Weekly Reads: October 14 to 20, 2024

Christmas Sweater Weather by Jaqueline Snowe (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Fairly typical brother’s best friend romance. Charlotte has been in love with Hayden for years, had an opportunity to kiss him three years ago, and was rejected. She’s pretty much avoided him all this time, except to help care for his young daughter. Hayden is basically afraid and avoidant and he rejected Charlotte because he didn’t want to betray her brother and so he could figure out his messy life. They’re thrown together at a ski resort during Charlotte’s brother’s pre-wedding vacation, and finally talk through their issues and see about possibly making a go of a relationship. And then things get messy again when Hayden is second-guessing all his decisions. But it all gets resolved exactly how we would all expect it to.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

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The Marriage Contract by Cathy Maxwell (2001)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Marriage series. Poor overlooked Anne is forced into an arranged marriage by proxy to the mad Earl Tiebauld, who lives in Scotland. Aiden doesn’t want anything to do with her when she lands on his doorstep, so he tries his best to run her off. But Anne is super resilient and stubborn and makes herself useful to the estate. It’s pretty much a battle of wills, until they grow to respect and then like each other. Meanwhile, Aiden is involved in some possibly treasonous activity and a nearby Major is making trouble for them all. We get to read a fairly fast-moving plot here between the unwanted marriage, Anne’s hard work and integration into the clan, and then the threat of being arrested for treason.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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A Classic Case by Alicia Thompson (2024)

Mystery. Standalone short story. Audrey is a regular customer at her local classic video rental shop where she has a crush on the owner Grant and makes small talk with another regular customer. One Wednesday, the elderly regular customer doesn’t come in at his usual time, so Audrey tries to track him down at his house. And then Grant follows her there to prevent any sort of trouble. It’s super short and the mystery of the missing elder is solved fairly quickly. A fun little diversion from everything else you might be reading.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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The Wolf of Mayfair by Christi Caldwell (2024)

Historical romance. Georgian-era England. Standalone novel. The Marquess of Wingrave is known for being cold and ruthless, but he surprises even himself when a young woman comes to his doorstep claiming to be his mother’s goddaughter. Helia is recently orphaned and running away from a dastardly cousin who seeks to marry her for her dowry. She’s looking for refuge, but finds a heartless Wingrave instead. He insinuates that she’s lying about the connection to his family and that she would only be suitable as a mistress. And then he offers her refuge from a snowstorm and also cares for her when she’s ill. This stubborn self-assured sunshiney woman is suddenly causing him to behave in ways he isn’t used to. He’s definitely domineering and an unrepentant rogue for most of the story, but still soft when it comes to caring for Helia. The story definitely kept me reading to see how it all worked out.

Advance ebook provided by Montlake Publishing via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Brilliance Audio via NetGalley.

The Heiress Masquerade by Maddison Michaels (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Dollar Princess series. American heiress Aimee would rather take over her father’s company than marry a titled English lord, so she concocts a plan to swap places with her lowborn cousin when they go to England together. Evie will pretend to be Aimee and go to balls and such, while Aimee will work as a secretary in the London office of her father’s company. Except the outspoken Aimee is nothing like her father described to his protegee and head of the English brand, Harrison. He’s both annoyed and intrigued by Aimee and is disappointed that his beloved boss has misled him about the girl’s personality. Of course, the bickering and fighting serves as delicious foreplay for these two, who are distracted by their attraction for each other. We also get an interesting plot about business sabotage, which turns into a kidnapping scheme. Super exciting and fast-paced story.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.

Curves and Counterfeit by Charlie Lane (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Part of the Curves and Cravats series. The purposeless and drunken earl Keats sees his sister running away in a carriage, so he jumps aboard to figure out where she’s gone. Turns out that she’s running away from an elderly fiancee and ruination from a different man and seeing refuge at a home for women. Keats is stunned to find that his sister has been so displeased by her position and didn’t realize what a dissolute brother he has been. He decides to stick around as a stable hand to make sure his sister is safe and find his conscience a bit. He also is completely smitten by Lucy, one of the women who runs the house. She’s equally intrigued by Keats and allows him some moments of passion, since she’s soon to be bound for the London Season to find a respectable husband. Trouble is ahead though, since Keats is lying about his identity and his sister’s fiancee is still on the loose. I enjoyed how this story was tied up, with plenty of drama, despite its short length.

Advance ebook provided by Charlie Lane.

Devils Covet Curves by Jemma Frost (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Part of the Curves and Cravats series. We’re all at a house party where Drake is besotted with his best friend’s fiancee, but then finds a distraction in the wallflower Wren. They decide to help each other have fun during the party and keep Drake away from revealing his feelings about his friend’s fiancee. And of course, a physical affair ensues, followed by actual feelings. Drake is surprised to find that he’s drawn to both the physical relationship and conversational relationship he has with Wren and that he hardly thinks of the other woman at all when he’s with Wren. She’s glad to experience passion for the first and seemingly last time, while doing her best to protect her heart. Quick and steamy read.

Advance ebook provided by Jemma Frost.

The Hunt for Mr. October by Tabetha Waite (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 10 of the Rake Review series. Meliah is a weaver’s daughter with dreams of being a published writer and decides that writing an expose on the rake of the month will help get her there. She seeks out the earl in question, Elwood, and he agrees to entertain her request for an interview of she comes with him to his father’s hunting box in the country. While there, Meliah discovers that Elwood is not exactly the rake that he seems. He’s definitely flirtatious and charming and seductive, but he’s also kind and caring to everyone in the village. There’s a definite mismatch in their social stations, so Meliah knows there’s no future between them, but she decides to take Elwood up on his offer of pleasure while they’re together anyway. We just need to wait for Elwood to make the final move to secure Meliah’s affections for life.

Advance ebook provided by Tabetha Waite.