Month: January 2021

The Heiress Gets A Duke by Harper St. George #Release Day Blitz

On By TracyIn America's Gilded Age (1870-1900), Blog Tour, Book Publicity, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

The Heiress Gets a Duke (The Gilded Age Heiresses, #1)The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George

Tracy’s rating: 3.5/4 of 5 stars

Series: The Gilded Age Heiresses, #1

Release Date: January 26, 2021

August Crenshaw is not your average young woman; she is smart, savvy, and deeply involved in her father’s business ventures and has no plans to stop working or change her ways to please a man. She plans to marry someday, but on her own terms. So, after watching her friend Camille forced into marriage with the Duke of Hereford, August thanked her lucky stars that her parents would never do such a thing to her or her sister Violet. But when they travel to London to visit Camille, August is horrified to learn that her parents are planning to marry Violet off to the penniless Duke of Rothschild. She is still reeling when later, she sneaks out with Camille to watch a prizefight and ends up kissing one of the fighters.

Evan Sterling, the Duke of Rothschild has inherited a mountain of debt and a failing estate, he has tried over the last year to sort things out, but it is clear that he is in over his head and must marry an heiress to save his tenants and his family from ruin. When his mother has suggested he marry Miss Crenshaw, he recalls the kiss he coaxed out of her at his fight and agrees to meet her. But to his dismay, she is not the Miss Crenshaw he wants. A thought that is further cemented when August takes him to task and warns him away from Violet by threatening to expose his fighting to society – he decides then and there – August is the one that he wants!

August is shocked to learn that her parents expect her to marry him and make it clear that if she doesn’t, she will no longer have a job in the business. But sadly, her father also makes it clear that if she marries Evan, she will not have a job either – so August is understandably angry and tries to thwart Evan at every turn – but her efforts only make him more determined to marry her! They finally make an agreement and he promised to release her from the betrothal if she will come to his estate and let him court her for a week. A HEA seems like it might be possible, but a shocking twist and some misunderstanding make things much, much harder.

I loved this book right up to the 90% mark and then it came very close to being a wall-banger for me. I thought the book was well written and paced nicely, I liked the storyline and even though I found August a bit abrasive and at times annoying, I felt her pain and anger, likewise, I felt Evan’s desperation and feelings of failure and loss. They were both great characters and I loved the banter between them, and the undeniable chemistry – this book was a five-star read until the end ruined it for me – the ending sucked – the book that had been nicely paced up until this point went into hyperdrive with TWO misunderstandings, followed by a quick resolution and then BOOM! it was over – not even an epilogue to let the reader get a little taste of their HEA – it was disappointing. This is the first book in a new series and despite my disappointment with this book’s ending – I did enjoy most of the book and will certainly be looking forward to the next installment.

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

Mrs. Jeffries Demands Justice by Emily Brightwell

On By BarbaraIn OtherLeave a comment

Mrs. Jeffries Demands Justice (Mrs. Jeffries #39)Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Mrs. Jeffries #39
Publication: 1/26/21
Number of Pages: 304

Thirty-Nine books into the series and I’m still loving it. The characters are as fresh and delightful today as they were in the first book. There is always a serious mystery to solve, but it is done with wit and charm galore. I always look forward to each new book because of its warmth, it’s family feel – all of the characters have the utmost respect and care for each other despite the differences in their stations in life. Each book is a delightful addition to the series, but you can also read each book as a standalone should you wish to do so – but you would be missing the character and relationship growth that has occurred in the previous books.

Inspector Nigel Nivens is in serious trouble – very serious trouble. If you’ve read the previous books, you know what a despicable piece of work he is. Now, there has been a heinous murder, and all of the evidence points to Nivens being the perpetrator. Nivens detests Inspector Witherspoon, yet now, not only his career but his life is in Witherspoon’s hands. LOVE IT!

Inspector Witherspoon is called into the Chief’s office and told that he has a new case. The case isn’t out of his station, but Witherspoon is being assigned nonetheless. There has been a murder in the East End and all of the evidence points to Nigel Nivens being the murderer. The overhead folks at Scotland Yard wouldn’t mind throwing the book at Nivens and getting rid of him, but they know they have to give the investigation every appearance of fairness. That is why they assign the case to Witherspoon – the most respected Inspector on the force.

Witherspoon doesn’t like Nivens, but he doesn’t believe he is capable of murder. However, the evidence is pretty clear. In Witherspoon’s view, the only way to conduct the investigation is to be unbiased and to start fresh and look at ALL of the clues, not just the obvious ones. As he investigates, he learns that there are many, many, many people who have reasons to want the victim dead.

I love that Inspector Witherspoon has an ‘unknown to him’ support team consisting of his housekeeper, maid, cook, coachman, and several interested friends who are helping him behind the scenes. I love how they quietly feed him the clues they have found without him even being aware that they’ve done it. That ‘support team’ has absolutely no love for Nivens because of the way he’s treated Witherspoon in the past, but they also don’t believe he’s guilty. They’ll help their inspector solve the crime no matter which way it goes.

I loved this book and enjoyed reading every word of it. I love the characters and the whole ‘family’ feel it has. I hope you’ll read this book, and this series, and that you’ll love it as much as I do. I even like that this book has departed from its norm and leaves a bit of a cliff-hanger for the end. I feel a set-up for a future story there 🙂

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