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

Deadly Betrayal by Carla Simpson

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Deadly Betrayal (Angus Brodie and Mikaela Forsythe Murder Mystery Book 8)Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Series: Angus Brodie and Mikaela Forsythe #8
Publication Date: 6/4/24
Period: Victorian London
Number of Pages: 290

Non-stop action, a compelling mystery, bargains with the devil, emotional betrayal, and eye-opening relationships make this one of the best books of the series. You will probably figure out who is behind the murders early on, but that identity is less important to the story as a whole. Working through the who, how, and why is a journey that will nearly end both Mikaela and Brodie. Not only are their lives at risk but their personal relationship as well. Oh! Goodness – what a cliffhanger.

Angus Brodie left the Met under a cloud – we’ve read all about that in the previous books. In this book, that final case comes back to haunt him – big time. In that previous case, a young man was murdered. There was only one witness to that murder, and she quickly disappeared. Inspector Aberline blamed Brodie for her disappearance and threatened to bring charges against him – so Brodie resigned. Ten years later, the young woman has reappeared – and has been murdered. Are the cases related? Surely not if they are ten years apart.

Aberline has had a vendetta against Brodie for all those years, and now is his chance to get his revenge. He quickly declares Brodie as the young woman’s murderer and sets out to arrest him. Brodie quickly goes underground and Mikaela knows that the only way to save Brodie is to find the actual murderer. Brodie doesn’t want her anywhere near the case for many personal reasons aside from trying to protect her. However, when Brodie is arrested and nearly beaten to death, Mikaela makes a deal with the devil to save him. Brodie doesn’t appreciate that in the least and becomes even more surly – and when Mikaela’s life is endangered, it all comes to a head.

We had a lovely time with several supporting characters – especially Mikaela’s aunt. You will adore her – I wish I had an aunt like that! What I didn’t see – and sorely wished for – was some punishment or accountability for Aberline. However, it was totally silent in that regard. Is the Met going to let him do the things he did and get away with them? I mean – the way he conducted his visit to Mikaela’s aunt would normally be enough to see him drummed out of the Met. Apparently, unless there is something in the next book, Aberline will escape any punishment.

Normally, I am a big fan of Brodie, but I didn’t like him – at all – in this book. He is normally a big, broody, very protective Scot and I can understand and appreciate that. If you love someone, you want to protect them and keep them safe even though they are perfectly capable of protecting themselves. In this book, he isn’t protective, he is secretive, condescending, and downright mean and hateful. I understand what the author was going for, I didn’t like it, but I understood it. It is just that acting as he did in this book just didn’t seem to mesh with the Brodie I’d seen in the previous 7 books. I assume book 9 will bring resolution to the cliffhanger we are left with at the end of this book. I won’t mind seeing a contrite Brodie, but if he becomes one of those doormat heroes I see in so many tales lately, I won’t like him very well at all. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Sweet Obsession by Lana Williams

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A Sweet Obsession (The Mayfair Literary League Book 7)A Sweet Obsession by Lana Williams

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Mayfair Literary League, #7

Release Date: May 16, 2024

Three years ago, Lady Winifred Barnes was jilted by the man she thought she loved a week before her wedding and her dear friend Lord Caleb Godwin offered her a marriage of convenience to save her reputation. Winifred turned him down because she wanted a true marriage and as a result Caleb left England and journeyed to America. It wasn’t until after he left and they exchanged letters that Winifred realized her feeling for him had changed, but it was too late – or was it? When his brother dies in an accident, Caleb returns to England to assume the title and Winifred is waiting for him, but Caleb seems cold and distant. At the urging of her friends in the Mayfair Literary League, Winifred decides to be bold and tries to capture Caleb’s interest, despite the fact that her family expects her to enter into a marry of convenience with a man of their choice. But when a scheme to entrap her goes wrong, she finds herself betrothed to Caleb, but the journey to HEA won’t be easy when the man she loves thinks she only wanted his title and could never love him for himself.

Lord Caleb Godwin was the younger son of the Marquess of Montfort and never dreamed he would ever inherit, so when Winifred broke his heart by refusing his proposal, he set out to start a new life in America, determined to forget her and make something of himself away from his hyper-critical mother. But now he is back and confused as to why Winifred is seeking him out, she made her feelings clear years ago, so what could she possibly want with him now. He is tempted and is trying to convince himself that he no longer cares for her, but when he overhears a plan to compromise her, he rushes to warn her, only to be trapped himself. Now he will have to marry the woman who has the power to crush his heart if he lets himself get too close to her. So, while he will marry her and give her his name, he will never ever give her his heart. At least that is the plan…

I have mixed feelings about this book, I loved the idea of it, after all who doesn’t love a Second Chance / Friends to Lovers romance? I absolutely loved Winifred and wanted her to succeed at her turn to push the For Better or For Worse agenda, but dear God Caleb was a huge PITA – more than once I wanted to slap him and ask what the heck is wrong with you? I also questioned his mental and intellectual acuity as he seemed to forget that she wrote to him practically weekly for YEARS – yet kept harping that she only seemed interested in him once he inherited the title – What? Seriously, I had a Jenny/Forrest “Are you stupid or something” moment with him more than once throughout this book. Thankfully, he finally pulled his head out of his butt and realized that she wasn’t the title-monger he was trying to convince himself she was and let his guard down enough to confess his feelings before their relationship was completely destroyed. But OMG – it was a near thing. This book is filled with second chances, friendship, learning self-worth, a slow burn romance, acceptance, very mild love scenes, a stupid hero, a wonderful heroine, great secondary characters, a few villainous relatives, and finally a HEA that I wasn’t sure was going to happen! This is the seventh book in the series, but it 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. All opinions in this review are my own. *