Month: May 2021

You’ve Got Plaid by Eliza Knight

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

You've Got Plaid (Prince Charlie's Angels, #3)You’ve Got Plaid by Eliza Knight

Tracy’s rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Prince Charlie’s Angels. #3

Release Date: May 25, 2021

Years ago, Fiona MacBean along with her two best friends pledged their undying support to restore the rightful king to Scotland’s throne and have spent the years since living up to that pledge. Fiona with her gift of blending in and gathering information has acted as Prince Charlie’s personal messenger for years – earning her the sobriquet of The Phantom. Now with the battle of Culloden upon them, there is no way Fiona won’t be there – regardless of what her brother has ordered. The battle is a massacre and Fiona is worried for the safety of the prince and makes her way to Culloden House to make sure he escaped Cumberland’s wrath. But the prince is long gone when she arrives and it this there that she meets Brogan Grant and his small band of men.

Brogan has also come to Culloden House to ensure the prince is safe, but instead, he finds the feisty Fiona MacBean. He knows it is not safe for any Jacobite right now, especially a woman. He tells Fiona to go home and offers to escort her, but she makes it clear that she has work to do and doesn’t need his interference. But Brogan insists, he will accompany her on her mission and then escort her home – a plan Fiona appears to agree with. But when they learn that Cumberland has ordered his men to kill any remaining Jacobite supporters, she knows that she must warn her friends and contacts and she must do it alone. She sneaks away from camp and sets out on her own. At first, Brogan is upset and wants to find her, but then realizes that he really has no chance to tracking her down and instead sets out with his men to find the prince.

Weeks pass and again their paths cross, and after a deadly confrontation with the vile Captian Boyd, Fiona agrees to travel with Brogan to find the prince and even agrees to a “fake marriage” with Brogan to protect her during the journey. A dangerous adventure that will have them chasing the prince all over the highlands.

This was a very interesting read, that was it was more historical fiction than romance in my opinion – but it was a well-written, gripping read that was very hard to put down. The book is filled with heartache, graphic battle/fight scenes, betrayal, loss, warm love scenes, wonderful secondary characters, a strong, likable hero, an independent heroine, and a very sweet dog. Personally, I was not a fan of the ending, I felt it was a bit melodramatic for no good reason and that this book 100% needed an epilogue. As historical fiction, this was a solid 4-star read, but as a romance, I found it lacking – I didn’t feel the love between Fiona and Brogan developing, there was attraction, but that was also a serious lack of trust that caused them to doubt each other too many times for me to believe they were truly “in love”. This is the third book and final book in the series, but it could 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 NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own. *

Wilful Changes in Lower Dimblebrook by Julie Butterfield

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, MysteryLeave a comment

Wilful Changes in Lower Dimblebrook: A delightful cozy mystery about gossip, village life and murder! (Isabelle Darby Cozy Village Mysteries Book 2)Barara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Isabelle Darby Cozy Village Mysteries #2
Publication Date: 12/16/20
Period: Contemporary – Cotswolds
Number of Pages:220

I’ve read this series out of order, but that hasn’t been a problem. I read the first book, Deadly Whispers in Lower Dimblebrook, and then I read the third book, Key Mishaps in Lower Dimblebrook, before I read this one. What I have learned so far is that this is a delightfully entertaining series, with great mysteries with a bit of a romance included. The romance is definitely secondary to the mystery, so don’t think it is a romance series. For me personally, I really want a bit of romance to go along with a great mystery.

The characters who inhabit the small Cotswold village of Lower Dimblebrook are delightful. From Doris Stokes, the village’s gossip machine, to Miriam Hollier, the serene and helpful wife of the vicar, to the intrepid octogenarian, Madeline Halesowen, and everybody in between, you’ll quickly come to love them all. DI Dave Wainwright was promoted and moved to the Cotswold area from Manchester. He was fully attuned to the fast-paced, hard-knocks policing of Manchester, and is having a really hard time adjusting to policing in the Cotswolds. Who serves tea and discusses the weather with a police inspector prior to getting down to telling what you know? Well – the answer to that is everybody in Lower Dimblebrook! The one person I have a tad of trouble with is Isabelle (Issie) Darby. As the female lead, I want her to be intelligent, astute, strong, etc. – someone to look up to. Instead, she seems terribly naïve and often TSTL. Some of the decisions she makes – and the internal dialogue that goes along with them just make me cringe. She usually, totally by accident, comes across some vital piece of evidence and decides it isn’t important and that she doesn’t need to share it with DI Wainwright. She then ends up in a life-or-death situation and Wainwright has to save her. Don’t get me wrong – I sort of like her a bit ditzy – I just don’t like her being TSTL. I still thoroughly enjoy the books – I just wish she were a bit wiser.

Issie moved to Lower Dimblebrook a couple of years ago to heal from the break-up of her marriage. She spent the first year living in her own little world, but the citizens have slowly brought her out of her shell with their friendly greetings, invites to tea, and lovely visits. A few months ago, Issie met Della Burrows in a bookshop in a nearby village. She liked the woman and they became – not exactly friends – but better acquaintances – since both of them lived in Lower Dimblebrook.

When Della is found stabbed to death in her bedroom, Issie is shocked. Issie had just been in her home that very morning watering her tropical plants because Della was supposed to be out of town. Poor Della! Poor Issie – it seems if she befriends someone, they end up murdered and that certainly doesn’t recommend her to all of her neighbors!

Issie tries to stay out of Wainwright’s investigation, but, as always, she ends up landing right in the middle of it with both feet. I mean – she can’t help doing at least a little internet sleuthing with all of the gossip that is going around. Goodness, what can it hurt? She’ll definitely get the answer to that question! It seems there was a whole lot more to Della that Issie had realized – and some of that just might get Issie killed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I hope you will as well. BTW – I love the name of the village Lower Dimblebrook – however – I always want to call it Dumbledor, so if you see me use that in a review, you’ll know I like Harry Potter.