Category: Top Pick – Highly Recommended

The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's Reviews2 Comments

The Wallflower Wager (Girl Meets Duke, #3)The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare
Tracy’s rating: 4.5/5 of 5 stars

Series: Girl Meets Duke #3

Release Date: August 13, 2019

When her adopted parrot Delilah escapes her cage and flies into the neighboring house, Lady Penelope “Penny” Campion of course follows, but finds a lot more than just her wayward parrot. She finds the new owner of the house, Gabriel “Gabe” Duke, AKA the Duke of Ruin, barely dressed and dripping wet and for the first time in her 26 years, Penelope feels lust and desire so intense it stuns her.

Gabriel Duke is a self-made man, he grew up penniless and destitute and has worked hard to amass a fortune that will ensure that he will never know poverty again. He hates aristocrats and thinks nothing of using their secrets and debts against them earning himself the moniker of the Duke of Ruin. Gabe bought the house next door to Penny’s because he knows he can turn a profit by selling the renovated house to a commoner just because she is the neighbor. He is shocked to see that she is lovely and young, he heard that she was a spinster and a recluse, but after seeing her, he can’t imagine why and thinks the men of the ton must be blind or stupid.

The next day Penny gets a visit from her Aunt Caroline and is told in no uncertain terms that if she doesn’t make some sweeping changes in her life and get rid of the animals that she has accumulated, that Caroline will not stop her brother Bradford from taking her back to Cumberland for good. Penny cannot bear the thought of returning the family seat and with her parents away in India, her brother is in fact able to force her to return with him. She promises her aunt that she will get a new wardrobe, attend events and find homes for her foundlings.

Gabe’s architect comes to him to complain about Penny, showing Gabe a stack of letters she has sent that have delayed construction. Gabe promises to take care of Lady Penelope and gets his chance a short while later when he sees her in the park with a goat. He confronts her and tells her that she must get of the animals, she tells him that it doesn’t matter, she will be leaving soon anyway. He says she can’t leave, his profit in the house depends on her! He tells her he will help her find homes for the animals. And so it begins…

This was an absolutely charming, fun and surprisingly emotional story. As always, the writing is outstanding and the story is paced well. The characters are both entertaining and likeable, the banter is amusing, the secrets they both hold are heart retching, the resolution to her heartache is amazing, the love scenes are steamy, the cameos from Chase, Ash, Emma, Alex and Nicola are priceless and the ending is wonderful. I loved Gabe and Penny together, I thought their chemistry was evident from their first encounter and never waned. As much as I loved this story, I did think that the title was a bit misleading as there was no real “wager” and that there is a real contemporary feel to this book, and while it wasn’t enough to ruin my enjoyment, it did at times jar me. This is the third book in the series, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone with no problems.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected e-ARC that was provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher.*

Brazen & The Beast by Sarah MacLean

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

Brazen and the Beast (The Bareknuckle Bastards, #2)Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean
Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Bareknuckle Bastards #2

Release Date: July 30, 2019

Lady Henrietta “Hattie” Sedley is preparing for a very special night out, but her plans are derailed even before they begin when she finds a gorgeous, unconscious man tied up in her carriage. Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of the “Year of Hattie”, this her 29th year will be the year she finally made her dreams come true and she refuses to let this man ruin it! She wakes him up and asks why he is in her carriage (even though she has a pretty good idea who put him there) – when he is less than cooperative, she unties him, he steals a kiss and she pushes him out of the carriage – problem solved and she can carry on with her night! Hattie wants nothing more than to take over her father’s shipping business, but her father wants her to marry and for her brother Augie to run the business, so she forms a plan to change his mind, Hattie is not opposed to marriage, but she has spent many seasons on the marriage mart and has never had an offer, she knows she is not what men consider attractive, she is too tall, too plump and too outspoken, but her father just refuses to believe it, so she will make herself unmarriageable and for that she needs to be ruined.

Saviour “Whit” Whittington AKA the Beast is revered in Covent Gardens, he along with his brother Devil are known as the Bareknuckle Bastards and there is nothing that happens in Covent Gardens that they don’t know about – so when he wakes in a carriage and remembers that he was driving a shipment of goods and was attacked, he wants answers and he is pretty sure the intriguing woman who just pushed him out of her carriage is the key to discovering who robbed him.

He finds her in a brothel for women and strikes a deal – she will find and return his goods and he will help her set her plan in motion by bedding her. Hattie knows her brother Augie stole Whit’s property and fears for his life, she returns home and finds her brother, stabbed and whining – she learns why he stole from the Bareknuckle Bastards and the staggering amount that he has taken.
Hattie figures out a way to repay Whit and can’t wait for him to find her, instead she goes looking for him in Covent Gardens. He learns she is looking for him and tails her for a bit, he only intervenes when he believes she is in dangers, but much to his surprise, Hattie isn’t the one who needs saving! Who is this goddess and why does he want her so badly?

I really loved this book, it is a well written, fast paced story with lots of emotion, action, great secondary characters, a heroine who can hold her own and doesn’t need saving, steamy love scenes, a bit of heartache, betrayal and dreams coming true! This is the second book in the series, but it can definitely be read as a stand-alone with no problem and I am happy to recommend it!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected e-ARC that was provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher. *