How to Catch A Duke by Grace Burrowes

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Georgian Era (1714-1837)1 Comment

How to Catch a Duke (Rogues to Riches, #6)Barbara’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Rogues to Riches #6
Publication Date: 4//13/21
Number of Pages: 368

Grace Burrowes writing is always excellent and I always enjoy her stories. I have read almost everything she’s written, and I think this may be my least favorite. That may be because I have been waiting for Stephen’s story since the beginning of the series and it just wasn’t what I’d imagined for him. Then, add to that the cavalier way the story treated bisexuality during a time when it could get you HANGED, it just didn’t sit well. It wasn’t that I minded the bisexuality – it was that nobody thought anything about it – nobody was careful about mentioning it – and everybody seemed to be bisexual. I’m pretty sure that if I lived during that time and I was bisexual, I would most definitely NOT be discussing it with anyone – much less everyone. Because I wouldn’t care to be hanged. Also, I think bisexuality was just gratuitous to be politically correct. It added nothing to the story and didn’t move the plot along in any way.

As I mentioned above, we’ve met Stephen before, but we have also met Abigail Abbott before as well. Abigail Abbott is the plain-speaking, Quakerish, no-nonsense inquiry agent who helped the family earlier in another book. Stephen and Abigail met then, so he was pleased to see her when she showed up at his residence until she asked him to murder her. Oh! My Goodness! But, she didn’t actually want him to murder her – she just wanted him to help her disappear and for it to appear she had died. Someone is pursuing her – and she doesn’t know what lengths they’ll go to to get what they want from her. She knows WHO is after her and he’s a rich and powerful peer. She just doesn’t understand WHY exactly. She knows a lot more than she’ll tell Stephen, he doesn’t need to know all of that – he just needs to help her die.

Stephen, of course, has no intention of helping her die – pretend or otherwise. Since his family is powerful and they all outrank the peer who is causing the problem, he offers an alternative. He will court her – and she will stay in his brother’s home where she’ll be well protected.

Unlike some other reviewers, I actually liked Abigail for Stephen. She was no-nonsense, she was plain-spoken and direct, his disability didn’t bother her at all and she was able to physically offset his disability when needed. I wasn’t a big fan of her big ‘sacrifice’ at the end because it didn’t seem, to me, to go along with her no-nonsense, plain-spoken personality.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, but I don’t think I’d read it a second time.

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

The Highlander’s Rescued Maiden by Anna Campbell

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Scottish/Highlander, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

The Highlander's Rescued Maiden (The Lairds Most Likely, #9)The Highlander’s Rescued Maiden by Anna Campbell

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Lairds Most Likely, #9

Release Date: March 31, 2021

When Will Mackinnon, the heir to Achnasheen is caught in a storm and takes shelter on a seemingly deserted isle, he is shocked to find a well-built tower. He can tell the dwelling is occupied, but when no one answers and the door is locked, Will gains entry by climbing the walls and entering a window. There his shock is magnified when he finds himself face to face with a pistol and even more shocked when he realizes the pistol-wielding beauty is none other than a woman he believed to be a myth – Fair Ellen of the Isles.

If Will was surprised to find Ellen, it was nothing compared to the shock she felt when the handsome highlanders climbed in her window! Normally she is not alone, but due to the storm, her maid and guards were not able to return from her father’s castle at Inchgallen, across the channel. Ellen Cameron has lived on the Isle of Bortha for ten years, banished by her father for the offense of being lame. Over the years Ellen has created a life for herself, researching and writing stories of the Highlands and even though several men have tried to “save” her, Ellen believes she will live out her days alone in her tower.

Ellen demands that Will leave, but he turns on the charm and convinces her to let him stay until the storm passes, he swears he means her no harm and finally Ellen grudgingly agrees to let him stay. The storm rages for days and during that time, Will learns that Ellen is far more than a pretty face and begins to fall in love with the brave, intelligent woman. For her part, Ellen is falling for Will but knows nothing can come of it and that he will be leaving as soon as the storm ends, but she can’t ignore the desire she feels for him and welcomes his kisses and caresses, thinking it will be her only chance in life to experience passion.

By the time the storm ended, Will knows that Ellen is the love of his life and the only woman he wants for his wife, but convincing her that her lameness doesn’t matter will be harder than he thought and may call for extreme action. Will he be able to convince her to leave Bortha or will her insecurity cost her the love of a lifetime?

This was a delightful, well-written, fast-paced story with wonderful characters, steamy love scenes, and a lovely HEA. This is the ninth book in the series, but it can easily be read as a standalone title with no problems.

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