Blog Tour – To Win A Wicked Lord by Sofie Darling

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About the Book:

Lord Percival Bretagne is used to playing games. He survived being a spy for a decade using his wits alone. But that was just life and death, now he’s playing for the most important prize of all—love.

He’ll Stop at Nothing……

Ten years after his family gave him up for dead, British spy Lord Percival Bretagne is back home, but his mission is far from over. Playing the aristocrat in London gambling dens and at country house parties is just a cover for Percy’s real quest. He’s hunting the man who stole everything from him—his family, his marriage, even his identity. And this time nothing, and no one, will stand in his way.

She’ll Risk it All……

But one night with Isabel Galante changes everything. She’s willing to gamble a woman’s most intimate prize in order to save her imprisoned father, but she didn’t expect a devilishly handsome opponent with a dangerously attractive wicked streak. Isabel would do anything for her family, including betraying Percy, but she has no idea that she’s stumbled into the middle of a decade-long quest for revenge.

Who Will Win in the Game Called Love?

Percy has been betrayed before, and now the man who destroyed his life is using Isabel to strike again. With the fate of the government and his new life in the balance, he’ll have to keep Isabel seductively, scandalously close. They begin a passionate game of truth and lies, deception and dalliance, uncovering the heart of who they really are and realizing that winning might mean losing what matters the most—each other.

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Barbara’s Review 4 of 5 Stars:

I have been waiting and waiting for this book because I wanted to see Percy’s story and I wanted/hoped to see the villain finally get his due – and I got both. Well, I would have preferred a more dire outcome for the villain, but he did get more than a slap on the wrist. The story is well-written and I really liked the characters. We met Lord Percival Bretagne in the first book of the series, Three Lessons in Seduction, and got to know more about him in the second book, Tempted by the Viscount. We learned that in his early years, he was very much a man of his time – he wanted a society type marriage where there were no emotional attachments and he could basically keep living his life as he had before marriage. Yet, we also learned what happened to him on the continent. We also met and got to know the villain of the series in those books as well – and the fact that he never, ever, got any punishment for the things he did really annoyed me. Percy is now back in London and out of the spy business – and he’s bent on revenge against the man who took his family and his marriage from him. The man is sly, smart, manipulative and very, very well connected. So, how will Percy stop him? He’ll hit him where it hurts – in his purse. At least that is the plan until he learns that the villain is still active in more than just making money. What he is up to now will subvert and maybe even bring down the government of England. Isabel Galante is one in a long line of pawns who have been blackmailed and used by Lord Bertrand Montfort in his pursuit of power and influence. Isabel isn’t even the first in her family to be used by him. She despises him, but she also lives in mortal fear of him and what he can and will do to her family. So, when he orders her into the gaming hell/brothel, Number 9, to seduce a peer, she goes – she has no other choice. Then things go terribly wrong… She targets the wrong man … What will Montfort do to her and her family now? Percy grabs Isabel and escapes the brothel with her and a very young prostitute. He needs a place to keep her safe long enough that he can question her and find out all she knows about Montfort – and he’s sure she works for him and knows plenty. Circumstances throw Percy and Isabel together and they find themselves very attracted to each other. Yet, neither can fully trust the other – there is just too much at stake. Can they find it within themselves to trust and work together to defeat Montfort? While this book is part of a series, and we learned Percy’s backstory in earlier books, it can easily be read and enjoyed as a standalone. I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Meet the Author:

Sofie Darling is an award-winning author of historical romance. Her debut novel, THREE LESSONS IN SEDUCTION, won the Writers’ League of Texas’ Manuscript Contest in the Romance Category in 2016. She spent much of her twenties raising two boys and reading every book she could get her hands on. Once she realized she simply had to write the books she loved, she finished her English degree and embarked on her writing career. Mr. Darling and the boys gave her their wholehearted blessing. When she’s not writing heroes who make her swoon, she runs a marathon in a different state every year, visits crumbling medieval castles whenever she gets a chance, and enjoys a slightly codependent relationship with her beagle, Bosco.

 

 


 

Gone With the Rogue by Amelia Grey

Gone With the Rogue (First Comes Love, #2)Barbara’s rating: 3/3.5 of 5 stars

Series: First Comes Love #2
Publication Date: 4/28/20
Number of Pages: 352
** 3.5 Stars **

In the first book of the series, The Earl Next Door, we learned about the sinking of the Salty Dove and the impact that had on the families of the passengers and crew. We also met and got to know the ladies who are featured in this series and their struggles to come to grips with what happened by creating a school to educate the young girls who were orphaned by the sinking. While this book is part of a series, it can easily be read as a standalone. The writing was good, I liked the characters in general, the story had promise, but I did find myself skimming portions of it. If you like a lot of steam in your books, you won’t find it in this one. There are a couple of love scenes, but they are told more from an emotional standpoint than from a more graphic one. That part is fine with me as I’m happy with no steam or a lot of steam – as long as they are done well.

Julia was being forced into a vile marriage she didn’t want and Kitson’s father was trying to force him into an arranged marriage that would benefit both families. Kitson very much wanted to defy his nasty father and Julia wanted to avoid marriage to a man who was her father’s age – their solution was to run away and marry at Gretna Green. Theirs wasn’t a love match, but it worked well enough for them – until Kitson died on the Salty Dove and Julia was left expecting and under the very firm control of her father-in-law, the Duke of Sprogsfield. After four years of widowhood, she’s just as tightly under his control as she ever was – and she’s looking for a way out. The duke has told her she is welcome to leave any time she likes, but his grandson will remain with him. Now she has a plan for them to escape – can she pull it off?

Garrett Stockton wanted more from his life than living on a stipend doled out by a titled relative. His father was perfectly happy with that life and tried to raise Garett to be the same way, but it just didn’t sit well with Garrett. Garrett’s father was very good at reading people and he was very lucky. When Garrett tried to convince him to put those talents into a business, his father was appalled. Gentlemen didn’t work or engage in trade! So, when Garrett’s father died, Garrett took off in a ship that his father had won in a card game and turned that ship into a very successful shipping fleet. Now, the ton doesn’t know what to make of Garrett. Is he still a gentleman? Not by many standards, but he is very wealthy. After all these years, Garrett is getting restless and wants more in his life – he wants a home. Not just any home – he wants the one he was raised in, the one his father said they could never own because it belonged to the title. He just has to get his titled relative to sell it.

I loved the initial meeting between Julia and Garrett. It was witty and entertaining. They were instantly attracted to each other, but Julia knew she could never act on any attraction because that would go against the Duke’s dictates of how she should live her life. Garrett just wanted to be with her, to help her any way he could. As he wins her trust and they manage to spend time together, she comes to trust him and believe in him. If they can outwit the duke, will they have their HEA?

All-in-all, it was a cute story, but just didn’t have any real depth nor character growth. I think the duke overshadowed the romance because 99.9% of the conversations and interactions centered around him rather than them getting to know each other. Some things dragged on too long and if those had been shortened, then more time could have been spent developing the main characters and their relationship. I will be looking forward to seeing how the next book goes.

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