Month: July 2021

How the Scot was Won by Caroline Linden

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

How the Scot Was Won (Desperately Seeking Duke, #2.5)How the Scot Was Won by Caroline Linden

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Desperately Seeking a Duke, #2.5

Release Date: July 6, 2021

If you read A Scot to the Heart then you have already met Agnes and Felix and are probably dying to know what happened to make her first dislike him and then apparently reconcile with him – Well the wait is over and the story is delicious! If you haven’t read the aforementioned book, no worries – this novella is their complete story and you will have no problems jumping right in.

Felix Duncan and Agnes St. James have a long history, one that goes back to their childhood, Felix was a friend of Agnes’ brother Andrew and was always kind to her, but it wasn’t until years later that Felix saw her again and realized that little girl that always tagged along was now a beautiful woman. One he wanted to get to know. Through “random” meetings at a coffeehouse, they formed a friendship and deeper feelings began to take root. But a night of revelry and a bit too much whiskey resulted in the world’s worst marriage proposal and the end to what had been a lovely friendship.

Things remained tense between them, and while they would have liked to avoid each other, that is not possible when her brother returns and Agnes ends up staying with her friend Ilsa who becomes romantically involved with her brother – who happens to be staying with Felix. When Andrew organizes a house party and invites Felix to join them, it appears that our lovers will finally talk and reconcile – a boon in Felix’s opinion and one he doesn’t plan on wasting, because, despite everything that has happened, he really has fallen for Agnes. But just as things seem to be falling into place for their HEA, things completely fall apart for Ilsa and Andrew, and any hope for a quick HEA is lost, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen – does it?

I really enjoyed this novella, it was well-written and never felt rushed or recycled as it was also its own story even though it is on the same timeline as A Scot to the Heart, this book is filled with emotion, angst, steamyish love scenes, a hero who works hard for redemption and finally a well-deserved HEA. This was written as a companion novella to the novel A Scot to the Heart which is Andrew and Ilsa’s story, and while you can read this story without reading that one with no problems, I wouldn’t recommend reading this one first as it will have spoilers.

*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.*

Death At The Crystal Palace

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Death at the Crystal Palace (Kat Holloway Mysteries, #5)Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Kat Holloway Mysteries #5
Publication Date: 7/6/21
Period: Victorian – London 1882
Number of Pages: 304

The books in this series can never come out fast enough for me. I procrastinate starting each new one because I know it will be a long time before the next one – and then I mourn when it is finished – because I know it will be a long time before the next one. I think I like everything about the series; while there are aristocrats, the ‘stars’ of the show are of the domestic class; the aristocrats don’t always get to walk free; there is a background romance that I love watching grow; and, I love the relationship Kat has with her daughter Grace. In this book, we had two cases to solve – one for Kat and one for Daniel (with Kat’s help). You could read this as a stand-alone, but you might be a bit fuzzy on some of the relationships and some of the secondary characters if you haven’t read the previous books in the series. And goodness – those secondary characters are definitely worth getting to know and I certainly look forward to more encounters with them in the future.

On her day out, Kat Holloway has taken her daughter, Grace, to the Crystal Palace to see the exhibits. Kat values every minute of time she has with Grace because she only gets to see her on her full day out on Monday and her half-day out on Thursday, so, the cry for help she hears is dismaying on several levels. The person who cried out, Lady Covington, is deliberately seeking Kat because she has heard about Kat helping solve other mysteries. Lady Covington believes she is being slowly poisoned and she wants Kat to find out who it is and stop them. Kat agrees to visit Lady Covington at her home, and after speaking with her, Kat believes she really is being poisoned. With a house full of family and servants, there are a plethora of potential poisoners. Kat’s job won’t be easy because her own household has new arrivals as well, so her cooking duties have expanded. In order to manage her time constraints, she enlists the help of her usual cohorts and together they work to solve the issue of the poisoner. But it doesn’t happen before a death occurs in Lady Covington’s family – from poisoning.

While Kat is occupied with poisonings, Daniel is working on a very intense case for his guv’nor, Alden Monaghan. The guv’nor is a cold, ruthless man with nary a kind feeling to be had and he has a stranglehold over Daniel. There have been some high-profile murders of government officials and they are sure it has to do with the Irish who want Home Rule. There are also rumors that the Duke of Daventry, one of the richest and most powerful men in the country, is funding the Irish. It is Daniel’s task to prove or disprove those rumors. Daniel wants to keep Kat totally away from anything to do with his mission, but … the best-laid plans…

I highly recommend this book, this series, and this author. The book is well-written, well-plotted, and filled with exceptional characters you’ll quickly come to love. It did leave me wanting more information on Henry though – I’d love to know what actually happened with him. Maybe I’ll learn in the next book!

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

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