Category: Part of a Series

How to Court a Rake by Bronwyn Scott

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), New To Me Author, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

How to Court a Rake (Wed Within a Year Book 1)How to Court a Rake by Bronwyn Scott

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Wed Within a Year, #1

Release Date: April 1, 2025

As the grandson of the Earl of Sandmore, Caine Parkhurst and three brothers work for their grandfather as operatives known as the Four Horsemen. But the ton see them as rakes – a cover the brothers are happy to cultivate. Caine meets Lady Mary Kimber, the daughter of the Earl of Carys, while attending a ball, seeking information about a traitor. Normally, he would avoid an “innocent” like the plague, but she intrigues him, so much so he asks her to dance and then ends up humiliating her by leaving in the middle of the dance. His reason for leaving was not voluntarily, his grandfather ordered the brothers to go to Wapping to catch a traitor set on sabotaging a ship sailing to Greece. During this mission his younger brother Stepan goes missing and leads directly to Caine being bestowed the title of Marquess of Barrow and lesser titles for his brothers. Titles that will only become hereditary if they marry within a year, a condition Caine has no intention of honoring. Caine is heartbroken over the loss of Stepan, but he isn’t ready to believe he is dead and there is still a traitor to find. This brings him back to Lady Mary, as her father may be assisting the traitor. He never expected to like her so much and when she suggests he court her to stall her father’s plans to marry her off, he is more than happy to comply. But he never planned on falling in love and knows that she will probably hate him once she realizes his reason for seeking her out. A HEA seems unlikely, but one never knows when love is involved.

After years of being a dutiful daughter and a perfect debutante, yet still being passed over by two dukes, her parents have decided that enough is enough and have told Mary that if she doesn’t find an acceptable husband this season, they will arrange a marriage for her. When her path crosses with Caine something inside her rebels and she allows herself to be bold, but it backfires when he leaves her on the dancefloor, damaging her already fragile reputation. But when he calls on her the next day to make amends, she never imagined that her live was about to change and her heart will never be the same.

This was the start to a new series and if this book is anything to go by, I am all in! I enjoyed this book so much, it has wonderful characters, a bit of espionage, a mystery, some steamyish love scenes, wonderful secondary characters, a bit of action, a really nasty villain, heartache, a hard-won HEA and not one by TWO epilogues. I am looking forward to the next book and would happily recommend this book to my fellow HR lovers!

*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 Ink Master’s Silence by C.J. Archer

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Paranormal/Fantasy, Part of a Series, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

The Ink Master's Silence (Glass and Steele, #6)

Barbara’s rating: 3.7 out of 5 Stars
Series: Glass and Steele #6
Publication Date: 9/4/18
Period: Fantasy Victorian London
Number of Pages: 245

Oh! Happy Days are here again – sort of. In the last book, they found the physician magician and he and India worked together to create a new magical watch for Matt. Matt is hale, whole, and filled with more energy than he’s had in a long time. The only fly in their ointment is that Matt’s family still expects him to marry his cousin, Patience. Matt swears that won’t happen, but nobody can figure out how he can get out of it without causing a scandal and hurting his cousin.

With Matt’s health restored and no magicians to track down, they are getting bored. Boredom doesn’t last long and they are soon on the trail of a murderer. Oscar Barratt, the journalist who had written articles introducing the fact that there was magic and magicians in the world, has received threatening letters from someone – and when his editor is murdered, he believes he was meant to be the victim instead. When the police don’t think the murder and the letters are connected, Oscar asks India and Matt to investigate.

The investigation is filled with red herrings, twists, and turns and you’ll be wondering until the end. Are the Guilds trying to silence the journalist? Was the journalist the real target? Was the editor the real target? Is Coyle involved or is he a red herring?

On the romance front, things have moved – sort of. India and Matt have declared themselves to each other – but they have not made it public. So, Matt’s family still expects him to marry his cousin Patience. Matt’s uncle is holding something over his head – and Matt has to get sneaky and underhanded to get out of the betrothal. First though, he will try to convince Patience’s original betrothed to marry her. Barring that – well – you’ll have to read it and see.

In the meantime, India does something she must keep secret from Matt. We all know that will work out well somewhere down the line don’t we? 😊 So, while we don’t get a wedding, we do get declarations.

I can recommend this book if you like a quick, interesting mystery with a bit of romance. The characters are interesting and Aunt Lettitia is less annoying than in previous books. Hopefully, we will get a wedding in the next book.