Tag: Shana Galen

Beauty and the Thief by Shana Galen

On By TracyIn Part of a Series, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)1 Comment

Beauty and the Thief (The Royal Saboteurs #1)Beauty and the Thief by Shana Galen

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Royal Saboteurs, #1

Release Date: August 9, 2022

Miss Bridget Murray is the secretary to “Baron” the head of a secret government agency known as the Royal Saboteurs, an agency sworn to protect the crown and country from threats. Bridget works closely with the Baron and specializes in decryption, but today she is charged with escorting several new recruits to the agency’s training facility, known as “The Farm”. With the train due to leave in minutes, she is still missing one man – Callahan “Cal” Kelly, and let’s just say their first meeting was memorable. Bridget can’t understand why the Baron would want the Irishman, in her experience, Irishmen are not trustworthy or dependable, at least her dad wasn’t.

Cal is a charming conman, plain and simple, he is also a thief, a recovering alcoholic, and a recovering gambling addict, who has no idea why the Baron thinks he could be useful to him, but the money he offered Cal could set him on a new path and since he needed to get out of London for a bit anyway, he accepted the invite. He even starts to enjoy the training and is doing very well, but what he especially likes is teasing the uptight Miss Murray, who is all that is prim and proper, but clearly has a fire burning in her that is as vibrant as her lovely hair!

After a few weeks of training, it becomes clear why the Baron sought out Cal, he needed an Irishman to infiltrate a group of anarchists in Ireland, intent on breaking the Act of Union and reclaiming the Kingdom of Ireland. At first, Cal is eager to get on with the mission and get paid. Add to that the fact that Bridget has been ordered to go with him, posing as his wife is a bonus, because it is clear to him, that she is not nearly as indifferent to him as she wants him to believe. But once they get to Dublin the danger becomes real and Cal will be tested at every turn and his loyalties questioned. Will he be the man he wants to be or will his demons cost him everything, including the woman he has come to love?

This was such a great story, in all honestly, it did start a bit slow, but that is to be expected with the first book in a series, as the author needs to set up the series, build the world, introduce characters, etc. But once they get to Dublin, the story takes off and is non-stop until the last page. Bridget started out uptight and a wee bit self-righteous, while Cal was shifty and self-serving, but they both embraced their destiny and evolved into truly wonderful characters. Their love story is filled with spies, secrets, murder, anarchists, steamyish love scenes, action, intrigue, and finally a hard-won HEA. I really enjoyed this story and can’t wait for the next installment! I can without hesitation, highly recommend this title to both Historical Romance and Historical Intrigue fans.

*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.*

I Want You to Want Me by Shana Galen

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

I Want You to Want Me (The Survivors, #12)Barbara’s rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Series: The Survivors #12
Publication Date: 3/8/22
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 326

The last of our Survivors from Draven’s Dozen has finally found his HEA. Nicholas St. Clare lived for horses before the war. He rode them, he trained them, he groomed them – he just loved them. Then, during the heat of battle, he lost it all. He nearly died when his beloved warhorse fell on him, but his fellow survivors found him and saved him – at least they saved most of him. His legs were horribly crushed and the doctors were sure he’d never walk again. He did manage to walk again – very slowly and very painfully – but walk he did. What he cannot do – and will never be able to do is ride again. He’s ashamed of his horrible scars and deformed legs, so he thinks everyone pities him and would run in horror if they ever saw his scars. He doesn’t ever want to marry, but his mother is on a crusade and she’s wanting to parade all of those typical ton misses before him. He can’t do it – he just can’t do it – and then, he doesn’t have to because he inadvertently compromises a local gently born lady. Hmmm – so he finds himself presented with the opportunity for a marriage in name only that will perfectly suit both the lady and himself. Yep – we all know how well that is going to work.

Amelia Blackstock has spent her life nursing one ill family member or another. She’s loving, dutiful, and finally has at least a little freedom since her father’s death. Well, maybe a tad too much freedom or maybe it is a bit of poor judgment. Now, she’s in a spot of bother, and being compromised by Lord Nicholas might not be a bad thing at all.

I really liked Amelia and I loved how she saw Nicholas as more than his injuries. From the very beginning, she defended him and protected him – and that was before she even really knew him at all. I liked Nicholas as well and I could understand his insecurities – but I thought they went on a bit too long.

I loved the house party with all of the survivors and their wives. It was great to catch up with them and see them all with their families. Rafe Beaumont was particularly entertaining, but I would have liked to see some grand epiphany that allowed him and his family to live in England.

All-in-all, it was a lovely read and a sweet farewell to the Survivors. Nicholas’s sister Fortensia could certainly use her own HEA, so maybe we’ll get that in another series. I really liked her and how well she cared for Nicholas.

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

View all my reviews