Tag: Jane Charles

Lord Maxwell’s Quest by Jane Charles

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

Lord Maxwell's Quest (The Other Trents, #2)Lord Maxwell’s Quest by Jane Charles

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Other Trents

Release Date: August 24, 2021

Lord Maxwell Trent and Miss Rosemary Fairview have known each other for ages and have been bickering for almost as long – they are both well-known antiquity hunters and have long been rivals in that field, but what neither knows is that they each have harbored a secret attraction to the other, but deny said attraction for various reasons, but primarily they both believe that they are not suited, Max believes Rosemary too reckless, and she believes he is too controlling. They are cordial and polite but go out of their way to avoid each other – a plan that has worked until now.

When a mutual friend invites them to find what may be one of Joan of Arc’s swords and return it to the rightful owner before their mutual nemesis – Rylan, a mercenary of sorts who works for Mr. Otto Fernsby, a reclusive collector who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, they will have to learn to work together or lose the sword to Fernsby. They reluctantly agree and set off, but almost immediately they realize Rylan is hot on their trail and isn’t content on waiting for them to find the sword before coming after them.

While dodging Ryland and searching for the sword, Rosemary and Max realize that there is a lot they don’t know about each other and find a new respect for one another, but even that knowledge isn’t enough to make either of them share their secret admiration. It isn’t until they find the sword and confront Fernsby that they finally admit their feelings, but by then, it might be too late for them to have a HEA.

This was a good read, with interesting characters and cameos from not only the “Other Trents”, but the Tenacious Trents too, as well as a nod to “The Wiggons’ School for Elegant Young Ladies” series. The story was good, but I felt it dragged a bit in the middle, and Rosemary and Max’s constant bickering got tedious after a while. The mystery of the sword was OK, the love scenes were very mild, but the ending is what makes this book – it was a fantastic twist that leads to a nail-biter ending! This is the second book in the series, but they are definitely standalone titles.

*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.*

The Ghost and Miss Miranda by Jane Charles

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Historical Paranormal/Fantasy, Novella, Paranormal / Fantasy, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

The Ghost and Miss Miranda (Magic and Mayhem, #4)The Ghost and Miss Miranda by Jane Charles

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Magic and Mayhem, #4 (Previously published in Wicked Liaisons Anthology)

Release Date: March 16, 2021

When Wesley Claxton, Marquess of Epworth first met Miss Miranda Vail, he assumed she was a silly girl because she believed in ghosts, but in time he realized that he was wrong about her and the two formed a strong friendship, but Wesley longs for a deeper connection and has spent the last three years trying to court her without actually declaring his intentions. Finally, an opportunity to test the waters arrives when they both attend a wedding at Castle Keyvnor. He finds Miranda alone by a wishing well and when she makes her wish, she stumbles – he saves her and initiates a kiss. He is sure she returns his feelings and makes her promise to meet him later at the ball and asks her to save a waltz for him. But when she doesn’t show and her family makes lame excuses as to why, he assumes she was turned off by his kiss and decides they aren’t meant to be, so despite breaking his heart, he vows to stay away from her.

Three months later, Miranda still can’t understand why she hasn’t heard from Wesley. They shared a passionate kiss and she thought he might return her feelings – she was disappointed that her wish to meet a ghost at Keyvnor turned ugly and the ghost forced her to leave the castle grounds immediately under the threat of death. She knows Wesley doesn’t believe in ghosts, but the entity she encountered was pure evil and she knew if she didn’t leave, the ghost would kill her. Still, she hoped that he would call on her and give her a chance to explain, but he doesn’t and she believes that she was mistaken about his intentions. She vows she will forget him and tries to concentrate on her sister’s upcoming wedding.

Wesley still hasn’t gotten over Miranda but refuses to attend her sister’s wedding, that is until his father says he can’t go and his grandmother insists he goes in his father’s stead. He both dreads and longs to see Miranda again – but their reunion is marred by a shipwreck and the threat of revenge between their villages and his refusal to believe Miranda’s reason for not attending the ball. It appears that HEA is not in the cards for these two, despite being in love. But thanks to interfering relatives – both dead and alive, these two may get their HEA after all.

This was a well-written, nicely-paced story with a large helping of the supernatural. The book has ghosts, both benign and evil, witches, sea gods that need appeasing, heartache, a lot of miscommunication, erroneous assumptions, kissing, and a HEA with an epilogue that is both sad and sweet. Personally, I felt the lack of communication between Wesley and Miranda dragged on a little too long and got to be a bit tiresome, but it all works out in the end and overall I felt the story was very good, interesting, and a little bit spooky. This is the fourth book in the series and has ties to the Castle Keyvnor anthologies (it was also previously released in the Wicked Liaison Anthology) – but it can easily be read as a standalone title without issue.

*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.*