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

How to Survive a Scandal by Samara Parish

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Regency Era (1811-1820), Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

How to Survive a Scandal (Rebels with a Cause, #1)How to Survive a Scandal by Samara Parish

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Rebels with a Cause, #1

Release Date: May 25, 2021

Betrothed to the Duke of Wildeforde for most of her life, Lady Amelia Crofton, the only child of the Earl of Crofton and reigning belle of the ton is tired of waiting for the duke to finally set a wedding date and means to convince him that it is time to wed! In her rush to get to his estate, she leaves unprepared for winter travel and without her maid – mistakes that will change her life forever when she ends up stranded and half-frozen to death on the road. But, as luck would have it (or not), she is saved by Wildeforde’s neighbor and one-time friend, Mr. Benedict Asterly.

Benedict “Ben” Asterly is a self-made man, the son of a misalliance between the daughter of a marquess and a footman, Ben has no liking for the Aristocracy, especially when he saw how unhappy his mother was in his father’s world. His distrust for nobles increased when his mother left them and disintegrated, even more, when he found her alone and dying and her father refused to help. Since then, Ben has avoided interacting with the nobility – but when he is found in a state of undress with Lady Amelia by her father, her fiancé, and a gossipy neighbor, his honor will not let her be ruined, so much to her horror, he offers to marry her.

At first, their marriage seems like it will be just as awful as his parent’s was, but Amelia surprises him time and again and he finds himself agreeing to changes that he has always been adamantly opposed to. Additionally, Amelia’s connections and standing in the ton may be exactly what he needs to secure a lucrative contract to build trains for an American company. Things seem to be going well and Amelia feels like she has finally found her “place” and begins to open her heart to Ben and his young sister, but her happiness is cut short when a tragedy has Ben questioning his actions of late and placing the blame for everything squarely on Amelia. Can these two find their way back to the happiness they had just begun to share? Or will past hurts make a future together impossible?

What a great debut novel! It is a well-written, nicely-paced, fresh, and original story with very likable and relatable characters. This book is a great “fish out of water” type story with strong characters, warm love scenes, detailed character growth, wonderful secondary characters, betrayal, misassumptions, some shocking twists and turns, a dash of angst, some interesting historical facts woven into the story, and a very lovely HEA complete with a touching epilogue. I enjoyed the story despite some title errors and a couple of questionable timeline plot points (it is important to note that the copy I read was an ARC/Proof and any errors/inconsistencies I noted may well be corrected in the final, published copy.). Overall, for a debut, this book was outstanding and I believe Ms. Parish will quickly become a “must-read” author for historical romance lovers! This is the first book in the series and I am happy to recommend this title and will be impatiently waiting for the next installment!

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

The Scot Who Loved Me by Gina Conkle

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Other, Scottish/Highlander, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

The Scot Who Loved Me (Scottish Treasures, #1)The Scot Who Loved Me by Gina Conkle

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Scottish Treasures, #1

Release Date: May 25, 2021

Years ago, twice widowed Anne Neville was tasked with finding and bringing back the Jacobite’s missing gold. And finally, after years of collecting information and meticulous preparation, Anne and her merry band of accomplices are ready to set their plan in motion, they just need one more thing – the help of William MacDonald – Anne’s first and only love, who she hasn’t spoken to since the uprising 8 years ago. But to finish her mission and finally be able to return home to Scotland, Anne will do what has to be done and convince Will to help them, but first, she has to break him out of prison.

Will MacDonald never stopped loving Anne, but insecurity and misassumptions tore them apart 8 years ago and their pride has kept them apart ever since. So when she shows up at the prison, his first reaction is to refuse to help, but his heart still wants her and he realizes he may never get another chance to win her back, so he agrees to at least meet with her partners and listen to their plan. But little does Anne know that Will has his own plan to woo her back into his life.

The plan is revealed to Will and he is stunned – the gold was stolen and is currently in the possession of the last person he ever wanted to see again – Ancilla, the widowed Countess of Denton – the woman who hired him as her “personal footman” five years ago and kept him in her “employ” for a year before he finally gathered the remnants of his pride and left. He wants to refuse but knows if he does, he will lose Anne forever. Anne knows of his past with the Countess, which is why he was necessary to the plan, she does feel bad about making him return to what he considers his greatest shame and if she is honest with herself (which she usually is) she will admit that she is jealous, but she can’t let her feelings get in the way of the mission, because the Countess is a worthy foe and Anne would be a fool to let her guard down around the woman. She promises herself that once her mission is complete, she will examine her feelings and consider her options for the future – and hopefully it won’t be too late!

This was a very interesting story, the plan to reclaim the gold was well done and was reminiscent of some great cinematic heists such as The Sting, The Italian Job, and Ocean’s 8 – but overall I felt that the story was a bit slow and the relationship between Anne and Will underdeveloped and stilted, it was clear they had a past and still loved each other, but Anne’s feelings and motivations regarding Will were kept from the reader for most of the book, in the end, everything that was kept from the reader was explained, but it was too little, too late for me to feel the connection. The book has some great secondary characters, a very mild love scene, secrets, surprises, a well-executed theft, and the promise of HEA. I did enjoy the story and am looking forward to future installments.

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