Tag: Amy Jarecki

The Duke’s Untamed Desire by Amy Jarecki

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Regency Era (1811-1820)2 Comments

The Duke's Untamed Desire (Devilish Dukes, #1)The Duke’s Untamed Desire by Amy Jarecki

Barbara’s rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Devilish Dukes #1
Publication Date: 4/2/19
Number of Pages: 250

I always love the stories this author has to tell and this one is no exception. The story and the characters are great. So, you are wondering why I gave it only 3-stars aren’t you? I love historical romance, but I want it to be accurate within the societal norms and context of the times and this isn’t anywhere close to that. There are so very many issues …

Lady Georgiana is the daughter of a very rich and very influential baron and she married way below her station. Her husband was a commoner, an inventor and very poor. They worked together to develop a steam-powered pumper to help put out fires. The invention wasn’t complete when Daniel (her husband) died in an accident, so Georgiana spent the next year perfecting the pumper herself. It is all ready to go and she’s brought it to London to try to sell units and find a wealthy investor.

In order to get her parents to agree to her bringing the pumper and storing it at their home, Georgiana had to agree to accompany her mother to various social engagements during the season. She could do that if it allowed her the opportunity to demonstrate her pumper and find appropriate investors. Her first showing at the Southwark Fair was a total disaster. Not because the pumper didn’t work – but because they were short-handed and the hose got away from them. That loose hose ended up aimed at the Duke of Evesham and doused him with two-hundred gallons of high-pressure water. Oops!

Fletcher Markham, the Duke of Evesham, lost his mother in a house fire and he’s been looking to find a viable steam pressure pumper for years. Now, he’s furious because he’s just seen yet another scam of a machine and it thoroughly doused him. He told the woman that she should just throw the thing in the Thames.

Later, Fletcher meets Georgiana in a social setting and he doesn’t recognize her from the pumper demonstration. He’s very drawn to her – and she’s very skittish. She recognizes him. As he pursues her and she knows he doesn’t know who she is, they begin to draw closer.

I really enjoyed the adventures of Georgiana and Fletcher finding their HEA. It wasn’t a smooth road nor an easy one for them – but it was a truly lovely story.

The same story could have been told using correct period norms and I would have happily given a 5-star rating – and that accuracy wouldn’t have taken a thing away from the story. Within the first 5% of the book, there is a scene describing the old duke summoning his lawyers to his deathbed and ‘legitimizing’ his twenty-six-year-old illegitimate son – because he has no other sons. So, he legitimizes this son and declares him his ‘legal heir’. That just couldn’t have happened – laws of primogeniture wouldn’t have allowed it. There were so very many other things that were just so much more modern – like everybody’s comfort with Fletcher entering Georgiana’s bedchamber, women business-people conducting business at social events – well, just many things that could have easily been done correctly to the period without detracting from the story. Then – there is feeling the baby flutter – like bubbles – at two-months pregnant.

Bottom line – if you don’t care about period accuracy (but then why read historical?), then this will be a 5-star read for you because the story is really good.

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

View all my reviews

The Highland Renegade by Amy Jarecki

On By TracyIn Jacobean/Stuart Era (1603-1714), Scottish/Highlander, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's Reviews2 Comments

The Highland Renegade (Lords of the Highlands, #5)The Highland Renegade by Amy Jarecki

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Lords of the Highlands, #5

Release Date: January 8, 2019

Janet Cameron is in Inverlochy with her brother Kennan for the Samhain celebration, she is hoping that she will meet a man that she can fall in love with and marry, lest her stepmother finds someone for her. She sees Laird Robert Grant, but he is the last man she would ever consider, the Camerons and the Grants have been enemies for generations, but she can’t help but notice how handsome he is. When her friend Mairi tries to play matchmaker, Janet is firm, Robert Grant is a thief and a rake – she would never love a man like him.

Robert has always noticed Janet, she is lovely and if she was anyone other than a Cameron, he would court her. He knows what she thinks of him and it makes him angry, yes, he has a reputation as a ladies man, but he is no thief! He is sure the Camerons are responsible for the theft of his cattle and has words with Kennan. When their mutual friend suggests a duel to settle the matter, Rob agrees.

The duel is underway when Janet arrives to stop it – Rob is clearly winning and is distracted by Janet’s scream, giving her brother a chance to pull a dagger and cut Rob, declaring himself the winner. Before Rob can respond, English soldiers arrive and they scatter, in the confusion, Rob finds Janet and takes her back to town. He insists that she tend his wound, since her brother cheated. She is ashamed of Kennan’s action and agrees. She starts to rethink her opinion of Robert. When he asks for a dance at the Samhain gathering, she agrees. But later when one of the English soldiers, Lt Cummings, is drunk and harasses her, things spiral out of control and she must run for her life.

She and Kennan take off, but are soon captured by Cummings, Kennan is beaten and left for dead and Janet is taken into custody, Cummings is taking her to the fort for punishment. Robert also left, but when he hears her scream, comes back to save her. He finds Kennan and has their friend Ciar take him to safety and goes after Janet. He rescues her from Cummings and they run, with the soldiers on their heels.

Janet is soaked and freezing, but they can’t stop, they escape into the mountains and Robert tends her, in the morning, they learn the soldiers are still following them and Rob makes a decision, they will go further into the wilderness, over a treacherous pass and hopefully lose Cummings. They do lose him, but the cost is high, Janet goes over the edge and Rob fears she is dead. He sends his men on without him and goes to find Janet. She is alive, but her arm is broken and her horse is lame. He prepare to kill her horse, but she begs him not to, the lame horse will slow them down, but he agrees. He knows the storm is too bad to keep moving and Janet needs help, so he finds an abandoned brothy and they ride out the storm. He sets her arm and cares for her, they get to know each other and he is tempted, he knows he should return her to her family, but instead takes her to his home.

Janet is falling for Rob, he is nothing like she imagined, but she knows her father will never let her marry a Grant and there could never be anything between them. But that doesn’t stop them from kissing and wishing for things that can never be. When her father arrives and takes her, Rob can do nothing but watch the woman he loves, ride away.

It will be months before they see each other again and there is still no solution to their problem, but when Rob learns who the real cattle thief is and Janet’s life is in danger, he knows that he will not lose her again.

This book was amazing, it is nonstop action from almost the first page! The chemistry between Janet and Robert is undeniable and my heart broke for them, their love is forbidden and it seems like there is no way they can be together without causing a war. The book is well written, flows nicely, has some steamy-ish love scenes, a bit of angst, a villain bent on revenge, some wonderful secondary characters, some twists and turns, and finally a very hard won HEA. This is the fifth book in the series, but it is loosely connected to the previous stories and can easily be read as a stand alone title. I loved this book and can’t recommend it highly enough!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*