Tag: Sasha Cottman

Rogue For Hire by Sasha Cottman

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Novella, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment
Book cover for Rogue for Hire (Rogues of the Road Book 1) by Sasha Cottman
  • Series: Rogues of the Road #1
  • Publication Date: 2/1/21
  • Number of Pages: Novella

Lord Harry Steele is the fourth son of the Duke of Redditch.  Harry is definitely a free-wheeling, young man who follows none of the social norms.  He’s flamboyant, outrageous, as well as kicked out of the family home and cut off without a farthing to support himself.  In the year since his father kicked him out, he has started his own business.  Now, instead of always causing scandals, he is managing scandals for others.  There was no way he could have kept his sanity and gone into a job as a soldier, clergyman, etc. as his father wanted.  Along with managing scandals, he and his friends, known as Rogues of the Road, have started a coaching enterprise – which works really well as a cover for their more questionable enterprises.

Alice North is an heiress, the daughter of a man who was very big in trade.  He could buy any member of the ton several times over and still have pocket change.  In other words, he was very rich.  Her father’s wealth is the reason she has to seek out someone to manage a potentially scandalous situation in her family.  Her younger sister, Patience, is besotted with a man Alice is sure is a fortune hunter.  He’s slick, ingratiating, and sly.  That is how Alice finds herself employing Lord Harry Steele to extricate them from the clutches of Cuthbert Saint.

Harry and Alice are immediately attracted to each other, but she is … well, she knows his reputation.  Harry does the most outrageous things (even by today’s standards) and he leads her into some really low-life places.  Yet, she finds them titillating rather than offensive. 

It seems that I have a love/hate relationship with books written by this author.  I love the idea of the stories and they are well plotted.  They are also filled with anachronisms and period incorrectness (is that a word?).  Basically, it is a very contemporary story that just happens to have a carriage and a chemise thrown in.  In this novella, I couldn’t even begin to guess the correct period in which the story is set.  Somewhere a date would have been a welcome addition.  The heroine wore dresses that buttoned down the front and the hero wore trousers with a button placket rather than a fall-front.  So, definitely later than Regency.  However, the hero is starting up a new coaching line – which doesn’t seem to be a very good business decision with train travel on the way not too long after the Regency period.  Anyway, things like this may not bother you in the least, but they make me crazy.  If this doesn’t bother you, you’ll probably love the story. I might have the periods all muddled up, but I would like to know which period I’m reading.

I found myself remarkably ambivalent about both Harry and Alice.  I didn’t really love them, but I didn’t hate them either.  I think I just never came to care about them as people or as a couple.  My favorite character was actually Patience, and I would have loved more page time with her.

My bottom-line is – I mostly enjoyed the read, but I would not read it again.  The other friends in Harry’s Rogues of the Road sound much more interesting than Harry and I’ll look forward to seeing how things go for them.

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

The Duke’s Daughter by Sasha Cottman

On By BarbaraIn Audiobook, Barb's Reviews, Regency Era (1811-1820)2 Comments

The Duke's Daughter (The Duke of Strathmore, #3)Barbara’s rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Duke of Strathmore #3
Publication Date: 9/8/17
Number of Pages: 302
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW – Narrator – Janine Haynes

The narrator did a good job – her voice was well suited to the book and I enjoyed listening to her. We met Lady Lucy Radley in the first and second books of the series and I really liked her, so I was looking forward to reading her story. I was so very disappointed as this book presented a Lucy I didn’t recognize in the least – nor did I recognize the rest of her family – especially her father. Everything seemed so very contrived. This book is one of the author’s first, so I’m sure her later books are better.

Avery Fox came from an abusive family and ran away at thirteen to join the military. They definitely were not of the upper classes – his father and brother were thugs and smugglers. Avery almost died at Waterloo and returned home to find that his brother had been declared the heir to the Earl of Langham (An Unsuitable Match). Avery is NOT his brother who is now missing and who caused irreparable harm to the Langham and Strathmore families. Once his brother’s body is found, Avery is declared Langham’s heir. Avery doesn’t know what his brother did to these people, but they don’t trust him in the least. In my view, Avery suffers from a version of PTSD or survivors remorse.

Lady Lucy Radley has seen her two older brothers marry in rapid succession – both for love – and that is what she wants for herself. However, none of the eligible bachelors of the ton stir her pulse in the slightest. Until she meets Avery Fox at her brother’s wedding ball. She decides she wants to help him learn the ways of society and take him under her wing. Then, things go awry when they are caught in a compromising position and their families insist on a wedding. Avery refuses – and the squabbles begin.

This could easily have been a 5-star read – the premise of the story is great and I was really looking forward to it. However, it dragged on and on and on until I couldn’t stand either character and didn’t care whether they got their HEA or not. They’d come together and I’d think – okay here we go – and then – one of them would say the tiniest thing or do the tiniest thing and the other was off. That went on forever – I was so tired of it. The book could have been condensed to half its size and been a much better read. Or, they could have had their grand epiphany much earlier in the book and then, when they go to Paris they could spend more time together tracking down the watch owner and his family. Something. There was just way, way, way too much angst in this book.

The author continues to use non-Regency terms, etc. I had thought she’d get better as she wrote more books – but – for instance – nobody – absolutely nobody – drinks tea. Then, there is the ‘ruination’ of Lucy. There were no witnesses to their kiss other than her doting, loving father and the Earl of Langham who has a vested interest in what is best for Avery. These two didn’t ask the first question – which would be totally out of character for her father who dotes on her – especially when she begged him not to force a marriage. That part of the plot just fell flat. Another incongruity – Avery had earned the rank of lieutenant yet the author constantly says he was not an officer. Lieutenant is an officer – that is the rank that is usually purchased for those second-sons of aristocrats, but Avery actually earned it.

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