her family members to death-- especially her Godfather. She was funny at times because she was such prude, but Griffin totally shook her out of it by the end of the story. The story wasn't full of steamy sex, and in fact it became rather annoying at times that these two couldn't get on with their intimacies as much as they should because of all the interruptions they would experience.-- This is one of the reasons why their relationship was a bit rushed at the end.

The real issue behind the baby's identity and circumstances was easily guessed, as well as who the mysterious woman that dropped him off at Griffin's door was.-- I do not want to spoil things here, but it really was heartfelt and bittersweet when we do learn the identity of who this woman was. I had even hoped that the short "novella" the author provided immediately after the story would have taken us into her story, but it was only touched upon lightly and the author mainly focused on two individuals that didn't even have supporting roles in "Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom." Does this mean that the author will later provide us with details as to her story in a book of her own later on?-- I truly hope so.

The romance and intimacy = ok.
The lead characters = loved them.
The supporting character of Dominic = reminded me of Lucien in Darnelle Harmon's series of the De Montforte family (Book One is the Wild One) and I totally fell in love with him. What a passionate man, but he was a bit of a schemer.
The plot = excellent; we had unusual circumstances for a romance, with international intrigue and suspense.

I guess I have to go back and read Book 1, Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard in this series?

Griffin and Justine are why romance novels are written. Who couldn't love a bad boy, renegade who is really a little boy deserted by his parents on the inside? Griffin thought he had his whole life figured out until Justine came along and showed him all he was missing. I'm loving this series!!

Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom is Book Two of Royal Renegades is out!! 41/2 *****! This is Griffin's book! You will love finding out his deep secrets! And as an added bonus by the awesome author Vanessa Kelly a surprise bonus will be found inside!!

Lovers of Regency romance with a roguish hero and a proper spinster will find this book irresistible. Griffin has a dangerous edge, but underneath, he is a honorable and loving man. His pursuit of Justine is thrilling. Justine is sweet and kind, but she stands up for herself, a great foil to Griffin. They strike sparks off each other with their wonderful chemistry. With just enough mystery to round out this sensual love story, this book is recommended to fans of the genre.
Danielle Hill--see entire review at adcmagazine.com

Griffin Steele, the most notorious scoundrel in all of London, has a bit of a problem. An infant boy has been delivered to his door with a cryptic message to keep him safe, and Griffin knows for certain that he isn't the father. While he waits for an old friend to identify the child's family, he must deal with the presence of a spinster summoned to serve as a nursemaid.

Justine Brightmore knows that she has to be careful when she enters the home of Griffin Steele. She's well aware of his reputation and the trouble it can cause for her. Marriage shields her from the gossip. However it only brings Justine closer to a man she's quickly falling for and who's intent on getting her into his bed.

I struggled to get through the first couple of chapters because of the period language. I understand that the author wanted to establish the setting, but it seemed really thick to me. Once I got used to it, though, the story flowed so well that I had trouble putting the book down.

Justine and Griffin struck me as more realistic than a lot of other romance heroines and heroes who are just characterizations of stereotypes. Justine as a spinster isn't at all confident when she's being romanced by Griffin. Her doubt was much more obvious than I usually see, and I really enjoyed that. Griffin seemed to have more of an edge than other heroes. I never felt quite sure that he would ever show Justine his softer side.

The chemistry between Justine and Griffin had me rationalizing that I could read just one more chapter before putting the book down. Of course I ended up reading another chapter and then one more. Though that chemistry alone couldn't have kept me so interested. The way that the secondary characters, especially the prostitutes, added a layer of realism to the world. They each had such interesting personalities that I didn't feel like they were just included to move the story along.

Overall, this would be a great book for someone who enjoys historical romances that include an interesting mystery.

Rating: 5/5

Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom by Vanessa Kelly will be published by Kensington Books as a paperback on April 5, 2014.

**I received an advanced copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.

Yes! I really enjoyed this historical romance by Vanessa Kelly. I have to confess that I was not particularly fond of the first book in the series but “Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom” did not disappoint! Griffin did not disappoint and Justine did not disappoint! Ms. Kelly delivers unique and interesting characters. The mystery surrounding the identity of the baby was perfectly paced throughout the story. For me, Griffin stole this story. He was such a fantastic character. Griffin Steele is the illegitimate son of the Prince Regent. Griffin grew up without his mother or father. Under the guidance of his uncle he lived a miserable childhood. Through his street smarts and gambling he became a rich man and owns a brother and gaming house. One night a baby is left and abandoned. He calls on his friend and spymaster Dominic. Dominic was also in the previous book. Dominic brings his goddaughter Justine to help Griffin with the baby. Griffin and Justine buttheads from the first moment they meet. Justine was not afraid of Griffin and he was captivated by her.
I thought that both Justine and Griffin had great chemistry. They had to face different challenges as the story unfolded. Although Justine was a great heroine I thought that she was the character that least evolved. Griffin is a rough character at first. He had a tough childhood and has only had to worry about himself. When Justine and the baby come along Griffin has to shift his priorities and change his perspective on his life. I thought that grew into a gentleman and really provided himself. Justine was harder because she refused to see Griffin for who he was instead of who he was rumored to be. Griffin was protective and devoted to Justine. She was hesitant at first and even towards the end.
Although I really enjoyed this story I thought that there was a lull in the middle of the story and then everything unfolded very quickly at the end. The surprise character at the end was completely unexpected. I also thought that the identity of the baby and his true identity was a little anti-climactic. But overall, this was a fun romance with a twist of adventure and mystery. I look forward to the next book in the series!

CONFESSIONS OF A ROYAL BRIDEGROOM was such a fun book to read. Griffin & Justine quickly became favourites. I always enjoy stories where the convenience of the marriage precedes the love, lust & romance. The world of spies & intrigue was fascinating. THE RENEGADE ROYALS is a series I will be following up on.