Month: May 2023

Desperately Seeking Seduction by Heather Boyd

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

Desperately Seeking SeductionDesperately Seeking Seduction by Heather Boyd

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Scandalous Brides, #2

Release Date: April 18, 2023

After the death of his father, the Duke of Ravenswood, Lord Stratford Sweet is on his way home to Ravensworth Palace to meet with his brothers and figure out the state of the dukedom. He is already running late (as usual) when his valet is injured and he is forced to take on a replacement, Dane Winston. A man who seems oddly familiar, but for the life of him, Stratford cannot figure out why. When they finally arrive at Ravensworth Palace, he leaves Winston to settle in and finds his brothers, Algernon, the new duke, Lord Nash, the spare, and Lord Jasper, the rake and only a year older than Stratford. It is then that he learns that the dukedom is mired in debt and that his brothers have promised Algernon their personal fortunes to help bail him out. While giving up his newly inherited estate is hard, he will gladly give it up to help his eldest brother, it is the shock of learning about his father’s mismanagement that is harder to accept and something the brothers want to keep under wraps as long as possible, especially from the family. But even this information pales in comparison to learning that his new valet is not the man he assumed he was because she is not a man at all!

Dane Winston has spent her life living a lie, first to protect her mother and then to protect herself. Her mother lied to her father, telling him she gave birth to a boy and forced Dane to play the part of their son but when her lie is exposed her mother takes Dane and they run for their lives, sadly her mother is killed when their coach goes off a bridge, but Dane swims to safety and never looks back. She works in an inn and is thrilled to be given the temporary position of valet to Lord Stratford Sweet, but all too soon he sees through her disguise and opens a whole new world to her. Dane plans to enjoy the short time they have, knowing it can’t last, but when her past catches up with her, will she run or trust Stratford, the man she has fallen in love with to keep her safe? And even if he can, is there any way they can share a future that won’t ruin them?

This is actually the second book I have read recently that used this unusual plot device and surprisingly, the two books couldn’t have been more different! And while they were both enjoyable reads, I felt that this one was a bit easier to believe the ruse because she wasn’t living with her family, she keeps to herself and lives a very small, lonely life – that is until she meets Stratford. The story is filled with lies, secrets, wonderful characters, steamy love scenes, surprising revelations, shocking twists, and finally a very interesting and satisfying HEA! This is the second book in the series, but I believe each title can be read as a standalone title with no problems at all. I enjoyed this story and will be looking forward to 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.*

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Covert In Cairo by Kelly Oliver – #BlogTour

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Blog Tour, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, World War I Era (1914-1920)Leave a comment

Book Blurb

Cairo. December 1917.

Following a tip-off from notorious spy Fredrick Fredricks, Fiona Figg and Kitty Lane of British Intelligence find themselves in the hustle and bustle of Egypt. But ancient mummies aren’t the only bodies buried in the tombs of Cairo.

When a young French archeologist is found dead in a tomb in the desert with his head bashed in, and an undercover British agent goes missing, the threat moves closer to home.

As they dig deeper, soon Fiona and Kitty uncover a treasure trove of suspects, including competing excavators, jealous husbands, secret lovers, and belligerent spies! Fiona wonders if the notorious Fredrick Fredricks could be behind the murders? Or is the plot even more sinister?

One thing is clear – If Fiona and Kitty can’t catch the killer, they might end up sharing a sarcophagus with Nefertiti.

With humor as dry as the Arabian desert, and pacing as fast as a spitting camel, Fiona and Kitty are back in another sparkling adventure, this time in WW1 Egypt.

Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/3iB6WGd

Author Bio

Kelly Oliver is the award-winning, bestselling author of three mysteries series: The Jessica James Mysteries, The Pet Detective Mysteries, and the historical cozies The Fiona Figg Mysteries, set in WW1. She is also the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and lives in Nashville, Tennessee. She is bringing new titles in the Fiona Figg series to Boldwood, the first of which, Chaos in Carnegie Hall, will be published in November 2022.

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Barbara’s Review

Covert in Cairo

My Rating – 3.5 of 5 Stars – Rounded up to 4 on review websites

I have not read the first book in the series, so I don’t know how the elusive master spy, Frederick Fredericks became aware of and fixated upon Fiona Figg who is the head file clerk for the codebreakers at British Intelligence headquarters in London. However, he is definitely fixated and ‘invites’ her to various places to ‘find’ him, and British Intelligence recruits her into their ‘spy’ ranks – temporarily – to finally capture the elusive German spy. However, being a female, they cannot allow her to travel alone, so they provide her with a chaperone of sorts – Captain Clifford Douglas. To add insult to injury, they also saddle her with the Head of British Intelligence’s ward, eighteen-year-old Kitty Lane. Kitty, however, isn’t at all what she appears to be and small bits and pieces of her skills and talents come out during the story. I’m sure we’ll learn lots more about those skills she learned in her ‘boarding school’ in France as the series moves forward.

In this book, Frederick Fredericks lured Fiona and her team to Cairo with hints that the Suez Canal will be blown up. Cairo is a hotbed of all kinds of intrigue – spies from every nation as well as those individuals involved in the illegal trading and selling of Egypt’s antiquities. Whatever happened, there were plenty of suspects around to put the blame on – especially Frederick Fredericks. As bodies begin to fall and Fiona and her team are attacked at various times, the clues just aren’t adding up. Are they looking for a plot by German spies to blow up the Suez or is it the antiquities thieves? Both? Whatever it is, they need to find out quickly before they are killed or Fiona is jailed for murder.

I saw some of the humorous moments in the book where Fiona had to ride a spitting camel, or a recalcitrant donkey, as well as foiling the fox hunt with an old fox stole. So, yes, there are humorous moments, but I didn’t find it laugh-out-loud funny. Perhaps that is just my sense of humor kicking in (or not), so take it for what it is worth. However, what caused my rating was the fact that I just didn’t like Fiona. She always came off sounding very superior and I really disliked the way she always referred to Kitty as ‘the girl’. Then, there was the utter disrespect she showed to Clifford Douglas.

I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery, which is why I rounded the star rating up rather than down. I really liked Kitty and would love to know more about her and her ‘skills’. She could turn out to be the most delightful character of the series – along with her delightful and smart dog, Poppy.

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

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