Weekly Reads: September 25 to October 1, 2023

Rogue for the Taking by Amanda Mariel (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 6 of the Fated for a Rogue series. Also part of the Wicked Widows League series. Othelia is out of mourning for her much older late husband and is looking to regain her independence. She’s a wealthy widow and starts a flirtation with a rogue of a duke. Alister is a duke who needs to marry a wealthy woman to restore his estates, but he’s hesitant to marry a young debutante. When Othelia approaches him for an affair, he’s happy to go along with it, and plans to propose to her after their tryst. As they spend the week together at his country estate, it’s clear that they’re falling in love with each other. However, Alister is wary of love having seen it’s destructive nature in his parents, and is unwilling to admit that he loves Othelia, risking her rejection at his marriage proposal.

Ebook provided by Amanda Mariel.

Wallflower Gone Wild by Maya Rodale (2014)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Wallflower Trilogy series. Lady Olivia has a reputation of being the ultra demure wallflower with an overbearing mother. Since she has no suitors in sight, her parents have arranged for her to marry the Mad Baron. Olivia is not interested in marrying this stranger, so she plans to behave poorly to convince him to stop his pursuit of her. Phinn would rather spend time building machines than interact with society and has no idea that the scandal of his first wife’s death still circulates among debutantes. As he meets and attempts to court Olivia, he’s baffled by her behavior and wonders what has happened to the biddable and demure young lady her parents described. It’s a comedy of errors for everyone, as Phinn tries to woo Olivia using bad advice from his friend, and Olivia is completely fearful of the man while also trying to behave scandalously. It’s the slowest of slow burns here as Phinn learns to actually listen to Olivia, and Olivia learns the truth behind the rumors and slowly trusts Phinn.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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His Mistress, His Muse, and Other Madness by Charlie Lane (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Art of Love series. The youngest son of a marquess is completely cynical of those who lead an artistic lifestyle, since he has seen the financial destruction such patronage has caused his own family. As one of the remaining loose ends of his father’s will, Theo has been finding new patrons for artists that his father supported, so that the family will finally be released from this financial burden. When he meets Cordelia, he is resentful of lush accommodations since his own siblings had to work hard and go without. He’s even more irritated to learn that she doesn’t have any artistic talent whatsoever and has no idea why she was supported at all. Cordelia fell into lonely circumstances after her father died and her fiance abandoned her, so she is grateful to the old marquess for saving her. In trying to become independent now that she’s at risk of being kicked out of her home, she aims to open an art school, but needs donations to run it. Theo and Cordelia agree to work together in attending an artistic house party so that he can collect gossip for his satirical cartoons and so that she can try to solicit donations for her school. Although Theo and Cordelia have had an antagonistic relationship so far, they need to pose as lovers to attend the party, and all their physical desires bubble up during the course of the party. We get to see these two open up to each other about their past hurts and work together in creating artwork.

Advance ebook provided by Charlie Lane.

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon (2023)

Fantasy Romance. Book 1 of the Hurricane Wars series. Talasyn and Alaric fight on opposite sides of a war, each wielding a different powerful form of magic. While they haven’t yet killed each other, the yearning is there. Amidst one of their skirmishes in territory where they’re both trespassing, Talasyn learns that she might be the long lost heir, living as an orphan after being sent away during a civil war. She ignores this newfound connection and returns to her comrades at the height of war. After Alaric’s side wins the war and Talasyn is forced to retreat, she begs for sanctuary inside her homeland. In exchange, Talasyn must take her rightful place as heir and learning politics and diplomacy at her grandmother’s side. Months later, Alaric is trying to gain control of this territory and a political marriage to the heir is proposed. He has no idea that the heir in question is Talasyn, and he is both shocked and pleased to find her alive and his betrothed. We spend the rest of the book in marital and diplomatic negotiations in preparation for the wedding and alliance, with lots of angry banter and fighting. Both of these characters are insecure due to their respective upbringings and are completely unable to trust each other due to being on opposites sides of the battlefield. With them truly being enemies, glimmers of attraction and tenderness between them are all the more meaningful.

Advance ebook provided by Harper Voyager via NetGalley.

What a Wallflower Wants by Maya Rodale (2014)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Wallflower Trilogy series. The last of the wallflowers, Prudence, is lonely and sad after her two friends have fallen in love and gotten married. Not wanting to be the only unwed lady at the finishing school ball, she tries to elope with a man in a convenient arrangement. Unfortunately, travels have not gone to plan and their coach was set on by highwaymen and she managed to escape and then walk alone for miles and miles. When a handsome stranger offers her a ride, Prudence refuses as she is wary and untrusting of men. In her first season, Prudence was sexually assaulted at a ball and she has kept this secret from everyone (including her two best friends). She has attempted to make herself invisible and undesirable to men and embraced the role of a wallflower. Although she wishes to enjoy the attentions of this stranger, she cannot trust him at all, and continues on her way. John, a young viscount with a streak of good luck, senses Prudence’s wariness and accepts her decision, even though it goes against his sense of chivalry. With a rainstorm beginning, he’s glad to eventually reach an inn. Hours later, Prudence reaches the same inn and is surprised to see John again. Over the course of the next few days, they’re stuck together at this inn due to the rainstorm and begin to talk to each other. John is the ultimate considerate gentleman and Prudence slowly starts to trust him. I liked how Prudence eventually confided her secrets to John and that he was understanding and compassionate in his response. While Prudence’s emotional journey is pretty straightforward and predictable in this book, we actually find that John’s journey is more of a mystery and he’s keeping secrets that are yet to be revealed.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Dreaming of a Duke Like You by Sara Bennett (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Romancing the Dukes series. Vivienne is the sister of a young baronet who has gotten himself into a load of gambling debt after the bad influence of his friends. She tries to appeal to the gambling hell owner Gabriel for a reprieve, since they’re really very poor and unable to pay the debts. He’s a shrewd businessman and refuses, leaving her to worry over her brother’s financial situation. Gabriel soon learns that he is actually the legitimate son and heir to a duke, despite being abandoned at an orphanage after his mother’s death. He has inherited an impoverished estate, a dragon of a grandmother, and six unruly sisters. He and his sisters all need polishing in order to fit in with London society. Vivienne and her brother are still worrying over their debts to Gabriel with their stepfather’s treachery looming over them, but Gabriel hasn’t had the time to deal with that yet. Eventually, Gabriel comes to an arrangement with Vivienne where he will forgive the debt completely, if she will assist in tutoring his sisters for society. This book had a bit of a slow start as Gabriel and Vivienne deal with their circumstances separately for awhile. Their bargain and proximity to each other doesn’t really begin until halfway through the book. However, once Vivienne starts to see how Gabriel interacts with his many sisters, it’s clear that she’s falling in love with him.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

Courting the Earl by Suzanna Medeiros (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 8 of the Landing a Lord series. An earl and a debutante are arranged to be married by their fathers. The debutante, Lydia, is excited about it even though she would like to flirt and enjoy her first season. However, Geoffrey is completely opposed to his late father’s high-handedness and would like to get out of the engagement. Also, Geoffrey is much more intrigued by Lydia’s cousin Eleanor, who believes herself to be plain and ineligible next to her young and pretty cousin. While Eleanor is stuck chaperoning Lydia and Geoffrey’s many outings, she is trying very hard not to be attracted to Geoffrey. He’s not trying quite as hard and even encourages Lydia to entertain other suitors. This one was pretty quick and easy to read, with not too much angst in its resolution.

Advance ebook provided by Suzanna Medeiros via BookSprout.

A Scot Mess by Caroline Lee (2020)

Historical romance. Medieval Scotland. Book 1 of the Hots for Scots series. Six brothers are told by their father that they need to marry within the year and the first to sire a son will become the next laird of the clan. Finn has no problem adhering to this decree since he has already met the love of his life, Fiona. While Finn is excited to become officially betrothed and marry, Fiona is hesitant and unsure of the commitment. We also experience a bit of mistaken identity due to both Finn and Fiona having identical twin siblings. However, it’s clear that Finn and Fiona will work things out in pretty short order. This was a quick and steamy read.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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Scot on Her Trail by Caroline Lee (2020)

Historical romance. Medieval Scotland. Book 2 of the Hots for Scots series. Duncan has met his new sister-in-law’s twin Skye in Book 1 and has appreciated her outspoken strength ever since. However, he has no intention of following his father’s decree to seek a wife and would rather live a simple life as a goldsmith. On a journey to deliver his master’s handcrafted jewelry, he’s stopped by highwaymen and robbed. He’s shocked to learn that Skye is the ringleader of the thieves and wonders why a well-born lady needs to steal. In the tussle over the jewelry, Duncan absconds with Skye, they spend more time together on the road, and absolutely fail at resisting their attraction for each other. It’s fun to see these two bicker and argue with fiery passion. When Duncan finds out Skye’s reasons for stealing from strangers, he jumps to her defense and we get to resolve that plot pretty neatly. This was another quick and steamy read in the series.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.