Category: Tracy’s Reviews

Tempt Me with Diamonds by Jane Feather

On By TracyIn Edwardian Age (1901-1910), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Tempt Me with DiamondsTempt Me with Diamonds by Jane Feather
Tracy’s rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: London Jewels, #1

Release Date: January 29, 2019

Diana Somerville and Rupert Lacey have a past, and that is exactly where Diana would like to keep things between them – in the past. She arrives home from South Africa after losing both her brother and father to find that her former fiancée is living in her family home. She learns that her brother Jem named Rupert his heir and now owns half of the Somerville estate, including shares in a diamond mine, properties in England and a race horse.

Rupert didn’t expect Diana would be overjoyed to learn that he was now going to be a permanent fixture in her life, but he is still a little surprised how angry she is. He refuses her offer to buy him out and refuses to leave the house. He says that they were engaged when she left for South Africa and never told anyone she broke with him, so they will live together as husband and wife to prevent scandal. Secretly, Rupert hopes his close proximity and forced cohabitation, will rekindle their love.

Diana is beyond furious and feels betrayed by her brother. She is unhappy and she won’t make this transition easy for Rupert, nor will she forgive him for not fighting for them, when she broke their engagement. Is their love still alive? Can they both move beyond the hurts of the past or is their reunion doomed?

I really wanted to love this story, but a confusing timeline, a “I hate you / I want you” relationship and a just plain spoiled and nasty heroine ruined the book for me. It is well written, has steamy love scenes and Rupert, while far from perfect, is a mostly likable hero. But I just couldn’t get past Diana’s attitude and her underhandedness, I understood her anger and even accepted that she might feel betrayed, but instead of empathizing, I found myself thinking she was being unreasonable and childish. There were also some storylines that felt like they were dropped (however, this is the first book in the series and those things might be mentioned or resolved in future books), I am also relatively sure the ending couldn’t have happened the way it was written, because of Lord Brougham’s “Cooling Off” Act of 1856 and this book is set in 1902.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

The Uncompromising Lord Flint by Virginia Heath #BlogTour, #Giveaway

On By TracyIn Blog Tour, Contests/Giveaways, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's Reviews1 Comment

 

the uncompromising lord flint
The Uncompromising Lord Flint

Imprisoned by her past- Set free by her enemy!
Charged with high treason, Lady Jessamine Fane is under the watchful eye of icily calm Peter, Lord Flint. It’s a task this spy won’t be swayed from, no matter how alluring his prisoner! Only it’s not long before Flint realises that tenacious Jess hides a lifetime of pain. With so much at stake, can he afford to take a chance on their powerful attraction?

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Author Bio

the unc -virginia(10) small

When Virginia Heath was a little girl it took her ages to fall asleep, so she made up stories in her head to help pass the time while she was staring at the ceiling. As she got older, the stories became more complicated, sometimes taking weeks to get to the happy ending. Then one day, she decided to embrace the insomnia and start writing them down. Despite that, it still takes her forever to fall asleep.
Social Media Links: Facebook ~ Twitter

Giveaway

 Win 2 x e-copies of The Uncompromising Lord Flint (Open INT)
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data. I am not responsible for dispatch or delivery of the prize.
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Tracy’s Review

The Uncompromising Lord Flint (The King's Elite #2)The Uncompromising Lord Flint by Virginia Heath

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The King’s Elite, #2

Release Date: December 27, 2018

Lady Jessamine “Jess” Fane has been captured and is being taken to London to face charges of treason. Her capture is a break for the King’s Elite who have been investigating the smuggling ring she is purported to be part of, she has been placed into the custody of one of the Elite’s best agents, Peter, Baron Flint.

Peter is immediately attracted to Jess, but a sad past history with female prisoners puts him on high alert from the start. He doesn’t want to feel sorry for her, he just wants to get her to London and be done with her. But Jess is not going to make it easy, she fights tooth and nail against incarceration and manages to escape more than once. She doesn’t trust anyone and has a very sad and horrifying past of her own. But Peter is the first person she can ever remember being kind to her. She has to decide if she can trust him with her secrets or should she hold her information close in case her mother’s lover Comte Saint-Aubin finds her. She is torn, she wants to make amends by revealing her knowledge to Peter, but knows that Saint-Aubin will track her to the ends of the earth and that she will never survive his “punishment”.

Things take a turn when Jess reveals that Saint-Aubin is following them, Peter feels protective of her and changes the plan. Instead of London, he takes her to his home and leaks false information to throw Saint-Aubin off their trail. Once in his home, Jess meets his mother and sisters (who provide much needed lightness to the story) and slowly Jess comes to trust Peter. And Peter decides to follow his heart to save the woman he realizes he loves. But despite the best laid plans, Saint-Aubin finds them and they will both have decisions to make, decisions that may ultimately cost them the chance for a HEA.

I really enjoyed this book, it is well written, flows nicely, has a lot of action, some witty banter, lots of secrets, a bit of “tomfoolery”, a cringe-worthy villain and wonderful secondary characters. My heart broke for the pain and suffering Jess endured and I fervently hoped she would get her HEA. The author is English and the spelling and turn of phrase might be a little confusing for American readers, but as my mother is English, nothing seemed out of the norm to me 🙂 There were a few phrases that were decidedly not Regency era and a couple of times when characters with titles were introduced incorrectly, but they were minor and didn’t impact the story. All in all, this was an amazing, emotional book and I would happily recommend it. It is the second book in the series, but it can absolutely be read as a stand-alone title with no problem at all.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me*