Tag: #SinfulWallflowers

A Scoundrel of Her Own by Stacy Reid

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

A Scoundrel of Her Own (Sinful Wallflowers, #3)A Scoundrel of Her Own by Stacy Reid

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Sinful Wallflowers, #3

Release Date: December 28, 2021

Devlin Niall Byrne and Lady Ophelia Darby met years ago when they were children and he saved her from drowning and then kept her safe for days before they were found. Back then they were simply Niall and Fifi – and Niall fell into love with her and swore to always keep her safe and asked her to marry him – then 8-year-old Ophelia agreed, not realizing the difference in their stations would keep them apart. When she was returned to her parents, her father made it very clear to Niall that he would never be good enough for Ophelia and sent him on his way. But Niall knew that from that moment on, he would do whatever was necessary to become worthy of his Fifi.

Many years later Devlin Byrne is a very rich man who has just about given up trying to find Fifi when fate steps in and brings these two together again. Not a day has gone by that Devlin hasn’t thought about his Fifi, but Ophelia can’t say the same – of course, she remembers the boy who saved her, but their promises were not burned into her mind the way they were for him. Ophelia’s life has been good, but recently she has learned much of what she believed was a lie – her father believing he was on his death bed revealed that Ophelia was not his wife’s child, but rather the product of a dalliance he had when he first married. But this isn’t the only secret her father has kept from her. But Ophelia becomes consumed with learning all she can about her birth mother, Ophelia ventures into the darker side of London and finds Devlin, but doesn’t recognize him as Niall right away – that comes later when he makes her an offer she can’t refuse.

They spend more and more time together, but Ophelia is aware that Devlin will never be accepted by the ton and tells herself that this happiness is just temporary, that she can’t let her heart be engaged and at the same time, Devlin is denying any stronger feelings for Fifi, he tries to convince everyone she is just an itch to be scratched and soon they will part ways. But what is between them is too strong to deny and when they are betrayed, choices will have to be made.

This was a well-written, nicely paced story and I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it. Devlin is a nearly perfect hero and Ophelia is his perfect match. The book has a bit of everything, secrets, lies, betrayal, forbidden love, steamy love scenes, and finally an ending that will bring a tear to your eye and a smile to your face. This is the third book in the series, but it can easily be read as a standalone title. I enjoyed this book and would enthusiastically recommend this title to anyone!

*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.*

Her Wicked Marquess by Stacy Reid

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Other, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Her Wicked Marquess (Sinful Wallflowers, #2)Her Wicked Marquess by Stacy Reid

Tracy’s rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Sinful Wallflowers, #2

Release Date: December 29, 2020

In an effort to right a wrong, Lady Maryann Fitzwilliam has enlisted her brother Crispin to help her carry out her plan to embarrass her former friend and the reigning belle of the ton, Lady Sophie Wembley. Her plan is simple, she will wait until Sophie comes close to a window in the ballroom and then will have Crispin dump a bucket of grass snakes on her and watch her humiliate herself. But it isn’t Crispin who comes to her aid, a fact she doesn’t learn until after the deed is done. She is horrified and runs away – but soon discovers who her “helper” was – none other than the notorious libertine, Nicolas St. Ives, the Marquess of Rothbury.

Nicolas had his own reasons for being at the ball and for intercepting Crispin. Maryann was never part of his plan, but after meeting her, he is intrigued by her and can’t seem to stop thinking about her. Especially once he learns she plans to use him to ruin her – or at least imply that he ruined her to get out of an arranged marriage. When he overhears her spreading a rumor that he snuck into her room and stole a kiss – he can’t let that slide and proceeds to do just what she accused him of.

But at much as he is captivated by her, he can’t afford to get tangled up with her – at least not until he carries out his plans for revenge on those who hurt someone he loved and cause her to kill herself. He has been setting up his revenge for years and tracking down all the men who were involved in Arianna’s downfall and ultimately her death. He is not positive, but thinks that Maryann’s brother was involved, so that is even more reason for him to stay away – but he just can’t. And as he spends time with her, and begins to fall for her, he knows he will have to make a choice – love or honoring his vow to Arianna’s memory.

This was not a light read and based on the blurb, I was not prepared for a book that was in essence a revenge story – which is not a trope I enjoy. I felt like the book had the potential to be fabulous, but the revenge, inconsistencies, the title errors, and the odd raccoon references (I totally agree with another reviewer who noted this – there were no raccoons in England, so why use them??) – however, the twist at the end of the book was outstanding and the love scenes were smokin’ hot – so the book was not a total miss for me. Overall, the book was not my favorite by this author and it did drag a bit in the middle – but the ending did go a long way into making up for that and as this was an uncorrected arc, I am going to assume inconsistencies and title errors will be corrected before publication (hopefully), so would recommend that you judge for this book for yourself. This is the second book in this series, but they are very loosely connected and are definitely able to be read as stand-alone titles.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher. *