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

Fatal By Design by Cara Devlin

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

Fatal by Design (Bow Street Duchess Mystery #5)

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: Bow Street Duchess Mystery #5
Publication Date: 10/21/23
Period: Regency

Talk about an exciting read! We have another great mystery that will keep you guessing from page to page – perhaps not guessing about the who, but certainly the why. Then, there is Audrey and Hugh’s romance – there is lovely movement there, but I’m still apprehensive that Phillip will mess things up. That man just needs to REALLY die because pretending just doesn’t solve the moral issues for me.

This story picks up about four months after the last book ended. They received word about three months prior that Phillip had died after being lost in the sea after a storm. Audrey has spent the months since with Phillip’s brother and his wife – the new Duke and Duchess. Phillip’s family is mourning him deeply and, as usual, Phillip has left Audrey to clean up the mess and feel the guilt of not telling his family the truth.

The new Duke and Duchess are having a house party as the first entertainment since they were elevated, so Audrey is leaving their estate and heading back to Fournier. Not long after she leaves the estate, her driver discovers an abandoned coach on the side of the road – not only abandoned, but the driver is dead – shot. The passengers are missing, so Audrey decides to use her ‘gift’ to see if she can determine to whom the coach belongs and perhaps what happened. Shocker! The coach belongs to her estranged older sister, Millie, Viscountess Redding, and she’s been abducted – and . . .

Luckily, Hugh is attending the house party. Even though he is now a Viscount, he still has his sharp investigative talents – and besides – he misses it. Despite what is deemed appropriate and proper for a grieving spouse, Hugh and Audrey work together to find and hopefully rescue Millie from whoever has abducted her. They fear the worst when there is no ransom note and Millie’s maid is found floating in a nearby river.

Why would someone kidnap Millie? Why is there no ransom note? What does a ring with a very rare and valuable diamond have to do with it? Will they find Millie? Will she be alive if they do? Oh! My! Goodness! You’ll just have to read the book to find the answers to all of those questions – and more.

I can definitely recommend this book and this series. I will say that this probably wouldn’t be best read as a standalone book as you would be missing some very pertinent facts. I loved that we had more page time with some of the recurring characters and it was great to spend time and get to know them a bit more. Should you choose to read the book, I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. Happy Reading!

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

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Dreaming of a Duke Like You by Sara Bennett

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

Dreaming of a Duke Like You (Duke of Grantham #1)Dreaming of a Duke Like You by Sara Bennett

Tracy’s rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: Duke of Grantham, #1

Release Date: October 10, 2023

Gabriel Cadieux is a self-made man, raised in an orphanage after his mother died, he scraped by until at the age of 22 he won a gaming hell from the owner. In the five years since taking over the club, Gabriel, with the help of his two best friends, Charles and Freddie, has turned the club into a very profitable business. His life is going along just fine when he is confronted and if he is honest, intrigued by the sister of a young man who gambled himself into debt, but as intriguing as she was, meeting her was all but forgotten when minutes after sending her away he gets the shock of his life when he learns that his parents were married and he is now the new Duke of Grantham and is responsible for not only a debt-ridden estate, but six young half-sisters!

Vivienne Tremeer and her younger brother Sir William, came to London to escape the scandal she created at home in Cornwall. But Will is poised to create an even bigger scandal thanks to his reckless wagering. Vivienne tried to reason with the club owner, but was rejected and now she has been waiting months for Gabriel Cadieux to demand payment for her brother’s gambling debt, yet has heard nothing. So she is shocked to learn he is the new Duke of Grantham, and that he has a proposition, if she will teach his sisters the ways of the ton, he will forgive her brother’s debt. It seems like the answer to her prayers and really what could go wrong? Well, everything…

I liked the idea of the story and had no problem with the actual writing, but there were just so many things that didn’t make sense and things that were completely ridiculous and nonsensical, that I had a hard time getting into the book. I liked Gabriel and Vivienne and had no problem believing the attraction between them, but they don’t really interact until the second half of the book, which didn’t leave a lot of time to build the romance. I think my biggest problem was the fact that Vivienne’s “scandal” was so paltry compared to the fact that Gabriel’s father had committed bigamy, which rendered his six daughters illegitimate, and yet everyone was still calling them by their honorifics and planning come-outs for them – all the while warning Gabriel that associating with Vivienne will hurt his sister’s chances to make a good match – seriously? I really tried to keep an open mind, but I just couldn’t get past that. This is the first book in a new series, and despite my disappointment with this book, I would consider reading the next book in the series, as I have read and enjoyed this author’s other books.

*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.*