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 Defiant Wife by Jess Michaels

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

The Defiant Wife (The Three Mrs #2)The Defiant Wife by Jess Michaels
Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Three Mrs, #2

Release Date: April 13, 2021

Phillipa “Pippa” Montgomery thought she married for love, but soon she learns that her “husband”, Erasmus Montgomery is the father of her maid, Rosie’s baby. She follows him to London, only to learn that he was a bigamist, with two other wives and has been murdered! She teams up with Erasmus’s two other wives to clear their names and then gets another shock when she learns he is not dead, only to witness his jealous lover kill him. Unsure what his death means to her and his infant son, Pippa willingly accepts the help of Erasmus’ brother, Rhys, the Earl of Leighton, while trying to fight her attraction to him.

Rhys is horrified by Erasmus’s actions and vows to set everything to rights. He too fights his attraction to Pippa, as nothing can come of it, and being together would be a scandal. He tries to do the right thing by her and his nephew, traveling to Bath to settle his brother’s debts and to setup Pippa and the baby up in a house. But the more time they spend together, the deeper the attraction and they finally give in to it. Knowing a brief affair is all they can ever hope for. When it becomes clear that Bath is not going to be suitable, Rhys offers to set Pippa and the baby up in London – she accepts, but us clear, whatever happened between them must stay in Bath. Easier, said than done and when they learn that Rosie is still in England, Rhys cannot let Pippa deal with her alone. He knows that being together will cause a scandal – but rumors of Erasmus’ bigamy and death are already a scandal, so what difference will a bit more make? Now he just has to convince Pippa and hopefully do so before unstable Rosie turns up.

This was a well-written, nicely paced, steamyish book that picks up exactly where the previous book ended. Unlike the previous book that introduced us to all the players, this book was able to focus most of its attention on the relationship between Pippa and Rhys, which was great, but I did feel like they made a mountain out of a molehill about why they couldn’t be together and took a bit too long to realize that there was going to be a scandal no matter what they did. Overall, I enjoyed this story and am looking forward to 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. *

One Thing Leads To A Lover by Susanna Craig

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

One Thing Leads to a Lover (Love and Let Spy, #2)One Thing Leads to a Lover by Susanna Craig

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Love and Let Spy, #2

Release Date: April 6, 2021

Amanda Bartlett, the Countess of Kingston has been widowed for nearly three years and her life has become somewhat boring and predictable. She lives with her two young sons and her mother, who came to “help” after her husband’s death and hasn’t left since. Her mother has taken over the role of chatelaine and Amanda doesn’t want to upset her by resuming her duties. The same goes for her boys, her husband named her and his friend George, Lord Dulsworthy as guardians, but with the exception of refusing to let him send her elder son Jamie off to Harrow, she has let him dictate things too. Her mother is a stickler for propriety and has even gone as far as to decide what invitations Amanda accepts – which is practically none, it is clear that her mother and George expect Amanda to marry George and let things continue as they have for the past few years. But all that changes when Amanda accidentally and unknowingly gets caught up in espionage!

Sir Langley Stanhope is a spy known as the Magpie, thanks to his ability to mimic anyone, so he is the perfect choice to be sent to retrieve a codebook that was passed to Lady Kingston by an agent on the street. The agent was captured but was able to send word of what he did with the codebook. Langley goes to Amanda’s house disguised as a shop clerk – but is brushed off by George. Later George takes the book and tells Amanda it will be returned. When it isn’t, Langley takes a chance and goes back to Amanda’s house – planning to break-in, but instead finds Amanda, who tells him George took the book, she offers to help him get it back – help that he reluctantly agrees to accept.

Langley feels like he has something to prove to his boss, not long ago he let himself become distracted while on a mission and another agent died – he carries that guilt and doesn’t feel worthy of the honors bestowed on him and he has sworn to never let himself be distracted again – but his feelings for Amanda make that almost impossible and after sharing a kiss with her, he knows he needs to get as far away as he can – but his boss has other ideas and commands Langley to personally see to Amanda’s protection. Langley tries to keep his distance – but Amanda has never felt so alive and isn’t about to let Langley shut her out!

This was such a delightful read, it is well-written and paced nicely, with a great blend of intrigue and sexual tension. Langley and Amanda are both likable, have great on-page chemistry and they each have their own issues to overcome before they find a HEA together. The book has mystery, secrets, betrayal, intrigue, spies, warm love scenes, abductions, and finally a hard-won HEA as well as a sweet epilogue that nicely sets up the next installment of the series. This is the second book in the series, but it can absolutely be read as a stand-alone title with no problems.

*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. *