Month: February 2019

Stealing The Duke by Jess Michaels

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

Stealing the DukeStealing the Duke by Jess Michaels

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Scandal Sheet #2
Publication Date: 3/5/19
# of Pages: 108

Marianne is in a dire situation and she has absolutely no idea how to rescue herself much less her sweet ten-year-old sister, Juliet. Their father, the Earl of Martingale has just died and left them destitute and scandal-ridden. Well, there wasn’t really a scandal until Marianne found a stash of things her father had stolen (kleptomania) and Marianne called the watch to have the items returned to their owners. She requested that it be handled discretely – it wasn’t – now the scandal is running rampant throughout the ton. To top it off, the cousin who inherited her father’s earldom has given them one month to be out of their home. Now, she has found yet one more stolen item that has to be returned. She can’t call the watch to return it, that would just add fuel to the scandal. No, she must return it herself. She’s sure the owner of the item isn’t in town, so it should be an easy enough matter to sneak into the townhouse and leave the item to be found by the owner.

Alexander Wittingham, the Duke of Avondale, considers himself a monster. He’s scarred both inside and out. He’s lived isolated for the last five years – completely shut off from society. When he apprehends what he thinks is a thief stealing into his study, he is ready to fully punish them. Then, he realizes it is a female – and a lovely one at that. He allows her to explain why she’s there and what her circumstances are, he makes her an offer she can hardly refuse. Well – she could refuse, but then what would she and Juliet do?

I really liked Marianne. She made the best of the hand she was dealt and remained cheerful and caring. Alexander – well – it wasn’t that I disliked him, I just didn’t understand him. To me, his big secret was no big deal – at least not enough to cause him to act as he did.

This short novella is well written and the characters are both likable and I think you’ll like it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Duke and The Enchantress by Paullett Golden

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Regency Era (1811-1820)1 Comment

The Duke and The Enchantress (The Enchantresses, #2)The Duke and The Enchantress by Paullett Golden

Barbara’s rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: The Enchantresses #2
Publication Date: 3/1/19

Drake Mowbrah, the Duke of Annick and Charlotte Trethow have married only to find that not only do they not know each other, neither is who the other thought they were. She thought he was her knight in shining armor and he thought she was loving and sensual. Those sad discoveries began as soon as the wedding was over. None of it was anything that five minutes of honest communication wouldn’t have fixed – but then – there wouldn’t be a book.

One of the things I loved in this book was the music. The descriptions of the music, the composing and how passionate the performance and writing of it were.

Drake was raised without love in his life – not from his mother and not from his father. He once thought he was in love, with an older woman, but he learned that she didn’t love him. He’s had many debutantes express interest in him, but they were interested in his title and wealth. He’s young, devastatingly handsome, wealthy, and titled so surely, he could find someone who would love him for himself. Unfortunately, he had very little time to find her because his mother has given him an ultimatum – marry before the season ends or she’ll find a bride for him.

I didn’t care for Charlotte in the last book and I was looking forward to seeing how the author was going to redeem her. In my view, Charlotte was immature, naïve, stubborn, selfish, self-centered, and everything was ‘all about me’ and at the same time she had very low self-esteem and expected herself to be ‘perfect’ in every way. There was just so very, very much angst on Charlotte’s part – but — I kept seeing glimmers and thought ‘A-ha, she’ll have an epiphany now’, but – no. Even when her husband was bleeding from a wound, it was about her. It was her fault (it wasn’t), etc. She just made me very, very tired.

Their young and floundering marriage is beset with miscommunications, misunderstandings, and a mother-in-law from hell. Drake has to learn to trust Charlotte with his secrets and Charlotte has to learn to give her heart and body to Drake. I think the biggest thing though is that Drake had to grow a spine, at least as far as his mother was concerned. He allowed her to rule everything – even running the estate. He didn’t stand up to her nor did he defend Charlotte.

I really came to like Drake in the end, especially once he had his grand epiphany and learned that those deep dark secrets weren’t as cataclysmic as he thought they were. Frankly, I couldn’t understand why Drake would/could love Charlotte, I just didn’t feel it.

This is the second book by this author and her writing is smooth and flows easily. The main characters were supporting characters in the first book – The Earl and the Enchantress. It would appear that I misjudged Drake in that first book because I thought he was a crass, uncaring, boor and he was not – well – not exactly. Also, it was lovely to find that Lizbeth, Sebastian, and Aunt Hazel from the first book make an appearance. The better part of this story was filled with angst – mostly on Charlotte’s part – and I’m not a fan of angst.

The first chapter of the next book in the series is at the end of this book and it sounds like a really good read. I’ll be excited to see that one release.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.