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Alliance with Her Renegade Knight by Lissa Morgan

Series: Standalone

Release Date: July 1, 2025

Life has not been kind to Isolda Breydon, first her father and brother perished at sea leaving her to run the family wool business, a predominantly male profession whose members did nothing to help her succeed, and then she was betrayed by her betrothed, which left her reputation in tatters. But none of that deterred her, but when the Duke of York crossed King Henry and went into exile, leaving the people in his village at the mercy of the new Lancastrian regime, things became hard for the common man and Isolda could not stay silent. She began anonymously penning scathing poems criticizing the unfair taxes and corrupt leadership. But setting herself against the hierarchy has consequences and she finds herself under the eagle eye of Sir Henry Wevere a knight in the service of the new overlord, the Earl of Shrewsbury. But Henry poses a threat not only to her freedom, but to her heart as well.

Sir Henry Wevere has been sent to Ludlow to find the author of the disparaging poems, and he too has more than his fair share of heartache and has vowed to never love again. But when he meets Isolda, his heart refuses to listen to reason and falls fast and hard for her. When he realizes that she is the author of the poems he is torn between his duty and his heart. He tries to get to the truth and finds himself falling harder for Isolda, but can he risk his heart or should he turn from love and just concentrate on doing his job?

I loved the blurb for this book and really liked Isolda and Henry, they are wonderful characters. I loved how well Isolda and Henry worked together against the injustice, and it was easy to believe their love for each other as well as their fear of embracing that love. Overall, I liked this story, but I did feel that it was repetitive at times, especially concerning their individual heartaches, and I found that a bit frustrating. But if you prefer a slow burn, no spice type of love story, with intense feelings, then this story is definitely for you. Please note, this story does have deep roots in grief, so if that is a sensitive subject for you, I would suggest checking the content warnings before reading this book.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

Again, Scoundrel by Kay K. Denner

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Unknown, #1

Release Date: June 25, 2025

The last time, American heiress, Violet Goodwin was in England, she met Lord Alistair Crawford on a dark terrace at a ball and almost shared a kiss with him, but their timing wasn’t right so they are just left with a memory of what could have been. Violet finishes her season without seeing him again and returns to America, thinking often of her scoundrel. But shortly after her return tragedy strikes and completely changes Violet’s future. After the death of her twin brother, Violet studies to become a nurse and has some success, enough that she decides that marriage is not her for her and focuses on her career. But fate has other plans for her, and she finds herself back in England to act as a companion to her cousin, Lady Catherine West. It is there that she is reunited with her scoundrel, but Violet is no longer a wide-eyed debutante, and she has no interest in renewing her flirtation with Alistair – at least that’s what she tells herself and anyone who will listen. But their paths keep crossing and denying her feelings is getting old, why can’t Alistair just make things easy for her; be a scoundrel, kiss her and leave? So, she can carry on with the life she has set for herself and stop wanting something she can never have?

Lord Alistair Crawford is the second son of the Marquess of Timsbury but has made his own way in life. He ran away from home at 15 and joined the Navy, then after 7 years, he left the Navy to join the East India Company with hopes of making his fortune. He met Violet on his last night in England before leaving for his post with the East India Company and as much as he wants her, he knows now is not the time and slips away, but he never forgets her. Three years later, Alistair is back in England, broke and disillusioned, without a true purpose, he is just throwing away his money on vice. But when Andrew McGann, an old friend, offers to make him a partner in a new shipping business in exchange for Alistair’s nobility connections to get him an introduction to an heiress, how can he say no? He agrees and then is dismayed to learn the heiress is none other than Violet. Will he be able to watch his friend woo the woman he wants for himself?

I have mixed feelings about this book, parts of it are great and other parts are a bit hard to believe. I liked Violet and Alistair, but they reminded me of the Katy Perry song Hot N Cold – they were both very mercurial and inconsistent. I also found Violet’s character completely unbelievable, because in less than 3 years, she studied medicine and becomes so knowledgeable that she is smarter than most doctors and is going to open her own hospital and add to that her constantly pointing out how irresponsible and inconsistent Alistair is, just made her a hard character to root for. She has a good heart, but seriously, Alistair nailed it when he said to her – “Pot and Kettle, Violet”. Overall, I enjoyed the book, I did think it was a bit too long and dragged in the middle, but it does have some very good characters, touches on issues like grief, women’s health, male domination and family dynamics, and it has some witty banter and spicy love scenes, so not a grand slam, but it does get on base. This book alludes to future installments, and I would definitely read Catherine and Andrew’s story!

NOTE: Be sure to check the content warnings before reading this book – there are scenes that might be triggering to some readers.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

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