Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

When The Scoundrel Sins by Anna Harrington

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

RELEASE PARTY! Please join the Facebook release party on 8/29 from 7pm EST – 10pm EST. There will be all kinds of contests, guest authors stopping by, and other fun things. See you there! ow.ly/enDr30e1v4y 

When the Scoundrel Sins (Capturing the Carlisles, #2)When the Scoundrel Sins by Anna Harrington

Barbara’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Capturing the Carlisles #2
Publication Date: 08/29/17

Harrington’s excellent writing coupled with sizzling chemistry and a bit of humor make for a great read – even while you want to shake both the hero and heroine until their teeth rattle.

Our heroine is Annabelle Green. Her father is a convicted thief and her mother was a housekeeper. She knew brutality and deprivation before her mother passed away and she became the ‘ward’ of Lord and Lady Ainsley when she was still very young. You’ll find out how that came about toward the end of the book. She was raised as a lady – except she wasn’t one. Lord and Lady Ainsley decided she should have a London season and hoped for a great match and they couldn’t understand why she was basically shunned. Well DUH! She was the low-born daughter of a thief – what did they expect. So, of course, there was a scandal at her very first ball. It wasn’t her fault – but it was a scandal nonetheless. In order to protect her, Lord Ainsley left the estate she had always lived on to her in his will – but she had to marry by her 25th birthday in order to inherit. Annabelle doesn’t want to marry but the will seems to be unbreakable, so it is either marry or lose the home she loves.

Quinn Carlisle is the third son of a Duke and his parents were a love match. He has vowed to never fall in love because he saw how his mother suffered after his father died in an accident. I do have to say that Quinn is not my favorite hero. I thought he came across as very selfish, self-centered and uncaring. Quinn doesn’t see any way he can stand on his own and be respected for who he is and what he has accomplished without leaving England, so he is on his way to America. He has totally forgotten that he caused the scandal that ruined Annabelle – and never even saw it as his fault (see selfish, self-centered and uncaring comment above).

Lady Ainsley has raised Annabelle since she was a small child and loves her like a daughter. Quinn is Lady Ainsley’s nephew, so he and Annabelle were around each other a lot as children. Lady Ainsley decides that Quinn needs to help find Annabelle a husband before her birthday since he is the one who caused the scandal in the first place.

I hope you will give this book a try. I think you’ll like it – even though you’ll want to give both the hero and heroine a good spanking before you are through reading it. That is just the mark of a writer and plot that pulls you into the story – if they weren’t good, you wouldn’t feel anything.

“I requested and received this 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.”

Mine, Forever and Always by Tammy L. Bailey

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

Mine, Forever and AlwaysMine, Forever and Always by Tammy L. Bailey

Barbara’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone Novella
Publication Date: 3/15/2017

I’d actually give it 4.5 stars, but the system won’t let me.

What a delightful read! Tammy Bailey is a new author to me. As far as I as I can tell, this is her third book and her first historical romance. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more of her work.

This is an almost perfectly perfect novella. It hits all the marks with very likable characters, a compelling, emotional story and a happily ever after. All of the questions were answered – well – all but one question was answered. What is going to happen between Jane and Mr. Waverly? This is a standalone novella, so a next volume in the series isn’t planned – but – there wasn’t any sort of resolution for them. I couldn’t figure out if they were just good friends or if they had an affection for each other but were in denial. The author did let one modern word slip into the story – maybe more, but I only noticed one. She used the word ‘viral’ toward the end of the story. Frankly, the story was so well done that it didn’t bother me at all.

Lily Scott has loved Henry Dalton almost her whole life and has considered herself ‘married’ to him since she was almost fifteen. They were humoring Henry’s sister, Jane, and performing a play where Henry was the groom and Lily was the bride. At the end of the ceremony, Henry leaned down and kissed Lily and told her ‘Now you are mine, forever and always’. Lily loved Henry with all her heart and was hurt and confused when he suddenly left and then pretended that he didn’t even remember her name.

Henry Dalton loved Lily, but when two events shattered his belief in love and marriage he decided to just put her out of his heart, mind, and life. He could manage to put her out of his mind for periods of time, but she was always in his heart. Imagine what happens when he goes to a house party at his family estate and Lily is there.

Mr. Waverly, Henry’s best friend, and Jane decide that it is time to get Henry and Lily together and make them deal with their feelings one way or the other. The entire house party was geared toward that end. You’ll love the maneuvering Jane and Mr. Waverly does to bring the two together, to cause jealousy and to see that they get to be alone together from time to time. Jane is a born manipulator and her parlor games are really good.

I sincerely hope you’ll give this author and this novella a try. It is a short, sweet and quick read that I really think you’ll enjoy.

“I 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.”