Category: Part of a Series

Only Rakes Need Apply by Kate Pearce

On By TracyIn Check Content Warning/Triggers, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Only Rakes Need Apply (Rakes of London)Only Rakes Need Apply by Kate Pearce

Tracy’s Rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: Rakes of London

Release Date: October 28, 2025

After two long years, Carenza, the widowed Countess Smythe-Harding has finally finished mourning her late (and unlamented) husband and is ready to move on with her life. After enduring a miserable marriage with a man that cheated on her and left her penniless, she has no desire to remarry but does miss the benefits of the marriage bed. After jokingly saying she should place an ad for a lover, her best friend Olivia Sheraton places the ad and sets up a place for them to interview applicants. Carenza is mortified but goes along with it. When her late husband’s best friend Julian Laurent shows up and stops the nonsense, he makes Carenza an offer of his own – he will be her lover, no strings attached.

Julian Laurent has known Carenza for most of her life, as their family estates border each other. As the second son, Julian had no fortune, title or purpose, so he did as many other “spares” did and sowed his wild oats in London and gaining a reputation as a rake. But recently he inherited a massive fortune from his godmother and has tried to become more responsible. When he learns that Carenza has placed an ad for a lover, he can’t stand by and let her ruin her reputation, so he intervenes, not intending to offer himself to her, but that is exactly what happens. Too bad they both have enemies determined to see them ruined before they can claim their HEA.

I have mixed feeling about this book, I loved the idea of the story and felt that the story was well-written with some great characters. But at the same time, there was a lot going on and despite the steamy love scenes, I wasn’t feeling the chemistry between Carenza and Julian – in fact at some points I wondered if they even liked each other. I did like Carenza’s circle of friends, which gave the story a bit of a “Desperate Housewives” vibe, but even that created more drama than the story could support. I finished the book and felt like the story was too chaotic and I didn’t get enough closure – I know this was the start of a series, so some unfinished business is bound to work its way through future installments – but this was more about things that were central to this story. Overall, I didn’t love this story, but I didn’t hate it either – I will definitely be reading the next book to see if I judged this installment too harshly.

*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. *

Come Through Your Door by Carlene O’Connor

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, Mystery, Part of a SeriesLeave a comment

Come Through Your Door (County Kerry Mystery, #4)

Barbara’s rating: 3.7 out of 5 Stars
Series: County Kerry Mystery #4
Publication Date: 10/28/25
Period: Contemporary – southwest Ireland
Number of Pages: 384

This is a chilling, spine-tingling mystery from first page to last. It’s almost like a closed-room mystery with the most likely suspect locked within a mental hospital – but there are plenty of other suspects as well. There are plenty of red herrings to make it interesting and a cast of characters who will surely grab your attention. The mystery is excellent, and the writing is well-paced. It did, however, drive me nuts when it constantly switched timelines. That is a personal thing and no dig at the story. I would be zipping through a chapter, ready to get to the exciting next part, and the next chapter would begin with, “One Year Earlier”. It was sort of like reading two books within one.

One warning – it is better for you if you don’t begin this book when you are home alone at night. You’ll jump at every creak and constantly check behind you to see if someone is watching.

Dimpna Wilde, a local veterinarian, is bereft at the loss of her father, but has little time to deal with that grief when her employee and friend, Niamh, appears in the middle of the road. Niamh is bloodied, soaked, and disoriented – and she claims there is a dead woman in her bed.

The story switches back and forth between events that happened a year earlier and what is occurring at present. How are they connected? Will Cormac be able to put all of the clues together and solve the crime from a year ago, as well as the current murders?

This is a book I can definitely recommend, but if you are looking for a Cozy Mystery, this isn’t it. It’s creepy, chilling, and spine-tingling, but you won’t be able to put it down

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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