Category: Tracy’s Reviews

Claiming the Princess by Charis Michaels

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

Claiming the Princess (Hidden Royals #3)Claiming the Princess by Charis Michaels

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Hidden Royals, #3

Release Date: October 28, 2025

After saving Viscount Fernsby, the Prince Regent’s cousin and being named a war hero, Captain Lucas Bannock is offered a reward by the crown. He only wants one thing, the release of Linus Welty, his surrogate father from Vincent Surcouf, Comte d’ Moulac, the French military officer that took him prisoner before killing the rest of Lucas’ crew, to achieve that, he needs to marry Princess Danielle Allard d’Orleans, the exiled French princess that the Comte wants to marry. He is granted her hand in marriage and an estate in Kent, it seems like everything is going according to his plan – that is until he meets her and realizes she has no idea she is a princess, or French or why the Prince Regent would be interested in her or that he would be so attracted to her.

Adopted as a baby by retiring retainers for the King and Queen of England, Danielle “Dani” Allard has been raised with no knowledge of her title or heritage. She lives a modest life in Kent and has strong ties to the community, so she is stunned when her parents tell her that she has been betrothed to Captain Bannock by the Prince Regent. She askes why the prince would be concerned with her but gets no answers and before she can press them for more information, Lucas arrives. Can love grow in a bed of lies and secret agendas or is she doomed to a life of heartache?

This was a well written, interesting story with wonderful characters and lots of emotion. Dani and Lucas share a strange bond, they were both raised by surrogates for vastly different reasons, yet they both have a strong love for their foster parents. My heart broke for Lucas, he is consumed with guilt about the loss of his crew and his foster father and believes he would do anything to save Linus, only to feel more guilt upon meeting Dani. This book was filled with secrets, lies, deception, shocking revelations, a heart of gold hero bent on revenge, found family, surprise reunions, a heroine who can hold her own, lots of cats and finally a hard-won HEA. Overall, I liked this story, Dani and Lucas are easy to root for, but I felt disappointed that there was no epilogue, especially since the siblings were finally reunited. This is the final book in the series and while it could be read as a standalone title, I would recommend reading the series in order for the best reader experience.

*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. *

Only Rakes Need Apply by Kate Pearce

On By TracyIn Check Content Warning/Triggers, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Only Rakes Need Apply (Rakes of London)Only Rakes Need Apply by Kate Pearce

Tracy’s Rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: Rakes of London

Release Date: October 28, 2025

After two long years, Carenza, the widowed Countess Smythe-Harding has finally finished mourning her late (and unlamented) husband and is ready to move on with her life. After enduring a miserable marriage with a man that cheated on her and left her penniless, she has no desire to remarry but does miss the benefits of the marriage bed. After jokingly saying she should place an ad for a lover, her best friend Olivia Sheraton places the ad and sets up a place for them to interview applicants. Carenza is mortified but goes along with it. When her late husband’s best friend Julian Laurent shows up and stops the nonsense, he makes Carenza an offer of his own – he will be her lover, no strings attached.

Julian Laurent has known Carenza for most of her life, as their family estates border each other. As the second son, Julian had no fortune, title or purpose, so he did as many other “spares” did and sowed his wild oats in London and gaining a reputation as a rake. But recently he inherited a massive fortune from his godmother and has tried to become more responsible. When he learns that Carenza has placed an ad for a lover, he can’t stand by and let her ruin her reputation, so he intervenes, not intending to offer himself to her, but that is exactly what happens. Too bad they both have enemies determined to see them ruined before they can claim their HEA.

I have mixed feeling about this book, I loved the idea of the story and felt that the story was well-written with some great characters. But at the same time, there was a lot going on and despite the steamy love scenes, I wasn’t feeling the chemistry between Carenza and Julian – in fact at some points I wondered if they even liked each other. I did like Carenza’s circle of friends, which gave the story a bit of a “Desperate Housewives” vibe, but even that created more drama than the story could support. I finished the book and felt like the story was too chaotic and I didn’t get enough closure – I know this was the start of a series, so some unfinished business is bound to work its way through future installments – but this was more about things that were central to this story. Overall, I didn’t love this story, but I didn’t hate it either – I will definitely be reading the next book to see if I judged this installment too harshly.

*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. *