Month: April 2023

The Lady Knows Best by Susanna Craig

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

The Lady Knows Best (Goode's Guide to Misconduct, #1)The Lady Knows Best by Susanna Craig

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Goode’s Guide to Misconduct, #1

Release Date: April 25, 2023

In a family filled with extraordinary people, Daphne Burke feels very ordinary, smart but not brilliant, pretty but not gorgeous, in short, nothing special in a family filled with exceptional. But that changes when she stumbles into a secret staff meeting for the popular periodical Mrs. Goode’s Magazine for Misses and gives her opinion of a letter sent to the publication asking for advice about the marriage her father arranged for her – Lady Stalbridge, the head of the magazine gives her a job and Miss Busy B’s advice column is born. But Daphne is not prepared for the ramifications of her advice, nor for the handsome rake whose plans she has wrecked. She will soon find herself in a unique position, blackmailed and courted by the man she still seeks to ruin.

Miles, Viscount Deveraux, is not happy to learn his betrothed has dumped him, but he is far from heartbroken, he is, however, a bit put out as now he has less than a month to find a new bride or he will lose a considerable sum to an ill-advised wager stating he would be married by the end of the June. He sets out to find a new bride, but his reputation as a rake hinders him, that is until he figures out that Miss Daphne Burke is the harbinger of his downfall. When he threatens to expose her as Miss Busy B, she agrees to help him find a new bride and even offers to marry him herself. Intrigued and feeling a bit bewitched, Miles soon decides that Daphne is the bride for him and sets out to win her. Will he succeed or will Daphne hold to her plan to bring this rake down?

What a great start to a new series! I was delighted to realize that the heroine is part of the Burke family, who were featured in a previous series, and that the reader is treated to glimpses of her sibling’s HEAs! And as delightful as Daphne and her family are, they dim next to Miles and his BBF, Alistair. It is not often that I take note of a friendship between characters in a book, but for some reason, the friendship between Miles and Alistair really touched my heart, they were just so good for each other. Not to mention we get to catch up with Lord and Lady Stalbridge as well as her stepson Viscount Manwaring. This book was just filled to the brim with secrets, plans that go awry, great secondary characters, steamyish love scenes, a mischievous cat, and a HEA that includes a very sweet epilogue. The story did feel like it dragged a bit in the middle, but the ending more than makes up for that. This is the first book in the new series, but there is a prequel novella, Nice Earls Do, that sets up the series and I would recommend reading that first as it will clear up any questions that you might have about Mrs. Goode’s Magazine for Misses. Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable read that I would be happy to recommend, and can’t wait for the next installment.

*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.*

How Not to Marry a Duke by Tina Gabrielle

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

How Not to Marry a Duke (Daring Ladies, #2)

Barbara’s rating: 3.8 of 5 Stars
Series: Daring Ladies #2
Publication Date: 4/25/23
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 352

This was a fun romp between two people who each have a problem and each needs the other to help with the solution. It starts with a ‘meet cute’ when Adeline’s pig, Harry, attacks the Duke of Warwick and ends with a lovely epilogue where Warwick realizes that “a man cannot live on logic alone. But he can live for love.” I enjoyed the characters, the plot, the pacing, and the writing style. Each book in this series is a standalone, so you don’t have to worry if you haven’t read the first book.

Lady Adeline Foster was much loved by both her mother and father as well as her half-sister, Mary – but she was reviled by her half-brother, Edwin. Edwin taunted and belittled Adeline her entire life because of her mixed Mediterranean heritage. While she and Edwin had the same father, they had different mothers and Adeline’s mother was the daughter of a traveling Arabic rug merchant and not in the least aristocratic. When her father passed away, Edwin inherited the Earldom, and had complete control of Adeline – or so he thought. Adeline inherited a small, run-down property from her father and promptly loaded up her belongings and moved to Chilham, in Kent. Of course, she quickly discovered her property needed a whole lot more work than she’d thought – but she would make it work and she’d use her medical skills – learned from her mother – to help the local people in Chilham. She was a happy and content woman – until . . . That nasty neighbor made an appearance at her door . . .

Daniel Millstone, the Duke of Warwick, moved to a small property in Chilham seeking peace and quiet so he could concentrate on his inventions. Warwick was a brilliant mathematician, engineer, scientist – you name it – and he was rich as Croesus. He discovered he had a new neighbor when the racket from the neighbor’s dogs became unbearable. He’ll just put a stop to that! Yep, he will – or will he?

When Adeline’s half-brother shows up and announces she is to wed a very unsavory moneylender – and Warwick wants to stop his Godmother’s matchmaking efforts for the rest of the season, they realize they can help each other by pretending a courtship. We all know that is going to work out well.

I loved Daniel and Adeline – both were strong, stubborn, bookish, scientific, misfits who were made for each other – although it really took Daniel much too long to come to that conclusion. You can’t blame him though. His upbringing showed him that love didn’t exist in marriages and that it was entirely a business arrangement. So, he’d channeled all of his passions into his scientific pursuits and had no clue love could actually exist in a relationship.

I enjoyed this book and watching Warwick and Adeline find their HEA. While I had some concerns about a few things, it was overall a nice read. Books where the villain(s) aren’t punished – or are even rewarded, as in this case – really attack my sense of fair play. As clever as both Warwick and Adeline are, they could have come up with a great punishment – I just know it. Anyway, I would recommend this book to a friend.

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

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