J. W. Garrett's Reviews > The Touch of Love

Rating: PG-17 or a mature reader: Adult themes, bawdy, risqué, suggestive, sexual humor, mild cursing. >>Angst Level: low-to-medium: Blackmail mystery to be solved. Misunderstanding between main characters to be resolved. That was a bit funny when he was saying one thing and she was thinking something completely different. >>Source: KU 8-18-21: When I first saw the covers and blurb on the books, I couldn’t tell if this was paranormal or not. So, for those who do not like paranormal, there were no spells or incantations just a book full of knowledge similar to a treatise on men and sexuality. It felt like Fate paring the right couples together in a happy-ever-after. I think I would have preferred more paranormal activity. That’s just me.

SPOILER ALERT: This review may contain *** spoilers ***

Background information from my review of book one: Lady Olivia Gosling had been perusing the shelves of the bookstore when a red-bound book literally fell from the top shelf onto her head… twice. She was intrigued by the title The Book of Love and felt it was a sign since she and her friends needed all the help they could get.

Olivia and her two best friends, Poppy Farthingale, and Lady Penelope Sherbourne had decided to use the information in the book in order to find true love. However, they needed to test their new theories and decided to practice with their male best friends. If it worked on them then they could safely use it to find husbands in the upcoming Season. It was hilarious as they decided which of their friends they would practice on. Since Nathaniel Sherbourne, the Earl of Welles was Penelope’s brother, she chose Thaddius MacLauren, Laird of Caithness as her test subject. Olivia chose Alexander Beastling [Beast], the Duke of Hartford. Poppy Farthingale chose Penelope’s brother Nathaniel as she was afraid of Beast. Now that the girls were set on their test frog… um… subject, Olivia decided to go first since the book belonged to her. The Beast never knew what hit him.”

Book two was very similar in tone to the first book. It could be read as a standalone but the background information was laid out for the reader in book one. I would not skip that part. Characters from book one had very minimal presence in this second story. This was purely Poppy and her Nathaniel finding their way to true love. However, all characters were present when they were needed.

This was a laugh-out-loud story with ridiculously naïve girls messing with things they had no idea about. Regency girls were kept ignorant about the ways of men. These girls had a book in their hands that spelled it out for them in a no-holds-barred format. The guys were horrified that their sister and her friends were delving into such a subject. It was probably out of character for the era but it was still funny.

The author made me like the characters and I really approved of the parings. I liked those guys. I am curious how the hot and cold relationship between Lady Penelope and Laird Thaddius MacLauren will be resolved in book three [The Taste of Love]. Yeah, that will be a battle of wills for sure.

The Book of Love Series:
Book 1: The Look of Love
Book 2: The Touch of Love
Book 3: The Taste of Love
Book 4: The Song of Love
Book 5: The Scent of Love
Book 6: The Kiss of Love
Book 7: The Chance of Love
Book 8: The Gift of Love
Book 9: The Heart of Love
Book 10: The Promise of Love
Book 11: The Wonder of Love
Book 12: The Journey of Love