Tag: Jess Michaels

The Wallflower List by Jess Michaels

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

The Wallflower List (About An Earl #1)The Wallflower List by Jess Michaels

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5/4 of 5 stars

Series: About an Earl, #1

Release Date: October 8, 2024

When her best friend and fellow wallflower Lady Claudia dies unexpectedly, Lady Marianne is heartbroken, especially by the small showing at Claudia’s funeral. It sets her to thinking about her own life and when she finds a list of things Claudia wanted to do before she died, she at first shocked and then intrigued. Wanting to honor her friend and live the life her friend so clearly wanted, Marianne sets out to complete the list. And starts by having her maid alter one of her gowns to be more daring, thus accomplishing one of Claudia’s items “Wear Something Daring” and to her complete and utter surprise, this small change triggers a huge change in her life. For the first time she feel “seen” and even garners the attention of her brother’s best friend, Sebastian, the Earl of Ramsbury, a man she has long considered a friend, but one who clearly never saw her as a woman until that night. She asks his help in completing the list (without telling him of the list) and finally admits to herself that what she feels for Sebastian is much more than friendship but knows he will never want a wallflower like her. But that doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy the attention while she has it.

Sebastian, the Earl of Ramsbury has been friends with Phineas “Finn”, the Earl of Delacourt and his younger sister Marianne for as long as he can remember, they are two of the most important people in his life and he would never do anything to threaten those relationships. But he starts to see Marianne in a new light when she makes a splash at the Brighthollow ball and has to force himself to remember that he promised Finn that he would never seduce his sister. But some promises need to be broken and when he shares a forbidden kiss with Marianne, he is lost and might end up losing everyone he cares about if he can’t control his desire for the only woman he absolutely shouldn’t want.

I liked this book, but it wasn’t really the story I was hoping for, as Marianne turns out to be a sort of Regency era Pollyanna. She was a very nice character – maybe too nice and even with her “daringness” to complete Claudia’s list with things like: Fill my dance card, learn to play billiards, and go to a party uninvited. There was nothing really shocking (save the last item on the list) to my jaded mind. And as much as I love a good “Brother’s Best Friend” trope, this wasn’t quite that, since Sebastian was already legitimately good friends with her, so I think I had a hard time accepting that he never “saw” her until that ball. Anyway, it was a cute story with a bit of drama and some fairly steamy scenes, but I just felt like this could have been so much more than it was, that being said, I did enjoy the book and would happily recommend it. I am also looking forward to reading Finn’s story which is the next book in the series.

*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. *

Not The Duke You Marry by Jess Michaels

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

Not the Duke You Marry (The Kent's Row Duchesses #3)Not the Duke You Marry by Jess Michaels

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Kent’s Row Duchesses, #3

Release Date: November 14, 2023

Bernadette “Etta”, the widowed Duchess of Tunbridge is feeling a bit out of sorts after her two dearest friends marry. She is happy for them, but can’t help but feel a little jealous and maybe even sorry for herself. Her marriage was by no means a love match, for the most part, he ignored her, just as her parents had always done, but after his death, she moved to Kent Row and made friends, but now they are married and leaving and she wonders what is her next step. She considers taking a lover and even mentions it to her childhood friend Theodore “Theo” Tinsley, the Duke of Lightmorrow, who by all accounts is a rake of the first order. But that conversation doesn’t go well and she is embarrassed. Later she finds a letter addressed to her late husband from Donville Masquerade, a pleasure club, and her curiosity is piqued. She visits the club and decides to join, hoping to find a lover. But instead of an anonymous lover, it is Theo who finds her. He gives her a taste of pleasure, but immediately takes her home. She presses him and he agrees to engage in an affair but makes it clear that it is only about pleasure, nothing more. She agrees to his terms, but wonders if she will be able to keep her word, as Theo has always held a part of her heart.

Theo is and always has been attracted to Bernadette and considers her a friend, a friend he doesn’t want to lose. They embark on their affair and it is clear that they are perfectly matched in bed. Theo is amazed that her late husband didn’t want her, not only is she passionate, but she is clever, kind, and considerate – what more could a man want? As his feelings deepen, he begins to long for more from their relationship and wonders if Etta feels the same. But before he can declare his love and desire to marry her, a hurtful secret from his past will crush any hope he has of HEA with the woman he now knows he can’t live without.

In my opinion, this is the best book in the series. I loved Bernadette and Theo together, I felt their chemistry right from the beginning of the series and couldn’t wait for their story and it was well worth the wait! This book is filled with emotion, insecurity, friendship, a near-death experience, steamy love scenes, vindictive family members, a little heartache, forgiveness, and finally a lovely declaration scene leading to the start of their HEA and as if that wasn’t enough, there is also a very sweet epilogue featuring all the couples. I liked the previous books, but I LOVED this one and highly recommend it to readers who enjoy steamy friends-to-lovers stories. This is the third and final book in the series, but it could definitely be read as a standalone title.
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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.*