Tag: nichole van

ARC Book Review: Adjacent But Only Just (The Penn-Leiths of Thistle Muir #2) by Nichole Van

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Nichole Van
Publisher: Fiorenza Publishing
Release Date: September 14th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Viola Brodure, gentlewoman and celebrated authoress, faces a personal dilemma suited for a novel—everyone wishes for her to make a love match with Ethan Penn-Leith, the famous Highland Poet. And by everyone, she means everyone—her father, her adoring readers, the gossip columnists, and her patron, the overbearing Duke of Kendall. Why, even Queen Victoria herself has given a nod of approval to the match. After all, the popular novelist and the famous poet are the perfect heroine and hero for their own love story. A literary dynasty waiting to be born.

The problem, of course, is that Viola has never met Ethan, not in the flesh, at least. She has read about him and devoured his poetic writings, but does the man himself live up to his dashing reputation?

Malcolm Penn-Leith exists in twilight. He manages his farm, Thistle Muir, in the shadow of the Scottish Highlands. As the older brother of the renowned Ethan Penn-Leith, Malcolm tends to his prized cows while Ethan basks in the limelight. Harder still, Malcolm lives under a cloud of grief after the death of his wife five years ago.

But then Miss Viola Brodure arrives in Malcolm’s wee village, intent on meeting Ethan and beginning a courtship. Viola—petite, blond, shy, and English—is nothing like Malcolm’s late wife. And yet, Viola awakens a piece of his heart that he thought lost in the abyss of his grief.

For her part, Viola is surprised to find herself more attracted to the stoic Malcolm than the charming Ethan. So now what? She isn’t meant to fall in love with the man adjacent to Ethan Penn-Leith. That’s not the plot she had outlined. After all, Malcolm and Viola are not the match made in heaven that everyone wishes to see. As social pressures mount, can Malcolm and Viola overcome the weight of his past and the expectations of her future to forge a new path together?

Please note that the basic elements of this story first appeared in a novella entitled A Ring of Gold. This current novel is a greatly-expanded adaptation of that novella.

Thank you to Nichole Van for the eARC.

ALL THE DANG FEELS.

OHMYGOSHILOVEDTHISBOOKSOMUCH.

I don’t even know how coherent this will be because I am fully obsessed with all things Nichole Van and this book was another five star read from one of my favorite historical romance authors.

This book holds one of my biggest triggers: a widow/widower. I loved the way Van handled Malcom and his tender heart. The heart that missed his wife but also was starting to beat for someone new. I can’t count how many scenes and conversations had my eyes going misty. There were profound sentiments towards grief that I think would resonate with anyone who’s experienced a loss in their life.

AND VIOLA. She is my new favorite female main character. Because guess what? Being shy does NOT mean you are not also fierce and tenacious. It does not mean you’ll stand to be walked all over. I LOOOOOOVE that I got to read about a shy (hi, it’s me) woman who was a force and showing all that it’s not a weakness.

THE ROMANCE??? Holy heck. The fire between these two was off the charts. I loved the slow build. The nuanced looks and casual run-ins that turned to deep conversations. And when Viola went after what she wanted? I was squealing with joy at how an entire scene played out.

There’s even some cameos from some of the best men of The Brotherhood of the Black Tartan series. The epilogue is EVERYTHING. And I am in desperate need of Ethan’s book.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: blackmail, loss of a spouse (recounted), depictions of grief, asthmatic attacks

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Book Review: Suffering the Scot (Brotherhood of the Black Tartan #1) by Nichole Van

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historiacl Romance
Length: 386 pages
Author: Nichole Van
Publisher: Fiorenza Publishing
Release Date: April 26th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lady Jane Everard cannot abide the new Earl of Hadley. The unmannered Scot is a menace to genteel ladies everywhere, what with his booming laugh and swishing kilt and endless supply of ‘ochs’ and ‘ayes.’ Jane wishes Lord Hadley would behave as an earl should and adhere to English rules of polite conduct.

Andrew Langston, the new Earl of Hadley, knows that the English aristocracy think poorly of his lowly Scottish upbringing. This is hardly new. History is littered with the English assuming the worst about Scotland. By living up to their lowest expectations, he is simply fulfilling his civic duty as a Scotsman.

Jane sees Andrew as an unmannered eejit. Andrew considers Jane to be a haughty English lady. But, as the saying goes, . . . opposites attract.

And what if beneath his boisterous behavior and her chilly reserve, Andrew and Jane are not nearly as different as they suppose? Can Scotland and England reach a harmonious union at last?

GREAT READ.

I have found a new series I would love to work through. Absolutely love a Scottish romance. This had Outlander vibes, but without the very long list of content warnings.

Enjoyable characters that I can fall behind are always something I’m looking for and this group was that for me! There’s many avenues of adventures to explore and different romance tropes to get to and I’m excited for that.

I really liked the chemistry between Jane and Andrew. Andrew continually brought out Jane’s true nature and basked in it. I love a man falling first, and he’s clearly smitten from the get-go. It would have been nice to overall have a little more showing rather than telling. I wanted more close moments between these two (though they’re some great swoony ones don’t worry!).

The murder mystery aspects were a nice touch and kept the plot moving. I liked the small flashbacks that gave depth to Andrew’s story and how that played into who he is now. I love a good villain unveiling and was surprised by this one! The way the ending came about was exactly as I hoped for too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: passionate kisses
  • Violence: minor blood
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a friend, shipwreck, slavery, kidnapping, attempted murder, blackmail, extortion

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Book Review: Making the Marquess (Brotherhood of the Black Tartan #4) by Nichole Van

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Rating: ★★★★
Genre: Historical Romance
Length: 351 pages
Author: Nichole Van
Publisher: Fiorenza Publishing
Release Date: March 3rd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lady Charlotte Whitaker is devoted to her family, particularly her sister’s son, Freddie. Her late father, the Marquess of Lockhead, died without a male heir. But on his deathbed, her father requested that Freddie inherit the title. Consequently, Lottie’s family has petitioned the Crown to recreate the title with Freddie as the new heir. Lottie wants nothing more than to honor her late father’s wishes. But she unwittingly reveals a wrinkle to this plan.

Dr. Alexander Whitaker is dedicated to his work as a physician in Edinburgh, Scotland. He dislikes surprises—disruptions to his daily schedule, interferences with his ability to care for his patients, and events that might alter his future. He particularly abhors things that threaten to do all three. So when a solicitor calls with news that Alex might be heir to an English marquisate, Alex wants nothing to do with the claim. But the law is the law, and a man cannot revoke his lineage, can he?

Alex does not want to be the new marquess.

Lottie is determined to honor her late father’s wishes.

Their goals should be simple enough to accomplish, right?

But when two kindred souls crash into one another, the resulting conflagration may have consequences neither can anticipate. And Lottie and Alex soon face a difficult truth—sometimes, life makes us choose between two loves, and in order to have one, we must forsake the other.

MY HEART.

I am utterly addicted to this series. I will finish reading all five books within a month and I can’t tell you the last time I did that. I CAN’T STOP. The writing is incredible and continually draws me in. I don’t even notice that the pages are moving by or that anything is around me. I am too involved in these characters lives and will mourn the loss at the final book.

Alex and Lottie were such a sight. I love snarky banter and this book had it in spades. But what built from that was genuine friendship that turned into a soul binding love. I will say, I struggled with the cousins aspect. I KNOW I KNOW, they’re super distant and all of that, but every time they used the moniker I cringed just a tiny bit. When I put that aside, this romance was utterly sweet.

Alex gave Lottie the chance to grow because she was stuck in one mindset about her life and her family. Thank heavens also for Grandmere who truly saved the day. I LOVED her perfectly placed moments that weren’t overbearing, but eye-opening. There’s a lot of deep conversations and meaning throughout about what it means to be loyal to your family, and also choosing someone to be your family. Made my heart flutter countless times. The endings always get me and the swoony kisses got me good.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Overall audience notes: childbirth, severe leg injury, mention (with method) of suicide (a loved one in the past), mentions of substance abuse

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

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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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