Category: Check Content Warning/Triggers

Only Rakes Need Apply by Kate Pearce

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

Only Rakes Need Apply (Rakes of London)Only Rakes Need Apply by Kate Pearce

Tracy’s Rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: Rakes of London

Release Date: October 28, 2025

After two long years, Carenza, the widowed Countess Smythe-Harding has finally finished mourning her late (and unlamented) husband and is ready to move on with her life. After enduring a miserable marriage with a man that cheated on her and left her penniless, she has no desire to remarry but does miss the benefits of the marriage bed. After jokingly saying she should place an ad for a lover, her best friend Olivia Sheraton places the ad and sets up a place for them to interview applicants. Carenza is mortified but goes along with it. When her late husband’s best friend Julian Laurent shows up and stops the nonsense, he makes Carenza an offer of his own – he will be her lover, no strings attached.

Julian Laurent has known Carenza for most of her life, as their family estates border each other. As the second son, Julian had no fortune, title or purpose, so he did as many other “spares” did and sowed his wild oats in London and gaining a reputation as a rake. But recently he inherited a massive fortune from his godmother and has tried to become more responsible. When he learns that Carenza has placed an ad for a lover, he can’t stand by and let her ruin her reputation, so he intervenes, not intending to offer himself to her, but that is exactly what happens. Too bad they both have enemies determined to see them ruined before they can claim their HEA.

I have mixed feeling about this book, I loved the idea of the story and felt that the story was well-written with some great characters. But at the same time, there was a lot going on and despite the steamy love scenes, I wasn’t feeling the chemistry between Carenza and Julian – in fact at some points I wondered if they even liked each other. I did like Carenza’s circle of friends, which gave the story a bit of a “Desperate Housewives” vibe, but even that created more drama than the story could support. I finished the book and felt like the story was too chaotic and I didn’t get enough closure – I know this was the start of a series, so some unfinished business is bound to work its way through future installments – but this was more about things that were central to this story. Overall, I didn’t love this story, but I didn’t hate it either – I will definitely be reading the next book to see if I judged this installment too harshly.

*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. *

Always Carry a Silver Cross by Andrea Robertson

On By TracyIn Check Content Warning/Triggers, Contemporary, New To Me Author, Non-Traditional Romance, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Romantasy, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Always Carry a Silver CrossAlways Carry a Silver Cross by Andrea Robertson

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: None Listed

Release Date: October 21, 2025

After the death of her best friend Emma Bancroft, Selene Jones’ live changed forever, not only has she lost her best friend, but she has become guardian to Emma’s sixteen-year-old daughter Allison. Feeling out of her league and hoping that she is making the right decisions, she leaves her life in LA and relocates to Emma’s house in the small town of Avondale to raise Allie. Already feeling out of sorts, nothing could have prepared her for the shock she is about to receive when she arrives at Emma’s house and meets Allie’s boyfriend Josh, who happens to be a werewolf. The shocks keep coming when she meets her neighbors and learns that Avondale is a paranormal haven, ruled by Fenris Hall, a werewolf and a man she knows of (but never met) from her job as a professional fundraiser.

She is still reeling from learning that Avondale is filled with Werewolves, Vampires, Magi and Fey beings, and she isn’t prepared for her first meeting with Fenris to discuss the relationship between Allie and Josh. She is stunned at her immediate attraction to him and even more surprised when it becomes clear that he returns that attraction. She returns home wondering how a relationship between the pack leader of Avondale and a human could work and is confronted with a ghost from the past – Allie’s father, Daniel Brix who disappeared without a trace ten years ago. Things will only get more heated and complicated from here…

This book is not what I was expecting, the blurb calls it “a paranormal rom-com full of spirited seduction, sinister secrets, and the sublimely supernatural” I am going to have to disagree with part of that description, because this was definitely not a “Rom-com” – it was intense and it was filled with seduction, secrets and the supernatural – but it was not a romantic comedy and it had scenes that were downright horrific – not in a scary sense, but in a violating sense and I hope the publisher adds a content warning to the blurb to protect more sensitive readers. Overall, I liked the book, I thought it was well written and flowed well, and even though I wasn’t super happy with the ending, I would definitely read the next book. If you are a fan of insta-lust, soulmates, touch-her-and-die heroes and heroines who can take care of themselves – you will probably like this book. I am happy to recommend it but would caution there are some scenes that might be disturbing to some readers, and I would highly recommend checking for trigger/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. *