Treasure Me by Robin DeHart review, giveaway, and guest post

Title: Treasure Me
Author: Robin DeHart
ISBN 9780446541985
Publish Date: 3/1/2011
Price: $7.99/$8.99
Genre: Historical Romance
Format: Mass Market Paperback
How I read it: Mass Market Paperback ARC from the publisher




The Legend Hunters . . .

The Men of Solomon's meet in secret, their very existence only a rumor among the best of Victorian society. They are treasure hunters, men of wealth and title, seekers of myths and legends. And no legend is as captivating as the Loch Ness monster . . .

Graeme Langford, Duke of Rothmore, has always been torn between his beloved Scottish homeland and his duty to the English Crown. Yet his is truly an adventurer's soul-and he's determined to find a long-lost stone hidden near Loch Ness.

Bookish Vanessa Pembrooke heads to the Highlands to prove the existence of the legendary beast. Instead she finds the first man who has ever shared her hunger for adventure. Soon Graeme and Vanessa are fighting a dangerous battle as well as their own simmering attraction. As their passion grows, so does the danger. Ultimately, they must risk everything to keep the cursed stone out of a murderer's hands. But can they survive without losing the greatest treasure of all-their love?


My Review
After catching her fiancé in a rather compromising position, Vanessa Pembrooke heads off to the Scottish Highlands in search of the legendary beastie of Loch Ness. After narrowly escaping one marriage, she now finds herself married to a man she does not know. Agreeing to annul the marriage as soon as possible, she then discovers that her husbands unusual work calls to the paleontologist at heart and it would be more beneficial to her studies if she could convince her husband that they needed to stay married.

Born to a Scottish mother and an English father, Graeme Langford finds himself torn between his duty to the English Crown and the pull of Highland homeland. As a member of the secretive treasure hunters club, Solomon’s, he has spent most of his life searching for the legendary Stone of Destiny, determined to find the true relic for his homeland. Yet when he finds himself with an accidental wife who has a penchant for adventure, he finds that things are becoming a bit out of hand.

Things go from hot and heated to dangerous in a matter of moments, when the two discover that a notorious villain is after the very treasure that Graeme seeks, as well as a few other gems that could possibly end the reign of Queen Victoria. Will the newlyweds be able to stop the destruction that is looming as well as sort out their accidental marriage?

My Thoughts:

I have been waiting to read this book, and I have to say that once it arrived I devoured it in one sitting and I was not disappointed. This is the book that I have been craving, not only does it offer passion it offers action, adventure, legend and lore. Thoroughly researched and well written, Treasure Me flows off the page with ease and will have you constantly turning the page. I also have to say that I fell in love with the characters of Graeme and Vanessa, they were simpatico from the start and I enjoyed watching them come to that realization as the book progressed. I also enjoyed how Fielding and Esme returned to the series. There is something about this trilogy that made me fall in love with them, and I cannot wait to reread their adventures.

Characters I enjoyed:
Graeme- I enjoyed his internal struggling, as he tried to come to grips with his duty to the Crown and the pull that his homeland of Scotland had upon him. Out of the three men in the Legend Hunters trilogy, I have to say that he is my favorite. Plus, I cannot resist a man in a kilt.

Vanessa- Like the other two women in this trilogy, she was not the typical damsel in distress that you see in most romance novels. She was determined, strong-willed, and feisty, throughout the book Graeme makes little comments about her not being like a typical English woman, and I have to agree, she had a strong spirit, I would describe her as a paleontologist at heart with the soul of an adventurer.

Moira- She was very intriguing, and I would have liked to have known more about her. I would love for her story be told.


*I also have to add that these treasures that are being searched for become almost like another character, and Robyn DeHart did an amazing job at including the history, lore, and mystery of each and every one of them.

Overall:

I have to say that I am sad to see this trilogy come to an end. I feel as though I am saying goodbye to friends, and I love it when I connect with a book(s) that make me feel that way. I would love to see one more book come out in this series that catches up with the three couples , kind of like one last treasure hunt that rounds out the series and brings it to a close.




I would like to thank Robyn DeHart for this lovely guest post

For today’s blog I was asked how I came up with the Legend Hunters idea and how I went about selecting each legend. What a great question. I went back to my idea file for this one to see what that initial thought was that I jotted down. It was something like this “elite gentlemen’s club who fancy themselves archaeologists”. So it started there, just that kernel of an idea that eventually grew into Solomon’s and my Legend Hunters.

Ever since I was a little girl I loved the idea of archaeology-old tombs, ancient relics and hidden treasures. Of course the thought of actually digging around in an underground cave or bug-infested room cured me of the fantasy very quickly. I mean the second Indian Jones made it abundantly clear that there are icky creepy-crawlies all over archeological sites. So if I can’t do it, I can at least write about it and pretend I get to do it, all from the safety of my house.

Coming up with the myths themselves was a different story entirely. I basically just started jotting down ideas that came to mind, fountain of youth, Pandora’s box, Atlantis, Excalibur, etc. I had enough ideas to fill several books, but when it came time to putting the series together I stuck with a trilogy because readers tend to like books in threes. Atlantis was actually the first idea and I thought I’d go with that one, but them Esme from Seduce Me came to life in my mind and Pandora’s Box became the first book in the series. Treasure Me features a joint myth with the Stone of Destiny and the Loch Ness monster and it was actually the very first book I ever wrote. Well, sort of.

Vanessa and Graeme were in that first book as was the general setting and some of the other characters, but the story is completely different. I basically took the characters’ names and started from scratch and built an entirely new world from that old book (that shall remain hidden under my bed). I had already done most of the research on the beastie, but I had a whole new myth to dig into with the Stone of Destiny and what I found was utterly fascinating. It immediately captured my attention the book just grew right out of that history. I love it when that happens!

So far Treasure Me is getting great reviews and I hope all of you will enjoy it too. You can read an excerpt on my website.

But I do have a question for all of you readers. When you read a series, do you prefer trilogies or open-ended series? Do you like to know when a group of books is coming to a close? What’s your favorite kind of series to read, books connected by characters (like in a family or a group of friends) or do you prefer another kind of connection tying them together?

Thanks so much for having me today!



About the author:

Known for her unique plotlines and authentic characters, Robyn is a favorite among readers and reviewers. Publishers Weekly claims her writing to be "comical and sexy" while the Chicago Tribune dubs her "wonderfully entertaining." A two-time Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice award nominee, Robyn has earned 4 star and 4 ¿ star top pick reviews on all her books and Kathe Robin says, "Like Amanda Quick, DeHart [will] keep you up all night."




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I have three copies of Treasure Me to giveaway.

To enter please answer the question that Robyn supplied:

When you read a series, do you prefer trilogies or open-ended series? Do you like to know when a group of books is coming to a close? What’s your favorite kind of series to read, books connected by characters (like in a family or a group of friends) or do you prefer another kind of connection tying them together?

Contest ends March 24th
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