Tag: Shana Galen

Stealing the Duke’s Heart by Shana Galen

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

Stealing the Duke's HeartStealing the Duke’s Heart by Shana Galen
Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Anthology

Release Date: May 15, 2018

This book features two previously released novellas and my rating is an average of both

How to Steal a Duke – 4 stars – Dominick Spencer the Duke of Tremayne is on the hunt for a rare book, the Duke’s Book of Knowledge, it is written in 4 parts and he and some schoolmates what to present all four to their retiring professor. Dominick is unaccustomed to failure and when yet another man he hires to find the tome comes up empty-handed, he decides he will find it himself. He goes to the library at the Bibliomania Club and finds a serious lead. Small problem, the book may be in the hands of a mad Earl living in a remote, impenetrable castle in Cornwall. Failure is not an option, so when the answer to his problem basically falls at his feet in the form of a lovely young thief, he will not hesitate to exploit her.

Rosalyn Dasher never imagined she would grow up to be a thief, but when her gentleman father died and left them nearly penniless, their mother moved them from the country to London, they survived, but when medical bills for the youngest brother, drain the family’s funds, Rosalyn and her brothers supplement their income by stealing. When a job goes wrong and Rosalyn finds herself at the mercy of the Duke, she agrees to help him in exchange for the money needed to help her family.

They travel to Cornwall and try to ignore the desire simmering between them, but when the Earl refuses to see them and Rosalyn decides to take matters into her own hands, Dominick realizes that Rosalyn means more than the book, but is it too late??

I enjoyed this book, but really wish it was longer and the ending could have been drawn out a bit more with a more definitive HEA.

Taken by the Duke – 4 stars – Henry Selkirk is the Viscount Bexley, a title he never expected or wanted. His woe only get worse when he is tricked into acting as accountant for Prinny’s birthday and Waterloo celebrations, while planning the events at Vauxhall Gardens, he is ambushed and abducted. When he wakes, he finds himself face to face with the infamous Duke of Vauxhall, who also happens to be his childhood sweetheart, Kate Dunn.

Kate’s life has taken a huge turn since the days she lived next door to Henry Selkirk, they were best friends and falling in love when her family’s fortunes took a downturn and eventually led her into a life of crime. She has never forgotten Henry, but she is no longer the innocent young lady he knew, she is now the crime lord know far and wide as the Duke of Vauxhall and as much as she fondly remembers Henry’s sweet kisses and kindness, she has a business to run and his “improvements” to Vauxhall Gardens are hampering her crew from making money. She reveals herself to him and tells him to cease his changes – he can’t, but maybe they can work together to come up with a compromise…

I liked this story as well, my heart broke for Kate and I adored Henry, but again I wish this story was a bit longer and the ending was not quite so rushed.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read and I would happily recommend it!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an e-book that was provided to me.*

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.*