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

Enchanting the Duke by Lana Williams

On By TracyIn Christmas, Novella, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)1 Comment

Enchanting the DukeEnchanting the Duke by Lana Williams

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Seven Curses of London, #11

Release Date: December 17. 2020

Douglas Slade, the Duke of Rothbury has entered into a marriage of convenience with heiress Miss Eleanor Taylor, he needed her fortune and finds her pleasing, but expects that nothing in his well-ordered life will change. He was raised by his grandfather, who drummed into him that the estate always comes first and that his duty is to the dukedom, not himself. He has taken those lessons very seriously, so much so that he is known as the Dour Duke. But what he doesn’t know is that Eleanor has had a tendre for him for quite some time and she hopes that her marriage to Douglas will transform from a business arrangement to a love match.

After a few months of marriage, Eleanor is beginning to lose hope that Douglas will fall in love with her and it has begun to affect her usual cheery personality, she has even heard whispers of people calling her the Dour Duchess. She doesn’t know what to do, Douglas is polite but distant, he barely spends time with her and is always busy with the estate. She is ready to give up when they are invited to a house party at the home of the Duke and Duchess of Burbridge. She is surprised that Douglas agrees to go and hope is rekindled when they have to share a room.

Things are going well and Douglas is actually starting to loosen up a bit, and Eleanor is falling deeper in love. Douglas believes his grandfather might have been wrong and starts to envision a life with Eleanor as his partner – but a conversation with a friend of his father’s reminds him of the consequences of falling in love and causes him to close himself off completely. Eleanor has no idea what changed, but she is heartbroken and decides that she has to give up her dream of a love match. But will Douglas realize his mistake before he loses her forever?

This was a well written, fast-paced novella with really wonderful characters. I just loved this book, Eleanor and Douglas are perfect for each other and I loved watching them come together, the love scenes were a bit spicier than Ms. Williams normally writes (not complaining!) and the conflict was well done and the resolution believable. This is part of a series, but it can read as a standalone with no problems – however, if you have read the entire series, you are in for a real treat as the epilogue features the entire series cast and gives the reader a glimpse into their HEAs!

A Scandalous Portrait by Callie Hutton

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)2 Comments

A Scandalous Portrait (Rose Room Rogues, #)Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Rose Room Rogues #1
Publication Date: 12/15/20
Number of Pages: 195

I loved this delightful introduction to the Rose Room Rogues series. The characters are delightful and you’ll feel as if you’ve become good friends before the book is finished. As always with this author, the writing is excellent, the plot is tight and well-executed, and the epilogue is the perfect ending for the book.

The Rose Room is the most exclusive gambling hell in London – maybe even all of England – and it is owned by three brothers. Sebastian Rose (Hunt), the Earl of Huntington, isn’t exactly a silent partner, but he isn’t involved in the day-to-day running of the hell since that would reflect upon his title. Driscoll Rose is a mathematical genius who keeps the books and does the hiring for the club. Dante Rose is a by-blow who was fully acknowledged by his father and was raised alongside Hunt and Driscoll. Dante was always laid-back, cool, calm, and collected. He handled those delicate situations that were about to turn sour. Oh – and lest I forget – all three were also agents for the Crown.

Hunt has decided it is time for him to take a wife and set up his nursery, so he’s attending ton events in order to ‘inspect’ the current crop of debutantes on the marriage mart. His requirements are simple – right – she must be refined, biddable, and scandal-free. Her not being a chore to bed would also be desirable. He cannot bring scandal to his title or his lineage. However, all of the debutantes with whom he’s danced or spoken bore him to tears – he has not seen one with whom he thought he could spend the rest of his life.

Lady Diana Pemberton is the daughter of the Marquess of Rockingham. To Hunt, she’s also known as Lady Trouble because from their childhood forward, he’s always been rescuing her from one scrape or another. She has only just returned to London after being banished to Italy for a year because of a scandal in which she was involved. The scandal wasn’t her fault – but, being a female, she is the one who took the brunt of the censure. She’s an independent woman who has her own fortune and her own home separate from her father who lives days away in northern England. Lady Diana is everything that Hunt doesn’t want in a wife.

While attending a ball, Hunt is dismayed to see Lady Diana heading directly for him. Uh Oh! Lady Trouble needs rescuing again – he just knows it. Yes, that is it exactly – and when she tells him her tale, he can’t help but agree to assist her. Then, helping her leads to a case the Crown assigns him and they are thrown together more and more. She even saves him – but that causes consequences he’s happy with, but she isn’t sure she is.

I loved seeing Hunt come to realize that what he thought he wanted and what he really needed were two different things. Then, I loved watching him convince Diana that is what she wanted as well. Their growth together was a lovely thing to see and they really did suit each other perfectly.

I definitely recommend this lovely read and hope you 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.