Category: Tracy’s Reviews

The Defiant Wife by Jess Michaels

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

The Defiant Wife (The Three Mrs #2)The Defiant Wife by Jess Michaels
Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Three Mrs, #2

Release Date: April 13, 2021

Phillipa “Pippa” Montgomery thought she married for love, but soon she learns that her “husband”, Erasmus Montgomery is the father of her maid, Rosie’s baby. She follows him to London, only to learn that he was a bigamist, with two other wives and has been murdered! She teams up with Erasmus’s two other wives to clear their names and then gets another shock when she learns he is not dead, only to witness his jealous lover kill him. Unsure what his death means to her and his infant son, Pippa willingly accepts the help of Erasmus’ brother, Rhys, the Earl of Leighton, while trying to fight her attraction to him.

Rhys is horrified by Erasmus’s actions and vows to set everything to rights. He too fights his attraction to Pippa, as nothing can come of it, and being together would be a scandal. He tries to do the right thing by her and his nephew, traveling to Bath to settle his brother’s debts and to setup Pippa and the baby up in a house. But the more time they spend together, the deeper the attraction and they finally give in to it. Knowing a brief affair is all they can ever hope for. When it becomes clear that Bath is not going to be suitable, Rhys offers to set Pippa and the baby up in London – she accepts, but us clear, whatever happened between them must stay in Bath. Easier, said than done and when they learn that Rosie is still in England, Rhys cannot let Pippa deal with her alone. He knows that being together will cause a scandal – but rumors of Erasmus’ bigamy and death are already a scandal, so what difference will a bit more make? Now he just has to convince Pippa and hopefully do so before unstable Rosie turns up.

This was a well-written, nicely paced, steamyish book that picks up exactly where the previous book ended. Unlike the previous book that introduced us to all the players, this book was able to focus most of its attention on the relationship between Pippa and Rhys, which was great, but I did feel like they made a mountain out of a molehill about why they couldn’t be together and took a bit too long to realize that there was going to be a scandal no matter what they did. Overall, I enjoyed this story and am looking forward to the next installment.

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

The Last BookShop In London by Madeline Martin

On By TracyIn Historical Fiction, Tracy's Reviews, World War II Era (1939-1945)Leave a comment

The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War IIThe Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II by Madeline Martin

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: N/A

Release Date: April 6, 2021

When Grace Bennett moves to London with her best friend Vivienne “Viv” Bailey in August of 1939, there is no way she can even begin to imagine how much not only her life is about to change – but how much the world is about to change as well!

Grace arrives in London full of hopes and dreams, she and her friend Viv, rent rooms from her late mother’s widowed friend, Mrs. Weatherford, and her grown son Colin. While Grace had high hopes of becoming a shop girl at Harrod’s, she had no written references, she instead gets a job at Primrose Hill Books, a small bookshop owned by Mr. Evans, due to the help of Mrs. Weatherford and even gains the promise of a referral letter after six months. Grace is not pleased, she is not a reader and while she has basic shop knowledge from working for her uncle, she knows nothing about books, which is made clear on her first day. She arrives to work, the shop is a mess, cluttered and unorganized, Mr. Evans clearly doesn’t want an employee, and Grace feels hopeless when a customer asks for help finding a book, but things begin to look up when another customer, a man named George comes to her rescue, and even suggests a book for her to read. She leaves the shop a bit more hopeful, but that changes later that evening when the radio announces the mobilization of the fleet – a sure sign that war is coming.

This book is not my normal genre, but having read this author’s historical romances, I was sure I would find a well-written, well-researched story with a strong heroine and an interesting story – and I was not wrong, but I was not prepared to be sucked into the story and held captive the way I was! While reading this book, I experienced a complete array of emotions – shock, pain, heartbreak, loss, wonder, hope, and love – I felt Grace’s struggles, her fears, her disappointments, her hope, her horror, and her joys – I watched her find an escape in reading and happiness in sharing her newfound love of reading with others. I finished this book with a new respect for not only the men and women who served in the military and sacrificed so much but also for those who fought on the Homefront – who were separated from their children, who made do with meager rations, who supported each other and never gave up hope. I loved this book and am so glad I decided to give it a go, it was wonderful, and can’t recommend it highly enough.

*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. *