Tag: Jane Charles

Unwrapping the Duke by Jane Charles

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

Unwrapping the Duke (Wayward Dukes' Alliance #15)Unwrapping the Duke by Jane Charles

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Wayward Dukes Alliance, #15

Release Date: July 9, 2024 (previously published in All I Want for Christmas is a Wayward Duke Anthology)

Once upon a time Leopold Tilson, the Duke of Claybrook fell in love with Lady Bethany Grey – the best friend of Tessa, the woman he was courting. When he and Tessa agreed they would never suit, Leo turned his attention to Bethany and things seemed promising – until she pushed him into the Serpentine. When he demanded to know what he had done, she told him to call on her, but a family emergency prevented him from doing so, and by the time he returned, she refused to see him. Leaving him heartbroken and confused, even two and a half years later. But when a trip to visit family during Christmas ends with Leo wrapped in a rug and left for dead in the middle of the road, it might just be the best thing that ever happened to him.

Lady Bethany Grey has avoided Leo like the plague, especially after he never called on her to find out why she was so upset. She was going to skip Christmas with her family because she learned that he would be there. But she decides at the last minute to close her club and join the family, she will just ignore Leo as she has for the last couple of years. But when she finds him unconscious and wrapped in a rug laying in the middle of road she cannot ignore him. Forced proximity gives them a chance to sort out the past and a call from an old friend makes it impossible to pretend that they can keep their situation secret. It is clear that they will have to marry, but Bethany wonders if her heart can withstand the pain of unrequited love?

This was a well-written, nicely paced sweet second-chance romance novella. Leo and Bethany are a wonderful couple who through misunderstanding almost missed their chance at HEA, thankfully fate saw fit to give these two stubborn people a second chance. The book is filled with witty banter, an underdressed duke, long-sought answers and finally a long-awaited HEA. This was a fun, quick read that is technically a Christmas novella – but really isn’t. I enjoyed this story and would happily recommend it. This story was originally published in the “All I Want for Christmas is a Wayward Duke” anthology and has ties to the Trent Family, the Tilson Family and the Wicked Widows League & the Wayward Dukes Alliance series.
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*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 Smuggler’s Christmas Rogue by Jane Charles

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

The Smuggler's Christmas Rogue: (Scot to the Heart #5)The Smuggler’s Christmas Rogue: by Jane Charles

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Scot to the Heart, #5

Release Date: July 2, 2024

During her first season, Miss Sheena MacGregor met and fell in love with Camdyn Oaks, Earl of Irvine and heir to the Marquess Walsingham. She believed that he loved her too, but on the night he begs her to elope with him, her brothers and uncle arrive from Scotland as well as Camdyn’s father, and the ugly truth of how they met is revealed and just like that Sheena’s heart is broken. She immediately returns to Scotland determined to forget she ever laid eyes on Camdyn. But fate has other plans and a year and a half later, Sheena and her brother Ewan find themselves in need of shelter for the night and must to her dismay, end up at Oakley Park, the home of the Marquess Walsingham.

Camdyn Oaks, now Marquess Walsingham, is still in love with Sheena, though he tries to move on, he soon realizes that she is the only woman for him and sets out to win her back. Her family stands by her refusal to see him or even speak of him, but her uncle finally listens to Camdyn’s side and agrees to help him by letting him know when they go to Edinburgh and what events they will attend, but he will not force Sheena to talk to him. Happy for the chance to see her again, Camdyn returns to his estate to wait for word, but a few days before Christmas, Sheena and her brother arrive on his doorstep seeking shelter. Overjoyed by the unexpected opportunity to reconcile with Sheena, Camdyn welcomes them with open arms. But it is clear that Sheena wants nothing to do with him and plans to leave the next morning. But when help for his cause comes from an unlikely source, Camdyn will not waste a second of the limited time he has, because he knows that Sheena is his only chance for happily ever again and he won’t let her slip away a second time without a fight.

The was a very sweet second chance for romance between feuding families. Sheena was hurt deeply and unwilling to give Camdyn a chance to explain himself and refused to believe his claims of love, I understood her bitterness, but I felt that she held on to that bitterness a bit longer than necessary. Other than that small quibble, I really enjoyed this story and would happily recommend this novella.

Note: This story was previously published in the Christmas in Cumbria anthology and is part of the Scot to the Heart series with a connection to the Trents.

*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. *