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

Under the Harvest Moon Anthology by Collected Authors

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

Under the Harvest MoonUnder the Harvest Moon by Collette Cameron, Caroline Warfield, Rue Allyn, Mary Lancaster, Alina K. Field, Elizabeth Ellen Carter, Sherry Ewing, Cerise DeLand, and Jude Knight

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Anthology – Several novellas are connected to other series

Release Date: October 10, 2023

Nine award-winning and bestselling authors have combined their talents to create this engaging and enchanting collection of interrelated tales. Under the Harvest Moon promises an unforgettable read for fans of Regency romance.

As the village of Reabridge in Cheshire prepares for the first Harvest Festival following Waterloo, families are overjoyed to welcome back their loved ones from the war.

But excitement quickly turns to mystery when mere weeks before the festival, an orphaned child turns up in the town—a toddler born near Toulouse to an English mother who left clues that tie her to Reabridge.

With two prominent families feuding for generations and the central event of the Harvest Moon festival looming, tensions rise, and secrets begin to surface.

I thought every novella in this anthology was great and I have reviewed some of my favorites below:

Coming Home by Mary Lancaster, 4.5 stars – Captain David Buckley has returned home to Reabridge after years of war, but before he can think about his future, he will have to settle his past. While visiting his late wife’s family, he meets Lady Lorna Gaveston when she literally falls into his arms. They form an instant friendship, and when a rejected suitor causes her grief, they work together to sort it out, growing closer as they do. Will David be able to forgive his past mistakes or will his guilt prevent him from pursuing new love?

A Love Beyond Time by Sherry Ewing, 4 stars – Eight years ago, Hannah Pownall had her heart broken when Lord Brandon Worthington’s father made him leave, but when they part, he declares his undying love and asks her to wait for him. When Brandon returns to the town of Reabridge to recover from his war injuries, he is stunned (and relieved) to find that Hannah is still unwed. But is it possible to turn back time and recapture the love of a lifetime, or have they missed their chance?

The Widow’s Harvest Hope by Cerise DeLand, 4.5 stars – Once upon a time, Stafford “Ford” Barlow, was the third son of an earl with no prospects beyond working as his family’s estate manager when he fell madly in love with Victorine “Vicky” Fortin, a French émigré, during the Harvest Festival. They spent one night together and Ford asked her to marry him, only to learn that she was betrothed. Heartbroken, Ford joins the army hoping to forget Vicky. Now six years later, Ford is the Earl and Vicky is the widowed Baroness Wright, and they are once again together for the Harvest Festival and it is clear that their feelings haven’t changed. Will this time end in happily ever after or is history doomed to repeat itself?

Love In Its Season by Jude Knight, 5 stars – Jack Wrath is at loose ends, the injuries he sustained at Waterloo caused him to lose the use of one arm and ended his career in the cavalry. With no home to speak of, he escorts Dr. Adam Wagner home to Reabridge. Gwen Hughes has her hands full trying to run a farrier business and care for her father who is suffering from dementia. They meet when she is being harassed by a “handsy” customer and Jack intervenes, he sends the lordling on his way and offers to stay with her father when Gwen’s usual caregiver is unable to stay with him. Love blossoms, but can these two flawed people let go of their insecurities and claim their happily ever after?

I found all the novellas to be well-written and entertaining, they were all seamlessly connected and moved the underlying story of the toddler along nicely. The installments were filled with wonderful characters, lots of emotion, true love, acceptance, forgiveness, low/no steam love scenes, friendship, heartache, and lots of HEAs. I enjoyed this entire anthology and will definitely be adding some of these authors’ connected backlist books to my TBR pile!

*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.*

Petteril’s Corpse by Mary Lancaster

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

Petteril's Corpse (Lord Petteril Mysteries Book 2)

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Lord Petteril Mysteries #2
Publication Date: 9/26/23
Period: Regency – 1812
Number of Pages: 183

In the first book of the series, we met (and loved) the eccentric Piers Withan who was ripped from his much-loved post as a don at Oxford and elevated to Viscount Petteril after the sudden loss of five of his closest male family members. To say he was unhappy about it all would be putting it mildly, but he was on better footing after solving a mystery that showed him and others that he could be a formidable foe if pushed. Also, in that first book we met Ape, a street urchin from the slums who saved Petteril and then basically became his shadow. We also discovered that Ape was actually a female who had been dressing and acting as a male (for protection) for so long that she had forgotten how to be female. I’m going into all of this because, if you haven’t read the first book (you really should), you’ll need some background for parts of this one to be clear. It is my suggestion that you read at least the first two books in the series for a proper understanding of the background, and the future books will probably be fine as standalone reads. BTW – Petteril has an affliction that keeps him from being able to recognize faces – especially those he doesn’t come into contact with on a regular basis.

Lord Petteril has convinced Ape to transition from her guise as a male and adopt her true identity as a female named April. To facilitate that change, Ape will travel with Petteril to his country estate, Haybury Court, as his assistant – and along the way, Ape will become April. Ape puts the transition off as long as possible, but when they are close to arriving at the state, she relents and makes the change.

The real adventure begins when they smell smoke in the woods as they are approaching Haybury, and decide to see what is burning. What do they find? A very naked body whose clothing is a pile of cinders in a nearby burn pile. Petteril immediately notifies the local magistrate who seems totally inept at handling the investigation because he wants to rule it anything other than murder. Did I mention the corpse had a knife sticking out of his chest?

It was so much fun watching Petteril outwit all of those folks who still equated him with the child they had known so many years ago. To them, he was still the strange, awkward, unusual child who, perhaps, wasn’t all there – so they ignored him, spoke down to him, insulted him – until they discovered he was so much more than they had believed. Oops!

Once they had finally identified the corpse, there were suspects aplenty – even a local highwayman known as Brandy Bill. April and Petteril sift through the evidence, investigate the suspects, and finally identify who, what and why. Believe me – you’ll be surprised. You may suspect some things, but – you won’t know.

This was a fun read with delightful characters, murder, mayhem, kindness, metamorphosis, suspense, and finally a satisfactory end. I recommend this book and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. Now, the wait begins for the third book in the series – Petteril’s Ladybird.

View all my reviews