Category: New To Me Author

Binding the Baron by Charlie Lane

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Historical Paranormal/Fantasy, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Romantasy, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Binding the Baron (Alchemy of Desire #1)Binding the Baron by Charlie Lane

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Alchemy of Desire, #1

Release Date: December 19, 2025

In an alternate late-Georgian era England, where transcendent powers are weld by the titled men of the ton and the men of the gentry practice alchemy, something strange happened when Lady Diana Chester’s grandfather passed away and his powers transferred to Diana instead of her cousin Apollo, the new Marquess of Fordham. She is shocked by the discovery and keeps it secret and tries to find a way to transfer the power to Apollo, whom she is supposed to marry. She goes to great lengths to end the betrothal, including purchasing a love potion, which part of is accidently ingested by alchemist, Temple Grant – a favorite of the king. She is able to salvage most of the potion and has Apollo take it and obsess over his mistress. But that doesn’t negate the effect the potion had on Temple, who was immediately smitten and asked her to marry him, and she can’t deny she is attracted to him too, but she has no time for a tryst and slips away, sure the potion will wear off with no long-lasting effects. The next day she is confronted by Apollo who has learned the truth and tries to kill her to gain the power, forcing her to run for her life. She isn’t sure what to do and makes her way back to the potion shop, where she finds safe-haven and an unexpected protector in the form of Temple Grant.

Temple Grant performed a service for England and King William rewarded him with the title of Baron Knightly and the position of Royal Alchemist. But the honor didn’t make his life better as the king assumed it would, in fact it made things worse – he and his family were ostracized by his fellow alchemists and shunned and belittled by the ton – leaving him adrift between two worlds. Add to that the king wants him to marry into the ton and has tasked him with an impossible mission. When he meets Diana and accidentally ingests a drop of her love potion, he believes she would make the perfect wife for him – too bad she doesn’t agree, telling him the potion is responsible for his proposal. But even after the potion should have worn off – he still wants her. She finally agrees when he offers her something she needs, protection from her cousin. It is the perfect solution, she gets protection and he gets the bride the king has ordered him to take – falling in love was never part of the bargain – until it was…

I really enjoyed this fun and quirky story; it is well written and nicely paced with wonderful characters. I loved Diana and Temple, they had an incredible connection, and their banter was highly entertaining. The story is filled with amazing characters, laugh-out-loud moments, a completely redeemable villain, steamyish love scenes, magic, found family, some nail-biting moments and finally a lovely ending with the promise of HEA. I will admit that I didn’t really understand the magic system, and even now, I still don’t understand, and the story did drag a bit – but the story was fun, nonetheless. This is the first book in a new series, and I am happy to recommend this title for anyone who enjoys historical romantasy!

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

Highlander’s Holly and Ivy by Margaret Izard

On By TracyIn Check Content Warning/Triggers, Christmas, Georgian Era (1714-1837), New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Scottish/Highlander, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Highlander's Holly and IvyHighlander’s Holly and Ivy by Margaret Izard

Tracy’s Rating: 3/3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Stones of Iona, Holiday Novella

Release Date: December 1, 2025

Iris Erskine, daughter to James Erskine, the English Lord Advocate of Scotland, loves Scotland and wants to immerse herself in the culture of her adopted country, but understandably, the Scots are not fond of the English, so with the help of her maid Laurel, Iris takes on the persona of a mute maid named Ivy. She joins her friend at a gathering of the Gaels – a group of Scots that gather to keep their culture alive, despite the laws imposed on them by the English. When she meets their leader, Alex MacDougall, she is immediately smitten, and the feeling is mutual. They grow closer, but she never finds a way to tell him who she really is and when he learns the truth, his trust and possibly his love is lost. Will she be able to convince Alex that she never intended to deceive him or has her innocent deception cost her the love of a lifetime?

Alex MacDougall is the Lord Justice Cleark to Scotland and serves as a intermediary between the Scots and the Lord Advocate of Scotland – Englishman James Erskine, whom he has come to respect, despite the fact he is English. Alex’s family has a questionable allegiance to Scotland, thanks to his father’s refusal to fight at Culloden, so he has made it his mission to help Scotland adapt to English rule, but he doesn’t want to forsake his culture. He joined the Gaels, to keep their traditions alive, never expecting to find love. Alex thought he had found love once before and lost her and a Stone of Iona that the fae tasked his family to protect to an evil fae, leaving him determined to never love again. But when he meets Ivy, he wonders if love is possible for him and if he might be able to reclaim the love stone he lost all those years ago. But when the Gaels are found out and he realizes Ivy is not who she says she is, he believes she betrayed him. But when the truth comes out will it be too late to save her and reclaim the love he thought he would never find?

I have mixed feelings about this book, I liked the connection between Alex and Ivy/Iris, but I was expecting a lot more Fae activity, especially based on the prologue, and ultimately it ended up feeling like that element was just an afterthought. I did enjoy the setting of post-Culloden Scotland and the struggle the Scots had to keep their culture alive while abiding by the laws that seemed determined to eradicate their traditions. But I felt that Iris’ deception dragged on for way too long and found it hard to believe that Alex didn’t figure it out, especially since he kissed both Iris and “Ivy”. Overall, it was an OK read that I am glad I read and I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous books in this series. Having said that, I didn’t feel lost even though I hadn’t read the other books, so I feel confident that this book could be read as a standalone title. It is important to note that I would caution sensitive readers to check out the content warnings before reading this book as there are some violent and graphic on-page assaults that may be upsetting to some readers.

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