Tag: Jenni Fletcher

The Duke’s Runaway Bride by Jenni Fletcher

On By TracyIn Blog Tour, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

The Dukes Runaway Bride

The Duke Cover

The Duke’s Runaway Bride

From shopkeeper… To Duke’s wife
When Beatrix, Duchess of Howden, writes to her estranged husband offering a divorce, she’s stunned when he arrives on her doorstep with a different proposition: a six-week marriage trial! Quinton Roxbury seems cold and inscrutable, but Beatrix gradually realizes his rough exterior hides a heavy burden. As their connection deepens, dare she trust him with her scandalous past and risk the marriage she never knew she wanted?

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ Kobo ~ WHSmith

The Duke Author

Author Bio: 

Jenni Fletcher was born in Scotland and now lives in Yorkshire where she writes historical romance novels ranging from the Roman to late Victorian eras. She studied English at Cambridge and Hull and has been nominated for 4 RONA awards, winning for Short Romantic Fiction in 2020. She teaches Creative Writing at a university in the north of England and her favorite hobbies are baking and, of course, reading.

Social Media Links :

Twitter ~ Facebook

Tracy’s Review:

The Duke's Runaway Bride: A Historical Romance Award Winning AuthorThe Duke’s Runaway Bride: A Historical Romance Award Winning Author by Jenni Fletcher

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Belles of Bath, #3

Release Date: February 23, 2021

Months after being taken in and becoming one of the “Belles”, Belinda Carr finally faces her past and writes a letter, hoping to put Beatrix “Bea” Roxbury, the Duchess of Howden to rest and move on with her new life. She does know what to expect from her estranged husband – but having him turn up in Bath a couple of days later was not even on the list!

Quinton “Quin” Roxbury, the Duke of Howden is no stranger to scandal, but when Beatrix, the heiress he married and then who fled mere hours after the ceremony, finally contacts him and demands a divorce – that is a scandal he would rather not have his family endure. He goes to Bath to negotiate with her, hoping to avoid destroying what little standing his family still has. But the woman he finds in Bath is nothing like the quiet, mousey woman he married.

Bea is not willing to back down from her demands, especially now that she has found a home with Nancy and Henrietta – the first true home she has had since her parents died. She just wants Quin to divorce her and let her live her new life. But when he refuses, she agrees to return to Howden Hall for six weeks and give their marriage a chance as long as he agrees to grant her a divorce if things don’t work out.

At first, Bea holds herself back, refusing to get involved with his family or the running of the house, but a visit from Lady Jarrow, Anna’s grandmother-in-law, changes everything and soon Bea is not only taking her place as the duchess but is working miracles with Quin’s family as well, helping them heal from the aftermath of their father’s scandal. She also confronts Quin and makes him face his buried emotions, something that he hadn’t even realized he was doing until she points it out. They form a friendship and soon deeper feelings begin to blossom and it seems like HEA is a given – until something from Bea’s past rears its ugly head and she will have no choice but to give up her chance at happiness to protect the man she has come to love with her whole heart.

I thought this was a well-written, nicely-paced story with wonderful characters and an interesting storyline. The story has a bit of everything; a dysfunctional family, secrets, lies, warm love scenes, great secondary characters, blackmail, true love, and finally a hard-won HEA complete with an epilogue. I have to say, despite Bea being a tad selfish, some minor title errors and not to mention the casual attitude towards divorce – I think this might be my favorite book in the series so far and I can say without a doubt Quin is most definitely my favorite Jenni Fletcher hero ever! I am happy to recommend this title and even though it is the third book in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone title with no problems at all.

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

Unexpectedly Wed To The Officer by Jenni Fletcher

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

Unexpectedly Wed To The Officer (Mills & Boon Historical) (Regency Belles of Bath, Book 2)
Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Regency Belles of Bath #2
Publication Date: 01/01/21
Number of Pages: 288

This was a most refreshing and welcome read – A gem among the many dark, intense, grim, and depressing books that seem to be releasing in abundance during this lockdown and COVID pandemic period. It is a delightfully well-written, romantic, well-plotted, and well-executed read. The characters are all wonderful – not a clinker in the lot of them. I am so very happy to have found and read this book!

In the first book of the series, An Unconventional Countess, we met and got to know Henrietta Gardiner a bit, and we also learned a little about Sebastian Fortini though we didn’t actually get to meet him. Anna Fortini, Sebastian’s sister, managed their family-owned bakeshop until she met and married her hero, Samuel. When Anna married and became a Countess, she made Henrietta the manager of the shop. I tell you this only to give you a tad of the background – but – you don’t need any of it. This book is part of a series, but it can totally stand alone.

Henrietta Gardiner is so grateful to have been made manager of Belle’s Biscuit Shop, the very best biscuit shop in Bath. She loves making the biscuits and she loves the new assistant, Nancy MacQueen, who is working with her. All is right with her world, except for her troubled brother, David, who has gone off the deep-end with drinking since he lost his wife. Henrietta does her best to help with her three young nephews, but she can’t be in two places at once. Henrietta is very, very leery of men. She doesn’t trust them and she has good reason to feel that way. In her experience, all men want to do is compliment her, flatter her, and seduce her without ever getting to know the real her. So, she discourages them, vehemently.

Sebastian is feeling rudderless at the moment – and suffering from a great deal of guilt. He’s rudderless because his naval career is at an end – it seems they don’t need as many officers without a war. He feels guilty because his father died shortly after he had joined the navy and he couldn’t get home to help his sister and his mother run the shop and deal with all of the issues involved. With his mother incapacitated, he knew everything fell on Anna – and couldn’t be there to help. Well, that is all changed now because he’s back to help run the shop. Won’t Anna and his mother be surprised! They haven’t been able to communicate in over a year – no letters at all – so they have no idea he’s even coming home.

After an arduous journey by stagecoach, Sebastian arrives at the bakery in the middle of the night. He knows his mother and sister are asleep, so he’ll just let himself in and then sleep in a chair until they awaken. He’ll be so excited to see their faces when they find him home! Except – when he steps inside, he starts tripping over things – so many things have moved – he’s making more noise than he wants, but … Then, as he approaches a door, it slams open and hits him in the face, and knocks him to the ground. There stands the most beautiful angel he’s ever seen – and she’s carrying tongs as a weapon – and … she’s NOT his sister. What is going on?

After a number of shocking (to Sebastian) revelations regarding his sister’s whereabouts and status – as well as his mother’s – Sebastian isn’t sure where his future currently lies. The termagant intrigues him and he has friends with whom he wants to visit, so he’ll delay his leaving for another few days. Wise move dude.

I loved seeing Henrietta learning to trust Sebastian – something that is so very hard for her. I also loved seeing Sebastian come to terms with his sister and his mother’s choices since he’d been gone – not to mention his growing regard for Henrietta. Both of these lovely people are just that – lovely. They are giving, caring, concerned for others, and so very supportive of each other. As I said earlier, this is a delightfully happy book and it was so very welcome in this time where most of the releases from authors I read seem to be filled with dark, grim, and intense things. Now, I cannot wait for the next book.

I definitely recommend the book and hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

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