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

Eliza and the Duke by Harper St. George

On By TracyIn America's Gilded Age (1870-1900), Part of a Series, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Eliza and the Duke (The Doves of New York, #2)Eliza and the Duke by Harper St. George

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Doves of New York, #2

Release Date: June 24, 2025

In order to claim an enormous inheritance, Eliza Dove must marry and marry well, and it appears that she has succeeded as she is betrothed to Viscount Mainwaring and has plans to marry when he returns from the Continent. Until then, she just has to play the part of a gently breed heiress and stay out of trouble – too bad trouble is a call that Eliza always takes. And trouble this time comes in the form of Simon Cavell, the manager of The Montague Club and prize fighter. But in Eliza’s defense, she didn’t mean to meet Simon, she just wanted a peek of the Club and happened to find him in the servant’s hall. He had just returned from a fight and clearly needed help; help she was more than willing to give. While tending his injuries, she learns an interesting tidbit about her erstwhile fiancé and decides that she too needs an adventure and who better to give it to her than Simon aka The Duke? What they never planned on was falling hopelessly in love, with “hopelessly” being the operative word – since there is no way her father would ever approve of Simon, and if she marries without her father’s approval, she will lose her inheritance.

Simon Cavell was born and raised in White Chapel and has worked hard and fought ever harder to get away from that life. But walking away hasn’t been easy and even though it seems he’s out, his former boss Brody still has control over him, making it impossible for him to plan for a future. A future that he knows he can never hope to have with Eliza. But Fate has other plans for him and despite Simon’s intent to stay as far away from Eliza as he can, their paths keep crossing and she refuses to let him ignore her. Finally, when their HEA seems possible, it becomes clear that his past isn’t quite done with him.

I really enjoyed this story, Eliza and Simon are wonderful characters and felt their connection immediately. They were both of them were raised outside of high society, and they each have their secrets, but it is clear they are meant to be. This book has a lot of emotion, danger, secrets, lots of longing, some steamy love scenes, sacrifices, more danger and finally, a hard-won HEA complete with an epilogue (as well as some very interesting author notes). That said, the story did drag a little bit in the middle, but it finishes in a spectacular fashion and sets up an intriguing introduction to the next book featuring Jenny Dove and Lord David, that has me counting the days until it is released! Overall, a very good read and definitely recommended. This is the second book in the series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title with no problems.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

A Daughter’s Guide to Mothers and Murder by Dianne Freeman

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

A Daughter's Guide to Mothers and Murder (A Countess of Harleigh Mystery, #8)Barbara’s rating: 3.7 out of 5 Stars
Series: Countess of Harleigh Mystery #8
Publication Date: 6/24/25
Period: Victorian – Paris
Number of Pages: 304

George and Frances Hazelton are back in Paris to enjoy their interrupted honeymoon and to refresh themselves after solving a murder in Deauville. Goodness, a lot is going on in Paris – the Exposition that we thoroughly explored in the last book, and the Olympics that we learn a bit about in this book. So many people – so many potential victims. 😊

As Frances and George enjoy their time together, Frances is approached by a frenemy, Alicia Stoke-Whitey, who seeks Frances’s assistance in investigating Carlson Deaver, who is trying to court her daughter. At the same time, George is approached by Inspector Daniel Cadieux, from the Sûreté, to assist them in following up on new leads in an old murder case. Are the cases related – you bet! 😊 The new clue is to the year-old murder of Isabelle Deaver, wife of Carlson Deaver – and the person who provided the clue is none other than the famous actress, Sarah Bernhardt.

The mystery is excellently done with twists, turns, and red herrings galore. While we are all down a rabbit hole with several clues, another murder happens. Can that one be related to the first murder? More suspects, more clues, and Frances and George have to unravel it all – and they do it with a surprising ending.

I thoroughly enjoyed all of the supporting characters in the book, especially the close friends and family of George and Frances. Frances’s mother was particularly enjoyable in this book and quite different from previous books. What I did not enjoy was the amount of infidelity in the book. It almost seemed as if every male character was unfaithful. It got to the point where I read a new male character’s name and started looking for where it would be mentioned that he was unfaithful. It was too much! I was waiting for George to be accused of being unfaithful. I didn’t enjoy all the infidelity, and hope it isn’t a trend. One unfaithful character (male or female) is enough for any book.

If you enjoy an excellent mystery with a set of clues that twist and turn, then set it all upside down, you will enjoy this book.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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