Weekly Reads: February 13 to 19, 2023

The Wedding Trap by Tracy Anne Warren (2006)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Trap Trilogy series.

Shy and bookish Eliza is about to enter her fourth Season with newfound wealth from her aunt’s inheritance. Her longtime crush Kit, the younger brother of a duke, is recruited to help build her confidence in order to secure a suitable match. Of course, once she’s gotten new hair and clothes, Kit notices how attractive she is and is baffled by his reactions to her. This book was about as predictable as you would expect, but still fun to see Eliza build her confidence (and her backbone) with her successful relaunch into society. Watch out for villainous spiteful cousins and unexpected jealousy (except Kit doesn’t realize it’s jealousy). And we get to interact with the couples from the previous two books of the series.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Bridgerton Fanfic: Some Good Can Come of This by Searching4paradiso

Anthony/Kate, Multi-Chapter, 19k words. Starts at the end of Episode 2.05 where Anthony turns back and sees Kate crying and he refuses to marry Edwina. Despite declaring their feelings for each other, they’ve both walked away from each other. Mostly angst, but still interesting to read.

Read this fic on Archive of Our Own

Bridgerton Fanfic: still worship this love (even if it’s a false god) by luvdarkstars

Anthony/Penelope, Multi-Chapter, 6k words. Quick read with Anthony and Penelope having a tryst a few days before the opening ball of the Season, and Penelope now fully understands the concept of being ruined.

Read this fic on Archive of Our Own

Stealing Midnight by Tracy MacNish (2009)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Beneath the Veil series. I picked this book up because it was the next Fated Mates Podcast deep dive and I was entertained despite its dark beginnings. Olwyn is the daughter of a madman who cuts up corpses to study the meaning of life and death. One day, one of those corpses is not quite dead, and she decides to save him from further harm by threatening her father and running away. When the man wakes up, he thinks that he’s magically entered a different time period because of his rustic surroundings and Olwyn’s dress. Turns out that’s not the case, and Aidan has many responsibilities to get back to, including a fiancee. We get to see a mix of perspectives here, with Aidan’s fiancee and twin brother discovering his death, his grave robbery, and Olwyn’s father’s home. When everyone is reunited and the story of Aidan’s survival unfolding, we get more drama with the severe social class difference between Aidan (a duke’s son) and Olwyn (an isolated villager). Add in a scheming fiancee and a long history of family secrets, there’s a lot to keep the pages turning.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.

The Portrait of a Duchess by Scarlett Peckham (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Society of Sirens series. Cornelia is the niece of a duke but has built her reputation as a scandalous painter. She and her friends are trying to raise funds to build an institute for women and she needs a place to exhibit her latest collection of paintings. One seemingly random day, her uncle’s heir, Rafe, and now the duke comes to visit to inform her of her inheritance, which hinges on her being married. The surprise is that she’s already married to Rafe himself, and he suggests they go public with the marriage so she can claim her inheritance. What follows is a non-chronological story of how these two ended up married twenty years ago and then estranged in all the time since then. I mostly kept reading because I wanted to find out what happened, but the story itself wasn’t terribly interesting to me. Rafe is a smooshy sort of fellow who falls in love too freely and scares off all his partners with his enthusiasm and Cornelia is adamant about her independence and does not want the complication (or obligation) of love. He’s an overzealous puppy for most of the book and she’s the reluctant and selfish one, protecting her own isolation. And then there’s the political stuff happening in the background that wasn’t super interesting to me. On the plus side, Rafe is unapologetically bisexual here and one of his male lovers joins in for an encounter with Cornelia. So you know, if you like that stuff, here it is in a traditionally published historical romance.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

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Beguiling the Duke by Darcy Burke (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Lords in Love series. A duke’s carriage loses a wheel in a small village and he takes shelter in the small village of Marrywell. The village is completely pre-occupied with its annual matchmaking festival, so there’s no room at the inn and no workers to help fix the duke’s carriage. The local squire provides shelter for the week the the duke grows closer to the squire’s daughter. Sadie has been maintaining her father’s home and taking care of her four brothers for years and hopes that this year’s festival will prove fruitful for her marriage prospects. And this time, with the duke at her side, she’s actually getting the attention she deserves. But of course, Sadie and the duke are finding themselves drawn to each other instead. Relatively low on the angst and heartache scale here and a delightful read.

Advance ebook provided by Darcy Burke via NetGalley.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org

A Kiss in the Moonlight by Cathy Maxwell (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Gambler’s Daughters series. Three sisters in Ireland are at the mercy of their cousin who wants to marry them off to the most convenient person. Middle sister Dara has a plan though; send the oldest, Gwendolyn, to gamble and win enough money for the three of them (plus their great aunt) to go to London and find titled husbands. Sounds easy enough. Through a couple of chapters told from Gwendolyn and an investigator named Steele’s points of view, we see how the money is won, and the women are on their way. Dara wants the best for her sisters, so sometimes she comes across as managing and stringent, much to her younger sister Elise’s dismay. She tries to warn off Elise’s suitor, Michael since he’s not titled, and she’s agonizingly attracted to him herself. Dara feels less beautiful than her sisters and knows that she doesn’t really have a chance with him. She’s focused on making sure her sisters have good matches and they can escape their terrible cousin. Meanwhile Michael is investigating an embezzlement scheme, but the plot there is only shallowly discussed. At some point, Dara finds herself in a compromising situation and Michael is the one to rescue her, which causes a rift between Dara and Elise. The romance between these two didn’t feel developed enough for them to have fallen in love so quickly, especially after all the bickering and arguing they did from the start. I am curious to see how the stories for the other sisters works out though.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

To Tempt A Scotsman by Victoria Dahl (2010)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Somerhart series. Lady Alexandra has been thoroughly ruined and is hiding away at her duke brother’s estate. She was the cause of a duel of honor that left Collin Blackburn’s brother dead and her lover fleeing the country. Collin has come to seek information on her wayward lover to exact revenge for his brother’s death. Of course, when Collin actually meets Alex, he’s stunned to find that she is not exactly as she was rumored to be. There’s a push and pull of attraction between them and multiple somewhat clandestine meetings. We eventually see Collin go from an upstanding and honorable fellow to an insanely jealous beast of a man. (Seemed like a quick turn of personality there) Oh, and Alex’s past lover is trying to swindle her out of money.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.