Lady in Red by Eliza Knight

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

Lady in RedLady in Red by Eliza Knight

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: N/A

Release Date: February 25, 2021

Terrence Howard, the Earl of Shaftesbury can’t believe his eyes, because walking down the road, right outside his window is none other than his wayward wife! When he fails to catch her, he forms a plan; she won’t slip by again. His valet manages to intercept her the next day and brings her into the house. Terrence hasn’t seen Elizabeth in two years, not since the morning after their wedding and he wants answers.

Elizabeth Howard nee Markum never expected to see Terrence again, marrying him was a mistake, and falling in love with him was unforgivable. She never meant to let her heart get involved, she simply wanted revenge on the man who was responsible for the death of her husband. But Terrence surprised her, he was never cruel or selfish – in short, he was nothing like what she had expected him to be, and falling in love with him took her by surprise and filled her with guilt. So she bolted. When he catches her, she knows he deserves answers, but once she sees him again, her anger and hurt bubbles up once more and she leaves him with more questions than answers.

Terrence doesn’t know what to believe and is shocked to learn she was married, but he still loves her and will stop at nothing to find the truth and hopefully win back the only woman he has ever loved.

This was a well-written, very fast-paced novella with a lot of emotion and a unique storyline. I won’t pretend that parts of the story aren’t a little hard to believe or that it wraps up a bit too quickly – but it is still an interesting story with characters that demand your attention, hold you captive until the very end and make you want to see them get their HEA. I enjoyed the book and would happily recommend the title to anyone.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions are my own *

Murder in an Irish Bookshop by Carlene O’Connor

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, Mystery2 Comments

Murder in an Irish Bookshop (An Irish Village Mystery Book 7)
Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Irish Village Mystery #7
Publication Date: 2/23/21
Number of Pages: 258

The small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland is buzzing with excitement over the opening of a new bookstore along with a number of visiting Irish authors. This is their first bookstore and Siobhan O’Sullivan, oldest sibling of the O’Sullivan six, is hoping to encourage her siblings to become readers – and she’d kind of like to kindle a spark for reading within herself as well. Of course, there is a damper on those high spirits when a body is found near the bookshop – and later, a second one inside the bookshop. Oh! My! Goodness! It looks as if Detective Sergeant Macdara Flannery and Gardai Siobhan O’Sullivan will be doing a lot more than training new Gardai Aretta Dabiri.

There are a lot of suspects – The new bookshop owners, Padraig and Oran McCarthy, any of the Irish authors and agent attending the opening, any number of townspeople who had access, or even a mysterious stranger who has been lurking about town. Clues are aplenty, but none seem to lead anywhere except in circles. Everybody seems to be keeping secrets and pointing fingers. With the case awash in red herrings, twists, and turns, the garda definitely has their work cut out for them. I’m sure you’ll figure out the name of the murderous villain before it is revealed – but – the method is totally unique and unexpected.

I have loved this series from the first book, and this is a lovely addition to it. It is so much fun to come to know all of the shops and inhabitants of Kilbane as we have over the last six books. Seeing the growth of Siobhan and her siblings has been particularly delightful, but seeing the relationship between Siobhan and Macdara develop has been heartwarming. The wedding plans are moving along and maybe we’ll have a wedding in the next book.

I can definitely recommend this read and hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. The mystery is a good one, the clues are excellently handled, the villain is just dastardly enough to make you thoroughly dislike him/her, and the added romance is lovely. You just can’t go wrong with all of that.

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