Weekly Reads: May 1 to May 7, 2023

Somehow this week ended up with a bunch of emotionally heavy and angsty books, in addition to a Thursday binge-watch of the entire six episodes of Queen Charlotte on Netflix, followed by tons of clips from the show flooding my For You Page on TikTok. It’s been a teary week of entertainment in all the best ways.

The Mistake by Lily Maxton (2015)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Sisters of Scandal series. This one is actually a full-length novel from this series, following the romance of Julia, the high-profile courtesan that we met briefly in Book 1 and heard about with her memoir in Book 2. She is currently pregnant with a marquess’s child and is under contract to remain his mistress in exchange for his monetary and social support of the child. Feeling disgusted with him (and herself), she feigns illness and ends up being housed at his country estate temporarily. While there, she reconnects with the head gardener, Adam, who was her childhood friend. A tragic prologue will tell you that Adam has been in love with Julia for years, but their paths diverged when she became a courtesan. It’s all sorts of emotional angst in this second chance romance.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Four Weddings and a Duke by Michelle McLean (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novel. Socially awkward duke turns a socially awkward wallflower into a duchess. Alex, second son of a duke, never expected to inherit and would rather be working on his experiments in botany. However, he knows that he will have to pick between three sisters to fulfill the agreement that his father made with their father. Lavinia is the often-overlooked and shy middle sister who would rather read and hide behind potted plants than dance. When Alex comes to call on the sisters, he chooses Lavinia as his bride instead of the other more socially outgoing sisters. From there, Lavinia is doing her best to arrange their social calendar to the duke’s benefit, while Alex is wondering why he is being dragged to all of his events when he should be working. Add in a possibly nefarious rival and work partner who disparages Alex spending time with his new wife, and we have our befuddled duke doing and saying all the wrong things. I was definitely feeling most of Lavinia’s heartbreak throughout this book as she is trying so very hard to be a good wife and duchess to Alex. I really enjoyed this book!

Advance ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.

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Earls Rush In by Jennifer Haymore (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novel. Charlotte is about to accept a proposal to a man she doesn’t love in order to save herself and her sister from being thrown out of her uncle and aunt’s care. The man in question seems harmless enough, but Charlotte’s brother’s longtime friend Finn believes the man a villain and rescues Charlotte by kidnapping her in a carriage. Finn has taken it on himself to watch out for Charlotte after the death of her older brother, but the reader knows that he’s been pining for her for ages and does not believe himself worthy. He’s actually hiding the truth surrounding her brother’s death and we learn about it in bits and pieces throughout the book. Finn and Charlotte get stranded in a snowstorm and find shelter at an inn where they pretend to be married to protect her reputation. While there, they grow closer and Charlotte realizes that she is attracted to Finn. He has the lowest self-esteem imaginable and is still hiding secrets about her brother’s death, so he feels he’s unworthy of her, and decides to help her find a suitable husband. They eventually are able to leave the inn and are back in London, but that villainous suitor is still hanging around causing trouble. Lots going on in this book and will definitely keep the pages turning.

Advance ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.

The Improper Bride by Lily Maxton (2016)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Sisters of Scandal series. This book will be much more rewarding after reading Book 4 because we meet both characters there. Henry, the marquess, is basically the most unlovable friendless asshole ever, and he nearly dies in a fire at his estate. Miraculously he survives, but is a curmudgeon during his recovery. The widowed housekeeper, Cassandra, is somehow tasked by the doctor to keep him occupied, so she asks for lessons in a foreign language. As they spend time together each day, they grow closer together and start to see the person beneath the title or role that each one has. Of course, they’ve got that whole employer-employee relationship there and massive social class differences, so even any affection between them would be improper and lead to heartbreak. Henry’s near-death experience has also reminded him that he has a duty to marry and sire heirs, so he enlists his sister in hosting a house party and bringing eligible women for him to meet. But none of them compare to Cassandra, so there’s tons of emotional angst there. Such an amazing romance. And! We do eventually find out the cause of the fire that started the book.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

What Happened in the Garden by Ginny B. Moore (2022)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Prequel novella to the Flower Sisters series. Super short little meet cute of a soon-to-be viscount and his wife. Benedict’s mother has thrown a house party full of eligible ladies so that he can pick a bride. While escaping the crowd, he meets Clara in the garden. They meet, they flirt, they should just get married.

Ebook available from the author’s website.

Adding Up to Love by Ginny B. Moore (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Flower Sisters series. Fern is the youngest sister of five and has been awkward and prefers books. At her father’s birthday ball, she and her twin Rose switch dresses and identities for the evening, where Fern meets a handsome mathematics student from Oxford. Alex has been dragged to the ball by his friend but feels like a total outsider due to his merchant class upbringing. He’s happy to spend time with who he believes is Rose because they can talk about books and his studies. When he comes to call upon her the next day, Fern is distressed and thinks that he will not like who she is, so she convinces Rose to keep up the ruse. What follows is Fern befriending Alex and assisting him in courting Rose, while he assists her goals in becoming a student at Oxford. Alex begins to have feelings for Fern and is torn because of the expectations that Rose now has of him from their courtship. It’s a tangle of emotions here and Fern is the one being dishonest with everyone. This book was so good. A great introduction to Ginny B. Moore.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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The Countess and the Casanova by Ginny B. Moore (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Flower Sisters series. We detour away from the Flower sisters themselves in this book and follow Alex’s best friend Henry and his intermittent friendship with Ellie. This book is told in two timelines, with the present day adventure that Henry and Ellie are taking to Italy and intermittent flashbacks to the times they’ve spent together at his mother’s annual Christmas balls. Henry is known for being a dissolute rake, but really, he suffers from insecurities related to his periods of darkness and his slowness of reading and writing. He hides this part of himself and carries on a facade of fun-loving charm. Ellie is slightly awkward and curvy and overlooked by almost all gentlemen; she eventually marries an elderly earl that her father arranges for her and is soon widowed after a miserable marriage. The widowed Ellie has a bit more freedom, so she attends art lectures and desires adventure. Henry arranges a trip for her to see Italy, but they need to pretend to be married to travel together. This book had all sorts of painful pining and longing on both sides here and it was such an interesting way to tell the story and unravel Henry’s past actions. Such a good book!

Advance ebook provided by Ginny B. Moore.

One Night for Seduction by Erica Ridley (2019)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Wicked Dukes Club series. A group of guy friends congregate at the local tavern own by two of the dukes in their group. One gentleman complains of his unmarriageable ward, and Cole sees a challenge he cannot refuse. He has until the end of the season to find Diana a husband with a bunch of stipulations set into place. Diana has been sneaking out into town and dressed as some sort of investigator to enforce uniform measurements for shopkeepers. It’s her way of serving justice for the common man. In order to keep this up, she blends in whenever she is in society and tries to be completely unnoticeable. Of course, after Cole meets her, he starts to notice her all the time and is quickly onto her scheme. This one was a relatively quick low-angst read with the duke falling first.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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What a Woman Needs by Caroline Linden (2015)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novel. Stuart is the heir to a viscount who has been financially cut off from his parents and needs to marry an heiress to pay the mortgage on his estate. He has been courting a girl and will soon formally propose, but she has an overbearing aunt serving as guardian that he needs to win over. The young widowed aunt Charlotte sees Stuart as a fortune-hunter and thwarts the match. But the attraction between Stuart and Charlotte causes much frustration even as they are enemies through the first half of the book. Midway through, the plot shifts with some villainous acts underfoot, and these two need to team up against a common enemy. Tons of plot twists and lots of fun seeing these two soften as they learn more about each other.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

His Study in Scandal by Megan Frampton (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the School for Scoundrels series. Alexandra is a widowed duchess out of mourning, seeking to take charge of her life by tearing up her mourning gowns, shopping at a modiste her late husband did not approve of, and enjoying a night of pleasure at a hedonistic garden with a handsome stranger. Theo is a wealthy businessman who has just made a deal to marry a duke’s sister but plans to spend one last night at the pleasure gardens before officially meeting her. Theo and Alexandra meet there and spend a steamy night together before parting ways. Complications arise when they realize that Theo has been intended for Alexandra’s daughter, as a way for her stepson, the new duke, to cover the debts that he’s incurred in the last two years. With the brimming attraction between Theo and Alexandra, it’s obvious he cannot marry her daughter, but they need to figure out a way to extricate themselves from this delicate situation or else Alexandra’s stepson will ruin Theo’s business prospects and leave Alexandra and her daughter destitute. With an fun little plot twist of how the daughter gets herself out of the bind.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.