Month: July 2017

Catching Captain Nash by Anna Campbell

On By TracyIn Novella, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's Reviews1 Comment

Catching Captain Nash (Dashing Widows, #6)Catching Captain Nash by Anna Campbell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Dashing Widows, #6

Release Date: Available Now

This is the story of Morweena & Robert Nash and in my opinon, the best book in the entire Dashing Widows Series.

We first met Morweena in book 4, Pursuing Lord Pascal, when Sally convinced Amy and Morweena to come with her to London and become dashing widows. Morweena had no desire to go to London and had no intention of being a dashing widow. She was still in deep mourning for her husband Robert, who had been lost at sea and declared dead almost 4 years prior. The only thing that kept her going was their daughter, Kerenza, a daughter that Robert never met or even knew about.

Morweena finally decides to put aside her grief for the sake of her daughter and agrees to marry Hugh Rutherford, Baron Garson. She doesn’t love him, but she considers him a friend and holds some affection for him. The night they are to announce their engagement, Robert reappears.

Robert is not the man Morweena remembers and as overjoyed she is at his return, she maintains her distance, unsure of the man standing before her.

This is a second chance at love story done so right, I cannot even put into words how much this story moved me. I always hoped that Robert would miraculously return from the dead, because the love that Morween held for him was so potent, so deep and so beautiful, that I couldn’t bear for her to have lost it so soon after finding it. But the man that returns to her is not the man who left all those years ago, any more than she is the same woman.

Robert has lived through a nightmare and his return to his former life is not as simple as one would assume (I kept thinking of the movie Castaway while reading this book – but thankfully, this has a much better ending!). Robert is overwhelmed by everything, especially finding the love of his life on the verge of marrying another man and learning he has a daughter.

Other reviewers have commented that the story suffered from a lack of conflict and while I respect their opinions, I disagree. I thought the conflict was subtle and mostly internal – but I felt Robert’s pain and internal struggle to accept the changes, I grieved for the lost moments with his daughter, I was awed by the steadfast love that both Robert and Morweena shared and I was filled with joy when he finally met his daughter (I am not ashamed to admit that I cried when they met for the first time). I also felt Morweena’s apprehension, her worry and her undying love for this man. It is so rare to read a book that both points of view are so clearly expressed and Ms. Campbell nailed it.

This book is well written, paced perfectly, it is super steamy (YES!!), emotionally charged and perfectly executed. And while I am sad that the series is over, I couldn’t have asked for a better ending. I highly recommend this book – it could be read as a stand alone title, but believe me when I say you should really read at least books 4 & 5 before you read this story.

*I was gifted a copy of this book for the purpose of review*

To Love a Reckless Lord by Collette Cameron

On By TracyIn Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's Reviews1 Comment

To Love a Reckless Lord: Conundrums of the Misses Culpepper Collection Books 1-3To Love a Reckless Lord: Conundrums of the Misses Culpepper Collection Books 1-3 by Collette Cameron

Series: Misses Culpepper
Release Date: Available Now

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

4.5 stars – This is a boxed set of books 1 – 3 in the Misses Culpepper Series. I thought this was a great collection and I especially liked that books 2 & 3 each started where the previous book ended.

Brooke: Wagers Gone Awry – 5 stars – I think this was my favorite in the collection. Brooke is the eldest Culpepper Miss and has spent the last five years running the family’s dairy farm since her father passed away. She lives at the farm with her sister and her 3 cousins. They are barely making ends meet, as most of the profits are sent to her erstwhile cousin who inherit the property upon the death of Brooke’s father.

Heath, Earl of Ravensdale had just won the farm from her cousin and intends to sell the property and evict the tenants. All that changes when he meets Brooke. The Misses Culpepper are extraordinarily beautiful and Heath is immediately drawn to Brooke. He still intends to sell the property – but he also wants Brooke as his mistress. When they meet Brooke is shocked to learn that her cousin has gambled the farm away and asks Heath to return the next day to discuss possible alternatives to selling the farm. Heath agrees but is waylaid and taken prisoner by one of Brooke’s servants.

When Heath doesn’t return, his friend Tristan, Marquess of Leventhrope comes looking for him. They find Heath seriously injured and bring him to the house. Once Heath recovers, he and Brooke make a wager, if he wins she will be his mistress and if she wins he will give her the property. When Brooke loses, Heath decides that he wants Brooke as his wife. But the road to their HEA will not be that simple.

This was a very entertaining story, well paced, a little steamy, a little heartache, a lot of laughs and a very happy ending.

Blythe: Schemes Gone Amiss – 4 stars Blythe and Tristan meet in the previous book and Blythe takes an instant dislike to Tristan. But once they are taken to London to have season, Blythe and Tristan form a truce of sorts and Blythe begins to think that she misjudged Tristan.

Blythe is confused by her growing feelings for Tristan and but when villains conspire to ruin her, Tristan announces they are betrothed. Blythe at first accepts his announcement, but later retracts her agreement in an effort to save him. She knows she is ruined and decides to return to the farm. She is gets stuck at an inn for the night and is shocked when Tristan shows up.

Tristan is in love with Blythe and there is no way he is going to accept her rejection of his suit.

This was a sweet story with a lot of villains dedicated to keeping our lovers apart. I liked that Tristan did not hesitate in going after Blythe and that they didn’t drag out their separation. The book was well written, but really lacked the steam of the first book.

Brette: Intentions Gone Astray – 4 StarsThis is the story of Brette and Alexander Hawksworth. Alex is a rector and friends with Heath and Tristan, he is also desperately in love with Brette. He believes that there is no future for them because he cannot afford to take her as his wife, but all that changes when he unexpectantly inherits an earldom. Before he can ask for her hand a nasty rumor surfaces that he may have killed his uncle and cousin to gain the title, unwilling to subject his love to scandal, he decides to wait until his name is cleared before courting her.

Just when it seems that they will be able be together another curve is thrown at them this time in the form of a shocking revelation that Brette is not Brooke’s sister, but her cousin and by the way she might be illegitimate, Alex offers for her, but she cannot accept and ruin his life.

These two have a very long and bumpy road to their HEA – but it really is worth the journey.

The book was sweet, no steam aside from a couple of kisses, well written, lots of twists and turns and leaves the reader wondering until the last chapter how these two are going to overcome all the obstacles keeping them apart!

All in all this was a very enjoyable read and I hope Ms. Cameron is planning to write stories for the twins!
*I was provided with an eARC of this book by the author and am voluntarily leaving a review*