Month: November 2020

A Lass For Christmas by Jane Charles featured in the anthology “A Scandalous Christmas” by Various Authors

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

A Scandalous ChristmasA Lass for Christmas by Jane Charles, featured in A Scandalous Christmas by Various Authors

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Tenacious Trents #4 & Several Anthologies

Release Date for Anthology: November 24, 2020

I first read this novella years ago when it debuted in the Tenacious Trent series, since then it has been featured in several anthologies and even after all this time – I love this story and was delighted to see that it was included in this anthology.

Lady Madeline Trent and her mother, Rose have stopped to visit her brother Matthew and his new wife on their way to Danby Castle for Christmas and she couldn’t be more delighted. After a disastrous first season and then a missed season due to mourning, she is finally looking forward to meeting a gentleman and starting her own life. But those dreams are shattered when she overhears Matthew and her brother Jordan talking to Rose (their 2nd stepmother). They tell her that they have learned that they have learned that their father’s second wife and daughter, are not dead as everyone thought and they believe Adele and Julia are back in England. This means that the Earl’s marriage to Rose was not valid and Madeline is illegitimate! Overwhelmed by the news, Madeline needs to think and decides to sneak out and go for a walk. She ventures out and gets lost, she sees lights and comes upon a manor house – nearly freezing, she makes her way to the house, but doesn’t realize she is walking across a frozen pond and breaks through the ice.

Lachlan Grant, the Marquess of Brachton is at his estate in England, he inherited the English title from his uncle, but in his heart, he is a Scot and he plans find a Scottish bride. His plan to leave is thwarted by a snowstorm and forces him to delay his departure until the snow stops. He is enjoying a drink with his friend/valet Dougal when he spots a woman walking on his lawn and to his horror, sees her fall through the ice. He races out to save her, she is barely conscious when he finally gets her into the house and he has no choice but to undress her and try to get her warm – he asks her name and she tells him it is Mad before passing out – he thinks she is trying to say Maddie. The next day the misunderstanding grows when she tells him she was traveling with Jordan Trent – a friend of his – but doesn’t mention she is his sister. Lachlan assumes she is Jordan’s mistress and decides to seduce her away from him.

This is a well written, nicely paced novella with very likable characters, warm love scenes and a surprisingly in-depth emotional story. This novella is part of the Tenacious Trent series, but it can easily be read as a standalone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and received from the publisher. All opinions are my own.*

Fortune and Glory by Janet Evanovich

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, Mystery2 Comments

Fortune and Glory (Stephanie Plum, #27)
Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Stephanie Plum #27
Publication Date: 11/3/20
Number of Pages: 320

I absolutely adore Stephanie Plum. She’s totally inept at almost everything, but somehow, she always manages to persist until the job is done. The stories are always delightfully entertaining and witty. Everything from her professional life to her romantic life is always in a state of chaos and it is so much fun to see Stephanie deal with it. Some readers seem to be concerned about the Ranger Vs Morelli saga, but not me. Ranger is quite adamant he’s not ready to settle down and I don’t think Morelli is either – but then, I don’t think Stephanie is ready for marriage and a house in the burbs either. So, maybe at some point, she’ll choose one of them – or there’ll be somebody new.

Truth is, I didn’t know how to categorize Ranger. He was more than just a friend, but he didn’t feel like a boyfriend. There were times when our relationship felt more like a marriage. There was an acceptance of personality that was sometimes lacking between Morelli and me. Maybe that was because Ranger and I had no illusions about a binding, long-term commitment. There wasn’t as much at stake between us.

For the last few books, we’ve been dealing with Stephanie’s Grandma’s forty-five-minute long marriage to an elderly retired mobster hitman. Yep – they married and before they could leave the wedding site, he had a heart attack and died. Now, his elderly cronies – known as the La-Z-Boys (because of their recliners) think Grandma has the clues to lead them to a treasure they’ve had hidden for many years. She doesn’t – or if she does, she doesn’t know it. We’re finally down to the last three of the mobsters who are after Stephanie and Grandma and one of them is totally insane. Each of the mobsters has a single clue about the hidden treasure – Stephanie knows two of the clues – she just needs to get the others and find the treasure before they end her and Grandma.

“That leaves Shine, Salgusta, and Benny the Skootch. I need their clues.”

Stephanie has her hands totally full trying to keep Grandma safe and also keep up with her work as a Bail Bonds Enforcement Agent. Yes, Stephanie is the inept version of “Dog the Bounty Hunter”. Somehow, she always manages to get her man/woman though – often with the help of Ranger who finds her antics entertaining. She has three men to hunt down this time – you’ll love their crimes – and two of them are big, aggressive, and mean. The other one is annoying as the devil but so very entertaining to read. I wonder if we’ll see him in any future books.

Potts started his nervous humming. He had a right to be nervous. He’d been punctured, shot at, and kidnapped. And in spite of all that, he was sticking with me. That took guts. There was strength of character buried under all his weirdness. Unfortunately, that didn’t make him any less annoying

It is a fun, rollicking, adventuresome time watching Stephanie avoid kidnapping while traipsing through dark, damp, rat-infested tunnels to track down the bad guys, save Grandma, and maybe even find the treasure. She does all of that without much (if any) help from Morelli, but lots of help from Ranger – who keeps her supplied with cars she keeps wrecking. Add a newcomer, Gabriella Rose, into the mix (I think she might be getting her own series) and poor Stephanie has her hands full.

I hope you will read the book and be as totally entertained as I was. It is always great to visit with Stephanie and all of her friends and family – Grandma Mazur, Morelli, Ranger, Connie – and Lula – goodness we can’t forget Lula who is as entertaining as they come. It is an entertaining and fun read and I hope you’ll enjoy it.