Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

Florence’s Stupendous Spinster’s Society by Charlotte Stone

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

Florence-Spinster.SocietyJPG3.5 Stars rounded up to 4
Series: The Spinster’s Society #5
Publication Date: 12/20/2017

I’m not sure why I enjoy these stories so much. They are all highly improbable, don’t follow the forms of address or societal norms of the time and could be set at any point in time rather than the Regency. They are really a modern tale – only with ball gowns and carriages. Still, given all of that – I enjoy reading them. This book is the most improbable of all of the books and, while I thoroughly enjoyed it, it is my least favorite of the series so far. We have a very rich, untitled member of the Men of Nashwood paired up with a ladies maid and that is pretty improbable for the time. I don’t think I got enough information about our heroine’s background to really understand how things are so disparate between the three siblings (one is a curator, one a madam and one a ladies maid). Are they all illegitimate? They all had the same father and three different mothers. How did they come to know each other? Each was apparently raised by the mother and the father showed up when he felt like it. They can’t all have been legitimate because each was raised by their mother – to all be legitimate, the mother would have had to die and the children raised by the next Mrs. Crew. They also all had the last name of Crew – ??? I don’t know – it just left me wondering.

This tale picks up where the last one left off. The Men of Nashwood have rescued Sophia from the Baron of Helsby. Helsby has taken his own life and Aaron, the Earl of Jeanshire, is now the guardian of Helsby’s little girls. The group (Men of Nashwood and Spinster’s Society) have chosen to await the arrival of the two little girls at Helsby’s small cottage in Gretna Green. The men have also planned to stay until the ladies finally decide to marry them. When they arrive at the cottage, they find that it is already occupied by a visitor – a cousin of Helsby and her ladies maid, Florence.

Florence Crew, ladies maid to Elipha Thrup, has endured a lot during their stay in Gretna Green. Finally, Elipha’s baby has been delivered and has been given up to an orphanage and Florence can look forward to Elipha’s recovery and their return to London. Florence is a very lovely and caring young woman and wants the very best for her mistress and she’s very protective of her. Florence knows that Elipha is broken and needs to heal and wouldn’t think of leaving her before she has a chance to do that healing.

Rollo Kerry is a very rich and very lonely young man. He has always felt his parents loved him, but he also felt left out because their world revolved around each other rather than him. So, when they took off on a vacation and didn’t return, he felt totally abandoned. He didn’t even know where they went. I have to say, this part bugged me. He is exceedingly rich and there is no reason he couldn’t hire enough folks to track down information on his parents to at least verify if they were alive or dead. He didn’t do any of that. Even after he had the clues he needed he just assumed they were dead and didn’t verify it.

As soon as Rollo sees Florence he is in insta-lust. He plans to seduce her and have a liaison until they leave for London. Florence is also in insta-lust, but plans to resist his advances – after all, she’s only a ladies maid and he’s a gentleman, so nothing can come of it.. The story revolves around these two dancing around each other before they finally realize it is more than lust.

We finally get four marriages and an engagement out of this! Yes, the weddings do finally happen! I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

Satyr’s Son by Lucinda Brant

On By BarbaraIn Audiobook, Barb's Reviews, Georgian Era (1714-1837)3 Comments

Satyr's Son (Roxton Family Saga, #5 )Satyr’s Son by Lucinda Brant

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Roxton Family Saga Book #5 (Audiobook)
Publication Date: 12/6/17

Alex Wyndham’s voice is like liquid chocolate oozing down your throat – smooth, lush, decadently appealing and sensual. His portrayal of the different characters is flawlessly done and it makes you feel as if you are eavesdropping on the lives and conversations of everyone in the book. He flows flawlessly from character to character, accent to accent and gender to gender. You feel the emotions of each character.

This book was so good that I didn’t want it to end – but all of Lucinda Brandt’s books are that way for me. I kept wanting to pause the playback of the book because I wanted to prolong the enjoyment and at the same time I wanted to speed up the playback because I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. So, this is quite a wrap-up for the Roxton series and I will miss these old friends.

Lord Henri-Antoine (Henry) Hesham is the second son of the fifth Duke of Roxton and brother to the sixth. He is rich beyond belief and has been coddled and spoiled all of his life. Not only does he have the looks and temperament of his father, he has the same reputation for debauchery as well. He goes from bed to bed – even going so far as to ‘share’ the mistress of one of his friends. He’s also very, very private because he has an illness that is much misunderstood and maligned during that time. Beneath all of that debauchery hides the heart of a romantic who is sweet, generous, caring and loving. It is so much fun to watch Lisa as she peels the layers back to reveal the real man who lies beneath the façade.

Lisa Crisp was orphaned at age nine and became dependent on relatives who didn’t want her (the Warners). She wasn’t exactly abused, she was just ignored – she was like the furniture, just there. She was given the opportunity to attend a boarding school for young ladies where she befriends ‘Teddy’, a member of the Cavendish/Roxton family. They were best friends until Lisa was sent down in disgrace. She lost touch with Teddy until, out of the blue, she receives an invitation to attend Teddy’s wedding and it is made plain to Lisa’s relatives that it is unacceptable for Lisa to refuse the invitation.

Lisa is calm, intelligent, trustworthy and beloved by the patients, the ‘poor sick’, at Dr. Warner’s clinic. She even volunteers as an amanuensis for those ‘poor sick’ enabling them to send letters home. Her work at the clinic enabled her to recognize that Henry was having a seizure when she first saw him. She secured and treated him while protecting his privacy – all without having any idea who he was. She actually goes through a fair portion of the book without knowing who he is. Because of his dress, speech, and mannerisms, she knows he is of the aristocracy, but doesn’t have a name to go with it.

Henry’s best friend is getting married – to Teddy – so he and Lisa find themselves at the same two-week wedding get-together. Lisa and Henry find themselves more and more attracted to each other. It is fun to watch Henry open up and blossom and Lisa come to realize that she is a worthy individual. Then, throw in a couple of shrewish ‘friends’ from school and another ‘friend’ bent on revenge and you find a lot of wrenches in the works. Can Lisa and Henry overcome the obstacles thrown in their way? Will Henry’s family accept a union between them? You’ll just have to read this lovely book to find out.

Please check out my reviews at:
Blog: https://flippinpages.blog/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/flippinpages…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlippinPagesRev
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarbBookReview

“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”