Tag: Shana Galen

To Ruin A Gentleman by Shana Galen

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Novella, Regency Era (1811-1820)3 Comments

To Ruin a Gentleman (The Scarlet Chronicles, Book #1)To Ruin a Gentleman by Shana Galen

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Scarlet Chronicles #1
Publication Date: 1/15/19
Number of Pages: 121

What a way for an author to whet a reader’s appetite for a new series! This is an exciting tale of revolution, suspense, danger, and romance with an absolutely lovely twist! When you have an intriguing story, excellently written prose and tight plotting, you just have to have a winner – and this book has all of that. You quickly forget you are reading a novella because everything in the story is so full and robust. Goodness gracious, I can hardly wait for the next book – I’m waiting with bated breath.

Thomas Daventry has the dullest of parents. They never do anything exciting or fun. They just live quietly at their estate and are goofily in love with each other. They love him and his sisters too and have no problem showing it. However, being a boy of nineteen, he doesn’t really want much to do with sheep, fields and a drafty old pile – so he rarely visits home. When he hears an unbelievable tale from someone in London, he heads, hell-bent-for-leather, home to talk to his father and see what the real tale is.

Viscount Hugh Daventry is surprised and pleased to see his son – and begins to tell him the real story of The Scarlet Pimpernel. What an exciting tale it turns out to be. Hugh was traveling in France just as the revolution was beginning. He was setting up distribution systems to import French wines to England. Paris was already in turmoil with armed gangs burning and looting and Hugh knew it would quickly spread to the countryside. It was Hugh’s intention to honor a promise he’d made to a friend, Therese, Marquise de Beauvais. He’d promised to stop by her sisters’ home and persuade her to leave France and travel to England with him because it was not safe for any aristocrat to remain in France – not even an English one.

Comtesse d’Avignon (Angelette) has been widowed for eighteen months now and is just shedding her widow’s weeds. She loved her husband and mourned him, but it is now time to enter back into life. She’s decided to give a house party as a way of gently entering back into society and when an upstart Englishman appears and tries to persuade her that war is coming and that she should travel to England with him she is appalled. How dare he! Her servants would never betray her nor would the people in the village. She and her husband had always treated them fairly and honorably. She will admit that she has been secluded since her husband’s death and isn’t aware of any of the news, but she is positive the King will deal with whatever upstarts actually rise up and all will be well. That Englishman just needs to go on his way and leave her be!

When the worst happens and Angelette’s chateau is attacked and burned by a horde of people (some were her servants) bent on death and destruction, Hugh just barely managed to save Angelette. Their journey from that point forward is filled with danger and excitement – and, yes – romance. Angelette is determined to stay in France and help her fellow aristocrats and Hugh is determined to leave as soon as possible. How can two such disparate goals mesh into one? Will Hugh ever manage to get Angelette out of France? Will he stay and help Angelette. Well, you’ll just have to read the book to see.

This book really does whet your appetite for the next stories. However, it did leave me with a couple of questions, and I wonder if they’ll be addressed at all in upcoming books. Somehow, I don’t think so and I’d really like to know the story. What happened to Hugh’s valet? Did he manage to escape the attack? We never heard more of him. Then, what happened to the Vicomte de Merville and his pregnant wife? I really liked them and wouldn’t like to think that something bad happened. Arrangements were made for their escape, but did they actually make it? We MIGHT learn more of them in another book – I hope.

This was an excellent, suspenseful and exciting read and I certainly recommend it.

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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

Unmask Me If You Can by Shana Galen

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's Reviews2 Comments

Unmask Me If You Can (The Survivors, #4)Unmask Me If You Can by Shana Galen
Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Survivors, #4

Release Date: November 6, 2018

Lord Jasper Grantham, the son of the Marquess of Strathern is a member of the Survivors Club known as the Bounty Hunter. Jasper was badly maimed during the war, he wears a mask to hide his external scars, but lives in the shadows to hide his internal ones. Jasper has a knack for finding things and currently his mission is to find Viscount Carlisle’s runaway daughter and bring her home. This should be a straightforward mission, he will find her, bring her home to her family and then slink back into the shadows.

Olivia Carlisle ran away years ago rather than be forced to marry the man that raped her. She and her young son Richard have been living in seclusion, which is exactly what Olivia wants. But when Richard finds an unconscious man on the path to their cottage, Olivia can’t leave him to die. She nurses him back to health and isn’t really surprised to learn he has been sent to find her. She is skittish around men and forces herself to be brave while tending Jasper. But Jasper is unlike any man she has ever met and she is shock to realize she desires him. Slowly they grow close, each sharing more with the other than they have ever shared. Jasper is patient and kind with both Olivia and her son Richard (who is absolutely delightful in this book). He learns the reason she ran away and vows to protect her.

Olivia is dismayed to learn her mother is dying, but it isn’t until she discovers that Jasper’s attack may not have been a random event, that she agrees to return to London. Jasper swears he will keep them safe and will do whatever he can to ensure that the Duke of Withernsea can’t harm her or Richard. Slowly, Olivia begins to trust Jasper and finds that she craves his touch, which shocks her, she thought that Withernsea had ruined any possibility of her ever wanting intimacy.

They return to London and Olivia is welcomed home with open arms, her father swears he will find a way to break the betrothal with Withernsea and will keep him away from her. Her father sends Jasper away and then keeps them apart, each believing the other has forsaken them. But when Jasper finds a way to see her, they learn the truth, Olivia has been betrayed. But things will get worse before they get better and Jasper will have to come out of the shadows if he wants to keep Olivia in his life.

This was an amazing story, Jasper and Olivia are wonderful characters who are both dealing with painful and traumatic pasts, but rather than being a dark, depressing read, this book truly showcases the healing power of love. The book is well written, fast paced and will hold you in thrall from the first page until the final word. There are secrets, lies, betrayal, some shocking twists, a very evil villain, steamy love scenes and several laugh out loud moments thanks to Richard. I loved this book and highly recommend it, while it is the fourth book in the Survivors series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone title with no problem.

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