Month: June 2023

Bookshop Cinderella by Laura Lee Guhrke

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

Bookshop Cinderella (Scandal at the Savoy, #1)Bookshop Cinderella by Laura Lee Guhrke

Tracy’s rating: 3.5/4 of 5 stars

Series: Scandal at the Savoy, #1

Release Date: June 20, 2023

Maximillian “Max” Shaw, Duke of Westbourne meets Miss Evie Harlowe when he enters her bookshop to collect some research for his cousin Delia. The men with him are unkind to Evie, prompting Max to stand up for her, he makes a wager that he can turn Evie into the belle of the season. He approaches her with the wager and offers to take care of everything, but she refuses. But when her shop is flooded, she decides to reconsider and her life will forever change.

Max was once in love and married, but his wife was not prepared for life as his duchess and things end badly. But Max knows he has to marry and has even chosen his would-be duchess, but that was before he met Evie. He finds Evie lovely, and smart, she is also the last woman he should consider. But eventually, the heart wants what it wants, however, he will have his work cut out for him in convincing Evie that they can have their own HEA.

This book isn’t what I was expecting, not that that is a bad thing, but I was thinking more Cinderella and this was a mashup of “She’s all that”, and “My Fair Lady” and even has a bit of “Pretty Woman”. The book starts slow and takes quite a bit of reading to get the story “started” and even then Max and Evie spend quite a lot of time apart and don’t even get me started on the ending. However, when they are together they are great (until the ending), the book also has some wonderful secondary characters, witty dialogue, low-steam love scenes, low angst and ends with a HEA but no epilogue. So for me, this book was good, but not a book I would read again. This is the start of a new series and I will be looking forward to the next book in the 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.*

A Deadly Game by Carla Simpson

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

A Deadly Game (Angus Brodie and Mikaela Forsythe Murder Mystery Book 3)Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: Angus Brodie and Mikaela Forsythe Murder Mystery #3
Publication Date: 5/23/23
Period: Victorian London – 1890
Number of Pages: 408

I’ve loved every book in this series, and this one is no exception. Lady Mikaela Forsythe’s ex-betrothed has contacted her to look for his missing son. At the same time, Mr. Angus Brodie has been contacted at his inquiry agency to find a missing boy named Kip. Both Mikaela and Brodie know Kip, and they don’t believe he would just run away on his own. However, a bit of the green-eyed monster raises his ugly head when Mikaela tells Brodie of the request to find a missing boy as well. Since the two boys are from entirely different classes, they pursue each case separately. As time passes and neither boy returns – nor are there any clues – everyone begins to fear the very worst for both boys. When evidence of more missing boys turns up, they redouble their efforts. Nothing connects them, so why have they suddenly vanished? Clues are few, but there are some – strange clues, but clues nonetheless. With attempts on Mikaela’s life, a massive fire at Brodie’s office, the death of Mikaela’s ex-betrothed, and a missing boy who turns up beaten nearly to death, none of them may live long enough to solve the case.

I love the growing relationship between Mikaela and Brodie and I can’t wait for them to finally realize they care for each other. I love the step-by-step solving of each mystery with the two of them playing off each other for ideas and respecting the other’s abilities. Mikaela can get a tad TSTL on occasion because she is so very confident of her ability to defend herself, but she does usually try to let Brodie know what she’s doing so she’ll have some backup. The supporting cast is great as well. There is Mikaela’s very eccentric Aunt, the wounded war veteran with no legs, a large ferocious street dog who has taken a liking to Mikaela, and various scientific experts upon whom they call for answers. I’m sure the author is heading toward a romantic relationship between Mikaela and Brodie and I’ll be very interested to see how she manages to make it work in British society. Brodie is a man who grew up on the streets – first in Scotland and then in London – and Mikaela is a Lady. Oh – and did I mention – Brodie is also performing certain services for their Secret Service? Oh! My! Goodness!

I can recommend this book and this series. While you could read this as a standalone without too much head-scratching, I would recommend reading the series in order. The characters and their relationships have changed through the books, with each building on the previous, so you’d want to read each of the books to get a complete picture.

The books are excellently written, well-paced, and include a tad of humor with Brodie’s exasperation with Mikaela’s exploits. You’ll smile, you’ll scratch your head trying to figure out who the villains are, and you’ll laugh at whatever Mikaela’s aunt gets up to. Worth reading!

View all my reviews