Weekly Reads: November 13 to 19, 2023

An Offer from the Marquess by Sadie Bosque (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Necessary Arrangements series. Isabel and Rhys accidentally run into each other at a ball, fall into a tangle of limbs, and are very publicly accused of a tryst. The only way to avoid scandal is to marry. Except that Rhys has absolutely zero social skills and gruffly insults his future wife. He’s got his own hang-ups from being betrayed by his former wife and witnessing Isabel in an indelicate situation many years ago, so he needs a lot of work before he’s properly sociable. He’s also got a hellion of a young daughter with an overly excitable large dog. Isabel is pretty much a spinster, having been jilted by a former fiance, and now running her brother’s household. These two people spend most of the book not communicating with each other and holding a grudge. However, they both slowly start to realize they need to put more effort into understanding each other and making their new family work.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org

Available on Kindle Unlimited // Get a free trial to Kindle Unlimited

Lady Claire Is All That by Maya Rodale (2016)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Keeping Up with the Cavendishes series. Claire is more interested in mathematics than suitors, wears her spectacles to balls, and doesn’t give much care to her appearance. After Fox has been jilted by his very suitable fiance, he somehow makes a wager with his friend that he can turn any woman into the darling of the ton with the right amount of polish. Fox’s friend (but really rival) has picked out Claire as the unwitting subject of this bet. (It’s basically She’s All That, but in Regency-era). Claire is obviously super suspicious of the handsome and brawny Fox spending time with her, when she purposely repels suitors by talking about math all the time. He even escorts her to math lectures to soften her up. The physical attraction between these two comes on strong, but they’re pretty ill-suited in terms of personality and interest. And that darn bet is still a conflict waiting to drop.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm

It’s Hard Out Here for a Duke by Maya Rodale (2017)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Keeping Up with the Cavendishes series. James and his sisters are bound for London to take up his new role as duke, but he enjoys one last night as “Just James” with a beautiful woman he meets at a tavern. Meredith is traveling back to her role as a duchess’ companion when she meets James’ eye across the tavern and decides to take this one opportunity for passion before she continues being a proper companion. Of course, they’re in for some bad luck when they realize that they’re stuck in the same household with completely disparate social stations and need to forget their one night stand ever happened. While James struggles with his new role and responsibilities, he’s continually tempted by the presence of Meredith and wishes he could give everything up to be with her instead. Meredith is the one that is usually sensible and explains to James the ways of the ton and how their relationship would be completely inappropriate. However, all the hints of the relationship between James and Meredith that we’ve seen from the first three books come into full force in this one, where they both need to decide what’s really important to them.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org

The Duchess Gamble by Sofie Darling (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the All’s Fair in Love and Racing series. Widowed duchess Celia is concerned with running her horse racing operation and is disappointed when a potential engagement to a wealthy duke doesn’t pan out. She’s also concerned over her own security when she finds that the solicitors have identified her late husband’s heir. Gabriel is a distant relation to the late duke and hardly believes that he is now the duke, but he seizes the opportunity to launch his younger sisters into society. When he first meets Celia, he thinks that she’s a title-hungry socialite since she had married a much older man, but he changes his stance when he gets to know her a bit better. With Celia wanting to keep her stables operable, she and Gabriel come to an agreement where he will finance her stables in exchange for her help with his sisters. It’s interesting to see the sparks between Celia and Gabriel and their ultimate affair. However, Celia does not think she’s good enough to be a Gabriel’s wife, mostly due to the mistreatment from her late husband. It’s nice to see Celia slowly start to trust Gabriel and also see his thoughtful treatment of her. We also gets to see hints of a potential relationship between Gabriel’s sister and a certain marquess, which will be featured in the next book in the series.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Available on Kindle Unlimited // Get a free trial to Kindle Unlimited

Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun (2022)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Last Christmas, Ellie spent a perfect snow day with a woman she met at a bookstore, but things fell apart the next morning. A year later, Ellie is in a rough spot, working at a coffee shop (not her dream job) and worrying about money. When the handsome property owner of the coffee shop offers her a chance at a temporary marriage in exchange for money (10% of his $2 million inheritance), she goes along with it. Ellie is introduced to his whole family during a Christmas trip to a cabin, where the she finds out that last year’s perfect woman is actually her fiance’s sister, Jack. Awkwardness ensues along with trying to keep loads of secrets from the family. This book was funny and sweet and absolutely delightful. The affectionate and drunken grandmothers might be my favorite part of the story. Watch out for family issues from all sides and the trials of finding career-related footing.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

When Araminta Greaves Traded Her Dignity for Bliss by Andrea Jenelle (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Wainwright Sisters series. Arie is the widow to a much older man still living with her stepson’s family as housekeeper/governess in exchange for dowries for her younger sisters. Arie has pretty much had it rough with the terrible husband and now her terrible stepson. While throwing the annual Christmas party, she meets Thaddeus, another local landowner and widowed war-hero. He’s had a crush on Arie for years and takes the opportunity to try to flirt with her at the party. Thad has his own tragic history with going off to war and coming home for find that his wife and half his kids died, leaving him four daughters to care for alone. All of these rambunctious daughters have asked Thad to find a wife. When Arie comes to visit Thad’s house with her stepson’s daughter, they all end up stuck there for a week due to a snowstorm. Thad is pretty clear in his honest (and scandalous) intentions towards Arie, but she’s only open to the affair part and not the potential marriage. It’s a steamy next few days, but we’re all just waiting for Arie to realize she should just marry Thad.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Available on Kindle Unlimited // Get a free trial to Kindle Unlimited

Second Duke’s the Charm by Kate Bateman (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Her Majesty’s Rebels series. How many tropes can you roll into a single book? We’ve got a virgin widow, female detectives, one-night stand in disguise, widow with her late husband’s heir, and marriage of convenience all in one. Tess becomes a widow to her much older husband on her wedding night and then uses her newfound freedom and independence to open an investigative agency with her two best friends. Two years later, wealthy shipping merchant Justin is identified as the next duke and stops by a scandalous house party on his way to claiming the title. There, he meets Tess is disguise and they have an amorous encounter as strangers, neither realizing that they will soon meet under different circumstances. When they properly meet at a ball, Justin immediately proposes a marriage of convenience to Tess, since it will save Justin the trouble of finding a proper wife and they get to continue their physical relationship. From there, we navigate a relationship where Tess is trying hard not to fall in love, and Justin denying that he has a heart. We also have Tess and her friends working on a case in secret in the background. With all the things going on in this book, it was definitely a page-turner and kept me entertained.

Advance ebook provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

You’re the Duke That I Want by Lenora Bell (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Thunderbolt Club series. This book is a super fun Grease-retelling, with Sandrine being the sheltered young miss who meets Lord Dane (pretending to be a mere Danny) at the seaside. Lord Dane is typically a scoundrel and a rake, but is kind and sweet and enjoys the simple things when he’s with Sandrine. He leaves the seaside town unexpectedly when his brother is gravely injured and is concerned that he’s the heir to the dukedom. Sandrine ends up traveling to London to petition a certain duke to restore an old manor house, and is pretty angry to find that Dane has both lied to her and related to the duke that owns the manor. With a new set of lady friends, Sandrine gets to experience more of London adventures away from her overly strict mother while also continuing to run into Dane. There’s lots of interesting plot going on in this book, with Dane dealing with a blackmailer and Sandrine breaking free from her mother’s constraints. This book was a very enjoyable read.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

It’s a Date (Again) by Jeneva Rose (2023)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Peyton has run away from a man who told her he loves her, realizes that she loves him back and runs back to him, only to be hit by a car and then lose her memory. When she wakes up in the hospital, she’s greeted by two of her best friends and three potential boyfriends, and she has no idea which man was the one she’s in love with. Peyton spends the next two weeks dating these guys again, spending time with her friends, and re-learning who she is. This book is a pretty quick and fluffy read. I definitely recommend picking this one up.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.