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 Highlander’s English Bride by Anna Campbell

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

The Highlander's English Bride (The Lairds Most Likely, #6)The Highlander’s English Bride by Anna Campbell

Tracy’s rating: 3/3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Lairds Most Likely, #6

Release Date: March 30, 2020

Hamish Douglas, Laird of Glen Lyon is sure that Emily Baylor, the daughter of his mentor, is the most annoying girl in the solar system and as an astronomer, he knows what he is talking about! He is at an event honoring his discovery of a comet and Emily is insisting his calculations are incorrect. Annoying she may be, but Emily is one of the smartest people he knows. He agrees to hear her out, but not in the ballroom – he convinces her to go to the gardens and from there things go from bad to worse. Not only is she right about his math, but they get caught in the rain and are discovered together while Hamish is trying to sneak Emily out.

With both there reputations ruined, they will have to marry – something that neither is happy about, but needs must, so Emily will only marry him if Hamish agrees to a paper marriage – his even less happy about this, but agrees, secretly hoping their marriage will progress and they will be happy. Hamish does his best to make Emily happy and believes that they can have a good marriage, but when her father dies and she sinks into grief, Hamish is heartbroken, but respects her wishes and leaves her alone. When Emily learns that he is gone she realizes that is not what she wanted, but it is too late – or is it?

This was a well written, fast paced read with a hero to die for – Hamish is far and away my favorite hero in this series – he is of course a hulking, handsome highlander, but he is also brilliant, kind and caring. And in my opinion – deserved a better heroine. I really did not like Emily – she was unreasonable, selfish and self-centered for the first part of the book and unfortunately the way the book is written, I have no idea what changed for her in the 10 months between “Part 1” and “Part 2” – she lets her husband walk away at the end of Part 1 and then sets out to win him at the beginning of Part 2 – why? I really don’t know. I guess I am supposed to believe that they always were attracted to each other and secretly liked each other – I can believe Hamish did – but Emily was too nasty and negative in the first part for me to believe that she harbored secret feelings for years – I really wish the reader had been given more insight as to why Emily underwent such a huge transformation between Part 1 and Part 2 and why did it take so long for her to go after him, because I feel like l missed something major. That aside, once they meet again, the sparks fly and it seems like HEA is a given, but not everyone is ready to believe that Emily really cares for Hamish or that an English bride is right for the Laird of Glen Lyon. This was an interesting story, with a lot of emotion, steamyish love scenes, a wonderful hero, cameos with former characters and a HEA. This is the sixth book in the series, but can easily be read as a stand-alone title.

To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's Reviews2 Comments

To Have and to HoaxTo Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters

Tracy’s rating: 3/3.5 of 5 stars

Series: None (?)

Release Date: April 7, 2020

Lady Violet Grey met Lord James Audley when she was caught trysting with his friend, Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham. James sent his friend away after berating him for dallying with an innocent, but instead of immediately returning her to the ballroom – they flirt and are caught alone by her mother – James immediately proposes. They marry and spend their first year in a tumultuous relationship filled with love, passion, fighting and making up – until they don’t – they have a fight that basically ruins their marriage and they barely speak for the next four years.

They settle into a bland marriage – living together, but barely speaking and definitely not sharing a bed. Neither is happy, but neither is willing to make the first move towards reconciliation. So when James’ friend Viscount Penvale sends Violet a letter saying James was gravely injured at their county house – she rushes to see him, but finds him at an inn on the way back to London – no worse for the wear. When she mentions the accident, he brushes off her concern and basically tells her that he is none of her concern. Livid, Violet returns to London alone and plots to make James pay for his callous treatment of her. And so, it begins, complete with actors, lies, illness (with amazing, yet selective recovery), outrageous flirting, and more than a few kisses.

This was a very well written story that started out strong and very amusing, but soon the constant bickering and the over the top dramatics went from entertaining to tedious and immature. I didn’t dislike the book, it was a light read with likable characters, some witty dialogue, great secondary characters, warmish love scenes, perfect formal address (with nary a title error to be found!). So, as far as debut novels go, this is one of the better ones, and I liked Ms. Waters’ writing style, I really believe with more experience, she will be a must read author. But in regards to this book, there were things that didn’t work for me, I found a four year estrangement to be a bit too long, I also felt like the conflict between them dragged on for way too long – the last 20% of the book was frustrating to read and in the end, I don’t know if I really believe these two will enjoy a HEA – they were both immature, judgmental and stubborn. There is also the price (which I know is not the author’s doing, but it still matters to readers) – this debut novel is pretty pricey, selling for more than books by well known, best-selling authors – If the book was priced more reasonably, I would recommend it – but at the current price of almost $13.00, I would pass until the price goes down. This book was not promoted as the beginning of a series, but there are several possible stories started in this book and I would be interesting in reading them.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher.*