Month: January 2023

BLOG TOUR – Conveniently Wed to the Laird by Jeanine Englert

On By TracyIn #Giveaway, Blog Tour, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Scottish/Highlander, Standalone Title, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Conveniently Wed to the Laird

The laird’s bridal bid…

Is love too high a price to pay?

When new laird, Ewan Stewart, comes across a wife for sale at a market, he outbids everyone to rescue her. He never intended for Catriona to become his bride, but a convenient marriage could secure his clan’s future and her freedom. They agree that their arrangement must stay free of love, yet Catriona’s bravery and fire intrigue him. Can Ewan resist falling for his wife—the one rule he must not break?

Purchase Link

Author Bio:

Jeanine Englert’s love affair with mysteries and romance began with Nancy Drew, Murder She Wrote, and her Grandmother’s bookshelves full of romance novels. She is a VIVIAN® and Golden Heart® Finalist as well as a Silver Falchion, Maggie, and Daphne du Maurier Award Winner in historical romance and mystery. Her Scottish Highland historical and historical romantic suspense novels revolve around characters seeking self-acceptance and redemption. When she isn’t wrangling with her characters on the page, she can be found trying to convince her husband to watch her latest Masterpiece or BBC show obsession. She loves to talk about books, writing, her beloved rescue pups, as well as mysteries and romance with other readers.

Social Media Links

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GIVEAWAY:

Giveaway to Win a Highlander Trio Prize Pack (Open to UK/ US Only)

Settle in to enjoy the complete Falling for a Stewart Trilogy along with some Scottish-themed jewelry and book swag! Good luck and thank you for participating in the giveaway!

*Terms and Conditions –UK & US entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for the fulfillment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for the despatch or delivery of the prize.

Tracy’s Review:

Conveniently Wed to the LairdConveniently Wed to the Laird by Jeanine Englert

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Falling for a Stewart, #3

Release Date: January 24, 2023

When Laird Ewan Stewart accompanied his soon-to-be-wed sister Brenna to Edinburgh on a shopping trip, he never expected to purchase anything for himself, especially not a wife, but that is exactly what happened! While wandering through the market stalls Ewan heard a commotion and came across a man selling his wife – Ewan was appalled, but it wasn’t until his neighbor and nemesis Dallan MacGregor offered to buy her at a discounted rate that Ewan stepped up and bought her. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with her, but he knew that he couldn’t leave her with Dallan, who would no doubt abuse her and after learning of the torture his sister Moria endured with a cruel man, there is no way Ewan would ever leave any woman to face that if he could help it. So he takes the woman, whose name is Catriona Gordon, back to his carriage and a plan starts to form. Ewan needs a wife, the elders have been nagging him since he inherited the lairdship, but having been in love once and been betrayed, Ewan has no desire to relive that experience and will only marry someone who understands that love will never figure into their relationship. And now that he has “bought” a wife, he is not even sure if he is married to her, so he tells her he will contact his solicitor to find out if the marriage is legal, and offers her a marriage of convenience if it is.

Catriona Gordon can’t believe her husband Thomas sold her, but a small part of her is relieved to be free of him, as he was one of many disappointments in her life. A life that started for her when she was found washed up on the beach as a young child, with no memory of her name or her family. She was raised by a loving widow, but sadly she died when Catriona was only 13, alone once more Catriona was taken in by another family, then she became a maid for another family and met Thomas Gordon, who she married – but she longs for a true family and freedom to make her own decisions. She agrees to Ewan’s offer but plans to flee at her first opportunity. But the more time she spends with him, the harder it is to leave. And when they learn the state of their marriage and Ewan proposes, she agrees to marry him, but wonders if she can keep her promise to not love him because she is pretty sure she already does and believes that he has feelings for her too. It seems like they may find their HEA after all, but when one of their guests raises a shocking possibility on the night of their betrothal announcement, everything changes and Ewan realizes two things; he loves her and his heart is going to be broken yet again.

I loved this book, in my opinion, it is the best of the series and shouldn’t be missed! The book has a marriage of convenience, a love-shy hero, an incredible heroine, great secondary characters, a slow-burn romance, kissing-only love scenes, a little heartache, a surprising twist, a scene that brought me to tears, and finally a HEA complete with an epilogue. I do wish the book had some steam, but even without it, the book was a wonderful read. This is the third book in the series, but it could easily be read as a stand-alone title. I am happy to recommend this title and I am sincerely hoping that I wasn’t just imagining that the author seemed to be setting up the possibility of spinoff series (Hint, Hint).

*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.*

 

Murder at the Seven Dials by Cara Devlin

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

Murder at the Seven Dials (Bow Street Duchess Mystery #1)Barbara’s rating: 4.5 Stars
Series: Bow Street Duchess Mystery #1
Publication Date: 1/28/23
Period: Regency London
Number of Pages: 317

Excellent mystery! This new-to-me author has presented a baffling murder mystery that includes a determined duchess, a prejudiced Bow Street officer, and social stigma along with a tad of the paranormal. Way to go! I’m rarely a fan of anything paranormal in the books I read, but this was done so well I didn’t mind it at all – I even rooted for it to be used even more. For me, the story was a bit slow and dragged a tad, but as the introduction to a new series, it had to make all of the proper character introductions and set-ups, so I have to allow for that. Still, it did seem a fair amount longer than the 317 pages it was. Oh! And before I forget to mention it – you have the first (or most of the first) chapter of the next book at the end of this one.

Audrey Sinclair, Duchess of Fournier, and Philip Sinclair, Duke of Fournier are not a love match. It is, however, a match of affection, care, and respect between two long-time friends who each have deep, serious secrets to hide. Their marriage gives each of them a layer of protection from the ton who would be aghast if they learned them. They also agreed there would be total honesty within the marriage, yet to Audrey’s horror, it appears Philip hasn’t exactly been honest lately.

In the wee hours of the morning, Audrey and the household were awakened when a message from Bow Street arrived. Philip had been found, incoherent, at the scene of a grisly murder in a crumbling tenant dwelling in Seven Dials. Philip was covered in blood and the murder weapon was close to him. Audrey knew immediately that Philip hadn’t committed the murder, he couldn’t have, that was part of his secret, but she couldn’t tell his secret and she had no way to show his innocence.

Bow Street Principal Officer, Hugh Marsden, has a raging prejudice against aristocrats and it pleased him immensely when there was no doubt that a duke has committed a most heinous crime. Yes, this duke was going to be arrested, tried, and hanged if he had his way about it. Who could doubt he was guilty – he was covered in blood – his mistress’s blood – and the murder weapon was at his feet. Contrary to what that little duchess kept telling him, he knew the duke was guilty. He’d just send her back to her palatial home to embroider while he wrapped up the case.

However, that little duchess was a whole lot more than Hugh bargained for. She did not follow instructions well and proceeded to investigate the case for herself. She was tooling around asking questions of dangerous people in dangerous places. Everywhere he turned there she was. Now, it seemed he’d have to keep her safe and protect her from herself while finishing up the case. Humpf!

I enjoyed watching Hugh trying to thwart Audrey and keep her out of trouble, and I also enjoyed watching him slowly come to believe that she just might be right about the murder. Uh Oh!

I hope I have found a new favorite author and series, but I’m going to reserve judgment on that. You see, I have to have a bit of romance to go along with my mysteries and I’m just not sure how the author is going to manage to do that given the circumstances. I would NEVER be satisfied with an affair between Audrey and Hugh – even though she and the duke have already agreed that those kinds of things are acceptable to them. So, what does that leave? It leaves the duke dying to free up Audrey so she and Hugh can be together. I cannot imagine what acceptable (to me) way the author can manage to do that. You see, if she’d killed him off in this book I would have been okay with it – but once I’ve met him and mildly liked him (at least felt empathy for him), then killing him off just won’t work for me. It would be sort of like watching a movie where the dog dies. So, I’m reserving judgment on the new favorite author and series until I see where the romance is heading.

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

View all my reviews