Weekly Reads: July 1 to 7, 2024

Earl Crazy by Anna Bradley (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Games Earls Play series. Kit’s back in London to seek a wife and possibly halt a family curse, but he’s having a tough time letting go of his drunken ways. The lady visiting next door has caught him unconscious outside his cottage door and stirs up a fuss when she assists him back inside. When they meet later at a ball, Kit finds out Tilly’s identity and is determined to court her for himself, despite her seeming disinterest. Tilly’s afraid of causing scandal wherever she goes and she’s mostly determined to stay out of trouble and try to help her friend with her season. But Kit is proving to be pretty persuasive and they quickly fall in love. There’s a bit more exciting drama in store when Tilly’s friend gets into a bit of trouble, making this book even more entertaining.

Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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Tangled Up In You by Christina Lauren (2024)

Contemporary romance. Book 4 of the Meant to Be series. Super adorable Tangled retelling. Ren is a country bumpkin who was raised on a remote farm with her parents and just now being allowed to go to college. She’s adorably innocent and naive and outperforms everyone in school because of her book knowledge and hard working nature. This proves to be annoying and intimidating for Fitz, who is the smoldering campus heart throb with a his own untarnished reputation. However, he’s hiding some secrets of his past and future goals and has no interest in befriending Ren. When a classroom activity has Ren submitting her DNA for an ancestry test, she’s shocked to find a parental connection to someone who is not the father who raised her. She somehow cons Fitz to drive her most of the way across the country in order to meet this mysterious stranger. Along the way, Ren and Fitz slowly build a connection with each other, which was sweet and fun to read. We get all sorts of drama when we uncover the truth about Ren’s family history. And we get to see Fitz be an amazingly supportive guy along the way. Loved it. An absolute delight.

Advance ebook provided by Hyperion Books via NetGalley.

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Never Seduce a Scoundrel by Sabrina Jeffries (2006)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the School for Heiresses series. Lady Amelia is a daughter of an earl who is dodging fortune hunters and longing for adventure. She runs into a bit of trouble when she’s nearly caught snooping in the American Navy Major’s personal correspondence, but she’s wary of her stepmother being the target of his secret investigation. She plans to find out more in order to protect her stepmother, and she plays the simpering miss to do so. Lucas has a bunch of hang ups against the English and he’s annoyed to have to be in England to deal with this fraud and embezzlement case, but he realizes that he can use a courtship with Amelia to find out more about his suspect. They’re both toying with each other for information, but there’s definitely a real simmering attraction here. We get into way more dramatics halfway through the book when we need to deal with a kidnapping and road trip. It was interesting to see how two people who are totally dishonest with each other end up falling in love.

Ebook and audiobook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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When the Viscount Seduces by Darcy Burke (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Rogue Rules series. Clumsy Gwen is pretty much a disaster on the marriage mart, but her brother’s friend Lazarus rescues her after falling and then asking her to dance. Gwen’s mother is delighted that a viscount is paying her attention, even if he has a reputation as a rogue. But he’s decided that he needs tutoring on his reading and writing so that he can deliver a speech at Parliament and asks the bookish Gwen for help. In exchange, he’ll pretend to pay her attention so that it’ll rile up other suitors. Although they’re opposites in terms of bookishness, they’re quite infatuated with each other and it was fun to see Lazarus focusing all his attention on Gwen. I love when a gentleman appreciates their partner’s intellect and seeks to support them more than anything.

Advance ebook provided by Darcy Burke.

The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez (2024)

Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Librarians in Love series. Chaotic and messy and I couldn’t put this one down. Marcela has been pining for her best guy friend, Ben, for years and in for total heartbreak when he proposes to his longtime girlfriend, Alice. And as if going to an engagement party wasn’t enough anxiety, she stops Ben’s brother Theo from drunkenly declaring his feelings for Alice. When they leave the party together and then show up at brunch together the next day, everyone thinks they hooked up, and they seem to go along with the lie to prevent anyone else from suspecting their real feelings for the engaged couple. We get a fun little fake dating situation for a hot minute, until they decide to go with a friends with benefits situation instead. But Theo doesn’t know about Marcela’s crush on Ben, everyone is telling Marcela to stay away from Theo, and Marcela is just trying to protect herself from getting hurt. It’s all sorts of messy and dramatic, but Theo has generally been open and honest with Marcela about his feelings and is basically the one making a try at a real relationship. Overall, Theo is the best, Ben is the worst, Alice is actually a decent friend, and Marcela just needs a pep talk.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

A Scandal in July by Kate Bateman (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 7 of the Rake Review series. Quick, low-angst, fun romance here. Rhys and Lenore are from rival families who seem to have a habit of falling in love with each other. Rhys is determined to avoid all Montgomeries so that he’s not a victim to the family curse as his siblings are, but all that falls apart when he sees the most beautiful woman ever in the garden of a ball. Meanwhile Lenore has fallen in love at first sight with Rhys during that same encounter and has been trying to catch his attention all Season. He’s been avoiding her so much that she makes a last ditch effort to catch him with a meddlesome house party and scavenger hunt. We get to see Rhys and Lenore good-naturedly compete with their family members in the hunt and a bunch of stolen moments. It’s mostly a fun family game day here with plenty of opportunity for Rhys and Lenore to spend time together.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley (2021)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Wild Wynchesters series. Master of disguise Tommy Wynchester has been pining for the lace-trimmed Philippa York for a year, but cannot seem to find the courage to talk to Philippa as herself. Meanwhile Philippa’s parents are pressuring her to marry a lord this Season, and one of Philippa’s bluestocking friends has been wronged by her own uncle taking credit for creating a cipher. The Wynchesters are on the case for the stolen credit, but Philippa is stuck with her parents’ marital expectations of her. Tommy’s siblings have the bright idea for her to dress up as the fictitious Baron Vanderbean so she could court Philippa as a gentleman, but she fesses up to Philippa pretty quickly. It’s a bit of a surprise to Philippa to realize she wasn’t attracted to any of her previous suitors because they were men and that she’s most definitely attracted to Tommy. We get a mix of mystery and crime solving here, with lots of romance, finding yourself, and finding a family that loves who you really are. This one is another excellent addition to the Wynchesters series.

Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Here Comes My Earl by Anna Bradley (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Games Earls Play series. Oldest sister Phee is just trying to blend into the background and avoid scandal, but she’s in town to support her friend’s second Season. Except her friend’s older brother is being a giant pain and interfering with his sister’s marriage prospects. James is the stuffiest of earls with a gruff and serious demeanor and no time for frivolity. And he’s begrudgingly enamored of Phee and wondering why she wears drab dresses. While they argue over his interference of his sister’s love life, they form their own connection and fairly quickly fall in love. This was a quick read and a nice conclusion to the series.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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The Modiste Mishap by Erica Ridley (2022)

Historical romance-adjacent. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Heist Club series, connected to the Wild Wynchesters series. Fun little caper that’s in the Wild Wynchesters universe. This time, bluestocking friend Sybil is the star of the book when she accidentally bumps into a well-regarded modiste at a lending library. The exclusive dressmaker has found her shop broken into and two dozen dresses missing. Sybil goes to her friends for help and they work together to try to find the thief. There’s lots of sneaking around and dealing with snooty wealthy ladies in this one, but Sybil is the one to make all the right connections and solve the case. Quick and fun little diversion from the Wynchester romances.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Viscount in Love by Eloisa James (2024)

Historical romance. Georgian-era England. Book 1 of the Accidental Brides series. If you like stories with chaotic outspoken children, this book is for you. Dominic is an emotionless and stern viscount who has custody of his sister’s orphaned twin children. Luckily, he’s already engaged to a proper lady to help raise them. Except the proper lady is appalled by the children and wants to send them away, but ends up jilting the groom anyway. Dominic ends up trying to convince Torie, his would-be-sister-in-law, to marry him instead since she’s already developed a relationship with the children. It takes a lot of convincing to make it happen, despite the lust and attraction being apparent from the start. The falling in love part takes a bit longer on everyone’s part but it’s super emotional once they have it figured out. The family dynamic is one of my favorite parts of this book.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

Kilty Until Proven Innocent by Caroline Lee (2024)

Historical romance. Medieval Scotland. Book 4 of the Kilty Pleasures series. Drummond is the leader of the King’s Hunters and he’s suspected of assassinating the King. Which is absolutely untrue. The only comfort he has is that his long-time lover Brigit keeps seeing him. But he doesn’t know that she isn’t really a serving maid and is actually one of the Queen’s Angels. She’s been sent to investigate him and find proof of his guilt. She’s happy to report that he’s innocent, but not so happy to have lied to him about who she is. He’s got a bit of anger and frustration to get over to start to trust her again. But they work better together than apart to try to catch the real villain. Quick and easy read with just the right amount of intrigue.

Advance ebook provided by Caroline Lee.