Month: April 2020

The Artist and the Rake by Callie Hutton

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

The Artist and the Rake (The Merry Misfits of Bath #4)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Merry Misfits of Bath #4
Publication Date: 4/14/20
Number of Pages: 185

This was a really exciting addition to the series – it was fast-paced, well-written, and so very romantic. I will admit that parts of it were a bit darker than I normally care for, but it was still a delightful read and a change of pace for me. We also had lovely visits with the H/h from the first three books.

Four years ago, Lizbeth Davenport lost her entire family within just a few weeks of each other. Now, alone and without employment, she accepts a fateful offer that will lead to the demise of all her hopes and dreams. In the middle of the night, she’s kidnapped – taken from her bed and sold to a London brothel.

Marcus Mallory is a member of parliament who has spent years working on getting a bill passed that would crack down on the kidnapping of women and children for nefarious purposes. The bill gets passed in the House of Lords, but is always defeated in the Commons. He’s frustrated, but still working to get the votes he needs. When his friend Nick (Nicholas Smith from Lady Pamela and the Gambler) arrives and asks for his assistance in rescuing a friend who was kidnapped and sold to a brothel, Marcus leaps at the chance to help.

After her rescue, Lizbeth is filled with anger and vows revenge on those who kidnapped her. She has every intention of doing it alone, but Marcus insists on helping her. As they spend time together, they grow closer, but still … Can a man who has declared to all who’ll listen that he’ll not marry and a woman who is terrified of a man’s touch actually find their HEA?

I absolutely loved Marcus, he wasn’t judgmental and seemed to have all of the patience in the world with Lizbeth. When there are villains everywhere – more kidnappings – and police who seem to do nothing, the reader begins to wonder if/when/how Lizbeth will have her revenge.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I hope you will as well. The only thing I wasn’t happy about was that one of the main villains went basically unpunished. Given the damage this person did, how many lives were ruined over a long period of time, I would have really preferred a severe punishment. If the police couldn’t manage it – the person could have fallen off a cliff, or down a quarry, or over the side of a boat, or out of a moving coach, or run in front of a bullet – whatever – just something more than what happened.

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

To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's Reviews2 Comments

To Have and to HoaxTo Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters

Tracy’s rating: 3/3.5 of 5 stars

Series: None (?)

Release Date: April 7, 2020

Lady Violet Grey met Lord James Audley when she was caught trysting with his friend, Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham. James sent his friend away after berating him for dallying with an innocent, but instead of immediately returning her to the ballroom – they flirt and are caught alone by her mother – James immediately proposes. They marry and spend their first year in a tumultuous relationship filled with love, passion, fighting and making up – until they don’t – they have a fight that basically ruins their marriage and they barely speak for the next four years.

They settle into a bland marriage – living together, but barely speaking and definitely not sharing a bed. Neither is happy, but neither is willing to make the first move towards reconciliation. So when James’ friend Viscount Penvale sends Violet a letter saying James was gravely injured at their county house – she rushes to see him, but finds him at an inn on the way back to London – no worse for the wear. When she mentions the accident, he brushes off her concern and basically tells her that he is none of her concern. Livid, Violet returns to London alone and plots to make James pay for his callous treatment of her. And so, it begins, complete with actors, lies, illness (with amazing, yet selective recovery), outrageous flirting, and more than a few kisses.

This was a very well written story that started out strong and very amusing, but soon the constant bickering and the over the top dramatics went from entertaining to tedious and immature. I didn’t dislike the book, it was a light read with likable characters, some witty dialogue, great secondary characters, warmish love scenes, perfect formal address (with nary a title error to be found!). So, as far as debut novels go, this is one of the better ones, and I liked Ms. Waters’ writing style, I really believe with more experience, she will be a must read author. But in regards to this book, there were things that didn’t work for me, I found a four year estrangement to be a bit too long, I also felt like the conflict between them dragged on for way too long – the last 20% of the book was frustrating to read and in the end, I don’t know if I really believe these two will enjoy a HEA – they were both immature, judgmental and stubborn. There is also the price (which I know is not the author’s doing, but it still matters to readers) – this debut novel is pretty pricey, selling for more than books by well known, best-selling authors – If the book was priced more reasonably, I would recommend it – but at the current price of almost $13.00, I would pass until the price goes down. This book was not promoted as the beginning of a series, but there are several possible stories started in this book and I would be interesting in reading them.

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