Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

While You Were Spying by Shana Galen

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

While You Were Spying (Regency Spies, #0.5)

Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Series: Regency Spies
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 358

Can two individuals who have been deeply hurt by love find the strength to remove their walls and allow love to happen again? You bet they can when Shana Galen is in the writer’s chair. This book is one of Galen’s earlier releases, but it has been dressed up with an enticing new cover. It has a lovely romance along with smuggling, traitors, spies, murder, and, did I say lovely romance?

Ethan Caxton, the Marquess of Winterbourne, will never fall in love with any woman. He tried that once, and she ripped his heart out and stomped on it. He’ll never give another woman a chance to do that to him again because he’d never survive it. He’ll just spend his time working for the Foreign Office and ferreting out traitors and French spies. French spies are what brought him to Hampshire, and he is determined to catch both the smugglers and their leader. That leader just has to be a man of power and influence, most likely an aristocrat. Ethan has been watching the Skerrit farm for days because he’s sure the arms are being stored there – somewhere, somehow. So, he’s beside himself when he catches a young woman trying to rescue an abused horse from Skerrit. He has to get her out of there, but she won’t budge without the horse. Grrrrr.

Miss Francesca Dashing had been betrothed once and that was quite enough for her thank you very much. She’d just continue to live with her parents in the country and save all the sick and injured animals she could find. Her father always acquiesces and lets her add one more animal to their collection at home. At least he did until she brought home a horse she’d just rescued. That, it seemed, was a step too far. But, what was she to do? If that pesky Marquess had just gone on about his business and left her alone, she would have managed just fine. Wasn’t humiliating her in London enough for him?

Ethan has gone on about his business of catching smugglers – and trying to forget that fetching Miss who only wanted to save a horse. But when he learns Francesca has been viciously attacked – not long after a vicious murder occurred – he’s convinced both crimes are related to the smugglers. Ethan will just have to find a way to protect Francesca and guard against any damage to his heart.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope you will as well. There is a nasty villain, an entertaining valet, an irate father, a mother who espouses all things Italian, and two deeply wounded people who put on a good front for the rest of the world to see. It was lovely to watch as each of them assaulted the walls built by the other. Will they succeed in tearing down the walls? You’ll just need to read the book to see.

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Duke Seeks Bride by Christy Carlyle

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

Duke Seeks Bride (Love on Holiday, #3)Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Series: Love on Holiday #3
Publication Date: 8/22/223
Period: 1896 – Victorian London & Ireland
Number of Pages: 362

This final book in the Love on Holiday series was a delightfully entertaining read from the ‘meet cute’ to the final sweet words of the epilogue. With endearing characters, low angst, and excellent writing, you just can’t go wrong. Just my kind of book!

Miss Evelyn (Evie) Graves comes from a noble, but estranged, family because her father chose to marry for love rather than status and title. Evie is employed as secretary to the Countess of Waverly and she is very proud of the work she does. While she longs to be a published author, she’ll continue to be the well-organized and efficient secretary she is paid to be. Maybe she’d like to attend one of those events she plans – sometime. Probably not. However, that was an exciting encounter she had with a handsome man in the garden at the event she’d planned for Lady Waverly. Ah well, she’ll never see him again – and doesn’t even know who he is.

Alexander Pierpont wasn’t meant to be the Duke. That job belonged to his older brother who died, and, now Alex is the Duke of Rennick. Everybody wants to be a duke – right? Not at all! Alex is now saddled with a crumbling estate that his father nearly bankrupted – and to add insult to injury – his father included a clause in his will that forces him to marry within six months or lose the only thing in the duchy that he cares about. Should he not marry on time, his beloved, unentailed, Irish castle, Ballymore, will go to his odious uncle instead.

Imagine Alex’s surprise when the woman he met in a garden months ago alights from a carriage that should have been carrying someone else. Alex hadn’t ever been able to forget that unknown lady – and now – here she was – at his castle. Evie had traveled to Ireland in place of her employer, but evidently, Alex hadn’t received the countess’s letter explaining her absence.

I loved Alex and Evie together. Their open, upfront caring for each other was endearing. They had things to overcome, but I loved that they were going to figure them out together.

I’ve read some reviews that mentioned the aunt and the uncle as being very ineffectual antagonists. I didn’t view them as the antagonists – I viewed Alex’s father as the antagonist – and – goodness, he was a foul piece of work even in death. Aunt Oona was selfish in that she wanted Alex to marry to save ‘her’ home, but I didn’t think of her as a real antagonist. Now, Uncle George could have been a pretty viable antagonist, but the author chose to take him in another direction. I liked that direction but felt sorry for him and wished the author had chosen to show more positive interactions between him and the family.

I recommend this book if you love a straightforward romance with little angst. I thoroughly enjoyed it because the characters were lovely, the writing was excellent, and I thought it was well-paced.

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

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