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

Convergence of Desire by Felicity Niven

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Convergence of DesireConvergence of Desire by Felicity Niven

Tracy’s rating: 3.5/4 of 5 stars

Series: The Lovelocks of London, #1

Release Date: September 1, 2022

All Harriet “Harry” Lovelock wants is to be left alone to work on proving Fermat’s conjecture, a mathematical theorem that has baffled mathematicians for two centuries. But her stepmother insists that she participate in a London season in hopes of finding a husband. Harry has no desire to marry, she is brilliant but socially inept and has health issues that will most likely prevent her from having children, not to mention she has no desire to have a physical relationship – so what man would even want her, not to mention, the social whirl is taking time away from her work. She thinks that Mama Katie will realize that Harry is not meant for marriage, but it soon becomes clear that her stepmother is not going to give up and when the opportunity arises, Harry takes matters into her own hands and brokers a marriage of convenience with the fortune-hunting rake that was just rejected by her stepmother when he proposed to her.

Thomas Drake, Earl Drake is in desperate need of a fortune and hopes that the beautiful and very rich widow Mrs. Lovelock, a former actress, will be swayed into marriage by the thought of gaining a title. But she makes it clear that she knows he is only after her money and that she is not interested. He then turns his attention to finding another heiress without much success, he is starting to wonder if he will ever find a bride when he is surprised by an unexpected visitor in his room. Harry offers him a marriage of convenience, she will give him her fortune and in return, he will leave her alone to work on her mathematical theorem – there will be no physical relationship between them and he is free to continue the hedonist life he has always lead, including taking lovers. And though he finds Harry odd with her blunt speech and the way she takes everything very literally, he agrees and they wed.

They go to his estate and he insists on Harry taking care of her health, and slowly her health improves and an unlikely friendship develops between them. Eventually, Thomas realizes he wants more from Harry than she agreed to give, but can they renegotiate their terms, or is he doomed to endure a loveless marriage?

OK, this book had a lot going on and I have mixed feelings. The story itself was good, and Harry instantly reminded me of the character Dr. Temperance Brennan from the TV show Bones which delighted me to no end. And I thought that Thomas was a very complex character and while he projected a jaded, pleasure-seeking playboy, he was actually a very sensitive man who hid his pain and insecurities behind his rakish mask. However, I was really turned off by a scene not long after they married in which Thomas is frustrated with Harry and runs off to London and sleeps with a prostitute – on page and in graphic detail. I can’t abide adultery in romance stories and while the author did mention certain triggers, she did not mention cheating (and I know that they agreed to him having lovers – but I didn’t expect to have to read about his escapades and I certainly didn’t want to read that “after he had penetrated her for the third time”) If cheating had been in the triggers and I really think it should have been – I would not have requested the book. Honestly, I almost decided to quit reading the book at that point, but I felt obligated to finish as I had committed to a review. Thankfully, that was the only incidence of cheating and in regards to the other triggers mentioned, while difficult to read, they were well done and thoughtfully executed. Overall, this book was an interesting read and I would consider reading more by this author.

*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.*

The Lady of A Grump by Linda Rae Sande

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The Lady of a Grump (Beyond the Aristocracy) 
Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: Beyond the Aristocracy
Publication Date: 9/6/22
Period: Regency

As always, Linda Rae Sande has provided us with a delightfully entertaining, witty, and romantic book with not one but TWO romances. I loved all of the intertwined characters from both the aristocracy and the working classes – and – I loved that it was sort of taming the shrew in reverse.

Over twenty years before this story takes place, Patience and Maxwell had a history. They were in love and she had accepted his proposal. Unfortunately for them, her father had never told her she was already betrothed – to a much older, wealthier, and higher titled man. When Patience went to break it off with the normally sunny and happy Maxwell, things did not go well. Max took it to mean that Patience was throwing him over. Almost immediately the sunny, happy Max turned into the sullen, grumpy, unhappy Max and he remained that way.

Twenty years later, Patience is a happy widow. She detested her husband and feels a tad (NOT) guilty for not mourning her husband’s passing. To give herself some relief from the ton’s scrutiny during her required mourning period, she decides to travel to the country estate. It is cold and the roads are rutted and icy, so it isn’t a huge surprise when there is a loud crack and the coach comes to a stop with a broken wheel. As fate would have it, the mishap happened right at the entrance to Max’s estate and Patience has no choice but to seek refuge there until the wheel can be repaired/replaced.

Maxwell has been a widower for many, many years and lives practically as a recluse on his country estate. His sour, grumpy demeanor keeps visitors away and has driven most of his staff away as well. Luckily, he pays twice as much as other employers in the area, so he has enough servants to keep the estate running well. None of those servants seem to be about on that cold winter evening to answer the loud, persistent knocking on his door. He’s stunned, and open-mouthed when he wrenches the door open to find Patience on the threshold requesting asylum.

I love Patience and Max’s journey to reconciliation and romance. Neither had ever stopped loving the other and that love quickly came to the fore. Watching grumpy Max become romantic, and loving Max was a wonderful thing!

The second romance involved Patience’s coach driver and a maid at Patience’s country estate. Jeffrey had admired Janet for a number of years and had always planned to ask her to become his wife. He just had to save up enough money for a ring for her. Finally, the ring is safely in his pocket and he can’t wait to get back to the estate to ask her. Only, to his great surprise, she is now working at the estate where their coach just broke down. How could she not have told him? What now? How can they marry and work at two different estates? Their journey is a lovely, romantic read as well.

I love that we always get two romances in each of this writer’s books. The writing is excellent, the characters are always engaging, and the stories suck you right in. I can definitely recommend this read 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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