This 2006 Harlequin historical anthology turned out to be a solid read. I'm not sure why I hadn't read it before now, but I'm glad I found it while I This 2006 Harlequin historical anthology turned out to be a solid read. I'm not sure why I hadn't read it before now, but I'm glad I found it while I was doing some rearranging in the basement.
The first story, A Soldier's Tale by Elizabeth Rolls might feel a tad predictable, but it's the kind of predictability that makes for a pleasant comfort read. Dominic, Viscount Alderley, has returned from war and family plans for him to marry a wealthy heiress to restore the family coffers. However, Dominic was horribly wounded in the war, and the one kind, understanding person he encounters upon returning home is his cousin Pippa. Pippa may be the family poor relation, but Dominic has always liked her and now that they are both adults, he is realizing his liking has turned to something more.
The romance in this story has a gentle, fairytale quality to it. Given Dominic's injuries, there are some Beauty and the Beast references, which are both sensitively handled and make sense within the story. And of course, since this is a bit of a fairytale, we've got the horrid relatives and happy ending. This one is a sweet and pleasant, if not earth-shattering, read. Grade: B
A Winter Night's Tale by Deborah Hale was a lovely story. We learn early on in the story that Jonathan Frost and Christabel once loved each other, but Christabel jilted Jonathan in favor of marrying a dashing young officer. Years later, when Jonathan finds his way to Christabel's doorstep, she is now an impoverished widow with a young son, and she is very ill. Jonathan fears for her life and whisks her away to his estate to recover.
As the story unfolds, the author does a good job of showing how Christabel might be led to break her betrothal and yet neither she nor Jonathan were villains in that scenario. She also answers all the questions of how Christabel ended up in such dire straits, why Jonathan never married, and so on without making those answers feel overly contrived. The scenes at Jonathan's home are different from the average Regency romance, and yet there is a warmth suffusing the story that made me want to keep reading. It was obvious that both leads have faced some serious struggles in their lives, as Christabel found herself utterly alone in the world, while Jonathan has had to learn how to compassionately care for a beloved relative with dementia.
As someone who works with the elderly and disabled, some aspects of the storyline involving Jonathan's aunt didn't quite work for me. However, aside from that, I enjoyed this story very much. Grade:B+
A Twelfth Night Tale by Diane Gaston is the final story. I normally enjoy Ms. Gaston's writing quite a bit but this story felt a bit rushed and truncated. This one is a second chance at love story. After a youthful romance, Elizabeth and Zachary were separated as Zachary went off to war. Now, years later, Elizabeth is employed as a governess. Her young charge has been cast out by her parents so Elizabeth is travelling with her in search of safe haven with other family.
They are caught in a storm and end up seeking refuge at what Elizabeth remembered as the home of Zachary's uncle. However, unbeknownst to her, Zachary has inherited and he is in residence. This sets in motion an emotionally charged Christmas romance. I enjoyed the story at first and I wanted to see how this reunion would work out. However, the pacing in this tale felt very rushed and the various threads of plot tied up abruptly and way too neatly. Grade: B-
Sadly, while this anthology was once available as an eBook, it seems to have been taken down (at least on Amazon). Still, it's readily and cheaply available in hard copy from a number of used booksellers and worth tracking down....more
With Halloween coming up, this month’s TBR Challenge theme is “Spooky (Gothic)”. I tried a couple of old gothics from my TBR, B+ at AAR, so 4.5 stars
With Halloween coming up, this month’s TBR Challenge theme is “Spooky (Gothic)”. I tried a couple of old gothics from my TBR, but neither of them stuck. So, I went in the direction of a darker-than-usual historical novel from an author whose historical romances I’ve enjoyed in the past. In a way, I would definitely call Blythe Gifford’s 2013 novel The Witch Finder spooky (and it is set in the days leading up to All Hallows Eve), but the scary moments in this book come from the realization of just how brutally a community can turn against someone rather than from anything supernatural.
Set in 1661 along the Scottish borders, this tale takes readers right into the thick of Scotland’s witch hunts and to the small village of Kirktoun, which has allegedly been set upon by a witch. The local blacksmith has lost a cow under what he sees as suspicious circumstances, and the local earl’s daughter grows ever more afflicted by what her father believes are supernatural torments. Under pressure from the earl, Reverend Dickson has sent out a call for a witch finder to come to Kirktoun and investigate.
Alexander Kincaid comes to the village and presents himself to Dickson as the witch finder. Upon his arrival, he soon crosses paths with Margret Reid and finds himself unsettled. He is told that Margret Reid is a widow from Glasgow who lives alone in a cottage just outside of the town. Though she reputedly keeps to herself and is fairly unremarkable, Alexander keeps finding his attention drawn to her as his investigation unfolds.
Needless to say, Margret finds Alexander’s scrutiny uncomfortable – in that time and place, any rational person would want to avoid the attention of a witch finder. However, Margret also carries plenty of secrets. For starters, she doesn’t live alone as the villagers believe. Instead she cares for her mother, a mentally ill woman driven deeper into illness by witch hunters in her past.
The author sets up the tension in her story very well and the characters’ backstories have obviously been crafted with care. Margret may be secretive, but she certainly has reasons for being so. Kirktoun is a hiding place for her, and her desire to keep her mother safe drives many of her actions.
B+ at AAR, so 4.5 stars When I saw this month’s TBR prompt of, “Drama!”, I immediately started roaming through my TBR pile and scanning the back coverB+ at AAR, so 4.5 stars When I saw this month’s TBR prompt of, “Drama!”, I immediately started roaming through my TBR pile and scanning the back cover blurbs for hints of wild antics. When I got to one of the very few ‘letter’ books by Amanda Quick that I still hadn't read, it delivered in spades. Mystique promised a mysterious crystal whom others have killed to possess, buried treasure, an evil uncle, and a fake betrothal to a hero named Hugh the Relentless. How could this NOT bring all the drama?
And, yes it did. First of all, for a medieval written in the 1990s, this book stands up incredibly well. This novel also reminded me of one thing about Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick that I loved back in the day. She can tell a story full of suspense and drama, and yet also make the romance portion of it feel downright cozy.
This story opens at the home of Lady Alice’s dreadful uncle. Hugh the Relentless shows up hot on the trail of a mysterious green crystal that has disappeared from the estate he has been awarded by his liege lord. Legend has it that the owner of the holding will lose it if he cannot hold the crystal. Hugh, an orphan born out of wedlock, has only gotten so many decent breaks in life, and he isn’t about to mess this one up.
When Hugh sweeps in with his soldiers, Alice sees her chance. She proposes a bargain with Hugh that will get her and her disabled brother out of their uncle’s clutches. So, the two embark on a temporary betrothal and join forces to find the mysterious green crystal.
The quest and the mystery surrounding it make for engaging reading, but the real star of the story is the romance. Hugh and Alice are both wounded in various ways, and as they learn to deal with each other, the relationship that blooms is deeply satisfying.
I have to admit that this one was something of a disappointment. It started off so well, and then just veered off into a very rushed ending. This I have to admit that this one was something of a disappointment. It started off so well, and then just veered off into a very rushed ending. This book is first in a trilogy centered on three young widows who lost their husbands to the Holmfirth flood in 1852. Emma Greyville-Luce lost her husband Garrett to the flood. While Garrett had been much older, the book makes it clear that this had been a love match for both of them and that Emma deeply mourns her loss.
However, Garrett's children from his first marriage did not care for their young stepmother, and his son and heir wastes no time in casting her out of the family home after the reading of the will. To the son's dismay, Garrett left his property in France to Emma and Emma relocates there, determined to start over and perhaps even to build a business there in wine country. Emma helped her father run his successful gin empire so while she does not know wine, she does know trade.
When Emma shows up, this causes no small amount of consternation for her husband's estate manager Julien Archambeau. You see, our buddy Julien is from an aristocratic family who lost their lands in the Revolution. Egged on by his uncle who remembers and longs for the old glory days, Julien has been nursing a dream of reclaiming the family land. The fact that Emma plans to take up residence there and (gasp!) take up the reins of the business blows a big hole in his plans.
In the initial chapters, the author does a fantastic job of setting up her story. Emma's grief rings true, and the details of her character show her to be a determined lady. I actually liked Emma quite a bit. She's smart and more importantly, she's smart enough to be humble and admit to what she doesn't know. And after having suffered through snobbery in England due to how her father made his money, as well as having lost a beloved spouse, Emma has a certain vulnerability as well.
Julien is a little harder to like. Apparently getting jilted by his fiancee turned him into a recluse - and then there's that whole matter of him coveting Emma's land. Still, he could have undermined Emma and run circles around her in the "how to run a winery" department but he chose not to. That integrity earned him points in my book. If I had to describe Julien, I'd say he is confident rather than alpha. He knows his land and his business and doesn't see a need to prove himself by bullying the heroine or anyone else.
As Emma and Julien start working together, the mutual respect and friendship that develops made for some good scenes. I enjoyed seeing Julien teach Emma more about the wines and the grapes. I also liked how the author showed Emma's development as a character in the early chapters. Ms. Scott has scenes that show Emma thinking deeply about how much she loved her husband and remembering the good parts of that relationship. Since the main action in the book starts up only a month or two after Garrett's death, it makes sense for Emma not to be ready to move on entirely just yet.
However, the book started to lose me when the author makes an abrupt shift from mourning to Emma suddenly being ready to hop right on Julien. I can accept that folks mourn differently and are ready for new relationships at different paces. However, the whiplash-inducing jump into a new relationship only 2 months after being widowed did not feel true to this particular character. Emma was growing as a person and making it clear that she needed time to figure herself and her own inner life out so the acceleration of a new relationship felt more like an author realizing that she was going to run out of page count if she didn't get this train moving rather than a character actually falling in love.
Had this book's plot been spread over a longer time period, it probably would have worked for me. If writing as strong as what I saw in the opening chapters extended across the entire novel, this would have been a five star read for me. Unfortunately, the ending didn't match the quality of the opening for me....more
This month’s prompt of “No place like home” took me straight into a gritty Western that worked well for me. I’m not sure I would have picked up ClaimiThis month’s prompt of “No place like home” took me straight into a gritty Western that worked well for me. I’m not sure I would have picked up Claiming Her Legacy were it not for Wendy’s review back in 2022. However, that review made me throw it into my next book order, and this turned out to be the perfect time to finally read it.
Home lies right at the center of this novel. Willa Malone and her two younger sisters have been left alone following the murder of her father. Willa’s late father was off hoping to hit it rich in the silver mines and after his death, the women learn that he had mortgaged their small farm to fund his expedition. The bank is ready to foreclose the loan, but Willa has one, last desperate idea to save the small, cramped cabin that she describes as nicest place she has ever lived.
Her last chance to save her home involves hunting down her father’s killer and bringing him to justice – a feat that will entitle her to a $1000.00 reward, a princely sum in 1890 Oklahoma. Willa is no curl tossing fool; she knows she will need a good, experienced person to help her if she's going to save her family's home. And she quickly learns that one of the best trackers in the business is right there in town. He may have retired, but Willa is determined to get Gideon Hartley to help her.
While this novel does feature a grueling and difficult trip through the wilderness to catch the outlaw, Ms. Goodnight spends a larger portion of the book setting up her story world. It’s a narrative choice that could have dragged the story down, but it worked curiously well for me. As the author introduces us to Willa’s family and the town of Sweet Clover, she does a good job of setting up various tensions and secrets in town, as well as creating characters I wanted to know more about.
Miss Gwen gets her book! When I saw who she would be paired with, I wasn't sure what I thought of that match, but Colonel William Reid grew on me as tMiss Gwen gets her book! When I saw who she would be paired with, I wasn't sure what I thought of that match, but Colonel William Reid grew on me as the book went along. I loved that the author wrote a book with leads in their 40s/50s, and she did such a good job of showing how Gwen and William bring out the best in each other.
The storyline centers on the disappearance of William's daughter and Miss Jane Wooliston's sister from a boarding school. Could it be connected to the Pink Carnation's work? That is Gwen's fear. William has his own fear and guilt over his daughter, and the two find themselves thrown together on the search for the missing young women.
As readers of the series know, there is also a modern storyline involving American grad student Eloise and Colin, the British man who is now very much her love interest. There are some intrigues over Selwick Hall involving Eloise, Colin and Colin's dreaded stepfather and while that narrative was entertaining, the real interest in this book was definitely Gwen's story. I've greatly enjoyed this series and I will be sad to reach the end....more
Are you in the mood for a joyful dream of a historical romance? One in which you know for sure the couple will have a long and happy life together? ThAre you in the mood for a joyful dream of a historical romance? One in which you know for sure the couple will have a long and happy life together? This is just such a comfort read. Not only does the author tell a lovely love story, but the descriptions of Venice and the story's roots in music made this one feel like a delight for the senses.
I've not been reading this series in order, so I can definitely say that this book stands on its own just fine. The heroine, Bridget Forrester, is the middle sister and has been somewhat eclipsed by her conventionally beautiful and more socially adept elder sister. After a disastrous experience with the London Season and humiliation due to her stage fright, she is at loose ends. A second chance comes in the form of damage to the family home, which makes her mother decide an escape to Venice might be in order.
Not only does Bridget have a change of scene, but she senses an opportunity. After all, Bridget is a fantastically good pianist. She is so good that, back in England, she attracted the attention of the noted composer Carpenini. She took his promise of lessons to heart and upon settling in in Venice, she seeks him out. While Carpenini doesn't remember her (and frankly has his own issues), his friend Oliver Merrick does.
Through a series of plot twists, Bridget ends up as a student of the great Carpenini. However, it is Oliver that helps her overcome stage fright and heal her rather bruised sense of self. I loved the musical scenes in this book, but I also enjoyed the friendship and budding relationship between Oliver and Bridget. The two have a mutual respect for each other that I found refreshing. (What can I say? I grew up in the 90s. Historical romance had a lot of alphaholes back then.)
Not only does Ms. Noble write her characters in such a way that one can believe in their HEA but she also structures the entire novel in such a way as to underscore it. This book was a happy breath of fresh air that I needed....more
I’d seen the buzz about Lydia San Andres Harlequin debut on Twitter, and I immediately picked up Compromised into a Scandalous Marriage for its settinI’d seen the buzz about Lydia San Andres Harlequin debut on Twitter, and I immediately picked up Compromised into a Scandalous Marriage for its setting. Set in the Dominican Republic in the early 20th century, this forced marriage tale is a tad formulaic, but in this author’s hands, it’s an engaging formula.
Paulina Despradel lives in San Pedro de Macoris, under the control of her older brother Antonio. Antonio watches Paulina like a hawk, giving her little opportunity to engage with anyone outside the family home. When Paulina meets their new neighbor, Sebastian Linares, she is immediately struck by his kindness and good looks.
After getting drunk one night, Antonio throws his sister out of the house into a storm. She seeks refuge at Sebastian’s home nearby. In the morning, Antonio shows up, eventually demanding the pair marry to protect Paulina’s reputation. It quickly becomes apparent that this was all a set-up by Antonio – but why?
From the beginning readers will figure out that Antonio is up to no good and of course, since this is a romance, the forced marriage will work out splendidly. However, the author does a lovely job of getting readers to that inevitable ending. Sebastian figures out pretty quickly that Antonio is not a good person, but it takes longer to determine whether Paulina was part of the plot or not. After all, Antonio is not as prosperous as the picture he presents to the town might suggest. The initial stages of the marriage, where Sebastian is determined to get an annulment and where he suspects Paulina of marrying him for his growing fortune, created a great deal of tension in the story.
While I have a huge TBR, it’s been a little while since I picked up much by way of freebies. For my TBR Challenge read this month, I went down memory While I have a huge TBR, it’s been a little while since I picked up much by way of freebies. For my TBR Challenge read this month, I went down memory lane a bit and pulled a novella that I picked up at RWA about ten years ago. Back before RWA went off the rails, I used to attend to get book news, publishing information, meet favorite authors and just spend time with other book bloggers. Along the way, I discovered a number of new-to-me authors and I always came home with a box full of what I hoped would be hidden treasures. The Short and Fascinating Tale of Angelina Whitcombe definitely falls into that ‘treasure’ category. This novella by Sabrina Darby is a wonderful take on the Beauty and the Beast story.
The basic set-up is a tad unusual. John Martin has come home haunted by the horrors of the Napoleonic Wars. He’s become something of a hermit, living in the ruins of an old castle on the family property in the north of England. His mother wants to see him married and settled and decides that she needs to get him interested in women again, so that he might be motivated to find a gently born wife. So, what does she do? She hires him a mistress.
That’s right. Angelina Whitcombe enters the picture as a mistress for hire. Once a successful actress, she has been spurned by her protector and is at somewhat of a loose end. She answers the ad in the newspaper, and finds herself wandering around the desolate castle ruin, ostensibly there to sketch the landscape. She manages to engineer a meeting with John, but the chemistry that builds between them is all too real.
The sexy love story that ensues is a strikingly beautiful one. John and Angelina are both wounded souls, even if the hermit-like John is perhaps the more obvious ‘Beast’ character in this scenario. Despite the somewhat cynical setup of the story, there is something incredibly tender about the writing in this novella. John and Angelina start to connect on a deeply emotional level and they become each other’s safest, most trusted person. Ms. Darby’s writing gives this story a very romantic feel.
When I saw this month’s TBR prompt, I immediately went looking through my Harlequin Historicals. Harlequin is one of the few publishers who reliably eWhen I saw this month’s TBR prompt, I immediately went looking through my Harlequin Historicals. Harlequin is one of the few publishers who reliably explores the world outside of Regency society. I’d been toying with the idea of doing a Helen Kirkman reread for a while, so I definitely had Vikings on the mind when I made my pick. Michelle Styles is a Harlequin author I’ve enjoyed in the past, so I chose To Wed a Viking Warrior.
It turns out that this novel is 3rd in a trilogy. While the leads from the first two books are mentioned and make a few appearances, this story stands on its own quite well. The heroine, Elene, is the youngest of three daughters of a Mercian aeldorman. Her older sisters have married Vikings who settled on nearby lands, and Elene’s father wants her married to someone that will meet the approval of the Mercian king so as to cement the family’s hold on its lands. Because of the politics in play, Elene’s father is vulnerable to machinations of his steward, who leads him to a candidate that Elene loathes – and who has issues, as one will see in the book.
As the novel opens, Elene is fleeing. She is discovered by a neighboring lord, Hafual. Hafual is also a Viking, but has been in the employ of the Mercian king. After having been widowed, Hafual simply wants to raise his young son and frankly, otherwise be left alone. He takes pity on Elene, though, and when he hears of her plight, he promises rescue.
At a banquet that evening, Elene’s father does something even worse than anticipated. He doesn’t just attempt to force a betrothal on her; he insists she be married at once. Elene and Hafual convincingly claim that they have been trysting in secret and have pledged to one another. And so, surprise wedding! This is a partial review. You can find the complete review here: https://allaboutromance.com/tbr-chall......more
I'd been longing to read a good angsty historical, and this book was amazing. It has been a while since I've read Jo Goodman, and every time I pick upI'd been longing to read a good angsty historical, and this book was amazing. It has been a while since I've read Jo Goodman, and every time I pick up one of her books, I'm reminded again of how well she writes. This tale of a damsel in distress has more than a few bizarre plot twists, but the author keeps the reader caught up in the story.
This first book in the Compass Club series brings North (Earl of Northam) together with Libby Penrose, the bluestocking friend and companion of an aristrocratic family. Much of the story takes place at a country house party, so we get to see Libby and North interacting with other guests - and of course North's three close school friends are on the guest list so we get to meet the "sequel bait" for future books.
Libby and North get drawn together at North is tasked with trying to find a mysterious jewel thief preying on the ton. Libby is clearly intelligent and also seems to be the one who runs things behind the scenes for her friends in their home. North find the whole arrangement intriguing, and he is more than a little drawn to Libby. And so it starts.
Libby and North's story ends up being quite an emotional one. And as Libby's secrets start to unravel, my heart ached for her. This book has plenty of twists and turns, and I don't want to throw in spoilers, but I will say that both Libby and North show themselves to be decent people who deserve their HEA. I've missed reading meaty, angsty historicals, and I could use more books like this one on my shelf....more
This Christmas romance was just adorable. Set in Albany, New York, immediately after WWI, it tells a gentle, warm story of very nice people getting toThis Christmas romance was just adorable. Set in Albany, New York, immediately after WWI, it tells a gentle, warm story of very nice people getting together.
As the book opens, Captain George Weston is coming home to Albany, where he will be working alongside his father and preparing to take over the family lumber company. While he was overseas fighting in the war, letters from the mysterious Beverly Buttons cheered him up and enveloped him with a feeling of warmth.
Emma, the writer behind the letters, has her reasons for keeping her identity a secret. However, now that George is back, he and Emma and the real Beverly Buttons all keep being thrown together. The attraction between George and Emma grows gradually, as they move through the fall and into Thanksgiving and then Christmas. This one is a kisses-only romance, but there is definite chemistry between the leads.
I liked how the author brought her characters together, but also showed them spending time with family and close friends important to them. George's family is especially close, and I enjoyed the scenes at his family home. I also appreciated how the author brought current events of the time into her story. There are frequent references to soldiers returning home and needing jobs, as well as mentions of the influenza epidemic. Emma is a school librarian, and one of the plot points covers efforts to put together gift baskets for children who lost parents to the disease.
There is some drama woven into the story, but overall, this is a warm and fuzzy sort of read. It definitely felt like a holiday comfort read. I got annoyed with some of Emma's choices toward the end because she definitely lets a scheming relative off the hook far too easily, but overall I enjoyed this....more
4.5 stars This one didn't wring me out emotionally in the same way as Ravishing the Heiress, but it was a thoroughly entertaining read and I adored th4.5 stars This one didn't wring me out emotionally in the same way as Ravishing the Heiress, but it was a thoroughly entertaining read and I adored the characters. Helena Fitzhugh starts off the book seeming very book-smart (she does run a publishing company), but perhaps a bit naive. When the man she fell for back in the day is pressured by his mother to marry elsewhere, she doesn't recognize his lack of spine for what it is. Instead she excuses it and when he expresses an interest in an affair, she lets herself get swept away.
David Hillsborough, now Viscount Hastings, has long been a treasured family friend to most of the Fitzhughs and a neverending torment to Helena. When David recognizes the scandal Helena is about to unleash upon herself, he hatches a rather clever plan to rescue the situation. There's only one hitch: Helena must marry him. The less-than-thrilled Helena marries David, promptly gets into an accident, and then the real story begins.
This one is an amnesia plot. When Helena awakens, she has no memory of anything beyond her childhood. Her memory ends shortly before David came into the Fitzhughs' lives, and she has to take it on faith that this man is who he says he is. The author does a great job of showing Helena's vulnerability, and we also see David carefully trying not to take advantage of it. There are times when he could have planted false memories in her head, but he chooses not to do so.
We learn early on that David fell in love with Helena years ago, and since their history has been wiped away in her mind, this book does start off with something of a new beginning for both of them. The growth of feeling between them really is quite well done, and I loved some of the conversations these two had.
Very rarely do I end up loving all the books in a series, but this trilogy is one of the best I've read. Highly recommend it....more
When I saw this month’s “After the War” prompt, I immediately thought of Diane Gaston’s Three Soldiers trilogy. I really enjoyed the first book, GWhen I saw this month’s “After the War” prompt, I immediately thought of Diane Gaston’s Three Soldiers trilogy. I really enjoyed the first book, Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady (my review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ), and I had been looking for an excuse to continue. This trilogy focuses on three soldiers who met in the aftermath of Badajoz, and follows them as they adjust back to civilian life after their experiences in the Napoleonic Wars.
Chivalrous Captain, Rebel Mistress is the second book in the trilogy, and focuses on Captain Allan Landon. As the younger son of a landed family, he took on a career in the army. The main action of the book opens at Waterloo, and just as the fighting is about the begin, Allan discovers a lost young boy near the battlefield. The young boy turns out to be a young woman named Marian Pallant. Marian had snuck out with her best friend as the friend went to see her sweetheart before the battle, and then became lost after falling off their horse.
Allan takes Marian to a chateau where he thinks she will be safe. These opening chapters are actually quite exciting as the author provides detail on the battle and we see Marian helping to evacuate people to safety. I loved that she could show Marian as levelheaded and good in a crisis, while also still making it clear that she’s still a naïve, untrained upper-class girl. Marian has empathy and good instincts, but she doesn’t suddenly morph into a superhero.
The romance which blooms after the war is anything but smooth for the protagonists, but I did enjoy the story. The two end up courting very soon after the war ends, though there are plenty of obstacles in their path. Some come from Allan’s military career since the cessation of hostilities doesn’t mean the end of his service assignments, and then there is the son of Marian’s guardian. This cousin isn’t an evil supervillain, but he is a feckless troublemaker.
This was a fun historical read. I enjoyed reading it now, but I think I would have loved a book like this back when I was in my early 20s. This is an This was a fun historical read. I enjoyed reading it now, but I think I would have loved a book like this back when I was in my early 20s. This is an endearing romance with a "coming of age" plot woven into it.
Miss Sophia Cooper is a young debutante with money, and her hero, Lord Ethan Rosemont, is not much older. He's the third son of a duke and since his brothers are still unmarried, he figures he's free to spend his 20s living it up. However, when he encounters Sophia being rebuffed at a ball hosted by his family, he is kind enough to step in.
His act of simple kindness for Sophia starts turning into a sense of concern. The more worldly Ethan sees that Sophia has been extremely sheltered and that she is clearly being maneuvered into a marriage with a man who may be a duke, but who certainly will not treat her with care and consideration. Even while Ethan acknowledges loveless marriages made for money and titles take place all the time, something about Sophia makes him want to try to open her eyes to the situation she is in.
This sense of protectiveness turns into friendship. Ethan is adamant that he is not yet ready to marry and Sophia knows that her widowed mother has her sights set higher than a mere third son. Still, each quietly acknowledges that there is just something about the other...
The yearning in this story is well done. Sophia definitely reads as very young and naive at the beginning of the book, but her character arc is well done. I loved that Ethan could be protective of her without overbearing her will. He leaves her room to make her own decisions and as a reader, it is satisfying to see her grow. Ethan grows in self-awareness quite a bit over this story as well. Because of the type of character growth in these leads, this book had something of a YA feel to it. I enjoyed it, and I would definitely recommend it to younger readers I know because I think they would appreciate it even more....more
This second book in the Westcott series won me over more easily than I expected. In the first book, Someone to Love, we see Camille Westcott as she leThis second book in the Westcott series won me over more easily than I expected. In the first book, Someone to Love, we see Camille Westcott as she learns of her late father's bigamy and her own disinheritance. In that book, we see Camille as snobbish, haughty and stiff. In other words, she's frankly not very likable.
In this book, she's not terribly likable at the beginning either. Having lost her position in Society as well as being very abruptly cast off by the fiance she thought she could trust to stay by her side, Camille and her younger sister have fled in shame to their grandmother in Bath. While their grandmother is an eminently respectable lady who is accepted in town society there, Camille still feels the sting of her exile. Determined the figure out her place in the world, she ends up taking a position as a teacher in the orphanage where Anna Snow, her father's only legitimate child, grew up.
Camille certainly does take to teaching. That was in some ways my only quibble with the book. Somehow Camille right away becomes not only a warm and beloved teacher, but also an educational innovator. That was a bit too Mary Sue for my tastes.
However, the rest of the story worked well for me. Camille soon crosses swords with Joel Cunningham, Anna's beloved friend and a noted artist in his own right. I enjoyed seeing the relationship between these two develop. Camille is prickly and standoffish, but she lets just enough wit and humor show to keep Joel (and the reader) intrigued.
Given that Camille was raised to know her place and to remain firmly within it, her struggle to figure out what she really wanted out of life felt very real in this book. Her world has truly been turned on its head and in the face of so much gossip and societal ostracism, it takes time for Camille to realize that she really does have people in her corner. It takes even longer for her to realize that she can rely on others without losing herself.
Seeing Camille grow greatly as a person as well as seeing her and Joel fall for each other made for a lovely story. I really like the various family members in this book, so I enjoyed revisiting their world....more
The prompt Tales of Old made me think of medieval right off the bat. I hit my TBR piles eagerly – and ended up DNF-ing a few medievals, so after that The prompt Tales of Old made me think of medieval right off the bat. I hit my TBR piles eagerly – and ended up DNF-ing a few medievals, so after that experience, I just wanted an author whose books normally work for me. Terri Brisbin’s books usually hit the spot, and while not my favorite by her, Tempted by Her Viking Enemy actually did come close. Even though it’s the last book in the Sons of Sigurd series, it works quite well as a standalone. I had issues with some of the revelations in the suspense plot, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t entertained at times.
Set in ninth century Scotland, this story focuses mostly on the goings on in the household of Thorfinn, a Norseman whose late first wife was one of the local Scottish women. The author sets the stage quickly, and it’s apparent that all is not well in Thorfinn’s household. For reasons that remain unclear, he has remarried Kolga, a Viking widow who apparently has a fair amount of land and power in her own right. The marriage is clearly a cause for tension between Thorfinn and his adult daughter, Katla.
As the story opens, a man mysteriously shows up and issues a challenge. Following a fierce fight, the injured prisoner is placed in the dungeon but Thorfinn mystifies his men by insisting the captive be kept alive to face justice before the king. It is revealed that Thorfinn owes this man his life, but he keeps the details to himself.
Thorfinn sends his widowed daughter Katla to tend to the prisoner, and there she learns that Brandt is himself the son of a Viking leader, Sigurd. Brandt and his brothers were cast off as outlaws after their father was declared a traitor and the brothers have been working to unravel the plot that led to false charges against their father and a massacre at the wedding of one of the brothers.
The setting in this book is almost claustrophobic since most of it takes place in the dungeon where Brandt is kept. However, that works fairly well given the storyline, because both of the leads spend a great deal of the story working through issues internally. The setting provides the space needed to advance the emotional side of the story, and there’s just enough external action to keep the suspense plot moving.
A fairytale retelling AND it’s a non-British historical? Sign me up. For this month’s TBR Challenge, I went old school with a 1997 historical romance A fairytale retelling AND it’s a non-British historical? Sign me up. For this month’s TBR Challenge, I went old school with a 1997 historical romance set in 1890s Maine. Big Bad Wolf is a deliciously sexy take on Little Red Riding Hood that held up pretty well for me.
There’s a mansion overlooking the Maine woods and its owner, Wolf Trevelyan, is pretty much the local bogeyman. Rumor has it he killed his first wife on their wedding night, and he’s stayed safely away from Maine ever since. He reportedly lives a life of debauchery in New York, and the folks in the local small town have largely forgotten he even owns property out there.
Molly Kincaid lives a simple life with her widowed mother. Mrs. Kincaid works hard taking in laundry and doing some of the smaller jobs open to a single woman in a rural town of that day. Molly’s life isn’t fancy, but she’s content living with her mother and taking provisions out to her grandmother’s cottage every day or so. Naturally, she has a lovely hooded red cape.
Things change when Molly heads out to her grandmother’s one day and meets up with Wolf in the woods. Wolf clearly has fun toying flirtatiously with Molly. It’s apparent that he intended to be scary or at least off-putting, but sensible Molly meets him head-on. Wolf finds himself intrigued and this starts a series of flirty meetings in the woods. Molly knows the stories about Wolf, but having met him, she’s (correctly) convinced that there must be more to the story.
It’s certainly believable that the sheltered Molly would develop a crush on Wolf. And Wolf finds himself so obsessed with Molly that he can’t get her out of his mind. He proposes to make her a kept woman and Molly turns him down flat. Eventually Wolf proposes marriage, and we are off to the races.
What better way to glide into Christmas than with a romantic marriage of convenience story? This one doesn't take place entirely at Christmas, but it What better way to glide into Christmas than with a romantic marriage of convenience story? This one doesn't take place entirely at Christmas, but it does take us through to Hogmanay(New Year). The book opens in the summer of 1840, with two strangers both getting bad news at a lawyer's office. Ainsley McBrayne, a recent widow has been left deeply in debt by her spendthrift husband. Her father left some money, but it's tied up in trust for her first child or until Ainsley reaches age 40 - and Ainsley is childless so far.
Innes Drummond has come down from the Highlands to learn that his legacy is also not quite as expected. After leaving home and making his fortune as an engineer, the death of his father means responsibilities to his father's holdings - and a will that requires he marry and live at the family's remote Highland estate for at least a year.
Innes proposes marriage to Ainsley. As a way to escape her perilous situation, the deal has its appeal, so they marry and set off for the Highlands. From there, I found myself greatly liking this story. The leads have an instant rapport, and as they spend their days together taking stock of the rundown estate and its needs, this deepens to friendship and attraction. Naturally, they agreed to marriage in name only (isn't that always how it goes with MOC stories?), but we, the readers know better.
The author does a convincing job of building the romance between them and bring the leads together. However, she also throws in moments that remind Ainsley and Innes that they were basically strangers when they married, and still have a lot to learn. There's Ainsley's secret stint as an agony aunt for a magazine, and Innes has quite a bit of history to process with regard to his brother's death, his tyrannical father, and the various feelings his reluctant homecoming brings. As you can see, they have no shortage of things to work through.
However, work through it they do. Both Innes and Ainsley are strong characters, and I liked them. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the setting. The author clearly knows and loves the place where this book is set, and one can feel that while reading.
So, why only 4 stars? Well, there is a suicide which takes place off page and which is mentioned throughout the story. Some of the discussion of it just rubbed me the wrong way and so, while I enjoyed the book, I couldn't wholeheartedly love it....more
So much no for this one. Every woman aside from the heroine is described as "whore." And that includes the "hero's" late wife. Also, the heroine startSo much no for this one. Every woman aside from the heroine is described as "whore." And that includes the "hero's" late wife. Also, the heroine starts up a relationship with the hero while also (view spoiler)[ thinking that she may have just seen him kill her father. (hide spoiler)] And then there's that moment in the early chapters when the hero's men threaten the heroine with gang rape in order to get her to obey orders. I love medievals, but this was not promising to be a great escape for me.
CW: kidnapping, references to sexual assault and child murder...more