Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

To Tempt A Rebel by Shana Galen

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Other, Top Pick - Highly RecommendedLeave a comment

To Tempt a Rebel (The Scarlet Chronicles, #4)To Tempt a Rebel by Shana Galen

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Scarlet Chronicles #4
Publication Date: 3/12/19

Author Shana Galen has taken the French Reign of Terror, wrapped it in a bow and called it her own. The research is impeccable, the writing is superb and the characters – both male and female – are heroic. Here is a warning though – before you start to read, be sure you have taken care of your personal needs, have plenty of snacks and drinks beside your reading chair and maybe a comfy, snug blanket to wrap up in – because – you will not be able to put the book down once you start reading.

Both the king and queen are dead, their daughter was rescued from the tower in the last book and now, it is time to rescue the young eight-year-old Louis Charles, the new king. He has been horribly abused, he is living in his own filth, he’s emaciated and very sickly. The Pimpernels have to get him out soon or there won’t be any point. Security around Louis Charles’ tower cell is impenetrable and there is no way the Pimpernels can gain entry to rescue him without someone on the inside of the regime helping them.

Tristan Chevalier hates aristos with his entire being. He doesn’t believe any of them have even one redeeming quality. That is one of the main reasons he joined the revolution. Oh, he wanted freedom and equality, but more than anything he wanted revenge against the man who destroyed his family. However, now that Robespierre’s bloodthirst has caused untold thousands of executions, Tristan is having doubts. He still wants the freedom and equality, but he’s seeing that the citizens are neither free nor equal under Robespierre. When he is approached by Citoyen Allie, he reluctantly agrees to turn over documents that will show Robespierre’s perfidy and bring his Reign of Terror to an end. He’s still staunchly loyal to France – just not to Robespierre. He’s also just fallen into the trap set by the Pimpernel’s – and he isn’t going to like what he learns.

We’ve met Alexandra Martin in the previous books. She is an actress, she’s smart, clever, and skilled at both acting and disguises. She believes in the work the Pimpernels are doing with all her heart and she’ll give her life to save any of her fellow members. Alex’s role is usually in the background – using her talents with costumes and make-up to disguise the other members for their various missions. She’s also the ‘visible’ one – the one who openly mixes with the population (as an actress) and who openly rents the safe-house, etc. However, Alex has a new mission that is most definitely not behind-the-scenes. She is to ensnare Robespierre’s second – Tristan Chevalier and convince him to help them rescue Louis Charles.

I absolutely loved both Alex and Tristan. They were a wonderful couple who vehemently fought their attraction every step of the way. Alex’s dedication to the cause was visible in everything she did and I admired her loyalty. I also loved that Tristan wasn’t a pushover – you wondered to the very end if he’d betray the Pimpernel’s – even at the cost of his own life. It is a pure, unadulterated, edge-of-the-seat read.

This is definitely a five-star read, but I would say that I’d love it if there were an Author’s Note section that fills in some of the real history with which the author took poetic license.

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

Previous books In the series – click on the title to see our reviews:

To Ruin A Gentleman
Traitor in Her Arms
Taken By the Rake

About the Author:

ShanaGalen

Shana Galen is three-time Rita award nominee and the bestselling author of fast-paced, witty, and adventurous Regency romances. Kirkus says of her books, “The road to happily-ever-after is intense, conflicted, suspenseful and fun,” and RT Bookreviews calls her books “lighthearted yet poignant, humorous yet touching.” She taught English at the middle and high school level off and on for eleven years. Most of those years were spent working in Houston’s inner city. Now she writes full time. She’s happily married and has a daughter who is most definitely a romance heroine in the making.

Want to know more? Visit Shana’s website at http://www.shanagalen.com and sign up to be notified when Shana has a new release http://bit.ly/ShanaGalenNews

A Spy’s Guide To Seduction

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Novella, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

A Spy's Guide to Seduction (Husband Hunters, #3)A Spy’s Guide to Seduction by Kate Moore

Barbara’s rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Husband Hunters #3
Publication Date: 3/12/19
# of Pages: 180

*** 3.5 stars ***
This was my first book by this author and I was really looking forward to a steamy romance and confounding mystery. What I found was no steam, but a nice slow build of a romance – and I liked that. I liked that the characters didn’t jump into insta-lust, but they were definitely attracted to each other. I also love the way Lynley came to respect Emily’s intelligence and cleverness before he actually realized that he also loved her. The mystery was a good one as well with multiple villains and missing secrets that could plunge England into war.

Speaking of villains – there is one I just never figured out. I could not see his purpose nor could I see what he was trying to gain.  What was his plot?   Yes, he provided a misdirection for the storyline, but he could still have had some ulterior motives in mind instead of just being . . . I can’t explain more without telling you who he is and what he does, but I think his motives should have been plainer – otherwise, there is no reason for him to have done what he did or even to be in the story at all. Maybe he’ll play some villainous role in a future book.  I really wanted to see him get more punishment than a sock in the nose!

Sir Ajax Lynley (I love that name) has agreed to work for a spymaster for one year. So far his assignments have been exciting, but fairly minor. Now, he has a task that affects the fate of England. If he cannot retrieve certain documents, England will be forced into war with Russia. Since Lynley lived in Spain from the time he was a teenager and has only just returned to be a spy, he needs to reenter society. He’s been trying to think of the best way to do that when the perfect opportunity drops right into his lap.

Lady Emily Radstock is fast approaching her twenty-ninth birthday, she is still unmarried and sees no particular reason to change that. However, her mother has other ideas and presents Emily with a book, ‘The Husband Hunter’s Guide To London’. Since her mother is on her way out of town to care for Emily’s grandmother, Emily can’t rail at her, so she heads over to her younger sister’s house to rant. As she says that she ought to marry the first imbecile she meets, she hears this masculine voice say, “I accept”.

She is dumbstruck – surely he can’t mean it and surely can’t intend to hold her to that. Yet he does. She knows he has to be up to something and she fully intends to find out what it is. As they spend time together she comes to like him – and she starts to figure out what is going on. Then, suddenly it hits her – he is a SPY. Yum, adventure – and she sorely wants to have an adventure so she happily joins him in his mission. She is, however, annoyed that she is only a quasi-partner – he doesn’t share everything with her. Yet, the one time he takes off on his own because he wants to protect her, it doesn’t end well for him.

I enjoyed this book even though I thought that it could have been a bit longer and better fleshed out in both the mystery and the romance aspects of the story. I’ll look forward to the next one in the series – The Christmas Husband Hunt.

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