Month: October 2023

Ghostly Lover by Mary Lancaster

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

Ghostly Lover (Crime & Passion)Barbara’s rating: 4/5 Stars
Series: Crime and Passion #3.5?
Publication Date: 10/14/23
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 76 (Novella)

I love this series, but I’m unsure which number in the series this one is. It was initially published as a part of the Dragonblade Publishing Anthology, A Midnight Requiem, in October 2022, and is now being published as a standalone novella. I hate that authors/publishers seem to be avoiding listing the series and the number within the series on their books. It makes it downright difficult for readers to find the next book in a series.

Ghosties, goblins, and things that go bump in the night! Oh! My! Pragmatic and level-headed Lady Grizelda Tizsa does not believe in ghosts, but there is something very strange at the castle ruins on the Cathlinn House estate. Everyone claims the ghost of Aileen Cathlinn, who died a hundred years ago, haunts the ruins. Does she? Is she malevolent? Did she lure April Weir to the ruins where she would die? April was the betrothed of Richard Cathlinn and died at the ruins under mysterious circumstances. Yet, everyone seems to want to claim it was natural causes.

Lady Grizelda and her husband Dragan Tizsa were attending a family reunion at Grizelda’s father’s country estate when Dragan received a request from a close acquaintance asking him to come to Cathlinn House to investigate the death of his betrothed, April. Lady Grizelda refused to go because of the fretful baby, but Dragan went anyway. That didn’t go over very well. However, when Dragan wrote asking her to come help, she relented.

Grizelda sees what she believes to be a person at the ruins – after all, she doesn’t believe in ghosts. Yet, when she tries to show the person to others, there is no one there. Even on her arrival at Cathlinn House, Grizelda sees someone – and that someone is embracing her husband!

With an autopsy proving the death was neither natural nor otherworldly, can Dragan and Lady Grizelda identify the murderer before he/she strikes again? There are more suspects than you can count between the residents and servants who live in the house. Will they be able to lure the murderer out without being harmed themselves? You’ll have to read this delightfully ghoulish, ghostie, goblin-infested tome to see!

One additional thing delighted me about the book – I discovered the author can’t keep the spelling of Tizsa’s name straight either. 🙂 It was only a couple of times, but she did what I frequently do – she spelled it Tisza. 🙂 I loved it – I am not alone.

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Unmasked by the Earl by Anna St. Claire

On By TracyIn Author Collaboration Series, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Historical Paranormal/Fantasy, Novella, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Unmasked by the Earl (Witches Ball)Unmasked by the Earl by Anna St. Claire

Tracy’s Rating: 3/3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Witches’ Ball, #4

Release Date: September 12, 2023

Lady Charlotte “Charlie” Penrose along with her grandmother, the dowager Countess of Penrose, and her twin brother Caden, Viscount Penrose are on their way home to Bocka Morrow to attend the Witches’ Ball when they see two men being attacked and intervene. Charlie is immediately smitten with the handsome stranger and soon finds herself falling for him. Charlie comes from a long line of female witches and has guarded her secret from non-magical humans for her whole life, but when she shares a kiss with Logan at the ball, she knows she must tell him the truth and hopes he can accept it. But when the confession doesn’t play out as she hoped, she flees and soon finds herself filled with regret and wonders if she will be blessed with a second chance or if this is how her story ends.

After the unexpected death of his brother, soldier Logan Thomas, becomes the new Earl of Fitzwater. He leaves the continent and travels home to Cornwall after being away for four years. He and his batman, Bronson are just a day away from his home when they are set upon by highwaymen, they are fighting off the men but they are outnumbered and Logan has been shot and stabbed and rapidly losing consciousness when two blonds join the fight, Logan is not sure, but he thinks one of them might be a woman. Later he wakes to learn that he was rescued by Caden and his twin sister Charlie. He is enchanted by Charlie and is surprised at how fast his feelings for her develop and how quickly his thoughts turn to forever, especially when he has no plans to marry anytime soon. But surprising revelations, assumptions, and highwaymen may end their HEA before it even begins.

This was a quick read, filled with likable characters, a sassy cat, dancing lessons, highwaymen, a magical kiss, great secondary characters, and finally a HEA with the promise of more to come. I enjoyed this story, despite the title errors and the somewhat confusing telepathic conversations, so if you like, slow-burn, no-steam romances that end in HEA, this is the book for you. The book is part of the Witches’ Ball series, but can easily be read as a standalone title as this title is very loosely connected.