Tag: Sabrina Jeffries

What Happens in the Ballroom by Sabrina Jeffries

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

What Happens in the Ballroom (Designing Debutantes, #2)What Happens in the Ballroom by Sabrina Jeffries

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Designing Debutantes, #2

Release Date: March 28, 2023

Nathaniel Stanton, the Earl of Foxstead is a man with a lot of responsibilities and a lot of secrets. After returning from the war and mourning the death of his mother, Nate needs to fulfill a deathbed promise he made to his commanding officer. A promise to see the man’s daughter, Jocelin, and her young son Jimmy taken care of, but to do that he will need help, so he turns to Mrs. Eliza Pierce, widow of his friend Samuel and co-owner of Elegant Occasions. Nathaniel has always thought Eliza is beautiful, but she seems even more so now and she is gracious when he reveals that he is the reason her husband ran off to war. The more time he spends with her, the more he wants, unfortunately, his secrets make it impossible to marry her right now, but he hopes Eliza will be able to help Jocelin find a husband so he can complete his promise to Jocelin’s father and then court Eliza and convince her to give marriage another try.

One husband was more than enough as far as Eliza is concerned, she is happy working behind the scenes of the business she and her two sisters started. When Nathaniel asks for her help launching his ward, she is happy to help the young widow but wonders about the relationship between Jocelin and Nathaniel, especially in relation to Jocelin’s young son. Nathaniel assures her that there is nothing going on, nor has there ever been anything between them. Eliza urges him to stay away from Jocelin, as it is clear the young woman has deeper feelings for him, and when Jocelin approaches them, Nathaniel pulls Eliza into a toe-curling kiss that Nathaniel says is for confirmation (that’s his story and he’s sticking to it). Upon seeing Jocelin’s reaction, he agrees to stay away but is more determined than ever to win Eliza. Eliza finds herself considering marriage again, but when she learns one of Nathaniel’s secrets from a third party, will she still be willing to trust him with her heart?

As always, Ms. Jeffries’s writing is impeccable and her characters are not only easy to relate to, they are easy to like. This book gives the eldest Harper sister a long overdue HEA with a man that has even more secrets than Geoffrey from the previous book did! I wanted to like this book more than I did, but I just had a hard time justifying Nathaniel’s deception to protect his secrets. I kept thinking, if he can’t trust her, how can he love her? Anyway, the book still delivered a great story with likable characters, a cute toddler, LOTS of secrets, some surprising twists, warm love scenes, familiar recurring characters, delightful new characters, more than one romance, and a sweet HEA complete with an epilogue. This is the second book in the series, but it can definitely 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.*

A Yuletide Kiss, an anthology by Sabrina Jeffries, Madeline Hunter & Mary Jo Putney

On By TracyIn Anthology, Christmas, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Novella, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

A Yuletide KissA Yuletide Kiss by Madeline Hunter

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: N/A – Anthology

Release Date: September 28, 2021

This new Christmas anthology features three brand new connected novellas by three of the biggest names in Historical Romance. Each of these Regency-era novellas is set at the White Rose Inn where each couple has been stranded by a snowstorm just days before Christmas…

When We Finally Kiss Good Night by Sabrina Jeffries, 4 stars: Fans of the Duke Dynasty series will be thrilled to discover that playwright and friend of the Duke of Thornstock, Konrad Juncker is reunited with Vanessa’s friend Flora Younger, when they are both stranded on a way to the Duke of Armitage’s house party – a party that they didn’t know the other was attending. Years ago these two met in Bath and Flora believed that Konrad was courting her, but when he disappeared without even a goodbye, her heart was broken and her future took a dramatic change. Konrad regrets his actions in Bath, but he has secrets that even now prevent him from offering for Flora and he knows he should stay away from her, but he can’t seem to stop himself. This second chance romance is sweet, but a little slow-moving, however, the love scenes are on the warmer side and the ending is fabulous!

The Unexpected Gift by Madeline Hunter, 3 stars: Jenna Waverly, the owner of the White Rose Inn usually closes her establishment for the Christmas holiday, but this year her plans are drastically changed when a storm brings not only stranded travelers looking for shelter, but also brings an unconscious and very ill man to her door. Lucas Avonwood works for the Home Office, but his trip to the White Rose Inn has nothing to do with his work, this is personal. He was on his way to the inn to find the man who had an affair with his cousin and then stole a broach before disappearing when he took ill and fell off his horse. He awakes to find himself in the very inn he was planning to visit, being tended by a woman who may or may not be party to the scam against his cousin. While I did enjoy reading this novella, I thought of the three novellas in this collection, this story had the hardest job selling the romance, as it featured two strangers meeting and falling in love in literally a matter of days, and while that has been done in books before, for me, it didn’t feel genuine in this story.

When Strangers Meet by Mary Jo Putney, 4.5 stars: It has been 7 years since Kate Macleod has seen her husband, Daniel Faringdon, a husband she met, married, and parted with all on the same day, a man she never expected to see again. But apparently, fate has decided that she is not done with these two. Daniel has returned to England after years away to assume his newly inherited title of Baron Elland, and was just as surprised to see Kate as she was to see him, he wasn’t even aware their marriage in Bombay all those years ago was legal, but now that he does and has been reunited with his wife, he isn’t ready to let her go again. But keeping Kate won’t be easy, especially since she was in the process of having him declared dead so she could remarry! This was a fast-paced, nicely plotted novella with just a bit of kissing and a believable HEA.

*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.*