Busy week for reading this time with lots of book and fic links below!
One Wedding and an Earl by Tracy Sumner (2023)
Historical romance. Regency England. Book 4 of the Duchess Society series. Tragic childhoods for both Ollie and Necessity have made them both wary of romantic entanglements. Oliver, now an earl, has had a shady history of opium dens, brothels, and getting slashed in the face in a gambling hell back alley. He’s now a recluse fixing up the estate where he suffered from his abusive father. Necessity, orphaned when cholera killed her whole family, is soon-to-be the most sought after landscape architect in England. When Necessity is recruited to fix up Oliver’s garden, they give into the attraction, but neither ask for anything more, knowing their own personal traumas and their vast differences in social standing. However, these two are delightfully fiery together and are certainly destined for greater things, if they would just allow themselves to ask for more. Also, a great intro to another street thug with a suspicious history and I’m looking to reading more about him in a future book.
Advance ebook provided by Wolf Publishing via NetGalley.
Harry Potter Fanfic: Blood Rush by FictionCannibal
Snape/Hermione, multi-chapter, 20k words. So this one finds Hermione and Snape having an affair while she’s a seventh year student at Hogwarts. It’s mostly smut, but it has some emotional elements too.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
The Heiress Hunt by Joanna Shupe (2021)
Historical romance. Gilded Age New York and Rhode Island. Book 1 of the Fifth Avenue Rebels series. Harrison Archer is back in town after living in Paris for the past three years; his horrible family is broke and he’s intent on finalizing their financial ruin. While they want him to marry an heiress to pay off their debts, he only has eyes for his childhood friend Maddie Webster, who broke his heart years ago by declaring that she only thinks of him as a brother. With the time apart, he’s hoping that she’ll change the way she sees him. I’m a total sucker for the emotional gut wrench of rejection, even though Maddie had no idea that she was the cause of Harrison’s departure. So now Maddie is trying to help Harrison find a bride, even though he just wanted to use the Newport house party as a way to get close to her again, and she’s kind of almost engaged to a duke. Messiness all around. Still, Maddie was incredibly stubborn in this book and totally oblivious to the fact that Harrison has loved her for years, even though everyone else in the world had seen it. Great set up for all the other characters that will feature in the remainder of the series and looking forward to finishing the rest of the books.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
The French Maid by Sabrina Jeffries (2012)
Historical romance. Regency England. Standalone Novella. This one was a quick little story with a couple who has been married for almost a year and the husband being very politically ambitious and neglectful of his wife. A new French maid installed in the household helps to improve the woman’s appearances and bolster her confidence, in the hopes of gaining her husband’s attention. Quick and enjoyable.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
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Harry Potter Fanfic: Rebel Child by SlytherinLovesAGryffindor
Snape/Hermione, one-shot, 4k words. If Hermione was Lily and Petunia Evans’ younger sister and friends with Severus. Mostly cute.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
Harry Potter Fanfic: Entwined Fates by SlytherinLovesAGryffindor
Gregory Goyle/Hermione, drabble, 700 words. Just a cute little soulmates story.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
Harry Potter Fanfic: Deception by SlytherinLovesAGryffindor
Tom Riddle/Hermione, one-shot, 1k words. Twisty dark Hermione set up; you just need to read it. It’s a quick one.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
Harry Potter Fanfic: You and Me by karasunova
Cormac McLaggen/Hermione, one-shot, 2k words. Slytherin Hermione secretly dates Cormac.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
The Lady Gets Lucky by Joanna Shupe (2021)
Historical romance. Gilded Age New York and Rhode Island. Book 2 of the Fifth Avenue Rebels series. About half of this book takes place at the same Newport house party as Book 1 of the series, so it’s fun to read these back to back. Shy and quiet Alice asks scoundrel Kit for lessons in seduction so that she’ll be able to find a husband who wants her for more than her dowry. She’s got a terribly overbearing mother and needs to get out from under her thumb. Meanwhile, Kit has already been warned away from the innocent debutantes so is hesitant to help her (even though he was instantly attracted to her offer). When Kit finds out that Alice is friendly with a famous chef who he is trying to hire for his new supper club, he wants a way to buy those recipes. Alice is shrewd negotiator, so it looks like she’ll get her seduction lessons after all. Reading these two flirt with each other was so fun; Alice learns a bit more confidence and Kit turns into someone less sure and less suave, but more honest. I really enjoyed this one!
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
Harry Potter Fanfic: In the Shadow of Your Heart by thestanceyg
Gregory Goyle/Hermione, one-shot, 1k words. Another soulmates story, but a bit more manipulative.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own (Must be logged into an AO3 account)
Harry Potter Fanfic: Greg’s Girl by Saras_Girl
Gregory Goyle/Hermione, one-shot, 4k words. Goyle’s POV of why he has a crush on Hermione.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
Harry Potter Fanfic: How to Make Beans on Toast by Zorak23
Gregory Goyle/Hermione, one-shot, 4k words. Marriage law forces Goyle and Hermione together.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
Harry Potter Fanfic: A Real Marriage by crochetaway
Gregory Goyle/Hermione, one-shot, 1k words. Another marriage law set-up.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
Harry Potter Fanfic: Show Me That Which I Cannot See by The_Little_Momaid
Draco/Hermione, one-shot, 4k words. Soulmates story.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
The Widow’s Auction by Sabrina Jeffries (2016)
Historical romance. Regency England. Standalone novella. A widowed viscountess and a politically ambitious marquess disagree on many issues regarding the charity they both work with. However, chance brings them together when the shy and quiet widow is convinced to auction herself off for a night of sin in the annual masked widow’s action. Recognizing her and wanting to find out her secrets, our grumpy marquess bids and wins her for the night. She thinks she can keep him fooled and he lets her, but over the course of the night, they get to know each other and feelings get involved, even though a future together seems impossible. I liked this novella quite a bit and would definitely recommend it!
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
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The Bride Goes Rogue by Joanna Shupe (2021)
Historical romance. Gilded Age New York. Book 3 of the Fifth Avenue Rebels series. Katherine is finally going to settle those wedding details with the fiancee that her father arranged, only to find that Preston had no intention of marrying her at all. He’s got a grudge against her father for abandoning Preston’s family in their time of financial turmoil, so wants nothing to do with their family. With Katherine suddenly un-engaged, she’s ready to find an affair, so she goes to a masked ball with her friend and meets a man there. When she goes to meet with him unmasked in a follow-up tryst at his apartment, she finds that it was Preston all along. These two spend a lot of time fighting, somehow call a truce, then fall into an affair with each other, with no intention of marriage. It’s messy and complicated and meanwhile Preston’s still mad at her father, Katherine’s dealing with her own father moving on from her late mother, and the poor Duke of Lockwood can’t catch a break in the background.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe (2023)
Historical romance. Gilded Age New York. Book 4 of the Fifth Avenue Rebels series. If you’ve read the first three books in this series, you’ll have seen hints of an uneasy relationship between Nellie and the Duke of Lockwood. Nellie is everyone’s scandalous best friend with knowledge about affairs and men. Meanwhile the destitute Duke of Lockwood needs an American heiress to marry for money. In Book 1, he was engaged to Maddie for about a day before that didn’t work out. In Book 2, he’s almost courting our favorite sweet Alice, until he realizes Kit is in the picture and bows out. In Book 3, he’s sworn off courting anyone from this unlucky friend group, but still friendly with Katherine. Well, we finally get to see his true nature and desires here in Book 4 with our dear Nellie. We go back to the beginning of the Newport house party from Book 1 and 2, where Lockwood and Nellie meet as strangers at the beach at midnight, and after some flirting, and kissing, they plan for a tryst the next day. However, when Lockwood shows up at the house party the next day and is introduced to all the guests, he and Nellie realize that the connection is impossible and over. We meet again in six months after Nellie’s other friends are all settled and Nellie’s feeling listless and aimless since all her friends are married and don’t need her anymore plus Lockwood’s still looking for a docile and wealthy bride. What starts as angry flirting turns into an angry affair with neither of them wanting to engage their hearts. Lockwood’s got some secrets of his own with a health condition, plus Nellie is unwilling to risk her emotions after her mother died at a young age. An important side story here is Nellie’s work in educating women on contraception and taking control of their reproductive rights. I appreciated seeing this play out in a historical setting and seeing Nellie’s championing of women’s education on the subject.
Although I enjoyed this story and all of the other books in the series, it seemed to be a bit repetitive to have three stories back-to-back of people having affairs and unwilling to invest any deeper emotions. While the side character of one book is the “wise one” nudging their friend to make a commitment, they’re unable to do so in their own story just a short time later. I think when binge reading a whole series in half a week, it’s easy to pick up on inconsistencies that might not be as apparent to readers who pick up one at a time. The level of familiarity that characters have with each other isn’t terribly consistent either… while it seems like the gentlemen are meeting the women for the first time at the house party in Book 1, we find that Nellie and Kit are chummy enough for her to be giving him advice in Book 2, or that in Book 3, Kit knew the name of Preston’s supposed fiancee all along even though Katherine was in the running to be Harrison’s bride in Book 1. I understand that we probably weren’t supposed to know about Katherine’s betrothal until we get to her book, but it makes for an untidy reveal. Sometimes the connections do make sense though, like Kit and Alice’s interactions during the house party, or Nellie and the duke’s interactions within the first three books. And I appreciate seeing things woven together so tightly.
Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Print book provided by Avon Books.
The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas (2013)
Historical romance. Victorian England. Book 1 of the London Trilogy series. So I picked up this book because it’s this month’s book club pick from Felicity Niven and Alexandra Vasti’s new Facebook group. In this one, we have Felix, a marquess with a tragic upbringing who has an amiable and popular reputation, and Louisa, an impoverished lady with four sisters who need a financial cushion. For Louisa’s first (and likely only) Season in London, she’s set out a strategy for catching a reasonably financially stable fellow without overreaching. When she’s introduced to Felix, they both can see right through each other’s facades: Louisa sees that he’s not truly the polished gentleman that he presents, and Felix sees that Louisa aims for financial security more than anything. These two keep bumping into each other, likely from Felix’s maneuvering, to the point where Felix offers for Louisa to be his mistress… and she continues to refuse, until Felix ultimately offers marriage. Neither are willing to face emotional rejection, so they each only admit to a carnal attraction for each other, and the practicalities of a marriage of convenience. The wedding takes place about halfway through this book, so we get to see this odd courtship for the front half, and an emotionally bumbling slow burn on the back half.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
Earls Prize Curves by Jemma Frost (2023)
Historical romance. Regency England. Book 1 of the Lords Love Curves series. Quick read! Curvy Clara has played nursemaid to her aging parents and will shortly be engaged to her father’s elderly friend. She sneaks a naughty book to share with her friends and their father catches them and confiscates the book. Hugh, the widowed earl is now even more attracted to young Clara and proposes to tutor her in all the illicit acts from the book. Mostly steam, but still lots of protectiveness and care. Definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for a quick read.
Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.
Want more Harry Potter fanfic? Here’s a spreadsheet of my all-time favorites.
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