What the Lady Wants by Emma Orchard ~ BLOG TOUR

On By TracyIn Blog Tour, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

What The Lady Wants

EO_TCWLM_EBOOK-CVR

What the Lady Wants

Autumn, 1816…

Lady Ashby is grieving the death of her beloved husband, just two years earlier. Although still young and beautiful, Isabella is resolved never to marry again, and plans to leave London, return to her parents’ Yorkshire house, and resign from society before the year is over. But first, she wants one more taste of life…

Isabella has written a list, the contents of which, if discovered, would create a scandal that neither she nor her family would recover from. A list of things she would like to experience, just once more, before she surrenders herself to the life of a widow. And she knows just the man to help her: her friend, handsome and honourable Captain Leo Winterton.

But Captain Winterton has a secret of his own. He is in love with Isabella – and when she makes her most improper proposal to him, he is powerless to resist her, even if she is resolved never to love again. Can he persuade her they are destined to be together? Or will their impropriety be discovered, to the ruin of both?

Purchase Link

Author Pic

Author Bio:

Emma was born in Salford and studied English Literature at the universities of Edinburgh and York. Her first job after graduating was as a Copy-Editor at Mills & Boon, where she met her husband in a classic enemies-to-lovers romance. Emma has worked behind the scenes in television and as a Literary Agent, and in 2020 started writing Georgette Heyer fan-fiction.

Social Media Links

Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Newsletter Sign Up ~ Bookbub

Tracy’s Review:

What the Lady Wants (The Runaway Heiress #3)What the Lady Wants by Emma Orchard

Tracy’s Rating: 3/3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Runaway Heiress, #3

Release Date: August 14, 2024

Isabella, the widow of Lord Ashby Mauleverer is out of mourning for her beloved Ashby and preparing to retire from society, but before she does, she wants one last adventure and has made a list of things she wants to accomplish – a list that could ruin her. To complete her list, she will need help and has decided that Captain Leo Winterton is the perfect man for the job! Isabella has no desire to remarry nor fall in love, but she isn’t quite ready to wither away, and despite her grief, she longs for a connection and hopes that Leo can be that man.

Captain Leo Winterton has been in love with Isabella for years, but she was happily married, so he suffered his unrequited love in silence. But when Isabella approached him with her request for his help with her “list”, he is torn between the opportunity to finally be with the woman he has loved from afar and his sense of propriety. He also knows that he could be setting himself up for further heartbreak as Isabella has made it clear that love and marriage will play no part in her future. Will he risk his heart for the chance to change her mind?

This was an interesting story, not quite what I was expecting, as it was more emotional that I thought it would be. Isabella’s journey to let go of the grief of losing her beloved Ashby and finding herself was the focus of this book. Which is fine, but it does seem to make the romance seem like a secondary plot point, rather than the primary story. This book is full of emotion, self-discovery, unrequited love, a bit of steam, wonderful secondary characters, a bit of angst, a second chance at love, and finally a HEA. Overall, I liked this story, but not quite as much as the previous books and I while I would recommend this title, I don’t think I would read it again. This is the third book in the series, but it could be read as a standalone title with no problems.

3, maybe 3.5 stars

*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. *

What The Lady Wants Full Tour Banner

Miss Morton and the Deadly Inheritance by Catherine Lloyd

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Miss Morton and the Deadly Inheritance (A Miss Morton Mystery Book 3)

Barbara’s rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Series: Miss Morton Mysteries #3
Publication Date: 8/20/24
Period: Victorian London – 1838
Number of Pages: 275

After the suicide of her spendthrift father, Lady Caroline Morton found herself orphaned, penniless, homeless, and with the care of her much younger sister. What is an intelligent, vibrant, and intrepid young lady to do in such a situation? She found herself a position as companion to an equally intelligent, intrepid, and boisterous woman. Mrs. Frogerton, a rich as Croesus mill owner, wanted Caroline’s help with guiding her daughter, Miss Dorothy Frogerton, through a London season with the hopes of landing an acceptable husband. Dorothy, you see, wanted a titled gentleman. Since Lady Caroline, as the daughter of an earl, had the manners and contacts to see they received invitations to all of the right events, it was a match made in heaven. Little did they know – they both had a knack for solving crimes – particularly murders!

This book finds us toward the end of the season when Dorothy decides on a beau who clearly seems to care about her. That means there are many things for Lady Caroline to worry about – the wedding, her sister, and what she will do after her employment with Mrs. Frogerton ends and Dorothy is married. She doesn’t need any more worries, so she ignores the first letter from their family solicitor. So what if her father had made a second will? There were NO assets, none, even their doweries were gone, so what difference could a second will make? Evidently, someone thought it made a lot of difference because people began to die, the will disappeared from the Lawyer’s office, and Lady Caroline was attacked and threatened. Who could possibly be interested in that second will? Now that it has disappeared, maybe things will just quiet down and go back to normal. Or not!

I have always liked romance in my mysteries, and so far, this series has none. We have some characters who could be potential suitors, but none who seem to stir Lady Caroline’s blood. We have Dr. Harris who has been in all three books, but I don’t care much for him – at least not for Caroline. Then there is Inspector Ross who chose to work at Scotland Yard much to the objections of his titled family. We were introduced to another potential suitor in this book – Mr. Samuel Frogerton – son of Lady Caroline’s employer. I liked him and I could see a match there because he isn’t the typical doting sycophant – he challenges and discusses with Lady Caroline. We did rule out one potential suitor though. I just need some romance – and soon. 😊

I enjoyed this book and the mystery was good, but it just wasn’t my favorite. Lady Caroline seemed to be ‘less’ in this book – less decisive, less vibrant, less intelligent – just less. Then, in the middle of the story, a sub-plot popped up with Lady Caroline’s sister, and that sort of bogged things down. I’m sure it was to move things along in Caroline’s relationship with her sister, but everything just seemed to go on hold. So, while I enjoyed the book, I wouldn’t care to read it a second time. I will, however, look forward to the next book and hope Caroline is back to her full vibrance and that we get some romance.

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