A Duke Worth Fighting For by Christina Britton

A Duke Worth Fighting For (Isle of Synne, #3)A Duke Worth Fighting For by Christina Britton

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Isle of Synne, #3

Release Date: August 24, 2021

The last thing Daniel Hayle ever wanted was to be the Duke of Carlisle, but with the death of his beloved brother, the title fell to him. Daniel knows that he needs to marry and beget an heir as soon as possible. Always a bit socially inept and now horribly scarred and suffering from PTSD (thanks to Waterloo), the thought of going to London fills him with dread. So when his mother suggests he visit her good friend on the Isle of Synne so he can ease back into society, he jumps at the chance, maybe he will find a wife who can overlook his scars long enough to produce an heir.

Widow Margery Kitteridge lives on Synne with her grandmother, Viscountess Tesh, and is still mourning the death of her husband Aaron. Unlike most HR widows, Margery actually loved her husband, loved him so much that she defied her father to marry him and was disowned and when he died, she vowed to never marry again. She is horrified when she receives a letter insinuating that Aaron didn’t die honorably and threatens to expose his “cowardness” to the papers if Margery doesn’t pay the sum of £100. Margery doesn’t have the money and doesn’t want to ask any of her friends, so when socially awkward Daniel shows up, looking for a bride, Margery sees an opportunity to make the money. She offers to help Daniel navigate society and find a bride, for the very reasonable sum of £100!

This was another well-written installment of the Isle of Synne Series featuring a grieving widow and a scarred hero. The story has a definite “Beauty and the Beast” vibe, but it is more than that, it has blackmail, a heroine who truly loved (and still loves) her late husband, a hero who had insecurities long before he was scarred, a lot of emotion, very mild love scenes, cameos from previous characters, matchmaking relatives, all leading up to their HEA. The book was good, but not my favorite in the series, I liked Margery and Daniel, but I found their story very easy to put down, as I felt that it was a bit bland and slow-paced. This is the third book in the series and could be read as a standalone, but I would recommend reading the series in order for the best reader experience.

*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.*

Lord Maxwell’s Quest by Jane Charles

Lord Maxwell's Quest (The Other Trents, #2)Lord Maxwell’s Quest by Jane Charles

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Other Trents

Release Date: August 24, 2021

Lord Maxwell Trent and Miss Rosemary Fairview have known each other for ages and have been bickering for almost as long – they are both well-known antiquity hunters and have long been rivals in that field, but what neither knows is that they each have harbored a secret attraction to the other, but deny said attraction for various reasons, but primarily they both believe that they are not suited, Max believes Rosemary too reckless, and she believes he is too controlling. They are cordial and polite but go out of their way to avoid each other – a plan that has worked until now.

When a mutual friend invites them to find what may be one of Joan of Arc’s swords and return it to the rightful owner before their mutual nemesis – Rylan, a mercenary of sorts who works for Mr. Otto Fernsby, a reclusive collector who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, they will have to learn to work together or lose the sword to Fernsby. They reluctantly agree and set off, but almost immediately they realize Rylan is hot on their trail and isn’t content on waiting for them to find the sword before coming after them.

While dodging Ryland and searching for the sword, Rosemary and Max realize that there is a lot they don’t know about each other and find a new respect for one another, but even that knowledge isn’t enough to make either of them share their secret admiration. It isn’t until they find the sword and confront Fernsby that they finally admit their feelings, but by then, it might be too late for them to have a HEA.

This was a good read, with interesting characters and cameos from not only the “Other Trents”, but the Tenacious Trents too, as well as a nod to “The Wiggons’ School for Elegant Young Ladies” series. The story was good, but I felt it dragged a bit in the middle, and Rosemary and Max’s constant bickering got tedious after a while. The mystery of the sword was OK, the love scenes were very mild, but the ending is what makes this book – it was a fantastic twist that leads to a nail-biter ending! This is the second book in the series, but they are definitely standalone titles.

*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.*