Category: Top Pick – Highly Recommended

An Unexpected Earl by Anna Harrington

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Regency Era (1811-1820), Top Pick - Highly RecommendedLeave a comment

An Unexpected Earl (Lords of the Armory, #2)
Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Lords of the Armory #2
Publication Date: 2/23/21
Number of Pages: 320

This author always imbues her stories with all of the “feels”, and she has certainly outdone herself this time. Harrington has managed to squeeze a beautiful second-chance romance together with a suspenseful mystery that will keep you reading well into the night. I thought it was beautifully romantic, poignant, and heartbreaking when you learned what these two had been through – yet, they still loved each other after years of separation. It is definitely a sigh-worthy read!

The time is just after the Napoleonic wars and the English soldiers have returned to England. Many of them have a hard time adjusting to civilian life after the stress of war, but no help is offered. Many have lost limbs, sight, hearing, or suffer from what we would call PTSD today. Life after the wars is definitely not what these dedicated, loyal men would have chosen for themselves. There are few, if any, jobs available and many of the former soldiers were forced to live on the streets (sound familiar?). Now, there is a new threat to the realm – one nobody even knew existed until the sinister organization came after the Duke of Braddock’s sister. After his sister’s death, Braddock (An Inconvenient Duke), a former general, formed the Armory. The Armory is a place where soldiers from his former command can find sanctuary and maybe even help – and where they will band together to find and stamp out the sedition group known as Scepter.

Twelve years ago, Brigadier Brandon Pearce, Earl of Sandhurst, was an eighteen-year-old orphaned ragamuffin who lived with an innkeeper uncle in Birmingham. Being caught with a neighbor’s sixteen-year-old daughter was both the making of him – and the shattering of him. Her father was a rich merchant, and after beating Brandon, he banished him. Brandon’s distant relative bought him an officer’s commission and his career was born. Brandon always loved that girl – and never forgot her – but knew she was above him and they could never be together. He always assumed she’d moved on, married, etc. – until he saw her across the room at a masked ball in London after he returned as a war hero – and inherited a title he didn’t expect. He quickly realizes his feelings haven’t changed, but she doesn’t trust him, treats him as an enemy, and is keeping secrets. He’s investigating her brother Frederick because the Armory is sure he is part of Scepter – is she also mixed up in it?

Amelia Howard was totally and completely devastated twelve-years-ago when she was torn away from the boy she loved and was sent to the far reaches of Scotland. She was threatened with terrible retributions if she dared to try to get in touch with him – and she knew her father would follow-through on those threats. She has loved that boy ever since – even though she’s tried to move on with her life. Fate just seems to have a vendetta against her – and it has shown itself in full-force when she meets Pearce at a ball in London. Goodness, how she’d love to be able to resume their relationship – she knows she still loves him – and always will. But there are things he can’t know – secrets she must keep, so she must avoid him at all costs. However, the persistent man won’t let her avoid him. He is everywhere she is – and her brother Frederick is pushing her to influence Pearce for him.

Pearce will do whatever it takes to keep Amelia safe, to protect her, but he has to learn all of her secrets before he can make a plan forward. I loved seeing Pearce doing all he could to regain Amelia’s trust – and that was no easy task – with good reason. I also loved seeing Amelia grow from Fate’s victim to Fate’s master. She grew from an accepting victim to someone who was strong and independent. I loved seeing the two of them overcome the obstacles that stood in the way of their HEA, but I wasn’t in love with the final solution of how they were going to be together.

I can highly recommend this book, this series, and this author. However, for me personally, had it been absolutely any other author, I would have bypassed the book as soon as I read the references to ‘feminist’ in the blurb. Yes, I firmly believe in being equal, but I detest that term that has, for me, become a negative. I loved the story and I’m glad I read it, so I’m glad I didn’t see that blurb before I just automatically requested the book.

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

Sweet Rogue of Mine by Shana Galen

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Regency Era (1811-1820), Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Sweet Rogue of MineSweet Rogue of Mine by Shana Galen

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Survivors, #9

Release Date: February 9, 2021

Nash Pope was a sharpshooter in Draven’s company and lost his sight when debris damaged his left eye – his right eye was spared, but he can barely see anything out of it, just vague shapes, and no color. Nash did not take well to blindness and as a result was sent to Wentmore, one of his father’s lesser estates in Milcroft to convalesce. But Nash did not find peace in the country, instead, he sunk deeper into despair, drinking to forget, and refusing anyone’s help. But it wasn’t until he hit rock bottom and shot one of his friends and threatened to shoot others that his father, the Earl of Beaufort, finally had enough and sent Rowden Payne in a final attempt to straighten Nash out. If Rowden fails, the earl has made it clear that he will have no choice but to commit Nash to an asylum. Angry about his father’s interference and Rowden’s willingness to do his bidding – which includes removing all the liquor from the house and hiring men to make repairs. Nash escapes the house and goes for a walk and ends up getting stuck in the mud. He is wondering how he will get out when he hears a woman singing, a very bawdy song and making effort to not be heard.

Prudence “Pru” Howard is new to the village of Milcroft, her parents are missionaries and have decided to take a post in the far East – without Pru. They leave her in the care of the local vicar, Mr. Higginbotham, and take off without a backward glance. Pru knows they are disappointed with her after she caused a scandal and her own ruin by engaging in an affair in Cairo, but she really didn’t think they would go as far as to abandon her. But Pru is a survivor and determined to be happy, so she does her best to fit in, but sadly, she is not well received and spends much of her time alone. Today she is wandering in the gardens of Wentmore, singing to herself when she notices a man stuck in the mud. She offers to help him, but her efforts are rejected and Nash threatens to have her charged with trespassing. Not one to be deterred, Pru changes her tactic and manages to get Nash back on solid ground. Afterward, Pru learns that Nash is blind and she decides to help him, after all, she has a blind sister and a talent that will help him – she learned “Ecriture Nocturne” or night writing, which was invented to help the French army, but also enables the blind to read and write – and she offers to teach it to him. An offer that he accepts, much to everyone’s surprise.

Pru and Nash begin his lessons and a true friendship develops, she soothes his anxiety and slowly he begins to realize that his life is not over, it has changed, but now the future doesn’t seem as dismal. But he is far from healed and still suffers from flashbacks. Not to mention he still has the threat of being committed hanging over his head. As his feeling for Pru deepens, Nash begins to think that he should let her go, as he can’t give her a future – but Nash grossly underestimates Pru, Rowden, and his own heart. For her part, Pru seems to have found her place in Milcroft and even befriended the curmudgeonly elderly Mrs. Northgate. And even though she doesn’t think they have any chance for a future, she loves him and will do all she can to keep him out of an asylum.

When I finished the last book, The Highlander’s Excellent Adventure, I really didn’t like Nash and wondered if it was even possible to redeem him – so I am thrilled to report – Yes, he can be redeemed, and Yes, I not only forgave him, I fell a little in love with him! This book was so good, it is well-written, interesting, emotional, uplifting, and fun. There are warm love scenes, a villain who gets his due, wonderful secondary characters, redemption, acceptance, forgiveness, a peacock, and a very sweet ending. This is the ninth book in the series, but it can easily be read as a standalone title, I would however recommend reading the previous book in the series because it gives you a glimpse of how far Nash had fallen before his father sent Rowden to him.

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