Blog Tour – Winning Back His Duchess by Amanda McCabe

On By TracyIn Blog Tour, Part of a Series, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Winning Back His Duchess

Winning Back His Duchess

Wiining Back Cover

Escape to beautiful Venice for this Victorian marriage reunited story…

An invitation to Venice…

To save their marriage!

Suggesting divorce to her estranged husband, Jamie, Duke of Byson, takes all of Rose Wilkins’s courage. Years of distance and heartbreak have taken a toll—she needs a new start. But Jamie won’t hear of divorce, because of the scandal alone. His counteroffer is a trip to Venice… Might discovering Venice’s delights together rekindle the still-simmering desire that drew Rose to Jamie as a starry-eyed young American heiress?

Purchase Links:

US – UK

Winning Back - Amanda McCabe Author1
Author Bio:

Amanda wrote her first romance at the age of sixteen–a vast historical epic starring all her friends as the characters, written secretly during algebra class (and her parents wondered why math was not her strongest subject…)
She’s never since used algebra, but her books have been nominated for many awards, including the RITA Award, the Romantic Times BOOKReviews Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Booksellers Best, the National Readers Choice Award, and the Holt Medallion. She lives in Santa Fe with a Poodle, a cat, a wonderful husband, and a very and far too many books and royal memorabilia collections.
When not writing or reading, she loves taking dance classes, collecting cheesy travel souvenirs, and watching the Food Network–even though she doesn’t cook.

Social Media Links:

Facebook ~ Website ~ Instagram ~ Twitter

Tracy’s Review:

Winning Back His DuchessWinning Back His Duchess by Amanda McCabe

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars 

Series: Dollar Duchesses, #3

Release Date: March 29, 2022

If you have been following the series, you will recall that heiress Rose Wilkins and the youngest son of the Duke of Byson Lord James “Jamie” Grantley met, fell in love, and married in the first book. But three years later, Jamie is now the duke, and trouble in paradise has led to our lovers separating.

Rose was adrift after a miscarriage caused the loss of their baby and then lost Jamie to drink and his own dark world. After months apart, she has decided that it is time put the past behind her and move on. Rose is a celebrated beauty and loves the season, while Jamie is more studious and rarely attends events. After making her decision, Rose visits him and requests a divorce. But Jamie doesn’t want to end their marriage, he knows he hurt Rose and wants a chance to win her back. Rose agrees to wait and even agrees to visit his estate. It is there that they begin to heal from their loss and they begin to rekindle their love, leading Rose to wonder if they could have a future. But it isn’t until they travel to Italy and she is confronted by her past that she will learn the answer to her ponderance and find out if Jamie is worthy of her heart.

I liked this book, but I was confused by the vagueness of the timeline and the events that caused their separation. This story starts three years after they met, but the author makes it seem like they have been separated for a long time – anywhere from “many months” to “almost a year” – and then there is the loss of their baby – she was far enough along to know the sex of the baby and spent months mourning, before leaving Jamie – so it doesn’t seem like there was enough time for everything to happen. The book is very emotional and might trigger some readers, the characters are both hurting from not only the loss of their child but the loss of their relationship, and the journey back to each other is slow and has a healthy dose of angst before they find their HEA. Overall, this was a very touching, low heat story of second chances, hope, and love. This is the third book in the series, but it could be read as a standalone title with no problems.

*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.*

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The Marquess Makes His Move by Diana Quincy

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

The Marquess Makes His Move (Clandestine Affairs, #3)The Marquess Makes His Move by Diana Quincy

Tracy’s rating: 3.5/4 of 5 stars

Series: Clandestine Affiars, #3

Release Date: March 29, 2022

Alexander Worthington, the Marquess of Brandon is furious, part of his country estate, Highfield has been stolen from him by way of a fraudulent map. He needs proof that his neighbor, Charles Canning conspired with Roger Fleming, the mapmaker, and decides to take a position as a footman in Fleming’s home to find evidence. But what he found was Fleming’s wife Rose, who captivated him from the start which makes his plans for revenge on Fleming much harder, since he doesn’t want Rose to suffer. And as much as he desires Rose, nothing can come of it and he has a title to consider. A title that the ton believes was tarnished by his Arab mother, so Alex is also seeking revenge from the ton by courting the diamond of the season. If all goes as planned, Alex will recover his stolen land and marry the Duke of Kingsley’s daughter. But there are things Alex doesn’t know and secrets that will change everything…

Rose Fleming is London’s premier mapmaker, but no one knows it, everyone believes that her husband Roger is the creator of the wonderfully detailed maps, something that grates at her. Rose learned the art from her uncle and inherited the business from him when he passed. Roger was an engraver and surveyor working for them and someone her uncle wanted her to marry. So within weeks of his demise, Roger convinced Rose that no one would buy maps from a woman and formed a plan, they would marry and he would assume the title of the mapmaker. Knowing he was right about society’s views of women, she agreed and at first, all was well, but soon Roger stopped coming to her bed and made it clear that he didn’t want children, leaving Rose alone and hurt. But things began to look up when Alex joined their household, clearly he is not an experienced footman, but she likes him and they soon form a friendship, and though she feels something for him she has never felt before, she is a married woman and nothing can come of it. But when the first of many secrets are revealed, hope springs to life in her heart before the reality of the revelation sets in and more secrets come to light, making HEA seem like an unobtainable dream.

This book was much more than I was expecting, it is just as well-written and well-researched as the previous books, but there is a lot more going on and a lot more angst than the other books. The chemistry between Rose and Alex is undeniable and fairly sizzles on the page, the secrets are shocking and some a bit unsettling. I liked the idea of the story, but I was a bit disappointed when Rose had a complete personality change when she learned of Alex’s deception, it seemed hypocritical considering she had been keeping secrets too. But in the end, I liked how everything works out and that readers are treated to an epilogue that shows not only their HEA but those of the previous characters. This is the third book in the series, but it can be read as a standalone title with no problems.

*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.*