Weekly Reads: April 8 to 14, 2024

The Madness of Miss Grey by Julia Bennet (2018)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Harcastle Inheritance series. Will is the new psych doctor at an insane asylum which happens to be located within the manor where he grew up as the housekeeper’s son. The old owner of the manor had passed away and his heir had sold the house to the doctor who now runs the asylum. One of the patients, Helen, is considered to be a difficult case and has a habit of trying to either run away or gain assistance by seducing other doctors. Will is wary of Helen’s manipulations, but doesn’t actually believe that she’s insane. As they spend more time together, Will decides he needs to help her escape the asylum, even though he’s not sure whether or not he’s being manipulated. This book was fascinating to read and kept me hooked the whole way through.

Advance ebook provided by Julia Bennet via NetGalley.

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Our Revels Now by Alexandra Caluen (2023)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novella. I probably would not have picked up this book on my own and only read it because it was assigned to me as a judge. The cover is actually totally deceiving and I surprisingly really enjoyed this book. We have two men here who are artisans at an annual renaissance fair: Lachlan is a metalsmith and Taran is a textile designer. They’ve been crushing on each other for years but never got the nerve to strike up any conversation. This year, with some meddling from the fair organizers, their booths are right next to each other and they finally end up talking and flirting and dating. This was light and fluffy and steamy and such a fun and easy read.

Ebook provided by the New England Readers’ Choice Awards.

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Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly (2022)

Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Nashville Love series. Cooking show hijinks here where London is the first openly nonbinary contestant on the show with goals of opening a nonprofit to help queer kids with the prize money and Dahlia is a bubbly and clumsy divorcee who just wants to pay her student loans. Neither are professional chefs or have dreams of working in the food industry, but both have a love of cooking and find it calming and soothing. Dahlia and London get off to a rough start when Dahlia basically word vomits in front of a grumpy-seeming and stoic London; but we later find out that London was totally distracted by their attraction to Dahlia. As they become friends, it’s clear that they’re both totally attracted to each other. Things get messy with the thought of one of them being possibly eliminated from the show and things are especially stressful for Dahlia who is generally less secure with herself and her life direction. This book was funny and sweet and emotional all in one.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Something Wild & Wonderful by Anita Kelly (2023)

Contemporary romance. Book 2 of the Nashville Love series. We’re on the Pacific Crest Trail in this one where two strangers meet, hike, and fall in love. Alexei is re-evaluating his life after his parents disowned him for being gay and he’s trying to work through his grief and lifeplan alone on the trail. A chance meeting with Ben and a reluctant friendship develops and causes Alexei to learn more about himself and his happiness along the way. Ben is trying to get that last bit of wanderlust out of his system before settling down with a nursing job that he’s worked towards and he’s trying to be mature and logical, instead of jumping into bed with the first handsome guy he meets on the trail. Both of these men are insecure and slightly damaged from their past experiences (Alexei especially), but it’s clear that the trail and its physical exertions help to bring peace and clarity to everyone involved. We get to see a slow build of trust and friendship and then tentative steps towards a relationship, even though they’re not quite dealing with reality while they’re in the trail bubble. Watch out for the good kind of heartbreak and angst when you’re reading this one.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

How You Get the Girl by Anita Kelly (2024)

Contemporary romance. Book 3 of the Nashville Love series. After being the twin sister and best friend dispensing wisdom in Books 1 and 2 of the series, Julie is faced with her own dilemma this time around. She’s flailing a bit as her sibling and friends are moving on with their romantic lives but doesn’t know what she wants for herself or how to approach it. And then she’s hit with awkward feelings when her teen idol and maybe crush Elle, former basketball star, is put in front of her path. Julie’s the high school basketball coach and Elle is serving as the foster parent of the newest member of the team, so they meet when Elle is picking up the kid from practice. There’s awkwardness on both ends since they’re each attracted to the other one and there’s plenty of drama with Julie never having dated anyone before and Elle having been out of the basketball spotlight for the past eight years. They start a friendship and then partnership as Elle becomes the assistant coach, and then Elle makes an offer to help Julie practice her dating skills. It’s only a matter of time before feelings get entangled and things get real. I loved how both characters were a little bit insecure about the other person’s feelings, but still found a way to integrate into each others’ lives. I also loved seeing the bigger family dynamic that Julie had and also wrap up the stories from our favorite characters from earlier books in the series.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Lady Eleanor’s Seventh Suitor by Anna Bradley (2017)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Sutherland Sisters series. Eleanor is the sister of an earl who is renowned for rejecting a multitude of suitors, but really, she’s just trying to hold out until she falls in love. Unfortunately, Camden has decided to orchestrate her sister’s potential ruin so that he can blackmail Eleanor into marriage. He’s got his own ulterior motives on why he wants to marry into Eleanor’s prestigious family and it’s not for her dowry money. He basically wants the good name of the Sutherland family to elevate his own status and provide societal acceptance for his younger sister. Eleanor is trying her best to dissuade Camden from the match, and also trying not to get her heart entangled or broken in the process. It’s an emotional mess all the way through, but super interesting to read.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Lady Charlotte’s First Love by Anna Bradley (2017)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Sutherland Sisters series. Charlotte is a widowed marchioness courting scandal and ruin with her new wicked widow friends and the newly returned army hero Julian is tasked by his cousin to oversee and protect her. Except that’s a terrible idea because Julian and Charlotte have a complicated history: he seduced her so that his cousin could blackmail her sister into marriage, then she married someone else, and he joined the army. Now she’s a widow and all sorts of emotionally distraught and he’s come back from war with his own emotional distress. It’s a bad match all around, except for those nostalgic feelings and their attraction for each other. This book was delightfully chaotic to read and I was just waiting to see when they’d finally talk through their problems.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Twelfth Night with the Earl by Anna Bradley (2017)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Sutherland Sisters series. This book packs an emotional transformation in a relatively quick novella. Ethan is a debauched earl and rumored to have murdered his older brother coming to his estate in Cornwall to close it down for good. He does not find the house abandoned as he expected, but a full blown Christmas party is taking place. The new housekeeper of the estate is his childhood friend Thea who has made this place her home and she’s stubborn about the idea of being kicked out. She takes this opportunity to try to remind Ethan about his happy memories of the house to convince him to stay. However, despite their childhood crushes on each other, Ethan’s got way too many demons regarding this house, the death of his mother, and the death of his brother. And now that he’s there, he’s got to face all these feelings he’s been trying to repress as he leads his scandalous life in London. It was nice seeing Ethan slowly start to reconnect with Thea as well as connect with the orphan children who are temporarily occupying the house. But he’s not sure if her feelings are true or if she’s just doing whatever it takes to keep the house open. Complicated mess, but fun to read.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Stranger I Wed by Harper St. George (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Doves of New York series. Cora and her sisters are the illegitimate daughters of a wealthy gentleman in New York, who is dangling their inheritance from their grandmother in the form of dowries. In order to acquire the money, Cora needs to marry a suitable gentleman (but not one in New York). They all try to find matches in England where they’ve hidden the fact that they’re illegitimate and give the appearance of being wealthy heiresses. Leo is an impoverished earl finally deciding the marry for money and comes to an arrangement with Cora. She’s adamant that they separate eventually and tries very hard not to get emotionally entangled. And Leo is just trying to keep his own heart from being broken (as it has been before). However, these two are actually a perfect match for each other in terms of political aspirations and advocacy, plus that simmering attraction. While both of these people are so concerned about protecting themselves, they’re missing out on the happiness they could be having with the person right in front of them. This was a really great intro to the series and I’m looking forward to reading more.

Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House.

The Wrath of the Marquess by Barbara Russell (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Victorian Outcasts series. Cora and Ethan have a chance meeting when they’re caught together in an earthquake, but she’s married to an abusive husband and he’s on his way out to fight pirates on behalf of the crown. Four years later, they meet again and Cora is still stuck being married to a horrible terrible no good abusive earl, even though she’s planning to run away with her teenage son when she saves enough money. Meanwhile, Ethan has inherited the title of marquess, come back a scarred war hero, and running a home for injured veterans. It’s a slow moving romance as they meet again, become friends, and then fall in love under challenging circumstances. I appreciated how kind and protective Ethan was to Cora’s son and how they become a tight-knit family unit throughout the book. Cora’s husband is the true villain of the story here and the book kept me reading to see how they’d finally be free of him.

Advance ebook provided by Oliver Heber Books via NetGalley.