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

Taken by the Rake by Shana Galen

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837)3 Comments

Taken by the Rake (The Scarlet Chronicles Book 3)Taken by the Rake by Shana Galen

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Scarlet Chronicles, #3

Release Date: February 12, 2019

Honoria Blake is a great beauty and wants to be seen as more than just a pretty face. She longs for adventure and her talents in forgery brought her to the attention of the Pimpernel. So she traveled to Paris to work with the members of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel. So far she has not seen much, her beauty is a hinderance and makes her too noticeable, but all that changes when she meets Laurent Bourgogne, the former Marquis de Montagne.

The league has freed Laurent from La Force, they need information that he has regarding the Tower and hope that he will agree to help them. Laurent is surprised to be alive, after being beaten and left for dead. He makes his way to the safe house and does not make a good first impression on Honoria.

When the other members of the league return, Laurent makes it clear that he will only help them if they agree to help him rescue the dauphin and Madame Royale from the tower. He is friends with the royal family and promised Marie Antoinette that he will help her children if anything happened to her. Laurent is a rake, he is arrogant, entitled and unaccustomed to asking for help. When the members refuse to rescue the children, Laurent takes matters into his own hands and takes Honoria hostage, escaping the safe house and determined to honor his vow to the Queen.

Honoria does not go quietly and fights him every step of the way – when they finally make it to his secret apartment, she tries to reason with him and after hearing his story, agrees to help him, IF he will return her to the safe house and let her talk to the members. He is reluctant, but agrees.

Their return is fraught with peril and has them running for their lives, but the battle is far from over, they still have to convince the members to help him rescue the children, which could end up being a suicide mission. But Honoria champions his cause and makes it clear, that she will help him, with or without their assistance. They agree and a plan is formed, Laurent is awed by Honoria, he knows that nothing can come from their mutual attraction – she will be returning to England and he to Austria with the children – assuming they are not killed first – but that doesn’t stop him from wishing circumstances where different, which shocks him, he has never wanted a woman to be a permanent fixture in his life. But the more time he is with her, the more he wants.

This was a very well written, complex tale of two people finding love during the horrific Reign of Terror in revolutionary France. It is an exciting non-stop adventure, with lots of action, near death moments, steamy love scenes and wonderful secondary characters. I highly recommend this series, it is amazing and is not your run of the mill Historical Romance! This is the third book in the series, but it can easily be read as a stand alone title without any problems.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me*

Wicked with the Scoundrel by Elizabeth Bright

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Tracy's Reviews1 Comment

Wicked with the ScoundrelWicked with the Scoundrel by Elizabeth Bright

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Wicked Secrets, #3

Release Date: February 11, 2019

Colin Smith is back in England, much to his disgust, after 10 years in India and Egypt. He hopes to sell treasures he found and find a patron that will enable him and his business partner Debananda “Deb” Mukherjee to return to Egypt and hopefully discover even greater treasure. His hope is to capture the attention of the Marquess of Chatwell, who is a collector of antiquities and rich.

Lady Claire Harrison, daughter of the Marquess of Chatwell, has accompanied her father to see Colin’s treasures, Claire has an eidetic memory and remembers everything, every boring, mundane moment of her life. She longs for excitement and adventure, but is resigned to her quiet life – until see lays eyes on Colin and falls in love at first sight. Claire is not stupid, she knows that Colin is not suitable as a prospective groom and that her father will never approve, so she comes up with a plan – she will help him find the lost treasure of Scipio which includes the Cleopatra emerald – he will be rewarded and recognized by the crown and then her father would allow him to marry her! Now all she has to do is convince him to “help” her find the treasure and marry her.

Colin is interested in the treasure, but not Claire – or any lady in the “ton”, he has no love for the nobility. His mother was a ladies man and was raped by her employer’s husband and cast out when she learned she was pregnant. Colin reached out to his father when he was a young man and was told in no uncertain terms, that he was not going to help him. Colin’s bitterness against the nobility runs deep, but Claire is different and he likes her – but he still won’t help her.

Claire’s father requests a meeting with Colin and makes him an offer he can’t refuse. Help Claire find treasure – fake treasure – and the Marquess will become his patron. Colin agrees, but underestimates Claire’s determination to have Colin find the treasure and marry her.

This is a well written, amusing, uncomplicated, quirky story with very likable characters, warm love scenes, treasure, secrets, lies, wonderful secondary characters and a sweet HEA, complete with an epilogue. This is the 3rd book in the series, but I have not read the previous books and had no issues whatsoever.

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