Book Review: A Lady on the Chase (Wycliffe Family #3) by Jessica Scarlett

August 30, 2022February 25, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Regency Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Jessica Scarlett
Publisher: Redwing Publishing
Release Date: October 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Her father promised her to one man.
She promised her heart to a second.
Until she meets the third.

Lady Alicia Kendall has it all: wealth, beauty, suitors–and a history of creating scandals. The only thing she doesn’t have is her best friend and man of her dreams, Henry Crawley. When Henry announces his plans to join the Regulars, her father’s adamant disapproval of him deepens and prompts a deal to be struck:

She has two weeks to secure Henry’s proposal, or she must give him up forever and marry a man of her father’s choosing.

Alicia agrees. But when one of her attempts goes awry, she gets a begrudging proposal from someone else entirely–Matthew Wycliffe. The most condescending man ever to walk the face of the earth, and her newly-discovered nemesis.

If only to avoid yet another scandal, Alicia accepts Mr. Wycliffe’s offer. After all, with the deal she struck with her father, she’ll never marry the man anyway. But as they endure dark castles, hot-tempered soldiers, and hidden secrets brought to light all in their quest for a proposal from Henry, Alicia notices something different about the insufferable, grumbling Matthew Wycliffe. And she wonders if perhaps the proposal she wants is the one she’s already received.

ALL THE DANG STARS

OH MY GOSH I LOVED THIS BOOK SO DANG MUCH.

The tension, THE ANGST, the banter, swooning all over the place. This is proof yet again, that just because a book is “only kissing” doesn’t mean it can’t bring the heat in other romantic ways.

I absolutely adored Alicia and Matthew. Total opposites attract. A bit of grump and sunshine, and oh yeah, FAKE ENGAGEMENT. A trope combination of my dreams. I was laughing, smiling, and tearing up. I found myself feeling allllll the emotions. Every time these two tried flirting with each other had me in stitches. I love that this had some modern-esque tidbits because it became the perfect refresh in this genre.

I really liked how intricate the plot ended up being. It’s all very fast paced, and it works. Everything is given it’s due and the scenes necessary to further the plot happen. I do think Lord Hawthorne was the only one without a place but he did provide some comedic moments.

The build here was incredible. I was utterly wrapped up in this story and take full responsibility for the lack of sleep it caused. WORTH IT. I am still flailing around to anyone who’ll listen that you should read this book.

YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.

Overall audience notes:

Regency romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of Mother (by childbirth with flashback moments)

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Book Review: Loving a Lady (Brotherhood of the Black Tartan #3) by Nichole Van

August 20, 2022March 12, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 366 pages
Author: Nichole Van
Publisher: Fiorenza Publishing
Release Date: September 9th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Ewan Campbell fought to free himself from his past. Quite literally. A former prizefighter, he now earns his living as an artist. But Ewan still fights more figurative opponents—dark memories that threaten to overwhelm him. Worse, when he is hired to assist a famous painter, Ewan finds himself falling for the man’s highborn niece, Lady Kildrum. Such feelings are pointless. Countesses do not fall in love with impoverished Highlanders, no matter what fairy tales say.

Violet Kerr, Lady Kildrum, struggles to make decisions. She is a countess in her own right, for heaven’s sake. Decision-making skills should flow through her blood. After all, her life’s path is clear—marry a nobleman, provide for her sisters, and see to the welfare of her tenants.

Though Violet has made one decision—

She must curb her attraction to Ewan Campbell, her uncle’s new art assistant. The lowly Highlander, no matter how alluring, is not a proper suitor for a countess. She definitely should not fantasize about the man.

Or, if she does, she should not allow such fantasies to lead to very real kissing. Because kissing could bring on the most difficult decision of all—

What happens if Violet chooses to fall in love with the one man she can never have?

LOVABLE.

Both of these characters embodied that word: lovable. I adored this third installment of the Brotherhood series and wow am I just whisked away into these stories each time.

Once again I love how unique these set-ups are. Often I feel the historical romances I pick up are pretty similar in dynamics. I looove that this had the love interest as a gentle giant who could box and paint. And even more so that the heroine was a Lady who was in a “man’s position” for the time period. It was wonderful seeing these two collide and help each other rise from some of the heartaches of the past. I do wish there was a little more focus on the romance in this book, buuut it was still amazing and the ENDING. I was tearing up and the sweetest sentiments exchanged between Ewan and Violet.

I love that throughout the series is this bond of male friendship between the brotherhood. It’s been adding mystery and intrigue with solving more of the story of the ship that sank on their prior voyage and the reveals in here have been excited to see where this series will continue to go.

This has been an amazing series so far and I can’t wait for the next!!

Overall audience notes:

Historical romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Violence: low
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of parents, near death experiences, depictions of grief, loss of siblings, substance abuse (alcohol – side character)

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Book Review: The Art of Victory (The Donovans #1) by Martha Keyes

August 18, 2022June 18, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Regency Romance
Length: 290 pages
Author: Martha Keyes
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: June 15th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Diana Donovan was raised aboard a naval ship on a steady diet of war strategy, so when her orphaned friend, Lucy, is denied a perfectly respectable love match by her controlling guardian, Diana sees an opportunity to put her battle knowledge to use in service of a deserving friend.

But Marmaduke Russell is not the middle-aged curmudgeon Diana is expecting. He is a maddeningly cool, unmarried gentleman who seems uniquely able to parry her tactics—and infuse her with even more determination to win. As battle ensues, though, it becomes clear that there may be more hearts in the balance than just Lucy’s.

DUKE.

Oh, Duke, he might be my newest love interest fav.

I LOVE that he fell first (always a winner) and was so open about it?? What is that?! THE BEST THAT’S WHAT. He pushed Diana to open her eyes and heart to things she thought weren’t ever going to be apart of her life. I loved their chemistry from the get-go. That banter was fire and it was the perfect sentiment of rivals and angst without being true enemies or anything.

What I realize I do struggle with is when a romance book seems to center on a different characters life than the main couple. A lot of this book was turned to Diana’s friend Lucy and her love story. I wish that would have been much more minimalized because it took me out a few times when I just wanted Duke and Diana to have their moments.

All in all, this was a great start to a new series. I love this family and all of the different siblings. I can’t wait for more stories from them. Regency/Historical romances are such a nice break from other genres I read and I found them incredibly enjoyable. Martha Keyes is a reliable author in this category to bring the swoon and heart to any story.

Overall audience note:

Regency Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses

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Book Review: The Devil and the Heiress (The Gilded Age Heiresses #2) by Harper St. George

July 9, 2022June 30, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 304 pages
Author: Harper St. George
Publisher: Berkley Books
Release Date: June 29th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Sparks fly when a runaway heiress bargains with a devilish rogue to escape a marriage of convenience.

No one would guess that beneath Violet Crenshaw’s ladylike demeanor lies the heart of a rebel. American heiresses looking to secure English lords must be on their best behavior, but Violet has other plans. She intends to flee London and the marriage her parents have arranged to become a published author–if only the wickedly handsome earl who inspired her most outrageously sinful character didn’t insist on coming with her.

Christian Halston, Earl of Leigh, has a scheme of his own: escort the surprisingly spirited dollar princess north and use every delicious moment in close quarters to convince Violet to marry him. Christian needs an heiress to rebuild his Scottish estate but the more time he spends with Violet, the more he realizes what he really needs is her–by his side, near his heart, in his bed.

Though Christian’s burning glances offer unholy temptation, Violet has no intention of surrendering herself or her newfound freedom in a permanent deal with the devil. It’s going to take more than pretty words to prove this fortune hunter’s love is true.

STRONG ROMANCE.

That would probably be my favorite part of the story, the initial romance is solid. I adored Christian (and him an audio is woooooonderful). The way he catches the feels and dotes on Violet is nothing short of adorable. Chemistry is there from the get go, with fiery banter and tender moments.

Things were riding on a strong 4 star read until the conflict came about. It was clear from the get-go what it would be, but the shakedown after left much to be desired. Communication and listening was a big issue here. And waiting as long as Violet did to even do that much frustrated me. And the secret she kept for too long as well. I just didn’t appreciate those aspects. Christian was doing a lot and I think she should have heard him out much sooner.

This is a super quick read that I would recommend in audio format too! It’s got a fast pace, plenty of swoon, and for those who love spice, PLENTY of that (for those like me who don’t love that, I did have to skip a good bit after the halfway point). I was looking for a HEA and I did get that in the end. There was a set-up for the next book too that I can’t wait to read!

Overall audience notes: