With all the changes happening in the country and with the monarchy, the soon-to-be-former King Grantham of Athawick asks his mother Queen Giabella to tour the southern part of their Island – to hopefully garner support for Grantham’s run for Prime Minister once he renounces his crown. He suggests that she take her long-time secretary and dearest friend Dashiell Talbot with her. She agrees without question and looks forward to time alone with Dash. She wonders if she will finally have the courage to be honest with him about her feelings, feelings she has had since she meet him and never acted upon, even after being widowed.
Dash has loved Giabella since the moment he met her, but he is a servant and she is a queen, no matter his feelings, he will never be worthy of her. But with the changes coming to their country and the offer of a position in Grantham’s cabinet, he might not be completely worthy, but he will be closer. When Grantham suggests he accompany Gia on her trip, he knows the time has come to tell her the truth of Grantham’s offer, that he will be leaving her employ. But when a moonlit kiss changes everything between them, will they finally give in to the passion that has always simmered between them or will they let duty keep them apart?
This was a fantastic end to this series, and I will be 100% honest – I was shocked to learn that these two were not already lovers – the close connection they have shared since the first book led me to believe they were already secret lovers – so I had a serious NFW moment when I learned that they have never even kissed! The book is short, but it does not skimp on the love scenes, emotion or angst. I loved seeing the past characters living their HEA and was absolutely thrilled for Gia and Dash – theirs was truly a hard-won HEA and rarely I have read that kind of chemistry between characters! This is the fifth and final book in the series and can be read as a standalone, but I would recommend reading the books in order for the best experience.
*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.*
Published February 25th 2022 by Lapuerta Publishing
Lady Ludmilla’s Accidental Letter
A resolute spinster. An irresistible rake. One accidental letter… Can love triumph over this hopeless muddle in the middle of the London season?
Lady Ludmilla is mortified. Though the spinster extraordinaire knows it is foolish, she has fallen head-over-heels for the amiable man with whom she’s been secretly corresponding, and that cannot be. When she sets out to uncover his identity, her world shatters. For her best friend Addy turns out to be none other but London’s worst rogue—the man who has ruined her engagement to someone else ten years earlier.
Lord St.Addington is perturbed. The wicked Viscount is developing a marked tendre for a spinster, and that cannot be. She might be mistaking him for someone he is not, or, what is worse, know precisely who he is. As London’s worst hellrake, he has a role to maintain, a charade to play. A depraved heart like his surely can’t be falling in love…least of all with a plain, outspoken spinster.
Determined to discover the truth behind the man she loves, Lu does what she does best: she sits down and writes a letter…
If you crave a humorous romp with witty banter and surprising twists, you will love Sofi Laporte’s charming masquerade.
Author Bio – Sofi was born in Vienna, grew up in Seoul, studied Comparative Literature in Maryland, U.S.A., and lived in Quito with her Ecuadorian husband. When not writing, she likes to scramble about the countryside exploring medieval castle ruins. She currently lives with her husband, 3 trilingual children, a sassy cat and a cheeky dog in Austria. Sofi writes sweetly simmering Regency Romance with mischievous, witty banter, and heart-throbbing happily-ever-after.
Barbara’s rating: 3.7 of 5 Stars Series: Merry Spinsters, Charming Rogues #1 Publication Date: 2/25/22 Period: Regency Number of Pages: 266
While this is not this author’s first book, it is the first book I’ve read by her. I enjoyed the read and am thoroughly looking forward to the next book in the series – but, unfortunately, we won’t get it for another year. The book was witty and humorous, but I didn’t ‘feel’ that strong attraction between the two main characters after they met face-to-face. Their letters definitely showed a connection, but it didn’t seem to carry through once they met – we were told it was there, but somehow, I just didn’t feel it. Golly – much of what I’ve just said sounds a bit negative, so, let me say again – I really enjoyed the read and will definitely read the next one.
Lady Ludmilla Windmere is a spinster at twenty-eight and believes herself to be the ugly duckling of the spectacularly attractive Windmere family. That belief was fostered by an unfortunate event that caused her to leave London during her first season and she hasn’t been back in the last ten years. Three years ago, she wrote a congratulatory letter to a friend, but was unaware the friend had moved. The letter she wrote was entertaining and witty – and gendered a response from the person who now lives at the residence. The reply Lady Ludmilla received was also witty and entertaining, so the two of them continued to correspond even though it turned out that the other person was a male and it was totally improper for them to write to each other. They don’t even know each other’s real names – she is Lu and he is Addy.
Adrian, Viscount Addington, is London’s most outstanding rake. He’s charming, witty, and the ladies fawn over him. Thanks to an experience in his teens, he has become an excellent actor and he only shows the world what he wants them to see. That persona isn’t the real him – but it is what everyone believes of him. The only person he trusts is his cousin Adam – because Adam is the only one in his family who stood by him when he needed it most.
Lu and Addy are each reluctant to meet the other because their friendship has become special to each of them and they are afraid actually meeting will spoil that. Yet, each is desperately curious about the other. They begin a dance around each other – enlisting the help of Adam and Ludmilla’s sister Juliet. With mishaps, mixups, and a bit of misleading each other, can they get together and find their HEA? You’ll just need to read the book to see.
I can certainly recommend this book as a fun and entertaining read. There are what I think are historical inaccuracies – as in Ludmilla purchasing and owning property in her own name. I don’t believe that was acceptable at the time – but I could be wrong there. What did keep throwing me out of the story though – was the use of the phrase ‘hell rake’. It could be a perfectly acceptable phrase for the time, but I have never seen it in the hundreds of historical romance books I’ve read. I’ve always seen the term ‘rakehell’, so when I see ‘hell rake’, it immediately sets my mind off wondering whether that is actually correct or not.
Regardless of owning property and hell rakes, I enjoyed the read and I hope you will as well. I’m looking forward to the next book, which I believe is titled Miss Ava’s Scandalous Secret.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Queen’s Man by Jess Michaels
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