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 Mistletoe Temptation by Eve Pendle

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

The Mistletoe Temptation: A Regency Christmas Romance (Faking Stitch Book 2)The Mistletoe Temptation: A Regency Christmas Romance by Eve Pendle

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Faking Stitch, #2

Release Date: December 21, 2022

Miss Geraldine “Gina” Bains is an expert at dissuading suitors right under her mother’s nose. Gina is months away from inheriting a fortune from her late father and has big plans to travel the world and those plans don’t include a husband! But despite her subtle tricks to ward off potential husbands, her mother is pushing her even harder to wed and has practically every minute of her day booked with instruction in womanly accomplishments, all of which she hates, save her embroidery “lessons”. So she is shocked when her brother’s best friend, Emmett Stanton sees through her ruse and blackmails her.

Emmett Stanton, son, and heir to the Earl of Hapthorpe had been dreading his promise to his best friend Marmaduke “Duke” Bains to dance with his younger sister, but when he sees Gina he is stunned and smitten. He claims his dance and soon figures out her scheme and thwarts her, much to her surprise, but it isn’t until she dances with someone else and runs out of the ballroom in tears that a plan forms and he gets her to agree to a temporary engagement. She agrees and they will act like the loving couple until she turns 21 on Christmas day, but makes it clear that there will be nothing more between them, especially no kissing, he agrees to only kiss her if she asks him to, to which she scoffs and makes it clear that will never happen and she will be breaking their “engagement” just as soon as she can, but Emmett has already decided that Gina is the perfect woman for him and plans to convince her to marry him, starting by tempting her into kissing him.

What a fun read, Gina and Emmett were such delightful characters that it was easy to root for their HEA. The book is filled with wonderful characters, secrets, lies, ulterior motives, spicy love scenes, a bit of heartache, compromises and finally a HEA complete with an epilogue (and an extended epilogue when you sign up for the author’s newsletter). This novella is part of the Faking Stitch series, but you can absolutely read them out of order. Note – This was previously published in the Twelve Lords for Yuletide anthology.

*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.*

How to Win a Wallflower by Samara Parish

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

How to Win a Wallflower (Rebels with a Cause, #3)How to Win a Wallflower by Samara Parish

Tracy’s rating: 3.5/4 of 5 stars

Series: Rebels with a Cause, #3

Release Date: December 13, 2022

After living and working in America for years, John Barnesworth is back in England, but not by choice. His older brother Walter, who was unmarried, has died, making John the new Viscount Harrow. John has no desire to stay in England, he plans to quickly set the estate to rights and return to Boston, but that was before he learned his brother has bankrupted the estate, leaving a mountain of debt and the pièce de résistance – he signed a betrothal contract for the “Viscount Harrow” to marry Lady Luella, harpy of the first order. And if all this wasn’t bad enough – he finds himself attracted to his best friend, Edward the Duke of Wildeford’s little sister, Lady Charlotte Stirling, AND being warned off by the aforementioned duke. John has no idea how he is going to fix this mess, but one thing he knows for sure, there is no way he is going to marry Lady Luella.

Lady Charlotte has turned down at least twenty proposals over the last four years, not because she doesn’t want to marry, but because she hasn’t found the right man, which might be because he was living in America. Charlotte had had a secret tender for John for many years and was a bit heartbroken when he left England. But now he is back and even though her brother is telling her that John is not right for her and that she won’t be happy with the shy inventor, she can’t stop wanting him. When she learns that he may have to marry her nemesis, Lady Luella to save the estate, she hatches a plan that will enable him to pay off the debts without having to marry, unless he wants to (hint, hint) and it will also enable her to save her other brother, William out of a bind. She shares her idea with John, who is resistant at first, but then agrees to give it a try, and even though they are complete opposites; she is a social butterfly and he is happiest alone, they have a chemistry that cannot be denied and together they make an unbeatable team. But just when it seems like all their problems are about to be solved and HEA is within their reach, everything starts to fall apart and their love will be put to the test.

This was an interesting read that uses some tried and true tropes like opposites attract and forbidden love. John and Charlotte are very relatable and easy to like, making it almost impossible not to root for them in their quest for HEA. The book has a lot going on; secrets, lies, drug/alcohol addictions, characters with self-esteem issues, questionable choices, warm love scenes, nail-biting moments, surprises, shocks, and a comedy of errors leading to a HEA. It was a good read, but frankly, it seemed a bit too much at times, especially at the end when it really started to unravel – seriously, it was over the top. But, despite the ending, I did enjoy the story and would definitely recommend it. This is the third book in the series, but you could easily read it as a standalone title.

*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.*