The Duke Says I Do by Anna Campbell

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Scoundrels of Mayfair, #4

Release Date: October 24, 2024

While at the docks checking on his business concerns, Alaric Dempster, the Duke of Granville, is shocked to realize the young woman he encountered with a small dog being accosted by thug in an alley is none other than Lady Portia Frain, the sister of his former fiancée. Always the gentleman, Alaric steps in to help Portia, and finds himself the owner of a dog of dubious lineage and a fierce attraction to a woman he thought he disliked. When Portia returns to his house to help him settle in with the dog and his admiration and desire for her only intensified. Over the next few days, they meet in secret and finally give into their mutual attraction. Portia has made it clear that she has no desire to wed, when they decide to take the next step and enter an affair. Alaric has been jilted twice before and has no desire to be rejected a third time but he wants more from her than just an affair, and since his feelings for Portia are unlike anything he has ever felt and he wonders how he is going to be able to keep his heart from being shattered if he can’t convince Portia that she is the woman he has been waiting for all his life.

Portia Frain’s passion is rescuing injured and abused animals, and marriage doesn’t seem likely, especially as she is caring for her father since her mother passed away years ago and her sisters have both recently married. But a chance encounter with the Duke of Granville, the man her sister Juliet jilted a year ago, has her wondering about another type of passion. It is clear that Alaric is not the man she thought he was and her feelings for him are intense and overwhelming and all too soon she finds herself falling in love with him. A feeling that only grows stronger when they embark on an affair. But there are a lot of things that make a permanent relationship between them seem impossible, but no matter how many times she tells herself this, her heart doesn’t seem to understand.

As usual, Ms. Campbell writes a wonderful, passionate, heartfelt story with strong characters who are easy to like and root for. I was a little skeptical when I realized that Portia was the sister of the woman who jilted Alaric in the previous book and wondered if that was going to cause a lot of angst in the this story, thankfully, that was not the case, yes the issue is brought up, but I had no problem believing that Alaric wanted Portia for herself and his former relationship with her sister meant nothing to him. I was also a bit surprised (and delighted) by how steamy this book was (it reminded me of her older books). Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and the epilogue was everything that I could have hoped for and tied up the entire series beautifully. This is the fourth book in the series and while it could be read as a standalone title, I would recommend reading the series in order for the best reader experience.

*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. *

Her Warrior’s Surprise Return by Ella Matthews

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Brothers and Rivals, #1

Release Date: October 24, 2023

Inseparable since they met as children, Sorcha and Ruaidhri seemed destined to marry and live happily ever after. But they are betrayed and separated, each believing the other was aware and complicit in their separation. But nothing could be further from the truth, and now eight years later, they meet again, but this time as enemies. Sorcha, now the chief of the Suibhne Clan has struggled to keep her small clan together after the deaths of her father and the man she married after Ruaidhri left her. She has faced more than her fair share of problems and survived, but now with the threat of Lord Robert DeBrunville, an Anglo-Norman from England coming to Ireland to wed the daughter of a rival clan and promising to eradicate the other Irish clans, she isn’t sure she will be able to keep her clan from being conquered, especially when she learns that Ruaidhri has been hired by Lord Robert. She isn’t ready to see the only man she ever loved, the man who betrayed and left her without a word, especially since she has a secret that he must never learn.

Ruaidhri was ejected from clan Suibhne by Sorcha’s father, after being beaten and sold to mercenaries, he fought to survive and planned to return to Ireland for Sorcha, but then learned that she had wed another less than a year after he was cast out. Heartbroken, Ruaidhri throws himself into his work as a mercenary, and building a reputation for being Ruthless – even though most of the stories about him are greatly exaggerated. He agrees to return to Ireland and help Lord Robert DeBrunville (a man he has never met) with the clans, but never mentions that he was raised in the very clan Lord Robert wants to conquer first – Sorcha’s clan. Ruaidhri might not love Sorcha anymore, but he doesn’t want the clan that he was raised by to be annihilated and believes that he can negotiate a comprise between Sorcha and Lord Robert. But he is not prepared for the emotions seeing her again brings and it is not long before he has to admit to himself that he never stopped loving her. But there are still questions that will need to be answered and Lord Robert to be dealt with before they can think about any kind of future.

What an amazing second chance romance! I loved Sorcha and Ruaidhri and was completely invested in their reunion! This book has so much going on but it never loses sight of Sorcha and Ruaidhri’s romance, there is betrayal, abandonment, secrets, shocking revelations, more betrayal, some heartache, surprises, steamyish love scenes, reconciliation, healing, more betrayal and finally a very sweet ending that includes an epilogue. This book is part of a collaboration duet series with Melissa Oliver and I actually read the books out of order, however, I would definitely recommend reading this book first, because it will help you understand Ruaidhri so much better when you read the next one! That said; I highly recommend this book, especially if you are a medieval fan.

*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. *