Month: November 2022

In the Shadow of Croft Towers by Abigail Wilson

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

In the Shadow of Croft TowersBarbara’s rating: 3.4 of 5 Stars
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: 1/1/19
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: Audiobook (10 Hours) – Narrator Laura Kirman

I enjoyed the story, but I can tell you – if this had been the first book I read by this author, I probably wouldn’t have sought others. It isn’t that it wasn’t a nice mystery, it is that the heroine is TSTL. She makes some of the most convoluted, impulsive decisions, and those put others at risk as well. I love strong, resilient, independent heroines – but they also need to make intelligent, thoughtful, deliberative decisions rather than acting on impulse. I’ve now read all of the books written by this author and her heroines seem to be, for the most part, TSTL. That didn’t keep me from enjoying the mystery part of the book. I do emphasize mystery because there is little romance and no steam. For me, that isn’t a problem, but if you like a bit of steam, you need to look for books from a different publisher.

Whew! There is so much going on in this book that it will make your head spin. There is a house full of distantly related people and none of them are what they seem. Sybil Delafield arrives amidst this pack of wolves and is immediately prey to one or all of them. Can she escape unscathed? The danger goes from being held up by highwaymen to being pursued by the Prince Regent’s Dragoons. There are just too many secrets and too many people with different agendas.

Sybil Delafield had a happy life, but she’d always wondered about her parents. Since no one would reveal her parentage, she assumed she was born on the wrong side of the blanket, but still wanted to know as much as she could learn. Receiving a letter and a gift from the Earl of Stanton made her believe there was a connection to Croft Towers, so when the matriarch of Croft Towers needed a companion, Sybil immediately applied.

She arrives at Croft Towers soaked to the bone and freezing. She got indifferent welcomes from the various residents of the house and wasn’t sure what to make of them. To her, it didn’t matter because she was there to act as a companion to Mrs. Chalcroft. However, almost immediately Mrs. Chalcroft asks her to make clandestine deliveries for her. Those deliveries were at dangerous times and places, but Sybil complied with the request. I did enjoy watching her struggle with how she felt about Mr. Sinclair and Mr. Cantrell. In one story you have multiple plots/sub-plots – there is a blackmailer, a smuggler, a murderer, and a spy and it is up to you to keep it all straight as you weave through the story. We could have done without several of those plots and villains and still had a lovely story.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Laura Kirman. I’ve listened to her narrations before and the only issue I had were with the male voices. However, in this book I found the delivery to be just a bit choppy. It wasn’t anything that really jarred me out of the story, but it was noticeable. As in her previous narrations, her interpretation of a male voice is to be guttural and, in some cases, very slow – as in a US Southern drawl.

All in all, I enjoyed the story and I’m glad I got to meet Mr. Sinclair and Sybil. That said, it wouldn’t be a book I would re-read.

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The Gentleman of Holly Street by Lottie R. James ~ Blog Tour

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

The Gentleman of Holly Street

GentlemanUKCover.LJames.22

The Gentleman of Holly Street

Will this Christmas…Change their lives again?
When self-made gentleman Freddie Walton rescued penniless Philomena Nichols at Christmas eight years ago, he never imagined that he would build his empire with her. Yet whilst they have created a life together as friends, Freddie can’t let their special connection become more than that. Not when his dangerous past continues to haunt him… But what happens when Freddie’s feelings for Philomena refuse to stay hidden?

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The Gentleman of Holly Street - L.James.2021
Author Bio: 

Lotte James trained as an actor and theatre director but spent most of her life working day jobs crunching numbers whilst dreaming up stories of love and adventure. She’s thrilled to finally be writing those stories, and when she’s not scribbling on tiny pieces of paper, she can usually be found wandering the countryside for inspiration or nestling with coffee and a book.

Social Media Links: 

Twitter ~ Website 

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Tracy’s Review:

The Gentleman of Holly StreetThe Gentleman of Holly Street by Lotte R. James

Tracy’s rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: Gentlemen of Mystery, #3

Release Date: November 29, 2022

After years of travel, Freddie Walton has finally put down roots and purchased a building to not only open his business but also as a place to live. He is inspecting the property when he comes upon a half-starved, terrified girl. He invites her in to eat and get warm, knowing that he can’t turn her away, but not realizing how this decision will ultimately change his life.

Philomena “Mena” Nichols has come a long way from the ragamuffin that was saved that December night by Freddie. She has worked hard with Freddie to make his business a success and has also worked diligently to improve herself and despite her lingering fears, has managed to do amazing things on her own.

Freddie and Mena have a complicated relationship and are often apart from each other, they are both self-made people, and both feel inferior, even though Freddie has a circle of friends in high society and is welcomed into the ton, they both think they are unworthy. Even after their relationship changes and they become lovers, they still don’t believe they are deserving of a HEA with each other and struggle with feelings of inadequacy. Especially Freddie, whose past is coming back to haunt him.

This was an odd read for me and I wonder if it was because this is the third book in the series and I didn’t read the previous books. While the idea of the book intrigued me when I started reading it, there were things that I found offputting, such as Freddie’s relationship with Lady Mary, they were just a bit too cozy for my liking, and in this era, there is no way they could spend as much time together as they did without controversy or risk to Mary’s reputation. I also wasn’t a fan of Freddie’s resistance to committing to Mena, or the fact that he knowingly hurt her. OK – I guess, I was just not a fan of Freddie in general. Overall, I thought the book had potential but was a bit too repetitive and slow-moving, and I certainly wouldn’t classify it as a “Gothic Romance”.

*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.*