Tag: #TheOtherTrents

The Captain’s Valentine by Jane Charles

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

The Captain's Valentine (The The Captain’s Valentine by Jane Charles

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Other Trents, #3

Release Date: February 11, 2025

Captain Harrison Trent is at a crossroads, after years of sailing and achieving professional success, he is no longer satisfied with life at sea, yet neither is he ready to walk away. He has a journey to Barbados planned and it may be his last, he will use this visit to London to make a decision about his future. When he finds a child next to a dead woman in an alley on the docks, he makes the acquaintance of Benedick Valentine, and he suggests that Harrison take the child to a foundling home – Westbrook House. It is here that he meets Miss Perdita Valentine and is immediately captivated by her. His growing attraction to Perdita adds to uncertainty about his future, but the more he gets to know her, the more convinced he is that she must play a role in his life. When a shocking revelation about Perdita comes to light, Harrison keeps his true feelings to himself and offers Perdita his friendship, but with his departure growing closer, he wonders if he has made a mistake and may lose the only woman he has ever loved.

Perdita Valentine is the youngest of the ten Valentine children and has come to London for a season with her sister, Rosalind, the Marchioness of Felding. While in London, Perdita began to work in the foundling home run by family friends, Lady Xavier Sinclair and Lady Victoria. Perdita finds the work rewarding and is in no rush to marry. But when she meets Harrison Trent, she begins to rethink that decision. She and Harrison agree to be friends and when he asks her to wait for him to return to England to court her, she happily agrees, but then life as she knows it takes an unexpected turn and waiting for Harrison might not be possible when her family is threatened.

This was a wonderful story, with lots of familiar characters and a very interesting plot. I loved the relationship between Harrison and Perdita, they are both very open and relatable characters and the chemistry between them is evident to the reader – even if it wasn’t quite so obvious to them. The story is filled with emotion, secrets, shocking revelations, low/no steam love scenes, cameos from many previous characters, a lot of twists and finally a surprising conclusion complete with an epilogue. I really enjoyed this story, but I did feel like it moved a lot slower than I am used to by this author and that might be because this novel was a bit longer than Ms. Charles usual offerings. Overall, this was a delightful read and I would be happy to recommend this title to my fellow historical romance readers, especially those who prefer kissing-only romances. This is the third book in the “Other Trents” series, but it also has ties to several other series and the Valentine family, but it could easily be read as a standalone title.

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

Lord Maxwell’s Quest by Jane Charles

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

Lord Maxwell's Quest (The Other Trents, #2)Lord Maxwell’s Quest by Jane Charles

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Other Trents

Release Date: August 24, 2021

Lord Maxwell Trent and Miss Rosemary Fairview have known each other for ages and have been bickering for almost as long – they are both well-known antiquity hunters and have long been rivals in that field, but what neither knows is that they each have harbored a secret attraction to the other, but deny said attraction for various reasons, but primarily they both believe that they are not suited, Max believes Rosemary too reckless, and she believes he is too controlling. They are cordial and polite but go out of their way to avoid each other – a plan that has worked until now.

When a mutual friend invites them to find what may be one of Joan of Arc’s swords and return it to the rightful owner before their mutual nemesis – Rylan, a mercenary of sorts who works for Mr. Otto Fernsby, a reclusive collector who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, they will have to learn to work together or lose the sword to Fernsby. They reluctantly agree and set off, but almost immediately they realize Rylan is hot on their trail and isn’t content on waiting for them to find the sword before coming after them.

While dodging Ryland and searching for the sword, Rosemary and Max realize that there is a lot they don’t know about each other and find a new respect for one another, but even that knowledge isn’t enough to make either of them share their secret admiration. It isn’t until they find the sword and confront Fernsby that they finally admit their feelings, but by then, it might be too late for them to have a HEA.

This was a good read, with interesting characters and cameos from not only the “Other Trents”, but the Tenacious Trents too, as well as a nod to “The Wiggons’ School for Elegant Young Ladies” series. The story was good, but I felt it dragged a bit in the middle, and Rosemary and Max’s constant bickering got tedious after a while. The mystery of the sword was OK, the love scenes were very mild, but the ending is what makes this book – it was a fantastic twist that leads to a nail-biter ending! This is the second book in the series, but they are definitely standalone titles.

*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.*