Golden Lord by Mary Jo Putney

Golden Lord (Dangerous Gifts, #2)Golden Lord by Mary Jo Putney

Tracy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars (I’m being generous)

Series: Dangerous Gifts, #2

Release Date: November 26, 2024

When Caden “Cade” Tremayne, an agent for the crown and the eldest of Rhys & Gwen Tremayne’s foster children was informed of his new mission, he knew that this was going to be a mission unlike any before. He is “gifted” and has a strong sense of foreboding and feels anger directed at him specifically. But with England and France on the brink of war, it is imperative to get the English ambassador and him family out of Paris as quickly as possible. He is delighted to learn that his foster sister Lady Tamsyn will be his partner, as they have a close bond and work extremely well together. They set out and both feel the gathering danger, but it isn’t until they are almost ready to board a ship back to England that the danger he had sensed is manifested. Cade is captured by a French agent who is also gifted, and his mind is blocked causing him to forget who and what he is, but Tamsyn manages to mentally connect with him and promises to save him. He believes that she is his wife and when they are finally reunited and his mind is cleared, he is horrified to realize that now Tamsyn knows his secret. A secret that could either be downfall of the “Tribe of Tremayne” or one that could bond them in ways they never imagined.

Lady Tamsyn “Tam” Tremayne is the eldest child and heir to the Tremayne earldom, she is also powerfully gifted and an agent for the home office. Her gift is primarily healing of the mind and body, but she also has a strong gift of intuition. She too senses danger in the upcoming mission and great change, but nothing prepares her for Cade’s secret. She isn’t sure if she can accept the change, but soon knows her heart is with Cade and hopes she will not have to choose between him and her family. But before she can worry about that, she senses that their mission is far from over, they need to get back to England in one piece and thwart Napoleon’s plans!

WARNING: The rest of this review might be a little “Spoilerish” and is definitely opinionated.

I will be honest, this book was not for me, I LOVED the first book but this one… I could not get past the brother/sister thing – I grew up in a family that took in foster children and adopted children, for me they were (and still are) my brothers and sisters – the idea of romantic love between two people who have been raised as brother and sister since they were very young children, is repulsive to me – maybe if they hadn’t met until they were young adults, I could get past it, but the story is clear, they met as very young children and have always considered each other as siblings – in fact most of the book they call each other brother/sister – I just can’t pretend that I am all right with that. That said, yes, I am aware that I have a personal bias – so, please make up your own mind, there are lots of rave reviews for this book and I will not deny that it is an interesting story with very likable characters. And the author makes a good attempt to explain that Cade never really considered her as a sister and always loved her (it just didn’t matter to me – it still felt wrong) the gifted part of the story is good and if they hadn’t been siblings, I probably would have enjoyed it. This is the second book in the series, and I would strongly recommend reading this series in order.

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

The Wedding Witch by Erin Sterling

The Wedding Witch (The Ex Hex, #3)The Wedding Witch by Erin Sterling

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Grave’s Glen, #3

Release Date: October 8, 2024

After a spell goes horribly wrong and his best friend Declan is lost, Welshman and powerful witch, Bowen Penhallow dedicated himself to finding a way to reverse it. It has been ten years, and he is no closer to an answer, but he does have a plan, which will require the exclusive services of the best “Acquirer” he has ever worked with – TLB Acquisitions, Ltd. He sets up a meeting and is astounded to learn that the “T” of TLB is a gorgeous American woman, Tamsyn Bligh.

Tamsyn agrees to an exclusive contract with him, and she makes it clear that she doesn’t mix business with pleasure, but she also can’t resist a kiss under the mistletoe! And so, begins their relationship, for the next year they work together without meeting. As the Yule holiday approaches, Bowen makes plans to join his brothers and their significant others for the holiday in Georgia, leaving Tamsyn with time on her hands, time she decides to put to good use. Never expecting their paths to cross at a wedding in Wales or being sent back in time to 1957. Together they will have to work together to make their way back to 2024 and hopefully find their own HEA along the way.

I loved, loved, loved this book and finished it in a day! This is a new-to-me author and a genre that I rarely read – I love paranormal/fantasy romance, and I usually tend to choose historicals over contemporaries, but the blurb for this book caught my attention (which is saying a lot as I am not a fan of time travel) and I am so happy I requested it! This book pulled me out of a reading rut and sold me on a new sub-genre! This book has it all; mystery, witches, spells, grumpy/sexy hero, a vivacious/feisty heroine, witty dialogue, great secondary characters, second chances, steamy love scenes, surprising revelations and finally a very happy ending complete with an epilogue. This was the third book in the series, but I hadn’t read the previous books (but now I want to!) and had no trouble understanding the relationship between the characters, so it could easily be read as a standalone title. I really enjoyed the book and will be checking out the previous books and watching for upcoming books – Highly recommended!

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