Tag: regency romance

Book Review: The Nabob’s Daughter by Jess Heileman

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Regency Romance
Length: 444 pages
Author: Jess Heileman
Publisher: Vagabond Publishing
Release Date: June 30th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She’ll do anything to escape an arranged marriage. He’ll do anything to help her.

Honora Crauford relishes her life in India. So when her father informs her of his latest business transaction—marrying her off to a bankrupt nobleman in England—her only hope for returning home is to convince her betrothed, by whatever antics necessary, that a marriage to her comes at a cost that not even the greatest fortune can justify.

Graham Whitworth can hardly believe his wretched luck. It seems the only way to save his family’s insolvent estate is to comply with his father’s demands and marry the extremely wealthy, but utterly ridiculous, nabob’s daughter. But when Honora missteps, Graham discerns her farce and begins to see who she truly is—a most impressive lady. A lady likely capable of fixing his family’s financial troubles.

Realizing they both desire freedom, Graham and Honora join forces to restore the Whitworth estate and return Honora to her beloved India. But sometimes love has its own agenda, and the revoking of a once undesirable arrangement may just prove to be the greatest sacrifice of all.

DID NOT DISAPPOINT.

The hype in the regency community about this book is real, and I’m so glad it lived up to what I was hoping for.

Honora is the definition of the head-strong woman who stubbornness occasionally gets in her own way. I liked her character arc and her ability to recognize and acknowledge her faults and when she needed to apologize. Honora stood for her choices too and was a character I wanted to see get her HEA.

Graham was adorable. I loved how tender he was and how open to Honora he spoke. With a slight misstep in their first meeting to a friendship that became more, I was enraptured. He was incredibly sweet and all of Graham’s quiet moments with Honora had me swooning.

The plot was more fresh than most regencies and felt like a new rush of air as I read. My only lower point was that it felt a bit long too me. It might have been so much of the accounting commentary and scenes that took away from the main focus of the romance.

This was a wonderful read though and I look forward to Heileman’s future books. Based off of this one I think there’s more swoony romances ahead.

Overall audience notes:

  • Regency romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a mother

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Book Review: To Con a Gentleman (Dalton Family #1) by Sarah Adams

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Regency Romance
Length: 284 pages
Author: Sarah Adams
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Release Date: November 1st, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

He was her target. She was his diversion. Falling in love was never something they wanted.

As a con woman who has spent her entire life fending for herself on the streets of London, Rose Wakefield knows how to scam a gentleman out of his money without ever getting caught. That’s until she knocks on the wrong earl’s door and is faced with Carver Ashburn Earl of Kensworth and not the notorious rake she thinks she is approaching.

Carver is a good man, but even a good man will not pass up an opportunity to escape his grief. What better way to avoid his feelings than to play into a con woman’s ruse and offer to marry her?

Things only grow more complicated when Carver sweeps Rose off to his family estate and circumstances force them both into continuing the ruse. Carver needs to protect his family, and Rose needs to protect herself—and her heart.

With so much set against them, will Rose and Carver have a chance at love and freedom? Or is the possibility of more heartache not worth the risk?

ADORED THIS.

Such a sweet regency romance! It’s probably my favorite one that I’ve read in years. I love Sarah Adams writing and story telling.

I absolutely loved the banter between Carver and Rose. Goodness, that’s what more regency romances need. A bit of snark and moments to make me laugh. The plot for this was interesting and unique to most regency romances I’ve read. It was fun to have Rose to be a thief and con artist (with good intentions). Add in Carver, a strong, charming man with a tender heart and I was smitten with the romance.

The story was intriguing and I never wanted to stop reading. Having dinners, going to balls, romantic interludes on the roof, horse riding, so much was here. The story didn’t drag, but flowed easily. I love the intensity of emotions and substantially romantic. I wanted to be swept away and this was exactly what I got.

Overall audience notes:

  • Regency romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: falling from a horse, physical
  • Content Warnings: loss of loved one(s), mention and discussion of a past miscarriage, depictions of grief and depression

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Book Review: A Proper Scandal (Proper Scandals #1) by Esther Hatch

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Regency Romance
Length: 222 pages
Author: Esther Hatch
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Release Date: May 1st, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Grace Sinclair has been callously cast out of her home. And though taken in as an orphaned child by the vicar and his wife, her unsurpassed beauty makes it impossible for her to remain in the vicar’s household—with two daughters of their own about to enter Society, the vicar and his wife see Grace as nothing but competition. Thankfully, Grace’s estranged Aunt Bell has agreed to take her in to her home in London. But Grace soon learns her situation has just gotten much worse.

It takes only a moment’s acquaintance for Grace to ascertain that her aunt has married a detestable rake. And Aunt Bell, recognizing the danger of having her lovely niece too near her husband, gives Grace an ultimatum: the young woman has two weeks to find a man to marry, after which she will be turned out. With no experience in the art of attracting a husband, Grace quickly realizes that a worthy suitor might not be so easy to ensnare.

ABSOLUTELY LOVED.

One of those reads where you question why it took you so long in the first place to pick it up.

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. One of the best regency romances I’ve read. Hands down. No contest. If you even are remotely interested in the genre, please give this one a chance. As my second great Hatch book, she’s quickly becoming an auto-author for me!

Grace and Nate had such an amazing dynamic. Fantastic banter. Incredibly sweet. They were such a match. I forgot to even note that it was a fast-paced romance because everything worked beautifully. Somehow at odds with each other, yet working together had me mesmerized.

All of the dances, garden escapes, and meet-ups were wonderful. I love how often they actually got to see each other so you could feel the romance building between them. And one thing Hatch does well? KISSING SCENES. They are swoon-worthy and fill your heart with warmth.

I loved this book. I’m excited to continue this series. Read ittttt!

Overall audience notes:

  • Regency Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: implied and brief attempted sexual assault scenes (on and off screen), a creepy step-Uncle who continually hits on main character Grace

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ARC Review: The Matchmaker’s Lonely Heart by Nancy Campbell Allen

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Regency Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Nancy Campbell Allen
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Release Date: September 7th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Set in Victorian London from the Queen of Mystery Romance

Amelie Hampton is a hopeless romantic, which makes her the perfect columnist to answer lonely heart letters in The Marriage Gazette. When Amelie plays matchmaker with two anonymous lonely hearts, she also decides to secretly observe the couple’s blind date. To her surprise, the man who appears for the rendezvous is Harold Radcliffe—a grieving widower and a member of Amelie’s book club.

Police detective Michael Baker has been struggling ever since his best friend and brother-in-law died in the line of fire. Because he knows the dangers of his job, he has vowed never to marry and subject a wife and family to the uncertainty of his profession. But when he meets Miss Hampton, he is captured by her innocence, beauty, and her quick mind.

When a woman’s body is pulled from the river, Michael suspects the woman’s husband—Harold Radcliffe—of foul play. Amelie refuses to believe that Harold is capable of such violence but agrees to help, imagining it will be like one of her favorite mystery novels. Her social connections and clever observations prove an asset to the case, and Amelie is determined to prove Mr. Radcliffe’s innocence. But the more time Amelie and Michael spend together, the more they trust each other, and the more they realize they are a good team, maybe the perfect match.

They also realize that Mr. Radcliffe is hiding more than one secret, and when his attention turns toward Amelie, Michael knows he must put an end to this case before the woman he loves comes to harm.

Thank you to Shadow Mountain for an ARC.

NOT REALLY A MYSTERY?

If you know from the get-go who the murderer is, is it really considered a mystery? Asking for a friend.

Besides that flaw, the beginning started off well enough. I didn’t mind the hero or heroine. The set-up was something I haven’t read before in a Victorian romance so sure! Call me interested. The further things went on the more and more I really couldn’t stand the heroine, Amelie. I think the impression was supposed to come off as strong-willed and capable, but all I saw was a woman in over her head that couldn’t follow basic instructions. Cue a few eye rolls. Michael was the lone savior of the story. I liked his dynamic and POV chapters. I love that his job was a detective and how he pursued the truth.

I found myself intensely skimming the last half because everything was TOO predictable. And based off of the title I thought the story would be a bit different. They didn’t match one another very well. So yes, this book was fine, but not one I’m going to remember.

Overall audience notes:

  • Victorian Proper Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: murder, murder of a pregnant woman, physical altercations, near drowning

NANCY CAMPBELL ALLEN is the award-winning author of eighteen published novels and several novellas, which encompass a variety of genres, ranging from contemporary romantic suspense to historical fiction. Her most recent books, which include Regency, Victorian, and steampunk romance, are published under Shadow Mountain’s Proper Romance brand, and the What Happens in Venice novella series is part of the Timeless Romance Anthology collection published by Mirror Press. She has presented at numerous conferences and events since her initial publication in 1999. Nancy loves to read, write, travel, and research, and enjoys spending time with family and friends. She nurtures a current obsession for true crime podcasts and is a news junkie. She and her husband have three children, and she lives in Ogden, Utah, with her family, one very large Siberian Husky named Thor, and an obnoxious but endearing Yorkie-Poo named Freya.

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