Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

His Sinful Touch by Candace Camp

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

His Sinful Touch (The Mad Morelands, #5)Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Mad Morelands #5
Publication Date: 1/30/18
Number of Pages: 376

We’ve watched the boyish antics of Constantine (Con) and Alexander (Alex) over the first four books of the series – and now, they are all grown up and are getting books of their own. I love that we’ve gotten to see the lively, intelligent, rambunctious, inquisitive, and mischievous boys grow up and that we’ve been a party to their mischief. We’ve seen them with their menagerie of animals – from a parrot to a boa constrictor – and we’ve held our breaths as they’ve been kidnapped. Now, we get to watch them find their HEA’s – and that is an adventure as well! This book gives us Alex’s HEA and the next book, His Wicked Charm, will allow us to see Con’s HEA. Frankly, the first book I read in this series was Con’s, and I was so impressed – loved it so much – that I’ve gone back and read the entire series – in order. I have loved each and every book in the series.

Alex Moreland is now twenty-five years of age. He and his brother Con own a building in London where they each have their offices. Con has a detective agency (it was once his sister Olivia’s) and Alex is an architect. Alex and Con have a strong twin connection – they know what each other is thinking without actually speaking, they can sense when the other is in trouble, etc. Neither has ever had that connection with anyone else. However, Alex is having that anxious, restless feeling that he usually associates with Con having trouble of some sort. Except, he knows it can’t be Con because he was just speaking with Con who is setting out to do an investigation. As he ponders those feelings, while still in Con’s office, the feelings get more intense – so he steps outside the office and sees a man hurrying through the outer door – only – it isn’t a man. It is a woman dressed – very poorly – as a man – and she mistakes him for Con. When he encourages the misconception, she tells him her tale. She has absolutely no idea who she is and remembers nothing about her past. She knows she arrived in London on the train – and the hackney driver suggested Con’s agency as a good one for finding lost things – and she is lost. The only clue she has to herself is a locket with the name Sabrina and a date so she assumes that must be her name and her birthdate. If you’ve read the previous books, you know that the Morelands fall in love – fast, hard and forever – so you won’t be surprised to learn that Alex is already lost – he just doesn’t know it yet.

Sabrina has no idea who she is. She has no idea why she is in London. Does she live there? Nothing seems familiar. Was she meeting someone at the train station? Nobody approached her – but then she was dressed as a man. Why was she dressed that way? She has a knot on her head, bruises on her face, and bruises like fingerprints around her upper arm. How did she get them? She’s very anxious and fearful and is sure that she is running from someone, but she has no idea who it is. When the hackney driver recommends the Moreland Detective Agency to her, she readily asks him to take her there. When she meets the detective, she’s sure she knows him, but when he doesn’t recognize her, she assumes that she is mistaken.

Alex wonders if this isn’t an elaborate hoax designed by Con, but quickly decides that isn’t the case. With no place else to take her, he takes her to his parent’s home. Sabrina doesn’t realize she’s headed to the home of a Duke and once she discovers that, she isn’t inclined to stay there. Alex convinces her to meet his mother – and she quickly sets Sabrina at ease and insists she stay with them.

The investigation begins in earnest and, of course, that proximity draws them closer and closer. Each knows that they cannot act on any attraction because one of the things that was in Sabrina’s possession was a wedding ring. Is she married? Is she running from an abusive husband? Maybe it is just a keepsake from her mother or another beloved relative. Who knows?

Things get tense when the villains appear and try to lay claim to Sabrina, but Alex will protect her no matter what. Seeing them work together and thwart the villains was lovely and seeing Alex learn to use more of his special ‘gift’ was great.

I loved this book and I hope you will as well.

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Twisted Twenty-Six by Janet Evanovich

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, MysteryLeave a comment

Twisted Twenty-Six (Stephanie Plum, #26)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Stephanie Plum #26
Publication Date: 11/12/19
Number of Pages: 320

This is the perfect book for a dark, dreary winterish afternoon (or even a sunny happy afternoon). The zany antics of Stephanie along with her family, friends, and co-workers will keep you smiling. Yes, sometimes they are over-the-top and a bit annoying, but all-in-all, they are an enjoyable and entertaining read.

Grandma Mazur was married for all of forty-five minutes before the groom keeled over – dead. Who knew he had a bad heart? Now, his other octogenarian mob cohorts are after Grandma because they are sure that she has ‘the keys’. Everybody knows that there are ‘keys’, but nobody seems to know what they unlock – but they all believe that there is a treasure involved. It is up to Stephanie, Morelli, and Ranger to keep Grandma safe. Of course, Grandma doesn’t help matters – she has to attend the funeral, the wake, bake sales, bingo – you name it.

Aside from trying to keep Grandma Mazur safe, Stephanie is having a pretty good week. Stephanie works for a bail bondsman and it is her job to bring in people who have skipped out on their bail. She’s had several skippers this week and has retrieved them all – including one who brought in a pretty good paycheck for her. So, her rent is paid and she has groceries in her cupboards. (Picture Dog the Bounty Hunter without the talent of skill).

Then, the first attempt at a kidnapping occurs. It was easy to tell they were amateurs, but that didn’t keep them from being scary. They enraged Stephanie’s mom so much that she took her iron to one of them, and the other one ran off. As the paramedics are there to see after the injured one – Lula asks:

“Is he dead?”
“Not yet,” Grandma said.
“Good thing,” Lula said. “If California found out a guy got killed with an iron, they’d ban them, and all those movie stars would be wrinkled all the time.”

Ranger has his security guys watching the house and trailing after Grandma and Morelli is investigating on the police side, but grandma and then Stephanie manage to get themselves kidnapped. They are in the hands of some really bad guys – can they save themselves? Will it be Ranger and/or Morelli to the rescue? Who knew Stephanie could drive a cement truck?

I was well entertained from the first page to the last. If there was a downside, it was that Stephanie is back to her dissatisfaction with her life. This seems to happen every three or four books and it gets a tad tiresome because she whines and complains, but is never willing to do anything about it.