Category: Tracy’s Reviews

Cinderella and the Duke by Lydia Drake

On By TracyIn Standalone Title, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Cinderella and the DukeCinderella and the Duke by Lydia Drake

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone (?)

Release Date: December 27, 2022

For the last ten years, Julia Beaumont has lived quietly in the country, at the beck and call of her stepmother and she has come to believe that her dreams of love and marriage were nothing more than fairy tales, but when her stepmother is ill and cannot attend a ball with her much younger step-sister, Susannah, Julia jumps at the chance to chaperon her, knowing this may be her last chance to attend a ball and find a husband. But instead of a husband, she finds a potential scandal and if that wasn’t bad enough, she also loses a shoe when she makes her escape!

Gregory Carter, the Duke of Ashworth, is bored and tired – being England’s most sought-after rake is exhausting, but he is sick of women trying to slip into his bed and their husbands trying to kill him. So he is both surprised and intrigued when he is rescued from yet another bored wife bent on seduction and her husband bent on shooting Gregory in yet another duel, by a gorgeous woman who is completely unknown to him. His surprise is increased when he learns she is unwed and when she slips away leaving him with nothing but her name and her shoe!

Gregory tracks her down the next day to return her shoe, sure that she won’t be as intriguing in the light of day. But to his delight, she is not only as lovely as he remembered but witty and smart too and when she proposes they marry to save her reputation and to save him from the bored wives looking to join the “Carter Club”, he surprises both of them by agreeing! But Gregory believes that no woman could ever love him and has no desire to fall for Julia and be rejected, so he is firm that this will not be a real marriage and that he will be leaving for Spain within days of the wedding, Julia agrees as there is no way she will let herself feel anything for him when she knows he is a rake and could never love her. But as they say, the best-laid plans…

I loved this book, it was well-written, nicely paced and so much fun to read. Gregory and Julia are wonderful characters, easy to like and delightful to read, they both have experiences in their pasts that have shaped them and led them to believe they are unlovable, they also have a strong sense of self-perseveration and a healthy helping of pride, therefore will never let themselves fall in love thus opening themselves up to rejection – so their road to HEA is definitely not a smooth ride! This book has wonderful characters, witty banter, engaging dialogue, great secondary characters, steamyish love scenes, the “Carter Club”, a dash of heartache and a sweet ending, and a charming epilogue. I highly recommend this story – I am leary of “fairytale” retellings, but this one is outstanding, it is also one of the best debuts I have ever read and I can’t wait to read the next book this author writes!

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

The Marriage List by Ella Quinn

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

The Marriage List (The Worthingtons)The Marriage List by Ella Quinn

Tracy’s rating: 3/3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Worthingtons, #8

Release Date: December 27, 2022

Lady Eleanor Carpenter is returning home from a visit with her elder sister Charlotte when she spies some children on the side of the road. She has her coachman stop and learns that in addition to the children is their mother, who is barely clinging to life. Eleanor immediately takes charge and gets the woman and her children in the carriage and learns that they are victims of what became known as the Cinderloo Uprising. Eleanor is appalled and vows to help, bringing the woman back to Worthington Place and helping her start a new life and unknowingly making an enemy along the way. She wants to do more for the victims of Cinderloo and begins to look into it, wondering if she will be able to accomplish anything while she is in London. Because Eleanor along with her twin sister Lady Alice and their step-sister Lady Madeline Vivers are finally ready to make their come-outs and will be in London for the season. And in preparation for the suitors that they will surely have, the girls make a list of traits that any potential husband must have, and just like that the “Marriage List” was born.

John, the Marquis of Montagu needs a wife and he also has a list of traits his future Marchioness must have, such as being demure, not interested in causes, politics, or charities, who won’t tell him what to do, and will be happy to stay home and read novels – basically the complete opposite of his mother and twin sister. But that was before he saw Eleanor and her sisters riding in the park. He wonders how he can garner an introduction when his mother mentions attending Lady Bellamny’s Young Ladies soiree and that the young lady he saw in the park will most likely be there – he immediately offers to pick his mother up at the end. Later, he is surprised and pleased to learn that the object of his attention is Worthington’s sister-in-law and they are introduced. After meeting Eleanor, John’s list alters and it soon becomes clear that Eleanor is the only woman he wants to wed, but it remains to be seen if John meets all of Eleanor’s requirements… Let the courting commence!

This was a well-written, well-researched story with likable characters, but sadly it was a bit dull and slow-moving. I was excited by the beginning and expected that drama to be central to the story, but it really wasn’t – this was a very slow-burning romance with way too many characters (complete with backstories) that left readers struggling to stay on point with the hero and heroine. If I could make a suggestion to the author, it would be to start each book with a cast of characters with a brief history of who they are and their role and maybe even the title of the book they “starred in”, rather than including it in the story – especially when you are dealing with upwards of twenty additional people – it made this book wordy and drawn out. I also felt like this book had so many missed opportunities, such as; the relationship between John and his sister or the Cinderloo Uprising. In the end, this was a very vanilla story with a lot of characters, a touch of drama, a bit of steam towards the end, hints at romances for the other two sisters, Great Danes, heroes who learn to grovel, and finally a HEA complete with a two-part epilogue. So, while I found it a bit slow-moving and wordy, I am happy I read it and am looking forward to Alice & Madeline’s stories. This is the eighth book in the series, but it felt like the first book in a spin-off series and could easily be read as a standalone title.

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