Month: May 2022

The Bride Goes Rogue by Joanna Shupe

On By TracyIn America's Gilded Age (1870-1900), American Historical, Part of a Series, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

The Bride Goes Rogue (The Fifth Avenue Rebels, #3)The Bride Goes Rogue by Joanna Shupe

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Fifth Avenue Rebels, #3

Release Date: May 24, 2022

After a year of watching Preston Clarke, her betrothed, galavant about town and ignore her instead of making plans for their wedding, Katherine Delafield takes matters into her own hands and confronts him. But things do not go as planned when Preston informs her they are not betrothed and never will be. Hurt and humiliated Kat leaves, but returns moments later to give Preston a proper setdown, informing him that he will come to regret losing her, he tries to stop her when she turns to go, but Kat is done, she has wasted enough time on Preston Clarke and she won’t waste another second on him! She visits her friend Nellie Young and makes plans to start living her life on her terms, starting with attending the scandalous masquerade known as the French Ball and maybe even taking a lover!

Preston Clarke is sorry that Katherine was hurt by his refusal to marry her, but he refuses to honor any agreement made by her father, the man he blames for his family’s near ruin. His father and Kat’s father were business partners and Kat’s father dissolved their partnership and did nothing to help Preston when his father died and Preston learned the truth about his finances – his father had gambled away everything and if not for the help of his friend Forrest, Preston and his mother would have been homeless. Through sheer determination and hard work, Preston has rebuilt his fortune and he is now poised to build the largest building in the world, that is until he learns Kat’s dad has once again betrayed him and that he may have stolen the property Preston plans to use for his project. That is something Preston will not let happen, he will get the property back by whatever means necessary.

His day goes from bad to worse when his mistress wants more than he is willing to give, they part ways and with the hope of finding a diversion, Preston attends the French Ball and meets an enchanting woman, shares a steamy encounter, and makes plans to meet the next day. Imagine their surprise when they meet the next night and discover the truth! Needless to say, they exchange some heated words and part ways – but they keep running into each other and despite his vow to stay away from her, these two are drawn to one another and embark on an affair. But when his business dealings come between them and he hurts Kat, will he be able to make things right, or has he lost her for good?

This was a well-written, nicely paced story set in America’s Gilded Age with wonderfully complex characters. The book has a lot going on, but it is so well done that it doesn’t feel busy and Kat and Preston’s personal struggles don’t diminish their romance, in fact, their struggles actually enhance their journey to HEA. The book is filled with steamy love scenes, questionable business dealings, great secondary characters, some heartache, a bit of grief, betrayal, a dash of jealousy, and finally a HEA. This is the third book in the series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title and if you love a steamy romance with strong, yet likable characters, then this is a book you do not want to miss!

*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.*

A Duke for Diana by Sabrina Jeffries

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

A Duke for Diana (Designing Debutantes, #1)Barbara’s rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Series: Designing Debutantes #1
Publication Date: 5/24/22
Period: Regency London – 1807
Number of Pages: 352

The author did an excellent job of setting up the backgrounds and characters for this new series. The series features three sisters, Eliza, Diana, and Verity, whose scandalous parents have caused them to be ostracized from society. Luckily one of the sisters, Eliza, was already married when the scandal hit, but the other two were just entering society and lost all chances at finding an appropriate marriage. Rather than letting their heads hang in shame, the ladies decided they’d blaze their own trail by starting an event planning business – Elegant Occasions. Each of the sisters had a unique talent to bring to the business, which made each event they planned very unique and special. Now, I have to admit I have my doubts about whether this would have been something three society ladies could start and make successful during the Regency period, but I’m willing to suspend my questioning nature and accept it as doable.

Geoffrey Brookhouse is a very successful civil engineer in New Market. He’s traveled the world designing and building bridges, canals, etc. He’s been running his grandfather’s Ironworks company, Stockdon and Son, for a number of years. He’s very intelligent, driven, plainspoken, and hardworking. What is a man like that supposed to do when he inherits a dukedom never expected and certainly doesn’t want? He’s going to launch his young sister into a ton who doesn’t want them and he’s going to see that she gets the future she deserves. Since he has no clue how to do any of that, he hires Elegant Occasions to assure Rosy’s success.

Lady Diana Harper has never seen or met anyone like the duke who has just come to hire her and her sisters. He curses in polite society; he is unfashionably dressed; he actually speaks of (GASP) money. Diana thinks they may have more trouble launching the duke than the sister because he is totally unrepentant about who he is. He is attractive though – and she can’t stop stealing glances at him.

There are a number of humorous moments along the way to their HEA – and Rosy adds delightful moments with her charm and beauty. However, I think it says a lot about the story when I was more interested in the scandalous parent’s background story than I was in the romance between the two lead characters. Geoffrey and Diana were more like cardboard cutouts than fully fleshed, relatable characters. I found both the characters and the romance to be on the dull side and I kept waiting for something interesting or exciting to happen. Even the chase to Gretna Green was ho-hum.

This is not a book I’d read a second time, but it set up the series so nicely that I’ll definitely try the next book in the series to see where it goes.

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

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