Month: April 2021

At the Pleasure of the Marquess by Sofie Darling

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

At the Pleasure of the Marquess (Shadows and Silk #5)At the Pleasure of the Marquess by Sofie Darling

Tracy’s rating: 3/3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Shadows and Silk, #5

Release Date: April 28, 2021

Maybe 3.5 stars

Worried about his brother, former spymaster, Lord Nicolas Asquith asks one of his former agents, Hortense Marchland to check on him. Nick tells Hortense that his brother, James “Jamie” Asquith, the Marquess of Clare has not been seen for months – not since the sudden death of their parents five months ago. Before their death, Jamie was slowly drinking himself into an early grave and Nick is worried that he has succeeded.

After the war ended and the need for agents with it, Hortense began an inquiry business. Years ago, Nick saved Hortense from a life on the streets and has come to be family to her – so when he asked her for help, there is no way she could deny him. But she didn’t expect his brother to be so observant or so sober. When Jamie catches her snooping around his study – he orders her to leave, but he is intrigued by her and follows her. He joins her on another job and then offers her an outrageous amount of money to help him learn what really happened to a lover he lost touch with years ago. Hortense takes the job, not realizing that in doing so, she will be dragged back into her days working for the crime lord Flick Doyle. But true to her word, Hortense learns what happened to Jamie’s lost lover and uncovers another lie his parents kept from him; he has a son. A son that has been lost to the streets and none other than Flick Doyle and his “Lucky Eels”.

Hortense agrees to do a job for Doyle to ensure his son’s release – but it will require connections to the ton that she doesn’t have – connections that Jamie offers to give her through marriage – Jamie is desperate to get his son away from Doyle and will do whatever is necessary – even marrying Hortense. They marry and work together to complete the job and get his son. But neither is prepared for the intense passion that blooms between them or the secret that Hortense is keeping that will definitely destroy any chance of a HEA.

This is a well-written, fast-paced story that is not your usual marriage of convenience story. Jamie and Hortense are both very likable and relatable characters who are both struggling with their pasts and the effect it has on their future. I liked the story, but I wasn’t sold on the need for them to marry, especially after Jamie so efficiently solved Hortense’s problem at that end and made this reader wonder why that solution hadn’t been employed at the first meeting. Aside from that and a few title errors – I did enjoy this story, it is filled with intrigue, steamy love scenes, surprises, twists and turns, and finally a HEA complete with a very heartwarming epilogue. This is the fifth book in the series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title with no problems.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own. *

No Lady For The Lord by Collette Cameron

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

No Lady for the Lord, Daughters of Desire {Scandalous Ladies} series, Book 2No Lady for the Lord, Daughters of Desire {Scandalous Ladies} series, Book 2 by Collette Cameron
Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Daughters of Desire (Scandalous Ladies) #2
Publication Date: 5/12/21
Number of Pages: 280
** 4-Stars **

I thoroughly enjoyed Ronan’s and Mercy’s sweet and uplifting romance. All of the characters are lovely and certainly not what you’d normally expect from members of the aristocracy. Well – most of them aren’t what you’d expect – but three of them could probably fall in a hole and not be missed.

Miss Mercy Feathers was raised in Haven House and Academy for the Enrichment of Young Women where she learned all of the skills needed to be a governess. For the last five years, Mercy has been the governess of two beautiful young girls, Arabelle and Bellamy. Her employer, Lieutenant Lewis Masterson, is a loving father and a considerate employer – but he’s just passed away from lung fever. Things are very tense within their home because the lawyer has released no monies for the running of the household and the girls’ new guardian hasn’t bothered to show up after eight weeks. Mercy has spent all of her own savings trying to keep them all fed – but that is now gone as well. What will they do?

Lord Ronan Brockman certainly got a shock when he returned home from America to find that his friend had died – and Ronan was now the guardian of two very young girls. After a visit from a sleazy lawyer, and sordid tales told by a local barmaid, Ronan doesn’t have any idea what to expect when he arrives at the home of his new charges. Can this governess be the kind of slattern the lawyer and barmaid make her out to be?

Ronan and Mercy certainly get off to a very rocky start and neither of them knows what to expect from the other – or if they even like the other. They each know, however, that each of them cares very much about the girls and what happens to them. Can they learn to abide each other in order to care for the girls?

It was so enjoyable to watch Ronan and Mercy come to care for each other, and I also enjoyed learning of Mercy’s past and the wonderful melding of two loving families. What I didn’t love – though it had no bearing on the romance nor my rating of the story – was the financial situation of Lieutenant Masterson. I liked him very much and that situation seemed to diminish him personally. Since it had little, if any, real bearing on the story, I would have preferred to see that be something a bit different.

I hope you’ll read and enjoy this book as much as I did.

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