Month: August 2022

Blog Tour of “Secrets of Her Forbidden Knight” by Ella Matthews

On By TracyIn Blog Tour, Medieval (1066-1540), Middle Ages / Medieval (476-1454), Part of a Series, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Secrets of Her Forbidden Knight

She’s rescued a knight

Now she needs the favour returned…

When widowed Lady Johanne happens upon an injured knight, she sees an opportunity to form an alliance and protect her home, Castle Brae, from her enemies. The betrothal she proposes might be merely for appearances, but the very real attraction between her and Sir Alewyn thrills and disturbs her. For it’s clear he’s hiding something… Can she trust him, with so much at stake?

Purchase Links:

UK – US

Author Bio:

Ella Matthews lives and works in beautiful South Wales. She writes medieval romances for Mills & Boon. When not thinking about handsome heroes she can be found walking along the coast with her husband and their two children (probably still thinking about heroes but at least pretending to be interested in everyone else).

Social Media Links:

Website ~ Twitter ~ Instagram

Tracy’s Review:

Secrets of Her Forbidden KnightSecrets of Her Forbidden Knight by Ella Matthews

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The King’s Knights, #3

Release Date: August 23, 2022

When Johanna, the widowed Baroness of Brae, came upon a massive man lying unconscious on the road, she can’t just leave him to die, despite being warned to do so by her steward, who noticed a trap on the road, which most likely caused the man’s current predicament. But Johanna points out that he likely saved them from the same fate and insists on taking him back to Brae Castle to tend him. And hopefully, with any luck, she will convince him to stay on and help protect the castle.

Sir Alewyn “Al” Monceaux wakes and doesn’t know where he is or how he got there. He remembers leaving Windsor Castle on a mission for the King’s Knights, but has no recollection of the accident and is missing his horse and all his belongings, including his sword. But as luck would have it, he has ended up exactly where he was meant to be, Brae Castle where he was to investigate reports that Lady Johanna is aiding the French against the king and to arrest her for treason if he finds proof of these claims.

He wonders how he will convince Johanna to let him stay, but that problem is solved when a neighboring baron arrives unannounced and Johanna says Al is her betrothed. He plays along with the ruse, because it will give him time to investigate, but as he gets to know Johanna, he can’t believe that she is a traitor to England. He is even more sure that she is innocent when he meets another of her neighboring barons. But can he trust her with the truth of his mission? And the even bigger question is, will he be able to leave her once the traitor is caught?

I loved this story, it is definitely my favorite of the series (so far) and a book that I am thrilled to recommend. Johanna and Alewyn are remarkable characters who both battle with insecurity and strive to prove their worth to others. I adored how they worked together and supported and encouraged each other. I was hoping for a bit more steam in this book, but in the end, I didn’t miss it and when their story ended, I had no doubts about their mutual desire and love for each other. This is the third book in the series, but it can absolutely 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 the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

 

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The Lady of A Grump by Linda Rae Sande

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

The Lady of a Grump (Beyond the Aristocracy) 
Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: Beyond the Aristocracy
Publication Date: 9/6/22
Period: Regency

As always, Linda Rae Sande has provided us with a delightfully entertaining, witty, and romantic book with not one but TWO romances. I loved all of the intertwined characters from both the aristocracy and the working classes – and – I loved that it was sort of taming the shrew in reverse.

Over twenty years before this story takes place, Patience and Maxwell had a history. They were in love and she had accepted his proposal. Unfortunately for them, her father had never told her she was already betrothed – to a much older, wealthier, and higher titled man. When Patience went to break it off with the normally sunny and happy Maxwell, things did not go well. Max took it to mean that Patience was throwing him over. Almost immediately the sunny, happy Max turned into the sullen, grumpy, unhappy Max and he remained that way.

Twenty years later, Patience is a happy widow. She detested her husband and feels a tad (NOT) guilty for not mourning her husband’s passing. To give herself some relief from the ton’s scrutiny during her required mourning period, she decides to travel to the country estate. It is cold and the roads are rutted and icy, so it isn’t a huge surprise when there is a loud crack and the coach comes to a stop with a broken wheel. As fate would have it, the mishap happened right at the entrance to Max’s estate and Patience has no choice but to seek refuge there until the wheel can be repaired/replaced.

Maxwell has been a widower for many, many years and lives practically as a recluse on his country estate. His sour, grumpy demeanor keeps visitors away and has driven most of his staff away as well. Luckily, he pays twice as much as other employers in the area, so he has enough servants to keep the estate running well. None of those servants seem to be about on that cold winter evening to answer the loud, persistent knocking on his door. He’s stunned, and open-mouthed when he wrenches the door open to find Patience on the threshold requesting asylum.

I love Patience and Max’s journey to reconciliation and romance. Neither had ever stopped loving the other and that love quickly came to the fore. Watching grumpy Max become romantic, and loving Max was a wonderful thing!

The second romance involved Patience’s coach driver and a maid at Patience’s country estate. Jeffrey had admired Janet for a number of years and had always planned to ask her to become his wife. He just had to save up enough money for a ring for her. Finally, the ring is safely in his pocket and he can’t wait to get back to the estate to ask her. Only, to his great surprise, she is now working at the estate where their coach just broke down. How could she not have told him? What now? How can they marry and work at two different estates? Their journey is a lovely, romantic read as well.

I love that we always get two romances in each of this writer’s books. The writing is excellent, the characters are always engaging, and the stories suck you right in. I can definitely recommend this read and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

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

View all my reviews