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

How to Survive a Scandal by Samara Parish

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

How to Survive a Scandal (Rebels with a Cause, #1)How to Survive a Scandal by Samara Parish

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Rebels with a Cause, #1

Release Date: May 25, 2021

Betrothed to the Duke of Wildeforde for most of her life, Lady Amelia Crofton, the only child of the Earl of Crofton and reigning belle of the ton is tired of waiting for the duke to finally set a wedding date and means to convince him that it is time to wed! In her rush to get to his estate, she leaves unprepared for winter travel and without her maid – mistakes that will change her life forever when she ends up stranded and half-frozen to death on the road. But, as luck would have it (or not), she is saved by Wildeforde’s neighbor and one-time friend, Mr. Benedict Asterly.

Benedict “Ben” Asterly is a self-made man, the son of a misalliance between the daughter of a marquess and a footman, Ben has no liking for the Aristocracy, especially when he saw how unhappy his mother was in his father’s world. His distrust for nobles increased when his mother left them and disintegrated, even more, when he found her alone and dying and her father refused to help. Since then, Ben has avoided interacting with the nobility – but when he is found in a state of undress with Lady Amelia by her father, her fiancé, and a gossipy neighbor, his honor will not let her be ruined, so much to her horror, he offers to marry her.

At first, their marriage seems like it will be just as awful as his parent’s was, but Amelia surprises him time and again and he finds himself agreeing to changes that he has always been adamantly opposed to. Additionally, Amelia’s connections and standing in the ton may be exactly what he needs to secure a lucrative contract to build trains for an American company. Things seem to be going well and Amelia feels like she has finally found her “place” and begins to open her heart to Ben and his young sister, but her happiness is cut short when a tragedy has Ben questioning his actions of late and placing the blame for everything squarely on Amelia. Can these two find their way back to the happiness they had just begun to share? Or will past hurts make a future together impossible?

What a great debut novel! It is a well-written, nicely-paced, fresh, and original story with very likable and relatable characters. This book is a great “fish out of water” type story with strong characters, warm love scenes, detailed character growth, wonderful secondary characters, betrayal, misassumptions, some shocking twists and turns, a dash of angst, some interesting historical facts woven into the story, and a very lovely HEA complete with a touching epilogue. I enjoyed the story despite some title errors and a couple of questionable timeline plot points (it is important to note that the copy I read was an ARC/Proof and any errors/inconsistencies I noted may well be corrected in the final, published copy.). Overall, for a debut, this book was outstanding and I believe Ms. Parish will quickly become a “must-read” author for historical romance lovers! This is the first book in the series and I am happy to recommend this title and will be impatiently waiting for the next installment!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own. *

Improper by Darcy Burke

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

Improper (The Phoenix Club #1)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Phoenix Club #1
Publication Date: 5/25/21
Period: Regency – 1815
Number of Pages: 326

Burke very nicely set up the premise for this series in the prequel (Invitation). There, we met the principal players as well as the reason behind the club, how it works, and why it is so very exclusive. In this lovely, well-plotted, witty and well-delivered book, we reacquaint ourselves with Tobias Powell who is now the Earl of Overton since his father died almost three months ago, and we meet his new ward Miss Fiona Wingate. There are some interesting and very likable secondary characters that I very much enjoyed and I’m sure we’ll meet several of them in future books. One I particularly liked was Lady Cassandra because she was always Fiona’s partner in crime – actually, she was the instigator more often than not. I also loved Prudence Lancaster and can’t wait to learn more about her. I thoroughly enjoyed Mrs. Tucket – she was definitely an anomaly, but she was entertaining. Actually, the whole book was filled with little moments of humor that I enjoyed very much.

When Tobias’s very unloving and unkind father died, he left Tobias in a very untenable position. Tobias must marry within ninety days of the old earl’s death or forfeit the one thing that is nearest and dearest to his heart. It was really the only hurt that the old man could give after his death because it was the only unentailed item in the earldom. For the last couple of years, Tobias’s reputation has been much less than stellar, and now he needs to repair it as best he can and manage to find a lady who is willing to marry within just a few weeks. If you add having to prepare for a new ward and seeing to the requirements for her season, Tobias is taxed to the limit. He fully hopes to marry his ward off right away and be done with her so he can concentrate with his own needs – after all, she has a very sizable dowry.

Fiona was raised in a small cottage on her cousin’s property in a very small Shropshire village. She had no friends – hardly any acquaintances either. Her father was a cool and aloof academic her ignored her and her mother has been gone for a long time. The only constant person in her life is Mrs. Tucket, their maid-of-all-work. Fiona knows how lucky she is to be the ward of an earl and to be having a season in London. She’s puzzled about how that came to be, but she’s very grateful. Fiona is one of the most naïve, Pollyannaish people you will ever meet on the page. She has absolutely no clue about anything in society and is thrown in headfirst when she arrives. She is so filled with excitement and enthusiasm that it is hard to contain it – and – well – she doesn’t usually manage to do so. She doesn’t mean to cause trouble for Tobias – she likes him – very much – but he keeps trying to contain her and that is very much like herding cats.

If you are looking for a fun, witty, well-presented story, this might be the one for you. I enjoyed watching Tobias and Fiona come to terms with each other and finding their HEA. I loved both characters and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them. Then, there is Mrs. Tucket – a maid-of-all-work for all of her life. But now, she is a suitable companion for Fiona, she is given a lovely guest room in an earl’s home and is treated as an equal with everyone in the home. She is fully capable of speaking and acting like a lady and is totally comfortable in speaking with a countess or any other titled person. I am quite sure none of that would have happened in reality. I actually loved Mrs. Tucket, but she was just totally period incorrect.

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