Category: Regency Era (1811-1820)

The Regency in Great Britain was a period when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son ruled as his proxy as Prince Regent. On the death of George III in 1820, the Prince Regent became George IV. The term Regency can refer to various stretches of time; some are longer than the decade of the formal Regency which lasted from 1811–1820.
Preceded by: Georgian era
Followed by: Victorian era
Monarch: George III, George IV, William IV

A Gentleman Ought to Know by Jane Ashford

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820)3 Comments

A Gentleman Ought to Know (The Duke's Estates #4)

Barbara’s rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Series: The Duke’s Estates #4
Publication Date: 3/7/23
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 336

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book when I first finished reading it. Well, I KNEW, but I didn’t want to admit it to myself, I think. 😊 So, I decided to let it stew for a few days before writing my review so I could then look back and see what really stood out for me. My impression is still basically the same. I generally liked the story and I thought the mystery was a good one. What I didn’t like was Charlotte! She was often described as ‘prickly’ – I would amend that to ‘bit***’ as that is how she acted most of the time. I loved Charlotte’s brothers and I can certainly see them with books in the future, and I loved Laurence and was so happy to have met him.

Charlotte Deeping met her best friends when they went away to school and they’ve been the closest of friends since. They solved mysteries and enjoyed each other, but now, Charlotte is the only one who remains unmarried. She didn’t do well on the marriage mart because of her ‘prickly’ personality. Now, at home in the country, with none of her friends nearby, she’s a tad on the bored side. If she just had a mystery to solve or something to keep her occupied, she’d get through it all. It is hunting season, and her family is a renowned breeder of hunting horses, so maybe someone or something of interest will show up at the annual hunt.

Laurence Lindley, the Marquess of Glendarvon, is good friends with Charlotte’s brother, Stanley, who invited him to be a house guest for the annual hunt. Laurence hasn’t had a very happy life, but although he constantly thinks of what happened in terms of scandal, it really wasn’t. He was only four when his parents were gruesomely murdered. He never, ever, talks about it. It isn’t a secret, exactly, he just doesn’t wish to discuss it and doesn’t tell people about it. He is excited about the hunt since it is one of his favorite ways to pass the time – and he loves being able to gallop across the countryside on his excellent mount, Ranger. He even finds himself enjoying the ‘prickly, Miss Charlotte Deeping.

Charlotte learned about Laurence’s parents and she also learned from both him and her brother that it was a very private matter for him and he didn’t want to talk about it. However, Charlotte just couldn’t leave a good mystery alone no matter anyone else’s feelings about it. Then, to add another mystery, there was an odd finding at the estate of her good friend Cecelia and her husband the Duke of Tereford. When Laurence seems to recognize the find, Charlotte is off and running – and dragging all of them along with her – whether they wanted to come along or not.

I enjoyed the basic story and most of the characters. I didn’t care for Charlotte at all – I found her to be bit*** rather than prickly. She could have been a great character with a great romance, but she just didn’t cut it for me. I found her to not only be bit***, but she seemed to have no respect for, nor kind thoughts about any male. The book was filled with male-bashing and that just makes me want to put the book down. Yes, I know feminism is the theme of the day right now, but – does being for females actually mean being against males? Every female in this book had nothing but negative things to say about the males. It just made me really sad.

Can I recommend this book? Well – yes and no. If you don’t mind a prickly, male-bashing female lead who steps on everyone’s wishes and then acts as if she is the injured party, then yes, I do recommend it because the mystery and bones of the story are good. Otherwise, I can tell you that I enjoyed the bones of the story, I disliked Charlotte, and I would not read it a second time.

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

View all my reviews

The Duke’s Secret Cinderella by Eva Devon

On By TracyIn Fairytale Retelling, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

The Duke's Secret Cinderella (Never a Wallflower, #3)The Duke’s Secret Cinderella by Eva Devon

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Never A Wallflower, #3

Release Date: February 21, 2023

According to his mother, Rafe Dorchester, the Duke of Rockford is getting married. This is news to him, but when she basically blackmails him into agreeing, he knows his days as a bachelor are over. And to make matters worse, she tells him she has a list of potential brides for him, but her list only has one name – Lady Francesca, daughter of Lord Palmerton. She informs him that he is to call on her tomorrow and his mother expects them to announce their betrothal at her ball. He agrees to meet her because he has no choice but Rafe is a romantic and longs for a love match, like his parents and his grandparents had, he is sure that when he meets the right woman, it will hit him right away and he will know. And he was right, but the woman he meets is nothing like he expected and he is hit, but it is by his beauty and it is with a brick!

Charlotte Browne is making her way to Marshalsea Debtor’s Prison to hopefully free her elderly friend and servant, Stevenson. Stevenson was imprisoned for a debt that his employer, who happens to be Charlotte’s stepfather, Lord Palmerton took out in his name and refused to pay. She is sure he did it to punish Charlotte. Charlotte’s father died when she was just a baby and her mother remarried a few years later to a widower with two small children of his own. When Charlotte’s mother died not long after, Lord Palmerton kept Charlotte rather than sending her to an orphanage, but she is little more than a servant and is not allowed to leave the house. He is petty and cruel to her and hurts the people she loves to punish her. But her task has been far from easy, and when she is accosted by a thief who tries to take the money she scrapped together to free her friend, help comes from an unexpected source, whom she accidentally hits with a brick! Rafe chases off the thief and insists on going with her to free her friend. He uses his title to get them in and even pays the fee when she discovers she lost her coin. He is perfect and clearly not for the likes of her, but a girl can dream. Later when he arrives at her home to call on her stepsister Lady Francesca, they meet again and another servant calls her Lady Charlotte, and before she can stop herself, she elaborates on the lie by claiming to be Francesca’s cousin. And so begins a romance that can only end in heartbreak…

This book was a well-written and nicely-paced page-turner, but it was not what I was expecting! I thought this was going to be a lighthearted, warm, and fuzzy Cinderella retelling. And while it was a twist on Cinderella, it was anything but lighthearted. The story is filled with lies, secrets, threats, toe-curling kisses, wonderful secondary characters, a truly evil villain, surprising twists, and a shocking revelation before a nail-biter ending that leads to their HEA. Rafe was a truly wonderful hero, I felt so bad for him, he wore his heart on his sleeve and was hurt again and again by Charlotte. Hurting Rafe was the last thing Charlotte wanted to do, but more than her happiness is at stake, she wants to tell Rafe the truth but knows it will only end up hurting more people if she does, so she tries to push him away, but finds that she can’t hurt him to save others, leaving her with no opinions that do not end in heartache. I honestly didn’t think this story was going to be so angsty, there are moments of levity that keep it from being too heavy, but the villain in this story is so vile and so powerful, that he sets the tone for most of the book. That being said, having that much angst during the book, made the ending that much more magical and satisfying. Overall, I enjoyed this story, angst and all, and would happily recommend the title to anyone who enjoys historical romance, fairytale retellings, or just plain old “good vs. evil” stories! This book is the third book in the series, but each book is a standalone title and they can be read in any order.

*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.*