Weekly Reads: February 12 to 18, 2024

Give the Devil His Duke by Anna Bradley (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Drop Dead Dukes series. After a huge scandal that killed her father and cast out her mother many years ago, Lady Francesca is back in London for the Season, looking to convince her uncle to give her some money so that she and her mother can buy coal and food for the winter. She somehow catches the attention of Giles, the handsome duke who intends to marry her cousin and is also the son of the man who ruined her family. With all sorts of gossip stirring in the scandal sheets, Giles tries to make amends by showing politeness and courtesy to Francesca. She’s not really interested though, even if he is rather handsome. This story had more unexpected twists with the manipulations of Francesca’s cousin and horrible aunt and uncle, but luckily Giles has a supportive friend group and family.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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What I Did For a Duke by Julie Anne Long (2011)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Pennyroyal Green series. Serious and stern duke Alex catches Ian Eversea in bed with his fiance, so he decides to take his revenge by seducing and abandoning Ian’s sister, Genevieve. Except Genevieve is both too clever and too preoccupied to fall prey to Alex’s games. She’s spent the past few years in love with her good friend Harry, who she was hoping would propose to her during the house party her parents are hosting. Except that he tells her that he’s planning to propose to another woman. She puts up a calm facade but is most definitely heartbroken. When Alex shows up to the house party, Genevieve obeys her mother’s wishes to spend time with him, but she’s not interested in the much older man at all. Until they actually start talking to each other and getting to know each other and realize that it’s nice to talk to someone at the same intellectual level. And while Genevieve never becomes a victim to Alex’s revenge, she does end up attracted to him and conflicted about her feelings. Alex is also realizing that he’s his own victim as well, falling in love with Genevieve when she’s in love with someone else. A big huge muddle, but very entertaining to read.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Mortgage of Convenience by Dani McLean (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Ghostwriter Bee is secretly working on her own novel but has hit a creative block and moved back to her hometown. On an impromptu trip to the bank with her brother’s best friend Sebastian, she offers herself up to him as a co-owner of the house he wants to buy so that he can qualify for the loan. She’s got a long-time crush on him, but can totally handle being a quiet unobtrusive housemate. Except that Sebastian also has a crush on Bee and doesn’t stand for her hiding in her room all day long. He tries very hard to break her out of her comfort zone, including maybe starting a physical relationship, which he wants to be the real deal and she wants to keep secret in case it doesn’t work out. Bee has a lot of growing to do within this book to get to the “settled down” phase that Sebastian is looking for. Flirty, steamy, funny story with Sebastian being the most supportive partner ever.

Advance ebook provided by Dani McLean via NetGalley.

How the Marquess Was Won by Julie Anne Long (2011)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 6 of the Pennyroyal Green series. This one is another angsty heartbreaker in the Pennyroyal Green series. We start off with a marquess who has been shot stumbling his way into the pub for help, and then we go backward in time six weeks to find out what happened to him. Jules is known as the Lord of Ice by reputation and known for both his command of emotion and his callousness with feelings. He’s in Pennyroyal Green for the Redmond house party, where he’ll be courting the family niece Lisbeth so that he can secure the last of his lost property in her dowry. Except he also meets schoolteacher Phoebe, who has been invited to the same house party as Lisbeth’s companion, and he’s much more intrigued and entertained by her. They talk and banter and flirt and know that there is no future for them, but still, Jules becomes more open and communicative when he’s with Phoebe. And she gets the opportunity to use her wit and intellect and be appreciated for it. Despite the strength of their attraction (and clearly much more), she refuses his offer to be his mistress, both hurting his pride and his heart. And while they both try very hard to forget each other, it’s not very successful.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Earl’s Red Hot Wedding by Barbara Russell (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Victorian Outcasts series. Brandon and Emily meet as young adults on the train and quickly form a bond when they’re both injured in a tragic train accident. Despite promising to keep in touch, they’ve lost contact with each other for many years. Ten years after the accident, Emily is London with her aunt and cousin seeking employment as a governess, but is having difficulty doing so with her fear of carriages and enclosed spaces. Meanwhile Brandon has been the hermit earl for all these years, battling back pain from his train injuries as well as an opium addiction. When they finally cross paths again after all those years, Brandon seeks to make amends and recover their friendship. He soon learns that Emily’s aunt is about to steal her inheritance and proposes a quick marriage of convenience to save it. It’s a mad dash to Scotland to elope, further complicated by Emily’s fear of the train, but Brandon is determined to protect and soothe Emily along the way. I enjoyed reading about these two who are bound by tragedy, reconnect after all these years, and thwart their villains along the way to falling in love.

Advance ebook provided by Oliver Heber Books via BookSprout.

Never Woo the Wrong Lady by Charlie Lane (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Gentleman’s Guide to Courtship series. A duke with eight sisters is intent on marrying them off in short order, but those of marriageable age are uninterested in the task. This is mostly because they’re busy running a lending library of naughty books that their mother owned before she died. Andromeda believes herself to be safe from the task because of her secret fake fiancee who is actually a rare book supplier. Except that her brother’s friend Tristan is seeking a wife and has singled Andromeda out as his desired partner, regardless of her absent fiancee. Tristan is the older illegitimate son of an earl who now has guardianship of his thirteen-year old lordling brother, but the boy’s aunt continues to threaten the status of that guardianship. He needs a respectable wife to provide a maternal influence on the wayward teen and hopes that a duke’s sister will provide it. We have instant sparks between Tristan and Andromeda, despite her denials and reluctance. She’s mostly worried that her secret project will come to light and cause a scandal, especially since Tristan is a clever newspaperman. However, Tristan is oh so attentive to Andromeda and is very good at convincing her that they make good partners. This was a really great introduction to this series and I loved seeing their two families integrate together.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.