Month: February 2020

The Lady is Trouble by Tracy Sumner

On By TracyIn Paranormal / Fantasy, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

The Lady is Trouble (League of Lords, #1)The Lady is Trouble by Tracy Sumner

Tracy’s rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: League of Lords, #1

Release Date: February 18, 2020

Julian Alexander, the Viscount Beauchamp, has the gift of being able to get visions from objects, he knows how society at large treats people with “gifts” and he is the leader of a group of people with supernatural gifts. He does his best to protect and educate these people, people shunned and feared by society, he cares for them all, but none more than Elizabeth Piper Scott, the granddaughter of the man who rescued him and helped him learn about his gift and how to control it. He has not seen Piper in three years, not since her grandfather was murdered by a person trying to abduct Piper to control her gift. But he has just learned from his lover that Piper is back in town. Shunned and angry, Julian goes to find her and save her – again.

Piper seems to attract trouble, she came to London to force Julian to let her take her rightful place in the League – her grandfather started the group because of her and her gift – she wants to be a part of it!! But her plan to get Julian’s attention didn’t go as expected and she may have accidently caught the hotel room on fire – she escapes the blaze and is looking for Finn, another member of the League and Julian’s “adopted” brother when Julian finds her and whisks her away to Harbingdon – an estate he has purchased and is using to house members of the League.

Once there, they will learn that Finn has been having dreams about a woman who seeks to abduct Piper to use her gift. Piper can “read” auras and is known as a healer, it is a rare gift and many people would do anything to control it. Piper wants to use her gift to help the other members and Julian, but Julian seems hell-bent on keeping her hidden. Piper has loved Julian since she met him and she thought he might return her feelings. But that hope was shattered the night of the attack, when her grandfather died and Julian hid her away and seemingly forgot about her. Piper is done hiding and fighting her attraction to Julian. She wants to take her place in the League and claim Julian’s heart. But Julian isn’t ready to give in and may never be.

I thought the idea of this story sounded great, a steamy historical romance with paranormal undertones – how could it not be? Well, it did not quite work for me, I am sorry to say I didn’t care for the writing style, I found it wordy and vague, almost as if the author didn’t want the reader to know what was going on. I never really understood what Piper’s gift was or how she used it and as much as I tried, I was never really able to get immersed in the story. In addition to that, I was irked by the incorrect formal address (A viscount’s daughter isn’t “Lady” she is “Miss” and even if she was “Lady Elizabeth”, she is most certainly NEVER Lady Scott) and then I found the final confrontation with the villain to be extremely anticlimactic. So unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this book and I am not sure I would read the next book in the series.

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

The Angel Of An Astronomer by Linda Rae Sande

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)4 Comments

TheAngelOfTheAstronomerBarbara’s Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: The Heirs of the Aristocracy #1
Publication Date: 2/21/20
Number of Pages: 330

What a delightfully entertaining and romantic romp through early Victorian England this was. It left me with a smile, a giggle, and a heartfelt sigh. It flows smoothly, is well-plotted and the characters are delightful. We get two lovely romances and two HEA’s in one book – how can you beat that? One of my favorite things was getting to visit with Milton Grandby, Earl of Torrington who has been featured in many of this author’s books. Milton was featured in his own book, The Christmas of A Countess, along with his lovely bride Adele. Now, over twenty years later, we get to see their twins marry. How lovely is that? The devious Milton has plans afoot to settle his children and the last of his many godchildren and it was so much fun to see all of his machinations fall right into place.

George Grandby is one and twenty, and unlike most of his peers, he is ready to marry. His parents were older when they married and George doesn’t want that for himself. He has no clue who he will marry – until – one day while riding in the park with his sister, he sees an absolute vision. He stares, open-mouthed and watches her until she is out of sight. That is it for him, he is smitten!

Lady Anne Wellingham, daughter of the Earl of Trenton (My Fair Groom), is just shy of her eighteenth birthday. She’s supposed to be preparing for her first season, but she just isn’t interested. She wants to marry – now – and she wants to have a child. As soon as she sees George Grandby in the park, she knows he is the one for her.

Lady Angelica (Angel) Grandby, twin sister of George Grandby, hasn’t ever seriously given marriage a thought. She has wondered why she hasn’t received any offers during her previous seasons, but never thought much about it – and then she discovered that it was because her father was discouraging them. She knows her father has a man in mind for her to marry, but, well, she’s sure he’s old and, while she’s willing to meet him, she doubts she’ll be interested.

Sir Benjamin (Ben) Fulton has just completed building his observatory in his back yard. When he arrives at the train station to pick up his new telescope, he sees an absolute vision – an angel – and he is intrigued. However, she is the daughter of an earl and he is a lowly Sir – even though he will most likely inherit an earldom from his brother who has sired nothing but girls. When that same angel comes stomping into his observatory accusing him of being a Peeping Tom, that is it for him – he is totally smitten.

This was a totally happy, romantic, and witty read and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. There is no page-after-page of angst, no conflict, no villains, just happy, loving people with loving parents finding their own loving relationships. What a welcome change of pace!

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