Tag: Wendy LaCapra

Heart’s Desire by Wendy LaCapra #Blog Tour

On By TracyIn Blog Tour, Contests/Giveaways, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Meet the Author:

Wendy LaCapra has been reading romance since she sneaked into the adult section at the library and discovered Victoria Holt & Jane Aiken Hodge. From that point on, she dreamed of creating fictional worlds with richness, intrigue and passion. Her stories have placed in several contests, including the 2012 Golden Heart® and her debut series, a trilogy about three Ladies who refuse to play by society’s rules, was released by Entangled Scandalous. She lives in NYC with her husband and loves to hear from readers. For new release and sale alerts, sign up at http://bit.ly/GetWendyNews

Connect: Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

About the Book:

Lady Clarissa has decided to live life on her terms. After the end of a ten-year betrothal, she wants nothing to do with marriage or the men of the ton. Least of all her friend’s brother, the very charming Lord Markham, or Hearts, as many ladies call the oh-so-handsome earl.
Markham pursues relationships with no ties that bind. Acting the rake leaves everyone satisfied…until he overhears a wager that could lead to Clarissa’s ruin. He can’t help but step in and claim she’s his intended bride.
Clarissa is appalled. She did not need to be saved. Reluctantly, she agrees to the fake courtship, if only to experience what the rakish Markham can offer. But when lust becomes love, Clarissa must make up her own terms and bet it all on Hearts.

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Giveaway:

  • A Tiara – US shipping ONLY
  • eBook prize pack featuring the following titles:
    • Scandal in Spades by Wendy LaCapra
    • Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh
    • Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
    • As Rich as a Rogue by Jade Lee

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Tracy’s Review:

Heart's Desire (Lords of Chance, #2)Heart’s Desire by Wendy LaCapra

Tracy’s rating: 3/3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Lords of Chance, #2

Release Date: May 13, 2019

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was delighted to learn that Percival Stanley, Earl of Markham aka “Hearts” was to be the hero in this book. He was portrayed as a somewhat reckless, impulsive rake in the first book, so I was very surprised by the “real” Markham in this book!

Markham has always noticed Lady Clarissa Laithe, sister to Earl of Rayne, but she was off limits and already betrothed to the Marquess of Bromton, so he kept his interest to himself. When his reckless wager in the previous book changes Clarissa’s life, he is even more impressed by her and the way she handled being jilted. But bad blood between Markham and Rayne make any connection with Clarissa impossible – until it isn’t…

Lady Clarissa is tired of her life being directed by the whims of men and since her broken betrothal and her brother’s abrupt exit from England, she has decided she will not bend anymore. She has decided that she will not marry and when Rayne returns, she will ask him to take her with him on his next adventure. But when she tests her newfound determination on Lord Moultonbury by refusing to smile at his request, she unknowingly triggers a wager that could ruin her.

Markham is at Sharpe’s Club licking his wounds after a run in with a former lover pulled the scales from his eyes – he is going to change and make some hard fast rules for his life, starting now! But that plan is blown out of the water when Moultonbury and his cronies place a wager in the clubs betting book about Lady Clarissa. To save her reputation, Markham claims they are secretly courting and will announce their betrothal when Rayne returns. But what starts as a lie, soon becomes his true desire, but can he convince the lady?

I thought this book was well written, but I had problems with both Clarissa and Markham, so often lately Historical Romances have been portraying heroines as strong, independent woman – which is wonderful and empowering – but in doing so many authors have been embedding their heroines with 21st century views and morals and the stories end up being contemporary romances set in England without electricity, cell phones, internet and cars. Sadly that is what happened in this book – I didn’t really care for Clarissa from the beginning, I thought she was selfish and self-centered and she never changed. Markham started good and I was cheering when he told her off, but in the end, he too disappointed me. The writing was good, the pace was decent (it did drag a bit towards the end), the love scenes were warm and I really didn’t see how these two would find their HEA, but help comes by way of a surprising source. The ending gives a little tease to who the next book will be about and I am looking forward to seeing how that turns out!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an e-ARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

View all my reviews

Scandal in Spades by Wendy LaCapra

On By TracyIn Regency Era (1811-1820), Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Scandal in SpadesScandal in Spades by Wendy LaCapra
Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Lords of Chance, #1

Release Date: April 10, 2018

Giles Langley, Marquess of Bromton aka Spades has learned that his entire existence is a lie. He has been raised to be the Marquess and embodies the role – he is proper, he is pompous, he is entitled and he cannot abide scandal – so learning that the former Marquess is not his father and his now widowed mother has married an artist is enough to drive him to desperation – he has convinced himself that he must right the wrong done to the marquisate – so upon learning that none of his properties are entailed, he searches his family tree and forms a plan. He befriends Percival Stanley, Earl of Markham aka Hearts, a very distant relative – actually the only other male relative in the Langley line – and convinces him to place a wager on a game of vingt-et-in along with his other friends, Lord Rayne aka Diamonds and Lord Farring aka Clubs. Giles has had each man place secret wagers and “fixes” the game so Markham will win – and win he does, all of Giles unentailed property. Markham confronts Giles and tells him he knows he cheated – he refuses to take the winnings, but proposes an alternative – Giles could marry his sister, Katherine.

Katherine’s hopes of a happy life were crushed when Beau Brummell declared her the “Most Unmarriageable Maiden in England” due to two failed betrothals, her first was a love match, but he died before they could marry and the second ran off with his mistress after fighting a duel the day before he was to marry Katherine. She has accepted her lot and cares for her younger sister, Julia and manages Markham’s estate, while she might not be happy, she is content. She does worry what her tarnished reputation will mean to Julia when she has her come out next season, but she hopes the talk will have died down and her perfect behavior will ensure that Julia is successful. She is less than thrilled when Markham sends her a letter saying he is bringing home a guest. She an Julia plan how to get rid of them. But Giles is a man on a mission – marrying Katherine and having an heir, will ensure that Langley blood holds the title. He will marry her.

She is attracted to Giles, but she doesn’t trust him. Why would a man who prides himself on living a scandal free life, want a tarnished spinster? Slowly, they get to know each other and Katherine begins to fall for Giles, but she is sure that once he learns her secret, he will leave. He pushes for them to marry and she tells him to give them two weeks to get to know each other and if at that time he still wants to marry her, she will say yes. Giles is changing, much to his surprise and he is falling for Katherine. He begins to feel guilty about keeping the truth from her, but convinces himself it is a good thing for her, being married to him will improve her social standing and will help her siblings as well. So when she tells him her secret, at first he is taken aback, but he insists that he still wants to marry her and that her past is the past. Katherine is a little surprised that the oh so proper marquess is willing to overlook her past, but she is happy too and agrees to marry him.

He heads off to London to get a special license and decides to visit his mother. When she learns that his is going to marry and hasn’t been honest with Katherine, she warns him that he is making a mistake, but he is still angry with her and says truly awful things to her, so awful she tells him he is no longer welcome to call on her. Ruffled by her words but still set on his plan, he returns to Southford, where he finds Farring and Rayne at the village inn. Farring is happy for him, but Rayne is angry – Giles had a long standing understanding with his sister Clarissa, which he broke off when he learned the truth of his birth, but he never explained why and caused a rift with his friend – He sends them off to the house and tells them that he is just going to freshen up and will meet them later – he then proceeds to get rip roaring drunk with the locals. Katherine was visiting a tenant and slipped into the inn to escape the rain. The innkeeper decides to play matchmaker and sends her up to a room to dry off and then sends up a very drunk Giles. They share a moment of passion and both leave looking forward to their wedding night.

But when tension between Rayne and Giles finally comes to a head and Katherine learns the truth, will there even be a wedding?

This was a fantastic story, well written, flowed great, had probably the most realistic sibling interaction that I have ever read in a book, steamy love scenes, great secondary characters, secrets, some groveling and an ending that gave me goosebumps and made me teary eyed. I have never read this author before, but I am going to check out her backlog and will be looking out for her future books!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher*