Tag: Valerie Bowman

The Marquess Move by Valerie Bowman

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

The Marquess Move (The Whitmorelands #2)The Marquess Move by Valerie Bowman

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Whitmorelands, #2

Release Date: April 25, 2023

When her father dies Madeline Atwood has two choices to fulfill her promise to him to always care for her younger sister Molly, the first is to marry her vile cousin and the second is to go into service, and she chooses the latter. She becomes a lady’s maid to Lady Henrietta Hazelton. She tries to be content with her lot, but on the night of the Hazelton’s annual Twelfth Night Ball arrive, she can’t help but think of all she has lost and decides to sneak into the ball just to have a taste of what she is missing. But instead of the ballroom, she ducks into a drawing room and meets a handsome man, and shares a dance with him before running back to her room berating herself for her reckless behavior. Fast forward a year, and she hasn’t stopped thinking of her handsome stranger and even though doing so is a risk, she borrows another gown from her employer’s wardrobe as well as a pair of diamond earrings and returns to the place where she met him last year. To her shock and surprise, he is there again and this time they share a kiss before she runs off, but this year her luck runs out and she is fired when her employer finds out. But fate has plans for her and she finds herself employed by the sister of her mystery man!

Justin Whitmoreland, the Marquess of Whitmore only attended the Hazelton’s ball to help his brother-in-law, he never expected to meet a beautiful and mysterious stranger while hiding from desperate debutantes with marriage on the brain! That meeting is the reason he has returned to the ball this year and when he finds her again he is elated, but when she takes off again after a mind-altering kiss, he tries to find her and then decides it is probably for the best, as he isn’t ready to marry and doesn’t want a love match anyway. But when his efforts to find her end with her employed in his household as his sister’s lady’s maid – he knows he is in trouble. Because as hard as they try to behave, sparks fly when they are together and Justin believes that it can only end in heartbreak, fortunately for this star-crossed couple, his sisters think otherwise.

Based on the blurb, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book and I was worried it might be angsty or even creepy – but thankfully, I couldn’t have been more wrong! Madeline and Justin share an intense chemistry, yet for different reasons, they both believed that love was not for them. The result of their erroneous beliefs was a charming story filled with wonderful characters, steamyish love scenes, forbidden attraction, secrets, a hero who needed a wakeup call (and got it), blackmail, a nasty debutante that gets her comeuppance, sisters who know better, expert level groveling, and a HEA with an ending that nicely sets up the next book. This is the second book in the series, and it could be read as a standalone title, but I would recommend reading the series in order for the best reader experience.

*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 Duke Deal by Valerie Bowman

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

The Duke Deal (The Whitmorelands #1)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: The Whitmorelands #1
Publication Date: 1/1/23
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 161

This is a nice, short introduction to a new series. I enjoyed the read and liked the characters quite well – especially Sebastian. One of the themes throughout the book that resonated with me is that life is all about choices – our choices – and how they affect our lives and the lives of others. Another thing I really liked about the book is that Veronica actually admitted she was wrong and apologized for it – you often see that with the male characters in books, but not the female, and in this case, she really was the one in the wrong.

Veronica and Sebastian have only lived together for two months during their two-year-long marriage. Both were blissfully happy until a major misunderstanding occurred and Veronica left Sebastian and went to the country estate. They haven’t seen, spoken to, or corresponded with, each other in all of that time. Now, Veronica must ask Sebastian to spend Christmas with her family at her grandfather’s estate and pretend they are still happily wed. Will he agree to her request? Hmm – he might – but with stipulations of his own.

I really liked Sebastian who was solid and steady and still ready to love Veronica even though she’d left him. I liked Veronica as well but kept thinking she was holding on to her ‘issue’ much too long – until I actually looked at the timeline of the story. While the conflict lasts through most of the story, the entire story lasts only a few days, so I came to realize it wasn’t an unreasonable amount of time. Both Veronica and Sebastian had issues with which they had to deal before they could find true happiness, and they had to come to terms with the choices they’d made and the reasons behind those choices. Once that was done, they had a chance at a real future with true happiness.

I enjoyed the story and am looking forward to the next book in the series. I perceived a historical inaccuracy in this book, but I’m not sure it was actually spelled out, so I will be interested in seeing Justin’s book to learn more about that. Sorry – I’m just weird that way. Anyway, the story was nicely written and I did enjoy the read. I hope you will enjoy it as well should you choose to read it.

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

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