Weekly Reads: February 3 to 9, 2025

A Scandalous Kind of Duke by Mia Vincy (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Longhope Abbey series. Former childhood friends finally talk about their missed connection in this book of the series. Juno and Leo have an ill-fated connection, since Leo was the heir to a duke and Juno was basically abandoned by her artist parents. After a kiss in the woods as teens, Leo starts sputtering nonsense about family and duty and she pretty much writes him off completely. When they meet again a few years later, Juno emphasizes that they’re just friends and that he shouldn’t be worried that she’s obsessed with him or anything. Clearly, she’s protecting her own heart, but doesn’t realize that he’s come to chase after her. We jump even more years in the future and Leo is officially the duke, divorced to his first wife, and looking for a second wife. Juno is a famous artist, who Leo has been warned to stop seeing (even though they’re just friends). And so the friendship-breakup is stirring up all these old/existing feelings between the two and they finally have to work through it. If you like pining and longing and self-defensive communication, this one is for you.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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A Christmas Affair to Remember by Mia Vincy (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3.5 of the Longhope Abbey series. Fairly quick read here with an affair between a widow and a former Navy officer. Sylvia is at a Christmas house party enjoying the good food and cheer for a bit before she commits to her fiance out in the country. While she’s there, she starts an affair with Isaac, the young man who is looking to find a bride soon, but totally unsure of himself in terms of physical intimacy. So he helps himself to some lessons with the good widow, and of course they fall in love. Quick and steamy read.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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The Matrimony Trap by Louisa Darling (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Drake Family series. Cute little novella and a great introduction to this author. Somewhat socially awkward Caroline is trying to get the attention of Fitzwilliam, but he’s not interested in being caught in matrimony. Except she’s not trying to catch a husband for herself; she wants his widowed father to pursue her widowed mother. They all end up at a house party together and Caroline and Fitz get thrown together quite often in their matchmaking scheme. The joke is on them though since they pretty quickly fall for each other. Quick read and totally worth it.

Ebook provided by signing up for author’s email newsletter.

Falling Into Bed with a Duke by Lorraine Heath (2015)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Hellions of Havisham series. Tragic prologue for a group of young boys orphaned by a train accident and sent to live with a mad marquess. As the boys grow up, they’re known as the Hellions, giving the name to this series. Minerva (daughter of a former gambling hell owner) and the Duke of Ashebury end up meeting at a scandalous club where ladies attend to find trysts. She figures she’s an outspoken overlooked spinster who refuses to marry a fortune-hunter and she wants to feel desired for once in her life. There, she encounters Ashe, who does actually want her, without knowing who she is. When they encounter each other in society, Ashe starts suspecting Minerva of being the masked woman he met at the club and is completely intrigued by her. I loved how he appreciates her outspokenness and candor and how he comes to her defense when he overhears people speaking ill of her. There’s a lot of insecurity for Minerva to overcome though, so Ashe has his work cut out for him in his pursuit of her. As I do with most books by Lorraine Heath, I loved it.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Deep End by Ali Hazelwood (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. This book starts right away with an author’s note letting you know that there’s kink exploration here. Collegiate diver Scarlett has ongoing issues of perfectionism and a mental block at the diving board following a nearly career-ending injury over a year ago. She’s basically doing her best to juggle all her responsibilities and keep her head down. And then somehow, she gets entangled into her teammate Penelope’s drama with her boyfriend Lukas, a swimmer at the same university. Pen and Lukas have broken up over sexual incompatibility reasons, which somehow leads to Scarlett revealing her own preferences, which just coincidentally match Lukas’. It all starts as a Pen-endorsed fling, but clearly, Lukas has had stronger feelings for Scarlett for awhile (and is really good at the caretaking aspect of this relationship). The characters are realistically messy for having so many competing responsibilities and I enjoyed reading about Scarlett’s improved confidence throughout the book. Watch out for cameos from our beloved Olive and Adam from The Love Hypothesis. Also, the whole book is told from Scarlett’s POV, but the audiobook is a duet narration.

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

The Earl Takes All by Lorraine Heath (2016)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Hellions of Havisham series. This book is a reputation in the historical romance space and with good reason. Twin brothers Albert and Edward were orphaned as children, making Albert the earl at age 7. When they go on a safari together, Albert is tragically killed by a gorilla and he extracts a deathbed promise from Edward to pretend to be him so that his pregnant wife Julia waiting at home does not suffer a miscarriage. We start the book pretty much at the funeral of “Edward” and the countess worrying over how distant her husband has been since his return. It’s all sorts of angsty here right off the bat, since she doesn’t know her actual husband has died, she’s feeling insecure about her changed appearance during pregnancy, and her husband is acting strange. Edward is basically scared of any wrong move harming Julia and the baby and fighting his attraction for her. Huge mess of confusing emotions throughout the entire book and such a great read. This one is required reading for all historical romance fans.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Don’t Let Your Dukes Grow Up To Be Scoundrels by Louisa Darling (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Dukes in Disguise series. Lady Gemma is a duke’s daughter who’s been kicked out of her home by her half-brother after their father’s death. Gemma along with her mother and younger sister are on their own and have found that their own possession is a pub in a country village. Gemma’s grand plan is to find a wealthy husband to marry, so she can support her family and restore their place in society. What she doesn’t realize is that the barman Hal is actually the impoverished duke that owns to local manor. He detests the aristocracy and believes Gemma to be a spoiled fortune-hunter, so of course he hides his true identity from her. And then they fight and flirt their way into an impossible relationship. Loved the fish out of water vibes for Gemma and watching her learn to fend for herself and the value of hard work.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Duke of Pryde by Mariah Stone (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Seven Dukes of Sin series. Loved this marriage of convenience story with a healthy dose of blackmail. Constantine is always looking over his shoulder and a total stickler for propriety because he’s the result of an affair between the duchess and a commoner. So the Duke of Pryde is ever-prideful and suspicious of anyone who could be the person blackmailing him with evidence of his illegitimacy. Somehow, he’s entangled with Modesty, a vicar’s daughter, who is the guardian of an infant that she believes to be Constantine’s natural child. It’s all a bit convoluted, but in order to protect his secrets, Constantine proposes to take custody of the child and a marriage of convenience to Modesty. I enjoyed Constantine’s instant attraction to Modesty, even though he’s always saying the wrong thing. I also enjoyed the blackmail plot of the story and seeing all the dukes band together to solve the case.

Advance ebook provided by Mariah Stone via BookSprout.