Category: Check Content Warning/Triggers

Curse of the Ravenscrofft Brides by Nola Saint James

On By TracyIn Check Content Warning/Triggers, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Historical Paranormal/Fantasy, New To Me Author, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Curse of the Ravenscrofft Brides: A Regency Romantasy (The Ravenscrofft Chronicles Book 1)Curse of the Ravenscrofft Brides: A Regency Romantasy by Nola Saint James

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Ravenscrofft Chronicles, #1

Release Date: March 26, 2025

Wyatt Sinclair, Viscount Ravenscrofft, has a secret, his family was given a special gift by the Ravenal Roma Clan when the first viscount fell in love and married one of their clan. The gift gave them and their descendants the ability to shape-shift into a Raven. Wyatt loves his shifting ability but his is determined that the gift will end with him, as he believes that the gift comes with a curse – the death of the Ravenscrofft brides. Since the first viscount, each bride has died not long after the birth of an heir, and Wyatt refuses to marry and subject an innocent woman to a death sentence. But his convictions are tested with the discovery of a boy who is clearly related to him and when he meets Sophia, he begins to hope that the curse is not real.

After the death of her mother, Sophia Nightingale Braithwaite becomes increasingly uncomfortable with her step-father, The Earl of Easton Grey. On a rare afternoon alone, she is returning home from a walk in the forest, where she had the incredible experience of seeing what she believed to be a raven turn into a man, she is eager to get home and ponder what she saw. But her life changes in an instant when she is accosted by her step-father and learns that he raped Rebecca, her governess and has fired her after it becomes clear she is pregnant with his child. The earl makes it clear that without Rebecca he will turn his attentions to Sophia. With Rebecca’s help, they subdue the earl and escape the estate – hoping to find shelter in London with Rebecca’s aunt. But things don’t go as planned and they end up in the employ of Wyatt Sinclair, Viscount Ravenscrofft. Sophia is shocked to realize the viscount is the man she saw transform in the woods, but instinctively she trusts him and agrees to act as governess to his young brother. The more time she spends with Wyatt, the more she likes him and begins to fall in love with him. Secrets are shared but evil is still waiting in the wings and may keep our lovers from finding their HEA if they can’t learn to trust their hearts.

This was my first time reading this author and I liked this story, but I am not sure I would call it Romantasy – it is more Historical Romance with a supernatural twist. I liked Sophia and Wyatt, they are both likable characters with good hearts and heartache in their pasts, which made it easy to root for their happily ever after. This story has a lot going on and I felt that it was a bit predictable and at times it meandered a bit and lost the plot. But in the end, most of the story threads were tied up, the villain has been dealt with and our happy couple plans to marry. Overall, this was a good read with wonderful characters, warm love scenes, a truly nasty villain, secrets, heartache, surprising revelations, life-changing decisions and finally the promise of HEA. I would recommend it to HR readers who enjoy a bit of the paranormal in their stories.

*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. *

The Highlander’s Fallen Angel by Heather McCollum

On By TracyIn Check Content Warning/Triggers, Medieval (1066-1540), Non-Traditional Romance, Part of a Series, Scottish/Highlander, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

The Highlander's Fallen Angel (Brotherhood of Solway Moss #2)The Highlander’s Fallen Angel by Heather McCollum

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Brotherhood of Solway Moss, #2

Release Date: April 29, 2025

Widow Tierney MacNicol’s father betrothed her to Ranulf Matheson, and now that her father has gone missing, her cousin Asher MacNicol has left and her clan has been decimated by war and sickness, Ranulf is insisting that she marry him, but lucky for Tierney there was a clause in the betrothal contract stating that the contract would be void if Tierney marries another clan chief. To save herself and her daughter from another brutal man, Tierney needs Kenan Macdonald, and desperate times call for desperate measures! During the wedding for Kenan’s sister Sara and Rory MacLeod, Tierney steals Kenan’s flying machine and crashes it into the ocean, which leads to Kenan saving her and ultimately leads to her taking him captive. She needs to convince Kenan to return with her to Scorrybreac and pretend to be her husband. But nothing could have prepared her for Kenan Macdonald…

Kenan Macdonald has the weight of the world on his shoulders, he was held prisoner for 18 months by King Henry after the Battle of Solway Moss and returned home only to lose his father, be betrayed by his own brother, watch his castle burn and now have his flying machine stolen – again! All Kenan wants is a united Scotland and the bonds he made in prison with his fellow captives are a good start to that, in fact he is on the brink of making an alliance with the powerful Mackinnon clan by marrying Cyrus Mackinnon’s sister Grace. Things are finally looking up, until Tierney MacNicol crashes into his life – literally. She threatens everything he has been working for and her interference could drag his clan into a war, but there is something about her that intrigues him and question everything he has planned.

I am not sure how I feel about this story – I loved Kenan and Tierney, but I didn’t really care for the inequality of the characters. Both Kenan and Tierney have suffered at the hands of others and have been subjected to life-altering horrors that reforged both of them. Overall, this was an interesting story with a strong heroine, a hero who really is a hero, a lot of action, emotion, heartache, betrayal, warm love scenes, wonderful secondary characters, evil villains, redemption and finally a HEA. The problem I had with this story is that while their experiences have changed them both, the reader is still urged to believe that Tierney’s needs and wants are more important than Kenan’s – I just don’t care for stories where one character surrenders their desires to make the other character happy rather than coming to a mutual compromise. This is the second book in the series and could be read as a standalone title, but I would recommend reading the series in order for the best reader experience. It should also be noted that readers with sensitivity to spousal abuse, imprisonment, and spousal rape should read 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. *