Tag: Sophie Barnes

Blog Tour – Her Seafaring Scoundrel by Sophie Barnes

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Blog Tour, Regency Era (1811-1820)2 Comments

Her Seafaring Scoundrel

The Crawfords Series
by Sophie Barnes
Publication Date: April 28, 2020
Genres: Adult, Historical, Romance

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple Books

The last thing she wants is a husband…
Least of all one determined to win her heart…

Lady Cassandra has no desire to marry. But when Captain Devlin Crawford brings scandal to her doorstep and offers salvation, she cannot say no. Not with her daughter’s future at stake. So she decides to accept Devlin’s offer, provided he agrees to never being intimate with her. For although Cassandra is drawn to Devlin, she refuses to dishonor the memory of her one true love.

Devlin knows he’s made a mess, but now that it’s done, marrying Cassandra doesn’t seem like the worst idea in the world. Far from it, though it will take serious effort on his part to convince her of this. Especially since she’s never stopped mourning the man she was meant to marry over a decade ago. So once they set off on a grand ocean voyage, Devlin embarks on his greatest adventure yet – the wooing of his wife.

Barbara’s Review

I have read and reviewed a LOT of books, but I don’t think I have ever given a 5-star rating to every book in a series – until now. The Crawford brothers have been some of the best heroes I’ve ever read and their ladies match them in every way. The writing is excellent, the characters are fully developed, and the epilogues – OMGoodness. These books have some of the best epilogues I’ve ever read!

The brother we know the least about is Devlin Crawford because he’s a sea captain and spends nine months at sea and only one month at home in England before he leaves again. Devlin loves the sea and the freedom it offers and at the same time, he hates being land-bound in England. There are too many bad memories there and he’s never comfortable. He knows he’ll never marry because he couldn’t be married and be at sea all the time – not to mention the horrible example his own parents set. His father was an awful, awful, awful man and drove all three of the triplet brothers away.

Devlin’s ship arrived in London and he headed straight for his brother’s home. His brother, Caleb, Duke of Camberly (No Ordinary Duke), married six years ago and has several children on whom Devlin dotes. Devlin doesn’t expect his brother to be in residence, but he is. He also doesn’t expect that his mother is there along with his sister-in-law’s good friend Cassandra Moor. Devlin has always liked and admired Cassandra who, along with the wives of his brothers, Caleb and Griffin (More Than a Rogue), run a home for children. He admires Cassandra’s intelligence and strength. Almost as soon as Devlin’s mother finds out he’s there, she announces that Caleb and Mary are giving a ball and insists that Devlin is required to attend. And that, dear friends, is where all of the trouble begins…

We’ve met and grown to love Cassandra in the first two books and now, we get to learn more of her and her backstory – and what a story it is. We knew she was ruined and that she had an illegitimate child, but now we know how that happened and how it has affected the last thirteen years of her life. She is an admirable woman and you will absolutely adore her. She is a very, very busy woman and certainly doesn’t have time to be attending a ball – even one given by her very best friend, Mary. She agrees to attend even though she knows it will cause quite a stir given her ‘ruined’ status. She’ll attend for a bit and then sneak out early – but as she tries to leave, she encounters Devlin who insists on a dance. Oh dear, why did he have to bring attention to her?

As Devlin, Caleb, and another friend are speaking out on the terrace, a vile and nasty woman nearby begins to make unsavory comments about Cassandra. Devlin listens and grows angrier and angrier – until the anger gets the better of him. The next thing he knows, he’s announcing to the old biddy that Cassandra is to become his wife. Uh-Oh. Now what?

Now, Devlin has to convince a woman who has absolutely no desire to marry, that she needs to marry him. Then he has to convince her that they can make a good match. You’ll love their journey into their HEA and it really was a hard-won battle. For a while, I began to wonder if it really was going to happen.

I absolutely adored Penelope, Cassandra’s daughter. She is a delightful twelve-year-old with a very sharp mind and an adventurous spirit. The best part is, she adores Devlin and does her part to help him win her mother.

You will absolutely adore this book and this series. I can’t recommend it highly enough. I will say that I got a bit tired of hearing about Timothy – I think that went on a bit too long and Cassandra’s reactions to a number of things were just too over-the-top. It didn’t keep me from loving the book and the characters, but it was somewhat annoying.

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

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About Sophie Barnes

Born in Denmark, Sophie has spent her youth traveling with her parents to wonderful places all around the world.

She has studied design in Paris and New York and has a bachelor’s degree from Parson’s School of design, but most impressive of all – she’s been married to the same man three times, in three different countries and in three different dresses.

While living in Africa, Sophie turned to her lifelong passion – writing.

When she’s not busy, dreaming up her next romance novel, Sophie enjoys spending time with her family. She currently lives on the East Coast.

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The Forgotten Duke by Sophie Barnes

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Regency Era (1811-1820)4 Comments

The Forgotten DukeBarbara’s Rating – 5 of 5 Stars
Series: Diamonds in the Rough #5
Publication Date: 1/28/20
Number of Pages: 311

We met Carlton Guthrie, The Scoundrel of St. Giles, in the earlier books of the series and developed a love/hate relationship with him. Was he saint or sinner? Now, we get to meet the real man and we can decide for ourselves. There was a lot going on in this book and while I was left with questions about some things, none of them really had to do with the HEA, the mystery, or its resolution. You don’t have to have read the earlier books in the series to enjoy this one, but it is a great series and I can’t imagine why you’d want to miss out on those books – besides – you’ll get a better feel for Guthrie because he’s threaded throughout the series.

Carlton has many secrets and I’ll not share all of them with you – but – I mean – you did read the title of the book. Carlton’s one deep abiding goal for the last twenty years has been to punish (meaning causing the death of) Charles Berkly, Earl of Hedgewick. The Earl is a wily fellow and has managed to guard himself well during that time – and Carlton has only had a couple of instances where he might exact his revenge. Sadly, none of those came to fruition. Then, the perfect revenge presents herself to him – almost on a silver platter. Who is he to say no to such a providential gift?

Lady Regina Berkly has always been a biddable, dutiful daughter. She diligently studied the pianoforte though she disliked it, she learned to embroider, to manage a household, to speak correctly, to dance without flaw, all of those things at which her parents said she should excel. She knew it was her duty to marry and to marry well for the betterment of her family. She was fine with all of that. At least she was fine with it until her father returned one day and announced she was going to marry the Marquess of Stokes the following morning at eight AM. She was aghast! She had never even met this person and she was expected to marry him. Her father would not be dissuaded, but did tell her that the groom and his family would be coming over that evening for them to meet. Surprise, shock, dismay – all of those and many more words could be used to describe her feelings upon meeting the potential groom. He didn’t want this any more than she did – and he was still a child. She liked him and he would be a good man someday, but not the man for her. When she told Stokes that she’d get them out of the arrangement, he was grateful to her.

Regina spent most of that night thinking and thinking, but she couldn’t think of any way out – except to just leave – and that is what she did. Just before dawn she snuck out the door and began running – and running – until she was totally lost and not in the best part of town. She ran right into a wall – well – a man who seemed like a wall. He steadied her and she told him who she was and that she was running away. Then, she went on her way – only to run into dire trouble. Again, the man showed up to rescue her. He offered her sanctuary until she could decide where she wanted to go and then he’d help her. Reluctantly, she accepted his offer to stay at The Black Swan in his accommodations – as long as he didn’t make any demands of her. Admirably, he didn’t – the tension was there on both sides – but he didn’t.

“Who would have thought that she, the dutiful daughter of an earl, would be entertaining a bawd in a crime lord’s parlor?”

Lots of things happen – from kidnappings to betrayals – and Guthrie and Regina manage to become closer and closer through it all. Each knows that they love the other, but neither feels free to actually use the words. Then, when Regina is discovered and Guthrie’s deceit is revealed, Regina is devastated. Regina refuses to believe that her father has done what Guthrie says – but – she truly believes that Guthrie is honorable – so there must be another explanation. Can their relationship survive Guthrie’s deceit? Is her father guilty? If he is, can she keep Guthrie from exacting his revenge? Read the book to find out – you’ll love it.

This was a well-written book and a very enjoyable story with characters that I came to really like as I got to know them. I could feel Regina’s determination to take control of her own life and I could sympathize with Guthrie’s need for revenge. They were truly a very well-matched pair. It was a busy story that kept me engrossed from the first page to the last. It also nicely set up the next story featuring Ida Strong and Fielding (from  A Most Unlikely Duke). I assume Fielding will redeem himself in that book.

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