Month: June 2021

Pretty in Plaid by Eliza Knight

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Novella, Scottish/Highlander, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Pretty in PlaidPretty in Plaid by Eliza Knight

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Prince Charlie’s Rebels, #2

Release Date: May 2, 2021

Kenna Forbes resides at Culloden House with her paternal Uncle Duncan, who took her in when her parents died fighting with the rebels years ago. While Kenna loves her uncle and cousin Elizabeth, she is not happy that her uncle is a Loyalist and supports King George. She is getting ready to join her uncle and his guests, primarily Redcoats, wearing a plaid gown that was her mother’s. But at the last moment, she changes her mind and decides to return to her room to change – this is when she meets Sorley MacLeod aka the Retriever – the man sent by her maternal uncle, Laird MacLeod to bring her to his home on Skye.

Sorley is immediately enchanted by Kenna, especially when she pulls a knife on him!! But she steals his heart when she saves him from being discovered and leads them out of the house through a secret passage. Kenna isn’t sure why, but she feels safe with Sorley and agrees to travel with him to meet with her uncle. But the longer she is with him, the deeper her feelings grow and makes them wonder, is it possible to fall in love with a stranger in a matter of days?

This was a well-written, fast-paced, fun novella that although it is short, was a satisfying, well-developed story. The story unfolds perfectly and left this reader very happy. Filled with wonderful characters, a bit of action, some warm love scenes, and a HEA that didn’t feel rushed. As a bonus, fans of the Prince Charlie’s Angels series will be in for a treat with cameos from several characters, both friend and foe! This novella is part of a series and has strong ties to the previously mentioned series, but it is easily read as a standalone title with no issues. I really enjoyed this book and am happy to recommend this title.

*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. *

the Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Paranormal/Fantasy, Victorian Era (1837-1901)3 Comments

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (Dangerous Damsels, #1)Barbara’s rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: Dangerous Damsels #1
Publication Date: 6/15/21
Period: Victorian
Number of Pages: 336
** 2.5 Stars **

The GoodReads blurb for this book made it sound like a fun, entertaining, lighthearted, witty, and exciting read. I could hardly wait to get my hands on either the purchased copy or an ARC – whichever came first. To say I was sorely disappointed would be putting it mildly. Please take this as just one person’s opinion because we all like different things and we all find different things humorous. I’m sure some of you will read the book and love it – I just did not. After reading it, I am of the belief that they need to invent a whole new genre just for this book. I think it was just too much – too much of everything – too busy – it reminded me of some of the descriptions I’ve read from people having LSD trips.

If you get rid of the chaff, you have a nice love story. I couldn’t bring myself to like the heroine, Cecilia, but I did like the hero Nate. He was actually the only person in the story I did like.

In this alternate/fantasy universe, the members of the Wisteria Society fly their houses from place to place, dislike and disrespect men, love nobody, hire assassins to murder their friends, poison their husbands (or stab them, or …), steal the possessions of others, well, you name it – I sort of thought they were worse than the mafia. Queen Victoria even flies Windsor Castle into battle.

I really, really wanted to love this book as much as I loved the book blurb, but I just couldn’t get there. The writing is well done, I loved the author’s way of turning a phrase and the way she handled the internal dialogue, etc. I just couldn’t get into the story or the characters. I am sorry to say that I won’t be looking for further books by this author.

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