Month: August 2022

Much Ado About Dukes by Eva Devon

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Much Ado About Dukes (Never a Wallflower, #2)Much Ado About Dukes by Eva Devon

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Never a Wallflower, #2

Release Date: August 23, 2022

William Easton, the Duke of Blackheath is a brilliant statesman with a bright political career and he has a secret that he would never confess to anyone and even tries to deny it to himself, that secret is he greatly admires Lady Beatrice Haven. She is smart, outspoken, unconventional, and unashamedly feminist, and since she is the cousin of the woman his brother hopes to marry, unavoidable. She writes to him constantly urging him to support women’s rights, a cause he is happy to support. But William learned long ago that love is a myth and marriage is hell, so despite his attraction to the lovely Lady Beatrice, without offering marriage, there is no possibility of him acting on his attraction.

Wealthy, independent, and smart, Lady Beatrice has no desire to give the little freedom she is afforded to any man and she too has a secret, that despite all her protestations about men and marriage, she is a romantic and will settle for nothing less than a love match like her parents shared. And while the duke intrigues her like no man ever has, she senses a sadness in him and knows that he doesn’t believe in love, so logically, he is not the man for her. But when her circumstances change and William offers a marriage of convenience, she accepts and tries to keep her heart in check. But soon is it clear that she is falling for him and that her love will be the reason she loses him unless he can open his heart before their chance at HEA passes them by.

This was a very well-written, emotional story featuring a cast of very likable and relatable characters. The story has a secondary romance woven into Beatrice and William’s story, but it adds to the story rather than becoming a distraction, additionally, there is plenty of witty banter, interesting historical facts, lots of familial love, emotional healing, steamy love scenes, and finally a lovely HEA complete with an epilogue. I will admit that I wasn’t a big fan of Beatrice at the beginning, she was a bit too aggressive for my taste, but as the story unfolded, my opinion changed and by the end of the book, I greatly admired her. This is the second book in the series, but the books are very loosely connected and can be read as standalone titles. I enjoyed this story 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.*

An Ominous Explosion by Lynn Messina

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

An Ominous Explosion (Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries #10)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries #10
Publication Date: 6/13/22
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 278

Goodness! What a lovely fun and entertaining read filled with wit and great good humor. I can only imagine how exasperating it must be to live with Bea, Duchess of Keswick. Then, to be her husband must make Damian’s, Duke of Keswick, hair turn prematurely gray from worry over the heedless risks she takes. I guess all of that is to say that the author definitely manages to bring the characters to life. Bea is definitely NOT your regular, run-of-the-mill duchess.

“From almost the very beginning, I have been troubled by your recklessness, the way you bound heedlessly into danger, determined to investigate murders that have nothing to do with you,”

“Realizing that I can lose you at any moment to a stupid and senseless accident is a thoroughly unpleasant revelation for me. I never imagined I could feel this way, and if I had had an inkling of what was in store, I would never have knocked on your window.”

All of that said, he doesn’t limit her – he tried once, but that didn’t last long. Now, he just goes along, helps her, and does his best to protect her. You’ll love Keswick! That is how he ended up in the pre-dawn hours picking a lock to enter a large building where an explosion happened the afternoon before. Bea is certain that the explosion was purposeful and therefore, the death that occurred was murder.

What good was a Corinthian if he could not rise at dawn, fully awake and alive to all the possibilities of life?

Their investigation moves along and Bea and Keswick sort through and eliminate suspects as they learn more – and sometimes they add suspects back to the list. What could the motive for murder be? Was it really an accident? No, Bea is sure it wasn’t and Keswick agrees with her. Could the murderer have intended all of the dire consequences for so many people – just by murdering one man? Was the man who died really the intended victim?

I absolutely love the light and witty banter between Bea and Damian as they solve the crime. I’d say you could read this as a stand-alone, and you can, but you might have a few ‘scratch your head’ moments because you’ll have missed out on learning the backgrounds of Damian and Bea and how they came together.

I definitely enjoyed this book and hope you will as well.

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