Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

The Pursuit of a Duchess by Linda Rae Sande

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

The Pursuit of a Duchess (The Ladies of the Aristocracy)Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Series: The Ladies of the Aristocracy
Publication Date: 4/30/24
Period: Regency – 1814 London
Number of Pages: 332

This entertaining book presents us with three romances all gloriously intertwined. Three couples whose lives and happiness are all interwoven into an intricate knot that will see them all reach the very best of HEAs. There is even a lovely epilogue showing that our couples’ happiness has spanned the years. Yes, I certainly enjoyed it.

Thirty years ago, Michael Cummings, Marquess of Fenwick, and Lady Helena, daughter of the Duke of Woodleigh, loved each other desperately and wanted to marry. Thanks to her cruel, uncaring, unfeeling father, she was forced to marry the Duke of Weston instead. Although it was an arranged marriage, Helena went on to have two children – a son named Alfred, and a daughter named Amelia. The marriage was unhappy, but at least she got her children out of it. Michael went on to marry, though he didn’t love the woman and she knew it. She did love Michael and they were happy even though Michael was always in love with Helena. Michael also went on to have two children – a son named Philip and a daughter named Violet.

Fast forward thirty years and both Michael and Helena are widowed. Michael can hardly wait for Helena’s mourning period to be over so he can see her again. He still loves her as much as he did thirty years ago. Does she still love him? Will she be happy to see him? He hasn’t set foot in London for thirty years – but he is so excited to get back there and see his one true love.

In the meantime (in London) – Michael’s son has fallen madly in love with Helena’s daughter – and she returns that love. Michael and Alfred were friends once, but they had a serious falling out and Alfred has hated Philip since. Michael and Amelia fear Alfred will refuse his permission to marry out of spite. How can they get his approval? There has to be a way.

Violet is Amelia’s best friend and she desperately wants to help convince Alfred to agree to Amelia and Philip marrying. However, he isn’t what she expected when she meets Alfred and spends time with him. Why does he seem so different from Amelia’s description of him? He isn’t unpleasant at all? As a matter of fact – it wouldn’t take much for Violet to come to care for him. OOPS!

This is a fun read with characters you will very quickly come to love and you’ll surely be rooting for them all to figure it out – no matter how twisted and convoluted it all seems. Will we get three weddings? You bet we will and it was a blast watching them all work through the pretzel twist of things to get there. I enjoyed this read and can definitely recommend it. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. HAPPY READING!

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

Death and Glory by Will Thomas

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, Scottish/Highlander, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Death and Glory (Barker & Llewelyn, #15)

Barbara’s rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Series: Barker & Llewelyn #15
Publication Date: 4/23/24
Period: Victorian London – April, 1894
Number of Pages: 304

Thomas Llewelyn has worked with Cyrus Barker for ten years, and it has been a wonderful reading journey. Thomas has gone from a melancholy, down-on-his-luck, contemplating suicide young man to a confident, skilled enquiry agent with a wife. Thomas shows those skills in this book and even gets some excellent personal news.

It seems the south is rising again – in London. No, not the south of England, but the Southern United States. A delegation of Southern expatriates appears at the offices of Barker and Llewellyn on a lovely spring morning. They wish to hire Barker to arrange a meeting with the new Prime Minister, the Earl of Rosebery. Barker and Thomas immediately suspect their motives but feel they should play along until they discover what the Prime Minister and his government want to do about them.

What these Southern gentlemen want astounds the government and can create a huge political scandal/crisis. Whichever way the government decides, the fallout will happen. The civil war in the US has been over for thirty years, yet these people want the delivery of a warship promised to them just as the war was ending. Barker and Thomas think they want more and quickly infiltrate the group to see what they can learn. A Barker and Llewellyn case is always more complicated and convoluted than they first appear – and this one was no exception.

This excellently-written, well-plotted, fast-paced novel was action-packed and filled with interesting characters and enlightening obscure historical facts. Another thing I always enjoy is the Author’s Notes – Yes, I always read the Author’s Notes. This author’s notes are always educational and fun to read. I love Thomas’s wit as he gives us his first-person account of each case and we always learn more about him in each new entry in the series. Barker, of course, always leaves us wanting to know more. We’ve learned a lot about his history, and in this novel, he seemed more ‘human’, but still he is larger than life.

I recommend this book, this series, and this author. I hope you will love the book as much as I did. Happy reading!

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

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