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 Secret of the Lady’s Maid by Darcie Wilde

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

The Secret of the Lady’s Maid (Rosalind Thorne Mysteries, #7)

Barbara’s rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Series: Rosalind Thorne Mysteries #7
Publication Date: 12/26/23
Period: Regency (1820 London)
Number of Pages: 304

Rosalind Thorne’s aristocratic family is certainly a peculiar one. It houses a father (the Baron) who is a forger and is either dead or on the run and a sister who was a highly sought-after courtesan but has recently married. Rosalind was left to make her way in the world and she didn’t have many options. She could follow in her sister’s footsteps or she could find a way to make herself useful – and charge for the service. So, being useful it was! Over the books in the series, Rosalind has gone from helping ton ladies solve ‘problems’ and accepting whatever ‘gifts’ those ladies wanted to bestow to helping the ladies and having a written contract for services and payment. Even though she is now officially charging, she is still received by most of the ton.

This case involves poisoning and murder – and as an extra case to follow, Adam Harkness is on the trail of traitors. So, two different cases and two different investigators. I had thought we’d spend the majority of our reading time with Rosalind – since it is her series – but it seemed to me that we spent more page time with Adam. Perhaps not, but that is the way it felt to me.

Rosalind worked hard and struggled to identify the culprit in what, to me, seemed to be a simple case to solve. So, again, for me, the more interesting – and disappointing – case was Adams. I say disappointed because people got away with crimes because the Bow Street powers- that be had their own version of the law and justice.

For some reason, neither mystery caught my attention and drew me into the story. I think part of that was the dual storyline and alternating chapters between Adam’s story and Rosalind’s story. Perhaps, given the ending of this book, we’ll see both Rosalind and Adam working side-by-side on future cases. I certainly hope that is the case.

Overall, I was disappointed in the book and the characters and would not read it a second time. I want to like Adam and Rosalind and cheer for them as they work together to solve cases, and I hope that will happen starting with the next book. If it doesn’t, then I probably won’t pursue reading any future books in the series.

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

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Second Duke’s the Charm by Kate Bateman

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

Second Duke's the Charm (Her Majesty's Rebels #1)Second Duke’s the Charm by Kate Bateman

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Her Majesty’s Rebels, #1

Release Date: December 26, 2023

At 19, Tess Townsend was the belle of the season and could have had her pick of any man, but instead, she was forced to marry the Duke of Wansford, a man old enough to be her grandfather. Tess is horrified and miserable at the thought of wedding the duke, but what choice does she have, especially when her father locks her up in their home until the day of her wedding? However, fate seems to have a different plan for Tess when her groom dies on their wedding night, leaving her a widow. For the first time in her life, Tess is independent, and she makes good use of her freedom, starting by improving the ducal estate while waiting for the solicitors to find the heir. Then along with Ellie Law and Lady Dorothea “Daisy” Hamilton, her two best friends from Miss Honoria Burnett’s Ladies Academy, she starts an investigation business, King & Co., and to avoid scandal, they invent a fictitious man named Charles King to head the company and act as his agents. Two years later, she is happy with her life, but longs to experience passion, and decides to attend a scandalous party on her way back to London, in hopes of finding someone to share a kiss with. And she does, sharing a dance and then a toe-curling kiss that would have led to more if they had not been interrupted. Shocked by her behavior, Tess flees without learning the man’s name. She returns to London and is meeting with Ellie and Daisy at their investigation offices when a cloaked woman enters asking to see Mr. King. The woman turns out to be Queen Charlotte and she wants to hire them to catch a blackmailer, a job they are more than happy to accept. Tess and her friends are excited to work on this case, because if they are successful, not only will it pay well, but should bring more business, additionally, Tess is hoping that working the case will keep her mind so busy she will finally be able to forget her mystery lover. But fate isn’t quite done with Tess…

Justin Thornton is a very successful shipping magnate and as it turns out the new Duke of Wansford, after several other heirs died in rapid succession. Justin has no desire to take up the dukedom, but it isn’t a choice, it is his, whether he wants it or not. The solicitor suggests for him to go to London and take up his responsibilities, meet with the widowed Duchess of Wansford, and find a bride. Reluctantly he agrees and is in for the shock of his life, when the duchess turns out to be not only his mysterious Lady in Red, but Tess Townsend, a lovely debutante he saw two years ago who instantly caught his attention, but whom he never approached because he felt he had nothing to offer. Instantly Justin knows that she is the answer to all his duke-related problems, he just needs to set some boundaries to make sure they don’t do anything stupid, like fall in love.

This is a great start to a new series by Kate Bateman, featuring wonderful characters, an investigation agency, and good friends. I liked Tess and Justin, they were both strong leads, but they aren’t perfect, they both have trust issues and will have to work to get their HEA. This story is filled with emotion, secrets, blackmail, assassination attempts, instant attraction, steamy love scenes, cute puppies, good friends, misassumptions, a grand gesture that doesn’t go as planned, and finally a hard-won HEA complete with an epilogue. I enjoyed this story and will be anxiously looking forward to the next installment.

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