Tag: Christi Caldwell

In The Dark With The Duke by Christi Caldwell

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

In the Dark with the Duke (Lost Lords of London, #2)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Lost Lords of London #2
Publication Date: 6/9/20
Number of Pages: 365

Lady Lila March and Hugh Savage have more in common than either of them realizes and it was fun to watch them figure that out. The book is well-written and I liked the story, but it did leave me scratching my head about a few things. I liked both Lila and Hugh, but some of the other characters just seemed to be space fillers. I also think this is one of those books that just begged for an epilogue. I would have dearly loved to see how Lila’s family reacted and maybe learn a bit about the wedding, etc. – but definitely, I would like to see things maybe a year out into their future.

For the last nine years, Lady Lila March has lived the life of a recluse. She goes nowhere and she sees no one. A couple of years ago, she realized she needed to get some of her life back, so she sought out someone to help her return to her love of music. That helped, but with all of the news in the scandal rags about children of the ton being kidnapped, she is terrified for her small nephew. Nine years ago, she was helpless and couldn’t protect herself – and now she is determined that won’t happen again. She’s going to learn to fight – to defend herself and those she loves – and she’s going to find the very best person to teach her. He’s undefeated, he’s even killed in the ring – she just has to convince him to show her how it is done.

Hugh Savage was forced to fight from the time he was a young boy. Luckily, he was very good at it and that is the only reason he survived his childhood. Each bare-knuckle match became bloodier and bloodier until it was the expectation that one opponent would die. All of that terror, degradation, blood, and slaughter just for the jeering entertainment of the toffs. When Hugh escaped his prison, he joined the army – only to find himself begging on the streets after returning from the horrors of the Napoleonic wars. He abhors violence and wants no part of it, but when two former fight-mates rescue him from the street, he returns to the fight clubs. Though he rarely has to enter the ring, he still wants out of it altogether.

When Hugh is approached by a slip of a girl who wanted him to teach her to fight, his reaction was to send her away. No way would he teach anyone – especially someone like her – how to fight. Then, he saw the fear and despair in her eyes. Hugh and Lila were attracted to each other from the moment they saw each other. The aristocracy sickens Hugh and he refuses to have any dealings with them – but something about Lila tells him there is more to her than meets the eye.

I loved how Lila just kept mowing down all of Hugh’s defenses and I loved that Hugh was really a gentle giant who hated the life he’d had to live in order to survive.

I was puzzled throughout the entire book though. Hugh was stolen and sold to a crime lord when he was very, very young. He had no memories of his parents at all – yet he spoke perfect aristocratic English. Also, he had all kinds of knowledge about things he just ‘knew’, but didn’t know how he knew it. Thus my conundrum – if he were old enough to have learned about battle strategies and to speak perfect English – why wouldn’t he have some memories of his parents. But, if he were stolen very young (as the story implies), how would he speak perfect English and where would his knowledge have come from? Also, he was basically locked in a cage until he was at least 15 years old. Then he went into the army – so where did he learn how to plan and run a business?

The puzzles didn’t keep me from enjoying the story, but they did keep me scratching my head trying to figure out what happened. I hope you’ll enjoy the story – I did.

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

In Bed With The Earl by Christi Caldwell

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Georgian Era (1714-1837)1 Comment

In Bed with the Earl (Lost Lords of London, #1)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Lost Lords of London #1
Publication Date: 3/17/20
Number of Pages: 383

This first entry in the Lost Lords of London series introduces us to the first of the kidnapped children Connor Steele (The Vixen) has been commissioned to find. These are children of the ton who were kidnapped by the malicious, infamous Diggory. I thought maybe we’d get a visit from Stephen who was one of those children and who was also a supporting character throughout the Wicked Wallflower series – he was heavily featured in The Bluestocking. Unfortunately, Stephen didn’t make an appearance.

Verity Lovelace, who is now thirty, has provided the support for herself, her sister and their former nursemaid since she was twelve years old. She is the natural daughter of an Earl and a barmaid. The earl was a profligate but did manage to provide a small cottage for them while he was alive, but he made no arrangements for them when he died. The only thing he did for them was to arrange for Verity, at age twelve, to have a job at a newspaper, The Londoner. Verity has worked there for almost twenty years and finally worked her way into being a reporter.

Before he was kidnapped as a child, Marcus North was known as Percival Northrop, heir to the Earl of Maxwell. Marcus doesn’t remember anything about that time – and doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want the title or the encumbrances that come along with it. Connor Steele has found him and has seen to making the claim legitimate, etc. – but, Marcus doesn’t want anyone to know he’s the earl nor does he want them to know where he lives or anything else about him. He’s adamant about keeping his secrets – almost paranoid about it.

When Marcus encounters Verity in the sewers, he saves her, gets her out of the sewers, then lets her go – only for her to get attacked again – and another rescue. He does something he has never, ever, done before, he takes her to where he lives. She NEVER tells him she is a reporter and that she is looking for the Earl of Maxwell. She noses around and makes the discovery of who he really is. He tells her he doesn’t want his story told – but… Does Verity care about what Marcus or anyone else wants? No, she does not.

It took me a while to get into this novel because I just couldn’t make myself like Verity. I finally got to where I tolerated her, but I never really came to like her. She seemed very embittered, totally uncaring about what her stories did to others – particularly Marcus. It did finally register with her and I warmed up to her a bit. I liked Marcus from the beginning and his anger with Verity was definitely valid. I did find it surprising that he was attracted to her when she had deliberately, uncaringly, caused him so much harm.

I enjoyed the story and thought it was nicely unique. However, it was ambiguous in a number of things – like the time period. There were a few hints and I finally came to believe that the setting must have been somewhere between 1820 and 1837 – but I shouldn’t have to try to figure out any of that kind of stuff, it should be plainly obvious. Also, be aware that the female lead is a rabid feminist who seems to hate men and has some very contemporary thinking. You’ll also find some more contemporary wording, etc.

Still, I enjoyed the read and look forward to the next story.

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