Category: Novella

It Had to Be The Duke by Christi Caldwell

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Novella, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

It Had to Be the Duke (All the Duke's Sins #0.5)It Had to Be the Duke by Christi Caldwell
Barbara’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: All The Duke’s Sins #0.5
Publication Date: 7/23/21
Period: Regency London
Number of Pages: 109
This author’s books are always well written and compelling and this one is no exception. All the Duke’s Sins will feature the stories of the illegitimate children of Geoffrey Meadows, the Duke of Bentley. Since this is a novella and the prequel to the series, it will be difficult to tell you much without telling you the entire story. However, I will tell you that I absolutely adored Geoffrey.

Lydia Mayweather and Geoffrey Meadows grew up together, played together, and fell head-over-heels, soul searingly in love with each other. They planned to marry and Geoffrey longed for the family they’d make. Then, suddenly, without warning, Lydia ended it all and married Geoffrey’s friend Lawrence Brandeis, the soon-to-be Earl of Chombley. After thirty-two years, they have their second chance at a HEA.

I really wish this novella had been just a tad longer because it just left me wanting more and it also made me sad. Yes, there was a HEA, but I was so very sad for Geoffrey and the life he had during those thirty-two years. Frankly, I didn’t feel nearly as much sympathy for Lydia – after all, she made the choice to end the relationship and marry someone else all to make the life of a selfish sister easier. I was supposed to ‘admire’ Chombley, but I couldn’t figure out why. He supposedly loved Lydia before they married – and he was supposed to be Geoffrey’s friend. If truly loved Lydia, he wouldn’t have married her knowing she loved someone else and was being forced into the choice. I was really, really tired of reading the phrase about her being happy in her marriage and coming to love her husband. Anyway, I would have preferred the novella to be a little longer to explain or justify or something, these things.

This was a good set-up for the series and shows you what happened in Geoffrey’s life and how he came to have illegitimate children. My heart still hurts for him and I hope we see a lot more of him in the subsequent books in the series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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How the Scot was Won by Caroline Linden

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

How the Scot Was Won (Desperately Seeking Duke, #2.5)How the Scot Was Won by Caroline Linden

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Desperately Seeking a Duke, #2.5

Release Date: July 6, 2021

If you read A Scot to the Heart then you have already met Agnes and Felix and are probably dying to know what happened to make her first dislike him and then apparently reconcile with him – Well the wait is over and the story is delicious! If you haven’t read the aforementioned book, no worries – this novella is their complete story and you will have no problems jumping right in.

Felix Duncan and Agnes St. James have a long history, one that goes back to their childhood, Felix was a friend of Agnes’ brother Andrew and was always kind to her, but it wasn’t until years later that Felix saw her again and realized that little girl that always tagged along was now a beautiful woman. One he wanted to get to know. Through “random” meetings at a coffeehouse, they formed a friendship and deeper feelings began to take root. But a night of revelry and a bit too much whiskey resulted in the world’s worst marriage proposal and the end to what had been a lovely friendship.

Things remained tense between them, and while they would have liked to avoid each other, that is not possible when her brother returns and Agnes ends up staying with her friend Ilsa who becomes romantically involved with her brother – who happens to be staying with Felix. When Andrew organizes a house party and invites Felix to join them, it appears that our lovers will finally talk and reconcile – a boon in Felix’s opinion and one he doesn’t plan on wasting, because, despite everything that has happened, he really has fallen for Agnes. But just as things seem to be falling into place for their HEA, things completely fall apart for Ilsa and Andrew, and any hope for a quick HEA is lost, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen – does it?

I really enjoyed this novella, it was well-written and never felt rushed or recycled as it was also its own story even though it is on the same timeline as A Scot to the Heart, this book is filled with emotion, angst, steamyish love scenes, a hero who works hard for redemption and finally a well-deserved HEA. This was written as a companion novella to the novel A Scot to the Heart which is Andrew and Ilsa’s story, and while you can read this story without reading that one with no problems, I wouldn’t recommend reading this one first as it will have spoilers.

*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.*