Category: Tracy’s Reviews

A Most Unusual Duke by Susanna Allen

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

A Most Unusual Duke (Shapeshifters of the Beau Monde, #2)A Most Unusual Duke by Susanna Allen

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Shapeshifters of the Beau Monde, #2

Release Date: December 28, 2021

When Beatrice, the widow of the Marquess of Castleton sought to secure her independence by blackmailing the Prince Regent of England, things did not go as planned. Not only did she find herself married again, but her reluctant groom is also a Shifter. But unlike her first husband, Arthur Humphries, the Duke of Osborn is not a decrepit old man and neither is he a wolf.

When Arthur’s father was challenged and lost his life to the challenger, Arthur vowed to never claim his position as Alpha in his bear sleuth. But his cousin, Prince George (also a bear Shifter) demands that Arthur do his duty, if not he will make sure that Arthur’s brother and his young family will suffer. With no choice, Arthur agrees to marry Beatrice but insists theirs will be a white marriage. At the prince’s command, they retire to Arthur’s family estate, a place that Arthur hasn’t seen since the night he lost his father. He manages to keep his feelings for the sleuth and his new bride in check, that is until his brother and his family show up, making him long for things he has sworn to never have.

This was a very interesting, well-plotted, thoughtful story about second chances, love, and acceptance. Beatrice and Arthur are wonderful characters, both with painful pasts, yet they haven’t lost themselves to bitterness. I enjoyed watching their slow-burn romance unfold and loved the secondary characters who added lightness and levity to the story. I liked the story, but the reading was slow-going, the author has and utilizes an amazing (if somewhat obscure) vocabulary, which did break the flow for me, as I had to continually stop to look up a word, or foreign language phrase (which were not italicized) to understand the story and many times the author chose to use a very archaic/obscure word instead of a common word, and while I love to learn new words, I don’t need to learn one on just about every page. Overall, it was entertaining to read with a somewhat anti-climatic ending but did manage to set up the next book rather nicely. This is the second book in the series, but it can be read as a standalone title with no issue.

*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.*

Pursuing the Governess by Jane Charles

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

Pursuing the Governess (Love of a Governess #3)Pursuing the Governess by Jane Charles

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Love of a Governess, #3

Release Date: April 26, 2022

Once upon a time Miss Regina Rutledge and Alec Winters, the Earl of Harwich fell madly in love and wanted to marry. But Regina’s father had betrothed her to a vile man and refused Alec’s suit. Determined to be together, they planned to elope when Alec returned from his cousin’s funeral. But fate had other plans for our lovers and Alec returns to London to find his love perished in a fire that also killed her father and the family butler. Heartbroken, Alec returns to his cousin’s estate and tries to figure out how to go on with Regina. IT takes him almost a year to realize that he will never love again but owes his title an heir. He decides it is time to move on and find a wife and he plans to make his cousin help him!

Nearly a year later, Regina has recovered from the fire that nearly killed her, but she might never recover from witnessing her father’s murder and hearing the awful things Mr. Vickery threatened to do to her. Bow Street runner Lord Matthias believes Vickery poses a danger to Regina and helps her “die”. She decides that with her scars and the scandal she will create if Vickery finds her, that Alec is better off without her and takes a position as governess, but when that doesn’t work out, she agrees to take the position being offered by Viscount Melcombe, Alec’s cousin and hopes she can avoid him. But fate once again intervenes and brings our lovers together again, but with so much betrayal, guilt, and pain between them, is HEA even possible and the even bigger question, will Lord Melcombe ever find a governess?

This was another well-written, emotion-packed story with a couple of unexpected twists that give this second-chance romance an unusual storyline. The book is fast-paced, emotional, a little angsty, a little heartbreaking, a little spicy, and filled with wonderful characters and hard-won HEA with a nice setup for the next book. This is the third book in the series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title with no problems. I really enjoyed this story and would happily recommend it.