Weekly Reads: January 23 to 29, 2023

A mix of old and new this week, with one of Elizabeth Hoyt’s first series, a new release on Kindle Unlimited, and a few advance copies of books coming out in February.

The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt (2006)

Historical romance. Georgian Era England. Book 1 of the Princes Trilogy. Impoverished widow from the village Anna takes a job as the local grumpy earl’s secretary. Edward, the current earl, survived but is scarred from a smallpox outbreak that killed his whole family. The first half of the book moves pretty slowly, with our two people getting to know each other and conversing about the land that Edward manages. As their attraction for each other grows, Edward seeks refuge at a brothel in the city to work out his lust. Anna somehow schemes to hide her identity and have him bed her instead of a courtesan. With their differences in social class and Edward’s desire to have children, a marriage is impossible between these two. Every so often, we’ll see the point of view of other characters in the story: the estate steward, the squire’s wife, and a hired busybody. It adds some interesting perspectives to the overall plot and we can read about potential pitfalls and schemes from outsiders. With Anna’s big secret looming overhead, we’re just waiting for the fallout and angst that will come with it.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt (2007)

Historical romance. Georgian Era England. Book 2 of the Princes Trilogy. Loosely tied to the previous book because Harry is one of Edward’s friends that we see briefly mentioned. We start right away with a carriage accident and Lady Georgina and her land steward Harry are stranded in a rainy downpour on their way to her estate. Georgina is a spinster sister to an earl and owns her estate outright from an inheritance from her aunt. Georgina and Harry don’t know each other well and he’s only worked for her estate for a few months, but on this trip, the attraction between the two begins. As they arrive at her estate, they find that the neighboring lands have found poisoned sheet and they believe that Harry is the cause. He’s got a reason to hold a grudge against the neighboring nobleman, so he’s the prime suspect for foul play. Georgina doesn’t believe that Harry is responsible and helps him investigate. At some point of growing closer, they start an affair, but the social class difference and employer-employee relationship causes tension and angst there. Here’s another book with a few alternate points of view from Georgina’s sister and the dastardly neighbor nobleman.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Managing Miss Watson by Cassandra Moran (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian Era England. Miss Elinor Watson likes to plan and be in control of everything around her. We start at a card party that she’s throwing and all is not going to plan when one of the gentlemen is late to arrive; she also witnesses her best friend kissing the vicar. She’s mostly upset because she thought that she and her friend would stay unmarried forever and live in a cottage with their cats and dogs. Elinor is very vocal about not wanting to marry and has her own issues with witnessing her mother’s unhappiness. Her older brother doesn’t want to force her to marry, but is encouraging her to keep an open mind. Somewhere along the way, she gets closer to Andrew, Lord Montgomery, and helps him write his father’s eulogy when the old earl passes away. Andrew is pretty clear in his attraction towards Elinor, but she refuses him and reiterates her position on marriage. The book takes place over the course of about a year and a half, so it’s a slow progression of Elinor and Andrew’s relationship, with lots going on geographical distance at times and other suitors. However, when they finally do get it together, it’s a sigh of relief for everyone around them who had to witness them.

One criticism I have here is that Andrew’s title didn’t change after his father’s death. He started the book as Lord Montgomery, the son of an earl (and maybe holding a courtesy title of viscount?) and ended the book as Lord Montgomery, but he should have taken his father’s title as the Earl of whatever-it-was. It’s a pretty minor issue, but as someone who’s read as much historical romance set in England as I have, it stood out. Usually in other books, the change in title is a Big Deal and holds a lot of emotional and societal weight. If you’re a casual reader though, it doesn’t take away from the story.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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Curled Up with an Earl by Amy Rose Bennett (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian era England. Book 2 of the Byronic Book Club series. Will is an earl and a duke’s heir, but is estranged from his grandfather, serving as a spy for Scotland Yard. He’s investigating a botanical expert on poisonous plants to determine if the man is responsible for the murder of another nobleman; he poses as the new groom to the estate to do so. However, he’s instantly smitten by the Lucy, the daughter of the botanical baron, who serves as a botanical expert in her own right. Lucy is pre-occupied with her own bluestocking studies and desire to travel while also looking after her father’s financially floundering estate and trying to locate her brother. I enjoyed watching Lucy and Will interact with each other, both nervous and smitten, and I also enjoyed seeing them team up with open honesty about the midpoint of the book. The romance plot was pretty low-ansgt without a third-act breakup between our two, but we do get to find out why Lucy’s brother was driven away and the culprit of the poisoning plant murder.

Advance ebook provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley.

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Portrait of the Duke by Alexa Aston (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Suddenly a Duke series. We start with an adorable prologue with an outspoken teenager warning away one of her spoiled sister’s suitors and letting him know that he isn’t a real contender being merely a viscount. Despite the age-gap and both of their youths, there’s a spark of chemistry between them. Ten years later, Lady Margaret is finally ready to make her debut after caring for her ill-mother, mourning her death, and mourning her father’s death. However, Margaret has no intention to marry, but to build a business painting portraits. Our young viscount, Daniel, is now a duke looking to marry this Season. He’d sought out Margaret in previous years, but she was nowhere to be found. As he sees her in the present, there’s an existing connection between their grandmothers who had been friends in their youth. Daniel’s grandmother is the best wingwoman around, making sure to keep Margaret close by, and supporting her art. This was a relatively low-angst book with an instant attraction between our main characters. There’s the petty spoiled sister in the background, but she doesn’t interfere too badly. Great book if you’re looking for an easy read and a good time.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.

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The Counterfeit Scoundrel by Lorraine Heath (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Chessmen series. We have another servant-in-disguise story here, with Daisy/Marguerite posing as a maid in Bishop’s house to catch her client’s wife having an affair. Of course, with Daisy’s skills of observation, something doesn’t seem quite right. Although Bishop certainly seems to entertain a revolving door of married ladies, we find that he falsifies affairs to help the women secure a divorce. While Daisy and Bishop seem to have opposing purposes at first, they uncover each other’s motives and truths by about the midpoint of the book. After that, we see Bishop being suspected of murdering one of the husbands and him hiring Daisy as an investigator on his behalf. The plot twists on the mystery part were a lot of fun to read. The romance part was fairly predictable but in an enjoyable way. Overall, I really liked this book and continue to enjoy Lorraine Heath’s writing.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt (2007)

Historical romance. Georgian Era England. Book 3 of the Princes Trilogy. Ship captain’s daughter Lucy finds an unconscious, injured, naked man on her walk home from the village. She takes him home to recover and finds that Simon is a viscount who has been attacked. Simon comes across as a fanciful and good-natured fellow, but he’s committed to seeking revenge on the men who murdered his brother. This book has two distinct halves: the first in the sleepy village where Lucy lives with Simon’s recovery and flirtation; and the second when the plot moves to London and we’re more focused on Simon’s revenge and backstory. While Lucy and Simon are very much attracted to each other and need each other; they both have to deal with Simon’s needs for vengeance and the unraveling of his motivations. I liked reading about all the drama and intrigue and all those gory duels. And of course, Simon’s friends (the main male characters from the first two books) make their appearances briefly too.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.