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

Tempting Fate by Kerrigan Byrne

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Tempting Fate (Goode Girls, #4)Tempting Fate by Kerrigan Byrne

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Goode Girls, #4

Release Date: May 11, 2021

Upon the death of her parents, Felicity Goode learns that her father made her his sole heir, but has placed stipulations on her inheritance – she must marry into the nobility – nothing less than a Viscount will do and if she fails, then she will be left with nothing. Of all the Goode sisters, Felicity is the only one that can actually claim to be a “good girl”. Studious and prone to panic attacks, she is nothing like her twin Mercy or her older sisters Pru and Nora, who have all married and are all happy and in love. Felicity has secretly longed for romance, but doesn’t believe she will be as lucky as her sisters, so she will re-enter society and consider marriage to a titled man – but just the thought of society makes her break out in a cold sweat. And if that wasn’t enough, someone is threatening her and even went as far as to accost her on the street! Not wanting to bother her family, she has decided to hire a personal guard to protect her, a prospect that is almost as upsetting as re-entering society. But when she runs into Gareth Severand in her courtyard – she knows she has found the perfect man for the job!

Gareth Severand is actually Gabriel Sauvageau, a ruthless gangster and former leader of the Fauve gang. He and his brother Raphael have given up the life and “died” after the incidences last year involving the Goode sisters. In fact, his brother Raphael “Remy” eloped with Felicity’s twin Mercy and is currently waiting for Gabriel to join them abroad. Gabriel, who was horribly disfigured in his youth, stayed behind to have Titus perform reconstructive surgery on his face and after a year of surgeries and healing, he is ready to go – but he can’t resist one more glimpse of the woman who captured his heart and when he learns that someone has threatened her, he agrees to protect her, thinking that his former nemesis is responsible – but never reveals his true identity.

As they spend time together and Gabriel tries to figure out who is behind the threats – Felicity begins to fall for her scarred protector, but when her sister and Remy return unexpectedly – Gabriel’s secret is revealed and the connection he formed with Felicity may be irreparably damaged, but he can’t leave until he knows she is safe and unfortunately, he is no closer to finding out who is trying to harm her or why than the day she hired him.

OMG – I loved this book – LOVED. IT. I’m going to go as far as to say, this is the best book I have read this year! It is a well-written, nicely-paced story that is practically perfect. I have always loved Ms. Byrne’s antiheroes and this features the perfect antihero in the form of Gabriel, it is impossible not to fall in love with him. This story is a perfect recreation of Beauty and the Beast; it has secrets, steamy love scenes, some pretty graphic fight scenes, a shocking twist, and some eye-popping revelations, a make-you-cry declaration scene, and heart-lifting HEA complete with an epilogue. This the fourth book in the series and could be read as a standalone title – but the books are closely connected and I would recommend reading the series in order for the best reader experience. I really loved this book and can’t recommend it highly enough – Read it, you can thank me later 😊.

*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. *

Entrancing The Earl by Patricia Rice

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Entrancing the Earl (School of Magic, #5)Entrancing the Earl by Patricia Rice
Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: School of Magic
Publication Date: 5/18/21
Period: Victorian
Number of Pages: 300

As a through-and-through, logical, unemotional Ives male, Gerard, Earl of Ives and Wystan, avoids Wystan Castle as much as he possibly can. Why? Well, because it is filled to the brim with those lovely but pesky Malcolm women who like to manage him. It is his responsibility to care for and provide for the dears, but his coffers are all but drained and he has absolutely no idea how he’ll manage to keep the castle and lands going. If only he could find the treasure that the voice from the old Roman coin keeps talking about, he could do the necessary repairs and preserve Wystan – but if he can’t … Maybe he should just find an heiress to marry. He could do that – as long as she isn’t a Malcolm – he couldn’t do that. He just isn’t ready for marriage yet and since his father isn’t pushing him – well – he can wait.

Lady Iona Malcolm Ross and her twin sister Isobel have fled Craigmore, their home in Scotland because their debauched and evil step-father has usurped the title Earl of Craigmore. That title rightly belongs to Iona, but since she is a young female, nobody questions him. He has gone through all of their funds and is now planning to sell Iona to an American who wants a title. That American has more money than sense and has absolutely no idea how their Scottish title works. The American thinks he is buying a title for himself. Iona and Isobel have assumed new names and are well hidden within different Malcolm households – they should be safe. They were, safe that is, until their nasty step-father – using the American’s money – goes public with a tale of woe about his daughters having run away and offering a large reward for anybody finding them.

I always love all of the quirky ‘talents’ that manifest themselves in the Malcolms. Iona’s talent is that she talks to bees. That might not sound like much of a talent – but when it is needed to save the day – well – we find it might be more valuable than we realized.

The Malcolm I most appreciated in this book was Gerard. Poor man – can you imagine how conflicted he is? Yes – he is both a Malcolm and an Ives – and that pretty much puts him at war within himself. His logical, scientific, Ives mind absolutely cannot fathom that he has a voice talking to him in his head – so he often thinks he must be insane. Can he come to accept and embrace his Malcolm gifts as well as his Ives brilliance?

I really enjoyed Gerard! His conflicts within himself are really well done. Iona, on the other hand, wasn’t my favorite Malcolm. I loved that she calmed Gerard and seemed to amplify and focus his emerging gifts – but I just didn’t love her personally. She was strong and independent but didn’t trust anybody and I can understand that given her life over the last few years. Still, she was much too headstrong and often put herself – and perhaps others – at risk. Even when she was presented with logical alternatives, she still went her own way without caring a whit about what her decisions did to others – particularly Gerard. So, I liked Iona – and I liked Iona and Gerard together – but I didn’t love Iona.

I can definitely recommend this book and this series. I hope you’ll give it a try and will love it as much as I did.

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