Weekly Reads: March 20 to 26, 2023

Gentleman Jim by Mimi Matthews (2020)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Somerset Stories series. Childhood friends Nicholas and Maggie are separated when Nicholas is accused of a crime and she helps him escape. Ten years later, Maggie is in London for the Season after an illness and mourning her father and her aunt, when a handsome viscount new to London is paying her court. It doesn’t take long for Maggie to suspect that the handsome viscount is really her childhood friend Nicholas in a new identity and persona. Both have their money and property at stake if they continue their association, but cannot seem to stay away from each other. It’s also interesting to watch them uncover the mysteries of the past and explanations for the viscount’s current identity.

Ebook purchased via Amazon.

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How to Get Paid for What You Know by Graham Cochrane (2022)

Nonfiction. Business and entrepreneurship. This one is pretty much a how-to guide for how to monetize your knowledge by selling ebooks or ecourses. The idea is that with your knowledge and skills, you can create a digital product and sell it online in a semi-passive and scalable way. Once you’ve created the content once, it can continue to sell without you needing to make it again. Of course, this all depends on smart marketing and creating something that people actually want. It’s a lot of the same stuff I’ve heard before in the online marketing/business space, but it’s always nice to be reminded that it is possible and achievable. (Though maybe not to the full scale that’s presented in these types of books)

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Return to Satterthwaite Court by Mimi Matthews (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Somerset Stories series. Take the son of the couple from Book 1 and the daughter of the couple from Book 2, throw them together, and you get Book 3. Kate and Charles have a chance meeting in a London street when Charles rescues a stray dog (much like his mother) and Kate finds herself completely enthralled and ready to pursue him. Kate is uninterested in any of the other gentlemen she’s met this year and Charles is newly returned from serving in the Navy. The romance here is pretty straightforward and we get to revisit the families we loved from the previous books. Plus, there’s a nice setup for Book 4, which comes out later this year.

Advance ebook provided by Perfectly Proper Press via NetGalley.

To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters (2020)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Regency Vows series. Violet and James have been married for five years, and four of them have been spent in chilly silence from an argument that none of their friends know the details about. And now suddenly Violet is feigning consumption to get James’ sympathy and attention. But he’s onto her pretty quickly. It’s basically just a comedy of errors and miscommunication all the way around and really fun to read and watch these two get back together. This book was a really nice set up for the friend group that surrounds both Violet and James and these meddlesome friends get their romances in future books of the series.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters (2021)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Regency Vows series. Widowed Diana has bet marquess Jeremy that he’ll marry within the year, adding drama to their bantering bickering semi-friendship over the years. Meanwhile, his last lover has critiqued his bedroom skills and he needs some honest feedback, so he propositions Diana for the job. She accepts, but is also meanwhile trying to set Jeremy up with another eligible miss. They’re both completely stubborn about their feelings and often put up a charming and carefree facade in society; and of course are only ever open and vulnerable with each other. Another great book in the series with a nice set up for the next one.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Romancing the Heiress by Darcy Burke (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Lords in Love series. Leah is back in Marrywell for the annual matchmaking festival as a companion to a young debutante in search of a husband. Of course Leah is still enamored with her childhood friend Phineas, who is considering marrying an heiress to save his secretly impoverished estate. This one is a relatively quick read, with somewhat tragic backstories for everyone involved: Leah had an abusive childhood so she was desperate to escape the village of Marrywell; Phineas had a gambling father who left the estate in dire financial condition; and even the young debutante who is not at all who we’re concerned with has an overbearing managing mother. However, the attraction between Leah and Phineas was a delight to read and their shared history made for a stronger connection. And we get to see the couple from Book 1 of the series again for the festival.

Advance ebook provided by Darcy Burke via NetGalley.