Reading Fanatic Reviews
Regency RomanceFour Times the Temptation by Dayna Quince
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Mondadori, and Angus & Robertson
Four Times the Temptation*
Wallflower Comes out of her Shell
Luc and Jeanie meet at her first ball. When she looks around the room when she and her sisters are first being introduced to people, she notices Luc from afar and becomes embarrassed when he notices that she is looking at him. Later, she overhears him talking with a friend about her and her sisters being unlikely to make suitable matches due to the fact they are so poor; they’re only mistress material. Luc is affronted by this and doesn’t think it appropriate for this family of young gentlewomen. Soon he realizes that Jeannie has overheard them. They talked a little, and they share her first dance and her first kiss. Some months after, neither has forgotten that evening, and they meet again at a house party. They get to know each other, and their attraction builds. Unfortunately, Luc is a penniless viscount who needs an heiress to marry.
At the very start of the book, Jeannie is very mousy. It’s almost painful to read of that first ball. She gets embarrassed so quickly and allows her hopes for the evening to be shattered over the simple act of looking at one gentleman for too long. I’ll admit that she first came across to me as a bit silly in her actions and reactions. I thought it was interesting to watch her change over the course of the second house party when she meets Luke again, and they really get to know each other. Still, though, given how shy and embarrassable she was at the first ball, it’s hard to imagine her acting as she would later in the book.
I like the concurrent nature of this series of the Northumberland Nine. In this book in particular, I enjoyed the interaction between some of the men who are interested in the sisters.
I noticed a few peculiar editing issues in this book. I thought the book ended a bit abruptly. For so long, it looks like things won’t work out literally until pages before the end. I would like to have seen the ending drawn out a little bit more so the resolution could have been enjoyed.
The Wayward Bride by Anna Bradley
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, W. H. Smith, Mondadori, and Angus & Robertson
The Wayward Bride*
Love Quintangle
We meet Isla as she’s attempting to sneak out of the house to go for a ride. Her sister-in-law stops her because of fear of an impending storm, but later Isla sneaks out and does get trapped and lost when the snowstorm hits. Her brothers go in search of her and enlist the aid of Hugh, Lord Pierce, a neighbor. Hugh is the one who finds her, and he takes her back to his manor house to wait out the storm. She had been ostensibly riding out to the main road to check to see if her betrothed might be approaching, but she was also really wanting to pass by Hugh’s home, as she still hasn’t quite gotten over her feelings for him. As the book unfolds, it is clear that Hugh hasn’t gotten past their time together as well. Scandal has forced Isla’s betrothal to Sydney, whom she sees more like a brother. Meanwhile, on the road to Isla’s home, Sydney has gotten into a bad carriage accident and is getting care from a farmer who rescued him from the ditch he ended up in.
What will happen between Isla and Hugh? What will happen to Sydney?
I don’t know quite what to make of this book. I didn’t find any of the characters sympathetic, so I had a hard time getting into it. I found Hugh, who is supposed to be our straight hero, off-putting and creepy; he comes across as so harsh at the start. While he supposedly loves Isla, he doesn’t treat her in a gentlemanlike fashion while she is a guest in his home. Their supposed love and affection for each other did not come across as real; what was the basis for it? On a completely different note, it is a little too hard to believe that Isla would have had to stay in his house for so long. They had a sleigh, so why couldn’t she be returned?
The plot had too many complications. There wasn’t just a love triangle between Isla, Sydney, and Hugh. It was more like a love quintangle with the addition of Lucas and Juliana. The author seemed to parallel the two main couples’ storylines, with Hugh and Isla and Sydney and Lucas consummating their relationships around the same time.
While I don’t mind there being a gay romance plotline, something about it didn’t feel realistic to me. In his thoughts and reactions, Sydney didn’t come across like a man in a romance but more like a woman. I find myself wondering if a woman can genuinely write authentic gay romance without making one “the woman,” so to speak. Of course, too, given the times, an openly gay relationship was illegal, so it seems unlikely that Isla and others would so readily accept it. Also, there are two broken betrothals in this book, and back in those times, that was highly frowned upon. It seems odd to have not just one but two in this book.
The book had significant errors with grammar, punctuation, and usage. Commas seemed more problematic than usual in modern self-publish works. In fact, there were more commas than were needed, like in between phrases in a compound predicate.
I also didn’t think that the title was the best choice for this book; so much was going on, that “wayward bride” seemed the least of it!
Fortune’s Gamble by Diana Bold
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Fortune's Gamble*
Can He Assume the Life of His Half-Brother?
We meet the hero, Christian Barnes, as he is looking down at the face of his dead half-brother at Waterloo. Christian is the bastard son of the late viscount. The brothers look much alike, and in order to get better medical treatment for his own wounds, Christian decides to swap jackets and papers with his brother. Once back in England, he decides to take his brother’s place and become the viscount. He confides in his Uncle Theo, related on his father’s side, who knew about and did care about him. Things get complicated when Christian decides to go to the viscount’s country estate. He discovers that his brother has a marriage contract with a neighbor, Lady Rebecca. The girl has been steadfastly waiting for his return.
Will Christian be found out? Will Lady Rebecca notice the difference between the brothers? Who else might know who could topple this house of cards that Christian has created for himself?
I’ve read a lot of Regency Romance, but this particular spin on the imposter trope feels refreshingly new. Christian is a decent and sensitive gentleman–though he isn’t of that class, bastard son of a viscount and a maid–quite unlike his brother, who was never gentlemanlike while he was the one who was born to that privilege. Throughout most of the book, Christian doubts what he is doing and getting himself into, quite often thinking that he should give up the ruse. But he realizes that he can do good in a way that his brother would never have. He wants a home and security; this is what motivates him initially to assume his brother’s life. But soon he realizes that his actions will have an impact on others like his tenants and ultimately Lady Rebecca. Lady Rebecca, for her part, is a kind and intelligent woman who has been treated poorly by her own father, him seeming to only care about her as far as the marriage that she could make and the grandson that she could bear. Both Christian’s brother and her father have treated her so shabbily over the years that there is fertile ground for her to accept this changed this version of her former betrothed; he is now a man she can imagine making a good life with. I loved how Christian handled some of the ghosts of his brothers past, including Lady Rebecca and beyond. He is a good man and a perfect hero.
My only complaint about the book is that the story and the plot were bigger than the space given to it in this novella form. With the grand imposter story, so much could have been explored. For instance, at the very beginning of the book, I thought the London part felt rushed. I think it would have been wonderful to explore the time he spent in London before he saw Uncle Theo, a time which could have shown how he was struggling with his choices and what he needed to do next. Instead, this was just glossed over in a few lines. I would have liked to have seen, too, more of a development of the relationship between Christian and Lady Rebecca. They’re both awesome characters and have great chemistry, and I would have loved to have seen what was only hinted about or told actually shown in scenes and dialogue of their interactions. Some of it, too, was just too easy, like the author had to take shortcuts because of the novella-length constraints. I would have liked to have seen Christian’s mental struggle more, both in London and in the country. When he first met Lady Rebecca, after one meeting, he is already considering marrying her, and that seems rather too quick. These are great characters, and I would have loved to have seen their story developed more.
That said, this is an excellent story with characters you can’t help but empathize for as they are good people put in difficult circumstances. If you enjoy a Regency that’s a little bit different, you might enjoy the story.
The Damsel by Victoria Vale
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Google Play, Kobo, Mondadori, and Angus & Robertson
The Damsel*
Justice, Power, and Control in Regency England
The book opens with a large section detailing the tragic family background of Robert Stanley, our hero. He and our heroine, Lady Cassandra Lane, have a fateful meeting at a seedy tavern. She is there at the suggestion of her friend Millicent to find a man who will help her gain control of her fear of intimacy after her brutal assault by Lord Bertram Fairchild. She chooses Robert. He is there drowning his sorrows over Lady Daphne, who has just left with Adam Hartmoor; he had gone to propose to her. She gets the feeling that he would be a good man for her plan. They have quite a night! Cassandra is in control the entire time, and after they part, neither can entirely forget the experience. She comes back into his sphere when she removes to the dower house at the former Fairchild estate, which was purchased by a family member after the Fairchild family’s downfall. They quickly fall into a pattern of assignations of dominance and submission that they both enjoy. But this isn’t quite enough for Cassandra to regain her equilibrium. What matters to her most is justice. She seeks to avenge women who have been abused by men of power like she was.
How far will Lady Cassandra go in her pursuit of justice? Will she endanger herself or Robert? Where will her and Robert’s affair end? Will Lady Cassandra come to a better place in her life?
I have read the previous books in The Villains series. I was initially intrigued by the duology because it was listed as a dark Regency, and while I adore Regency, I wasn’t quite sure what “dark Regency” would be. So I was curious. The duology is very dark indeed as Hart wreaked vengeance upon the Fairchild family because of what Bertram did to Olivia. I absolutely adored the third book of the series, The Butterfly, which is Olivia’s story. Cassandra appeared briefly at the end of that book, and I was curious to see how her story would play out. This book is another very dark Regency tale. Cassandra has been so wounded not only by Bertram’s act but by her own response that she has become hardened and brittle, and now some five years after the attack, she’s wanting to take more control of her life, both sexually and against other predators like Bertram. At times, it is difficult to read how poorly she treats good-hearted, gentlemanly Robert, but the author has done well in showing why Cassandra acts as she does. Then, while watching her act against the predatory male members of the ton, you find yourself wondering how much will be enough for her and if she will be able to get a better place.
Robert is her perfect hero, the yin to her yang–and yes, I am purposely switching the genders here. He has known much suffering in his life even if he looks like the golden child. As his parents’ fourth son, he watched all of his brothers die throughout his childhood and as a young man. The extended section describing the Stanley family’s tragic history is heart-rending to read as the author does an excellent job in showing it, not just telling it; we can feel their pain. Certainly, it shows the fertile ground that made him both the perfect submissive (as he always bent to his mothers will) and the perfect masochist (as his mother was constantly trying to keep him from harm, often to the extreme). As they might say in Regency times, Robert and Cassandra were formed for each other.
While I hadn’t noticed it in the first two books–and I might have to go back and look at them–the author used symbolism here to great effect. There’s a pond near the border of the Stanley property where Cassandra likes to submerge herself as she contemplates the darkness. When Robert walks over to see their new neighbor, he watches transfixed as she enters, knowing that there are a ledge and a big drop off. When she doesn’t emerge for a while, he dives in to go after her. She resists and struggles but eventually lets him bring her to the surface. She lets him know that she didn’t need rescuing, as she was entirely in control of her actions. In beautiful symmetry at the end of the book, there is another scene at the pond. While what happens at this pond perhaps reflects their greater story, there is even a small bit of symbolism regarding tea versus coffee that shows Robert’s personal journey. By the end, they’re both better and stronger people, having grown because of their relationship.
In general, this entire series was darker than I typically like to read, and in particular, I am not a fan of dominant-submissive books. But what I appreciate is that this author has given the darkness in all of the books of this series context. This is not darkness for darkness’ sake, meant to titillate or arouse our more prurient interests. Rather, especially in the last two books in the series, she takes you to the characters’ personal hells and then leads them to the light, or at least to the promise of a better future, made more stark and beautiful due to the contrast. All of the characters in this series are three dimensional, and most are sympathetic to some degree, and the author was able to paint them with such vivid detail that I couldn’t help but understand their struggles and wish for them to have the best possible outcomes.
An Officer’s Vow by Penny Hampson
Available at Amazon only
Not part of Kindle Unlimited
An Officer's Vow*
An Officer and a Gentleman Vows to Protect Young Woman
Nate, now returning to England after being injured in the war against Napoleon, is thrown from his horse when it is startled by the presence of a young lady emerging from a hedge. Due to his injury, he needs assistance from the young woman to set himself to rights. As they talk, he finds her to be a level-headed young woman who is on her way to visit a friend who lives in a more distant area. Something doesn’t seem quite right to him, but he doesn’t press. He does offer his assistance.
From here the book takes a number of twists and turns as Nate and Lottie come to know and appreciate each other while he tries to protect her against the plots of an evil cousin. At times, it is quite humorous as they get themselves into situations that require subterfuge and prevarication. They quickly act quite well as a team and soon begin to esteem each other, though neither believes themselves worthy of the other.
Nate is an utterly swoon-worthy hero. In these types of romantic stories, I always have a soft spot for the wounded hero returning from war who questions his worthiness because of his injuries and his perceived feelings of not doing all he could for the cause and his brothers in arms. Nate is, in fact, on the road back to his father’s home, something he has avoided for some time because he feels like a failure and doesn’t want to see either his father’s pity or disappointment. His actions toward Lottie are always gentlemanly and kind; he looks out for her best interests, whether she wants him to or not.
Lottie has led a very sheltered life under her father’s protection, which is shattered after her father’s death. Her cousin inherits, and soon she learns he has a dastardly plot to get the money her father left to her. This is why she has left her house to seek shelter with a friend.
The book also had some wonderful secondary characters. In particular, I adored Nate’s father. He was so kind, generous, and loving, and just a little humorous; truly, Nate should have had no fear about returning home.
The plot in part has to do with spying and other matters of the realm.
Until about the halfway point, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters of Nate, Lottie, and Nate’s father were so well drawn that it was a delight to read their thoughts, actions, and reactions to wherever the plot was taking them. But then the author used several plot devices that are so common in these historical romances that I just about groaned, smacked my head, and stop reading. I won’t go into details, but they are standard devices in Regency novels. I hate when a plot seems to hinge on a happenstance that has a gazillion-in-one chance of actually taking place; then, this was flowed by another nearly de rigueur device when a plot has a villain with a plot against the heroine. The author had done so well in creating these fantastic, flawed, but noble characters that I wished she had taken that perhaps harder road and created a plot that wasn’t so cliched in the latter half. Even without those plot devices, the way that Lottie acted in the second half—both toward Nate and with the spying aspect of the plot—seemed incredibly out of character from what we knew of her earlier in the story and of her background. It’s hard to imagine a sheltered Regency girl acting as Lottie did.
For the first part of the book, I would highly recommend it. For the latter parts, not so much. Still, I did enjoy Nate’s and Lottie’s story; I just wish the author had kept the second half of the book more on track with what the first half of the book was like.
Dukes by the Dozen Collection, Various Authors
Available at Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, Mondadori, and Angus & Robertson
Dukes by the Dozen*
Delicious Baker’s Dozen of Dukes!
Despite what the title says, you have more than a dozen Regency and Georgian Dukes in this collection. The authors have given us a baker’s dozen of dukes instead! The stories in this book are not full novels; instead, it is a collection of novellas written just for this collection, one for each month of the year plus an extra. The stories do correspond to the respective months and seasons.
For a collection about dukes, this book actually had a set of fascinating heroines. In the first three stories, one is a worldly but honorable highwayman, another is a sarcastic and snarky ruined young lady, and the last is a newly minted duchess who already has serious doubts about her husband. Familiar Regency and romance tropes are explored, like friends to lovers, second chance at love, small misunderstandings that cause significant problems, love between those of different stations, and falling for someone already betrothed. Several of the novellas make good use of letters. More than one book has Scottish flavor (and even a Scottish duke!). Most of the dukes are young, but some are older or have had war experience. For heat level, the stories range from clean to steamy.
I won’t go into detail about all the novellas, but I will share a little about a couple of my favorite ones. By the way, the stories did vary in the number of errors in grammar, punctuation, and usage. More than a few stories were problematic with commas and other punctuation. Collections, I think, need to be edited by one editor to help smooth out the entire set of stories so that these errors and differences can be mitigated, making for more pleasant reading.
Here are a couple of favorites:
February – The Difference One Duke Makes by Elizabeth Essex
This duke arrives on England’s shores some ten years after he left it to join the Navy. Now back with just one arm due to injuries sustained in war, he finds out as soon as he stepped ashore—very nearly–that he is now the duke as his brother has passed. At a soiree at a neighboring estate, he meets up with one of his old childhood playmates, blank, who is now considered to be a ruined woman because she was found alone with his brother. They have a delightful back and forth as they both hide out during this get-together. It is clear that both have held a tendre for each other for a long time. Will the duke wish to marry the girl he has loved for a long time? What will his mother say? Would the scandal be tolerable? I love this Duke! He was so unsure of himself in his new role and because of his injury. It was fantastic, too, that the heroine readily accepted him in a warm and friendly way and could see the wonderful man he still was. My only quibble with the book is that they constantly used their childhood nicknames for each other, which got a little tedious.
April – The Duke and the Spring Flowers by Grace Burrowes
This duke is told by the Earl of Falmouth that his father promised that he would pick his duchess from amongst his three daughters, who all happen to be named after flowers. The duke is not too pleased about this but is willing to meet them at social engagements to see if one would suit. What I liked about this story was the humor and the relationship between the sisters. The Duke as well is funny to watch as he reacts to the idea and the young women. This was one story that had me smiling.
This collection is diverse enough did I imagine that almost any reader who enjoys Regency or Georgian romance will find several stories to enjoy here.
Heart of the Storm by Jane Thornley
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
Heart of the Storm*
Feisty Heroine Refuses to Be Victim
Emma, daughter of a wealthy man who runs a merchant ship trade, is not pleased with her father’s choice for her betrothed. She is sailing to Nova Scotia with the ultimate goal being Williamsburg in the colonies, where her betrothed will be taking on a new post. All of her plans are upended when she discovers her affianced dead.
Soon, Emma finds out that she is part of a much greater scheme against both her late betrothed and her father. Lord Jack Winston is set on revenge because something of value was taken by the dead man. He has commandeered one of Emma’s father ships and plans to seek treasure if only he can find the map that was taken from him.
Will Jack find the treasure map, and ultimately the treasure? What will he do with Emma? How will Emma react to now being held hostage? What will her future without her betrothed hold?
The book is written in a style that is different from most 18th- and 19th-century historical romance novels. There are parts that are a little tongue-in-cheek or with wry humor or even a little slapstick. Some of the writing had phrasing that felt a little awkward, hampering complete enjoyment of this sometimes zany and steamy story. Emma is a fierce heroine; she will not willingly play the role of victim that the men would like her to. Yet, this intrigues Lord Winston, and he soon finds himself in an internal battle between what he has planned and his growing feelings for the lady. At times, I found Lord Winston to be the gentleman he was brought up to be, but other times he succumbed to his baser instincts, both in word and action.
I like it that the author made the secondary characters three dimensional. Dottie is portrayed as a lady’s maid who is still rough around the edges as she struggles to speak and act properly and whom Emma is still trying to train properly. The captain tries to keep Lord Winston on track with the original mission in a very colorful and fun-to-watch way.
One Night for Seduction by Erica Ridley
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Google Play, Kobo, Scribd, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
One Night for Seduction*
How to Win a Wager and a Wife
The Duke of Colehaven is not one to pass up a wager, and he hasn’t lost one in 10 years. For this wager, he has to find a husband for the ward of one of his good friends. She has been called unmarriageable. Diana is a contented bluestocking spinster who wants nothing to do with marriage, as she doesn’t want to be controlled by any man. She has a great appreciation of numbers and lives a double life acting as if she were a government inspector. She goes to businesses and makes sure that they are using proper weights and measures so they don’t cheat the customers…or themselves!
Will the Duke be able to find a man willing to marry this woman? Will he be able to convince Diana that she should marry?
I found this to be a delightfully written book. There is a lot of humor, a lot of intelligence (and some interesting chess games!), and a lot of witty or telling banter between characters. The characters in this book are three dimensional–both the leads and the secondary characters. Diana is a fantastic heroine. She’s very smart, surprisingly funny, and knows her own mind. To hear her go on about mathematics and weights and measures was more amusing than it sounds. She’s very independent and believes in reciprocity between men and women in all things. Cole’s a great character as well. He, too, is not interested in marrying; he has very specific ideas about what his proper duchess should be like, and he hasn’t met her yet. He never expected to be the duke, so he treats people better than most others of his station. As Diana says, he is nice. I loved watching his relationship with his sister, Felicity. She is an excellent character in her own right, and brother and sister interacted well in a way that seemed natural between loving siblings.
If you enjoy well-written Regency with a little bit of humor and a bluestocking heroine, you might enjoy this book.
Her Midnight Sin by Sofie Darling
Paperback and eBook available at Amazon
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Audiobook available at Kobo
Her Midnight Sin*
The Devalued Dowager Viscountess and the Captain
The book opens as Captain Jake is supervising the unloading of his ship in London. He is to meet with his good friend, Viscount St. Albans. The nobleman intends to give the captain one of his properties. Unfortunately, that property is currently under the care of the Dowager Viscountess St. Albans. During her marriage and since the death of her husband, the Grange has been her project. She’s brought it back into the black, and it is her life. She asked the current viscount to give her a month to gather the funds to purchase the Grange outright. While she is visiting, Jake shows up and has a malarial relapse. The viscount convinces her to take him back to the Grange to convalesce in the country.
Will the viscountess be successful in gaining the land she’s worked so hard for? Or will it become Jake’s? What will she have to do to get the kind of money needed to purchase such a large estate?
I was very nearly put off this book at the very beginning as I found the part about Jake at the docks to be uninteresting. I’m glad I stuck with it, though, as it has turned out to be a much better read than I first thought. Callie, the viscountess, can be very humorous— intentionally and not—and it’s amusing to watch her try to make her way in a world that seems set against her. The story is also sometimes poignant, like when Jake believe that Callie is prejudiced against him because she can sense that he doesn’t belong in their world—not that she sees herself in competition with him to get the place that she believes he deserves.
This book takes place in the post-Regency, pre-Victorian era, and I found it to be a surprisingly good read with lots of twists and turns to the plot, some of which you won’t see coming but will enjoy.
The Eastbourne Earls by Elaine Hart
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
The Eastbourne Earls*
A Slightly Improved Collection of Regency Tales
This collection contains four books written by one author. I had read the first book before getting the collection. I thought the first book was problematic, but I always like to give authors a couple of chances to impress me. I know that writing is a skill that develops, and I wouldn’t want to miss an excellent author because of a not-so-good first or second book.
The four books included in this set are An Everlasting Love, A Healing Love, An Unexpected Love, and An Unconventional Love.
I can say that I see a little improvement in the second book, A Healing Love; the language is not as stiff and unnatural as it was in the first book, And Everlasting Love. Still, however, the book had a bit of a data dump at the beginning to set up the story, and other long narrative passages existed throughout the book probably which made it a little tedious at times. The rest of the books were similar in structure and issues. An Unexpected Love was very short and didn’t have much development.
Unfortunately, this volume–like the first book that I read by this author–is plagued with errors of grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage. Commas are particularly problematic. One word had a letter left off it. Other words and phrases weren’t quite right. For instance, the author used a phrase *civil whiskers*; I believe she might have meant civil whispers. I even looked up the phrase to make sure I wasn’t missing some arcane Regency terminology, but I did not see reference to the phrase. At times, the language was still too stilted, yet at other times, it was too modern, like using the words *stressed* or *bother* to describe emotions or emotional states.
I am a nurse, so I do have to quibble with some of the things that were assumed or stated in A Healing Love. Nursing during the time of Regency was not the profession that is today. So nurse Lydia would not have seen herself in that light nor would she have acted in certain, professional ways. Even back in World War I (100 years after the Regency era), nurses were seen as little more than women who helped ill patients with bodily functions, assist with tasks like feeding or writing letters, and other low-level duties. Even today, a nurse doesn’t diagnose a patient’s condition; that’s what doctors do. So it seems strange when Lord Walcott asks her to do so, and with some hedging, she does it.
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