Tag: Kristin Vayden

In the Eyes of the Earl by Kristin Vayden

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

In the Eyes of the EarlIn the Eyes of the Earl by Kristin Vayden

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Cambridge Brotherhood, #3

Release Date: July 11, 2023

Collin Morgan, the Earl of Penderdale, needs answers, someone has been committing crimes in his name, which has caused him to be suspended from his work in the War office. This is unacceptable and he is determined to find the criminal who is ruining his life! His search leads him to an old friend at Cambridge and the man’s annoying, bluestocking daughter, Elizabeth. It is clear that Elizabeth doesn’t think too highly of Collin, but when he learns her secret, he uses the knowledge to gain her help in his investigation, and he is unsurprised that they make a good team. But when a decision he makes places her in danger, there is nothing he won’t do to keep her safe.

Elizabeth Essex has lived most of her life at Cambridge, she is educated in a way that most women could never dream of, and she is brilliant in her own right. She believes it is unfair that women cannot attend classes at the college and seeks to right that wrong by secretly teaching women. When Elizabeth collides with Collin while he is in pursuit of someone, she learns why he is at Cambridge and they call a truce. Working together, they will figure out who is impersonating him and reclaim his good name and just maybe fall in love along the way.

This was another intriguing installment of the Cambridge Brotherhood that has a very slow-burning, no-heat romance featuring an enemies-to-lovers trope. The book has a decent mystery and is filled with witty banter, an intelligent heroine, a charming hero, tea smuggling, secrets, leads that like to push each other’s buttons, bees, great secondary characters, and a HEA complete with an epilogue. I do wish there had been some steam in this story, not that the book suffered from the lack, but I still think it would have enhanced the book. This is the third book in the series and while it can be read as a standalone title, I would recommend reading the series in order.

*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.*

My Dearest Duke by Kristin Vayden

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

My Dearest Duke (Cambridge Brotherhood, #2)My Dearest Duke by Kristin Vayden

Tracy’s rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: Cambridge Brotherhood, #2

Release Date: November 8, 2022

As a professor of Divinity at Cambridge, Lord Rowles Haywind was happy with his lot in life, but all that changes when his brother is killed along with several others, and Rowles finds himself in a role he isn’t prepared for, the new Duke of Westmore, with not only the responsibilities of the dukedom but also the care of his mother, who is mentally ill and had declined since his brother Robert’s unexpected death. His mother’s care is something he takes seriously and something that worries him, will he be afflicted? Would his children? To be safe, he decides not to marry, but that is before he meets his best friend’s sister, Lady Joan Morgan, and is intrigued, even though he tries his best to keep some distance between them.

Joan is drawn to Rowles, as they not only have an instant intellectual connection but also share a tragic common bond by way of the deaths of their brothers. Joan’s eldest brother died at the same bachelor party as his brother did and her brother Collin “Morgan” became the Earl of Penderdale. Joan and Morgan work for the Home Office, Joan is an expert at detecting forgeries and reading people, but if this ever got out, it would mean scandal and ruin. But as get to know each other and they begin to engage in a lot of deep and theological conversations, she starts to fall for him, and she longs to share her work with him but fears his reaction, and the longer she waits, the harder it is to tell him.

This was not a hit for me, it was a book of missed opportunities, and based on the blurb, I was expecting so much more action and drama, but instead, I got a very sweet, slow-moving story about two people dealing with grief and their journey to healing. This is a slow-burn, no-steam romance with likable characters each with their own issues to overcome. I did notice a lot of reviewers seeming surprised by the Christian undertones in the book, but Rowles was a Professor of Divinity, so I wasn’t really surprised by the references, and I don’t think I would go as far as to label it a “Christian” romance. Overall, the book was not what I was hoping for, it was a slow, and at times boring read. This is the second book in the series, but it could be read as a standalone title.

*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.*