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

Review: A Worthington Wedding by Ella Quinn

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

A Worthington Wedding (Here Come the Grooms, #1)Barbara’s rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Series: Here Come The Grooms #1
Publication Date: 11/26/24
Period: Regency

This author’s first entry in her new Here Come The Grooms series pits a quickly besotted Earl against a ‘having none of it’ spinster. It is a continuation of the two previous Worthing series and has appearances by those characters. Our two main characters are Miss Oriana Ognon, daughter of a Viscount, and Charles (Charlie) Carpenter, Earl of Stanwood. If you have read the preceding series, you have already met Charlie.

While Oriana doesn’t particularly dislike men, she definitely distrusts them. First her father, and now her cousin have gambled away all of the assets of the Viscountcy. If it weren’t for her maternal aunt, Oriana would be without a home or support. Thankfully, her aunt left her a lovely home and the funds to support herself and her home. That, however, doesn’t stop her wastrel cousin from gambling away the deed to her home and she is besieged by a constant stream of gamblers who show up at her door to lay claim to it. She has to prove, over and over, that the home is hers and that her cousin has no right to gamble away the title. MEN! She’ll never trust one and certainly not one who shows up after having ‘won’ the title to her home.

Charlie never gambles – except playing for pennies with his family. He always wins! So, he doesn’t doubt the outcome when he decides to play cards with Viscount Ognon after hearing he was wagering away one of his holdings – one in which his young female cousin lives. Charlie will win the title and sign it over to the young woman living in the home. Nobody should gamble away assets needed to provide a roof over the family’s head and Charlie will right this one wrong anyway.

The greeting Charlie gets when he shows up at Oriana’s door is not what he expected. She hardly gives him time to speak before booting him out the door. Well, well. Charlie has been looking for THE woman who will pique his interest. It seems he has just met her. So, now, how will he convince her that he is a good, trustworthy man and not an inveterate gambler?

I was really looking forward to seeing Charlie’s HEA, but, for me, it just fell flat. The first 40% or so of the book was pretty good and I could see the story’s potential – then, not so much. For one thing, I never felt that I got to ‘know’ Charlie or Oriana and I didn’t really feel their connection. Some of the page space that was used for deciding who was eating dinner where, which back path they were going to take from one estate to another, what they were going to have for dinner, and the myriad interactions with former series characters could have been used to further flesh out Oriana and Charlie as well as strengthen the almost non-existent plots of the villains.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lady Charlotte and the Lending Library by Angelina Jameson

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Mystery, Non-Traditional Romance, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's Reviews, Young AdultLeave a comment

Lady Charlotte and the Lending Library (The Rogue's Alliance Book 1)Lady Charlotte and the Lending Library by Angelina Jameson

Tracy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: The Rogue’s Alliance, #1

Release Date: November 19, 2024

When it becomes clear that Thorne’s Lending Library is in danger of closing, Lady Charlotte Beaumont and her friends Ladies Louisa and Edith, set out to save “their place”. In an attempt to learn what makes a place exclusive, Charlotte decides to don a disguise and investigate the famous bow window at White’s, it is there that she crosses paths with Benedict Grey, the Marquess of Ashford. She thinks she has escaped with her anonymity intact, but she isn’t that lucky, when Benedict quickly learns her identity and tries to discourage her improper behavior. But Charlotte has no intention of giving up her quest and when it becomes clear that there are darker forces at play, she turns to Benedict for help and can’t seem to stop herself from falling for him, despite the fact that he clearly believes that she would never make an appropriate wife for him.

Benedict has his own problems, his sister Diana, grieving the loss of her fiancé, has been acting out of character and may have insulted Lady Caroline Lamb, who is rumored to have written a book exposing members of the ton. He is desperately trying to learn if Diana is mentioned and doesn’t have time to be sidetracked by the intriguing, yet inappropriate Lady Charlotte! But it soon becomes clear that there is something sinister about the library’s current problems, and with the help of his friends, they uncover the reason for the library’s difficulties. Once he learns that the criminal group known as the Rouge’s Alliance is behind the sabotage to the library, nothing will stop him from protecting Charlotte. But saving Charlotte doesn’t change the fact that she isn’t an appropriate choice for his wife. Will Benedict be able to let go of his prejudices or is he doomed to lose the only woman he has ever loved?

I thought this was a cute story, yet it was nothing like the other books I have read by this author. This book read more like a young adult historical mystery than a romance. I have no idea how or why they fell in love, there is very little interaction between them throughout the story and absolutely no intimacy, they don’t even share a kiss until the very end of the book. So, I guess if you prefer an “Austen-like” story with no love scenes or sexual tension, this book will make you very happy. I was intrigued by the “Rouge’s Alliance” and would probably read future installments just for that story line.

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