Tag: nichole van

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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Book Review: Love Practically (The Penn-Leithss of Thistle Muir #1) by Nichole Van

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 413 pages
Author: Nichole Van
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: March 23rd, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

As a young woman, Leah Penn-Leith fell hopelessly in love with Captain Fox Carnegie—the only irrational mark on her decidedly sensible life. Fox, unfortunately, did not return her regard.

Their story should have ended there. After all, Fox left for India. And Leah returned home to Scotland to rear her much younger brothers.

But twenty years later, Fox appears on Leah’s doorstep—older, scarred, and world-weary—proposing a marriage of convenience between them. He needs a mother for his young ward, and Leah, with her capable good sense, comes highly recommended. What woman could say No to such a proposal? Not Leah. Fox has always wreaked havoc on her ability to think rationally.

But after their marriage, Leah confronts the chaotic reality of Fox’s life. His castle, ten miles up a rugged Highland glen, is shambolic. His ward, Madeline, is a precocious handful. Fox’s time in India is shrouded in rumor and mystery. Worst of all, Fox himself is distant and broken, his personality as altered as his scarred body.

Throughout it all, Leah is left with two questions: What happens to a woman after her most-cherished fantasy comes true? And can a marriage, begun in practicality, transform into something deeper? Something like . . . love.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

BEAUTIFUL.

I love that moment when you feel deeply connected to a book. This was that read for me. This was the marriage of convenience trope taken to astronomical levels. Where two souls really did fight there way to be together amidst multiple hardships.

Leah and Fox were both main characters I loved. Also dual POV is always superior and I will not be accepting other opinions at this time. Getting to know both of their backgrounds and where they crossed brought all of the unrequited pining. Brought the slow burn of realizing a connection. Brought those all out moments, when the rain is pouring and you just need them to know you care. I couldn’t get enough of every interaction and even when I wanted to shake both characters, I understood. I knew where they were coming from and that ultimate resolution had my heart souring.

I somehow fell in love with a cat too? Playing a large roll in the side character cast he brought the house down, almost literally. I adored him and the spunky 5 year old who absolutely stole my heart. Sometimes kids rock the book in a way that’s aggravating, this was never the case here. Madeline was the best kind of soft addition this story needed.

There were great moments and conversations that I love seeing. Allowing for progression of not only the plot, but the characters. This novel is romantic, it’s heart-breaking, and soul-binding. I am completely in love with Van’s writing and how she brings a story to life.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: closed door (between a married couple)
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: alcoholism, PTSD, suicide, death from childbirth, stillborn

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