Stealing the Duke’s Heart by Shana Galen

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

Stealing the Duke's HeartStealing the Duke’s Heart by Shana Galen
Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Anthology

Release Date: May 15, 2018

This book features two previously released novellas and my rating is an average of both

How to Steal a Duke – 4 stars – Dominick Spencer the Duke of Tremayne is on the hunt for a rare book, the Duke’s Book of Knowledge, it is written in 4 parts and he and some schoolmates what to present all four to their retiring professor. Dominick is unaccustomed to failure and when yet another man he hires to find the tome comes up empty-handed, he decides he will find it himself. He goes to the library at the Bibliomania Club and finds a serious lead. Small problem, the book may be in the hands of a mad Earl living in a remote, impenetrable castle in Cornwall. Failure is not an option, so when the answer to his problem basically falls at his feet in the form of a lovely young thief, he will not hesitate to exploit her.

Rosalyn Dasher never imagined she would grow up to be a thief, but when her gentleman father died and left them nearly penniless, their mother moved them from the country to London, they survived, but when medical bills for the youngest brother, drain the family’s funds, Rosalyn and her brothers supplement their income by stealing. When a job goes wrong and Rosalyn finds herself at the mercy of the Duke, she agrees to help him in exchange for the money needed to help her family.

They travel to Cornwall and try to ignore the desire simmering between them, but when the Earl refuses to see them and Rosalyn decides to take matters into her own hands, Dominick realizes that Rosalyn means more than the book, but is it too late??

I enjoyed this book, but really wish it was longer and the ending could have been drawn out a bit more with a more definitive HEA.

Taken by the Duke – 4 stars – Henry Selkirk is the Viscount Bexley, a title he never expected or wanted. His woe only get worse when he is tricked into acting as accountant for Prinny’s birthday and Waterloo celebrations, while planning the events at Vauxhall Gardens, he is ambushed and abducted. When he wakes, he finds himself face to face with the infamous Duke of Vauxhall, who also happens to be his childhood sweetheart, Kate Dunn.

Kate’s life has taken a huge turn since the days she lived next door to Henry Selkirk, they were best friends and falling in love when her family’s fortunes took a downturn and eventually led her into a life of crime. She has never forgotten Henry, but she is no longer the innocent young lady he knew, she is now the crime lord know far and wide as the Duke of Vauxhall and as much as she fondly remembers Henry’s sweet kisses and kindness, she has a business to run and his “improvements” to Vauxhall Gardens are hampering her crew from making money. She reveals herself to him and tells him to cease his changes – he can’t, but maybe they can work together to come up with a compromise…

I liked this story as well, my heart broke for Kate and I adored Henry, but again I wish this story was a bit longer and the ending was not quite so rushed.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read and I would happily recommend it!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an e-book that was provided to me.*

Wicked Highland Ways by Mary Wine

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Middle Ages / Medieval (476-1454), Scottish/HighlanderLeave a comment

Wicked Highland Ways (Highland Weddings, #6)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Highland Weddings #6 – series end
Publication Date: 5/28/19
Number of Pages: 384

This was an excellent read, but as the end-of-series, it left something to be desired. That is one reason I didn’t give it a full five-stars – the other reason is that I got a little tired of the unyielding Brenda. I understood the trauma she’d been through, but she had some excellent examples of good men – like her cousin – to mitigate some of her distrust of men. Also, she never appreciated the fact that Bothan traveled all the way to England to save her – there was never a ‘thank you for saving me from a life of torture and degradation’. IMHO, she could have given in a bit earlier and moved things along so that there could be a nice epilogue that would include the other couples in the series. Maybe they could have been involved in the solution at the end if the author didn’t want to do an epilogue. It just needed something more for it to be the series finale.

Chief Bothan Gunn met and was attracted to Brenda Grant a previous book. He tried to forget her and select a bride from among the many whose fathers had offered them in marriage. A sweet, docile, biddable woman that would give him children, run his home and do as he bid. Nothing like Brenda Grant who is a spitfire. He just couldn’t convince himself to choose any of them.
At the end of the last book, Between a Highlander and a Hard Place, the Scottish king had declared that Brenda had to travel to England to marry Galwell Scrope (don’t you love that name) in order to keep a coveted piece of property within the Campbell clan. Bothan promised Brenda’s cousin that he would rescue Brenda and assure that she didn’t marry the cruel Galwell.

This book opens with Brenda being escorted to England by soldiers of Queen Elizabeth Tudor of England – and Bothan following them and planning how to liberate Brenda. I absolutely loved the way the liberation occurred – and it gave a lot of insight into how shrewd and cunning Bothan is. I really liked Bothan. He is a really good and honorable man and Brenda was very lucky to have him. Too bad she didn’t acknowledge that fact until it was almost too late.

Brenda fights Bothan and her own feelings all the way back to Bothans home – where she is welcomed openly and lovingly by Bothan’s people. When Brenda is ‘stolen’ by Hamell Campbell, who intends to marry her because the Earl of Sutherland said he could, Bothan is off on another rescue mission – and this one may be even tougher than the last.

I didn’t like the Earl of Sutherland at all, but his son was good. The Earl’s decree only forced Bothan to yet again prove what a wiley and clever man he is.

I would definitely recommend this read, but as I said – I’d have appreciated something ‘more’ for a series finale. I adored Bothan and was so happy to see him finally get his HEA. I also liked Brenda, but not as much as Bothan.

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