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

An Earl to Remember by Stacy Reid

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An Earl to Remember (Unforgettable Love #2)An Earl to Remember by Stacy Reid

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Unforgettable Love, #2

Release Date: August 22, 2023

Things have not been easy for the Heyford girls since the death of their father, but Georgianna Heyford is determined to keep the sisters together in the family home and she has a plan. She loves to cook and has been hired to cater a party for the Earl of Stannis, the payment for the job will shore up the family’s finances for the next year, but more importantly, she hopes the partygoers will love her food and hire her for future events. The job is going well and she is excited, but all that changes when a chance encounter with the earl ends with Georgianna being fired and sent away without being paid. Humiliated and angry Georgianna returns home, but fate seems to be playing with her when days later the earl is found washed up on the beach of her village. She goes to her cousin’s office, where he was taken, and learns that he has no memory of who he is, she is going to tell them who he is when he burst out that he knows her – intimately. Horrified and furious, Georgianna claims that he is her husband. Her cousin is sure that his memory will eventually return and demands that she take him with her. She resists at first, but then a new plan forms. She is going to make the earl work off his debt to her. What could possibly go wrong?

Daniel Rutherford, the Earl of Stannis, can’t believe that he has married Georgianna, but he also knows she is the other thing familiar to him. He knows something this wrong, but with no options, he goes along with Georgianna’s story. Soon he finds himself falling into his new life, and falling for his new “wife”. But when his memory returns, he is furious and burning for vengeance. He plans to make Georgianna pay for her deception, but you know what they say about the best-laid plans…

This was a well-written, fun Victorian twist on the movie “Overboard”. I love that movie and thoroughly enjoyed Stacy Reid’s retelling. The book is filled with lies, secrets, an arrogant hero who gets taken down a few pegs, an enterprising heroine, laugh-out-loud moments, steamy love scenes, great secondary characters, cameos from previous protagonists, a bit of heartache, and finally a HEA complete with an epilogue. I feel like for the most part, the author stayed true to the original plot, however, I would have been happier if Georgianna had been a widow because Daniel’s actions after recalling his memories left me feeling like he hadn’t really changed from the man he was at the beginning of the book. This is the second book in the series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title. Overall, this was a fun retelling with its own twist and hints to the next story, I enjoyed the book and would 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. All opinions in this review are my own.*

Duke Seeks Bride by Christy Carlyle

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Duke Seeks Bride (Love on Holiday, #3)Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Series: Love on Holiday #3
Publication Date: 8/22/223
Period: 1896 – Victorian London & Ireland
Number of Pages: 362

This final book in the Love on Holiday series was a delightfully entertaining read from the ‘meet cute’ to the final sweet words of the epilogue. With endearing characters, low angst, and excellent writing, you just can’t go wrong. Just my kind of book!

Miss Evelyn (Evie) Graves comes from a noble, but estranged, family because her father chose to marry for love rather than status and title. Evie is employed as secretary to the Countess of Waverly and she is very proud of the work she does. While she longs to be a published author, she’ll continue to be the well-organized and efficient secretary she is paid to be. Maybe she’d like to attend one of those events she plans – sometime. Probably not. However, that was an exciting encounter she had with a handsome man in the garden at the event she’d planned for Lady Waverly. Ah well, she’ll never see him again – and doesn’t even know who he is.

Alexander Pierpont wasn’t meant to be the Duke. That job belonged to his older brother who died, and, now Alex is the Duke of Rennick. Everybody wants to be a duke – right? Not at all! Alex is now saddled with a crumbling estate that his father nearly bankrupted – and to add insult to injury – his father included a clause in his will that forces him to marry within six months or lose the only thing in the duchy that he cares about. Should he not marry on time, his beloved, unentailed, Irish castle, Ballymore, will go to his odious uncle instead.

Imagine Alex’s surprise when the woman he met in a garden months ago alights from a carriage that should have been carrying someone else. Alex hadn’t ever been able to forget that unknown lady – and now – here she was – at his castle. Evie had traveled to Ireland in place of her employer, but evidently, Alex hadn’t received the countess’s letter explaining her absence.

I loved Alex and Evie together. Their open, upfront caring for each other was endearing. They had things to overcome, but I loved that they were going to figure them out together.

I’ve read some reviews that mentioned the aunt and the uncle as being very ineffectual antagonists. I didn’t view them as the antagonists – I viewed Alex’s father as the antagonist – and – goodness, he was a foul piece of work even in death. Aunt Oona was selfish in that she wanted Alex to marry to save ‘her’ home, but I didn’t think of her as a real antagonist. Now, Uncle George could have been a pretty viable antagonist, but the author chose to take him in another direction. I liked that direction but felt sorry for him and wished the author had chosen to show more positive interactions between him and the family.

I recommend this book if you love a straightforward romance with little angst. I thoroughly enjoyed it because the characters were lovely, the writing was excellent, and I thought it was well-paced.

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

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