Category: Tracy’s Reviews

Scandalous Ever After by Theresa Romain

On By TracyIn Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's Reviews1 Comment

Scandalous Ever After (Romance of the Turf)Scandalous Ever After by Theresa Romain

Release Date: 7/4/17
Series: Romance of the Turf, #2

Tracy’s rating: 3 of 5 stars

Maybe 3.5 stars

Kate, the Countess of Whelan and Evan Rhys have a history. Evan has been in love with Kate since the day he met her – as the bride of his best friend. The three of them shared a deep friendship – but all that changed when Kate’s husband Con died in a racing accident.

Evan left shortly before Con died, after they had a heated agreement. Evan finally gave in to his anger of the way Con treated Kate and his responsibilities. He left never intending to return.

Two years later, Kate is back in England trying to secure a loan to pay off her late husband’s debts and to save her son’s legacy. She learns that Evan is lecturing not far from her families home and she seeks him out. Evan has been fighting depression his entire life and Kate seems to be the only person that keeps the “gray” from consuming him. He has stayed away for the last two years because he feels unworthy and guilty. But seeing Kate again smashes all his reasons for staying away. He has been trying to find the source of forgeries used to smuggle and Kate’s appearance is the perfect excuse to return to Ireland.

They try to pick up their friendship where they left off, but there are things that need to be said and feelings that need to be explored. When they take their relationship to the next level, Kate immediately regrets it – even though she instigated the interlude. Kate wants things with Evan to be like they were and can’t understand his withdrawal from her.

They return to Ireland and begin to investigate the forgeries and their feelings for each other. Each of them learns some hard truths and begin to come to terms with the changes between them.

When Evan’s life is in peril – Kate finally acknowledges her true feelings and lets go of her fears and past hurts.

I liked the story, but I didn’t love it. The writing felt a bit disjointed and was at times confusing to follow. Although, I was impressed with the author’s portrayal of Evan – his unrequited love for Kate, his guilt over Con, his struggle with depression and his refusal to accept a half-life with Kate – it was really well done and completely believable.

All in all a decent read and I would be happy to recommend it to others.

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

Three Weeks with a Princess by Vanessa Kelly

On By TracyIn Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's Reviews1 Comment

Three Weeks with a Princess (The Improper Princesses, #2)Three Weeks with a Princess by Vanessa Kelly
Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Improper Princesses, #2

Release Date: 6/27/17

Jack, the new Marquess of Lendale is Lia Kincaid’s oldest and dearest friend. Lia is the granddaughter of the previous Marquess’ mistress and the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of York. She lives with her grandmother in Bluebell Cottage on Jack’s estate, Stonefell.

Since the passing of his uncle, Jack has made some shocking discoveries, the main one being the ghastly state of the estates finances. He has no idea how he is going to be able to support the estate, let alone Lia and her grandmother. Jack has loved Lia for as long as he can remember, in a strictly platonic way, but seeing her again after so long, he begins to realize that Lia is no longer a little girl and is horrified by the lust he feels for her.

When Lia realizes that Jack is not in a position to support them any longer, she hatches a plan. She will move to London with her mother and become an actress – the only problem with her plan is that she can’t sing, dance or act. Her grandmother suggests that she become a courtesan and Jack is adamantly opposed to this plan – he assures Lia that he will always take care of them.

Lia loves Jack and doesn’t want to burden him, so she slips off to London without telling him. Lia knows that Jack will have to marry a rich woman to save the estate and knows that she and her grandmother will only cause him grief. When she arrives in London, she realizes her options are limited and being a courtesan might be the only thing she is qualified to do.

When Jack finally tracks her down, Lia learns that she has an extended family that she never knew about. Chloe, Dominick, Charles and Gillian all welcome Lia with open arms and tell her they will help her find a husband, by launching her into society. Again Jack is not happy with this plan, Lia is his responsibility and he wants her to go back to Stonefell.

Lia is still certain that she will have to become a courtesan and as much as she appreciates her new family, she continues to pursue her original plan and ends up needing to be rescued more than once. After one such rescue, Jack and Lia share a passionate encounter and Jack declares that they will marry. Lia knows that marrying Jack will ruin him and refuses – but they make a bargain, three weeks to either come to an agreement or Jack will help her find a protector.

What could possibly go wrong?

This is a wonderful addition to the Improper Princesses series! It is well written, flows nicely, has a lot of twists and turns, some laugh out loud moments, some tense moments and some very thought provoking scenes, it is not as steamy as most of the other books in the series, but the love scenes are on the warmer side. This is the second book in the series, but it could be read as a stand alone – however to truly appreciate Gillian’s role in this book, you should read the previous book, My Fair Princess.

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