Tag: Shana Galen

The Claiming of the Shrew by Shana Galen

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's Reviews1 Comment

The Claiming of the Shrew (The Survivors, #5)The Claiming of the Shrew by Shana Galen
Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Survivors, #5

Release Date: April 16, 2019

Lt. Colonel Benedict Draven has been introduced to readers as the stoic, serious and dedicated to King and Country leader of the “Survivors” – but at the end of the last book, readers got a shock when they learned the seemingly “confirmed bachelor” was married!!

Draven met Catarina Neves five years ago in Portugal, where he was on campaign. She enters his tent and holds him at gun point – demanding a husband. He disarms her, refuses to marry her and sends her on her way. But Cat is desperate to escape an unwanted match and refuses to give up her idea to marry. When days later, Draven catches her trying to lure one of his men out of the camp, he intervenes. He takes her back to his tent to talk and then learns why she needs to marry – in a spur of the moment decision, he agrees to wed her – knowing the marriage won’t be considered legal in England. They marry, share a kiss and part – neither truly expecting to see the other again.

Five years later – Cat shocks Draven by showing up unannounced at his home, she completely misinterprets the scene and leaves in a rage – Draven follows her and she agrees to meet with him the next day. She wants an annulment of their marriage so she can remarry. Draven refuses and says they should spend time together before they decide if they should annul.

Cat needs the annulment, not because she truly wishes to remarry, but because she is being blackmailed by Juan Carlos – a rival lace-maker in Barcelona. Cat has come a long way in the last five years, she left home with her younger sister Ines and became a renown lace-maker, leaving Portugal and settling in Spain. Juan Carlos had tried for years to buy her business, but she steadfastly refused, but when he witnesses her saving herself from a rapist, he helps her cover up the incident and then demands that she marry his son and give him control of her business. Cat feels she has no choice, but Draven isn’t cooperating and soon learns the truth. He vows to help her and when the threat of Juan Carlos is done, they can decide how to proceed with their “marriage”.

Draven is and always has been attracted to Cat, but he is surprisingly insecure regarding his age, he is much older than Cat (almost 20 years) and is sure that she wouldn’t want to shackle herself to an old man. But the more time he spends with her, the more he wants and he is not sure he can let her go. For her part, Cat is grateful to Draven and his age doesn’t concern her, she is attracted to him and wants him, but she is not willing to forfeit her freedom to be with him – or any man. But the more time she spends with him, she begins to wonder if with Draven she can have it all.

This was a wonderful May-December romance, with lots of cameos from previous (and dare I hope, future) “Survivors”, featuring a feisty heroine, a swoon-worthy hero, a really nasty villain, a bit of action, some steamy love scenes, a cat that you will not soon forget and a delightful HEA! The only reason I didn’t give the book 5 stars is because I felt that Draven’s obsession about his age got to be a bit repetitive, thankfully, he finally gets over it, but not before I got tired of hearing about it. This book is the fifth book in the series, but I believe it can be read as a stand alone title with no problems.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me.*

To Tempt A Rebel by Shana Galen

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Other, Top Pick - Highly RecommendedLeave a comment

To Tempt a Rebel (The Scarlet Chronicles, #4)To Tempt a Rebel by Shana Galen

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Scarlet Chronicles #4
Publication Date: 3/12/19

Author Shana Galen has taken the French Reign of Terror, wrapped it in a bow and called it her own. The research is impeccable, the writing is superb and the characters – both male and female – are heroic. Here is a warning though – before you start to read, be sure you have taken care of your personal needs, have plenty of snacks and drinks beside your reading chair and maybe a comfy, snug blanket to wrap up in – because – you will not be able to put the book down once you start reading.

Both the king and queen are dead, their daughter was rescued from the tower in the last book and now, it is time to rescue the young eight-year-old Louis Charles, the new king. He has been horribly abused, he is living in his own filth, he’s emaciated and very sickly. The Pimpernels have to get him out soon or there won’t be any point. Security around Louis Charles’ tower cell is impenetrable and there is no way the Pimpernels can gain entry to rescue him without someone on the inside of the regime helping them.

Tristan Chevalier hates aristos with his entire being. He doesn’t believe any of them have even one redeeming quality. That is one of the main reasons he joined the revolution. Oh, he wanted freedom and equality, but more than anything he wanted revenge against the man who destroyed his family. However, now that Robespierre’s bloodthirst has caused untold thousands of executions, Tristan is having doubts. He still wants the freedom and equality, but he’s seeing that the citizens are neither free nor equal under Robespierre. When he is approached by Citoyen Allie, he reluctantly agrees to turn over documents that will show Robespierre’s perfidy and bring his Reign of Terror to an end. He’s still staunchly loyal to France – just not to Robespierre. He’s also just fallen into the trap set by the Pimpernel’s – and he isn’t going to like what he learns.

We’ve met Alexandra Martin in the previous books. She is an actress, she’s smart, clever, and skilled at both acting and disguises. She believes in the work the Pimpernels are doing with all her heart and she’ll give her life to save any of her fellow members. Alex’s role is usually in the background – using her talents with costumes and make-up to disguise the other members for their various missions. She’s also the ‘visible’ one – the one who openly mixes with the population (as an actress) and who openly rents the safe-house, etc. However, Alex has a new mission that is most definitely not behind-the-scenes. She is to ensnare Robespierre’s second – Tristan Chevalier and convince him to help them rescue Louis Charles.

I absolutely loved both Alex and Tristan. They were a wonderful couple who vehemently fought their attraction every step of the way. Alex’s dedication to the cause was visible in everything she did and I admired her loyalty. I also loved that Tristan wasn’t a pushover – you wondered to the very end if he’d betray the Pimpernel’s – even at the cost of his own life. It is a pure, unadulterated, edge-of-the-seat read.

This is definitely a five-star read, but I would say that I’d love it if there were an Author’s Note section that fills in some of the real history with which the author took poetic license.

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

Previous books In the series – click on the title to see our reviews:

To Ruin A Gentleman
Traitor in Her Arms
Taken By the Rake

About the Author:

ShanaGalen

Shana Galen is three-time Rita award nominee and the bestselling author of fast-paced, witty, and adventurous Regency romances. Kirkus says of her books, “The road to happily-ever-after is intense, conflicted, suspenseful and fun,” and RT Bookreviews calls her books “lighthearted yet poignant, humorous yet touching.” She taught English at the middle and high school level off and on for eleven years. Most of those years were spent working in Houston’s inner city. Now she writes full time. She’s happily married and has a daughter who is most definitely a romance heroine in the making.

Want to know more? Visit Shana’s website at http://www.shanagalen.com and sign up to be notified when Shana has a new release http://bit.ly/ShanaGalenNews