Month: November 2022

The Reluctant Countess by Eloisa James

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

The Reluctant Countess (Would-Be Wallflowers, #2)The Reluctant Countess by Eloisa James

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Would-Be Wallflowers, #2

Release Date: November 29, 2022

Raised in the French court, Lady Yasmin Regnier is no stranger to gossip, after all, her own mother was Napoleon’s mistress and Yasmin herself was duped by a fortune hunter at the tender age of 16. She learned to hold her head high and ignore the whispers, but when it became too much to bear, she left France and went to live with her English grandfather, the Duke of Portbellow. While the whispers followed her to England, her connections and her beauty ensure that she is not lacking invitations or suitors. But not every man falls at her feet and unfortunately for her that includes the only man who has really piqued her interest, the grumpy Earl of Lilford, who clearly doesn’t approve of her, yet always requests the first waltz, then barely speaks to her as they dance, and then ignores her after they finish. She wonders what it is about the earl that intrigues her so and what will she have to do to make him smile.

Giles Renwick, the Earl of Lilford hates that he is attracted to Lady Yasmin, she is completely wrong for him, but she makes him burn in a way that no woman ever has. He allows himself only one dance with her but seethes watching the other men dance and flirt with her, all the while telling himself that she could never be his countess. After the scandals created by his parents, Giles sets himself to a higher standard and would never do anything to tarnish his family name or endanger his younger sister’s reputation. And though she is beautiful, connected, and rich, Lady Yasmin’s reputation and manner are all wrong for him, not to mention his sister, Lady Lydia, clearly despises her and has repeatedly warned Giles to stay away from her. But even knowing all that, Giles can’t seem to walk away and soon finds himself trying to convince a reluctant Yasmin to marry him.

As always, Eloisa James delivers another well-written, nicely-paced story populated by wonderful characters. After reading the reviews for this title, I really didn’t expect to like it, but personally, I didn’t find Giles as nasty as he was portrayed in the reviews, that is not to say he wasn’t a first-class jerk to Yasmin, but neither was he the anti-hero I was expecting. Yes, he was condescending. Yes, he was rude and insulting at times. Yes, he allowed himself to be manipulated by his vile sister. But he does see the error of his ways and while he didn’t really grovel, he does apologize. So while it was not perfect, this story kept me turning pages and was filled with emotion, steamyish love scenes – that don’t all end with a satisfied heroine LOL, great secondary characters, a bit of drama, and finally a HEA with TWO epilogues. In the end, I enjoyed the story, but I was left wishing there had been a bit more follow-up with his sister and I am keeping my fingers crossed for a HEA for Silvester, the Duke of Huntington. This is the second book in the series and has ties to “The American Duchess”, but it can absolutely be read as a standalone 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.*

A Christmas In Manchester by Callie Hutton

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

A Christmas in ManchesterBarbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: 11/28/22
Period: Regency

Adam, the Duke of Manchester, was robbed and shot by highwaymen. If it hadn’t been for the angel who came driving by on an old farm wagon, he would have died there on that lonely road. He felt guilty for not telling them who he was – that he was a duke, but he didn’t want to make these lovely people feel uncomfortable around him. It turns out the angel who rescued him and was now nursing him, was the daughter of the Rector for that parish, and her mother had stitched him up. They welcomed him into their home and community as he recuperated.

Miss Evelyn (Eve) Allen is the youngest child of Joshua Allen who is the rector of Trinity Church in their small Worcestershire village. At twenty-one, Eve has led a happy, love-filled life working alongside her parents. All of her brothers and sisters have married and moved on, but Eve has just never met anyone who gave her that special feeling. Several men in the village have tried to court her, but she wants what her parents have – and what her brother and sister have found – love.

One of Eve’s tasks was to distribute food and clothing to the needy in the parish and that sometimes made for a very long day. After one such day, she was headed home, tired and hungry, when she was stopped by a man on the road. He’d been shot and was bleeding. She knew if she didn’t help him, he would die. She, with a bit of his help, managed to get him into the wagon so she could take him home and her mother could remove the bullet and stitch him up. From his clothing and speech, she could tell he was a gentleman – most likely an aristocrat – so she addressed him as My Lord. He didn’t correct her, so she assumed he was a lord of some sort.

This book has one of the sweetest, most romantic male leads you’ll ever read. Was he perfect? No, but that is what makes him so human and relatable. He is a very loving, caring man who meets and falls in love with a woman and then moves heaven and earth to make her his. Now, if you are looking for a steamy read, this isn’t it because he is a very honorable man who respects the woman he loves and is mature enough to control his ‘urges’.

I even learned something from reading the book. Yep, I did. Eve’s father was a Rector of a parish and I almost always see Vicar used instead. So, I wondered at the difference and looked it up. Turns out they are NOT interchangeable. Who knew? The difference is in how they are paid and the different Churches they serve. One is the Church of England (Vicar) and the other is the Anglican Church (Rector).

I enjoyed reading this lovely book and I hope you will as well.

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

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