Tag: Lorraine Heath

The Earl Takes a Fancy by Lorraine Heath

On By TracyIn Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)1 Comment

The Earl Takes a Fancy (Sins for All Seasons, #5)The Earl Takes a Fancy by Lorraine Heath

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Sins for All Seasons, #5

Release Date: March 31, 2020

Fancy Trewlove has known her entire life that her family wants the best for her and that they have all worked and sacrificed to give her a better life than they had. They dream of her marrying a lord and living a fancy life and for her part, Fancy has done everything to make that dream come true. She has agreed to have a season in London and is open to wedding a lord, but when she meets Matthew Sommersby in her book shop, she is no longer sure if she can fulfil her family’s wish.

Matthew Sommersby, the Earl of Rosemont needs to escape. He was tricked into a loveless marriage and was trapped for years. When his deceitful wife dies, she arranges to have a letter published a year after her demise – a letter full of lies that paints their marriage in very romantic light and has her begging the unmarried ladies of London to save him from a lonely, loveless existence. Terrified of being trapped again, Matthew bolts and hides out in a terrace house that is in the same neighborhood as Fancy’s shop. When he first meets Fancy, he is taken by her beauty and her kindness, but he is put off when he learns she has a copy of the letter his wife had published and leaves. They meet again at the pub and share a table, he begins to rethink his position, but when he learns her plans to marry a lord “by any means necessary” he assumes the worst and thinks she is just like his wife. He plans to stay far away from her, but can’t seem to walk away and he soon realizes how wrong he was about her.

The more time they spend together, the more they want, but she needs to fulfill the dream her family has for her and he still hasn’t been honest with her about who he really is. He tries to justify his deceit by telling himself that he wants to know that she loves him for himself and not his title. He is falling in love and is planning on telling her the truth – but when she is tricked by a lord and is compromised, he is quick to judge her and leaves without a backward glance. She is heartbroken when she learns he is gone and even more so when she learns who he is, but Fancy Trewlove is stronger than anyone gives her credit for and she will deal with this on her own terms!

This was a really good story, well written, fast paced and definitely a page turner! There is a lot to like about the book, such as wonderful characters, cameos of the Trewlove siblings, steamy love scenes, some surprises, a villain you don’t end up hating, a bad guy who gets his comeuppance and a HEA complete with an epilogue. However, I felt that Matthew was something of a hypocrite – he is so sure Fancy is deceitful and judges her harshly, but the whole time he is deceiving her about his identity and while he did score big points for grand gestures at the end – I personally think he didn’t come close to the serious groveling his actions called for and I felt that Fancy was way too quick to make excuses and forgive. Overall, it was an excellent story that I immensely enjoyed and I happily recommend. This is the fifth book in the series and while it could be read as a standalone title, do yourself a favor and read the series in order.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected eARC that was provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher.*

The Duchess In His Bed by Lorraine Heath

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)1 Comment

The Duchess in His Bed (Sins for All Seasons, #4)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Sins For All Seasons #4
Publication Date: 8/20/19
Number of Pages: 320

I thoroughly enjoyed this addition to the Sins for All Seasons series. Of the six Trewlove children, I was most interested in reading Aiden’s story and Beast’s story. Aiden has intrigued me from the beginning, so I was happy to see his story. Next up is Fancy’s and maybe finally I’ll get to read Beast’s story.

Aiden is everything I thought he’d be – hard on the outside and soft in the center. He protects what is his and assures that there is no way he ever produces a bastard like himself. He’d never cause any child to have that sort of fate. I had a harder time warming up to Selena ‘Lena’ Sheffield, Duchess of Lushing. The reason I’m giving a 4-star review rather than a 5-star review is because of my problems with the duchess. Yes, I understood her dilemma, but rather than telling her brother to man up and telling her sisters the true status of their finances, she chose to ask a man like Aiden to do the unthinkable. She wanted it even after she learned his story and his strong objections. She even intended to trick him, and just the fact that she fully intended to do that said a lot about her whether she carried through or not.

Selena’s father wasn’t a very good manager of his earldom nor of his funds. So, when both of her parents were killed and her brother Winslow inherited the earldom, their financial circumstances were dire. For the good of her brother and her three sisters, she married the Duke of Lushing. She loved him but wasn’t in love with him. Their marriage was a passionless one and his only reason for the marriage was to produce an heir since he was the last of his line anywhere and his titles and estates would forfeit to the crown when he died. After seven years and no children, the duke died. Without him, there would be no dowry for her sisters and no way to financially help her brother. So, Winslow came up with a solution – Selena would quickly get pregnant and pass the child off as the dukes. ** Just as an additional comment — I REALLY disliked Winslow. **

Aiden Trewlove is one of six bastard children raised by Hettie Trewlove. Hettie was a remarkable woman who raised six remarkable children – five of whom weren’t even hers. She taught them respect, love, caring for others and how to be successful. Aiden owns two very successful clubs – The Cerberus Club, a gaming hell for men and the Elysium Club, recently given to him by his brother Finn, which caters to women. I saw one reviewer refer to it as a brothel for women, but I didn’t get that. Yes, there were a few of the men who worked there who would provide that service if the women wanted it, but the focus of the club was more pampering and caring for the women, giving them a place where they can feel beautiful, respected, and cared about.

Aiden was immediately drawn to the woman who entered his Elysium club. He couldn’t even see her face, but he felt the invisible thread pulling him in. After showing her around the club, she told him she wanted to be bedded and he told here that the servers with the red dots on their uniforms would accommodate her. Then, she told him that she wanted him only.

All it required of him was a few nights of being lost in mad, passionate lovemaking – not a hardship at all – And then walking away, never, ever, to look back.

I absolutely LOVED that the villain got his just desserts! It was the absolute perfect punishment for him. I also loved the Countess of Elverton – although you see little of her until toward the end of the book. I think she might be one of my favorite people in the entire series just for her one small role.

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