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 Designs of Lord Randolph Cavanaugh by Stephanie Laurens

On By TracyIn Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)2 Comments

The Designs of Lord Randolph Cavanaugh (The Cavanaughs, #1)The Designs of Lord Randolph Cavanaugh by Stephanie Laurens
Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Cavanaughs, #1

Release Date: April 24, 2018

Lord Randolph Cavanaugh aka Rand, the younger half-brother of Ryder Cavanaugh, Marquess of Raventhorne has carved out a life for himself as an investor. He is currently on his way to see William Throgmorton, an inventor with a project due in less than a month, whom he has not heard from in months. Throgmorton’s invention is the Throgmorton Steam-Powered Horseless Carriage. As the exhibition at Birmingham is going to be attended by Prince Albert, Rand wants to make sure the project is on schedule and ready for presentation – he has a lot invested in this venture and will do whatever is necessary to ensure Throgmorton’s success.

He arrives at Throgmorton Hall just as a loud explosion sounds, followed by the members of the house filing out and smoke escaping the opened door. He immediately offers his assistance to an older woman coming down the stairs, he settles the woman and then sees a young man being led from the house by an enraged young woman. A woman that makes Rand look twice…

Miss Felicia Throgmorton is not a fan of inventors, she has seen the carnage their obsession can produce and wants no part of it! When the explosion shakes the house, she immediately gets her staff and Cousin Flora out and then gets her brother, William John out. On the lawn she notices a stranger – a very handsome stranger with Flora. The man introduces himself and she sees her brother go pale. Rand asks to speak to their father and learns that he passed away months ago.

Concerned about his investment, Rand decides to stay for a few days and work with William John. He is attracted to Felicia, but has no time for a romance, this project is and will remain his first priority. But that doesn’t stop him from getting to know her a bit better. For her part, Felicia is shocked and angered by her brother’s deceit regarding the funds he received for the invention – Felicia now realized how imperative it is that the engine is a success. She grudgingly offers her assistance and is soon pulled into the thrill of the invention process.

But there are those that are not as excited at the prospect of Throgmorton’s success, who will do whatever is necessary to see the engine fail. Rand and Felicia will grow closer as they work together with her brother and each other to ensure the engine is ready for the exhibit and to thwart any attempts at sabotage. Along the way, they will find a love that neither was looking for, but soon realize has been exactly what was missing in their lives.

This book is classic Stephanie Laurens, it has all her signature elements, a strong, intelligent hero paired with an equally intelligent heroine, steamish love scenes, a dash of danger, a bit of intrigue, a soulmate type bond, a twist that changes everything and a wonderful cast of secondary characters. The book is a little wordy, but I kept turning pages to see what was going to happen next! I was fascinated by the invention process and I actually felt a little sorry for the villain. The epilogue perfectly set up the next book in the series without taking anything away from Felicia and Rand.

I happily recommend this book and am looking forward to Kit’s story!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher*

His Wicked Charm by Candace Camp

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

His Wicked Charm (The Mad Morelands, #6)His Wicked Charm by Candace Camp

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Mad Morelands #6
Publication Date: 3/27/18

This book is absolutely perfect! It begins with a wedding and ends with a wedding and sandwiched between is a kidnapping, a mystery, an unexpected villain, mysticism, jealousy, unwelcome suitors, paranormal powers, and a lovely romance. I cannot believe that I have missed the first five books in the series and I certainly intend to remedy that! I had no trouble reading and following the book without having read the others in the series.

Constantine (Con) Moreland is the son of a Duke and publicly portrays himself exactly as he is. He’s fun-loving, nice (very nice), appealing, humorous, irreverent, impulsive and feels that the rules, at best, are just guidelines. He’s also handsome as sin, never gets lost, and just doesn’t know what to make of Lilah Holcutt. With Con – what you see is what you get.

Lilah Holcutt is the exact opposite of Con. She follows the rules, abhors scandal, is ever the prim and proper miss, likes her feet planted firmly on the ground, – and maybe she’s a bit judgmental. She is NOT flamboyant, she doesn’t crave excitement and adventure and she isn’t driven by wild uncontrollable passion. She doesn’t like Con because he is a rule breaker and – well – he teases her and that makes her think that he doesn’t like her.

We begin our story with the wedding of Alex, Con’s twin brother, and Sabrina, Lilah’s best (and only) friend. Not long after the wedding festivities are over and the happy couple has left for their honeymoon trip, Lilah’s life is back to its normal, prim, proper and boring ways. Her very, very, very staid aunt and uncle are back to finding her a proper, appropriate husband. On a particularly boring day, Lilah remembers that she promised to loan Olivia (Con’s sister) a book and decides to take it over to her. When she arrives, she learns that Olivia is out with her mother and sisters and Lilah decides she’ll just leave the book – but – Con intercepts her. As they are speaking, they learn that Con’s mother and sisters have been kidnapped. Con dashes out to the location and Lilah insists on accompanying him. Chaos, pure chaos is the scene that greets them when they arrive at the location. The Duchess and her daughters and daughters-in-law have been kidnapped and there are no clues.

After some consultation with the family, Con and Lilah take off in pursuit of the kidnappers. Con has always had the unique ability – he doesn’t get lost – and always seems to know which direction he should go. That is certainly useful when trailing the kidnappers. Strangely, that ability seems to be stronger, more acute when Lilah is near him. Luckily, they find the duchess and the ladies with her and just as Con and Lilah are rescuing them – they rescue themselves.

That begins a story filled with more twists and turns than a knotted rope. Who was the real target of the kidnapping? Was it really the duchess? Was it Kyria? Was it Sabrina? Did the kidnappers miss their real target? Who was the villain? Was it Sir Jasper? Was it the Dearborn’s (again)? Was it somebody totally new? What key is the villain looking for? What does it open? Where could it be? Oh! What an exciting adventure. You’ll love the search and the discovery and you’ll absolutely love Con and Lilah finding their HEA. I adored Lilah’s growth as she discovers who she really is and what she values in life.

I highly recommend this book and I can assure you I’ll be catching up with the rest of the series very, very soon!

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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.”