Tag: Amalie Howard

The Duke in Question by Amalie Howard

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

The Duke in Question (Daring Dukes, #3)The Duke in Question by Amalie Howard

Tracy’s rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Daring Dukes, #3

Release Date: November 8. 2022

Lady Bronwyn Chase, the half-sister of Courtland Chase, the Duke of Ashvale, didn’t intentionally set out to be a spy, rather she stumbled into espionage. But once she had a taste, she was hooked and began working for an agent of the crown, just passing on the occasional message, but it soon became apparent that she was actually good at it and the “Kestrel” was born and caught the interest of other agents, particularly Valentine Medford, the new Duke of Thornbury, a retired agent who is helping his former partner track the Kestrel. Which is how they all end up on a ship bound for Philadelphia in March of 1865.

Bronwyn plays her part as a shallow, self-absorbed debutante to perfection and annoys Thornbury to no end. Bronwyn has long had a crush on Thornbury, but he is one of her brother’s best friends and until recently, married, so he is off-limits – or is he? She reminds herself that she has a mission and can’t waste time mooning over a man who could never love her and one who is too smart to fool for long with her foolish society girl facade, so she tries to avoid him and focus on her mission.

Valentine doesn’t know that she is the Kestrel, but isn’t happy about her traipsing about Philadelphia alone and wonders what she is up to. He follows her and is stunned to see what she is up to. And when her mission goes awry and her life is on the line, he wastes no time saving her. But when she turns the tables and saves him, twice – everything changes and he finds himself torn between duty and desire.

This was a very interesting read and I am torn about how to rate this – as far as writing, plot, and character development are concerned, the book is spot on with lots of action, steamy love scenes, interesting characters, true historical events tie-ins, and a HEA, but it is supposed to be a “historical romance” set in the very uptight Victoria Era and that is where it doesn’t work for me. The characters have very progressive, modern views on sex, relationships, and equality, that came across as very cavalier, making this more of a “contemporary in period dress” than a true to the era historical. Then there were things that just shook me – the hero is “divorced” which is almost unheard of in the Victorian era and would take years to accomplish as well as an act of Parliament and a lot of money, not to mention a better reason than “we wanted different things”, but they apparently got it done quickly and quietly and he and his ex are still friends and everyone seems to think this is no big deal as they are not shunned and are still accepted everywhere – but then it is implied that they were not really married, even though the ex still uses the title that she had as his “wife”, but the hero never tells the heroine any of this, which bothered me probably more than it should have. And don’t even get me started on the virgin heroine’s attitude toward sex. I understand that authors are trying to appeal to a 21st-century audience and the popularity of shows like Bridgerton has brought a host of new readers who are not familiar with the rules and strictures of the eras and would be put off by them – so there has to be some leeway – but I feel that this one went too far – I read historicals for those strictures and rules and how different times were – making characters “too modern” ruins that for me and honestly by implying that the views of the day were the same as they are now, diminishes the challenges and hardships people in that time overcame and in some cases are still overcoming. But that is just my personal opinion and if adherence to historical protocols isn’t a big deal for you – I am sure you will really enjoy this story. This is the third book in the series, but it could easily be read and enjoyed as a standalone title.

*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.*

The Beast of Beswick by Amalie Howard

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

The Beast of BeswickBarbara’s rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone
Publication Date: 11/26/19
Number of Pages: 384

Well, I’m not sure how to write this review. I liked the basic story and the writing was good, but it just was not a Regency story. Nothing in it was period correct – and I think I really do mean nothing – not even the basic stuff. All of it was anachronistic. It is also a very, very modern tale with modern language, modern ideas, modern – well everything. I’m not sure I understand why an author would choose to write a period story and then ignore the research to get it right. So, I guess my bottom line is – the basic story is nice and if you don’t mind all of the inaccuracies, then you will enjoy the read.

I also think that the author went way over-the-top with making the heroine a strong, intelligent woman. She was actually a superwoman. She had every skill known to man (or woman). I assume that is why she was always arguing with the hero – in order to showcase all of her skills and talents. She is an expert on the exact type of porcelain the hero needs to have cataloged, she is an expert horse trainer, she swims like a fish, she isn’t fond of ‘feminine’ things like embroidery, she (and everybody else) cusses like a sailor, she can write, etc. She has absolutely every talent/skill/attribute that we, in today’s world, would consider being a strong independent woman. I think it would have been better to pick one or two attributes and focus on those instead of using the shotgun effect. It would have been really easy to dislike her – and, in the real world, I probably would have disliked her.

I really liked Thane. He was horribly, horribly injured in the Napoleonic wars and came home a very angry, very reclusive man. The description of his injuries and what caused them drew me out of the story. I just can’t picture it. I picture this man in the center of a large circle of men with bayonets and they are all poking him with the bayonets. Had they been sword slashes or something I could picture it – but not bayonets. Anyway – I digress. Thane is horribly disfigured and even before that he had an unhappy life – his father was cold and disapproving and, evidently, his older brother was as well. By the time Astrid appeared on his door, he had managed to drive most of his friends away and most of his servants as well. So, he was lonely and angry.

I loved his Aunt Mable – she was priceless. Totally anachronistic, but priceless. She was bright and funny – and very risqué. She, along with the valet and butler, add a bit of lightheartedness to the story.

There were some plot points that just didn’t make sense to me – for instance – he just, out of the blue, decides to give Astrid some land and buildings to open a school. Why? She’d never mentioned any desire to open a school – and that is the only mention of it. It was just left hanging.

Even given the above, I did enjoy the actual story itself. I liked Thane and enjoyed seeing him learn that he could have love and a family in his life. I even liked Astrid because, even though she was annoying, she was still vulnerable, and that humanized her a bit.

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