Month: January 2024

Accidentally His by Sabrina Jeffries

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

Accidentally His (Designing Debutantes #3)

Barbara’s rating: 3.7 out of 5 Stars
Series: Designing Debutants #3
Publication Date: 1/23/24
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 344

Finally, we have the identity of the Phantom who made cameo appearances throughout the second book. The Phantom had everyone fooled – or did he? Sly fellow that he was, he appeared in all sorts of roles and disguises – and nobody even noticed him. Well, nobody except Verity, and they all just thought she was imagining things. Who is the Phantom? Hmmm. . .

Rafe Wolfford is heir to a viscount, but he is also a Colonel in the army and a spy who is undercover to find a traitor who is feeding secrets to the French. His suspect is a peer who cannot be directly approached, so deception is called for. The traitor shot and grievously wounded Rafe’s uncle. Now, Rafe will do whatever it takes to catch this traitor – even pretend to court the man’s daughter. Hmmm . . . that daughter is witty, intelligent, and quite beautiful, so pretending to court her isn’t a real hardship. The hardship is in not truly falling for her. Can he do that? He has to because she hates secrets above all else and when she discovers what he has done and why, she’ll hate him forever.

Verity Harper, the estranged daughter of an Earl, is part owner of Elegant Occasions. Each of the owners, who are sisters, brings a special talent, and Verity’s talent is with food. Her menus, settings, and recipes are always unique and special for each occasion. Verity also never forgets a face – that is why she always knows when the Phantom is attending one of their affairs. Why is he showing up at their venues? What does he want? He never actually seems to do anything. And – why does the man she’s just met remind her of the Phantom? He can’t possibly be the Phantom – can he?

It was fun to watch Verity dance rings around Rafe. She saw right through him and the scene where he realized that was such fun to read. Yes, she had him at every turn, so I wondered how he became such a renowned, lauded spy. But, of course, Verity flustered him and he couldn’t keep his wits about him when she was around. Still, with as much experience as he had – one would think. . .

I enjoyed Verity and Rafe and thought they made a great couple. I know Verity hated secrets and lies, but Rafe was such a sweet liar – and he lied for all of the right reasons. I also enjoyed the mystery associated with the spy hunt. I thought it was interesting, but I have to admit, the identity of the spy threw me a bit – partially because we spent little time with them.

If you are looking for an entertaining romance with a mystery, spies, a romance, and a fun cast of characters, then you will likely enjoy this one.

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

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Random in Death by J.D. Robb

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Futuristic, Mystery, Part of a SeriesLeave a comment

Random in Death (In Death, #58)

Barbara’s rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Series: In Death #58
Publication Date: 1/23/24
Period: Future (2061) New York City
Number of Pages: 362

It is all-hands-on-deck in this exciting, action-packed, edge of your chair, can’t put it down, 58th addition to the In Death series by J.D. Robb. One might think that a series with that many books would begin to drop in quality and excitement – but one would be wrong. This author has the ability to elicit strong emotions and reactions from the reader, yet she also uses bits of humor to dampen down some of those really intense moments. We always come to know both the victim(s) and the villain(s) – sometimes, we admire the victims (as in this book) and sometimes we wonder why someone didn’t kill them earlier. We also always know that whether the victim is admirable or not, Lt. Eve Dallas will give her all to finding who took their lives.

This story’s victims are girls just on the cusp of womanhood – in the 15-16-year-old range. Lovely, happy, young women with their whole lives before them. Yet, that life has come to an abrupt and very painful end. The first victim, Jenna, had a life planned. She knew what she wanted and she had the talent and intelligence to make it happen. Then, she died in her hero’s arms in an alley behind the club where she wanted desperately to get a copy of her demo tape to Jake from the band, Avenue A.

Dallas, Roarke, Peabody, McNab, and the rest of the crew begin their investigation wondering if Jenna was specifically targeted or if she was just a random choice. When there is a second murder – same method, same signature – they become more and more sure the victims are chosen randomly. Evidence is scarce – the villain is extremely intelligent (yet somehow naïve) – and there is no way for Eve and the crew to predict who the next victim might be. They do know there will be a next victim – and soon.

I believe everyone from the ‘Dallas’ ensemble makes an appearance and contributes to either the solution /or consoling the grieving parents. Every small clue adds to what they know – and the villain’s profile emerges – but – who would believe it? Yet, Eve is sure of the profile, she just has to find some clues leading to the identity before yet another young lady is victimized. They’ve weeded through thousands of random clues and have little to go on – until – the right clue at the right time brings it together.

Can they apprehend the villain before he claims another victim? Will he escape capture? You’ll have to read this excellent book to find out.

I have recommended this series to a multitude of friends, acquaintances, and even strangers with whom I’ve chatted, and all of them have tried it – and all of them have loved it. I know it is a long series, but I sincerely recommend reading the books from the first one. The relationships are built and developed from one book to the next, and you can certainly better identify with all of the relationships between the characters – and the characters themselves – much better if you read them in order. I hope you’ll choose to read this book and this series and love it as much as I do.

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

View all my reviews