Category: Georgian Era (1714-1837)

The Georgian era is a period in British history 1714 to 1830. The kings were all named George: George I, George II, George III and George IV. The sub-period of the Regency is defined by the Regency of George IV as Prince of Wales during the illness of his father George III. The definition of the Georgian era is often extended to include the short reign of William IV, which ended with his death in 1837.
Preceded by: Restoration
Including: Regency era
Followed by: Victorian era

The Dishonored Viscount by Sophie Barnes

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

The Dishonored Viscount (Diamonds in the Rough, #8)Barbara’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Series: Diamonds In The Rough #8
Publication Date: 9/21/21
Period: Regency (Georgian) London – 1828
Number of Pages: 246

This final entry in the Diamonds in the Rough series definitely ticks all of my boxes. If other authors want to know how to write a strong, courageous, intelligent, and resilient female lead, all they have to do is read this book. Lady Louise seems to be a very biddable young lady, doing as she is told by her parents and society, but underneath that pliant exterior resides a spine of steel and a determination that is unmatched. Then, there is Marcus, we’ve met him before, and I am so very pleased to see his HEA finally. He is one of the strongest and most honorable heroes you’ll ever meet.

Lady Louise, the youngest daughter of the Earl of Grasmere, has lost her sight on and off all of her life. Each time, she has had to undergo an excruciatingly painful procedure, cupping, to get her sight back. The procedure, inserting a needle into the eye and scraping the lens to the side, isn’t the only treatment available, but it is the only one her father will allow. Louise lives in constant fear of suddenly losing her sight in a social situation and making a fool of herself. That has happened before – and will likely happen again. The first time, she ended up sprawled in the middle of the ballroom floor. Now, she knows it is happening again – she’s lost sight in one eye and knows it will only be a matter of time before she loses the sight in the other eye. She just cannot – absolutely cannot – undergo another cupping treatment. To think that the remainder of her life will be coping with cupping treatment after cupping treatment – until finally, they don’t work anymore and she’ll be blind. When she meets a gifted eye surgeon she knows she wants to learn more about his procedure, but her father refuses to even discuss it.

Mr. Marcus Berkly, formerly Viscount Seabrook, son of the convicted and executed Earl of Hedgewick, lost all of his social and financial standing when his father was convicted of murder. It made no difference that Berkly had done the right thing and it was at his word the earl was convicted. Nope – nobody in the ton cared about that. He has spent the last decade remaking himself and has done an outstanding job of it. He didn’t spend any time with the woe-is-me attitude – he sucked it up and decided on a career – went to medical school – and is now the premier eye surgeon in England. Many doctors don’t accept his method of treating cataracts even though the procedure has been around for seventy-five years. No, these doctors don’t really understand the process – nor the science – and will continue using the cupping procedure.

When the lovely young woman he’d only met twice approached him about performing the procedure on her, his first inclination was to decline. Her father was adamantly against it and would not allow it, so it would have to be a covert process – and she’d have to lie in bed with her eyes bandaged for a month after the procedure. Not something that could be easily managed. Until her brother and sister-in-law step in to offer a solution. What a fateful solution that was!

When unwanted betrothals happen – as well as kidnappings, coach accidents, and other things – well goodness – things get really exciting. Can Louise and Marcus outwit the furious Grasmere? If they do, can Louise adapt to being a social pariah with no financial standing?

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. I even managed to get past the addressing of a duchess as ‘Lady’ rather than Duchess or Your Grace. The writing is excellent and I absolutely adored both the male and female protagonists.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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From Rags to Kisses by Shana Galen

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

From Rags to Kisses (The Survivors, #11)From Rags to Kisses by Shana Galen

Tracy’s rating: 3.5/4 of 5 stars

Series: The Survivors, #11

Release Date: September 14, 2021

Aiden Sterling met Jenny Tate, the love of his life when he was only 12 years old. Against her better judgment, Jenny saved Aiden’s life when she found him left for dead in one of London’s rookeries, and the two formed a bond. For years they watched over each other and became the best of friends, later when they grew older, they became lovers, and words of love were spoken and promises of forever were made. But not long after those words were spoken everything changed. Aiden’s birth father’s family found him and Aiden left the rookery, promising to return for her. He left and joined the army and was soon part of Draven’s troop. He fought in the war and by some miracle survived. But when he returned to England and went looking for Jenny, he couldn’t find her and assumed she was dead. Heartbroken, he turned his passion to making money and was soon one of the richest men in England. Now thirteen years after he left her, Jenny is back in his life and he is desperate to find a way to keep her there. But it won’t be easy because one she hates him and two she is betrothed…

Jenny loved Aiden and when he left was heartbroken, but life goes on she refused to let his betrayal break her. About a year after he left, she was breaking into a house and was caught, but instead of calling the authorities, Roland, Viscount Chamberlayne instead offers her a job as his assistant. A job she takes and spends the next twelve years learning to appraise antiquities and to be a lady. She and Roland become friends and when whispers about Roland’s choice of lovers sets the ton against him, Jenny steps in and suggests they marry to save his reputation. It is not long after that while attending a ball, she comes face to face with Aiden. She would happily give him the cut direct, but Roland wants to investigate some artifacts that were found in Aiden’s house and is delighted to learn that Jenny and Aiden know each other. Aiden agrees to let them view the artifacts and sets his plan in motion to woo Jenny by proposing a wager – if he wins, she will help him find Harley, a street urchin who saved one of his friend’s wife and if she wins, he will have the artifacts sent to Roland’s house and won’t bother her anymore. But winning the wager isn’t enough to win Jenny’s love again, for that Aiden will have to prove to Jenny that not only does he love her, but that she is worthy of love…

This was a very well-written, nicely paced story with wonderful characters and a lot of emotion. The book is set in two parts, the first part is the past when Aiden and Jenny meet and their struggles growing up in the rookery, the second part is years later when they are both grown and successful. The book is filled with emotion, great secondary characters, cameos from previous survivors (including a cameo from Gideon of the Covent Street Cubs), steamy love scenes, homing pigeons, a secondary romance of forbidden love, and finally a HEA. I did feel like not enough attention was given to Aiden’s time with Draven’s troop or how he became so rich in such a short time and I had a real problem with Jenny getting physical with Aiden while she was engaged to Roland – yes, their’s was to be a MOC and he supported her having lovers after they married, but by carrying on with Aiden before they wed, she put Roland and his lover in danger and in my mind, not only cheated on him, she betrayed him. I am mentioning this because, while I know this doesn’t bother everyone, it bothers me and might be a trigger for some readers. Those points aside, I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to people who are following the series. This is the eleventh book in the series, but it can be read as a stand-alone title without any issues.

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