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

The Thieves of Winter Trilogy by Kirsten S. Blacketer

On By TracyIn Novella, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

The Thieves of WinterThe Thieves of Winter by Kirsten S. Blacketer
Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Thieves of Winter, Books 1 – 3

Release: July 2016

This is a great trio of novellas that are intertwined and all run concurrently. I averaged my rating for all three and came up with 3.75 stars, rounded up for the complete collection.

Jewel of Winter, Book 1 – Jessamine Watson is the widowed owner of an obscure inn that she runs with her sister Judith, her life is boring and predictable, that is until a group of men stop for the night. The leader of the group is arrogant and demanding, she isn’t happy about serving them – but when she overhears them talking, she is shocked – they are thieves! She is caught eavesdropping by Edmund, the Earl of Winterbourne and taken captive. He hides the jewels he stole on her person and she in turn hides them from him. She refuses to give them back and he takes her to London as his prisoner. Leaving the other two men with tasks – Simon will stay and find the jewels and Monty will follow the lead they uncovered to Scotland. He takes her back to his home and plans to seduce the location of his jewels from her – but the seducer ends up being seduced and will have to decide if he can trust her with his secrets and his heart. Very steamy, entertaining story that leaves the reader wanting more!

At Winter’s Demand, Book 2 – (This was my favorite of the three books) Simon is know far and wide as the Lord of Devil’s Acre – the infamous crime lord. He has known Edmund for years and is helping him locate his lost sister. But their plan hit a snag when a feisty innkeeper steals their leverage. Simon is left at the inn with Judith, who is demanding answers – when she gets none – she takes matters into her own hands. Simon might be the most feared man in London – but this is not London and Judith is not a simpering miss – she brings Simon to his knees – literally. He finds the jewels and plans to return to London, but Judith insists on going – he agrees and is tempted by her, but when he loses her at the train station and realizes the jewels are gone as well – he wonders if he has been played. He will leave no stone unturned in his search – someone is going to pay! He finally gets her back and they come to an understanding – it seems like they will have their own HEA – until reality hits him and he thinks she will be safer without him. Another steamy read with laugh out loud scenes, some violence and a HEA.

/Under Winter’s Control, Book 3 – Monty is a detective with Scotland Yard and for the last two years has been working as a bodyguard for his sister, Lady Katherine – unbeknownst to her – Katherine disappeared without a trace 6 months ago and Monty has been searching for her. He has loved her since the day he met her, but she is far above his station and he knows Edmund has plans for her – plans that do not include him. He follows a lead to Scotland and is shocked to find her working in a tavern and pretending to be a widow. Katherine left when she overheard her brother brokering a marriage for her – she has been in love with Monty since she met him and will not be married off with no say. When Monty finds her, she is being proposed to by a local Laird – she knows she is going to have to move on because he has gotten persistent, but not back to Edmund or London. She tries to seduce Monty, but he has too much respect for her and her brother. He forces her back to London. When they get back to her brother’s house, but he is not home. Later she realizes she has Monty’s billfold – she goes to see him and he sends her away again – she is accosted outside and he is ready to intervene, when he sees Simon’s men have taken care of her. She is reunited with Edmund and is surprised in the change in him. However when she overhears his plans for her future, she bolts. Monty goes to see Edmund and learns of his plans – he is furious and then they find out she is gone. He will move heaven and earth to find her – Edmund is upset and finally reveals the truth to Monty – he REAL plan – but is it too late? This was an interesting read, not as steamy as the previous two and not nearly as entertaining, but it was a good story and I enjoyed it.

I thought this was a very well done trilogy with a lot of twists and turns, steamy love scenes, amusing and tense moments and three HEAs – I would be happy to recommend this set and am looking forward to the next book in the series!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me*

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Blood is Blood by Will Thomas

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Victorian Era (1837-1901)1 Comment

Blood Is Blood: A Barker Llewelyn NovelBlood Is Blood: A Barker Llewelyn Novel by Will Thomas

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Barker and Llewelyn #9
Publication Date: 11/14/18

How in the world have I managed to miss this author and this series? This is basically the tenth book in the series because I think one of the others was a .5 book. I loved the characters of Barker and Llewelyn as well as the other members of the ensemble cast. The book is well plotted and well written and even has a bit of humor.

Cyrus Barker is a self-made man whose parents were missionaries. They died during a cholera epidemic in China when Cyrus was still young. This book didn’t spell out all of his history, but he made his fortune from captaining a merchant vessel that ran from Hokkaido to Singapore. Afterward, he started the Barker Enquiry Agency and has done remarkable well – often solving cases that Scotland Yard can’t. He’s a gruff bear of a man that most folks walk on tiptoes around. Six years ago, his assistant was killed during an investigation and after winnowing through many applicants, he hired Thomas Llewelyn. That was a shock to everyone because Thomas definitely appeared to be the least qualified applicant.

I didn’t learn as much about Thomas Llewelyn in this book. Evidently, he had been a scholar and had a number of dead-end jobs and finally served eight months in prison for theft. This book doesn’t actually say, but I think he was convicted on a false accusation by a peer. Thomas seems to be a very good investigator who works on intuition and methodical investigation.

I liked the secondary characters in the series and would be interested in reading more about them. There is Jenkins, the alcoholic slacker who is their clerk; Mac who is their majordomo at their residence; Rebecca, a lovely widow, who is Llewelyn’s betrothed and Philippa, also a widow and in a relationship with Barker. Other recurring characters seem to be from Scotland Yard and a lawyer turned enquiry agent who works directly across from Barker’s agency.

The book begins with Llewelyn telling us – “I detest Mondays with all my soul. I always have.” That is a portent for his day! As he and Barker have settled into their shared office for the day’s work, Llewelyn hears something and feels a bit of a jolt. There had been an explosion at a nearby building a while back that had shaken their offices, and this felt much the same. Then, he is shocked to see Barker sink through the floor – followed by his desk, the file cabinet and ending with Llewelyn’s desk, chair and finally Llewellyn. The entire office floor and all of its contents had fallen down into the basement. Llewellyn had enough time to recognize what was happening and managed to get into his roll-top desk and pull the thing closed, so he wasn’t seriously injured. The same was not true for Barker. He was buried under six feet of all sorts of rubble, including his huge heavy desk. Barker’s worst injury seemed to be a shattered leg that would put him out of commission for quite some time. Thus, the investigation into the explosion falls directly and solely onto Llewellyn’s shoulders.

Obviously, someone wants to bring Barker and by association Llewelyn down. They don’t want to just cause problems, they want serious physical injury – maybe even death. So Llewelyn begins going over old cases where the perpetrators had threatened Barker and there were several of them. As Llewelyn investigates each of those cases, more and more things happen – not just to Llewelyn, but to those they hold dear. There are red herrings, twists, turns, and revelations before the final solution. It is a great mystery.

An additional wrench-in-the-works is the appearance of Barker’s estranged brother. Each had actually thought the other had died. Caleb Barker had gone to America (from China) when he was very young – maybe eighteen or so. He is Cyrus’ older brother. In his first appearance, Llewelyn thinks he has found a full-sized, living, breathing American cowboy. He was a full head taller than Llewelyn and was wearing a brown slicker, wide-brimmed hat, long mustache and he had a gun belt on his hip. It turns out that Caleb works for the Pinkerton Detective Agency in America. Even though he is Barker’s brother, neither Barker nor Llewelyn trusts him. Actually, I liked him and can’t wait to see what happened to him when he returned to America.

I love historical mysteries – they are my absolute favorite – but – I like romance in them as well. Is there a genre called historical romantic mysteries? Anyway, this book actually had Llewelyn and Rebecca’s wedding in it. I wonder how that will work out with future stories. I’d love to see both Rebecca and Philippa take roles in investigations in the future.

Some of Llewelyn’s thoughts that I thought were witty:
–“It is necessary to moderate the intake of sunlight between one’s lashes after imbibing freely the night before.”
–“One can sulk for an hour or so, but brooding can take days.”
–“It was the sound of a woman’s boots clicking in fury. Every man on earth is acquainted with the sound;”
–“Pie cannot fix everything, of course, but it has never ruined anything either.”
–“Could you translate that from American to English?”

I certainly recommend this book, but you should be aware that it is written in the first person.

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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”