Book Review: The Splendor of Fire (The Hebridean Shield #2) by Ashley Worrell

August 3, 2025April 24, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Christian Romance
Length: 376 pages
Author: Ashley Worrell
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: October 22nd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Left without a voice after being lost at sea, and unable to communicate except with the man she calls Father, Moira Allen has spent her life running wild among the treetops on the Isle of Skye. Observing and sketching everything around her, and assisting Father with the care of “prestigious guests” inside the walls of Cràdh Prison, Moira’s untamed heart and sharp instincts have made her uniquely positioned to change the course of history.

Imprisoned by his brother Niall for disgracing his family and killing his sister Elspeth, Léo MacKinnon has known nothing but a life of loss. First the murder of his parents, then his abandonment in France by his brothers, his wife’s tragic death, and now his imprisonment and separation from his only child. Tragedies all spurred by Léo’s darkest and most painful secret. The secret that no one can ever know, yet it is the secret God will not let him forget.

As the Wolf and the MacKinnons tighten their hold on the Isle of Skye and the Kingdom of the Isles, Léo’s survival lays in the hands of a most unlikely champion—a mute and vibrant beauty who will slip into the heart of his captor, risking her safety, her virtue, and her life, all to ensure the freedom of the man she loves.

A GOOD SEQUEL.

(Though I don’t think you HAVE to read these in order, I would recommend it).

I find these books so intriguing. The stories pull you in with the intensity of the moment and the chaos of not knowing where things will go next. The need to know everyone makes it out alive and that the leads get their HEA. It’s easy to follow and read and highly engaging.

The instant love was a little meh to me. I thought things got off a little too quickly. There were some good gaps that helped but I think they argued about the same thing one too many times. I did love Leo and Moira though. They were both fantastic characters with a lot of strength and perseverance. The faith elements were woven in naturally and I look forward to continuing this series.

Overall audience notes:

Christian historical romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Violence: moderate
Content warnings: attempted sexual assault, kidnapping, near death experiences, loss of life

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Book Review: To Forge Her Fate (Hearts of Harewood #1) by Kasey Stockton

July 25, 2025June 23, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 358 pages
Author: Kasey Stockton
Publisher: Golden Owl Press
Release Date: March 11th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Two worlds. Two hearts. Can they ever meld together as one?

Eliza Rose: accomplished in pianoforte, riding, drawing, three languages, and the art of flirtation using only a fan.

Jacob Ridley: skilled blacksmith, honest tradesman, appreciates a hot meal, and not susceptible to any lady’s charm.

Until Eliza needs help, and Jacob cannot turn her away. Now she has him wrapped around her dainty finger. But a union between them is forbidden on both sides of Society, and Jacob cannot afford to make enemies, or his business will suffer.

But can he afford to sacrifice his heart?

Book one in the Hearts of Harewood series, To Forge Her Fate is a sweet and clean Regency romance of unequal social status and forbidden love.

I LIKED THIS.

I love a good different stations/forbidden romance in regency books. I love seeing how the characters come together and work through the barriers before them to find the love and hopes of a future together. I love Kasey Stockton’s books and am excited to continue this series.

I loved both of the main characters Eliza and Jacob. There were POV’s from both of them which made it wonderfully easy to understand thoughts and desires and where each person was coming from. I loved that Jacob was a blacksmith too!! And I really loved seeing Eliza find her home and to reconnect with her sister. There were many good moments throughout that I appreciated the sentiment and thought behind.

Overall audience notes:

Regency Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Violence: low

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ARC Book Review: A Tartan Love (The Earls of Cairnfell #1) by Nichole Van

July 24, 2025July 19, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 380 pages
Author: Nichole Van
Publisher: Fiorenza Publishing
Release Date: July 29th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Two ancient rivers, twin brothers, and a Scottish king who divided them. Welcome to life in the shadow of Cairnfell.

Lady Isla Kinsey knows that the animosity between her family, the Dukedom of Grayburn, and their distant kinsmen, the Earldom of Northcairn, is the stuff of legends—six generations of duels fought, ladies ruined, and gentlemen betrayed. Therefore, falling in love with a son of the enemy house would be, in a word, apocalyptic. So when Captain Tavish Balfour, second son of the Earl of Northcairn, returns home after Waterloo—distressingly handsome with eyes that see straight into her soul—Lady Isla is determined to resist his allure. She will not fall in love with the rogue . . . uh-hum, again.

Granted, the not-falling-in-love part would be a tad bit easier if Isla and Tavish weren’t already married.

Captain Tavish Balfour has cashed out of his military commission and is ready to start a new life far away from the Scottish Highlands of his birth. But before he sets sail into his future, there is the pesky matter of his marriage to Lady Isla Kinsey to resolve. As teenagers, in the sun-drenched warmth of a Highland summer, they tied the knot of their handfasting—an ill-advised decision he has regretted ever since. Thankfully, unlike their English neighbors, Scottish law allows for divorce in situations such as theirs.

Unfortunately for Tavish, Isla is every whit as captivating and lovely as his memories recall. As for Isla, she fears Tavish will reawaken the unconventional woman she was becoming all those years ago.

Yet even if they were to fall in love again, what could come of it? The history of acrimony between their families still casts a long shadow, and the forces that shredded their love in the past have not miraculously changed since. Can Isla and Tavish find a way to claim one another without betraying everyone and everything they love?

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

ALTERED MY BRAIN CHEMISTRY.

PERMANENTLY. I am not the same woman before reading this book. AND HOW DOES NICHOLE VAN KEEP DOING IT? A very incoherent review may be incoming of me just shouting TO READ THIS ONE ALREADY. IT’S A GOOD STARTING POINT FOR HER BOOKS. DO IT OKAY. CLOSED DOOR BOOKS CAN STILL BE SEXY AND HEATED.

The first chapter will take you out (IYKYK – DO NOT READ THE SUMMARY OKAY JUST TRUST ME). And then you’ll proceed to binge read this entire book because taking it slow? NOT AN OPTION. The most perfectly placed flashback chapters only added to the angst and tension between these two.

I need a new kindle too because it caught on FIIIIIIIIRE. HOT DANG THOSE KISSES. EVERY MOMENT SERVES THE ROMANCE. Seeing Tavish and Isla reconnect all over again??? Learning all of the new little things about who they’ve become??? STOP IT NOW. WHAT GEMS. I have melted. I will be thinking about this book for forever now.

I DON’T KNOW IF ANY OF THIS MADE SENESE JUST READ IT.

Overall audience notes:

Historical Romance
Language: none
Romance: closed door
Violence: mild
Content warnings: loss of a parent (recounted), toxic family dynamics, brief war themes (recounted), physical altercations

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Book Review: Beauty and the Baron (Forever After Retellings #1) by Joanna Barker

July 21, 2025June 20, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance Novella
Length: 121 pages
Author: Joanna Barker
Publisher: Love Letter Press
Release Date: January 15th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A penniless maid determined to save her father, a broken baron bent on isolation, and the undeniable draw between them that will lead to happiness—or disaster.

Rose Sinclair has run out of options. With her father in prison and their bookshop sold to pay his debts, she has no choice but to turn to Henry Covington, the Baron Norcliffe. But the baron has more than earned his harsh reputation, and Rose must face his wrath in order to save her father—and herself.

Since the deaths of his parents, Henry Covington has isolated himself from society, ensuring the solitude of his estate with his deliberate callousness. However, when the beautiful Miss Sinclair appears on his doorstep, begging for a chance to repay her father’s debt to him, a moment of weakness finds him offering her a position—as a maid in his own house.

They both soon learn that first impressions are not to be believed. Henry is surprised—and intrigued—by Rose’s optimistic charm, while Rose slowly uncovers Henry’s true self, his compassion concealed behind the pain of loss and betrayal. But when a shadow from Henry’s past returns, their newfound hope is tested. They must decide for themselves who to trust—and what they will risk for their happily ever after.

Beauty and the Baron is a Regency retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It is a sweet/clean romance novella, and is Book 1 in a series of Regency retellings. The stories can be read in any order.

SHORT & SWEET.

What a sweet novella! I am trying to cross off books on Joanna Barker’s backlist and this was such a good quick read.

I liked the plot and even with a fast pace the romance was well developed. These were two characters both looking to change their circumstances and exhibited nice character arcs that had me rooting for them. I loved the direction the last act took and the heartfelt sincerity of connection between Henry and Rose.

Overall audience notes: