Tag: #TheRakeChronicles

When the Viscount Wanted Me by Lydia Lloyd

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

When the Viscount Wanted Me (The Rake Chronicles #2)When the Viscount Wanted Me by Lydia Lloyd

Tracy’s rating: 3/3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Rake Chronicles, #2

Release Date: January 16, 2024

Hugh “Trem” Aldershot, Lord Tremberly is livid when he overhears the very drunk Earl of Hartley spewing lies about his best friend’s little sister, Lady Henrietta Breminster, and promptly carts the man to the Duke of Edington’s house to clear things up and set the foxed Earl straight! But things do not go as planned when Henrietta intercepts them in the foyer and confirms that the Earl’s ramblings are true, but is clear – she won’t marry him. Trem is shocked and if truth be told a little (OK, a lot) intrigued and realizes that he is seeing Henrietta in a new light – no longer as just John’s little sister, but a fully grown, beautiful woman. But he knows that she is completely off limits and though he might be a rake, there are lines that he won’t cross – until he does! He accepts Henrietta’s choice and vows to help her be rid of the pesky Earl, but close proximity to her proves to be his undoing and the two embark on a steamy affair. But it isn’t long before he realizes she is the woman for him and proposes, she says yes, but almost immediately disappears, leaving Trem no choice but to follow her.

Lady Henrietta Breminster, sister to John Breminster, the Duke of Edington, can’t believe that Hartley is trying to ruin her reputation and belatedly realizes that Justin, Lord Hartley was perhaps not the best choice to teach her about passion. She thought since they were friends, they could share a night of passion without having to worry about being forced to marry. Clearly, she was wrong since he has proposed, been rejected, and is still hellbent on marrying her. Thankfully, Trem has promised to help her and when they ended up engaged, she is thrilled as she has been in love with him for as long as she could remember. But she knows that if she wants a true love match, she will have to share her deepest, darkest secrets with him. But before she confesses all, she wants to know more about her birth mother and takes off without telling him. Which will just be one more bad decision she makes before they finally get their HEA.

Just like the last book, I liked this book, but I didn’t love it. I liked Trem quite a bit, but Henrietta was TSTL, seriously, she was selfish, self-centered, impulsive, and lacked common sense. The book does have a deeper emotional undertone, as well as some humorous banter, angry brothers, rakes, a suitor that won’t take no for an answer, secrets, steamy love scenes, emotional growth, great secondary characters and finally a HEA complete with an epilogue. I will not deny that Ms. Lloyd has talent and I am sure with time she will refine her writing style to eliminate the excessive dialogue and smooth out the flow of the story to keep it on a steady pace. Hopefully, she will also take some time to learn about the etiquette and protocols of the era she is writing in, as well as, correct titles and formal address. I am not a historical purist by any stretch of the imagination, and I enjoy relatable characters – but relatable through emotion and experience, not because they are 21st-century characters in period dress, because if I wanted 21st-century ideals and morals, I would read contemporary romance. Overall, this was a good story that filled in some of the blanks missing from the first book, while still being its own story and not a retelling of the previous book. This is the second book in the series, and while there is a connection to the first book, this book 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. All opinions in this review are my own.*

When the Duke Loved Me by Lydia Lloyd

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

When the Duke Loved Me (The Rake Chronicles, #1)When the Duke Loved Me by Lydia Lloyd

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Rake Chronicles, #1

Release Date: August 28, 2023

Catherine Forester’s life has not been easy, her mother died when she was very young and she was raised by her father and her Aunt Mary, but when she was a young girl, her Aunt Mary was embroiled in a huge scandal with their neighbor, the Duke of Edington. Caught in a compromising situation with the married duke by his young son and the duchess, Mary fled in shame. Catherine’s father was outraged at the duke and tried and failed to make him pay for dishonoring his sister, dying a year later and leaving Catherine orphaned, penniless, and shamed. She was taken in by Sir Francis Wethersby and his wife Elena, who did their best to shelter her from the scandals caused by her Aunt and Father. Years later, Catherine meets John Breminster, the Marquess of Forester and heir to the Duke of Edington at a ball thrown by Viscount Tremberley, but neither knows who the other is, until after they share a heated encounter in the garden and are saved from another very public scandal by John’s friend Lord Tremberley. To say they parted on bad terms would be very generous. But now years later, John is now the Duke and has come looking for Catherine for help in finding her Aunt Mary, help he will pay handsomely for. Catherine would love nothing more than to kick John out of her humble lodgings, but Sir Francis is dead and Catherine and Lady Wethersby and her young son Sir Ariel have fallen on hard times and despite her feelings for the duke, she can’t say no.

John had no choice but to seek out Catherine, a woman who is for all intents and purposes his family’s greatest enemy, even though she played no part in the scandal that ruined both families. But John loves his younger sister Henrietta more than any other person and unless he does his late father’s bidding, she will be left dowerless, and if that wasn’t bad enough, the money earmarked for her dowry will go to his vile second cousin. So to prevent that, he will have to ask Catherine for her help in finding her Aunt Mary, so he can fulfill the terms of his father’s will and protect his sister. He is sure he can remain professional, even though thoughts of her have haunted him for years. He will enlist her help, keep his lustful longings to himself, find her Aunt, and then never see her again. At least that is the plan…

This was a new to me author and I believe this is her debut novel. With that said, it was good for a debut, but it is a bit wordy, it also tends to meander off-topic, there are some title errors (Seriously if I had a dollar for every time an author erroneously called a duke “Lord Whatever” I would have a lot of money to spend on books), there are some odd word choices, like “the Rank Rakes” – I am not sure what she was going for using “Rank” but I just kept wondering if they smelled bad LOL, and I had a hard time believing that the “scandal” was the talk of the ton almost 17 years later. Yet, in all honestly, these issues were minor and I am sure the more this author writes, the better she will become. I did like her characters, the steamy love scenes, the general idea of the story as well as the ending and I will definitely be looking forward to the next book and following Ms. Lloyd’s career. And with that said, I would happily recommend this title to my fellow HR readers.

*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.*