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

Tales of a Society Nothing by Shana Galen

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Tales of a Society Nothing (The Royal Saboteurs Book #5)Tales of a Society Nothing by Shana Galen

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Royal Saboteurs, #5

Release Date: November 14, 2023

After eighteen months of intense training with the Royal Saboteurs, Margaret Vaugh is finally given a mission, but instead of working with another agent, she is sent to London to track down a missing agent, who also happens to be her estranged husband, Ambrose Holyoake, Viscount Holyoake. She hopes to find him quickly and return to the farm. But when she does find him it is clear that she won’t be returning to the farm anytime soon, because Ambrose is gravely injured and his would-be assassin is still on the loose. Margaret has not seen or heard from Ambrose since she left three years ago, and seeing him now brings back all the feelings she thought she had buried because despite leaving him to pursue her dream of becoming an agent for the Royal Saboteurs, she never stopped loving him. In fact, love was never a problem between them, but while Margaret longed to be his partner in all things, Ambrose couldn’t seem to accept that she was capable of protecting herself and unwittingly held her back. Walking away from him was the hardest thing she had ever done and she isn’t sure she can do it again.

Ambrose Holyoake has loved Margaret “Maggie” for most of his life and it nearly killed him when she left, but he let her go because he knew he was holding her back and honestly didn’t know how to change or if he even could. He invites her to work with him to track down the man who tried to kill him because he is sure that it is tied to the case he was working on and that finding the assassin will lead them to the man threatening to kill the Prime Minister’s son. But old habits die hard and try as he might, he can’t seem to quelch his need to protect her, even when she proves that she can take care of herself and even save him. He knows that if he can’t find a way to let her be his equal, he will lose her and she won’t give him a third chance.

This was a perfectly executed novella, the writing is impeccable and the story never feels rushed or skimpy which is often the case with novellas. The backstory between Margaret and Ambrose is perfectly woven into the story without the use of the much dreaded “flashback” and gives the reader a good understanding of what drove the lovers apart and what is still keeping them apart. The book is filled with emotion, second chances, longing, action, steamyish love scenes, heartache, acceptance, and a happy ending that includes an epilogue. This novella is closely tied to and runs concurrently with the previous book Must Love Scoundrels and I would recommend reading at least that book before this one, however, all the books in this series can be read and enjoyed as standalone titles. Overall, I think this is my favorite installment of the series, which is saying something because all the books were great and I highly recommend reading the entire series!

*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.*

The Duke Starts a Scandal by Sophie Jordan

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The Duke Starts a Scandal (The Duke Hunt, #4)The Duke Starts a Scandal by Sophie Jordan

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Duke Hunt, #4

Release Date: October 24, 2023

Susanna Lockhart is the housekeeper for the Duke of Penning, and so far, it has been interesting, especially when the old duke died and his son, the new duke was deemed illegitimate, and a new duke and his son moved in. Everything was going great, but Susanna soon learns that he is an imposter, and now the newest new duke is less than pleased with her and makes it clear that he will be looking to replace her at some point, but first, he wants to throw a house party. The man is completely insufferable, arrogant, and much too handsome for her peace of mind. For eleven years, Susanna has kept a secret and has not had the slightest interest in any man, so why does this man affect her? It is clear that the primary purpose of his house party is to find a bride for himself and husbands for his two sisters, something that should make her happy, since she will be able to do her job and won’t have to interact with him, but for some reason irks her. Determined to prove herself, she sets out to impress the duke and his guests, but once the party is underway, Susanna’s past rears its ugly head and threatens to destroy everything she has worked so hard to accomplish.

Lucian Ross had no idea he was related to a duke, much less an heir! Lucian was raised as a gentleman, but upon the death of his father, he learned that his father had lost the family fortune to gambling and despite a job with the Home Office, his family was left penniless, forcing his mother to make some hard choices, choices that broke her. With his mother incapacitated, it falls on Lucian to care for her and his younger sisters. Thanks to a neighbor, Lucian finds an occupation that enables him to earn more than enough to support them all, but he is careful to make sure no one ever learns how exactly he makes his living. But once he learns of his elevation to the peerage, he knows that his past could destroy his sisters’ chances for good marriages, thus his desire to get them all married as soon as possible, and what better way to do that than to host a house party! But upon meeting Susanna, he has a problem, he wants her, badly. Since he would never take advantage of an employee and he is not sure he can resist her, so she will have to go, right after the house party. But a kiss changes everything and this duke may just cause his own scandal!

What a great end to the series! I will be honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book, especially when I learned his secret and found out he was looking for a bride, but I was wrong, I loved it! The entire book was a delight to read, and I LOVE how the villain is dealt with, OMG, I was actually laughing out loud! This book has secrets, class differences, blackmail, great secondary characters, meddling family members, steamy love scenes, a little heartache, a secondary romance, some amusing scenes, and finally a happily ever after that left me smiling. This is the fourth book in the series, and even though I highly recommend all the books in this series, this book 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.*