Category: Tracy’s Reviews

The Viscount Made Me Do It by Diana Quincy

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

The Viscount Made Me Do It (Clandestine Affairs, #2)The Viscount Made Me Do It by Diana Quincy

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Clandestine Affairs, #2

Release Date: July 27, 2021

Fourteen years after the murder of his parents, Thomas “Griff” Ellis, the Viscount Griffin receives a package with a ring belonging to his late mother, a ring that was stolen the night she was killed. In an effort to track down the sender, he visits the post office, hoping for a lead, but is sent away empty-handed. He visits a nearby coffeehouse and is shocked when he sees a lovely woman enter, wearing his mother’s necklace. The woman stops at the table of some young noblemen who apparently requested her services as a bonesetter to mock her. Angry, the woman dislocates the man’s wrist, telling him to visit her office to get it fixed, and storms out.

Griff learns her name and due to a war injury, has an excuse to visit her offices, even though he doesn’t believe she will be able to help him, since his former guardian is a respected doctor and wasn’t able to alleviate his pain, nor had any of the specialists he has seen. So he is shocked when her treatments work. They form a friendship and he confesses his true reason for seeking her out and she offers to help any way she can.

Hanna Zaydan is the daughter of immigrants from the Levant, most of her family is involved in the cotton trade, but her father was a bonesetter and taught her the art, much to the dismay of her mother and grandmother, who hoped she would marry a nice Arab man and start a family. Hanna truly has a gift for bonesetting and will not give up her practice, therefore she believes marriage and a family are not a part of her future. Her attraction to Griff is inconvenient and impossible, even if he wanted to marry her, her family would never approve. But that doesn’t stop her from helping him solve the mystery of who murdered his parents and why.

Almost as soon as they start digging into the past, ugly truths begin to emerge and everything Griff has been told seems to be lies. Add to this, his former guardian seeming to have a vendetta against Hanna, and a secret he has kept for years coming out and forcing him to offer marriage to save a friend’s honor. All of these combined seem to ensure that there is no possibility for a HEA with the woman he has come to love.

This was a well-written, fast-paced story with wonderful characters and a fresh and original plot. The book is filled with secrets, lies, betrayal, murder, interesting facts on bonesetting, class/station differences, prejudice, warm love scenes, help from unexpected sources, and finally a HEA that seemed impossible. This book achieved the perfect balance of mystery and romance, with neither aspect overpowering or detracting from the other, resulting in a well-balanced and gripping read. There were some typos and title errors, but this was an uncorrected proof, so those errors may be corrected before publication. This is the second book in the series, but it can be read as a standalone title with no problems.

*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 Marquess Method by Kathleen Ayers

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

The Marquess Method (The Beautiful Barringtons, #3)The Marquess Method by Kathleen Ayers

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Beautiful Barringtons, #3

Release Date: July 20, 2021

Desperate to win the affections of the Earl of Blythe, Lady Theodosia “Theo” Barrington, sister to the Duke of Averell, paints a very risque miniature of herself as a gift to the earl – but has second thoughts about giving it to him and tries to retrieve it before he can find it, but when she enters his study – it is nowhere to be found, but she is not alone, the Marquess of Haven, the last man Theo wants to see is there. A man she despises and the man she shared a passionate kiss with months ago, thinking he was Blythe.

Ambrose Collingwood, the Marquess of Haven is impoverished, thanks to his reckless, grieving late father, who gambled away his family’s fortune, which included his sister’s dowry. But Haven doesn’t place all the blame on his father, he also blames Leo Murphy (Theo’s illegitimate brother) the owner of the pleasure club Elysium for not cutting off his father, even after Haven met with him and asked him to turn his father away. Murphy was unapologetic and even told Haven to find an heiress to marry. So he did – Murphy’s own sister! But much to his surprise, he actually likes Theo and while he has had plenty of opportunities to ruin her, he has held back. However, fate seems to have deemed it time, because he was in the study waiting for Blythe when Theo stormed in and threw herself at him trying to find the box he had taken from the chair – she had her hands under his jacket when Lady Blythe, the earl’s mother walked in.

To avoid another scandal, Theo knows she must marry Haven, but fights it tooth and nail – even though she finds him attractive and amusing – not that she would EVER admit that to another living soul. But by the time they marry, she has resigned herself to a life with him, and after an amazing wedding night, she is feeling optimistic, that is until he says something incredibly insulting and causes a rift that he will have to do some spectacular groveling to win her back. In the meantime, Theo is a bit overwhelmed by the magnitude of the work that needs doing at his estate but is willing to give it her best. She immediately makes friends with his sister but is a bit wary of his uncle – who is a drunk, but who Haven feels obligated to. Haven admits he has fallen hard for Theo and will do whatever is necessary to win her back, he knows he has to tell her the truth, but will she understand and forgive him or will she be lost to him forever?

This was a well-written, well-paced, amazing story that held my attention from the first page until the very last word and left me wanting more! The book has likable characters, witty banter, steamyish love scenes, secrets, lies, a twist or two that keep things interesting, surprising revelations, and finally a sigh-worthy HEA. I did find Theo a little annoying at the beginning, but she won me over long before the end of the book and I ended up loving her, and Haven had me in his corner from the first scene. This is the 3rd book in the series, but it can easily be read as a standalone title. I am happy to recommend this title, I have not read the two previous books, but I am hooked and will definitely be checking them out ASAP!

*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.*