Category: Barb’s Reviews

The Undercover Duke by Jess Michaels

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

The Undercover Duke (The 1797 Club Book 6)The Undercover Duke by Jess Michaels

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The 1797 Club #6
Publication Date: 3/27/18

Another winning read in Jess Michael’s 1797 Club series. This one is slightly different simply because we have never met this particular member of the club before and the members of the club don’t show up at all until we’re about half-way through the book. That was kind of nice because we got the opportunity to know the main characters before we started interacting with the other members of the club. That said, I think I would have enjoyed a bit more active participation from the club rather than them playing a pretty passive role.

Lucas Vincent, Duke of Willowby, had a very unhappy life. Both of his parents hated him and he had no idea why until he was about sixteen. Then, everything blew apart. Luckily for him, he had made friends with a number of other future dukes when he started school. Almost all of them have horrible parents and they banded together to help each other through life. When Lucas was eighteen, his father died and Lucas became the duke. Lucas wanted no part of the duchy and he started to work for the Crown as a spy. He had determined that it was his destiny to die in the field and he cut all ties with his friends in order to protect them – from enemies who wanted to harm him and from any grief they might suffer on his demise.

Diana Oakford lost her mother when she was very young and had only her father left in her life. He was a gifted physician who was tasked with taking care of her country’s spies. When her father dies on a mission, she is heartbroken beyond belief. She is a gorgeous woman with dark hair and full lips and the most spectacular jade colored eyes and she is also a healer like her father

Lucas was on a very, very secret mission trying to capture a traitor who had caused the deaths of several spies and had also stolen secrets and sold them to the enemy. The worst part – that traitor is one of their very own spies. When Lucas sees George Oakford (Diana’s father) peeking from behind some shrubbery, he is surprised, but pleased to have some aid. Then, as Lucas is beginning to climb up the trellis to enter the house and capture the spy, shots ring out. Lucas is hit in the leg, loses his balance and falls, then another shot – and another. Lucas stirs to consciousness for a second and sees the dead body of George Oakford beside him. Grief! Then blackness.

Lucas’ injuries were grave and he wasn’t recovering well after six months. His wounds were not healing up as they should and his pain was almost unbearable. The Earl of Stalwood, Lucas’ boss, and head spymaster, needed Lucas back in action and he wanted to help his friend, so he approached Diana Oakford to take over Lucas’ treatment. Stalwood seemed to think that it might give both of them a chance to heal – Lucas from his injuries and guilt over the death of George and Diana from the loss of her father.

The attraction between Lucas and Diana is instant and it doesn’t take them long to get down to business – like rabbits. I thought that all happened a bit too quickly but I liked them as a couple. They complimented each other very well. Once they shared their deepest and darkest secrets they became even more invested in each other. Diana doesn’t trust men though and when she feels Lucas has betrayed secrets, she leaves him.

For me personally, I would have liked for the book to be just a bit longer and to include more action by the club members. The addition of an epilogue would have been good – maybe to be six months or so after the wedding and maybe show some development between Lucas and his mother. Another thing I would have liked to have seen is what happened to the family of Boyd Caldwell. I know what happened to George and would have liked to know if a similar fate befell Boyd’s family since it befell Diana.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the series is wonderful. I can highly recommend it.

The other books in the series are:
The Daring Duke #1
Her Favorite Duke #2
The Broken Duke #3
The Silent Duke #4
The Duke of Nothing #5

Please check out my reviews at:
Blog: https://flippinpages.blog/
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlippinPagesRev
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarbBookReview

“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

Murder at Half Moon Gate by Andrea Penrose

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Mystery, Regency Era (1811-1820), Yearly FavoritesLeave a comment

Murder at Half Moon Gate (A Wrexford & Sloane Mystery #2)Murder at Half Moon Gate by Andrea Penrose

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars (I’d give it more if I could)

Series: Wrexford and Sloane #2
Publication Date: 3/27/18

Penrose’s second book in the Wrexford and Sloane series provides intriguing insights into the main characters pasts and their relationship as well as a mystery that will keep you guessing right up to the very end. The book is fast-paced and very well written. It can certainly be read as a stand-alone book, but you’ll miss all of those formative interactions among all of the characters and their relationships with each other. I’ve now read both books in the series and they are both outstanding!

The Regency period sees the very early beginning and the burgeoning of social and technological changes within England. Science and technological innovation were changing the way people lived and worked. Social order was beginning to change as well and was constantly challenged by satirical cartoonists who were actually quite powerful in molding public opinion. I think that the fact that our author chose Sloane as a very gifted and influential satirical cartoonist and Wrexford as an earl who is a gifted scientist is a big part of what makes this series very appealing to me. The characters are wonderful, fully-developed, humorous, brave and intelligent and when you add in an excellent dose of great history and an excellent mystery, you just can’t go wrong.

Wrexford is a bored, pragmatic, cynical, emotionless man who is also a gifted scientist. He governs his life by scientific principles. No emotions, only empirical evidence, and the step-by-step scientific process need apply! That is – unless Charlotte is involved and then – well maybe it is a little harder to be pragmatic and emotionless.

Charlotte Sloane has secrets – many secrets. Wrexford knows some of her secrets, but not all of them. One of Charlotte’s secrets is that she is the political satirist known as A. J. Quill. It is very important that she keep that secret, though Wrexford knows it, because it is how she earns her living. Were it to become known that A. J. Quill was a woman, nobody would publish her work and she would starve. Charlotte also has a large network of street urchins (boys and girls) as well as other important contacts that keep her up-to-date on what is going on. She always seems to be one step ahead of everyone else when it comes to her cartoons. Charlotte is also a pragmatic lady who always strives to control her emotions.

The prologue begins with a heart-pumping chase through the worst part of London. A thick mist from the river is covering the area and the wind is howling (I love the word the author used – skirled – isn’t that perfect it). Our victim is new to London and is hopelessly lost – and finally – he is brutally attacked and killed. Elihu Anthony is an inventor who is on the cusp of patenting a brilliant ground-breaking new technology that will increase the power of steam engines. The patent is worth a fortune for whoever manages to file for it first. Now – what will happen to the patent? Is it the Luddites who are trying to prevent the patent? Is it a greedy investor? Is it family?

Wrexford and his friend Christopher Sheffield are returning home from a gaming hell and take a route through the more unsavory parts of town and discover a lifeless and mutilated body at Half Moon Gate. Not only is the body mutilated, but his clothes are cut and ripped at the seams. Wrexford and Sheffield notify Bow Street, give their account and then go on home. Later, Wrexford is visited by Isobel, the wife of Mr. Anthony and she asks him to solve the case because Bow Street isn’t taking it seriously. That sets us off on a chase that leads to places and events you wouldn’t imagine. There are so many suspects and all of them are very viable – but you won’t guess who the real culprit is until almost the very end (unless you peek).

Raven and Hawk are featured again in this book and they are delightful. They are the street urchins that Charlotte taken into her life and is trying to encourage them to actually live with her and give up their street ways. They are leery of doing that, but she’s winning them over.

Click on the title to see my review of the first book – Murder on Black Swan Lane.

Please check out my reviews at:
Blog: https://flippinpages.blog/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/flippinpages…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlippinPagesRev
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarbBookReview

“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”