Weekly Reads: June 3 to 9, 2024

Anything But a Duke by Christy Carlyle (2019)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Duke’s Den series. Diana is an inventor who needs financial investment in her cleaning device so that she can support herself and not need to subject herself to the marriage mart. Aidan is one of the investors at the Duke’s Den, where Diana presents her invention for potential funding. Diana and Aidan end up making a separate sort of deal where Aidan will help find buyers for her machine in exchange for her finding him a noblewoman to marry. He seeks entrance into polite society and thinks that a wife will be the ideal route. We get to see Diana playing matchmaker and Aidan’s fumbling attempts at meeting her friends, when really they’re just attracted to each other. Each of these people needs to expand their current goals to include love and companionship if they’re going to make this thing work. I loved seeing how supportive Aidan was of Diana’s work and intellect.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Nothing Compares to the Duke by Christy Carlyle (2020)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Duke’s Den series. We start with a prologue showcasing our idyllic childhood friends and neighbors Bella and Rhys at her birthday party. The party ends in heartbreak for Bella though and these two friends part ways for the foreseeable future. Five years later, Rhys has cultivated a scandalous reputation for throwing debauched parties and frivolities, but that sort of life has grown a bit wearisome, especially as he’s recently inherited his father’s indebted dukedom. When he returns to his country estate, he realizes his ledgers are a mess and his steward has gone missing, so he goes to ask his clever neighbor and former friend Bella for help. He’s definitely got some apologizing to do though, and she’s reluctant to reconnect with him. Clearly her childhood crush on him was unrealized and she’s protecting herself from suffering heartbreak again. Except this time, her parents are throwing atrocious suitors at her and pressuring her to marry, and so she somehow gets Rhys to agree to a fake engagement in exchange for her help with his estate. I enjoyed seeing these two reconnect and Rhys realize what he had been missing for all these years.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Wager with a Siren by Sofie Darling (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the All’s Fair in Love and Racing series. Super stern and serious Julian is actually just trying to keep himself under control, thinking he doesn’t deserve love and acceptance while also distancing himself from his father’s reputation. He gives the outward appearance of respectable dullard. Except when he meets Tessa, the sister of a newly minted duke, who challenges him with her disdain. They end up making a wager about the horse he has in an upcoming race and his prize is one night in bed with her. Tessa is not at all prepared for her new station in life and would prefer to stick to what she already knows as the co-owner of a gambling hell. But she and Julian are totally drawn to each other and she’s ready and willing to spend that night with him. There’s a lot of compromise needed here on both their parts to figure out how they fit together. Super steamy and emotional.

Advance ebook provided by Sofie Darling via NetGalley.

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Isabel and the Rogue by Liana De la Rosa (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Luna Sisters series. Middle sister Isabel is often overlooked by everyone, making her perfect for sneaking around English manor houses looking for useful information to aid the Mexican government. While Isabel and her sisters have fled Mexico for the safety of England, she’s doing her best to aid in any way possible. Unfortunately, that puts her in the sights of Captain Sirius Dawson, who has his own assignments to learn about potential connections to the French government. Sirius has cultivated a reputation as a rogue as he seduces his way into his information, and thereby earned Isabel’s disdain. However, when he spends more time with her, he finds that there is a lot more to her than it seems and he develops a newfound respect and appreciation for her intellect. There’s a lot of hiding and spying and getting stuck together in precarious circumstances and pretty soon, a fiery affair begins. Super steamy and emotional and perfect for all the overlooked bluestockings.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

Such a Bad Influence by Olivia Muenter (2024)

Mystery/Thriller. Standalone novel. Famous influencer Evie disappears and her older sister Hazel is determined to find her. Most of this book was Hazel’s internal commentary about her mother’s behavior and exploitation of her younger sister and it moved pretty slowly for me. While it was an interesting take, I expected more action in a book categorized as a thriller.

Advance ebook provided by Quirk Books via NetGalley.

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The Lord Who Adored Her and Other Love Songs by Charlie Lane (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Art of Love series. Lord Atlas just wants to hire a cabinet-maker to help finish the repairs on the dower house at his family estate, so it can be rented out, and so he can leave town. He’s an injured soldier who is hiding his pain and sorrows from his family as he helps them restore their finances. Instead of just hiring an artisan, he ends up marrying her instead. Clara is a widow who has run away from her controlling father-in-law with her young son in tow. She’s the daughter of a skilled cabinet-maker, so she’s qualified to assist in the renovations, but ends up needing the protection of Atlas and his family. They decide on a marriage of convenience, knowing that Atlas plans to leave once his work is done. It was wonderful seeing Atlas fall in love with Clara and become a father to his son, plus wrap up the series with all of his siblings matched up.

Advance ebook provided by Charlie Lane.

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Dukes, Diamonds, and Other Desires by Charlie Lane (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2.5 of the Art of Love series. Quick little novella here with the sister of the main character from Book 2 of the series. Posey is a jeweler’s daughter with a longstanding friendship and crush on Archer, who is a duke. He thinks he’s been courting her all this time and doesn’t understand why she runs off when he shows her the family bridal jewels. She’s actually running off because those jewels are a forgery and she needs to locate the real ones. We get a mini-road trip here as Posey goes to find her sister for help and Archer chases after her. And then these two dummies finally talk about how they feel about each other. Luckily for Posey, Archer is delightfully supportive and willing to defy society’s expectations in his selection of a duchess.

Ebook purchased via Amazon.

The Duke Has Done It Again by Jane Ashford (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 6 of the Duke’s Estates series. Rose and Gavin are from rival families who believe that a certain estate belongs in one of their families instead of having been left to some unknown duke. They end up in a shouting match in front of the estate’s front lawn when the duke arrives to evaluate the estate, pretty much embarrassing themselves. Luckily the duke and duchess are quite astute to the problem and invite both Rose and Gavin to stay with them for awhile to foster goodwill. They end up in a truce and then maybe kind of sort of start to truly like each other, away from the angry influence of their respective parents. We get to see a connection form between Rose and Gavin, ever so slowly, but satisfying all the same.

Advance ebook provided by Sourcebooks via Edelweiss. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Her Runaway Duke by Ellie St. Clair (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Noble Pursuits series. Beauty and the Beast vibes with a grumpy scarred reclusive duke and a runaway bride. Siena is running away from her wedding day, gets lost in the woods, and needs rescuing from highwaymen. Luckily, Levi is there to save the day, even though he does it begrudgingly. He thinks that his scarred appearance will scare people away, but it’s really his personality. Siena and Levi are stuck together at his manor due to a rainstorm and of course she’s kind and understanding and helps him soften up a bit. Things get more dramatic when there are rumors about her disappearance and then the arrival of unwanted guests. This one was steamy and emotional and also plenty dramatic.

Advance ebook provided by Ellie St. Clair.