Category: Part of a Series

The Return of the Duke by Lorraine Heath

On By TracyIn Part of a Series, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Return of the Duke (Once Upon a Dukedom, #3)Return of the Duke by Lorraine Heath

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Once Upon A Dukedom, #3

Release Date: July 26, 2022

Just over a year ago, Marcus Stanwick changed in ways he never could have imagined when his father, the Duke of Wolfford was convicted of plotting to kill the queen and hanged for treason and the Crown stripped him of his titles, and estates, leaving the family homeless, penniless, and shunned by society. Burning for vengeance and hoping to restore the honor to his family name, Marcus loses himself in London’s dark underbelly, looking for answers but after a year with no success he finally seeks out the last person he ever wanted to talk to – his father’s former mistress.

Esme Lancaster is not what she seems, she is not the loose woman she has portrayed, she is actually an agent working for the home office and the queen’s protector. She met the duke while investigating rumors of a plot to assassinate the queen and was ordered to engage with him. Even now she is still looking for answers about the plot to assassinate Queen Victoria and is surprised it has taken Marcus so long to confront her and even more surprised at her immediate attraction to him. He is rude to her and demands to know if his father confided his plans or co-conspirators to her. When she can’t provide him with any new information, he leaves, but they meet again in a few days and she believes his intentions are honorable, so she offers up a name that she says his father mentioned. She is following up on a lead given to her by her superior and isn’t really surprised when her path crosses with Marcus again but realizes her cover is blown when he saves her from being discovered. They escape, but he is injured and she takes him home to tend his wounds. The next morning the truth comes out, she was never his father’s lover, she was investigating him, she suggests they work together to figure out who was the mastermind behind the plot and stop them before they can strike again. So all they have to do is find the killer and try not to fall in love – simple right?

This was such a great read! It was well-written, nicely paced, and tied up all the loose ends from the series perfectly. This book has it all; intrigue, wonderful characters, action, great secondary characters, steamy love scenes, redemption, and finally a lovely HEA complete with an epilogue. I think this might be my favorite book in the trilogy, and while it could be read as a standalone title, I would recommend reading the books 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. All opinions in this review are my own.*

A Remarkable Rogue by Anna Harrington

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820)1 Comment

A Remarkable Rogue (Lords of the Armory, #5)Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: Lords of the Armory #5
Publication Date: 7/26/22
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 316

Anna Harrington is one of my favorite authors and this book is another superb offering from her. It neatly wraps up the series by adding another superb, steamy romance as well as providing the identity (and punishment) of the villain that has run through the entire series. I quickly came to love the characters, but that was easy because we’d already met them.

Scepter is an organization determined to murder England’s leadership and bring down the monarchy. They’ve made several attempts on the Prime Minister’s life and the Regents. The Lords of the Armory have managed to thwart the group so far, but they know Scepter will just keep trying until they succeed – unless they are stopped. Their best clue so far is Sydney Rowland. Is she a member of Scepter – perhaps even the leader – or is she being blackmailed into helping as so many others have been? It is up to Captain Nathaniel Reed to figure that out and, either way, extract all of the information she has.

Baroness Sydney Rowland avoids love in whatever form it might appear. Everyone she’s ever loved has been taken away from her, betrayed her, or despised her – so it is just simpler not to love anyone at all. Now, as a widow, her life is finally safe. She has money, no emotional encumberments, and one huge secret she must protect at all costs.

Captain Nathaniel Reed is the illegitimate half-brother to Alexander Sinclair, Earl of St. James. Nathaniel has no use for the legitimate side of his family, but he has to work closely with Alexander on this mission, so he’d better suck it up and get on with it. His part of the mission is to determine if Sydney Rowland is a friend or foe and to extract all of the information she has – whether she knows it or not. She’s definitely hiding something. Is she the leader of Scepter? If so, how can he be so drawn to her?

Excitement and romance abound in this delightful story. I love that the leader of Scepter is identified and gets adequately punished. But, we are left wondering if that is the last we’re going to hear from Scepter – after all – it seems more like a Hydra with multiple heads and multiple directions. Can’t wait to see if we hear from them again.

One of my favorite things about this series is that each romance is steamy and unique and it is accompanied by an equally unique mystery to go along with it. I like that so much better than just a plain ‘no frills’ romance.

I can definitely recommend this book – and this series – and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

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

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