Weekly Reads: November 21 to 27, 2022

It was Thanksgiving week here in the United States, so that means two extra days off for sitting around in my sweatpants and reading. I finished reading two ARCs that will be published soon, plus a whole bunch of other romance books.

Harry Potter Fanfic: Ruby. by wednesdaynott

Draco/Hermione romance, short fic. Draco and Hermione have been dating for awhile and he asks to visit her place instead of them always going to his. He finds out that Hermione has a secret daughter, shared with Harry, that they are co-parenting.

Read this fic on Archive of Our Own

The Reluctant Countess by Eloisa James (2022)

Historical romance, Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Would-Be Wallflowers series. Lady Yasmin has a scandalous reputation, with her mother playing mistress to Napoleon and herself being tricked into thinking she eloped and married when she was sixteen. Now in England with her duke of a grandfather, she causes gossip wherever she goes with her frivolous and flirtatious ways. Giles is the stuffiest most serious earl you’ve ever met, trying to avoid any and all scandal after the death of his father and the outrageous behavior of his mother. He’s openly disdainful of Yasmin, even though he desires her and watches her every move. These two bicker and banter and fight and know that they would be a poor match for each other, but Giles does ultimately propose marriage to her. Meanwhile, Giles’ younger sister is the brattiest brat to ever brat and makes a spectacle of herself and says mean-spirited things about Yasmin (and others) making her the villain of the story. Even though Giles tries to overcome Yasmin’s scandalous reputation, he is still quite overbearing and jealous throughout the book and is an overall unlikeable guy for the most part. And of course, Yasmin’s hardened stance on her own reputation is just a hard shell protecting a fragile and vulnerable girl inside.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Advance print book provided by Avon Books.

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How to Win a Wallflower by Samara Parish (2022)

Historical romance, Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Rebels with a Cause series. We have our duke’s sister Charlotte, who’s the younger sister of the hero from Book 2 and she’s in her like 4th Season and uninterested in any suitors. She mostly spends her time helping her brother’s political causes and charitable causes. Charlotte is the ultimate do-gooder social butterfly and clearly not the wallflower in this story. That goes to our guy John who is Charlotte’s brother’s friend who has spent the past ten years away from the London scene, working on his various scientific inventions. He’s back in town though because his older brother died, leaving him as the new viscount and in a whole a lot of debt. John needs to figure out a way to pay off all these debts, so he can go back to his very solitary lifestyle in a cabin in the woods. Charlotte’s had a crush on John for years and years, so she decides to help him with his debt problem. They need to work together and they get closer, even though our dear brother duke has already warned each person away from the other. We’ll see how that actually turns out…

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

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When She Was Wicked by Anne Barton (2013)

Historical romance, Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Honeycotes series. Annabelle Honeycote is an impoverished seamstress with a deathly ill mother and younger sister to support. While working at the dress shop, she overhears various gossip and uses the information to extort money. One of her victims, Owen Sherbourne, a handsome duke, catches her at the drop point and threatens to expose her, but he feels bad for her instead, and brings her home as an indentured servant to make dresses for his sisters. There’s a bunch of miscommunication and secrecy between this couple, mixed with a healthy dose of social class difference, but the insta-lust is such fun to read and this book is a great set up to the Honeycote/Sherbourne family series to come. And when I started the book, I thought I was reading a new-to-me author, until I went back to the Instagram post from corsetreads recommending the series to me, and realized that Anna Bennett (who I have read and adored before) was the author using a different pen name. No wonder I loved this book!

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

To All the Rakes I’ve Loved Before by Anne Barton (2013)

Historical romance, Regency-era England. Book 1.5 of the Honeycotes series. Novella connected to the Honeycotes, but can be read as standalone. Amelia is the daughter of a tradesperson who hides away at home after a huge embarrassment years ago at a ball. The man she was courting had eloped with someone else, and now is at her home, bringing in tow his injured friend. The friend, Stephen, had shown Amelia kindness in those trying days and now needs some nursing back to health. As a novella, this one was a pretty quick read with a very quick falling in love, but it was fun to read. I adore a cute sickbed romance.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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Once She Was Tempted by Anne Barton (2013)

Historical romance, Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Honeycotes series. This one makes a bit more sense after having read Book 1, but still fine as a standalone. Daphne, the younger sister of Annabelle from Book 1, is enjoying her first Season and the attentions of a kind viscount. However, that viscount’s mentor, Ben (a curmudgeonly earl who was injured at war) disapproves of the connection and wants to warn her off. He has a scandalous portrait of her in his possession and questions her morals. Daphne is shocked and worried for her reputation and seeks to find that portrait’s partner. When she was younger and desperate for funds, she had posed for these scandalous portraits and split the money with her artist friend. Now that she’s moving in fancier circles, she stands to be ruined if people find out. As Ben helps in her mission to locate the other painting, he revisits his opinion of her. And the kind and beautiful Daphne sees beyond the grumpy exterior Ben shows to the world.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Woo’d in Haste by Sabrina Darby (2014)

Historical romance, Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Taming series. Novella-length, Taming of the Shrew retelling. Newly back in England from his grand tour, Luc sees a beautiful lady in the village and asks his friend for help. The lovely Bianca is a younger sister and forbidden to court or marry until her older sister Kate does. Luc is set up as a tutor to Bianca’s younger brother and they grow closer throughout his stay. When Kate returns for a house party, Luc and his friend enlist someone to help distract and possibly court Kate so that Bianca has more freedom. Loved this quick read!

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Wed at Leisure by Sabrina Darby (2014)

Historical romance, Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Taming series. Novella-length, Taming of the Shrew retelling. Companion to Woo’d in Haste. Kate has her reasons for being a shrew, but she can’t seem to break free of bad habits and ends up acting like a spoiled brat around her family and in her hometown. Peter, her neighbor, has always been antagonistic towards her, but is suddenly paying her lots of attention. He was tasked by his younger brother to spend time with Kate so that her sister is free to enjoy the attentions of a gentleman. However, Kate and Peter are attracted to each other and could potentially be suited for marriage. It was interesting to see Kate’s perspective here since she was painted as a villain in the previous book. Really enjoyed seeing the back story of Kate and Peter too.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Bridgerton Fanfic: If They Hadn’t Gone to Sleep by MyNorthStar

Anthony/Kate one-shot. If these two had talked during/after their tryst in the gazebo in episode 2.07, they would have worked out their issues during a conversation.

Read this fic on Archive of Our Own

Bridgerton Fanfic: The Morning After by no_net_ensnares_me

Anthony/Kate one-shot. If Anthony had caught Kate at Lady Danbury’s house before she went riding at the end of episode 2.07.

Read this fic on Archive of Our Own

Scandalous Summer Nights by Anne Barton (2014)

Historical romance, Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Honeycotes series. Duke’s sister Olivia has been pining for her brother’s solicitor friend for the past decade. When she learns that he is planning to leave for a two-year expedition to Egypt, she finally declares her feelings for him and sets out to convince him of her affections. However, her impulsive nature and lack of caution land them in a series of disastrous events. While this book had its humorous moments, Olivia’s chaotic energy was awkward for me to read. Also, whenever James seemed to have something serious to talk about, they kept getting interrupted (either by external circumstances or Olivia’s distractions). It was still an enjoyable read and added more drama to the Honeycotes series, but not my fave of the series.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

One Wild Winter’s Eve by Anne Barton (2014)

Historical romance, Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Honeycotes series. Lady Rose and Charles, the estate’s stable master, have had a connection since Book 1 of the series. We start with a sweet prologue between the two, and then jump several years later. Rose is accompanying an older lady to visit another woman’s estate. While Rose claims to want to avoid the social bustle of the city, she really wants to find out information about her wayward and scandalous mother, hoping that the person they’re visiting will have more information. While there, she finds that the estate’s steward is Charles, her long ago love. They reconnect and catch up on each other’s lives a bit and begin a romance. However, the lady of the estate has designs on the young and handsome Charles as well and doesn’t take his rejection well. There’s a whole load of drama with an accusation of larceny, imprisonment, plus what we find out about Rose’s mother. This one was a lot of fun and I liked seeing Rose and Charles helping each other and acting as partners.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

All She Wants for Christmas by Amy Rose Bennett (2016)

Historical romance, Regency-era England. Novella-length. Bluestocking artist Tessa escapes a ball by going to her art studio. While there, she accidentally witnesses an assignation between a rake and a widow. She’s caught by the rake, Jasper, and he kisses her before she can leave. Their kiss is witnessed and they’re forced to marry. Quick and easy read with our rake finding his intended wife very attractive and not being displeased about the circumstances.

Ebook purchased via Amazon.