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

Diana Sensational Spinsters Society by Charlotte Stone

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Regency Era (1811-1820)1 Comment

Diana - SpinsterSeries:  Spinster’s Society #9
Barbara’s Rating 4 of 5 Stars
Publication Date:  6/13/18

I believe this is the most exciting book of the series so far.  I have been looking forward to seeing what was going to happen with Franklin Lockwood since he decided to become a physician specializing in healing the mind.  My Goodness!  Those skills are sorely needed in this book.

London, 1815 — The opening scene takes place in a basement with Franklin, Charles Grayly (Earl of Dahl) and some thugs employed by Mr. Bancroft.  Charles Grayly has been badly beaten – he could still talk – but he won’t.  Frank has been commandeered by Mr. Bancroft to plumb the depths of the earl’s mind for clues to the location of Bancroft’s sister, whom the earl has kidnapped.  The man is completely and totally mad.  When the earl won’t talk, Frank turns to the strange poems the earl sends to his victims to see if there is a clue.  They are strangely written poems, but then . . . . then… Frank notices a pattern and determines where Diana Bann is secreted.  So, off they go to rescue her – or more likely, to find her dead body because all of the earl’s other victims are dead.

Diana Bann is a renowned ballerina and she is also the much loved secret sister to Mr. Bancroft the king of London’s underworld.  They cannot afford for the world to know of their relationship because it would make Bancroft vulnerable – and that is one thing he cannot afford to be.  Diana is near death when she senses people running toward her in the basement where she’s been kept, brutalized and tortured.  She fights them off as best she can in her weakened state, but it is no use.  Then, she sees a marble angel and quiets for him.  She forever refers to Frank as her ‘marble man’.

Diana needs to heal in both body and mind.  The body, of course, heals much quicker than the mind.  Frank works with her for months and she comes to terms with most of what happened to her, but he knows she hasn’t told him all.

I love that the story takes place over almost two years rather than the usual short periods from meeting to marrying.  However, there was one thing I just couldn’t buy – Diana almost immediately lusted after Frank.  Given what happened to her, I cannot imagine that happening.  So, that particular part of the story was pretty unbelievable.

Frank and Diana come into contact off and on and the attraction is always still there.  Frank fights it because of the doctor/patient relationship and his secret fears and Diana embraces it and does all she can to attract Frank.  Then, when Diana remembers more from her abduction, Frank realizes she is still in danger.

Frank and Bancroft have a number of run-ins that are great.  Bancroft is very, very protective of his sister and it doesn’t matter that she loves Frank.  Bancroft doesn’t approve of the gentry/aristocracy and will keep them apart – even though he really does like Frank.

Their path to their HEA isn’t easy or in a straight line, but they do finally get there.  One thing that would have made it better would have been for the book to go through the wedding and to have Bancroft yield and walk Diana down the aisle.

I thought we might see a set-up for what I assume will be the last book in the series – Julius Hext and Moira, but they didn’t even make an appearance.  Several others from the previous books were there, but not Julius and Moira.  I sure hope the last book is a whizz-bang wrap up with all the Men of Nashwood and their wives and an epilogue that takes place two or three years in the future showing all of them in their happy lives.

This was a quick and interesting read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The other books in the series are listed below:

Book # Hero Heroine
1 Emmett Starr, Earl of Ashwick Lorena Cullip (Sister to Francis Cullip)
2 Calvin Lockwood, Very rich landed gentry Alice Wilkins (Gentleman’s Club Owners Daughter)
3 Francis Cullip, Duke of Valdeston Lady Genevieve ‘Genie’ Toft
4 Morris Kidd, Duke of Cort Sophia Taylor
5 Rollo Kerry, Rich landed gentry Florence Crew (a lady’s maid)
6 Hugh Vance – Marquess of Edvoy Taygete Bellenger
7 Aaron Walsh, Earl of Jeanshire Cristin Potter (Owner of employment agency)
8 Sir William Tift Natalia Hext (Leah Wells)(Cousin to Julius Hext)
9 Franklin Lockwood, Very Rich Landed Gentry Diana Bann (Ballerina and sister to crime lord Mr. Bancroft)
10 Julius Hext, Marquess of Darvess Moira (?)

Please check out my reviews at:

Blog: https://flippinpages.blog/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/flippinpagesweb.wordpress/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlippinPagesRev
Twitter:   https://twitter.com/BarbBookReview

“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

Wagering for Miss Blake by Callie Hutton

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

Wagering for Miss BlakeWagering for Miss Blake by Callie Hutton
Tracy’s rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: Lords & Ladies in Love

Release Date: June 11, 2018

I had a hard time with this book, the first half was very repetitive and the second half plunged headlong into the absurd.

Giles Templeton, third son of the Earl of Wexford meets Miss Suzanna Blake at the Duke of Bedford’s wedding and falls in love at first sight. He will have her, he never fails…

Suzanna is attracted to Giles, but her mother insists that she marry a man with a title and as a third son Giles is not that man. She fights her attraction and tries to push him away – but he is determined to win her. This is the gist of the first half – him chasing her and her pushing him away – but she never tells him why she is looking to marry a title.

They attend a house party and finally, Suzanna gives into temptation and they make love – in fact, she insists – because you know, she can’t marry the man she loves and wants the memory (eye roll). Giles thinks this means she has finally accepted the inevitable – but she tells him, it changes nothing, she will only marry a man with a title. He then suggests a wager – she will marry him and fall in love with him and if she doesn’t he will donate to her favorite charity. Game on!

When they return to London, Giles steps up his pursuit – but the arrival of her parents brings his courtship to a swift end. When they finally are able to talk alone, she tells him, she wants to marry him, but her mother will forbid it, he tells her he will win and not to worry. But when he misinterprets a meeting between Suzanna and Lord Pemberton (her mother’s choice for a son-in-law), he admits defeat and leaves London.

Weeks go by before he pulls his head out of his backside and decides to fight for the woman he loves, but is it too late??

Honestly, I have read this plot before and it has been done better – it seemed completely contrived and implausible – if they were really in love, they would have eloped – period. And since when is the handsome, wealthy, landowning with an income, son of an Earl “unsuitable” – Seriously?? Her parents where over the top and almost cartoonish, her mother was a complete witch and her father a wuss – I kept hoping they would run away together – just so they didn’t have to have her parents in their lives! And why her father loved her mother so much is a complete mystery to me – her mother flat out said that she would have been happier if she married someone with a title – I almost felt sorry for her lovelorn father. Giles and Suzanna were both likable, but I was annoyed that Suzanna didn’t tell him why she had to marry a title, keeping it from him made no sense and made her look bad – especially after she slept with him. The book has wonderful secondary characters, warmish love scenes and I did enjoy the ending and Giles’ shift from “winning” to “earning” – for me that was the best part of the book. So in the end, the book was OK, but not a keeper. It is part of the Lords & Ladies in Love series, but can definitely be read as a stand alone title.

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