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

Gaming Hell Christmas by Kathy L. Wheeler & Amanda McCabe #BlogTour

On By TracyIn Anthology, Author Collaboration Series, Blog Tour, Christmas, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Historical Mystery, Novella, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Gaming Hell Christmas

KathyLWheeler_GamingHellChristmasVol1_1400

GAMING HELL CHRISTMAS – VOLUME 1: Mysteries abound at the newest Hell in town.

A Gift for the Duke’s Illegitimate Daughter – Kathy L Wheeler
Miss Alexandra Blessing, the Duke of Winsome’s illegitimate daughter longs for anonymity and a home of her own where her younger half-siblings don’t commandeer every moment of her day. Escape is imminent—right after her family’s annual Christmas fete.

But Alexandra is missing from the ball, and Theodore Millburn must find her before he loses something important: his chance for love.

The Merry Widow’s Christmas Adventure – Amanda McCabe
Annabelle, Lady Ranstruther, after a year of lonely widowhood is ready for new love—and she knows exactly who she wants—her wild friend, the gorgeous William, Lord Deansley. She fears he doesn’t want her, until they meet again at the exclusive, discreet gaming hell la Sous Rose, at Christmas.

Will it mean a future of love—or the end of all her dreams?

Purchase Links:
US ~ UK

Author Bios:

Gaming Hell Christmas - Amanda McCabe Author1

Amanda wrote her first romance at the age of sixteen–a vast historical epic starring all her friends as the characters, written secretly during algebra class (and her parents wondered why math was not her strongest subject…)

She’s never since used algebra, but her books have been nominated for many awards, including the RITA Award, the Romantic Times BOOKReviews Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Booksellers Best, the National Readers Choice Award, and the Holt Medallion. She lives in Santa Fe with a Poodle, a cat, a wonderful husband, and a very and far too many books and royal memorabilia collections.

When not writing or reading, she loves taking dance classes, collecting cheesy travel souvenirs, and watching the Food Network–even though she doesn’t cook.

Amanda also writes as Laurel McKee for Grand Central Publishing, the Elizabethan Mystery Series as Amanda Carmack, and the Manor Cat Mystery Series as Eliza Casey.

“Miss McCabe’s talent for lively characters and witty dialogue is always a winning combination.” ~ Romantic Times Reviews

Visit her website to learn more

Gaming Hell - Kathy square

Kathy L Wheeler loves the NFL, the NBA, musical theater (don’t ask how her how many times she’s seen Phantom of the Opera (12); or Wicked (7), travel, (Europe, Grand Cayman, Mexico, All over the US), reading (practically a book a night), writing (25 published books and counting) and karaoke (well… what can I say). She assists other authors in critiquing, formatting, and creating covers for their publishing dreams.

She writes contemporary and historical stories where the heroines save themselves and the heroes who honor their courage with suspense and humor.
She migrated from Texas, to Oklahoma to the Pacific Northwest with her musically talented, lawyer husband, her adorable dog Angel (who lives up to her name…mostly).

Connect with Kathy:

Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ BookBub ~ GoodReads ~ Amazon

Tracy’s Review:

Gaming Hell ChristmasGaming Hell Christmas by Kathy L. Wheeler

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: N/A

Release Date: December 1, 2021

This anthology treats the reader to two long novellas in one great book.

A Gift for the Duke’s Illegitimate Daughter by Kathy L Wheeler – 4 stars: As the illegitimate daughter of a duke, Miss Alexandra Blessing longs for her own home and she plans to make her wish come true, but what she didn’t realize is that someone wants the same thing, with her. Will Theodore Millburn be able to find Alexandra or has he waited too long? This was my first Kathy L. Wheeler book, but won’t be my last!

The Merry Widow’s Christmas Adventure by Amanda McCabe – 4.5 stars: A chance meeting at la Sous Rose, an exclusive gaming hell, gives widow Annabel, Lady Ranstruther a second chance at love with a man she longed for, but who rejected her years ago. William, Lord Deansley has wanted Belle for years, and now that she is finally free, he won’t waste the opportunity that fate has given him.

Two well-written, well-paced novellas that are sure to delight!

*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.*

Mr. Dale and The Divorcée by Sophie Barnes

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

Mr. Dale and The Divorcée (The Brazen Beauties, #1)Barbara’s rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Series: The Brazen Beauties
Publication Date: 11/23/21
Period: Regency London – 1818
Number of Pages: 342

I love it when I learn something new while reading a historical romance – especially something about the Regency period. Everything I had ever read on the subject led me to believe there was no way for either partner to marry anyone again, so when I saw the whole premise of this book was a Regency couple obtaining a divorce and then marrying others, I scoffed at the idea. However, the author’s explanations seemed so valid I just had to do more research and I found there really was a way to get the divorce and the participants marry others. That doesn’t make the idea of the divorce any more plausible given how very few were ever granted or how prohibitively expensive they were, but depending on which ‘type’ of divorce they got, the participants could marry others. Here is a link to an article on the subject – and it lists references: Click Here For Article. Just in case you are interested. 😊

Wilhelmina and George grew up together and were best friends – as were their fathers. They were there for each other when the ship both of their fathers were sailing on sank and everyone on board was lost. They were always there for each other – and that is how they ended up married. While they did love each other – as friends – they were never in love with each other. However, when Wilhelmina desperately needed saving, George and she married. That was twenty years ago and they have had a comfortable, amenable, celibate marriage for all that time. They are still best friends. But now, George needs saving, and Wilhelmina is willing to do anything she can, endure anything she has to, in order to give George the life he deserves. So, they hatch a plot to brand Wilhelmina as a fallen, scandalous woman in order for George to pursue a divorce.

Widower, Mr. James Dale, is a highly successful barrister from a very well-placed family. He and his two friends (who will be featured in the next books) are attending a ball when James is introduced to the most alluring, beautiful woman (Wilhelmina) he has ever laid eyes on. He is intrigued – and very interested – until he learns she is married. Then, SCANDAL! Wilhelmina’s husband loudly accuses her of adultery and publicly shames her. James is shocked. How could she have seemed to be such a wonderful person and yet be cuckolding her husband – regularly. She’s just like his wife, Clara, had been – scandalous and wicked.

After two years, Wilhelmina and George are divorced. She is the scandal of England and people spit at her and cross the street rather than walk near her. Getting the cut direct is the least she must endure. James attended all of the court sessions and came to loath the woman. The stories that were told of her painted a very sordid picture indeed. Just imagine James’s visceral reaction when he learns his son wants to marry Wilhelmina’s daughter.

I never came to be truly invested in the characters and I’m not sure why. I liked them and I wanted to see them get to their HEA, but I just wasn’t totally enamored with them. Frankly, I liked the younger couple much better than the older couple – mostly because they seemed much more sensible. I’m sure I was supposed to like and admire George, but I didn’t.

I am glad to have read the book, but I think I would have enjoyed it more had I not been so ensnared with the ‘facts’ of the divorce. I should have just stopped reading at that point and done the research, and then I would have probably have enjoyed the rest of the read more.

I’m looking forward to the second book in the series, Mr. Grier and The Governess featuring Olivia Poole (who we didn’t meet in this book) and Grayson Grier, whom we met because he is a friend of Jack’s.

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