Tag: Emma Orchard

A Gentleman’s Offer by Emma Orchard

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Historical Rom-Com, Regency Era (1811-1820), Standalone Title, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

A Gentleman's OfferA Gentleman’s Offer by Emma Orchard

Tracy’s Rating: 2 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone Title

Release Date: March 22, 2025

When Miss Margaret “Meg” Nightingale, the estranged daughter of Baron Nightingale, receives notice from her aunt that her recently betrothed identical twin sister, Maria, has gone missing, she agrees to come to London to take her place until she is found. But Meg is not one to stand idly by and let someone else take charge, she makes it her mission to find Maria. She informs her sister’s betrothed, Sir Dominic De Lacy of the situation and demands that he assist her in finding her sister. She is attracted to Dominic and he to her, but until they find Maria and learn why she bolted, they won’t be able to act on that attraction. When they found Maria and learned why she left should make it easier for them to be together, but finding Maria only makes it harder.

Sir Dominic De Lacy, known to the ton as Beau De Lacy due to his manners and personality, has been a happy-go-lucky bachelor, but when his mother tells him of a promise his late father made to Baron Nightingale, he agrees to marry Maria Nightingale, and after just two supervised meetings, he proposes, and she accepts. He is not really attracted to her, but since he never expected to marry for love, he accepts that this will be a typical arranged marriage and only hopes they will get on better than his own parents did. However, when he sees his betrothed at their engagement ball, he is stunned at his reaction to her and a bit relieved when he learns the truth. He agrees to help Meg find her sister but makes it clear that he won’t be marrying Maria. The more time he spends with Meg, the more he knows that she is the woman he never expected to find and the only Nightingale he will marry.

The blurb for this book, hooked me hard and reeled me in, but sadly, it failed to deliver the story I was expecting. The story has a lot going on including a twin swap, estranged families, secrets, lies, blackmail, slow-burn romance, and finally a HEA for almost everyone. I wanted to love the book, but I found Meg annoying and Dominic a bit too beta for my taste, add to that the ridiculous plot and the very wordy dialogue that caused the story to drag, and unfortunately, this book just didn’t work for me.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

What the Lady Wants by Emma Orchard ~ BLOG TOUR

On By TracyIn Blog Tour, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

What The Lady Wants

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What the Lady Wants

Autumn, 1816…

Lady Ashby is grieving the death of her beloved husband, just two years earlier. Although still young and beautiful, Isabella is resolved never to marry again, and plans to leave London, return to her parents’ Yorkshire house, and resign from society before the year is over. But first, she wants one more taste of life…

Isabella has written a list, the contents of which, if discovered, would create a scandal that neither she nor her family would recover from. A list of things she would like to experience, just once more, before she surrenders herself to the life of a widow. And she knows just the man to help her: her friend, handsome and honourable Captain Leo Winterton.

But Captain Winterton has a secret of his own. He is in love with Isabella – and when she makes her most improper proposal to him, he is powerless to resist her, even if she is resolved never to love again. Can he persuade her they are destined to be together? Or will their impropriety be discovered, to the ruin of both?

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Author Bio:

Emma was born in Salford and studied English Literature at the universities of Edinburgh and York. Her first job after graduating was as a Copy-Editor at Mills & Boon, where she met her husband in a classic enemies-to-lovers romance. Emma has worked behind the scenes in television and as a Literary Agent, and in 2020 started writing Georgette Heyer fan-fiction.

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Tracy’s Review:

What the Lady Wants (The Runaway Heiress #3)What the Lady Wants by Emma Orchard

Tracy’s Rating: 3/3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Runaway Heiress, #3

Release Date: August 14, 2024

Isabella, the widow of Lord Ashby Mauleverer is out of mourning for her beloved Ashby and preparing to retire from society, but before she does, she wants one last adventure and has made a list of things she wants to accomplish – a list that could ruin her. To complete her list, she will need help and has decided that Captain Leo Winterton is the perfect man for the job! Isabella has no desire to remarry nor fall in love, but she isn’t quite ready to wither away, and despite her grief, she longs for a connection and hopes that Leo can be that man.

Captain Leo Winterton has been in love with Isabella for years, but she was happily married, so he suffered his unrequited love in silence. But when Isabella approached him with her request for his help with her “list”, he is torn between the opportunity to finally be with the woman he has loved from afar and his sense of propriety. He also knows that he could be setting himself up for further heartbreak as Isabella has made it clear that love and marriage will play no part in her future. Will he risk his heart for the chance to change her mind?

This was an interesting story, not quite what I was expecting, as it was more emotional that I thought it would be. Isabella’s journey to let go of the grief of losing her beloved Ashby and finding herself was the focus of this book. Which is fine, but it does seem to make the romance seem like a secondary plot point, rather than the primary story. This book is full of emotion, self-discovery, unrequited love, a bit of steam, wonderful secondary characters, a bit of angst, a second chance at love, and finally a HEA. Overall, I liked this story, but not quite as much as the previous books and I while I would recommend this title, I don’t think I would read it again. This is the third book in the series, but it could be read as a standalone title with no problems.

3, maybe 3.5 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. *

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