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

Two Secret Sins by Anna Campbell

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Regency Era (1811-1820), Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Two Secret Sins (A Scandal in Mayfair, #2)Two Secret Sins by Anna Campbell

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: A Scandal in Mayfair, #2

Release Date: August 31, 2021

The ton would be shocked to learn that the oh-so-proper Eliot Ridley, Viscount Colville is having a passionate affair with the oh-so-scandalous widow, Lady Verena Gerard, but this unlikely couple has been burning up the sheets for half a year and their passion shows no signs of waning! But all that changes when Eliot is called away and they don’t see each other for a month. Eliot returns and realizes that a secret affair is no longer what he wants – he wants Verena as his wife and will accept nothing less.

Lady Verena has suffered at the hands of men, first her father and then her husband, even her brothers failed her by ignoring her pain and suffering. So as soon as her abusive husband died Verena vowed to never cede control of her life to another man – she would live life on her terms, take lovers and never remarry. Taking Eliot as her lover was something she never would have imagined and her feelings for him border on dangerous to her peace of mind, on more than one occasion she has thought about ending their affair, but can’t bring herself to part from him – that is until he proposes!

Verena refuses his proposal and tries to make him see reason, that marriage to her would ruin him and by extension his sister, but Eliot doesn’t care and is sure that they can weather the scandal together. Still, Verena refuses and ends their affair. Something that makes them both miserable, but is necessary in her mind. Will Eliot convince her that love is worth the scandal or will he realize that to prove his love, he will have to give up on his dream of HEA and let her go?

What a great read! It is a well-written, fast-moving story with wonderful characters and steamy love scenes (YAY!!!) The story has a lot of emotion, a bruised-but-not-broken heroine, a heart of gold hero, steamy love scenes, horse races, great secondary characters, a little heartache, and then a great ending complete with an epilogue. My only complaint with this book is that there is a very intriguing character introduced at the end of the book and then that storyline is dropped without any closure, I thought she might pop up in the epilogue, but sadly she didn’t – I have my fingers crossed that she and Shelburn will make an appearance in the next book and I will get my answers. Other than that very minor point, this was a great book, the timeline runs parallel to the first book, but you definitely don’t need to read that book to enjoy this one (but you should read it anyway because it is awesome). I would happily recommend this story and cannot wait for the next installment!

Death Can Be Habit-Forming by Sheri Cobb South

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

Death Can Be Habit-Forming: Another John Pickett Mystery (John Pickett Mysteries Book 11)Death Can Be Habit-Forming: Another John Pickett Mystery by Sheri Cobb South
Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: John Pickett Mysteries #11
Publication Date: 8/24/21
Period: Regency London

Much to Julia Pickett’s dismay, our handsome, sweet-tempered, honorable, and very, very stubborn John Pickett has gotten himself into quite a pickle this time. Since they married a year ago, John has struggled with the inequity of their marriage. Julia is a Viscountess and John was born in the slums and learned to pick pockets almost before he could walk. Thanks to the foresight of Magistrate Colquhoun, John was steered down the right path and became a principal officer with Bow Street. However, because John mistakenly feels tainted by the actions he had to take in his last case, Brother, Can You Spare a Crime?, he resigned his position with Bow Street. He tried placing ads in the papers for conducting discreet inquiries, but got no results and has since been drudging away as a clerk in an office. So, when Julia bursts through the doors of his employer and tells him someone wants to hire him to conduct an inquiry – John cuts his employment ties and heads out to meet his new client. Perhaps he should have asked a few more questions and maybe he shouldn’t have agreed to take the case and meet those stipulations quite so easily… Oh well – it is too late now.

Mr. Edward Poole wants John to rescue Miss Lydia Bonner, his love interest, from an opium treatment facility, Larches. Lydia’s brother Phillip died at that same facility a little over a month ago. Phillip had been committed, against his will, by his guardians. Now, Lydia is there as well and Edward has been forbidden to see her. Edward is very concerned for Lydia and wants her rescued.

John’s plan is to have himself committed, by Julia, for treatment. While Julia is totally against the idea, she finally acquiesces and signs the commitment papers. Now, all John has to do is find and rescue Lydia Bonner. That all turns out to be easier said than done. Larches is a very strange place, with a strange staff and strange inmates. John got in easily enough, but he may not get out – and if he does, it may not be in one piece.

There were a couple of chapters where I held my breath all the way through. You see, I just love sweet, lovable John and I didn’t want to see him suffer. I was so fearful of what was going to happen to him – and it did – but the author made it bearable by slipping through time and not giving a blow-by-blow description of it. There were also a few things that just didn’t ring true to me, but if I tell you what they are, it will provide spoilers for the story.

I definitely recommend the book and hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. It is well-written, excellently paced, and populated with characters you’ll either love or hate – depending on their role. Then, when we celebrate with John and Julia at the end – well, that is really special. Now, we can all look forward to the next John Pickett adventure.

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

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