Whitechapel Wagers Historical Romance Book Series by Christy Carlyle

Scandalous Wager by Christy Carlyle (2014)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Whitechapel Wagers series. Super quick novella with Elizabeth, the police boss’ daughter, going to proposition Ian for a tryst. Elizabeth would like to prioritize teaching in her charity school for the underprivileged and doesn’t see herself as a good match for marriage, but wants to experience carnal relations before she’s a permanent spinster. She seeks out Ian, one of her father’s employees, since she’s desperately attracted to him. Ian is equally attracted to Elizabeth and has actually been waiting to court her properly after getting a job promotion and earning more money to be able to provide for her. Their tryst is interrupted by a violent crime in the neighborhood and there’s a bit of drama the next day when it seems like her father disapproves. However, this super short novella wraps up pretty quickly without too much angst.

Ebook purchased from Amazon.

Wanton Wager by Christy Carlyle (2014)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Whitechapel Wagers series. Will and Ada meet under less-than-ideal circumstances when Will comes to call upon Ada’s younger sister, thinking that she was his friend’s mistress. Unfortunately, the young and impressionable Beth thought that she was in a loving affair with Will’s friend and has also been missing for several days. Although Ada is insulted by Will’s assumptions, she continues to bump into him as she searches for her sister. These two end up teaming up to locate Beth and very quickly fall in love with each other in their time together. This was a chance meeting type of romance and it was pretty short and easy to read.

Ebook purchased from Amazon.

Reckless Wager by Christy Carlyle (2014)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Whitechapel Wagers series. Kate, the sister of Will from the previous book, has been secretly volunteering at a medical clinic in the poor part of town. She knows that she will likely have to give up her charitable work when she finally accepts the proposal of a long-time friend of hers. One of her last patients is a woman who was badly beaten, but will only speak with a specific detective. When Kate seeks out this detective, she finds Ben to be drunk and needing assistance to his own residence. Eventually, he sobers up, and the two team up to find the patient who has gone missing from the clinic. These two have their own past hurts from previous relationships, but it’s nice to see them become so smitten with each other so quickly. We also get rid of Kate’s almost-fiance here and showcase his boorish behavior. Overall, another relatively quick read in this series and good for when you’re looking for a less complex plot.

Ebook purchased from Amazon.