Month: February 2020

His Secret Mistress by Cathy Maxwell

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's Reviews1 Comment

His Secret Mistress (A Logical Man's Guide to Dangerous Women, #1)His Secret Mistress by Cathy Maxwell

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: A Logical Man’s Guide to Dangerous Women, #1

Release Date: February 25, 2020

Kate Addison and Brandon “Bran” Balfour have a history, fifteen years ago they were in love and shared an amazing night of passion, but the very next day everything changes when they each believe the other betrayed them. But fate isn’t done with this duo and they meet again in the small town of Maidenshop.

Bran left England after Kate betrayed him for a man with money and a title, he made a fortune and became a well-respected architect, he returned to England when he learned of his brother in law’s passing and became guardian to his nephew – Christopher, the new Duke of Winderton. The dukedom was nearly bankrupt and Bran has worked hard for these past years restoring his nephew’s legacy. He is back in Maidenshop licking his wounds after a bridge design project he has been working on for a year is suddenly looking at other designs. He joins his friends Dr. Ned Thurlowe and “ Mars” the Earl of Marsden at the local tavern – the Garland – they have a club – The Logical Men’s Society – for bachelors only, a state that all three are happy to maintain. Bran was enjoying a drink with his friends when he gets an urgent summons from his sister – Lucy, the widowed Duchess. Lucy is beside herself – Christopher has announced he is in love with an actress and is going to marry her! Bran brushes aside her concerns until he learns the actress’ name – Kate Addison!

Kate’s life has gone through many changes since her affair with Bran, the man she loved who cruelly betrayed her. She left London not long after that night, returned home and buried her parents, then her brother inherited a dukedom, and Kate returned to acting, starting her own small troupe and performing plays she has written herself. She is working towards her goal – to perform in London again and she is so close! If not for a broken wagon, she would be on her way right now, but instead she is in Maidenshop, fending off the lovesick Duke of Winderton and trying not to lose her patience with him, she believes she has everything under control until HE shows up, she is surprised at her reaction and how angry she is – but she pretends to not know him. However when he acts like he was the injured party and threatens to have her run out of town, Kate fights back!

It is not long before our lovers talk and the truth comes out – they were both betrayed and both assumed the worst about the other. Can they rekindle the love they once shared or has too much time passed?

I really enjoyed this book, it was well written and flowed nicely. It had likeable lead characters, a believable scenario that torn them apart, steamyish love scenes, great secondary characters, a lot of emotion, some laughs, some tears, even some anger and healing. The ending was not what I was expecting and at first I didn’t think it was going to work, but it was perfect and exactly what the story needed. This is the first book in a new series, but you may recognize Kate as Matthew’s sister from The Duke That I Marry, if you liked her in that book – you are going to love her in this one! I am happy to recommend this book and I am looking forward to the next book! Please note – the edition I read was an Uncorrected Proof, so my review is based on the assumption that the title errors and other mistakes will be corrected prior to publication.

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

Every Bit A Rogue by Adrienne Basso

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Every Bit a Rogue (The Ellinghams, #4)Every Bit a Rogue by Adrienne Basso

Tracy rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Ellinghams, #4

Release Date: February 25, 2020

Emma Ellingham knows heartbreak and unrequited love, years ago she confessed her love to Sebastian Dodd, the Earl of Tinsdale, who told her he loved her too, as a sister. When Sebastian fell in love and married another, Emma was devastated, she closed off her heart and concentrated on her art, but even that seems to have deserted her. So when Jon Burwell, Viscount Kendall is jilted at the altar, Emma knows his pain and feels empathetic but she doesn’t really give him another thought for almost a year, when their paths cross again.

While exploring her brother in laws property, Emma finds a path she has not taken before, one that leads to an unfamiliar building, her curiosity gets the best of her and she approaches, she knocks and enters, she finds two men working on a machine, one of them is Jon, but it is not Jon that captures her attention – it is his machine, for the first time in years Emma feels the overwhelming desire to draw, she is overjoyed, but her joy is short lived when Jon asks her to leave. She returns home and sketches from memory, but really wants to see the machine again. She returns to the workshop and lets herself in and begins to draw, Jon finds her and sends her away, refusing to let her draw his machine. She leaves, promising not to return until she is invited. But, she hasn’t given up, she will find a way!

Jon is finally beginning to get over Dianna, the woman he loved, the one who left him at the altar and ran off with another man. He has poured all the passion he felt for her into his invention – a threshing machine. His experience with Dianna left him hurt and unable to really trust anyone, which is why he denied Emma. He is in the village when he runs into Dianna, literally. He is shocked to see her and tries to be polite, she is married and her husband inherited a barony with a nearby estate. Jon is not happy to learn she will be living close by and even more upset when Dianna’s husband joins them and is nasty to her. Despite everything she did to him, he still feels outraged on her behalf and has to stop himself from defending her. He is returning home when it begins to rain and he finds Emma lost in the woods. The rain intensifies and they take shelter in his workshop, they share a drink and he tells her of seeing Dianna in the village, she moves to comfort him and trips, he catches her and they share a kiss. She is surprised by the feelings it invokes – but they agree it was a mistake. They fall asleep and Emma wakes at dawn – she bolts, hoping to return home before anyone knows she is gone.

Jon is home getting ready to go see Emma when her brother in law arrives – he thinks it is about Emma, but is stunned to learn that Dianna’s husband had been killed the night before and servants at the house named him as the murderer!! To save Jon, Emma confesses to being with him all night. Her confession saves him, but to save their reputations, they must wed. Can they find happiness or will their past experiences with love keep them from trying to find love again?

This was a well written, well-paced story with likable characters, cameos from previous couples in the series, a murder, steamy love scenes and a HEA complete with an epilogue. I was loving this book right up to about the 85% mark and then it tanked for me. I didn’t care for Emma’s deception, I wasn’t thrilled with resolution of the murder and I was really not happy with the “punishment” the villain got. This is the fourth book in the series, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone title. I enjoyed the book even though the ending was not what I was hoping for and I would be happy to recommend it.

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