Category: Contemporary in Period Dress

The Halifax Hellions by Alexandra Vasti

On By TracyIn Anthology, Check Content Warning/Triggers, Contemporary in Period Dress, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Historical Rom-Com, Novella, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's Reviews2 Comments

The Halifax Hellions (Halifax Hellions, #1-2)The Halifax Hellions by Alexandra Vasti

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Halifax Hellions 1 & 2

Release Date: February 17, 2026

In this novella duology, The Earl of Warren’s sisters have taken London by storm or rather they have caused a storm of gossip. Lady Margeret “Margo” and her twin sister Lady Matilda “Tillie/Mattie” have been causing scandals for years and earning themselves the moniker “The Halifax Hellions”. But there is a method to their madness and while they have been outrageous and seemingly have no regard for society at large, they are fiercely loyal to each other and despite gossip to the contrary, they truly do have hearts of gold. They have always stood together, so when Matilda runs off, of course Margo is going after her. Let the adventures begin!

In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation – 4 stars: When Matilda leaves Margo a note stating that she is eloping, Margo decides to go after her, but she isn’t foolish enough to go alone. But with their brother away in Wales, Margo must turn to her brother’s best friend, Henry Mortimer for assistance. Henry has been in love with Margo for years, but he knows she is way out of his league as she is a heiress and he is a mere solicitor. After initially refusing to chase after Matilda with Margo, he changes his mind and they set off. For the first time ever, Henry has Margo’s undivided attention and maybe, just maybe, they will find more than Margo’s missing sister.

In Which Matilda Halifax Learns the Value of Restraint – 3 stars: When Christian de Bord, the Marquess of Ashford confronts Matilda about losing his sister’s art tutor thanks to an erotic pamphlet that she illustrated that features him. Christian has been the subject of gossip for years, thanks to the death of his wife and his proclivities during his university days, but this time the gossip affected his sister and that he can’t abide. Mattie offers to tutor his sister herself and isn’t taking no for an answer. She has the best of intentions but can’t deny she is attracted to Christian and shares his “supposedly” former proclivities, and wouldn’t be opposed to exploring that attraction, too bad Christian doesn’t agree. But Mattie is not a quitter and knows she can help Christian’s sister and Christian move beyond their tragic past and find happiness.

I enjoyed both of these novellas, but I wish all three sibling’s stories had been included in this book. Overall, I think Margo’s could have been a bit longer and I wish Mattie’s had actually had scenes featuring Christian’s “proclivities” rather than skimming over the subject and that it had been a little faster paced, but I did appreciate the addition of an epilogue. This is definitely a “contemporary in period dress” type of historical, as it is clear that the protocols and etiquette of the era were not adhered to, but it was still a fun story, and I would be happy to recommend this book to my fellow HR readers. *Note – both of these novellas were previously released but have been updated to include an epilogue*

*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 Duke’s Meddlesome Matchmaker by Emily E K Murdoch

On By TracyIn Contemporary in Period Dress, Georgian Era (1714-1837), New To Me Author, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

The Duke's Meddlesome Matchmaker (The Unconventional Oliver Sisters, #1)The Duke’s Meddlesome Matchmaker by Emily E.K. Murdoch

Tracy’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Unconventional Oliver Sisters #1

Release Date: January 27, 2026

After the death of her father, the Oliver sisters, Aphrodite “Ditty”, Thalia and Calliope, moved to London with their heartbroken mother. Ditty soon realized that they were left penniless and that their mother was too caught up in her grief to form any sort of plan, so Ditty did what she does best – plan! She started a business designing and planning the perfect marriage proposal, despite not being a fan of love matches or romantic love in general. Business is good and she has an exceptional success rate, but when she refuses a commission, the spurned client makes a lot of noise and she accepts a job outside of London to let things calm down.

She travels to the small village of Brexley, which apparently is “The Home of Romance” to meet her new client Mr. Charles Paisley. But it isn’t Charles who picks her up from the Coaching house – it is his older brother Henry, the town doctor and newly minted Duke of Glanyrafon. After a bit of miscommunication and more than a little rudeness on Henry’s part, Ditty is relieved to realize that he is not her client. She tries to ignore her attraction to him and gets to work planning the perfect proposal for Charles and his (hopefully) soon to be fiancée. As she settles into town, Henry tries to make amends for his terrible behavior when they first met and slowly the two form a friendship. Henry inherited the title only to learn that it was penniless, but he had already opened a retirement home for the elderly residents of Brexley. He has been quietly struggling to keep the home afloat until Ditty offers to help him. Henry has been burned by love, and it has made him a bit jaded, but with Ditty he realizes that he gave his heart to the wrong woman. He would love to woo Ditty, but he has nothing to offer her other than his heart.

After reading the blurb, I was very excited to jump right into this book as it sounded amazing. I started reading and almost immediately realized that the title of the book is deceiving – Ditty is not a matchmaker, she plans proposals – which seems a bit unbelievable, especially for the Regency era. The further I got into the story, the more disillusioned I became – the story is fine, but the idea of three sisters with mythological names making their own way seemed very familiar and as I read it became clear that this book is a contemporary in period dress – there is nothing even remotely historical about this book other than the characters wear period clothing, ride in carriages and have no electricity, they do not observe the properties of the era, or even basic etiquette. Overall, I guess I am just too picky, if you don’t get hung up on historical etiquette, primogeniture, or correct formal address, you will probably enjoy this story. For me, it was a miss, I didn’t hate it and I liked the author’s writing style, but I wouldn’t read it again and I don’t think I will be reading any future installments of this series.

*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. *