Month: December 2024

Review: The Matter of the Secret Bride by Darcie Wilde

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

The Matter of the Secret BrideBarbara’s rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Series: A Useful Woman Mystery #8
Publication Date: 12/24/24
Period: Regency London
Number of Pages: 448

London is awash in political intrigue with everyone choosing sides in the divorce proceedings between King George IV and his Queen. Some will go to any lengths to help their side win – even murder. Rosalind Thorne, a useful woman who makes her way in the world by assisting ladies with delicate problems, wants no part of any political intrigue. However, it is dumped in her lap and she has to deal with it. If Rosalind is dealing with it, so are her close friends, and it was a delight to visit with them.

I thought the mystery of the disappearance of Mrs. Fitzherbert’s proof of her marriage to the king was good, but things quickly spun out in so many tangents that it was hard to keep up with it all – and I love convoluted mysteries. All the factions pulling one way or another was almost like buckshot – going in every direction. Because there was so much buckshot, I found it difficult to ‘feel’ the stress, doom, and sense of urgency Rosalind felt for herself and her friends.

I enjoyed the page time with Rosalind and Adam and was glad to see some movement there – even if it did wait until the epilogue. This romance has been entirely too slow-burn for my taste and it still isn’t satisfyingly settled after eight books.

I was disconcerted by the portrayal of Stephen Lavender in the book. He was a real-life, renowned Bow Street principal officer frequently in the news because of the cases he solved. This story portrays him in a very unflattering light, so I’m not sure if this author just chose a name from history and didn’t do much research on him – or if she thoroughly researched him and just got a different view. There is another author who writes a historical mystery series based on his real-life cases and the two presentations of the man are very different.

Overall, I enjoyed the mystery and will probably read the next book to see how Adam and Rosalind’s relationship grows (or doesn’t). The mystery had a great premise, but too many tentacles to keep them all straight. It also appeared to me this author might have some sort of hang-up with race, though I fail to see what it might be. Upon introduction, every character is given a race or color, and those labeled ‘white’ get the word with the capital ‘W’. If you are an avid fan of historical mysteries, as I am, you will probably enjoy the basic mystery but will lament the labyrinthine twists and turns it takes. As for me, I wouldn’t read the book a second time and probably wouldn’t purchase it as a gift for a friend without giving explanations.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Tempest of Desire by Lorraine Heath

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

A Tempest of Desire (Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James, #5)A Tempest of Desire by Lorraine Heath

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James, #5

Release Date: December 24, 2024

Needing some solitude, Oliver, Viscount Langdon, and heir to the Earl of Claybourne, has escaped to a private island off the coast of his family’s estate in Cornwall. Ever since he was involved in a railway accident, Oliver has suffered from nightmares and an inability to understand numbers, a disability that he has kept secret from everyone and is trying to come to terms with. Alone on the island, he can drink himself into oblivion and rage at the unfairness of it all. Tonight, a major storm has blown in and it fits his mood perfectly. When he goes out in the storm, he notices someone laying on the beach. Carefully, he brings the woman into his keep and realizes almost immediately who she is – Marlowe, London’s most infamous courtesan and exclusive mistress to the Earl of Hollingsworth, making her off limits. But time spent with Marlowe makes him want more and when he learns that her association with Hollingsworth is over, he will stop at nothing to make her his, but can he offer her what she truly wants?

Marlowe Tittering, known to all as simply “Marlowe”, never imagined she would be a courtesan, she grew up believing that she was the daughter of an earl and expected to marry well and have a family. But when her father disappeared, she and her mother learned the truth, her father was a fraud and left them with a mountain of debt. At first, she worked as a seamstress but was unable to earn enough money to support her mother and pay down her father’s debts. So, when the Earl of Hollingsworth made her an offer, she accepted and until now, she has never regretted that choice. Being Hollingsworth mistress helped her pay her father’s debts and gave her the means to pursue her true passion – ballooning. But when she learns from the papers that Hollingsworth is now engaged, she is upset and acts recklessly, by taking her balloon out with a storm on the horizon. Crashing into the ocean, she never dreamed she would wash up on the shores of the only man she has ever truly desired and the one man in London who seems immune to her charms. But there is much more to the viscount than she imagined and while she tries to save herself from heartache, she can’t help but wish for the impossible.

I have mixed feelings about this book, because while it is superbly written and has likable characters , I had a problem with Marlowe being someone’s mistress at the time of the story – not the fact that she was a mistress, just the fact that she was in a relationship with her protector while she was with Langdon and that he was friends with her protector. Later when they return to London and the situation changed, this became moot and I was better able to enjoy the book. Overall, this was a great story with lots of emotion, relatable characters, cameos from previous characters, understanding, secrets, compassion, steamy love scenes, some heartache and finally a very sweet ending complete with an epilogue. This is definitely not your typical, formulaic historical romance but is it certainly a book I would be happy to recommend. This is the fifth book in the series, but it almost reads like a spin-off and could 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/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *