Author: Tracy

Avid reader (and reviewer) of historical romance.

The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long

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The Beast Takes a Bride (The Palace of Rogues #8)The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Palace of Rogues, #8

Release Date: October 22, 2024

When Alexandra Brightwall finds herself thrown into Newgate Prison following an incident involving her cousin, Lord Thackeray and the Duke of Brexford’s phaeton the very last person she expected to get her out was her estranged husband, Colonel Magnus Brightwall. The husband she hasn’t seen or heard from since her wedding night five years ago. He needs her cooperation to convince the ton that things are well between them and that the dustup Alexandra was involved in was not what it appeared to be. This will mean spending time with the man she hurt all those years ago, but Alexandra is a fixer, can she fix what is wrong between them or is it too late?

A national hero known by most as Brightwall the Beast, Magnus Brightwall fell in love at first sight with Alexandra and made her father an offer he could not refuse to win her hand in marriage. But on their wedding night he witnesses what he believes as an unforgivable betrayal by Alexandra and makes the decision to leave for his post in Spain without her. But when the King decides to honor him with a peerage title, he returns to England only to find his wife in jail. He needs to work with Alexandra to smooth over the scandal and to present a united front to the ton until his title is secure. After that, since divorce or annulment are not an option, he plans to send her to America and have them move on with separate lives. But he never expected to fall in love with her all over again, will he be willing to risk his fragile heart a second time?

This installment of the Palace of Rogues series is a very emotional second-chance story with wonderful new characters and existing characters. This book has a bit of everything, emotion, betrayal, heartbreak, witty banter, donkey races, redemption, steamyish love scenes, forgiveness, acceptance and finally a HEA complete with a touching epilogue. As much as I liked this book, I was left with questions that were not answered like was Magnus faithful to his vows? Why clarify that he was getting a hereditary title when his plan was that he would remain married to a woman he would never have a child with and a few other things. While these things by no means ruined the book for me but I did find them unusual for a JAL book and a bit disappointing. Overall, it was a great addition to the series and a book I would happily recommend to my fellow HR readers. This is the eighth book in the series, but it could be read as a standalone title without issue but if you have been following the series, you will be delighted to catch up with the inhabitants of the Grand Palace on the Thames.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

The Wallflower List by Jess Michaels

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

The Wallflower List (About An Earl #1)The Wallflower List by Jess Michaels

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5/4 of 5 stars

Series: About an Earl, #1

Release Date: October 8, 2024

When her best friend and fellow wallflower Lady Claudia dies unexpectedly, Lady Marianne is heartbroken, especially by the small showing at Claudia’s funeral. It sets her to thinking about her own life and when she finds a list of things Claudia wanted to do before she died, she at first shocked and then intrigued. Wanting to honor her friend and live the life her friend so clearly wanted, Marianne sets out to complete the list. And starts by having her maid alter one of her gowns to be more daring, thus accomplishing one of Claudia’s items “Wear Something Daring” and to her complete and utter surprise, this small change triggers a huge change in her life. For the first time she feel “seen” and even garners the attention of her brother’s best friend, Sebastian, the Earl of Ramsbury, a man she has long considered a friend, but one who clearly never saw her as a woman until that night. She asks his help in completing the list (without telling him of the list) and finally admits to herself that what she feels for Sebastian is much more than friendship but knows he will never want a wallflower like her. But that doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy the attention while she has it.

Sebastian, the Earl of Ramsbury has been friends with Phineas “Finn”, the Earl of Delacourt and his younger sister Marianne for as long as he can remember, they are two of the most important people in his life and he would never do anything to threaten those relationships. But he starts to see Marianne in a new light when she makes a splash at the Brighthollow ball and has to force himself to remember that he promised Finn that he would never seduce his sister. But some promises need to be broken and when he shares a forbidden kiss with Marianne, he is lost and might end up losing everyone he cares about if he can’t control his desire for the only woman he absolutely shouldn’t want.

I liked this book, but it wasn’t really the story I was hoping for, as Marianne turns out to be a sort of Regency era Pollyanna. She was a very nice character – maybe too nice and even with her “daringness” to complete Claudia’s list with things like: Fill my dance card, learn to play billiards, and go to a party uninvited. There was nothing really shocking (save the last item on the list) to my jaded mind. And as much as I love a good “Brother’s Best Friend” trope, this wasn’t quite that, since Sebastian was already legitimately good friends with her, so I think I had a hard time accepting that he never “saw” her until that ball. Anyway, it was a cute story with a bit of drama and some fairly steamy scenes, but I just felt like this could have been so much more than it was, that being said, I did enjoy the book and would happily recommend it. I am also looking forward to reading Finn’s story which is the next book in the series.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *