Category: Top Pick – Highly Recommended

To Tempt A Rebel by Shana Galen

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Other, Top Pick - Highly RecommendedLeave a comment

To Tempt a Rebel (The Scarlet Chronicles, #4)To Tempt a Rebel by Shana Galen

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Scarlet Chronicles #4
Publication Date: 3/12/19

Author Shana Galen has taken the French Reign of Terror, wrapped it in a bow and called it her own. The research is impeccable, the writing is superb and the characters – both male and female – are heroic. Here is a warning though – before you start to read, be sure you have taken care of your personal needs, have plenty of snacks and drinks beside your reading chair and maybe a comfy, snug blanket to wrap up in – because – you will not be able to put the book down once you start reading.

Both the king and queen are dead, their daughter was rescued from the tower in the last book and now, it is time to rescue the young eight-year-old Louis Charles, the new king. He has been horribly abused, he is living in his own filth, he’s emaciated and very sickly. The Pimpernels have to get him out soon or there won’t be any point. Security around Louis Charles’ tower cell is impenetrable and there is no way the Pimpernels can gain entry to rescue him without someone on the inside of the regime helping them.

Tristan Chevalier hates aristos with his entire being. He doesn’t believe any of them have even one redeeming quality. That is one of the main reasons he joined the revolution. Oh, he wanted freedom and equality, but more than anything he wanted revenge against the man who destroyed his family. However, now that Robespierre’s bloodthirst has caused untold thousands of executions, Tristan is having doubts. He still wants the freedom and equality, but he’s seeing that the citizens are neither free nor equal under Robespierre. When he is approached by Citoyen Allie, he reluctantly agrees to turn over documents that will show Robespierre’s perfidy and bring his Reign of Terror to an end. He’s still staunchly loyal to France – just not to Robespierre. He’s also just fallen into the trap set by the Pimpernel’s – and he isn’t going to like what he learns.

We’ve met Alexandra Martin in the previous books. She is an actress, she’s smart, clever, and skilled at both acting and disguises. She believes in the work the Pimpernels are doing with all her heart and she’ll give her life to save any of her fellow members. Alex’s role is usually in the background – using her talents with costumes and make-up to disguise the other members for their various missions. She’s also the ‘visible’ one – the one who openly mixes with the population (as an actress) and who openly rents the safe-house, etc. However, Alex has a new mission that is most definitely not behind-the-scenes. She is to ensnare Robespierre’s second – Tristan Chevalier and convince him to help them rescue Louis Charles.

I absolutely loved both Alex and Tristan. They were a wonderful couple who vehemently fought their attraction every step of the way. Alex’s dedication to the cause was visible in everything she did and I admired her loyalty. I also loved that Tristan wasn’t a pushover – you wondered to the very end if he’d betray the Pimpernel’s – even at the cost of his own life. It is a pure, unadulterated, edge-of-the-seat read.

This is definitely a five-star read, but I would say that I’d love it if there were an Author’s Note section that fills in some of the real history with which the author took poetic license.

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

Previous books In the series – click on the title to see our reviews:

To Ruin A Gentleman
Traitor in Her Arms
Taken By the Rake

About the Author:

ShanaGalen

Shana Galen is three-time Rita award nominee and the bestselling author of fast-paced, witty, and adventurous Regency romances. Kirkus says of her books, “The road to happily-ever-after is intense, conflicted, suspenseful and fun,” and RT Bookreviews calls her books “lighthearted yet poignant, humorous yet touching.” She taught English at the middle and high school level off and on for eleven years. Most of those years were spent working in Houston’s inner city. Now she writes full time. She’s happily married and has a daughter who is most definitely a romance heroine in the making.

Want to know more? Visit Shana’s website at http://www.shanagalen.com and sign up to be notified when Shana has a new release http://bit.ly/ShanaGalenNews

The Scoundrel in Her Bed by Lorraine Heath

On By TracyIn Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)3 Comments

The Scoundrel in Her Bed (Sins for All Seasons, #3)The Scoundrel in Her Bed by Lorraine Heath
Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Sins for All Seasons, #3

Release Date: February 26, 2019

Finn Trewlove and Lady Lavinia Kent met when she was only 15, Finn was immediately smitten and spent the next two years meeting her in secret and falling even deeper in love. When she turned 17 and was preparing for her come-out, their relationship changed and Finn learned his “Vivi” loved him too. It was an impossible dream, Vivi has been betrothed to the Duke of Thornley since she was a child, but Finn is her heart’s desire. Their relationship changes yet again and Vivi gives Finn more than just her heart. They declare their love and plan to runaway together. But they are betrayed and torn apart – each believing the other betrayed them.

Think this sounds like every other second-chance love story you have ever read? Think again!

Eight years later, Lavinia has jilted Thorn and has disappeared into the streets of Whitechapel. She has made it her mission to save children from baby farmers, she walked away from her society life and has no desire to go back, nor does she ever want to see Finn again. But when a meeting in an alley goes wrong, it is Finn who intercedes and helps her. Finn soon learns that his Vivi is not the sweet, sheltered, innocent miss he knew 8 years ago.

They quickly learn that they were betrayed and that neither was to blame. They both paid heavily for their doomed romance, but Finn doesn’t know the true price Vivi paid. He wants to spend time with her and see if they can recapture what they lost – but Vivi has secrets that she is sure will make a future together impossible.

She tries to keep him at arm’s length, but Finn still loves the girl she was and is falling for the woman she has become, despite his family still believing she is not for him, Finn’s Folly is what they call her and at one time he agreed, but now he is not so sure. He won’t walk away and tempts her with an opportunity to make her dream of opening a children’s home come true. Vivi never stopped loving Finn, but will need to confront the demons in her past, before she can even contemplate a future.

This is an absolutely brilliant book, it is well written, flows nicely (even with the insertion several flashbacks), yes, the trope has been done before, but never like this. Finn and Lavinia are amazing leads, what they each endured during their time apart is heart breaking, but seeing them support and defend one another, makes you believe that their young love was in fact true, soul-mate love. I laughed, I cried, I sighed – the book is filled with emotion, gut-wrenching choices, a hero who loves with every fiber of his being and a heroine who against all odds has survived and grown from a spoiled girl into an amazingly strong and generous woman. I loved this book – I thought that Ms. Heath couldn’t surpass the first book in the series and while I think I might still consider that my favorite, this book is definitely going on my To Read Again list. This is the third book in the series, but you can absolutely read it as a stand alone – if you do, you are missing out on two fantastic reads, but it can be done. I highly recommend this story and can’t wait for the next one!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected eARC that was provided to my by Edelweiss and the publisher.*