Tag: #TheChessmen

In Want of a Viscount by Lorraine Heath

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

In Want of a Viscount (The Chessmen: Masters of Seduction, #3)In Want of a Viscount by Lorraine Heath

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Chessmen: Masters of Seduction, #3

Release Date: February 20, 2024

American Leonora “Nora” Garrison has come to London with her brother Sam and her mother, to find investors for their machine factory. And it is in London that she learns about the Elysium, a private club for ladies. She goes to the club and seeks to fill a secret desire; to be kissed. Nervous, she overindulges in absinthe and is quite tipsy when a man joins her in the private room. They share an amazing kiss and then she passes out, waking much later and mortified by her actions. But that is nothing compared to the mortification of coming face to face with her mystery lover at a dinner with potential investors! Despite the awkwardness, Nora is drawn to John Castleton, Viscount Wyeth, or Rook to his fellow Chessmen, not only is he handsome, but he takes a real interest in Nora, making her feel intelligent and beautiful. They know there is no future for them, nor does she want one, but they can’t seem to stay away from each other, which is why they are found in a compromising situation and find themselves betrothed. While Nora has come to love Rook, she refuses to enter a marriage with a man who doesn’t love her back. But is her plan to save them actually going to save them from heartbreak or has that ship already sailed?

As part of an elite group of investors known as the Chessmen, John “Rook” Castleon, Viscount Wyeth has made a fortune, enabling him to live a life independent of his father the Earl of Elverton. The earl is a libertine whose exploits, mistresses, insatiable lust, and illegitimate children are widely known, and he is the last person Rook would ever want to emulate. To that end, he has devoted his life to being above reproach, so it is completely out of character for him to kiss a stranger in a club devoted to women, but that is exactly how he met Nora. He had gone to the club to see the owner, his brother Aiden Trewlove (one of his father’s many by-blows), and is talked into kissing her. He is intrigued by her the minute he meets her and is desperate to learn who she is, especially when she falls asleep during their kiss. Nora is unlike any woman he has ever known and when they end up betrothed, he isn’t as upset as he should be, considering he never planned to marry. So when Nora sets her plan in motion to free him from their forced engagement, he should be happy, right?

This was a well-written, engaging read with wonderful characters and lots of emotion. The book is filled with emotion, Trewlove cameos, really awful parents, a STEM heroine, secret trysts, a “technically virgin” hero who has been hurt before, steamy love scenes, a bit of heartache, some betrayal, and finally a HEA complete with an epilogue. I liked this story, but it is not the ending I was expecting for the series as I was hoping for a bit more Chessmen involvement, especially in the epilogue. This is the third and final book in the series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title as there isn’t any ongoing plot tying the books together, however, it is worth mentioning that this book is also loosely connected to the Sins for All Season series – so if you read that series you will see lots of familiar faces in this book! Overall this was a very good read and I wonder if the next series will pick up where this book ended (I hope so! Fingers crossed!) If you enjoy intelligent heroines, heroes trying to atone for the sins of their fathers, steamy love scenes, and happy endings, then I am happy to recommend this book to you!

4 stars

*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.*

The Notorious Lord Knightly by Lorraine Heath

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Part of a Series, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

The Notorious Lord Knightly (The Chessmen: Masters of Seduction, #2) Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: The Chessmen: Masters of Seduction #2
Publication Date: 6/27/23
Period: Victorian London – 1875 (mostly)
Number of Pages: 384

This author always manages to take a character I was prepared to totally dislike and makes them, not only tolerable but very likable. From what I’d seen in some discussions, I was thoroughly convinced there was no way she could make me even tolerate Lord Knightly. I was, of course, wrong. I came to not only tolerate him but love him and I hope you will as well. I guess it goes to prove that we should never judge someone – especially if we don’t know the whole story. He was a young man forced into a choice that no one should ever have to make. Did he make the right choice? I’m sure you’ll decide for yourself after you read the book, but for me, I think perhaps he did. He just handled it very, very, very badly.

Five years ago the Earl of Knightly met Miss Regina Leyland at her come-out ball. He never intended to be there in the first place, but once he saw her, he was smitten. Regina was the illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Bremsford, but she was acknowledged and loved by her father – who also loved her mother. Regina’s father was oblivious to the reality of her life situation and he thought that just because he loved her and accepted her that all of society would as well. This ball was to find her a husband and she knew all of the eligible males who were there were only there because of the large dowry she had. Then, she was introduced to a man who seemed to care nothing about her dowry or her illegitimacy. How could she not fall in love with him? Theirs was an epic love story – until the day of the wedding when he arrived at the church and announced they would not marry.

Regina has had five years to stew about the way Knight had left her life in shambles. She is the one who paid the price for his betrayal. She lived abroad for a while – and when she came back, she was ready for revenge. Only, that revenge backfired, and – once again – Knight comes out the winner and she is in jeopardy.

Knight does his best to come to her rescue – and to keep his distance. Can Knight save Regina and still walk away again? Can Regina learn to even tolerate Knight after what he did to her? I absolutely loved the way Regina held on to her anger – because she had every right to that anger – she wasn’t bitter, but she was very distrustful of Knight. She questioned his every motive – even those that seemed to bring only good to her and bad to him. Can Regina ever get past the anger and hurt? Can she find love again with someone else? You’ll just have to read the book to see.

I can highly recommend this book. In it, you have an epic love story, a gut-wrenching betrayal, a villain, and an epilogue that will make your heart swell to the point of bursting. The writing is excellent, the pacing is near perfect, and the characters are deep and interesting. It is definitely a great read.

The Chessmen are four steadfast friends who have stood by each other since they met at school. One of the things they do is make pots of money as they are very good at investing. We first met them in the second book (The Duchess Hunt) of the Once Upon A Duke series where King finds his HEA. Bishop finds his HEA in the first book of this series – The Counterfeit Scoundrel. So, after this book, the last man standing will be Rook and I can only imagine it will be quite entertaining because in this book Rook tells Knight that love will never have its way with him. HA!

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

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