Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

Lady Abigail’s Perfect Match by Sophie Barnes

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

Lady Abigail's Perfect Match (The Townsbridges, #2)Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Townsbridges #2
Publication Date: 10/29/19
Number of Pages: 99

This was the loveliest of reads. The writing is excellent, the story is heartwarming, the characters are totally likable and relatable, and the HEA is well deserved. Shorter books often make you feel as if the story was rushed and you feel a bit unfinished – but that is definitely not the case here. I think we got to know the characters well, the villain got his just desserts (though I hate who it was), and the romance developed just as it should.

Lady Abigail suffers from debilitating shyness. While it is always bad, it is absolutely impossible to manage when she is in the company of Lord James Townsbridge. Her throat tightens, her words flee, and she is physically nauseous.

James, unlike most of his friends, has a positive outlook on marriage. His parents have a long and happy marriage and now his older brother does as well. James is handsome, good-natured, sociable and everyone likes him.

James and Abigail’s first meeting is very inauspicious – neither likes the other. He is coming off a huge hangover after celebrating a friend’s nuptials and has the world’s worst headache. He doesn’t want to be at the ball – and when he is introduced to a woman who plainly doesn’t want to be there – he doesn’t like her at all. But then, she doesn’t like the rude, self-important James either.

These two have a long way to go when, later that evening, they are compromised and have to marry. When Abigail tells him that he is the reason she feels sick, he is taken aback and really regrets that he’s going to have to tie himself to her for life. Yes – they have a lot to work through. Thank goodness she soon gets to explain what she REALLY meant to say. I love how James helped Abigail one he understood her problem. He was so patient and loving.

This is definitely a good read and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

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

Beyond Cutting by Vicki Clifford

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, Mystery1 Comment

Beyond Cutting (Viv Fraser, #1)Series: Viv Fraser #1
Publication Date: 2/20/14
Number of Pages: 242

** 3.5 Rounded Up **

This was my first book by a new-to-me author. It is a very diverting mystery, but, in my view, it isn’t a cozy mystery which is more what I was looking for – it is darker and grittier. Be aware that the book is written in third person/present tense – and it took me a while to become accustomed – however, once I did it wasn’t a problem. I do understand that all of the other books in the series are written in third person/past tense – which is more what most of us are accustomed to.

Vivian (Viv) Fraser is a hairdresser/journalist/Dr. of Anthropology and she’s extremely sensitive when anyone refers to her as ‘just’ a hairdresser. She very quickly takes offense. She’s alone and finally beginning to come to grips with the death of her lover, Dawn. She’s finally begun to feel pangs of attraction again, but I can’t decide whether she’s more attracted to Sal Chapman (she’s a profiler at the police headquarters) or DI Marcus (Mac) Marconi (he’s the inspector investigating the case). At any rate, I had a hard time warming up to Viv – she was a little too ‘in your face’ and didn’t appear to be a very caring type of person. Perhaps I’ll find her to be different in the next book I read, but, in this one, I didn’t particularly care for her.

Juliet (Jules) Muir, editor at a national newspaper, and an old friend of Viv’s calls to ask Viv to take on a writing/investigative assignment. The task is to investigate the circumstances around a missing young man, Andrew Douglas, to find him if possible and to write an article for the newspaper. Jules asked Viv to take the assignment because she was familiar with the after-hours gay scene in Edinburgh and would be able to move freely in that environment.

As Viv investigates, she finds herself investigating more than just a missing young man. There are drug dens, murders, sex trafficking – pretty much everything on the darker side of life. People are not who they seem to be and it reaches right up into the affluent sections of society. There were many villains involved with many different parts of the crime and I didn’t feel ‘finished’ with a couple of them. The murderer came out of left field – you definitely won’t guess who it is because you don’t really meet them until they are revealed.

The bottom line for me is that it is a good mystery, well written, well-plotted, but it wasn’t my normal cup-of-tea. I will try another book or two in the series to see how things progress and whether I can come to like Viv.