Becket's Last Stand (A Beckets of Romney Marsh Novel, Book Seven): Kasey Michaels

"The Beckets of Romney Marsh saga continues...

“For years Courtland Becket had denied himself the only woman who stirred his blood, yet he could no longer pretend to ignore the lovely Cassandra. For gone was the girl he had once teased — replaced by a fully grown woman, adamant that they act on their long-denied feelings. It was time for the self-appointed protector of all things Becket to allow himself a taste of the forbidden.

“But passion's price might very well prove too high when an age-old enemy returns to wreak revenge against the entire Becket clan, leaving Courtland torn between his newfound love ... and his duty to the family that means more to him than life itself.”

I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED THE BECKETS OF ROMNEY MARSH SERIES!!! *Input fireworks and cheering children.* This book was probably one of the better ones of the series and it truly was nice to finally get to know Courtland. What was interesting was that the readers get to know Cassandra from her childhood in book one and watch her grow up into a woman with needs and desires. At times, it’s even hard for the reader to consider her grown up because she has been the baby of the family for so long.

Again, there were the editing errors that disappointed me. I would be reading and the story would be going excellently, and then…what…? Is that a typo or am I just not getting this…? It bothered me, there’s really nothing I can do about it.

All-in-all, the final chapters of the book were amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed them. They really brought every one of the Beckets together and it put them all in the places they belonged. Even the epilogue was cute—but I won’t give anything away!

I’m happy to be done with this series—yes, I know I complained a lot—but I think I will actually miss the Beckets and, looking back on it; I liked reading about their adventures a lot. That’s why now—whereas I probably wouldn’t have before—I will tentatively recommend this series. It does have its downfalls with typos, is a little difficult to understand, and there are broken, incomplete, or overly complex sentences, but it was a decent read.

The Return of the Prodigal (The Beckets of Romney Marsh Series, Book Six): Kasey Michaels

“Rian Becket had survived the nightmare of battle…only to find danger closer to home

“Being left in the care of the lovely Lisette, who tended to his every need, helped him forget the horrors of war. Yet though she played her part well, Rian's Becket intuition led him to believe there was more to the young woman than met the eye.

“Could she possibly be part of a conspiracy to destroy Rian and his friends—or even the entire Becket clan? And if she was aligned with the enemy, how would he ever bring himself to stop her, when she was beginning to mean more to him than life itself...?”

It was so nice to finally see more of Rian Becket. I every other book, he was a very minor character—though not as minor as Fanny—and the “pretty boy”. Through this book, the readers learned that he had so many other facets and was indeed the “romantical” young man that all of his brothers made fun of him to be. It was a sweet story and there was a huge twist that I had no idea was coming. The character of Lisette was well-written and developed. I liked how Kasey Michaels gave Lisette such a powerful personality.

But, again, there were tons of typos! One I can recall off the top of my head was when Rian was speaking. He said something like “but that is neither her nor there” instead of “here nor there”. This wasn’t major, but it was just that there were so many that it was disappointing to read because the editor can’t do his or her job. I’m going to start the final book in the series so I can finally know what happens to the Becket family!

A Reckless Beauty (A Beckets of Romney Marsh Novel, Book Five): Kasey Michaels

“The jaded and rebellious innocent…

“Fanny Becket has adored her adopted brother since the day they both lost their parents and became part of the Becket family. Where he goes, she has always followed. But pursuing him into battle, Fanny quickly finds herself in the line of fire and quite unexpectedly... in the embrace of a handsome stranger.

“Valentine Clement, Earl of Brede, has seen enough of fighting to know there is no advantage to be found at Waterloo. Yet the moment he spies Fanny he is duty bound to save the reckless beauty, most especially from herself. Although with a woman such as Fanny, it may very well be his lordship who is in need of true protection.”

This book was sweet. It was a touching story and the reader can feel the characters’ pain it was written so realistically. I will, however, bring up the reality of “typos”. You know how you will be reading a book and there will be a not-too-significant word missing or a misplaced apostrophe? Well, this book was missing actual important words in some of the sentences—and I’m not talking about one or two mistakes…there were like five of them. It was hard to read some of the sentences because of some of the missing words. I’m not blaming Kasey Michaels—as a writer, I know how easy it is to do—I’m saying that the editor was fairly lax in their duties to the author. This is what they get paid for and the editor couldn’t do it.

Anyway, I LOVED Valentine's character and Fanny—who was pretty much excluded from all of the other books and was thoroughly underdeveloped—was definitely explained more. I also enjoyed how Rian was elaborated on. The readers saw a more determined, serious, mature side to him and they felt for how he wanted to prove himself and have his “turn”. All in all, this was a decent book and I liked the historical aspects a lot.

A Most Unsuitable Groom (A Beckets of Romney Marsh Novel, Book Four): Kasey Michaels

“The Beckets of Romney Marsh saga continues...

“Beware the bridegroom...

“Hot-blooded Spencer Becket went off to war in America, full of passion and young ideals, only to return older, wiser and with part of his memory missing.

“Beware the bride...

“Fiery Mariah Rutledge arrived at Becket Hall one stormy night, heavy with child and more than willing to refresh Spencer's lost memory.

“Beware the battle...

“Forced to the altar, Spencer and Mariah have little time to explore their attraction before they uncover a plot to restore the recently vanquished Napoleon to power in a most unusual--and deadly—way. Bound by the secrets that keep the Beckets safe from harm, Spencer and Mariah must battle the world and their own devils in order to prevent a tragedy... but what will be the price of their victory?”

I actually finished this book a few days ago, but with college starting and everything else, I just got a chance to sit down and review it. (What’s funny is that this was the first book that my friend showed me that got me interested in this series.)So, as the next in this series by Kasey Michaels, this was pretty good. I have to admit that this was the best in the series so far. It seems like the writing and storylines get better with every book and I am pleasantly surprised with Kasey Michaels. I found myself laughing at the wonderfully written awkward moments and I loved how Spencer FINALLY found his match. The characters were witty and feisty and it made me really enjoy the book.

Beware of Virtuous Women (A Beckets of Romney Marsh Novel, Book Three): Kasey Michaels

“The perfect daughter…secrets within secrets, lies within secrets, lies within lies

“Adopted daughter Eleanor Becket is dedicated to her family and its welfare. She is also a commendable commander, and a keeper of secrets, most especially her own. Who would ever expect this fragile beauty, with her quiet ways and her unfortunate limp, to be capable of anything more than her accomplishments at embroidery and her mastery of musical instruments?

“Only Jack Eastwood feels the need to look more deeply at this self-proclaimed spinster, and what he sees — and the long-ago crime he suspects — lead both Jack and Eleanor to the very edge of desire and danger. As the Beckets feel the outside world looking ever more closely at the nocturnal activities taking place in Romney Marsh, as the Black Ghost rides yet again, Eleanor Becket is forced to risk her family, her chance at love, even her life, in one desperate gamble.”

Again, this book took me much longer to read than it should have… I will, however, say that this book was the one that made an amazing amount of sense to me. FINALLY, Michaels has decided to shed some light and help her readers out! It was wonderful to finally be able to tell what the heck I was reading! There was more character development—which I really appreciated—and it was better-written. This book wasn’t perfect, but it was easier and more pleasant to read by leaps and bounds.
Again, I think I’m going to take a break from Kasey Michaels and read another book before reading the next in the series: A Most Unsuitable Groom.

The Dangerous Debutante (A Beckets of Romney Marsh Novel, Book Two): Kasey Michaels

“What makes a lady? Morgan Becket wouldn't know. The scandalous debutante is being sent off to London to have her first Season in hopes a gentleman will finally tame her. Yet shortly into her journey she meets Ethan Tanner, Earl of Aylesford — of noble blood, but surely too wild, too unprincipled, too unsuited for Morgan. Or perhaps too well suited.
“Since Morgan has always wanted anything everyone else says she can't have, Ethan is perfect for her. But upon arriving at Morgan's Romney Marsh home where Ethan wants to ask for her hand — he's already had her body — she realizes her suitor may have an ulterior motive for making her his wife. And a deceived debutante is a dangerous debutante ... Lord Aylesford, beware!”

This book took me a while to read (I actually finished this a few days ago) because I am so hesitant to continue reading Kasey Michaels. As a good friend of mine pointed out; Kasey Michaels’s writing sometimes seems to be forced. She uses long, run-on sentences that could be broken up into nearly three separate ones.

I will admit, however, that this book read much better than the first in this series. The beginning—like the first one—grabbed me and made me want to read more. It didn’t drag on nearly as bad as the other one and I enjoyed it more. I found myself smiling and pleasantly happy with the characters. I must say…though I’m not entirely proud of it…that the “love” scenes were not some of the best I have read. There is all of this build-up and then…wow…not as good as the last book… Of course, being as OCD as I am, I HAVE to finish the series and I have already started the next book in this series.

A Gentleman By Any Other Name (A Beckets of Romney Marsh Novel, Book One): Kasey Michaels

“Old enough to remember his beginning, Chance Becket has spent all of his thirty years trying to forget, hiding his unsavory youth behind a society marriage and a prestigious position with the War Office. But now the widower must confront his past and return to the windswept coast of Romney Marsh ... where the ghosts of his childhood still linger.

“Newly hired governess Julia Carruthers is delighted to be in charge of Chance's young daughter and eager to escape the confines of London. Yet the excitement of the journey to her employer's strange home is nothing compared to the attraction between them. And when Julia sees something she should not, she wonders if Chance's sudden intentions are prompted by ungentlemanly desires or his need to protect his family's secrets.”

This was the first time that I have read Kasey Michaels and it was a new experience, to be sure. I did like the book, but it seemed to drag on a bit as the story passed. I loved the whole idea behind this series and each of the characters were so charming that I found it not too difficult to tell them apart—no matter that there were nine Beckets! I found it helpful to have the Becket family tree beside me so I would be able to picture the characters with their respective ages at the time of this book (you can find it pretty easily at http://www.kaseymichaels.com/beckets_tree.html). Overall, this was a pleasing book, but it was full of overly-long sentences that could have been easily remedied. I will read the next book in the series, but I hope that it will not drag on as much as this one did.