Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

Blog Tour – Her Seafaring Scoundrel by Sophie Barnes

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Blog Tour, Regency Era (1811-1820)2 Comments

Her Seafaring Scoundrel

The Crawfords Series
by Sophie Barnes
Publication Date: April 28, 2020
Genres: Adult, Historical, Romance

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple Books

The last thing she wants is a husband…
Least of all one determined to win her heart…

Lady Cassandra has no desire to marry. But when Captain Devlin Crawford brings scandal to her doorstep and offers salvation, she cannot say no. Not with her daughter’s future at stake. So she decides to accept Devlin’s offer, provided he agrees to never being intimate with her. For although Cassandra is drawn to Devlin, she refuses to dishonor the memory of her one true love.

Devlin knows he’s made a mess, but now that it’s done, marrying Cassandra doesn’t seem like the worst idea in the world. Far from it, though it will take serious effort on his part to convince her of this. Especially since she’s never stopped mourning the man she was meant to marry over a decade ago. So once they set off on a grand ocean voyage, Devlin embarks on his greatest adventure yet – the wooing of his wife.

Barbara’s Review

I have read and reviewed a LOT of books, but I don’t think I have ever given a 5-star rating to every book in a series – until now. The Crawford brothers have been some of the best heroes I’ve ever read and their ladies match them in every way. The writing is excellent, the characters are fully developed, and the epilogues – OMGoodness. These books have some of the best epilogues I’ve ever read!

The brother we know the least about is Devlin Crawford because he’s a sea captain and spends nine months at sea and only one month at home in England before he leaves again. Devlin loves the sea and the freedom it offers and at the same time, he hates being land-bound in England. There are too many bad memories there and he’s never comfortable. He knows he’ll never marry because he couldn’t be married and be at sea all the time – not to mention the horrible example his own parents set. His father was an awful, awful, awful man and drove all three of the triplet brothers away.

Devlin’s ship arrived in London and he headed straight for his brother’s home. His brother, Caleb, Duke of Camberly (No Ordinary Duke), married six years ago and has several children on whom Devlin dotes. Devlin doesn’t expect his brother to be in residence, but he is. He also doesn’t expect that his mother is there along with his sister-in-law’s good friend Cassandra Moor. Devlin has always liked and admired Cassandra who, along with the wives of his brothers, Caleb and Griffin (More Than a Rogue), run a home for children. He admires Cassandra’s intelligence and strength. Almost as soon as Devlin’s mother finds out he’s there, she announces that Caleb and Mary are giving a ball and insists that Devlin is required to attend. And that, dear friends, is where all of the trouble begins…

We’ve met and grown to love Cassandra in the first two books and now, we get to learn more of her and her backstory – and what a story it is. We knew she was ruined and that she had an illegitimate child, but now we know how that happened and how it has affected the last thirteen years of her life. She is an admirable woman and you will absolutely adore her. She is a very, very busy woman and certainly doesn’t have time to be attending a ball – even one given by her very best friend, Mary. She agrees to attend even though she knows it will cause quite a stir given her ‘ruined’ status. She’ll attend for a bit and then sneak out early – but as she tries to leave, she encounters Devlin who insists on a dance. Oh dear, why did he have to bring attention to her?

As Devlin, Caleb, and another friend are speaking out on the terrace, a vile and nasty woman nearby begins to make unsavory comments about Cassandra. Devlin listens and grows angrier and angrier – until the anger gets the better of him. The next thing he knows, he’s announcing to the old biddy that Cassandra is to become his wife. Uh-Oh. Now what?

Now, Devlin has to convince a woman who has absolutely no desire to marry, that she needs to marry him. Then he has to convince her that they can make a good match. You’ll love their journey into their HEA and it really was a hard-won battle. For a while, I began to wonder if it really was going to happen.

I absolutely adored Penelope, Cassandra’s daughter. She is a delightful twelve-year-old with a very sharp mind and an adventurous spirit. The best part is, she adores Devlin and does her part to help him win her mother.

You will absolutely adore this book and this series. I can’t recommend it highly enough. I will say that I got a bit tired of hearing about Timothy – I think that went on a bit too long and Cassandra’s reactions to a number of things were just too over-the-top. It didn’t keep me from loving the book and the characters, but it was somewhat annoying.

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

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About Sophie Barnes

Born in Denmark, Sophie has spent her youth traveling with her parents to wonderful places all around the world.

She has studied design in Paris and New York and has a bachelor’s degree from Parson’s School of design, but most impressive of all – she’s been married to the same man three times, in three different countries and in three different dresses.

While living in Africa, Sophie turned to her lifelong passion – writing.

When she’s not busy, dreaming up her next romance novel, Sophie enjoys spending time with her family. She currently lives on the East Coast.

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Blog Tour – To Win A Wicked Lord by Sofie Darling

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To Win a Wicked Lord Tour Banner

 

About the Book:

Lord Percival Bretagne is used to playing games. He survived being a spy for a decade using his wits alone. But that was just life and death, now he’s playing for the most important prize of all—love.

He’ll Stop at Nothing……

Ten years after his family gave him up for dead, British spy Lord Percival Bretagne is back home, but his mission is far from over. Playing the aristocrat in London gambling dens and at country house parties is just a cover for Percy’s real quest. He’s hunting the man who stole everything from him—his family, his marriage, even his identity. And this time nothing, and no one, will stand in his way.

She’ll Risk it All……

But one night with Isabel Galante changes everything. She’s willing to gamble a woman’s most intimate prize in order to save her imprisoned father, but she didn’t expect a devilishly handsome opponent with a dangerously attractive wicked streak. Isabel would do anything for her family, including betraying Percy, but she has no idea that she’s stumbled into the middle of a decade-long quest for revenge.

Who Will Win in the Game Called Love?

Percy has been betrayed before, and now the man who destroyed his life is using Isabel to strike again. With the fate of the government and his new life in the balance, he’ll have to keep Isabel seductively, scandalously close. They begin a passionate game of truth and lies, deception and dalliance, uncovering the heart of who they really are and realizing that winning might mean losing what matters the most—each other.

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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Giveaway:

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Barbara’s Review 4 of 5 Stars:

I have been waiting and waiting for this book because I wanted to see Percy’s story and I wanted/hoped to see the villain finally get his due – and I got both. Well, I would have preferred a more dire outcome for the villain, but he did get more than a slap on the wrist. The story is well-written and I really liked the characters. We met Lord Percival Bretagne in the first book of the series, Three Lessons in Seduction, and got to know more about him in the second book, Tempted by the Viscount. We learned that in his early years, he was very much a man of his time – he wanted a society type marriage where there were no emotional attachments and he could basically keep living his life as he had before marriage. Yet, we also learned what happened to him on the continent. We also met and got to know the villain of the series in those books as well – and the fact that he never, ever, got any punishment for the things he did really annoyed me. Percy is now back in London and out of the spy business – and he’s bent on revenge against the man who took his family and his marriage from him. The man is sly, smart, manipulative and very, very well connected. So, how will Percy stop him? He’ll hit him where it hurts – in his purse. At least that is the plan until he learns that the villain is still active in more than just making money. What he is up to now will subvert and maybe even bring down the government of England. Isabel Galante is one in a long line of pawns who have been blackmailed and used by Lord Bertrand Montfort in his pursuit of power and influence. Isabel isn’t even the first in her family to be used by him. She despises him, but she also lives in mortal fear of him and what he can and will do to her family. So, when he orders her into the gaming hell/brothel, Number 9, to seduce a peer, she goes – she has no other choice. Then things go terribly wrong… She targets the wrong man … What will Montfort do to her and her family now? Percy grabs Isabel and escapes the brothel with her and a very young prostitute. He needs a place to keep her safe long enough that he can question her and find out all she knows about Montfort – and he’s sure she works for him and knows plenty. Circumstances throw Percy and Isabel together and they find themselves very attracted to each other. Yet, neither can fully trust the other – there is just too much at stake. Can they find it within themselves to trust and work together to defeat Montfort? While this book is part of a series, and we learned Percy’s backstory in earlier books, it can easily be read and enjoyed as a standalone. I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Meet the Author:

Sofie Darling is an award-winning author of historical romance. Her debut novel, THREE LESSONS IN SEDUCTION, won the Writers’ League of Texas’ Manuscript Contest in the Romance Category in 2016. She spent much of her twenties raising two boys and reading every book she could get her hands on. Once she realized she simply had to write the books she loved, she finished her English degree and embarked on her writing career. Mr. Darling and the boys gave her their wholehearted blessing. When she’s not writing heroes who make her swoon, she runs a marathon in a different state every year, visits crumbling medieval castles whenever she gets a chance, and enjoys a slightly codependent relationship with her beagle, Bosco.