Month: July 2021

The Marquess Method by Kathleen Ayers

On By TracyIn Book Publicity, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

The Marquess Method (The Beautiful Barringtons, #3)The Marquess Method by Kathleen Ayers

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Beautiful Barringtons, #3

Release Date: July 20, 2021

Desperate to win the affections of the Earl of Blythe, Lady Theodosia “Theo” Barrington, sister to the Duke of Averell, paints a very risque miniature of herself as a gift to the earl – but has second thoughts about giving it to him and tries to retrieve it before he can find it, but when she enters his study – it is nowhere to be found, but she is not alone, the Marquess of Haven, the last man Theo wants to see is there. A man she despises and the man she shared a passionate kiss with months ago, thinking he was Blythe.

Ambrose Collingwood, the Marquess of Haven is impoverished, thanks to his reckless, grieving late father, who gambled away his family’s fortune, which included his sister’s dowry. But Haven doesn’t place all the blame on his father, he also blames Leo Murphy (Theo’s illegitimate brother) the owner of the pleasure club Elysium for not cutting off his father, even after Haven met with him and asked him to turn his father away. Murphy was unapologetic and even told Haven to find an heiress to marry. So he did – Murphy’s own sister! But much to his surprise, he actually likes Theo and while he has had plenty of opportunities to ruin her, he has held back. However, fate seems to have deemed it time, because he was in the study waiting for Blythe when Theo stormed in and threw herself at him trying to find the box he had taken from the chair – she had her hands under his jacket when Lady Blythe, the earl’s mother walked in.

To avoid another scandal, Theo knows she must marry Haven, but fights it tooth and nail – even though she finds him attractive and amusing – not that she would EVER admit that to another living soul. But by the time they marry, she has resigned herself to a life with him, and after an amazing wedding night, she is feeling optimistic, that is until he says something incredibly insulting and causes a rift that he will have to do some spectacular groveling to win her back. In the meantime, Theo is a bit overwhelmed by the magnitude of the work that needs doing at his estate but is willing to give it her best. She immediately makes friends with his sister but is a bit wary of his uncle – who is a drunk, but who Haven feels obligated to. Haven admits he has fallen hard for Theo and will do whatever is necessary to win her back, he knows he has to tell her the truth, but will she understand and forgive him or will she be lost to him forever?

This was a well-written, well-paced, amazing story that held my attention from the first page until the very last word and left me wanting more! The book has likable characters, witty banter, steamyish love scenes, secrets, lies, a twist or two that keep things interesting, surprising revelations, and finally a sigh-worthy HEA. I did find Theo a little annoying at the beginning, but she won me over long before the end of the book and I ended up loving her, and Haven had me in his corner from the first scene. This is the 3rd book in the series, but it can easily be read as a standalone title. I am happy to recommend this title, I have not read the two previous books, but I am hooked and will definitely be checking them out ASAP!

*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 of A Duchess by Nellie H. Steele

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Gothic Historical, Historical Mystery, Paranormal / Fantasy2 Comments

Death of a DuchessDeath of a Duchess by Nellie H. Steele
Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Duchess of Blackmoore Mysteries #1
Publication Date: 5/1/21
Period: ?? Not Apparent – Sometime before trains and cars
Number of Pages: 290

Since I don’t read the paranormal genre, I certainly surprised myself when I decided to purchase – and then enjoyed – this book. The mystery is well-plotted and well presented, with just enough obscure clues to cause you frustration, yet keep you reading. This is a new-to-me author and I enjoyed her writing style which captures the more formal speaking style of earlier historical periods. There wasn’t enough information within the story to get a grasp of the period in which the story takes place, and that always annoys me – couldn’t somebody just put a date at the beginning of the first chapter or something?

Lenora Hastings has a gift – or a curse – depending on your point of view. She sees and communicates with dead people and has done so her entire life. While it all seems perfectly normal to Lenora, the adults in her life can’t deal with it – when she was six, her father left and her mother turned her over to a nunnery soon after. When the nuns couldn’t deal with it, they turned her over to Headmistress Williamson at St. Mary’s Orphanage for Girls, where she lived for the next ten years. The headmistress didn’t care for Lenora nor her abilities, so she never recommended Lenora for placement into any of the employment opportunities that came to the orphanage’s occupants. Lenora was totally shocked when she was told to pack her things at once as she was leaving immediately. Lenora was excited to be going to the Highlands even though she had no idea what position her employment required. Maybe she would be a governess, or a companion, or – scullery maid, she didn’t care, she was out of the orphanage. When she finally learned what position was being offered, her jaw dropped.

Robert Fletcher, Duke of Blackmoore, has been a widower for three years. He has suffered greatly for those years because he loved his wife and cannot imagine what could possibly have caused her to take her own life. When he hears rumors of a young woman at an orphanage – one who can communicate with the dead – he immediately has her tracked down and investigated to see if she is the real article. He then has her summoned to Blackmoore Castle where he offers her marriage and a life of luxury in exchange for her ‘special’ skills. He needs her to communicate with Annie, the former Duchess of Blackmoore, to find out why she took her own life.

Annie is one very angry and confused ghost. She’s hard to communicate with because she doesn’t speak to Lenora in any way. She projects feelings and does other things and Lenora has to guess at their meanings. That communication process is very slow, dangerous, and vexing. Will Lenora be able to figure it all out before it is too late?

I enjoyed the other tangents of the story aside from the main mystery. It was lovely to see the duke come to care for Lenora and to demonstrate that caring by his actions in regard to her friend Tillie and also in regard to Headmistress Williamson.

I could have easily rated this at five stars, but there were just too many historical inaccuracies that I just couldn’t get past them. Proper forms of address were all over the place – sometimes they were correct, but mostly they weren’t. Then there was the ‘adoption’ when formal legal adoptions didn’t happen until sometime in the 1900s. Before then, there were guardianships or wardships, etc. An ‘adopted’ child could not have become the duke’s heir – the title would have gone to the duke’s brother, etc. anyway – lots of historical errors in an otherwise great mystery.

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