Gentlemen & Gloves by Various Authors
Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: Lords and Ladies of St. James, #5
Release Date: February 20, 2024
This fun new anthology features six new exclusive novellas by some of your favorite historical romance authors all featuring gentlemen and gloves. Here are a few of my favorite novellas, each with varying steam levels and tropes, but each an enjoyable read! In my opinion, this collection is worth buying, not only is the price amazing, but even if you only read one or two of the selections included in the anthology you will be delighted and know that it was money well spent.
Unmasked at Midnight by Collette Cameron, 4 stars – Lord Darius Westbrook has sold his commission in the Navy, moved to Woodhaven, and is the proud owner of Westbrook’s Book & Coffee Emporium. He will be opening the shop in a couple of months and plans to celebrate the opening with a masked event, featuring several authors reading their works. But despite the work he has to do, he has already set his sights on his next task – courting the lovely Eudora Clarke, regardless of his twin brother’s objections. In fact, he was watching the beauteous Miss Clarke when he met the vicar’s daughter, Araminta Weldon, thanks to her pet goose, Sir Waddlesby. Miss Weldon convinces him to let her operate her lending library in his shop and suggests that he stock books by Madame Quillheart (her secret nom de plume). Will Darius realize that Araminta is the true treasure or will he continue to pursue a beautiful but poisonous viper? Heat Level: Sweet/No Steam
The Virgin Widow by Robyn Dehart, 4 stars – Agatha Pennybrook, the widowed Countess of Tolley, has just completed her mourning period and her parents are pushing for her to remarry, but Agatha has decided that she doesn’t want to marry again, but without a fortune to support herself, she will need a way to make a living and believes that being a mistress would be her best bet, the problem is her late husband was sick and died shortly after they married, leaving her a virgin. So to learn about the profession she plans to enter, she seeks out the knowledge of London’s most infamous madame, Lady Leblanc. But it is not the madame who offers to teach her, it is the madame’s gorgeous son Sebastian St. Claire, one of the “Notorious Bastards”. Sebastian and Agatha burn up the pages and fall in love, but there are things they don’t know about each other – things that could rip them apart and break their hearts. Heat Level: Steamy/Open Door
Kiss the Duke Goodbye by Tracy Sumner, 4 stars, – Thanks to his late father’s mismanagement and poor financial sense, Knoxville DeWitt, the Duke of Herschel needs to find a rich bride to save the dukedom and he knows he has a duty to his family, tenants, and servants, but his heart longs to marry for love. He suspects that he has already found that love, Clarissa Marlowe, but she is completely unsuitable, not because she is a milliner, but because she doesn’t have a fortune. He has been visiting her and flirting for months, and when he finally suggests an affair, he is surprised when she agrees. They meet at her cottage and end up spending several days together thanks to a snowstorm. It is clear that they are perfect for each other, but love doesn’t pay the bills, will they find a way to save the estate and be together or will they sacrifice their love for duty? Heat Level: Very Warm to Steamy/Open Door.
This was a great collection with several different tropes, and heat levels at a great price – I enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it to my fellow HR readers.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*
Flippin' Pages Book Reviews 