Hex and Hexability by Kate Johnson

Tracy’s Rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Release Date: September 12, 2024

Lady Theophania “Tiffany” Worthington has been raised by her much older half-brother and his wife, she can’t even remember her parents, despite the fact that they are both alive. She spent most of her life not truly understanding who she was or why drawings/paintings seemed to come to life around her. She has no desire to marry and wants nothing more than to live a quiet life. But as determined as she is to remain unwed, her sister-in-law is doubly determined to marry her off. Forced to attend a ball, Tiffany is mortified when the chalked floors seem to come to life, and she tries to escape the ballroom unnoticed, this is when she meets Santiago, a man who clearly belongs in the ballroom even less than she does. After a bit of verbal sparring, they part ways, but it is the beginning of big changes in Tiffany’s life when she learns that she is a witch and soon crosses paths with Santiago again, a man she could fall for, but one who has secrets of his own.

Santiago is actually the Duke of St. James, even though he was born in Chile and spent most of his life fending for himself. His father abandoned him and his mother, and his mother left Santiago when he was a young boy to enter a convent. He survived and worked hard, and after years of work, he is a successful merchant with a fleet of ships. He never planned to come to England, but when his grandfather died, his solicitors found Santiago and convinced him to come to England and claim the title and take over the dukedom. He planned to just find someone to run the estate and leave again, but then he met Tiffany and is caught up in the magic of her and some actual magic, making leaving the last thing on his mind. Too bad she doesn’t want to marry, because she would be the perfect bride for a pirate/merchant/duke. Clearly, the road to their HEA is not going to be easy.

I loved the idea of this book, I liked the characters and appreciated that the author took the time to actually learn about the period and used titles correctly but felt that the book moved too slow. The story just dragged for me and while the author acknowledged the proper etiquette and expectations for the period, a lot of it was ignored in favor of giving the story more of a contemporary edge (but at least she didn’t butcher the titles). And while the book promised to be “oh so spicy” and there were hints about the hero’s sexuality at the beginning, they don’t even kiss until well past the three-quarters mark. Overall, this was just another contemporary in period dress, ultra-feminist story with a little bit of romance and a splash of magic. If that is your thing – give this book a try, you will probably enjoy it. For me, it wasn’t bad, but definitely not a book I would read again.
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*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. *

The Last Duke She’d Marry by Anna Campbell

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Scoundrels of Mayfair, #3

Release Date: February 29, 2024

Lady Juliet Frain, the daughter of the Earl of Portdown, was born to be a duchess, in fact she would have already been one if her betrothed had not died in an accident two years ago. As sad as that was, life goes on and Juliet, who is beautiful, rich and perfectly proper, soon finds a new ducal suitor in the form of Alaric Dempster, the Duke of Granville. But when her sister, Viola, creates a scandal with the Earl of Renfrew, Juliet and her other sister Portia retreat to the family’s country estate to wait out the ensuing storm, and she worries that she may have lost Glanville’s regard. That worry was for naught, because her father a Shakespeare devotee has been working on a production and has found the perfect man to play Romeo – Lucas Hebden, the notorious Duke of Evesham, who is devilishly handsome, completely scandalous and happens to be Glanville’s archnemesis. In short, a man she wants nothing to do with, but a man she can’t seem to stop thinking about. Soon Juliet has not one, but two dukes vying for her hand, and when scandal once again visits, she is determined to hold on to her perceived superior moral values, and refuses both men. But one will not go quietly into that night, will she see the truth, or will her self-righteousness cost her the love of a lifetime?

Nine years ago, Lucas helped a friend, fought a duel with the Duke of Granville and left England with an unmarried young lady, under a cloud of suspicion and was later judged to be dishonorable when he did not marry said young lady. Now he is back and is swindled into playing Romeo in an amateur production of Shakespeare by the Earl of Portdown. He is not happy about this turn of events, until he meets the earl’s daughter – Juliet. Despite the fact that she clearly distains him, he soon finds himself falling for her and when they are caught in a compromising position, he does the honorable thing and proposes, but to his complete shock, she turns him down – not once, or twice or even three times, she refuses him four times. Caught in a trap of honor, he is faced with a no-win situation and has to face the fact that HEA might not be for him.

As always, Ms. Campbell writes an amazing story, filled with wonderful, relatable and sometimes flawed characters who worm their way into your heart and take root. Lucas and Juliet share an amazing chemistry, but preconceived notions on Juliet’s part keep them from finding the easy route to HEA. The story has witty banter, a sly earl, lots of dukes, old scandals, new scandals, secrets, honor, steamy love scenes, heartache and a heaping helping of angst before finally reaching HEA and a very lovely epilogue. Personally, I didn’t love this story as much as other reviewers did, Lucas was your stereotypical, misunderstood, heart of gold rake and Juliet was your stereotypical holier-than-thou ice princess, who in my opinion was not at all likable until the epilogue and didn’t deserve Lucas. Overall, this book gets a thumbs up as it was a charming story and I LOVED Lucas, I just wish I could say the same for Juliet. This is the third book in the series, but it could be read 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.*