Weekly Reads: August 26 to September 1, 2024

How to Fall for a Scoundrel by Kate Bateman (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Her Majesty’s Rebels series. A scoundrel with a fake name makes the acquaintance of wallflower Ellie, and offers his thieving experience to help with her investigative firm. Harry is not at all what he seems and is definitely hiding secrets, but he and Ellie work very well together and also make for a flirtatious and clever pair. They’re involved in a series of investigations which involve disguises, sneaking, and fake identities. But the romance is sweet and steamy and fairly low-angst. We get even more mysteries to solve when it comes to proving Harry’s identity, and Ellie is ultra-competently on the case. Fun, light, adventurous read.

Advance ebook provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Duke of Rath by Mariah Stone (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Seven Dukes of Sin series. Angry and self-punishing duke Dorian still feels guilty over killing a man in a duel-gone-wrong 12 years ago; when he hears the family is in dire financial condition, he offers to marry the youngest daughter and settle their debts. Patience is all sorts of young and naive and would rather study botany than marry a duke, but it’s the only way to save the family, so she complies. It’s a cold and lonely marriage at first, since Dorian is cold and keeping his distance, but Patience definitely breaks through his defenses and he finds himself growing closer to her. Except that there’s the lingering secret of her brother’s death causing loads of guilt for him. Emotional and steamy read and I enjoyed learning more about Dorian’s backstory along the way.

Advance ebook provided by Mariah Stone.

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Tempting the Duchess by Sara Bennett (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Disgraceful Duchesses series. Widowed duchess Ellis is running away from her late husband’s cruel cousin and takes refuge in a cottage in the woods. There, she finds artist and lord Owen, who is willing to take in and protect the stranger. Ellis does not disclose who she truly is for fear of being turned over to the cousin, but she’s happy to serve as a model for Owen’s work while she’s there. Owen specializes in erotic drawings for a salacious publication and tries his very best to be professional with his model, though he’s very tempted by Ellis’ beauty and charm. It’s a fairly quick and steamy novella here that’s an easy read.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.

Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Super fun mashup on Pleasantville and Dawson’s Creek with tons and tons of Easter eggs and references to teen dramas of yesteryear. Brynn is having a rough time of things being recently divorced, having shallow friendships, and going on the worst first dates ever. She’d rather be sitting at home on the couch re-watching her favorite TV show, even though it ended on a cliffhanger and the main character did not end up with the dreamboat crush. And somehow, she and her roommate Josh wake up in the fictional TV world and are tasked with settings things to rights. Except the dreamboat crush is not what he seems and Brynn ends up growing feelings for Josh instead, changing the narrative of the fictional town. It’s fun and steamy and chaotic in all the best ways. I had so much fun listening to this audiobook and loved all the little callouts to the teen shows I used to love.

Advance ebook provided by Dial Press via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

The Duke’s Christmas Bride by Anna Bradley (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Drop Dead Dukes series. Grumpy duke Max swears revenge against the man who swindled his childhood home from his father in a card game, and when the man finally passes away, Max goes to reclaim the property. Except he finds that it is already occupied by the man’s adopted daughter Rose, who is in a dire financial situation, but refuses to leave what is effectively her own childhood home. And then it turns out the man’s will has left the house to both of them. Max gets the bright idea to manipulate Rose into marrying someone else so her new husband can turn over her half of the house, but Max and Rose are growing closer to each other instead. She’s definitely the sunshine to Max’s grump, and helps to thaw his icy feelings. Fluffy, easy read.

Advance ebook provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley.

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The Viscount’s Curvy Prize by Viola Grey (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Part of the Curves and Cravats series. Quick and steamy novella. Painter’s daughter Emmaline is tasked with painting the portrait of the serious and stern viscount, Benedict. He’s pretty much distracted by his attraction to her from Day 1 and hesitant to do anything about it because of the power imbalance between them. She has no idea that he’s feeling all these things and is all sorts of confused when he kisses her one day, and then is cold and cordial the next day. And despite the struggle the serious Benedict seems to be facing, he does the right and honorable thing once he realizes he loves Emmaline.

Advance ebook provided by Viola Grey.

The Marquess’ Quest for Love by Alexa Aston (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 6 of the Strongs of Shadowcrest series. Byron is the dutiful second son of a marquess who is called back home from the army when his older brother dies in a carriage race and is now the new marquess. He’s all sorts of disappointed to learn what a terrible person his brother is and vows to do better; including possibly marrying the neighbor girl that his brother was engaged to (even though she’s terrible and he won’t be happy). When visiting his aunt and uncle in the Lake District, he meets Mirella, sister of a duke, who turns his head a bit, but not enough for him to shirk his duties. She’s equally enamoured of him, but doesn’t see him as marriage material since he keeps running hot and cold. They meet again several months later in the London Season, but he’s still determined to marry the neighbor. I enjoyed seeing Byron learn to let go of his staunch feelings of duty and responsibility as he opens himself up to the possibility of love. And he fits right in with the boisterous and loving Strong family.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.

A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd (2024)

Historical romance. 14th Century Italy. Book 1 of the Daughter of Montague series. Super funny and snarky re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet, where they both survive and their oldest daughter Rosie is doing her best to dodge the marriage mart. Her fifth betrothal ends with a duke stabbed in the chest in her family garden during the engagement ball and now Rosie is being suspected of the crime. There’s chaos and poisonings and a stern grumpy prince along with another charming gentleman who Rosie falls in love with at first sight. Super fun to read!

Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance ebook provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley.