Tag: Collette Cameron

Gentlemen and Gloves Anthology by Various Authors

On By TracyIn Anthology, Author Collaboration Series, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Novella, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

Gentlemen & GlovesGentlemen & Gloves by Various Authors

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Lords and Ladies of St. James, #5

Release Date: February 20, 2024

This fun new anthology features six new exclusive novellas by some of your favorite historical romance authors all featuring gentlemen and gloves. Here are a few of my favorite novellas, each with varying steam levels and tropes, but each an enjoyable read! In my opinion, this collection is worth buying, not only is the price amazing, but even if you only read one or two of the selections included in the anthology you will be delighted and know that it was money well spent.

Unmasked at Midnight by Collette Cameron, 4 stars – Lord Darius Westbrook has sold his commission in the Navy, moved to Woodhaven, and is the proud owner of Westbrook’s Book & Coffee Emporium. He will be opening the shop in a couple of months and plans to celebrate the opening with a masked event, featuring several authors reading their works. But despite the work he has to do, he has already set his sights on his next task – courting the lovely Eudora Clarke, regardless of his twin brother’s objections. In fact, he was watching the beauteous Miss Clarke when he met the vicar’s daughter, Araminta Weldon, thanks to her pet goose, Sir Waddlesby. Miss Weldon convinces him to let her operate her lending library in his shop and suggests that he stock books by Madame Quillheart (her secret nom de plume). Will Darius realize that Araminta is the true treasure or will he continue to pursue a beautiful but poisonous viper? Heat Level: Sweet/No Steam

The Virgin Widow by Robyn Dehart, 4 stars – Agatha Pennybrook, the widowed Countess of Tolley, has just completed her mourning period and her parents are pushing for her to remarry, but Agatha has decided that she doesn’t want to marry again, but without a fortune to support herself, she will need a way to make a living and believes that being a mistress would be her best bet, the problem is her late husband was sick and died shortly after they married, leaving her a virgin. So to learn about the profession she plans to enter, she seeks out the knowledge of London’s most infamous madame, Lady Leblanc. But it is not the madame who offers to teach her, it is the madame’s gorgeous son Sebastian St. Claire, one of the “Notorious Bastards”. Sebastian and Agatha burn up the pages and fall in love, but there are things they don’t know about each other – things that could rip them apart and break their hearts. Heat Level: Steamy/Open Door

Kiss the Duke Goodbye by Tracy Sumner, 4 stars, – Thanks to his late father’s mismanagement and poor financial sense, Knoxville DeWitt, the Duke of Herschel needs to find a rich bride to save the dukedom and he knows he has a duty to his family, tenants, and servants, but his heart longs to marry for love. He suspects that he has already found that love, Clarissa Marlowe, but she is completely unsuitable, not because she is a milliner, but because she doesn’t have a fortune. He has been visiting her and flirting for months, and when he finally suggests an affair, he is surprised when she agrees. They meet at her cottage and end up spending several days together thanks to a snowstorm. It is clear that they are perfect for each other, but love doesn’t pay the bills, will they find a way to save the estate and be together or will they sacrifice their love for duty? Heat Level: Very Warm to Steamy/Open Door.

This was a great collection with several different tropes, and heat levels at a great price – I enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it to my fellow HR readers.

*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.*

My Dearest Duke by Collette Cameron

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Re-Release / Updated Edition, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

My Dearest Duke (Seductive Scoundrels #13)My Dearest Duke by Collette Cameron

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Seductive Scoundrels, #13 (Originally Published as Loved by the Lyon)

Release Date: November 20, 2023 (reissued)

Vanessa Becket is mere days away from gaining her inheritance when her odious step-brother Owen Elligon goes too far. For weeks Vanessa has known that Owen has been stealing from her, but she has turned a blind eye, until now, when he stole an heirloom left to her by her mother, that has passed from mother to daughter for generations, and with the recent death of both her brother and mother, she cannot lose anything else connected to her true family. So Vanessa tracks Owen to Fortuna, a notorious gaming hell and social club, owned by the infamous Mrs. Dorrian-Lane aka The Wicked Widow of Whitechapel, a well-known matchmaker for the elite. Vanessa makes her way into the club and manages to find Owen, but before she can confront him, she is caught by an employee and comes face to face with a man she hasn’t seen in years – Kingston Barclay, her late brother Gabriel’s best friend. When Owen arrives on the scene, declaring himself Vanessa’s guardian and promptly informs her he has promised her in marriage, Mrs. Dorrian-Lane gets involved and offers another idea, that Vanessa marry Kingston, after all, he was there to hire her to find him an heiress.

Kingston returned from the war a changed man, not just because of the wounds he endured, he also harbors incredible guilt over the death of his best friend, Gabriel Becket, that guilt was magnified upon learning that his father passed away leaving his siblings penniless and alone to fend for themselves. Kingston is the heir presumptive to the Duke of Caerleon, but the duke hates him and won’t help his family, leaving Kingston with no choice but to marry a heiress. But because of the vow he made upon Gabriel’s death and the secret Kingston must keep from her, there is no way he can marry Vanessa, or is there? When Vanessa proposes a temporary marriage, it seems like the perfect solution, until he falls in love with the one woman he can never have.

This was a well-written, nicely-paced story with very likable characters and a lot of emotion. Kingston and Vanessa have a great rapport, making it very easy to root for their happily ever after. The story has a lot of emotion, some heartache, secrets, family, healing, very mild to almost closed-door love scenes, forgiveness, and finally their HEA complete with an epilogue. I did feel like Kingston’s secret was built up to be a major plot point and ended up being anti-climatic, but ultimately it didn’t diminish my enjoyment and I would happily recommend this book to my fellow HR readers. This book was originally published as Loved by the Lyon and is now being republished as a part of the Seductive Scoundrels series, with ties to several other series.

4 stars

*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.*