Category: Barb’s Reviews

21 Days with the Lyon by Shana Galen

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820)1 Comment

21 Days with the Lyon: The Lyon's Den Connected World

Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Series: The Lyons Den Connected World
Publication Date: 2/12/24
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 141

The besieged heiress and the lost gentleman. 😊 Bianca Featherswallow has a huge dowry which makes her a prime target for young lordlings with pockets-to-let. She’s managed to thwart three abductions so far – but sooner or later one will succeed. What is a concerned father to do? Why, take her to The Lyon’s Den for the matchmaking services of Mrs. Bessie Dove-Lyon. To their surprise, Mrs. Dove-Lyon already has the perfect match in mind for Bianca, but he is the pig-headed and stubborn sort who likes to feel he’s made his own choices rather than being prodded into it. So, with a plan to give them twenty-one days to get to know each other, Bianca will have to use her feminine wiles to convince him that he wants to marry her.

Theophile “Theo” Filliol is mired deep in grief and self-loathing. Because of that, he has been gambling and drinking at the Lyon’s Den and is deeply in debt – a debt he cannot pay. His lack of self-worth and his self-loathing are so ingrained that he hesitates to take up Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s offer to wipe his debt clean if he will protect a young heiress who has been besieged by not-so-honorable suitors. Protect the girl for 21 days and his debt is clear.

I loved these characters and was cheering for them to overcome their deep grief and emotional issues to find love and their own HEA. Can they heal each other? Can Theo learn to forgive himself? It is a lovely story of emotional growth and understanding.

We also meet Bianca’s sister Kitty in this story and she is a lively termagant. If you love her, you can find her story in the anthology A Duke By Any Other Name. While this book was more serious than frivolous, I found a few spots of humor – most notably Bianca’s attempts at seduction and Theo’s reactions to them. I also found the character names a tad humorous and kept chortling at the idea of them using hyphenated names – Featherswallow-Filliol. 😊 I also had to wonder why the father didn’t just drastically reduce the dowry until he saw a suitor he could agree to – but then – we wouldn’t have this lovely story.

I always enjoy this author’s stories and this was certainly no exception.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

View all my reviews

Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb

On By BarbaraIn Audiobook, Barb's Reviews, Futuristic, Mystery, Part of a Series2 Comments

Bonded in Death (In Death, #60)Barbara’s rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Series: In Death #60
Publication Date: 2/4/25
Period: Future New York 2061
Number of Pages: 368

Sixty books!!! I fell in love with this series with the first book – was that about 30 years ago (OMGoodness)? Each book since has been filled with exciting, breath-holding action, outstanding plots (this writer has an exceptional imagination), wonderful and formidable characters, wit and humor, and yes – a romance for the ages. No, this isn’t a romance book, but the relationship between Eve and Roarke outshines any romance book I have ever read.

Listening to the audiobooks is always a MUST for me because the narrator, Susan Ericksen, nails it every time. Her unique voice for each character brings them to life in a way no one else could – and she has narrated every book in the series. She IS Eve Dallas; She IS Roarke; She IS Peabody; She IS Feeney; She IS Mavis; Well, you get it – and the way she says “Darlin’ Eve” as Roarke will curl your toes and send shivers down your spine. I hope Susan Ericksen and J.D. Robb continue this series for at least another 60 books!

One of the things I love about the series is the character development – no cardboard, caricature characters to be found. We’ve always known there were many things hidden in Summerset’s past because we’ve seen glimpses of them. Bonded In Death gives us a closer look at Summerset during the Urban Wars when he was young. Those times have come back to haunt Summerset and the group of twelve patriots with whom he served – and it is up to Eve to find the enemy who is determined to pick them off one by one.

Robb quickly pulls us into the story with the murder of Giovanni Rossi who was a warm, loving, family man. Rossi was falsely lured to the US and was then murdered with a nasty, old-fashioned weapon from wars past. As the investigation continues, Eve realizes this particular murderer is determined to take out all of his targets – and he doesn’t care how much collateral damage he inflicts to do so. Eve is equally determined to protect the citizens of New York, Summerset and his group, and apprehend a very nasty villain.

This is one of my favorite books of the series – and I can easily say that because I have just re-listened to the first 59 books and they are all fresh in my mind. Overall, it is an exciting, breath-holding, tale filled with twists and action-filled turns that will keep you Flippin’ Pages as fast as you can read! This is a long series and to thoroughly enjoy the characters and their growth, you must read from the beginning. However! I fully believe you can jump in at any point in the series – but – you’ll quickly realize you WANT to go back and read all of those earlier books. So, if you haven’t tried the series (WHAT!!) jump in – and then you can use the time between this book and the 61st (coming in September) to read the first books in the series.

The publisher provided a complimentary digital copy of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

View all my reviews