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

The Duke’s Distraction by Maggie Dallen

On By TracyIn Novella, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's Reviews2 Comments

A Duke's Distraction (Devilish Lords Book 2)A Duke’s Distraction by Maggie Dallen
Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Devilish Lords, #2

Release Date: June 20, 2018

Rhys Galwin, the Duke of Roxborough needs to find a bride, in fact he has a list and Georgette “Georgie” Cleveland is NOT on it!

Georgie has come to stay with her sister and brother-in-law for the season. She has high hopes for finding her own love match this season and may have already found him! Lord Malcolm Reynolds is the man of her dreams, he is handsome, charming and a poet! He hasn’t noticed her yet, but he will.

When Rhys accompanies Georgie and the family to a ball, Georgie spots her rival Mary with Lord Malcolm. She decides that Rhys is the perfect man to make Mary jealous, she commands Rhys to dance with her. Shocked by her forwardness, Rhys complies and is a bit annoyed, this dance will but a kink in his bride hunting! He scoffs when Georgie offers to help him find a bride – she is the LAST person he would ever ask for help, she is frivolous and doesn’t have any clue what is required of a duchess. But despite that, he feels oddly protective of her.

Her dance with Rhys did make Lord Malcolm take notice and he asks her to dance, but instead of feeling elated, she feels unsettled by him and when he asks her to meet him in secret, she is shocked. She wonders what she did to give him the impression that she was that type of girl. Later Rhys overhears Malcolm boasting to his friends that he will seduce Georgie, he intervenes and implies that he is interested in her and is glad that Malcolm isn’t considering her as a wife. He finds Georgie and forbids her to meet Malcolm, she didn’t plan on it and when he goes further and insults her family, she slaps him. They bicker and he kisses her!

Her friend Mary comes to visit and tells her of the gossip – Rhys wants to court her! WHAT?? She needs answers, she finds Rhys and confronts him, he is just about to kiss her again when his mother bursts in, she has heard the rumors and wants to do damage control. Georgie is confused by her feelings and wonders if she should give up on finding a love match.

Rhys tries to apologize about the kiss, but Georgie brushes it off and again offers to help him with his “list”. Georgie makes him laugh and he feels lighter than he has in years. Days later, the duchess tells her that she noticed her connection with Rhys and approves, Georgie pretends to misunderstand and the duchess doesn’t fall for it – she says she won’t tell Rhys of Georgie’s feelings – Georgie is overwhelmed, she isn’t falling in love with him! It was the kiss – yes, she needs to kiss him again! When Rhys happens upon her, she throws herself at him, he kisses her back, but then tells her he can’t marry her – she babbles and runs off.

Later that night, Rhys escapes the bride choosing soirée – he finds Lord Malcolm in his study and sends him away, Nic comes in and offers him some advice. Rhys realizes, that Georgie is the bride he wants and needs, but how can he convince her?? That is when he notices the “list” is missing. But he no longer needs a list – he has made his decision!

This is a delightful story with very likable leads, some heated kisses, wonderful secondary characters, a dash of humor and a very wonderful declaration scene. This is the second book in the series (third if you count the Wicked Earl’s book), but it can easily be read as a stand-alone title.

Dangerous by Minerva Spencer

On By TracyIn Regency Era (1811-1820), Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's Reviews5 Comments

Dangerous (The Outcasts, #1)Dangerous by Minerva Spencer
Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Outcasts, #1

Release Date: June 26, 2018

WOW – This book was amazing and the blurb does not do it justice.

Lady Euphemia “Mia” Marlington spent 17 years as a concubine in Sultan Baba Hassan’s palace. She was captured as a young girl by barbary pirates while enroute to a convent school. But with the death of the sultan, she was able to escape and has returned to England. At the age of 32, she is no simpering debutante, but her father is determined to marry her off. Mia goes along with his plan, because she has secrets and plans of her own, which necessitate a husband.

Adam de Courtney, Marquess of Exley, is not in the market for another wife. After the mysterious death of his first two wives, he has been labeled the Murderous Marquess by the ton and is basically a pariah. He has 3 young daughters and does need an heir, but what family would marry their daughter off to a man who may have killed his first two wives? The Duke of Carlisle! Mia’s father invites Adam to a dinner to meet his daughter. Adam is at first not interested, but his curiosity is peaked. When he meets Mia, he is shocked, she is definitely not the ugly crone he was expecting and the brief conversation he shared with her has only increased his interest.

He calls on her two days later and proposes, she accepts. They marry and Adam totally botches their wedding night. Mia needs to get things going between them, she promised him an heir and she intends to keep that promise, but she also plans to leave him. When Adam asks her to attend the theater, she gladly accepts and is delighted by his friends. She also has a confrontation with his former mistress and I loved not only Mia’s reaction, but Adam’s as well. Too often, authors have the hero treat the heroine badly and defend the “other woman” even if he is no longer with her and that annoys the heck out of me but thankfully that is not the case in this book! As they ride home, he is expecting her to confront him about the mistress, but she doesn’t say a word. He is relieved and asks her to join him for a drink. They play cards and eventually make their way to the bedroom.

They spend the next few days getting to know one another and delight in each other’s company. It is clear that they are falling in love, but they are both keeping secrets and Mia still plans to leave. They finally retire to his estate and she meets his daughters. Adam is happy for the first time in years, Mia is everything he could ever want. When they discover that she is pregnant, he is over the moon. Mia realizes she cannot leave, she is in love with Adam, but she can’t desert her son. She decides that she will send him money and recruits a handsome footman to help her. But Adam walks in and misunderstands the scene. He is heartbroken and angry, he has been duped again. Mia tries to bluff her way out of the awkward scene, but only makes things worse. Adam shuts her out completely. She doesn’t know how to make things right and then learns distressing news about her son. She believes she has no choice and leaves Adam.

When Adam learns she left, he immediately follows and when he learns the truth is hurt all over again that she didn’t trust him. With so many secrets and so much distrust is there anyway these two can find their way back to each other?

This was an incredible story, with likable leads, steamy love scenes, secrets, lies, wonderful secondary characters, some action and adventure and finally an emotional and beautiful ending AND an epilogue set years later. There are a couple of little title/address errors, but I assume those will be corrected before publication and really didn’t distract me from the story. I loved this story and cannot wait for the next book featuring Hugh! Highly Recommended!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher*