Weekly Reads: February 24 to March 2, 2025

The Lady Sparks a Flame by Elizabeth Everett (2025)

Historical Romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Damsels of Discovery series. Combine an emotionally traumatized exiled scientist with an upbeat and fairly emotionally happy kind of guy, and we get this absolute gem of a book. Phoebe is back in the country to deal with her late father’s estate, after having been exiled off to America for inventing a bomb that killed someone. She’s all sorts of detached and cold to everyone around her, and we learn that it’s because of her horribly abusive father. Somehow, the wealthy shop owner and newspaper owner Sam gets involved in her affairs, first by offering to buy her house and second by trying to court her sister. Sam’s just trying to improve his overall station in life and thinks a titled wife is the way to do it. But of course, Sam is more interested in Phoebe than anything else and wants to soothe all of her hurts. Tons of emotional angst here as we dig up all of Phoebe’s traumas and come to some resolution. Excellent read.

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

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm

The Devil’s Charm by Megan Frampton (2025)

Historical Romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Heirs & Spares series. Super cute and fairly lighthearted read here. Total opposites, Diantha and Lucien meet at a ball and have instant sparks. Too bad their parents hate each other. And then they both get thrown together to work on an issue of a co-owned factory, and they’ve got to spend more time with the person their crushing on, even though it’s ill-advised. This book gets points for having the fun-loving and reportedly rakish Lucien falling first and hard. He even impresses Diantha by acknowledging her intelligence and asking her thoughtful questions. I loved how supportive Diantha’s wacky family is of her, even though they’re a bit chaotic. Overall, a fun book to read.

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

Masks of Desire by Fenna Edgewood (2021)

Historical Romance. Victorian-era England. Book 0 of the Gardner Girls series. This book was crazypants in all the best ways. We start off with Caroline’s cruel and villainous father telling her to break her longtime engagement to childhood friend Henry since he’s gotten his mistress pregnant, left her to die, and refusing to care for the baby. And then dear old Dad brings the baby into the room to show Caroline, and a very unique birthmark convinces her that her beloved has betrayed her. On the flip side of this, Henry is being told by his parents that Caroline has broken their engagement and will soon be engaged to someone of higher rank and social status. Basically, these two innocent people are being manipulated and lied to and torn apart by Caroline’s father. It’ll take a lot of maneuvering to get these two in the same room again and actually figure out the truth. There’s way more drama with Henry’s scapegrace brother and Caroline’s new fiance, so this book was very fun to read.

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

Shop this book via Amazon // Available on Kindle Unlimited // Get a free trial to Kindle Unlimited

The Copper Heir by Harper St. George (2025)

Historical romance. American West. Book 1 of the the Gilded West series. Emmaline is the stepdaughter of an outlaw who gets kidnapped by a rival outlaw gang as revenge. Although Hunter is no ordinary outlaw, since he’s also a wealthy miner and incredibly kind to Emmaline. But you know, she can’t really trust him, so she escapes and then somehow ends up at a brothel auction for her virginity so she can get enough money to run away with her sisters. And of course, Hunter finds her. Lots of action and adventure and shoot outs here with Emmaline and Hunter falling in love despite their impossible circumstances.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

The Earl’s Gamble by Stevie Sparks (2025)

Historical romance. Interwar-era England. Book 1 of the Lovers’ Arch series. Quick and steamy novella. Widowed Rose is at the workhouse after falling into some tough circumstances after the death of her husband and her brother. While at the garden to honor what would be her brother’s birthday, she meets Griff, who served in the war with her brother and also there to pay tribute to the fallen man. And it turns out he’s an earl with plenty of money and power to help Rose get back on her feet. So he brings her home and almost certainly falls in love with her, despite the differences in their social station. We get a scheming butler thrown in the mix for some drama, but it’s still a quick read.

Advance ebook provided by Stevie Sparks.