Month: May 2019

Heart’s Desire by Wendy LaCapra #Blog Tour

On By TracyIn Blog Tour, Contests/Giveaways, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Meet the Author:

Wendy LaCapra has been reading romance since she sneaked into the adult section at the library and discovered Victoria Holt & Jane Aiken Hodge. From that point on, she dreamed of creating fictional worlds with richness, intrigue and passion. Her stories have placed in several contests, including the 2012 Golden Heart® and her debut series, a trilogy about three Ladies who refuse to play by society’s rules, was released by Entangled Scandalous. She lives in NYC with her husband and loves to hear from readers. For new release and sale alerts, sign up at http://bit.ly/GetWendyNews

Connect: Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

About the Book:

Lady Clarissa has decided to live life on her terms. After the end of a ten-year betrothal, she wants nothing to do with marriage or the men of the ton. Least of all her friend’s brother, the very charming Lord Markham, or Hearts, as many ladies call the oh-so-handsome earl.
Markham pursues relationships with no ties that bind. Acting the rake leaves everyone satisfied…until he overhears a wager that could lead to Clarissa’s ruin. He can’t help but step in and claim she’s his intended bride.
Clarissa is appalled. She did not need to be saved. Reluctantly, she agrees to the fake courtship, if only to experience what the rakish Markham can offer. But when lust becomes love, Clarissa must make up her own terms and bet it all on Hearts.

Add to Goodreads

Giveaway:

  • A Tiara – US shipping ONLY
  • eBook prize pack featuring the following titles:
    • Scandal in Spades by Wendy LaCapra
    • Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh
    • Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
    • As Rich as a Rogue by Jade Lee

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tracy’s Review:

Heart's Desire (Lords of Chance, #2)Heart’s Desire by Wendy LaCapra

Tracy’s rating: 3/3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Lords of Chance, #2

Release Date: May 13, 2019

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was delighted to learn that Percival Stanley, Earl of Markham aka “Hearts” was to be the hero in this book. He was portrayed as a somewhat reckless, impulsive rake in the first book, so I was very surprised by the “real” Markham in this book!

Markham has always noticed Lady Clarissa Laithe, sister to Earl of Rayne, but she was off limits and already betrothed to the Marquess of Bromton, so he kept his interest to himself. When his reckless wager in the previous book changes Clarissa’s life, he is even more impressed by her and the way she handled being jilted. But bad blood between Markham and Rayne make any connection with Clarissa impossible – until it isn’t…

Lady Clarissa is tired of her life being directed by the whims of men and since her broken betrothal and her brother’s abrupt exit from England, she has decided she will not bend anymore. She has decided that she will not marry and when Rayne returns, she will ask him to take her with him on his next adventure. But when she tests her newfound determination on Lord Moultonbury by refusing to smile at his request, she unknowingly triggers a wager that could ruin her.

Markham is at Sharpe’s Club licking his wounds after a run in with a former lover pulled the scales from his eyes – he is going to change and make some hard fast rules for his life, starting now! But that plan is blown out of the water when Moultonbury and his cronies place a wager in the clubs betting book about Lady Clarissa. To save her reputation, Markham claims they are secretly courting and will announce their betrothal when Rayne returns. But what starts as a lie, soon becomes his true desire, but can he convince the lady?

I thought this book was well written, but I had problems with both Clarissa and Markham, so often lately Historical Romances have been portraying heroines as strong, independent woman – which is wonderful and empowering – but in doing so many authors have been embedding their heroines with 21st century views and morals and the stories end up being contemporary romances set in England without electricity, cell phones, internet and cars. Sadly that is what happened in this book – I didn’t really care for Clarissa from the beginning, I thought she was selfish and self-centered and she never changed. Markham started good and I was cheering when he told her off, but in the end, he too disappointed me. The writing was good, the pace was decent (it did drag a bit towards the end), the love scenes were warm and I really didn’t see how these two would find their HEA, but help comes by way of a surprising source. The ending gives a little tease to who the next book will be about and I am looking forward to seeing how that turns out!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an e-ARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

View all my reviews

Valentines From Bath by Bluestocking Belles

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

Valentines From Bath: A Bluestocking Belles collectionBarbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publication Date: 2/9/19
Number of Pages: 485

 

These novellas all center around Valentines Day in Bath. I’m not normally a fan of Anthologies, but I thought this would give me a chance to try some new authors plus read something by an author that I love.

Beauty and the Bounder by Jessica Cale: 2.5 Stars

This was a nice, well-written story, but it holds no resemblance to life in Regency times. So, if you aren’t into period accuracy, then you would like this story.

The Earl Takes A Wife by Sherry Ewing: 3 Stars

Lady Celia Lacey – age 17 – meets Adrian de Courtenay at a house party and she’s completely smitten. When she softly asks him to ‘wait for her’, he is intrigued by the young lady who he considers too young for himself. Over the course of the next couple of years, she remains smitten and he is more and more intrigued. When he begins to understand that he wants to marry her – they are caught in a compromising position. He believes she engineered it and is very, very bitter and unforgiving.

I understand his anger – except – he knows how manipulative and deceitful Miranda (his sister) is, so why would he automatically believe her rather than the woman he loves? She tries to explain, but he won’t listen. Also – the ‘magical’ reappearance of the mistress at the end gave me a ‘say what’ moment. She couldn’t have known where Celia was going to be, nor would she have had the time to arrive there – especially with so much money. Just struck me as very unnecessary and contrived drama.

The Beast Next Door by Jude Knight: 5 Stars

It is a sure sign of a well-told tale when you read a novella and feel you have the complete story. The characters are fully developed, likable and relatable. The story is fast-paced, well written and well plotted.

Childhood friends Charis and Eric were torn apart when Eric’s mother tore from the only home he’d ever known and sent him to Italy for some horrible surgery on a disfiguring birthmark on his face. Eric had been locked away at a country estate near Bath all of his life. He was called Beast, Wreck and many worse things. It is ten years later and Eric has returned to England with every intention of reconnecting with Charis.

Eric’s mother is a real low life and she intends for Eric to marry the woman of her choice. A woman that she can control and Eric will just have to learn to live with it. Eric plans to fully thwart his mother, reconnect with Charis – and marry her.

It is a lovely read!

The Umbrella Chronicles by Amy Quinton: 4 Stars

I loved this very amusing tale of romance. Take a staid, uptight, OCD mathematician named Dr. John Edward Hartwell, and pair him with a zany heroine, Miss Emma Merryweather, who believes in all of the ‘signs’ fate sends her and you have a delightful tale. I loved both of the characters and the author did an excellent job or conveying the quirky personalities of each

Candles In The Dark by Caroline Warfield: 5 Stars

My favorite of all – well maybe tied with The Beast Next Door.

Sergeant Douglas Marsh was wounded in the fight with Napoleon and had to leave his career in the military and at about the same time, his uncle passed away and Douglas inherited the Marsh Candle Works. Luckily his aunt had worked alongside his uncle in running the candle works, so she could help him in the transition. Marsh does his best to rescue as many of the returned wounded as he can – hiring them even though he doesn’t need them at the factory and can’t really afford the wages.

Esther Hopkins made a mistake and has paid dearly for it. She’s been cast out by her family and has been existing as best she can in Bath. She’s starving and her baby is almost due. As she loses consciousness in front of a bakery while waiting for the bread the baker would normally throw away, she’s rescued by the kindest man.

The romance Esther and Doug is so very sweet. You will quickly come to love – but more – respect both of these characters for the strong people they are. BTW – I loved how they dealt with the villain who arched across several of the books.

Definitely a good read!

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