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

A Lady’s Bargain with the Rogue by Melissa Oliver

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The Lady's Bargain With The Rogue (The Disreputable Marsden Brothers) (Mills & Boon Historical)The Lady’s Bargain With The Rogue (The Disreputable Marsden Brothers) by Melissa Oliver

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Disreputable Marsden Brothers, #1

Release Date: January 16, 2025

When her no-good husband dies, Elisabeth “Eliza” Carew (nee Bawden-Trebarr), Viscountess Ritton, learns the extent of his debts and the fact that he used Trebarr Castle, her family estate, to settle a debt to the infamous Sebastian Marsden, owner of the Trium Impiorum gaming hell. She goes to see him in an attempt to ask him to return her property and when that fails, asks him for time to get the money her husband owed him in exchange for the property. Eliza plans to find the family treasure and use the money to repay Sebastian and free her mother from the asylum her husband had her committed to. She never expected Sebastian to take an interest in her hunt or to help her and she certainly never expected to fall in love with him! But unless she can find the treasure, she doesn’t believe they could have a relationship, even if Sebastian tries to convince her otherwise. Will she find the treasure, or will she let her pride cost her the love of a lifetime?

Sebastian Marsden is the eldest son of the Earl of Harbury, he was raised to be the next Earl, but upon his father’s death, his uncle produced evidence that his father was a bigamist and that Sebastian, and his brothers were illegitimate. He claimed the earldom and tossed the brothers and their mother out without a second thought. Their mother passed away not long after their banishment, and they struggle to survive, but survive they do and the open a gambling hell catering to the ton, who have dubbed the brothers the Marsden Bastards. Sebastian has learned to be ruthless in his business dealings, so he can’t understand why Eliza Carew affects him so much that he agrees to let her have three weeks to repay her late husband’s debt or why he decides to help her on her quest to find the treasure, which may or may not be real. Soon he realizes that Eliza is the true treasure but getting her to see this turns out to be harder than finding her family’s lost treasure!

This was a well-written, nicely paced story with very likable characters and a treasure hunt. I loved the chemistry between Sebastian and Eliza, as well as the relationship between Sebastian and his brothers. The treasure hunt added a bit of intrigue to the story and left readers as eager to find it as Eliza was! This book has wonderful characters, a road trip, steamyish love scenes, a treasure hunt, and finally a happily ever after that seemed impossible. I did feel like the storyline regarding her mother was a missed opportunity and found its resolution a bit unbelievable, but overall, this was a very enjoyable read, and I am already looking forward to the next book! This is the first book in a new series, and I believe it is the author’s first foray into the Victorian romance genre, a genre I predict she will excel at as well as she did with her Medieval romances. I loved this book and would happily recommend it to my fellow HR readers!

*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 Tempest of Desire by Lorraine Heath

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A Tempest of Desire (Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James, #5)A Tempest of Desire by Lorraine Heath

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James, #5

Release Date: December 24, 2024

Needing some solitude, Oliver, Viscount Langdon, and heir to the Earl of Claybourne, has escaped to a private island off the coast of his family’s estate in Cornwall. Ever since he was involved in a railway accident, Oliver has suffered from nightmares and an inability to understand numbers, a disability that he has kept secret from everyone and is trying to come to terms with. Alone on the island, he can drink himself into oblivion and rage at the unfairness of it all. Tonight, a major storm has blown in and it fits his mood perfectly. When he goes out in the storm, he notices someone laying on the beach. Carefully, he brings the woman into his keep and realizes almost immediately who she is – Marlowe, London’s most infamous courtesan and exclusive mistress to the Earl of Hollingsworth, making her off limits. But time spent with Marlowe makes him want more and when he learns that her association with Hollingsworth is over, he will stop at nothing to make her his, but can he offer her what she truly wants?

Marlowe Tittering, known to all as simply “Marlowe”, never imagined she would be a courtesan, she grew up believing that she was the daughter of an earl and expected to marry well and have a family. But when her father disappeared, she and her mother learned the truth, her father was a fraud and left them with a mountain of debt. At first, she worked as a seamstress but was unable to earn enough money to support her mother and pay down her father’s debts. So, when the Earl of Hollingsworth made her an offer, she accepted and until now, she has never regretted that choice. Being Hollingsworth mistress helped her pay her father’s debts and gave her the means to pursue her true passion – ballooning. But when she learns from the papers that Hollingsworth is now engaged, she is upset and acts recklessly, by taking her balloon out with a storm on the horizon. Crashing into the ocean, she never dreamed she would wash up on the shores of the only man she has ever truly desired and the one man in London who seems immune to her charms. But there is much more to the viscount than she imagined and while she tries to save herself from heartache, she can’t help but wish for the impossible.

I have mixed feelings about this book, because while it is superbly written and has likable characters , I had a problem with Marlowe being someone’s mistress at the time of the story – not the fact that she was a mistress, just the fact that she was in a relationship with her protector while she was with Langdon and that he was friends with her protector. Later when they return to London and the situation changed, this became moot and I was better able to enjoy the book. Overall, this was a great story with lots of emotion, relatable characters, cameos from previous characters, understanding, secrets, compassion, steamy love scenes, some heartache and finally a very sweet ending complete with an epilogue. This is definitely not your typical, formulaic historical romance but is it certainly a book I would be happy to recommend. This is the fifth book in the series, but it almost reads like a spin-off and could easily be read as a standalone title.

*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. *