Category: Victorian Era (1837-1901)

In the history of the United Kingdom, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria’s reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian period, and its later half overlaps with the first part of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe.
Preceded by: Regency era
Followed by: Edwardian era
Monarch: Victoria

Duke Gone Rogue by Christy Carlyle

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Duke Gone Rogue (Love on Holiday, #1)Duke Gone Rogue by Christy Carlyle

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Love on Holiday, #1

Release Date: December 28, 2021

Madeline Ravenwood and William Hart, the Duke of Ashmore met quite by chance in Lady Trenmere’s conservatory, when she witnessed his fiancée jilting him. The woman was angry at Will and threw her betrothal ring at him while telling him how heartless he is. Madeline tried to escape unseen, but Will stopped her. In just a few moments, Madeline came to the realization that the jilted man was not only the most handsome man she had ever met, and he is definitely not heartless. Too bad she is returning to Cornwall in the morning and would most likely never see him again.

Months later, Will’s sisters convince him to take a holiday to Carnwyth, one of the properties his father purchased and was known for wild parties. Will has spent every moment since his father’s death trying to uncover his father’s misdeeds and set them to right, it has given him a reputation as heartless and glum, not to mention has caused more than one noble to worry about what sins Will uncover and reveal about them. It was that digging that caused his fiancée to dump him. At first, he resists, not wanting to miss his youngest sister’s engagement ball, but when his sister Cora reveals that several of his former fiancée’s family and friends will be that it would be best if he was not around, he grudgingly agrees to leave. He arrives in Haven Cove and learns almost immediately that his sister didn’t tell him everything he need to know, such as Princess Beatrice was scheduled to visit the town and the arrival of a duke would not go unnoticed!

Madeline has been running her family’s nursery business ever since her father died, and she has all but given up on romance. She keeps herself busy with projects and committees, but her heart isn’t really in it, which makes her feel guilty like she is betraying her father. She has often thought of the man she met in London, so when she realizes that the Duke is that man, it sets her heart aflutter and the Princess’s visit gives her the perfect excuse to see him – his house has been neglected and is an eyesore, she needs him to tidy it up before the Princess arrives. But to her surprise, Will is not really willing to fix up the house, that is unless Maddie is willing to help.

This was a well-written, nicely-paced story with wonderful characters. The book doesn’t really have any angst and nothing is keeping our lovers apart, save themselves and their desire to see the other happy. For me, it was a delightfully light, uncomplicated read filled with great characters, instant attraction, kitten infestations, carousel rides, flowers, royal visits, well-meaning siblings, bunting, steamyish love scenes, and finally a very sweet ending complete with a HEA and an epilogue. This is the first book in a new series which I am happy to recommend and will impatiently await the next installment!.

*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.*

Gentleman Seeks Bride by Megan Frampton

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Gentleman Seeks Bride (Hazards of Dukes, #4)Barbara’s rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Series: Hazards of Dukes #4
Publication Date: 11/30/21
Number of Pages: 384

We met Lady Jane Chapel in the previous book in this series – and goodness – I think she had a personality transplant. What a difference two years can make. In that book, she was so meek, mild, and backward that her younger sister had to step in and save her from a very unwanted marriage. She mostly didn’t want the marriage because she was in love with someone else and they were secretly betrothed. That, of course, ended when her younger sister’s marriage caused a huge scandal. Somehow, after all of that chaos, she has grown a spine of steel, a will of iron, a longing for illicit events, and the temerity to state all of those things. The only part of her I recognized from the last book is how exceptionally beautiful she is.

Thomas Sharpe loves his family and will do whatever it takes to save them. Yes, they need saving. Thomas’s father lost all of his fortune because of a bad investment. I’m not sure why he’d invest money he couldn’t afford to lose – and certainly not enough to bankrupt them, but he did. The only way Thomas can save them is to marry an heiress who has enough money to support them all. He’s been looking for two years and hasn’t been successful because he is so very charming, witty, and handsome that none of the heiresses believe he’ll take a marriage commitment seriously. (I know, we all buy that one.)

Thomas is best friends with Jane’s illegitimate half-brother, Percy, but has spent very little time with Lady Jane who now lives with Percy. However, the two of them make a bargain – Jane will help Thomas find his bride IF Thomas will show her some of the more illicit things in society – those things she’d never normally be allowed to see. Of course, we all know where that is headed – toward a HEA – right!

The story blurb sounds good, doesn’t it? So, why didn’t I rate it 5-stars? While I generally enjoyed the story, there was a couple of things that just wore on me – but I will still read the next one.

• It was plainly and firmly established early on that Thomas had to save his family by marrying for money. Yet, we had to read it and re-read it and re-read it ad nauseum. Enough already.
• The writing often felt a bit choppy and repetitive.
• We heard over and over that Thomas was the most handsome and most charming man in London, yet I saw little of that exceptional charm demonstrated anywhere. He was charming and witty, but no more than anyone else.
• Many of the conversations and actions just had a very modern feel to me.
• It annoyed me that Thomas’s first thought to save his family was to marry for money instead of exploring all of the options that might have been available to him. His best friend is a whiz with numbers and accounting and works for the queen – so why wouldn’t Thomas seek advice from him? Why would Thomas not consider what sorts of other things he could do – especially since he was so very handsome and charming. Surely someone in his vast array of friends could offer some assistance. Thomas isn’t titled and it is the Victorian age – so – surely there was something else to at least consider.

This author is always hit-or-miss for me, so I always have to read the next book to see where it will fall. This book seems to fall into the ‘meh’ category, but the last one was a firm 5-star read. There is a fair amount of wit and steam in the book, so that isn’t ever a bad thing. Overall, I am happy to have met Thomas and Jane but wouldn’t read this book a second time.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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