Month: February 2019

Lady Derring Takes A Lover by Julie Anne Long

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Georgian Era (1714-1837)2 Comments

Lady Derring Takes a Lover (The Palace of Rogues #1)Lady Derring Takes a Lover by Julie Anne Long

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Palace of Rogues #1
Publication Date: 2/26/19
Number of Pages: 384

It has been a long time since I’ve read a book by this author and it is nice to see her in the historical romance category again. I really, really, really wanted to absolutely love this book and from the blurb, I was sure that I would. I liked it pretty well but didn’t absolutely love it. I absolutely adore a great romance with a great mystery, but these seemed to both fall a bit short.

Delilah Swanpool, Countess of Derring, has always been someone’s property to be bargained for their betterment and not her own. When her husband dies suddenly, she finds that he was totally broke and she is now completely penniless. What will become of her now? Her husband had one piece of property that he owned outright and it is now hers, it is all she has – but – it is the first thing she has ever owned, the first thing that is hers.

When Delilah goes to see the property, it is located near the docks – definitely NOT the best part of London. Before trying to enter the forbidding property, she and her maid decide to have something to eat at the nearby pub. In the pub, they meet Delilah’s husband’s former mistress, Angelique, who is in the same predicament as Delilah. Delilah and Angelique decide to sell the few jewels they have left and team up to open a boarding house in Delilah’s property.

Captain Tristan Hardy is the Captain of the King’s Blockade. He’s the king’s favorite hunting dog and has almost rid England of smugglers. There is one group of smugglers left and they have done the unthinkable. They set fire to an aristocrat’s residence and took the lives of the entire family – one of whom was the king’s former mistress. So, the king wants those smugglers caught and punished and he wants it to happen now!

Tristan’s investigation has brought him to London and all information points to the Earl of Derring. Now what? The Earl has just died and Tristan is at a loss. He finally learns of the one piece of property the Earl had left and that the widow has taken possession of it. Is she involved in the smuggling ring? It is up to him to find out.

For the go-getter that Tristan is supposed to be, he certainly seems to carry on a laid back investigation. The romance also didn’t feel real to me. To me, if he had shared who he was and what he was doing with Delilah and they investigated together, there could have been a lot of interest and excitement that the story was missing. As it was, it wasn’t particularly exciting nor romantic, but I did enjoy the read.

I believe the next book will feature Angelique and I look forward to seeing how that one goes.

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

The Scoundrel in Her Bed by Lorraine Heath

On By TracyIn Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)3 Comments

The Scoundrel in Her Bed (Sins for All Seasons, #3)The Scoundrel in Her Bed by Lorraine Heath
Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Sins for All Seasons, #3

Release Date: February 26, 2019

Finn Trewlove and Lady Lavinia Kent met when she was only 15, Finn was immediately smitten and spent the next two years meeting her in secret and falling even deeper in love. When she turned 17 and was preparing for her come-out, their relationship changed and Finn learned his “Vivi” loved him too. It was an impossible dream, Vivi has been betrothed to the Duke of Thornley since she was a child, but Finn is her heart’s desire. Their relationship changes yet again and Vivi gives Finn more than just her heart. They declare their love and plan to runaway together. But they are betrayed and torn apart – each believing the other betrayed them.

Think this sounds like every other second-chance love story you have ever read? Think again!

Eight years later, Lavinia has jilted Thorn and has disappeared into the streets of Whitechapel. She has made it her mission to save children from baby farmers, she walked away from her society life and has no desire to go back, nor does she ever want to see Finn again. But when a meeting in an alley goes wrong, it is Finn who intercedes and helps her. Finn soon learns that his Vivi is not the sweet, sheltered, innocent miss he knew 8 years ago.

They quickly learn that they were betrayed and that neither was to blame. They both paid heavily for their doomed romance, but Finn doesn’t know the true price Vivi paid. He wants to spend time with her and see if they can recapture what they lost – but Vivi has secrets that she is sure will make a future together impossible.

She tries to keep him at arm’s length, but Finn still loves the girl she was and is falling for the woman she has become, despite his family still believing she is not for him, Finn’s Folly is what they call her and at one time he agreed, but now he is not so sure. He won’t walk away and tempts her with an opportunity to make her dream of opening a children’s home come true. Vivi never stopped loving Finn, but will need to confront the demons in her past, before she can even contemplate a future.

This is an absolutely brilliant book, it is well written, flows nicely (even with the insertion several flashbacks), yes, the trope has been done before, but never like this. Finn and Lavinia are amazing leads, what they each endured during their time apart is heart breaking, but seeing them support and defend one another, makes you believe that their young love was in fact true, soul-mate love. I laughed, I cried, I sighed – the book is filled with emotion, gut-wrenching choices, a hero who loves with every fiber of his being and a heroine who against all odds has survived and grown from a spoiled girl into an amazingly strong and generous woman. I loved this book – I thought that Ms. Heath couldn’t surpass the first book in the series and while I think I might still consider that my favorite, this book is definitely going on my To Read Again list. This is the third book in the series, but you can absolutely read it as a stand alone – if you do, you are missing out on two fantastic reads, but it can be done. I highly recommend this story and can’t wait for the next one!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected eARC that was provided to my by Edelweiss and the publisher.*