Category: Contemporary in Period Dress

A Most Worthy Husband by Faye Delacour

On By TracyIn Contemporary in Period Dress, Part of a Series, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901), Women's FictionLeave a comment

A Most Worthy Husband (The Lucky Ladies of London, #3)A Most Worthy Husband by Faye Delacour

Tracy’s Rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: The Lucky Ladies of London

Release Date: December 16, 2025

Having no desire to marry and endure the unhappiness that her parents have, Miss Hannah Williams has thwarted any man that was even remotely interested in her for four seasons, she is sure if she can make it through this season, her mother will finally give up, and Hannah can live her life as a spinster. But when it becomes clear that her mother is not going to give up – Hannah takes matters into her own hands and bribes her brother’s friend Silas Corbyn to kiss her and “ruin” her – knowing full well he was not an acceptable match in her mother’s eyes, which means she will be sent back to the country in disgrace. Too bad she underestimated her mother!

Silas Corbyn is not having a good year, it started out good and things were going so well, he was due for a long-awaited promotion, but that hope is shattered when he punched his commanding officer and is dishonorably discharged from the Navy. He tries to return home, but his father wants nothing to do with him. So, he takes the little money he has and goes to London. His friend Eli Williams takes pity on him and convinces his wife to let Silas work as a dealer in her gaming salon. This is the second chance he has been hoping for, and things are once again going well – until he finds Eli’s sister Hannah hiding in a small office at the salon. She offers him a small fortune to kiss her in front of her mother, he agrees, but never expected that kiss would change his life! He knows he is not of Hannah’s class and would never be considered a suitor, but that doesn’t stop her from offering him more money to pretend to be in love with her – he refuses. He loses his job over the incident and has trouble finding work, so when his cousin and brother arrive with a business opportunity, he reconsiders Hannah’s offer, after all it’s not like they would ever actually marry!

After the disappointment of the previous book, I had high hopes for this installment. I actually liked the author’s writing style in the first book, but I have a problem with the characters and the plot in this book. It seems like the character’s personalities change from book to book – I liked Hannah in the previous books, but in this book, she came across as very self-absorbed, immature and at times TSTL. Silas was much more likable, and I was horrified that the author made him grovel to Hannah – when he had done nothing wrong. Overall, this book had great promise, but it dragged from almost the first page until the last chapter, when miraculously everything comes together and they both love each other (eye roll) and then it is over – I have no idea how or why they fell in love and honestly by the end, I didn’t even care. This is the third book in the series, but it could be read as a standalone book without a problem – for me, this book was a miss, but the author has a lot of potential and is worth checking out.

*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. *

Revenge, Served Royal by Celeste Connally

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary in Period Dress, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

Revenge, Served Royal (Lady Petra Inquires, #3)Barbara’s rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Series: Lady Petra Inquiries #3
Publication Date: 11/11/25
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 328

This series has mostly fallen into the “meh” category for me. I didn’t hate the books, but I also didn’t love them. Unfortunately, this third installment is my least favorite so far. The pacing felt slow throughout, with very little suspense and far less involvement from the supporting characters I’ve grown to enjoy. Even Duncan is absent for long stretches. The tone still feels much too modern for my taste, though I will say I’ve warmed up a bit to Lady Petra.

The premise—a blend of Murder, She Wrote and The Great British Bake Off—sounded like it would be a lot of fun, but it didn’t quite live up to my hopes.

Lady Petra is summoned to attend a week-long anniversary celebration for Queen Charlotte and King George. Her cook is participating in the royal bake-off, and Petra has been invited to serve as one of the judges. Since the judging is blind, there’s no conflict of interest there. Petra is excited for her cook and also eager to reconnect with her father’s former chef, now retired and writing cookery books—at least until he turns up murdered.

Petra has no intention of investigating until the victim’s valet is accused—and until she discovers the man’s true identity. Solving the crime proves difficult. Although Duncan oversees security for the Queen and Royal Family, he has no authority within the Royal Palace. That falls to someone else, someone very determined to see the valet hang. Petra and Duncan are convinced of the man’s innocence, but proving it won’t be easy.

Overall, this was a smooth but very slow read with little excitement. There is, however, plenty of detail about the bake-off, the dishes, and the judging process. As I mentioned earlier, the book still feels far too modern—so modern that I sometimes wondered why it wasn’t simply written as a contemporary story. Petra and Duncan are openly sharing a bed, and while everyone seems aware of it, nobody cares—even though she’s an unmarried earl’s daughter. Petra has declared she’ll never marry, and Duncan seems content with that. There are also hints at upcoming relationship developments for two supporting characters—one I liked, the other I didn’t. If I do pick up the fourth book, I assume I’ll see where those threads are headed.

I wouldn’t reread this one, but I am mildly curious to see how things unfold for Lottie and Caroline. At this moment, I’m not inclined to read the next book, though that could change once I see the blurb. If you enjoy a slower, steadier pace in your mysteries, this one might be exactly what you’re looking for.

Happy reading!

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

View all my reviews