A bit jumpy to start with a few random fanfics, but overall a great reading week. I managed to finish a whole series by Kerrigan Byrne this week and started another series from Callie Hutton that’s available on Kindle Unlimited.
Harry Potter Fanfic: Debts by Dracosalive (livesybaby)
Draco/Hermione smutty one-shot. Hermione is married to Ron and he’s acquired many debts, the owner of all those loans is Draco, so she goes to strike a deal with him. He’s asked for a night with her to pay off the debts of her husband.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
Harry Potter Fanfic: Naughty or Nice by morriganmercy
Draco/Hermione one-shot. We start with a group of friends hanging out and drinking a mysterious potion that tells the drinker if they’ve been naughty or nice this year. Hermione is curious about Draco’s results.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
Harry Potter Fanfic: Then We Found Us by CindyBV
Draco/Hermione, Dark!Hermione, short story, 12k words. Hermione has found out that her weasel of a husband has bound her in an irreversible marriage. This story is how Hermione turns to dark magic to set herself free.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
Lovelocks of London Bonus: Harry’s Christmas Present by Felicity Niven (2022)
Historical romance, Regency-era England. Bonus short story related to Convergence of Desire, Book 1 of the Lovelocks of London series. See my review of the entire Lovelocks of London series here on Substack and on YouTube. This short story will make the most sense if you’ve already read Convergence of Desire. Consider it a bonus epilogue, taking place the second Christmas of Harry and Thomas’ marriage. Harry is a tough time reading people and doesn’t know how to give gifts; she is struggling to find the perfect present for her husband, and in this steamy story, I think she achieves success.
Ebook available for free with the author’s newsletter. Click here to sign up.
How To Love A Duke in Ten Days by Kerrigan Byrne (2019)
Historical romance, Victorian England. Book 1 of the Devil You Know series. As expected, there was a huge amount of drama and emotional turmoil in this book. We start with a tragic prologue where Alexandra is attacked by her school headmaster, defends herself, and then needs her friends to assist her in covering things up. To help her feel better, her two best friends reveal their own tragic secrets. As expected, the two friends will make up the main characters of the other two books in this series. Chapter one starts ten years later when she’s on her way to a duke’s masquerade ball where her friend is supposed to be announced as his fiancee. What follows is a series of near-death experiences, blackmail, family destitution, and a fearful pull that Alexandra has towards her friend’s intended, Piers. Don’t worry though, her friend is not in love with him at all and it was a marriage contract from many years past. When she finds out about the allowance the future duchess will receive, she proposes that the duke marry her instead of her friend. And then we have even more drama with Piers’ backstory with his family history, being attacked and scarred, being ditched by his fiancee for his cousin, and mistrust of women. These two people have their own reasons for not trusting one another but somehow feel safe and protected when they’re together. Loved seeing them start to slowly melt towards each other.
Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.
Bridgerton Fanfic: And All At Once (you are the one) by fade_like_starlight
Benedict/Penelope romance, post-Season 2, 23k words. Sweet little read about Benedict realizing how lovely Penelope is and decides to pursue her. It’s after the events of Season 2, Benedict is in an artistic funk, Penelope is on the outs with Eloise and has had an honest conversation with Colin, and Benedict has asked Penelope to pose for a portrait. They get to talking and seeing each other in a new light and realize they have much in common. Loved this quick read!
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
Their Marchioness by Jess Michaels (2023)
Historical romance, Regency England. Book 1 of the Theirs series. A marquess plans a birthday treat for his wife of ten years. When they go to a cottage for the week, he invites the man that she was in love with as a young lady to join them in the bedroom. While the marchioness gets to live out her fantasies of enjoying the intimate attentions of both men, the marquess gives into his own desires for the other man as well. There’s not much in this book plot-wise, it’s mainly about the physical and emotional relationships between these three people and the stodgy marquess dealing with his own repressed emotions.
Advance ebook provided by Passionate Pen via NetGalley.
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All Scot and Bothered by Kerrigan Byrne (2020)
Historical romance, Victorian England. Book 2 of the Devil You Know series. This is the type of book that makes most sense when reading in series order, but still works perfectly well on its own. The prologue starts with Cecelia as a child being cruelly punished by her vicar father (who turns out not to be her father). Cecelia gets locked in an isolated cell and deprived of food and water. She ultimately gets rescued and taken away and sent to school by a mysterious benefactor. This is where she eventually meets her friends who make up the rest of the lead characters in the other books of the series. The other main character of the story is Ramsay, the older brother of the duke from Book 1. He’s also had a harsh childhood and eventually has become one of the most powerful lawmen of England. He’s very much attracted to Cecelia, but refuses to give in or to trust her. Suddenly, Cecelia inherits a gambling hell/slash women’s school from her aunt and is also accused of abducting young girls by our Lord Ramsay (even though he doesn’t know it’s her at first). These two end up in an antagonistic relationship with Ramsay being overly accusatory, but also protective at the same time. There’s eventually a need to escape the city and hide for protection and a dramatic subplot with a seven year old ward that Cecelia has also inherited. High drama, but in a good way.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
A Seduction in the Stars by Jess Michaels (2021)
Historical romance, Regency England. Long novella. Duke’s daughter Evangeline is uninterested in a typical ton marriage because she has seen her mother, sister, and sister-in-law be controlled by the men in her life. While chatting with another lady who wants to avoid marriage, she helps scheme to get the lady ruined in purpose. Evangeline has been eyeing her friend Henry, the third son of a viscount, to suit her purposes of a docile and accommodating husband. Henry has been studying astronomy and developing calculations to potentially discover a new planet; his father disapproves of his work and threatens to cut him off financially if he continues. It seems that both Henry and Evangeline will benefit from a union together; however, Henry makes it his mission to prove that a loving marriage would be worthwhile.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.
Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org
My Present This Year by Sierra Simone (2022)
Contemporary smutty novella. Let’s just pretend this one is a one-shot fanfiction based on the Folgers commercial where the siblings seems to have a questionable affection for each other. But this one is a stepsibling arrangement with the stepbrother coming home from the Peace Corps and the stepsister is a grad student. Both are home for Christmas while the parents are out on a cruise vacation. What kind of trouble can these two get into while all alone?
Ebook free from the author’s website.
The Devil in Her Bed by Kerrigan Byrne (2021)
Historical romance, Victorian England. Book 3 of the Devil You Know series. We start with another tragic prologue telling us about the Mont Clair Massacre, where the entire household was slaughtered and burned. It seems that Pippa (the cook’s daughter) has survived and now assumes the identity of Francesca (the new countess) and is seeking revenge. As she gets deeper into infiltrating her enemy’s lair, she catches the attention of a spy, Chandler, who is also targeting the same enemy. It turns out that Chandler is her childhood friend who she loved and saved her, but he was in love with Francesca and believes her to have truly survived the massacre. It’s a tangle of lust and secrets here and slightly heartbreaking for the woman who is actually in front of the man she loves.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
The Elusive Wife by Callie Hutton (2013)
Historical romance, Regency England. Book 1 of the Marriage Mart Mayhem series. As a stipulation of the late earl’s will, Jason needs to fulfill an arranged marriage to inherit. He is completely drunk through the wedding and abandons his new wife immediately the next morning. The new countess Olivia is appalled and embarrassed with her new situation and goes to London to visit her friend and confront her wayward husband. When they see each other at a ball, he doesn’t recognize her at all and proceeds to flirt with her, even though he at least knows he’s married. While she is angry at him, he’s so besotted that he seeks an annulment from his wife so that he can pursue the beautiful lady from the ball (even though that woman is actually his wife!). A humorous set up and then when the truth finally tumbles out, our earl is trying very hard to woo his wife and make the marriage work, even as she is skeptical and resists.
Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.
The Duke’s Quandary by Callie Hutton (2014)
Historical romance, Regency England. Book 2 of the Marriage Mart Mayhem series. Best friend of the man from the first book, Drake, a new duke is seeking the perfect wife this Season. While chaperoning his sisters through the marriage mart, his mother is also hosting another young lady, Penelope, who is an orphaned acquaintance. Penelope is clumsy and awkward in society and she would much rather be in the garden pursuing her botany. Drake and Penelope are the worst match possible, but they are undeniably attracted to each other, so it was entertaining to see how they work out their differences.
Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.
Want more Harry Potter fanfic? Here’s a spreadsheet of my all-time favorites.
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