Month: April 2024

My Season of Scandal by Julie Anne Long

On By TracyIn Check Content Warning/Triggers, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

My Season of Scandal (The Palace of Rogues, #7)My Season of Scandal by Julie Anne Long

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Palace of Rogues, #7

Release Date: April 23. 2024

The jaded MP, Dominic Kirke, Baron Kirke takes a room at the Grand Palace on the Thames hotel when his house is nearly burned down by his now ex-mistress. Dominic just wants peace and quiet to do his work, but his first night is disturbed by his downstairs “neighbor”. He is surprised to find the neighbor is a lovely young woman, fresh from the country and set to spend her first season in London. Innocents are not his thing and he plans to steer clear of her, but thanks to the rules of the hotel and social engagements, their paths keep crossing and soon Dominic finds himself enchanted with Catherine Keating, but he still keeps her at an arm’s length by calling her Keating and but still feels protective of her and warns her of the dangers of the ton. Dominic knows he is wrong for her, he has loved before and has secrets, but the chemistry between them is strong. He knows letting her go is the right thing to do and tries to distance himself. But when a well-intentioned act goes horribly wrong, her season is ruined, he offers to make things right, only to be rejected. Can he make it right or is he doomed to living with a broken heart forever?

Catherine Keating comes to London with high hopes of finding a husband, but nothing is going right, first her aunt is injured, leaving her alone at the Grand Palace on the Thames, then her chaperone is more interested in gambling than making introductions, her wardrobe is outdated and makes her the subject of cruel jabs, and the only man that makes her heart beat faster is grumpy Lord Kirke, who has made it abundantly clear that there cannot and will not be anything beyond friendship between them. To make matters worse the more time she spends with him, the deeper she falls for him, but once he shares his past with her, she knows that she cannot be his future and tries to move on. But when viscous gossip ruins her season, she confronts Lord Kirke and is horrified by his martyr-like proposal. She had hoped for love and was crushed, leaving her no choice but to return home in disgrace. But separation only increases her heartache and Kirke makes no attempt to contact her. Will she find her HEA or is she too doomed to live with a broken heart?

This was another great, well-written installment of the Palace of Rogues series and might be the most emotional one yet! Catherine and Dominic are such wonderful characters and I was rooting for them right from the start, but their journey to happily ever after is not an easy one, but what a ride it is!!! The book has witty banter, lots of emotion, secrets, great secondary characters, steamyish love scenes, heartbreaking revelations, slow burn age-gap romance, uncertainty, heartache, tears, a healthy dose of angst and finally an amazing ending complete with an epilogue. I just loved this book so much and highly recommend it – it is the seventh book in the series, but it can easily be read as a standalone title.

*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.*

The Earls Trip by Jenny Holiday

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

Earls TripEarls Trip by Jenny Holiday

Tracy’s rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: Earls Trip, #1

Release Date: April 23, 2024

Archibald “Archie” Fielding-Burton, the Earl of Harcourt, along with his two best friends Simon Courteney, the Earl of Marsden and Edward “Effie” Astley, Viscount Featherfinch (heir to the Earl of Stonely) spend two weeks together each September on a “Earls Trip”, but this year’s trip is sidetracked when Archie receives a letter from his country neighbor, Sir Albert Morgan begging him to save his daughters, Clemintine and Olive. They find the girls quickly, but things will not go as planned when they arrive at castle in Cumbria.

Clemintine Morgan had a temporary lapse in judgement when she gets engaged to Vegan activist Theodore Bull, but almost as soon as she realizes her mistake, Theo has moved on to her sister Olive and the two elope with Clemintine hot on their trail. Thankfully Archie and his friends find them before Olive and Theo do anything irrevocable, but Archie ends up shot, thanks to Clemintine. With the elopement thwarted and Theo sent on his way, the girls go with Archie and his friends to Cumbria. Clemintine and Olive have a lot of healing to do and Clemintine decides that she is better off not wed, but after her “experience” with Theo she wants to know true passion before she sets herself on the shelf and has decided that her childhood friend Archie is just the man to help her with that. What could possibly go wrong – after all, what happens on the Earls Trip stays on the Earls Trip, right?

I have never read this author before and was really looking forward to the book, but maybe I should have paid better attention to the blurb – especially this line : “Regency-era series with a delightfully modern feel” – which should have been a red flag that this was going to be a contemporary romance in period dress. Sigh…I wanted to love it, but I didn’t. It was OK, Archie and his friends were wonderful, but Clemintine was over the top – and I don’t like a romance where one person has to change to satisfy the other. In this book Clemintine is a strict vegetarian – maybe even vegan – which hey – good for you – but she refuses to be in the same room with anyone eating meat AND Archie is an avid hunter and carnivore, but to please her, he gives it up. I just don’t like that, love is compromise, so what did she give up or change for him? Oh – that’s right, nothing, UGH! The story was cute and I might try the next book, but overall, this book was a miss for me.

*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.*