Weekly Reads: June 26 to July 2, 2023

Remember Love by Mary Balogh (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Ravenswood series. We meet the Ware family in this series, headed by an earl and his countess. The family is known for its gregarious nature and idyllic estate, where they host a variety of events for their friends and neighbors. While the reader gets to know all the members of the family and their social obligations, we slowly start to wonder about the earl’s behavior while he’s in town for the season without his wife and children. We eventually lead up to a huge summer fete hosted by the family, where his son and heir Devlin is suspicious of a certain new widow in the village. While these thoughts are simmering in the background, we also meet Gwyneth, the girl next door who has had a crush on Devlin for years but thinks that he doesn’t know she exists. We also learn that Devlin is also enamoured of Gwyneth but believes that she dislikes him due to his straightlaced personality. On the day of the summer fete, Devlin and Gwyneth have a promising start to a romance between them, but things take a terrible turn when they catch Devlin’s father and the widow in a compromising situation. Instead of being discreet about the affair, Devlin makes a huge scene in front of everyone in defense of his mother, and somehow gets himself banished from the family home by not adhering to the polite facade. Devlin ends up joining the war against Napoleon for the next six years, coming back home as the newly inherited earl after the war is over. He’s had no contact with his family for all these years and needs to reassert his position and duty. Upon his return, he finds that Gwyneth has not married in all the years he’s been gone and they tentatively rebuild their acquaintance, even though Devlin has a much different personality that he had before. This book spent a lot of time in the set up of the family structure and conflict with a relatively easy romance built in.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Never Marry a Cowboy by Lorraine Heath (2001)

Historical romance. Post-Civil War Texas. Book 3 of the Rogues in Texas series. We start with a tragic prologue here which explains how Kit was in love with his twin brother’s wife who passes away from cancer. We jump back into the town of Fortune, Texas, where Kit has been living for the past few years and even elected as the town marshal. An old friend comes to visit to ask him to grant his sister the dying wish of being a bride. Despite refusing at first, Kit ends up spending the day with Ashton and decides to bring her some joy with a wedding. While their relationship starts as a temporary bargain, the more time Kit spends with Ashton, the more he wants to provide for her and give her experiences to remember. We also get to see Kit’s brother come to town bearing secrets to be revealed and then developing a quick romance with one of the widows in town.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Remember Me by Mary Balogh (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Ravenswood series. Philippa is the eldest daughter and now sister of an earl and on her way to London for her first season, having delayed a few years due to family scandal and then mourning. We learned in the previous book that she had an encounter with a marquess who referred to her as “soiled goods” and completely derailed her confidence. That marquess, Lucas, is the grandson and heir to a duke who is now forcing him to marry a suitable bride of the duchess’ choosing. While in London, we find that Philippa’s mother and Lucas’ aunt are good friends and there are many instances where we find Philippa and Lucas thrown together. After the scandal of her family past, Philippa’s is more apt to confront awkward situations head on and lets Lucas know that she overheard him all those years ago. Lucas is unable to provide her with an explanation at this time, and his excuses seem to suggest that he is hiding more information than he’s willing to share. Once Lucas’ grandparents get to town, they have set their sights on Philippa as the perfect match for Lucas, and circumstances continue to throw them together. We do eventually find out the reason for Lucas’ animosity towards Philippa’s father and it is definitely a juicy secret to hear. And while these two have gotten off on the wrong start, they are clearly quite attracted to each other and slowly build their relationship over the course of the season (with some extra meddling by Lucas’ grandfather).

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Heir and the Spare by Maya Rodale (2007)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Negligent Chaperones series. Twin brothers Phillip and Devon hate each other and Devon has always gotten the worst treatment from his ducal father as the second son. After fighting in a duel in place of the heir, Devon flees England for many years and his asshole brother tells everyone he’s dead. Back in England to attend to his dying father, he catches a falling Emilia as she clumsily trips over herself at a ball. They share a kiss in the library before he needs to run off. However, everyone believes Devon to be his brother, the horrible scoundrel Phillip and warns Emilia away from him. Phillip needs to marry an heiress and sets his sights on Emilia; she accepts the courtship but is confused by his demeanor and the distinct lack of sparks when she’s with him. These people are just in a confusing mess, Emilia has a meddlesome chaperone, Devon is totally insecure about his own worth, and Phillip is a gross snake. And there’s a secret building up to be revealed by the duke’s butler, so we have that to look forward to. It was still a fun story and it’s helpful to see how awful Phillip is before we get to his book next.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Temporary Wife by Mary Balogh (1997)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novel. Anthony needs a wife that’ll annoy his ducal father, so he advertises for a governess to find a plain and mousy woman. Charity is the eldest of many siblings who have lost their parents and needs to find a position to support her family after discovering her father’s many debts. She was dismissed from her last position for being too outspoken, so she shows up to her latest interview in drab unassuming clothing. Anthony believes her the mouse she presents herself to be and offers her a temporary marriage and monetary support for the rest of her life. After they marry, Anthony is surprised to find that Charity has a backbone and is quite clever, even though they don’t know anything about each other. When they arrive to the ducal estate, Charity makes exactly the impression that she was intended to do – completely unqualified to be a future duchess. But somehow Charity’s polite and kind demeanor in the face of coldness starts to break down everybody’s walls, including Anthony’s. This book starts with a humorous set up, but really pushes at the dysfunctional family dynamic in Anthony’s household and helps to restore his relationship with his siblings and turns out to be more emotional than expected.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

One Night of Scandal by Darcy Burke (2019)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Wicked Duke Club series. Viola, younger sister to a duke, dresses up as a man to visit the tavern and collect stories for her newspaper column. She gets involved in some sort of political gossip and tries to investigate, but is thwarted by Jack, a member of parliament and friend of her brother’s. He’s known for awhile that Viola was in disguise but has not revealed it to anyone. They work together to investigate the political mystery and grow closer through the process. Another quick-ish read from this series and a relatively low-angst romance.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Rogue and the Rival by Maya Rodale (2008)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Negligent Chaperones series. After the events of Book 1, Philip had left the country for awhile, and somehow ended up back injured and unconscious in at an abbey. He’s being tended to by Angela, a soon-to-be sister who’s been stalling on taking her vows. We learn that Philip was chased down by thugs who he owed money to and Angela was ruined by a man like Philip (but not Philip), charming and rakish and an absolutely scoundrel. These two grow closer, somehow Philip learns how to have feelings and empathy, and Angela remembers that she likes the attentions of men. However, we see an eight month time-jump in the middle of the book, so that’s never a good sign for an easy happily ever after. The second half of the book finds us all back in London and navigating the social waters there. Somehow, we see a pretty believable rake reformation here with Philip, even though it was mostly driven by his desire for Angela.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Lass Who Lost a Shoe by Caroline Lee (2021)

Historical romance. Victorian-era Scotland. Book 1 of the Highlander Ever After series. Cinderella-retelling. Ember has been working at her stepmother’s inn and has a chance to show off her specially engraved shoe designs at the masquerade ball. She hopes to impress the man who has come from America to oversee the engraving business her family has run for generations. At the ball, she has a chance to dance with a handsome gentleman before having to run back home so her stepmother doesn’t find her missing. Max is the newcomer and guest of honor, but he has been staying at the inn, and doesn’t realize the lady at the ball and the serving girl he’s enthralled with are the same person. There’s a smidge of miscommunication as they work out who the other person is, but there is definitely an instant spark between Ember and Max, which is a delight to read.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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The Lass Who Kissed a Frog by Caroline Lee (2021)

Historical romance. Victorian-era Scotland. Book 2 of the Highlander Ever After series. The Frog Prince retelling. Vanessa has been lauded for her beauty and was expected to make a match with the charming and handsome Roland, but he overhears her making disparaging remarks about his brother and now believes her to be shallow and cruel. He decides to teach her a lesson by disguising himself as a vagabond and riling her ire, but is surprised when she treats him with kindness. Meanwhile, Vanessa is realizing that she has lost her chance with Roland because of her cruel words and refocuses her efforts on helping her sister achieve her goals. When Vanessa needs to travel for a few days, the disguised Roland escorts her, and learns even more about her true (and kind) nature.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

The Lass Who Loved a Beast by Caroline Lee (2021)

Historical romance. Victorian-era Scotland. Book 3 of the Highlander Ever After series. Beauty and the Beast retelling. Bonnie is doing some research for her book on Highland history and visits the grumpy beast Lyon’s castle to do so. They get stuck there together in a snowstorm and grow closer, but Lyon pushes her away. He’s got his own guilt and feelings of unworthiness after his first wife died in a fire. Although sad about Lyon’s rejection, Bonnie is working on her goals of setting up a publishing house for books written by women and hopes that her own book will be the start of future successes. At some point, Lyon’s brother push him out of his castle to go over Bonnie, where he shares the reasons for his hesitance at a relationship with her. And then we get a big dramatic harrowing experience that force these two to declare their feelings and move forward.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

The Wicked Heir by Merry Farmer (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Secrets of Nedworth Hall series. Lady Patience is sent off to a summer house party by her mother, hoping that the bookish bespectacled Patience will make a match and marry. The house party is full of intrigue as everyone tries to figure out who the mystery heir to a fortune is. Arden is a renowned rake and scoundrel, but really he just gambles to make money to send to the orphanage that his mother runs. Both Patience and Arden think that the other person is the mystery heir and attempt to seduce the truth out of the other one. The seduction part works to assist them falling in love with each other, at the very least. Quick and fun steamy read.

Advance ebook provided by Merry Farmer via BookSprout.