Tag: Shana Galen

Her Royal Payne by Shana Galen

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

Her Royal Payne (The Survivors #10)Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Survivors #10
Publication Date: 6/15/21
Period: Regency

This book is fast-paced, interesting, and adventurous while easily entwining romance and love with danger and suspense. I read it through in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down – so imagine my bleary eyes at 7:30 AM when I finally read the last word. The characters are compelling, interesting, strong, complex, and absolutely perfect for each other. We met and got to know Rowden Payne in book 9 of the series, Sweet Rogue of Mine, when Rowden helped his fellow survivor, Nash Pope, find his way back from the dark abyss in which he’d been living. We actually have two romances in this book – one between Rowden and Modesty and another between Rowden’s manager, Chibale Okoro, and a French modiste, Therese Renauld. The main romance, of course, is between Rowden and Modesty, but Chibale and Therese’s story takes up quite a bit of real estate in the story as well.

Since being disinherited by his father, a duke, Rowden Payne has earned his living as the pugilist known as the Royal Payne. It pleases Rowden that his success as a pugilist rankles his father, and Royal Payne just adds to that. Rowden may be large, strong, handsome, and a celebrated war hero, but he is also one of the nicest and most caring people we’ll meet. It will make your heart hurt to learn that he will never marry and have a family of his own. He’s so lonesome and in need of a family since he no longer has the one into which he was born.

Modesty Brown is the daughter of a very strict, uptight, puritanical preacher, Samuel Brown. After losing her mother around the age of five, Modesty had no one except her father. She idolized both of her parents and did her very best to emulate them in all facets of her life. She was obedient and dutiful as any good daughter should be. How could she be otherwise when her father was perfect? Or is he?

The meeting between Rowden and Modesty is priceless. He’s seconds away from winning a lucrative match when he is distracted by a group of religious zealots who march into the audience shouting and urging the attendees to repent and leave that evil place. He’s distracted by the riveting eyes on the young woman in the group – but only for a second – that second, however, is all it takes to get him knocked out.

Somehow, Modesty keeps intruding into his life and while he knows he should just refuse to help her, he can’t do that. He refuses to love her – he certainly won’t marry her – but he’ll do all in his power to keep her safe when her father disappears.

At the same time, Rowden is doing his best to avoid Modesty, his manager, Chibale, is actively pursuing a popular French modiste, Therese. Chibale is a great character and I liked him very much. His grandfather emigrated from Africa to England before Chibale’s father was born. His parents are lovely people and they have raised a loving family while running a successful imported spice business. Chibale is smart, articulate, confident, and very caring. Therese has a sad history that she left behind in France and doesn’t trust men. However, Chibale is such a caring man – so attentive and loving toward his sister – how could she not come to respect – and even care for him.

When both Modesty and Therese are threatened by the same evil, Rowden and Chibale will each do all they can to save the ladies.

I absolutely loved the book and highly recommend it. You can’t go wrong with two romances, wonderful characters, and exciting, dangerous adventures. I felt Chibale and Therese’s romance took time and development away from Rowden and Modesty. I understand the current requirement that every book have some sort of racial or sexual preference segment in it. However, I would have loved to see Chibale and Therese in their own novella. That would have allowed further development of each of the characters and their romance. I think the author did an outstanding job with the combination of romances, but I was left wanting more of each of them. I would also have loved to see some hint of a softening in Rowden’s father as well.

Bottom line – it is a wonderful read and you absolutely cannot go wrong by reading it.

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

Sweet Rogue of Mine by Shana Galen

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Regency Era (1811-1820), Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Sweet Rogue of MineSweet Rogue of Mine by Shana Galen

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Survivors, #9

Release Date: February 9, 2021

Nash Pope was a sharpshooter in Draven’s company and lost his sight when debris damaged his left eye – his right eye was spared, but he can barely see anything out of it, just vague shapes, and no color. Nash did not take well to blindness and as a result was sent to Wentmore, one of his father’s lesser estates in Milcroft to convalesce. But Nash did not find peace in the country, instead, he sunk deeper into despair, drinking to forget, and refusing anyone’s help. But it wasn’t until he hit rock bottom and shot one of his friends and threatened to shoot others that his father, the Earl of Beaufort, finally had enough and sent Rowden Payne in a final attempt to straighten Nash out. If Rowden fails, the earl has made it clear that he will have no choice but to commit Nash to an asylum. Angry about his father’s interference and Rowden’s willingness to do his bidding – which includes removing all the liquor from the house and hiring men to make repairs. Nash escapes the house and goes for a walk and ends up getting stuck in the mud. He is wondering how he will get out when he hears a woman singing, a very bawdy song and making effort to not be heard.

Prudence “Pru” Howard is new to the village of Milcroft, her parents are missionaries and have decided to take a post in the far East – without Pru. They leave her in the care of the local vicar, Mr. Higginbotham, and take off without a backward glance. Pru knows they are disappointed with her after she caused a scandal and her own ruin by engaging in an affair in Cairo, but she really didn’t think they would go as far as to abandon her. But Pru is a survivor and determined to be happy, so she does her best to fit in, but sadly, she is not well received and spends much of her time alone. Today she is wandering in the gardens of Wentmore, singing to herself when she notices a man stuck in the mud. She offers to help him, but her efforts are rejected and Nash threatens to have her charged with trespassing. Not one to be deterred, Pru changes her tactic and manages to get Nash back on solid ground. Afterward, Pru learns that Nash is blind and she decides to help him, after all, she has a blind sister and a talent that will help him – she learned “Ecriture Nocturne” or night writing, which was invented to help the French army, but also enables the blind to read and write – and she offers to teach it to him. An offer that he accepts, much to everyone’s surprise.

Pru and Nash begin his lessons and a true friendship develops, she soothes his anxiety and slowly he begins to realize that his life is not over, it has changed, but now the future doesn’t seem as dismal. But he is far from healed and still suffers from flashbacks. Not to mention he still has the threat of being committed hanging over his head. As his feeling for Pru deepens, Nash begins to think that he should let her go, as he can’t give her a future – but Nash grossly underestimates Pru, Rowden, and his own heart. For her part, Pru seems to have found her place in Milcroft and even befriended the curmudgeonly elderly Mrs. Northgate. And even though she doesn’t think they have any chance for a future, she loves him and will do all she can to keep him out of an asylum.

When I finished the last book, The Highlander’s Excellent Adventure, I really didn’t like Nash and wondered if it was even possible to redeem him – so I am thrilled to report – Yes, he can be redeemed, and Yes, I not only forgave him, I fell a little in love with him! This book was so good, it is well-written, interesting, emotional, uplifting, and fun. There are warm love scenes, a villain who gets his due, wonderful secondary characters, redemption, acceptance, forgiveness, a peacock, and a very sweet ending. This is the ninth book in the series, but it can easily be read as a standalone title, I would however recommend reading the previous book in the series because it gives you a glimpse of how far Nash had fallen before his father sent Rowden to him.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions are my own *