Month: March 2023

To Bargain with a Rogue by Lana Williams

On By TracyIn Author Collaboration Series, Book Publicity, Part of a Series, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

To Bargain with a Rogue (Wicked Widows' League, #3)To Bargain with a Rogue by Lana Williams

Tracy’s rating: 4/4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Wicked Widows’ League, #3 (Author Collaboration Series)

Release Date: March 28, 2023

Alicia Radcliff, the widowed Countess of Hawthorne is finally finished with her year of mourning and is ready to reenter society. She has decided that she deserves to enjoy the freedom being a young widow affords her, namely taking a lover to find out what she was missing all years she was married. But she needs to take care, because she has no desire to marry again nor does she want to shame her young son, nor does she want to fall in love. She is sure she will be able to avoid that trap, but that was before her son was in danger and she met him.

Matthew Aston, the new Earl of Slayton, never expected to inherit, in fact, he never planned on returning to England. But with the unexpected death of both his father and his older brother, Matthew had no choice but to return and take care of his younger sister Clarissa and the estate. He had no idea that the estate was in such dire straights or that his father and brother had wracked up such high debts. Even with the money that Matthew made while in the Caribbean, he realizes that he will have to marry an heiress and fast if he has any hope of saving the estate and giving Clarissa a season. He is delighted when he meets Alicia, she is everything he has ever wanted in a wife, she is kind, lovely, and rich. But she makes it clear that she will not marry again, but she isn’t averse to an affair and is willing to help launch Clarissa into society. Their affair is sizzling, but Matthew knows he has to marry to protect his sister and ends things, but soon wonders if he gave up too soon, can he convince Alicia that his heart is hers for the taking or will he have to settle for a loveless marriage?

This was a delightful, well-written short novel with very likable characters. The book has a little of everything, interfering relatives, spying servants, a once-bitten, twice-shy heroine, a hero thrown into an impossible situation, a creepy villain, a bit of angst, steamyish love scenes, a bit of heartache, and finally a very satisfying ending that leads to HEA. I did feel like there were some loose ends that didn’t get addressed, but overall they were minor and didn’t really impact the story. This book is part of a loosely connected author collaboration series and it does feature secondary characters from one of the author’s previous series, but the book can easily be read as a standalone title. I enjoyed this story and would be happy to recommend it and am looking forward to more stories in this series!

*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.*

Yours Truly, The Duke by Amelia Grey

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820)1 Comment

Yours Truly, The Duke (Say I Do, #1)

Barbara’s rating: 2.7 of 5 Stars
Series: Say I Do #1
Publication Date: 3/28/23
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 368

I was looking forward to reading this book because I loved the scenario as it was spelled out in the book blurb. The writing itself was good and the story flowed nicely, but the characters – OMGoodness – there was not one single character in the book that I liked. Well, I liked the kids. 😊 The characters all seemed one-dimensional to me and I failed to see the attraction they found for each other. I am so sorry it all fell flat for me because I really wanted to love this story.

Frederica Hale was orphaned when she was very young and she and her sister Angela were sent to be raised by a cousin’s family. About a year ago, Angela and her husband passed away and Frederica now has the raising of their three children. She’s bound and determined to do everything she can to raise her nieces and nephew to be proper adults. Then, she learns that her cousin Jane is filing for official guardianship of the children. Jane, with a doting husband, who can be granted legal guardianship stands a very good chance of winning custody – unless Frederica finds a husband – fast.

Wyatt, the Duke of Wyatthaven, suddenly finds himself in need of a wife – and he only has a week to find and marry her. What he needs to find is a woman who wants to continue her life in the country and who will allow him to continue his life in London. No changes for either of their lives other than having said the vows.

Both characters are guilt-ridden with things from their past and they both let that rule their current lives. I can understand that, but it just got so very, very, very tiresome and what was even worse was the constant – and I do mean constant – miscommunication, misunderstandings, and bickering between both lead characters. He’d say something – perhaps not just exactly correctly – and she’d twist it to mean something entirely different. I truly could not see what the attraction was for either of them. Another thing that really rang the bell was that he had a mistress – but he hadn’t dismissed her when he married. He told Frederica he hadn’t seen his mistress since he had met Frederica – but – he hadn’t dismissed her either.

For me, this author is usually hit or miss and this was a huge miss. That really makes me sad because I truly wanted to love the story and just couldn’t. I didn’t even care for Rick and Hurst who will be featured in the other books in the series, so I’m not sure I’ll read them. Of course, maybe if I do read them I’ll learn something about Frederica and Wyatt that will make me like them and their story better.

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

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