Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: Lords of the Armory #5
Publication Date: 7/26/22
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 316

Anna Harrington is one of my favorite authors and this book is another superb offering from her. It neatly wraps up the series by adding another superb, steamy romance as well as providing the identity (and punishment) of the villain that has run through the entire series. I quickly came to love the characters, but that was easy because we’d already met them.

Scepter is an organization determined to murder England’s leadership and bring down the monarchy. They’ve made several attempts on the Prime Minister’s life and the Regents. The Lords of the Armory have managed to thwart the group so far, but they know Scepter will just keep trying until they succeed – unless they are stopped. Their best clue so far is Sydney Rowland. Is she a member of Scepter – perhaps even the leader – or is she being blackmailed into helping as so many others have been? It is up to Captain Nathaniel Reed to figure that out and, either way, extract all of the information she has.

Baroness Sydney Rowland avoids love in whatever form it might appear. Everyone she’s ever loved has been taken away from her, betrayed her, or despised her – so it is just simpler not to love anyone at all. Now, as a widow, her life is finally safe. She has money, no emotional encumberments, and one huge secret she must protect at all costs.

Captain Nathaniel Reed is the illegitimate half-brother to Alexander Sinclair, Earl of St. James. Nathaniel has no use for the legitimate side of his family, but he has to work closely with Alexander on this mission, so he’d better suck it up and get on with it. His part of the mission is to determine if Sydney Rowland is a friend or foe and to extract all of the information she has – whether she knows it or not. She’s definitely hiding something. Is she the leader of Scepter? If so, how can he be so drawn to her?

Excitement and romance abound in this delightful story. I love that the leader of Scepter is identified and gets adequately punished. But, we are left wondering if that is the last we’re going to hear from Scepter – after all – it seems more like a Hydra with multiple heads and multiple directions. Can’t wait to see if we hear from them again.

One of my favorite things about this series is that each romance is steamy and unique and it is accompanied by an equally unique mystery to go along with it. I like that so much better than just a plain ‘no frills’ romance.

I can definitely recommend this book – and this series – and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

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

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Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: Lords of the Armory #4
Publication Date: 3/29/22
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 329

Oh! My Goodness! The sinister organization, Scepter, is still causing havoc in London. While the men of the Armory and the Home Office are circling closer and closer, they still have absolutely no idea who is leading the organization. It is a peer – they are sure – and a very well-placed one who has recruited spies and operatives at every level of the government and the military. There is even a mole in the Home Office. The current threat is a rumored attempt on the Prime Minister’s life. Can they thwart the threat, protect the prime minister, and maybe, this time, put an end to Scepter?

Alexander (Alec) Sinclair, the Earl of St James, along with his wrong-side-of-the-blanket half-brother Nathaniel Reed are assigned the task of tracking down a mathematician whose name they found on the only piece of evidence they have against Scepter. This mathematician is a schoolmaster whose dearest wish is to have a fellowship in the Royal Society but is he a willing participant in the plot against the prime minister or an innocent dupe.

Alec had a cruel and abusive father and that has left a permanent mark on Alec’s psyche. He detests liars – people who hide who they really are and present an entirely different picture of themselves. When he meets the sister of their suspect, she presents herself as a prim, proper, strait-laced schoolmistress – but is she? Is she in the plot with her brother?

Olivia Everett has a loving and giving heart, but she harbors a deep secret that would ruin her, her brother, and their school should it ever get out. Even though their school is struggling, Olivia keeps taking in charity cases, but resources are thinner and thinner. Her brother, Henry, has always been there to support her and back her. So, when he goes missing for multiple days, she goes looking for him – in the most dangerous part of the city – at midnight. When she is accosted by thugs, a masked man comes to her rescue. Why isn’t she afraid of the masked man?

I absolutely adored both Olivia and Alec and thoroughly believed they were perfect for each other. They both were carrying deep, dark secrets that would only hurt others if they were found out. The attraction was immediate and grew and grew and grew over the course of the book. The chemistry is there and the love comes as surely as the sun each morning. My only wish is that the book didn’t stop where it did. I hate it when a book ends with the proposal and doesn’t carry through with a wedding and possibly some future scenes.

I hope you will give this book a read and that you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

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

View all my reviews