Month: December 2017

Florence’s Stupendous Spinster’s Society by Charlotte Stone

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

Florence-Spinster.SocietyJPG3.5 Stars rounded up to 4
Series: The Spinster’s Society #5
Publication Date: 12/20/2017

I’m not sure why I enjoy these stories so much. They are all highly improbable, don’t follow the forms of address or societal norms of the time and could be set at any point in time rather than the Regency. They are really a modern tale – only with ball gowns and carriages. Still, given all of that – I enjoy reading them. This book is the most improbable of all of the books and, while I thoroughly enjoyed it, it is my least favorite of the series so far. We have a very rich, untitled member of the Men of Nashwood paired up with a ladies maid and that is pretty improbable for the time. I don’t think I got enough information about our heroine’s background to really understand how things are so disparate between the three siblings (one is a curator, one a madam and one a ladies maid). Are they all illegitimate? They all had the same father and three different mothers. How did they come to know each other? Each was apparently raised by the mother and the father showed up when he felt like it. They can’t all have been legitimate because each was raised by their mother – to all be legitimate, the mother would have had to die and the children raised by the next Mrs. Crew. They also all had the last name of Crew – ??? I don’t know – it just left me wondering.

This tale picks up where the last one left off. The Men of Nashwood have rescued Sophia from the Baron of Helsby. Helsby has taken his own life and Aaron, the Earl of Jeanshire, is now the guardian of Helsby’s little girls. The group (Men of Nashwood and Spinster’s Society) have chosen to await the arrival of the two little girls at Helsby’s small cottage in Gretna Green. The men have also planned to stay until the ladies finally decide to marry them. When they arrive at the cottage, they find that it is already occupied by a visitor – a cousin of Helsby and her ladies maid, Florence.

Florence Crew, ladies maid to Elipha Thrup, has endured a lot during their stay in Gretna Green. Finally, Elipha’s baby has been delivered and has been given up to an orphanage and Florence can look forward to Elipha’s recovery and their return to London. Florence is a very lovely and caring young woman and wants the very best for her mistress and she’s very protective of her. Florence knows that Elipha is broken and needs to heal and wouldn’t think of leaving her before she has a chance to do that healing.

Rollo Kerry is a very rich and very lonely young man. He has always felt his parents loved him, but he also felt left out because their world revolved around each other rather than him. So, when they took off on a vacation and didn’t return, he felt totally abandoned. He didn’t even know where they went. I have to say, this part bugged me. He is exceedingly rich and there is no reason he couldn’t hire enough folks to track down information on his parents to at least verify if they were alive or dead. He didn’t do any of that. Even after he had the clues he needed he just assumed they were dead and didn’t verify it.

As soon as Rollo sees Florence he is in insta-lust. He plans to seduce her and have a liaison until they leave for London. Florence is also in insta-lust, but plans to resist his advances – after all, she’s only a ladies maid and he’s a gentleman, so nothing can come of it.. The story revolves around these two dancing around each other before they finally realize it is more than lust.

We finally get four marriages and an engagement out of this! Yes, the weddings do finally happen! I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

When a Warrior Woos A Lass by Julie Johnstone

On By TracyIn Middle Ages / Medieval (476-1454), Scottish/Highlander, Tracy's Reviews1 Comment

When a Warrior Woos a Lass (Highlander Vows: Entangled Hearts Book 6)When a Warrior Woos a Lass by Julie Johnstone

Series: Highland Vows: Entangled Hearts, #6

Release Date: December 18, 2017

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was my first Julie Johnstone book, but it certainly won’t be my last.

Lena MacLeod is the widow of an evil man and has the scars to prove it – inside and out, she feels broken and cannot abide being touched. She returned to her brother’s home in hopes of healing, but now two years later, she is no closer than she was when she first arrived.

Alex MacLean has known Lena for years and cares for her, but he too has scars and knows the darkness in him would destroy her. They meet again at her brother’s wedding and are both shocked when the king arrives and commands them to wed. The king also has a mission for Alex, but it will involve keeping more secrets from Lena.

The king and Alex come to an agreement, but in doing so, it makes Alex appear to be a traitor. Lena is confused, Alex is kind and gentle with her, he praises her strength and urges her to let go of the pain holding her prisoner. In his care, Lena begins to heal and is on her way to being the woman she was before she married Findlay Campbell. But she knows that Alex is keeping secrets and knows those secrets could kill any love blossoming between them. Repeatedly she asks him to trust her and share with her – but Alex feels intense guilt and shame from his past and refuses.

Lena’s half-sister Marsaili has agreed to go with Lena to her new home, but Lena knows there is something Marsaili is keeping from her. When Lena learns Marsaili’s secret, she is shocked and not sure who to turn to, she wants to tell Alex, but Marsaili has sown seeds of doubt and while she longs to trust him, his refusal to share his past makes it impossible for her to do so. So she writes to her brother. When Alex intercepts her letter, he knows it is time to enact the king’s plan. He plans to take Marsaili and confront the Stewart, but he has no intention of letting Lena join them.

Lena learns they are planning to leave and is heartbroken, but when she learns his true mission, she insists on joining them. They arrive at the Stewart’s castle and Alex’s past comes rushing back. Alex must seemingly betray Lena’s brother Lachlan and take him prisoner. He leave to do the Stewarts bidding and Lena is left at the castle. Lena learns much about Alex’s past and is used to punish Alex – but Lena has grown strong and she will not break. When Alex saves her, she begs him to share his past, telling him that the secrets will destroy the love they share. But even after he does so, they are not done yet, they still have to complete their mission and save Marsaili and Lachlan.

This was a very well written story, it flowed well and was almost impossible to put down. It had secrets, shame, heartache, steamy love scenes, healing, acceptance, action and some very evil villains. But it also had sweet, tender moments as well as a truly beautiful love story and a very hard won HEA.

This is the sixth book in the series and I will admit feeling a little lost at times, events in the past are eluded to, but not having read the previous books, I wasn’t really sure what happened – but those past events played a significant role in this book and while I can imagine what happened, I was not given enough backstory to know for sure. Which is why I gave this book 4 stars vs 5 stars. I am sure if you have been following the series, you will have a much better understanding of the past events and LOVE this book.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC*