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 Cup of Cheer by Deb Marlowe

On By TracyIn Christmas, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Novella, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

A Cup of Cheer (A Series of Unconventional Courtships Book 4)A Cup of Cheer by Deb Marlowe

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: A Series of Unconventional Courtships, #4

Release Date: December 10, 2020

Alexander Edgerton, the Earl of Chester has spent years pursuing pleasure and thinking only of himself, but when he fails to collect his ward, Charles Edgerton (his late cousin’s son) on time and the boy goes missing, Chester knows he needs to change. Unsure where Charlie has gotten to, Chester seeks help from his grandmother, but knowing she is going to read him the riot act, he stops in the local tavern for a cup of cheer, to fortify himself. More than a little tipsy, he sets out for his grandmother’s cottage and gets way more than he bargained for! Knocked down by the very boy he is looking for, he barely has a moment to register when he is confronted by what surely must be a goddess and passes out.

Life has not been easy for Miss Julia Deering, her mother died when she was young and she was raised by her brilliant but preoccupied father. Her father was a scholar who taught and tutored young men, he didn’t skimp in Julia’s education, but fell short in many other ways. As a result, when he died, she was left to the mercy of his colleagues – thankfully, she was able to escape to Half Moon Street and Harriet quickly found her a position with the dowager Countess of Chester. Julia is shocked at her reaction to Chester – never has she been attracted to a man, but Chester is everything she never knew she wanted and want him she does!

Together these two form a friendship and soon begin to long for more, but before they can even think of a future, Chester needs to deal with his past and Julia needs to learn to trust again. Hopefully, with a bit of matchmaking help from Charlie and the Countess, they will be able to get their HEA!

I thought this was a nice, feel-good read with wonderful characters and a very sweet HEA. The book is a long novella and is paced well, but I wish I had more backstory on Chester from the beginning since it is pretty late in the book that the reader learns what set him on the path of selfish pleasure. The romance is subtle and the love scenes are kisses only, so if you prefer low/no heat romance – you are in for a treat! This is the fourth book in the series and there is a mention of the previous couples and a cameo with Whiddon (the last man standing), but you can absolutely read this installment as a standalone title with no issues at all. I enjoyed this book and would happily recommend it!

Unexpectedly Wed To The Officer by Jenni Fletcher

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Unexpectedly Wed To The Officer (Mills & Boon Historical) (Regency Belles of Bath, Book 2)
Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Regency Belles of Bath #2
Publication Date: 01/01/21
Number of Pages: 288

This was a most refreshing and welcome read – A gem among the many dark, intense, grim, and depressing books that seem to be releasing in abundance during this lockdown and COVID pandemic period. It is a delightfully well-written, romantic, well-plotted, and well-executed read. The characters are all wonderful – not a clinker in the lot of them. I am so very happy to have found and read this book!

In the first book of the series, An Unconventional Countess, we met and got to know Henrietta Gardiner a bit, and we also learned a little about Sebastian Fortini though we didn’t actually get to meet him. Anna Fortini, Sebastian’s sister, managed their family-owned bakeshop until she met and married her hero, Samuel. When Anna married and became a Countess, she made Henrietta the manager of the shop. I tell you this only to give you a tad of the background – but – you don’t need any of it. This book is part of a series, but it can totally stand alone.

Henrietta Gardiner is so grateful to have been made manager of Belle’s Biscuit Shop, the very best biscuit shop in Bath. She loves making the biscuits and she loves the new assistant, Nancy MacQueen, who is working with her. All is right with her world, except for her troubled brother, David, who has gone off the deep-end with drinking since he lost his wife. Henrietta does her best to help with her three young nephews, but she can’t be in two places at once. Henrietta is very, very leery of men. She doesn’t trust them and she has good reason to feel that way. In her experience, all men want to do is compliment her, flatter her, and seduce her without ever getting to know the real her. So, she discourages them, vehemently.

Sebastian is feeling rudderless at the moment – and suffering from a great deal of guilt. He’s rudderless because his naval career is at an end – it seems they don’t need as many officers without a war. He feels guilty because his father died shortly after he had joined the navy and he couldn’t get home to help his sister and his mother run the shop and deal with all of the issues involved. With his mother incapacitated, he knew everything fell on Anna – and couldn’t be there to help. Well, that is all changed now because he’s back to help run the shop. Won’t Anna and his mother be surprised! They haven’t been able to communicate in over a year – no letters at all – so they have no idea he’s even coming home.

After an arduous journey by stagecoach, Sebastian arrives at the bakery in the middle of the night. He knows his mother and sister are asleep, so he’ll just let himself in and then sleep in a chair until they awaken. He’ll be so excited to see their faces when they find him home! Except – when he steps inside, he starts tripping over things – so many things have moved – he’s making more noise than he wants, but … Then, as he approaches a door, it slams open and hits him in the face, and knocks him to the ground. There stands the most beautiful angel he’s ever seen – and she’s carrying tongs as a weapon – and … she’s NOT his sister. What is going on?

After a number of shocking (to Sebastian) revelations regarding his sister’s whereabouts and status – as well as his mother’s – Sebastian isn’t sure where his future currently lies. The termagant intrigues him and he has friends with whom he wants to visit, so he’ll delay his leaving for another few days. Wise move dude.

I loved seeing Henrietta learning to trust Sebastian – something that is so very hard for her. I also loved seeing Sebastian come to terms with his sister and his mother’s choices since he’d been gone – not to mention his growing regard for Henrietta. Both of these lovely people are just that – lovely. They are giving, caring, concerned for others, and so very supportive of each other. As I said earlier, this is a delightfully happy book and it was so very welcome in this time where most of the releases from authors I read seem to be filled with dark, grim, and intense things. Now, I cannot wait for the next book.

I definitely recommend the book and hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

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