Category: Blog Tour

A Love By Design by Elizabeth Everett – Blog Blitz

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Blog Tour, Part of a Series, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

A Love by Design (The Secret Scientists of London, #3)Barbara’s rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Series: The Secret Scientists of London #3
Publication Date: 1/17/23
Period: Victorian London
Number of Pages: 336

I have glanced down the list of reviews and ratings for this book and quickly learned I am in the minority. So, feel free to quit reading at this point if you like. I met and liked Earl Grantham in earlier books and was looking forward to an exciting, romantic, whiz-bang story for him. I was also looking for an exciting, no-holds-barred, wrap-up for the series. I don’t feel I got any of that, so I am sad about that. Don’t get me wrong – I think George is about as romantic as they get, I just don’t think his story was.

Margaret, Violet, and George were childhood friends – and Margaret and George were childhood sweethearts. Margaret and George had planned to run away together and marry so she could accompany him to Canada as a soldier’s wife – except – he ended it on the morning they were to leave. Why? Since it would be a bit of a spoiler I won’t tell you, so you’ll just have to read the book to learn why. Since Margaret couldn’t marry George, she left for France to become an apprentice engineer and there she married the son of her mentor.

This book begins several years later when Margaret is back in London as a widow and George has inherited an earldom. George still loves Margaret – he never stopped loving her, but Margaret, on the other hand, doesn’t think she wants anything to do with George. She is adamant – absolutely nothing and no one will get in the way of her starting her engineering firm and being the first female engineer in England. She is ruthless in pursuit of that goal – and even accepts a contract that is backed by the man who has openly tried to harm her fellow scientists. She doesn’t even tell them what she is doing. That smacks of dishonesty to me.

Poor tongue-tied, fumble-footed George is bent on wooing Margaret. He is so funny, entertaining, caring, and loving. You couldn’t ask for a lovelier hero – he is perfectly content to be the rug on which she wipes her feet. Finally, after a bit of danger, Margaret figures out where she needs to be.

I found the story to be a bit draggy and flat when it could have been so exciting. We spent page after page learning about engineering when we could have been learning about the plot to ruin Margaret and get rich. We could have seen more machinations from Victor Armitage and his Guardians of Domesticity. But we didn’t get any of that and I found myself skimming page after page.

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

View all my reviews

BLOG TOUR – A Laird in London by Catherine Tinley

On By TracyIn #Giveaway, Blog Tour, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Other, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Scottish/Highlander, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

A Laird in London

There’s a new Laird in town

Will he leave with a wife?

Angus MacDonald has just arrived in London to reclaim his land when he rescues Lady Isabella Wood from a cattle stampede! Their instant attraction is undeniable, but Isabella must wed this Season and Angus isn’t looking for a bride. His wild Hebridean home is a world away from London Society, so Isabella is completely out-of-bounds. Even if their connection is unlike anything he’s felt before.

Purchase Link

Author Bio:

Catherine Tinley is a multi-award-winning author of witty, heartwarming historical romance. Her first novel, Waltzing with the Earl, won the Rita® Award for Best Historical Romance in 2018, while Rags-to-Riches Wife won the RoNA Award for Best Historical Romance 2021 as well as the HOLT Medallion, and A Waltz with the Outspoken Governess won the RoNA Award for Best Historical Romance 2022.

She has loved reading and writing since childhood and has a particular fondness for love, romance, and happy endings. After a career encompassing speech & language therapy, Sure Start, maternity campaigning, and being President of a charity, she now manages a maternity hospital. She lives in Ireland with her husband, children, cats, and dog and can be reached via her website, or find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Full links are here.

Social Media Links

GIVEAWAY:

Giveaway to Win a signed copy of A Laird in London (Open INT)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for the fulfillment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for the despatch or delivery of the prize.

Tracy’s Review:

A Laird in LondonA Laird in London by Catherine Tinley

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Lairds of the Isles, #2

Release Date: December 27, 2022

After months of trying and failing to purchase the adjoining estate of Lidistrome from Viscount Burtenshaw, Angus MacDonald, Laird of Broch Clachan, decides to go to see the man in London. The Englishman’s family was given the estate by the King after the battle of Culloden, but no one has ever visited the island or even maintained the property, which is falling into disrepair, yet they continue to collect and raise the rents, which has seen many families leaving, which is something that Angus cannot stand to see happening any longer. So Angus and his sister Eilidh set out for London, but soon find that without connections, London society is almost impossible to infiltrate, and without going about in society, his chances of meeting Lord Burtenshaw are almost nil. In an attempt to meet people, the siblings have been walking in the park, and thanks to a stampede of cows, they make the acquaintance of Miss Isabella Wood, when Angus saves her from being trampled.

Isabella is having a bad day, first, she is in London for the season and second, she must find a husband before the season ends, or her eldest brother and guardian, Viscount Burtenshaw will find one for her. But things begin to look up when she literally runs into a handsome Scotsman who saves her life. Days later, Isabella gets her middle brother Max to join her for a walk and they meet the MacDonald siblings again, and after a bit of wariness on Max’s part, a true friendship between them starts, but Eilidh warns Isabella that Angus is not in the market for a wife and if he were, he would marry a girl from the island. Isabella tries to take that advice to heart, but can’t seem to stop herself from falling for him. Angus feels the same for her but is sure that Isabella could never be happy in his remote section of Scotland and tries to ignore his feelings and stick to the task at hand – which surprisingly becomes easier when he learns that Isabella is Lord Burtenshaw’s sister. But when Isabella becomes betrothed and Lord Burtenshaw makes it clear that he will never sell Lidistrome to him, Angus admits defeat and makes plans to return to Scotland empty-handed and broken-hearted. Just when it looks like HEA is impossible, help comes from the last person you would expect, but will Angus be in time to claim Isabella, or are they destined to be star-crossed lovers?

This was a well-written, interesting romance with very likable characters. The book wasn’t quite what I was expecting and moved a lot slower than I would have liked. What I really like about this book was the “fish out of water” trope with Angus and Eilidh, it was a fresh twist and I appreciated that. I also enjoyed the inclusion of Beau Brummell, as well as the St. James herd, both were incorporated into the story perfectly. The book is a no-steam romance, with love scenes limited to kisses, and there is definitely a second romance brewing, which I am hoping will be the next book. Overall, it was a nice read, it was a little slow but still enjoyable.

*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.*

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