Weekly Reads: April 29 to May 5, 2024

Your Scandalous Ways by Loretta Chase (2008)

Historical romance. Regency-era Venice. Book 1 of the Fallen Women series. We’ve got a fun little spy, espionage romance here. James is an undercover spy, who is assigned to retrieve some treasonous incriminating letters from a lord’s ex-wife. Francesca is now the world’s most expensive courtesan living in Venice. When these two meet, James is in various disguises trying to keep a low profile. Francesca can’t help being attracted to him and he is trying not to fall under her seductive wiles, knowing that she uses them to manipulate men. However, as they spend more time with each other, the attraction between them is undeniable, despite both of being frustrated about the attraction. James is keeping all sorts of secrets because he’s trying to break into her house and steal her property and she’s generally wary of all men. It’s a big complicated mess, but still really enjoyable to read.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Audiobook purchased via Amazon.

Mistakes We Never Made by Hannah Brown (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. We’ve got a former friends, complicated mess of a relationship in this book. Emma and Finn were on the high school debate team together and they have a bunch of missed connections with a stood up date to junior prom, and then meeting again after freshman year of college, and then a rooftop thing after college, and then a big screaming match at somebody else’s wedding. It’s a total mess. They have spotted each other again at a mutual friend’s wedding, and that bride has decided to run away and go completely off the grid, so these two have to team up to chase after her. They’re tracking her phone and it is a road trip situation where they’re stuck together for many hours in a car and so they finally kind of work out their differences, but still they’re both protecting themselves and protecting their feelings and not quite as direct as they should be. It was still a really great book to read. I was really interested in finding more about the runaway bride friend although I feel like we are kind of kept hanging there and maybe there’s a second book. Hopefully there is.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

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

The Saloon Girl’s Only Shot by Dani Collins (2024)

Historical romance. 1800s America. Book 2 of the Quail’s Creek series. Temperance was ruined in her hometown in Chicago, cast out by her stepmother, and now she’s stuck working as a saloon girl in Denver while she figures out how to get her injured father the rest of the way to Denver. Except she keeps getting fired at every saloon for reasons totally outside of her control. Miner Owen is in town replenishing supplies for his team, but he really has aspirations of opening his own saloon. (I’m not sure why, since there are two other saloons in town, but sure). He keeps running into Temperance and feels a bit sorry for her situation. He hires her own to help with the bookkeeping and setting up of his own saloon and since she’s got nowhere else to go, she takes him up on it. It’s all a bit of a muddle because she’s trying to earn enough to pay her way back home and he’s planning to go back to the quarry in the Springtime. No one wants to admit to any deeper feelings or commit to an official relationship. I enjoyed seeing Owen’s protective side though and the interactions with all the townsfolk.

Advance ebook provided by Dani Collins via BookSprout.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org

Don’t Tempt Me by Loretta Chase (2009)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Fallen Women series. A baron’s daughter goes missing for twelve years and then comes back with a scandalous reputation. Zoe has always been a wild and rambunctious young lady and she goes missing in Egypt while she’s visiting there with her parents; we later find out that she was abducted and sold to a harem. Somehow she escapes and finds her way back to her family home and needs to reintegrate into society. Long-time family friend Lucien comes to verify the story of the newly returned Zoe and is shocked to find that his former childhood playmate is actually back. Lucien is a duke with a lot of influence and he promises to help Zoe make her way into society. Except that Zoe is well-versed in flirting and seduction and Lucien is very susceptible to her charms, despite his self-denial. It’s only a matter of time before they realize that they’re actually well-matched and should just get married to each other. This was a really fun story to read with all of the chaos and antics of Zoe’s family, Lucien’s soft spot for Zoe herself, and a surprise third-act conflict with a dastardly villain.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Audiobook purchased via Amazon.

Devil of Mine by Ally Hudson (2024)

Historical Romantic Tragedy. Regency-era England. Prequel novella to the Most Imprudent Matches series. This one is a tragedy and tells the story of how Celine marries and becomes widowed all in a short period of time. We get to learn a bit more of Celine’s backstory in this book as preparation for her eventual happily ever after in a different book. Celine is known as a flirt and catches the attention of many gentlemen, including one scandalous marquess Gabriel, who has his own reputation. They basically try and fail to stay away from each other until they end up married. We have a bit of backstory for Gabriel of how he developed this reputation and some of his misdeeds, but it’s best to not get too invested in him, since he doesn’t make it til the end of the book. This was a pretty quick and straightforward flirty steamy read that adds more to the universe of the series.

Advance ebook provided by Ally Hudson via BookSirens.

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie by Jackie Lau (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Fake dating plot to get a meddlesome mother off her back. After her youngest sister’s wedding, Emily is the only one left unmarried and seemingly failing to meet her parents’ expectations. After too much nagging about being set up with the oh-so-proper Mark, Emily asks Mark to agree to fake dating to ease up on the parental pressure. While they start off with lying about their dates, it seems that Emily’s mom knows way too many people in Toronto that question their story. Now Emily and Mark need to real fake date and she realizes that there’s a lot more to him that what her mother had described. While this was a fun set up and premise, it seemed like it took too long for Emily and Mark to spend any time together on page, and Emily’s overbearing mother activated my own brand of anxiety and I didn’t like that as much.

Advance ebook provided by Atria Books via NetGalley.

She Tempts the Duke by Lorraine Heath (2012)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Lost Lords of Pembrooke series. We start with a tragic prologue here for three young boys, Sebastian aged 14, his younger twin brother Tristan, and Rafe aged 10, locked in the tower after their father’s funeral. Despite Sebastian being the new duke, they all think that their uncle is out to kill them and take the title for himself. They all manage to escape with the aid of their neighbor Mary and all go their separate ways, vowing for revenge when they’re older and stronger. Twelve years later, the three brothers have finally reunited and made a dramatic re-entrance into society at their home during a ball their uncle is hosting. Sebastian had been badly injured and scarred during the war in Crimea and is a fearsome sight. We get to see Sebastian and Mary meet again as adults and feel that instant connection between them. Unfortunately, Mary is engaged to someone else and it’s inappropriate for her to be spending so much time with Sebastian. He’s got his own issues with seeking revenge against his uncle and believing that he’s unable to give Mary the type of marriage she deserves. We know they’ll end up together anyway, so we just get to enjoy reading about how they continue to entangle themselves.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Rules for a Rogue by Christy Carlyle (2016)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Romancing the Rules series. Childhood friends and neighbors reunite in this story after the death of Kit’s father sends him back to his country home to take care of matters. After Kit and his father had a huge falling out several years ago, he set off to make his way as a playwright in London. Left behind in the country, Ophelia has been supporting her family by tutoring young ladies in the neighborhood and also secretly writing a popular etiquette guide. She’s mostly irritated and annoyed at Kit’s return to the country because she thought herself immune to his charms. But really, his presence has just reactivated all those latent feelings she has. He’s also equally interested in Ophelia, but he’s not clever enough to realize he should offer her marriage. It takes most of the book for Kit to turn into someone trustworthy and reliable enough to be worthy of Ophelia’s affections. Meanwhile, she’s got another ardent suitor and there’s some conflict related to Kit’s father’s publishing house and Ophelia’s secret writing. This one was quick and fun to read and we get to read about Kit’s younger sisters later in the series.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Gentleman Spy by Georgina North (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novel. Beau is basically a deadbeat heir who has taken no interest in learning about estate management or even returning to the estate anytime soon after his father’s death. After a delayed return, his family is rightfully annoyed by his absence. Especially the ward that his father had taken on and has basically been running the estate all this time. It doesn’t help Beau that Emerald is a beautiful woman who has captured his attention, but that he is also her new guardian and she should be off-limits to him. They bicker and fight and no one else knows that Beau is actually a spy and he’s been absent from the country in service to the Crown. It’s more of a mess when Beau discovers that there’s a smuggling operation right in his own village and somehow a suspicious Emerald gets involved. It was nice to see Beau and Emerald’s relationship develop and how protective he becomes of her.

Advance ebook provided by Georgina North via BookSirens.

A Study in Scoundrels by Christy Carlyle (2017)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Romancing the Rules series. We start with a tragic prologue for Jasper as a teenager who loses his older brother and becomes the heir to an earl. Fast forward many years and now Jasper has abandoned his title and place in the aristocracy for a place on the stage and a life of debauchery. When he’s notified of his younger sister’s disappearance, Jasper sets off to find her. In this process, he’s re-introduced to the prim and proper Sophia, who is his friend’s sister. Although she’s generally content to follow all the rules of propriety, she’s also secretly writing a detective novel. These two are total opposites but keep bumping into each other in Jasper’s search for his sister and ultimately end up teaming up to find the girl. It’s fun to see Jasper’s preoccupation with Sophia, even though he’s totally unworthy of her, and to see Sophia loosen up and give into her attraction to Jasper.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.