Super heavy reading week as I’ve started to integrate audiobooks into my routine. With my commute to work and the ten minute walk to pick up my kid from school, I realized that I could make some serious progress on the books I’m reading by using audiobooks. I like to pick up an audiobook where I’ve left off on the ebook to get ahead on the next chapter or so while I’m in situations where audiobooks make sense. That way, I still get to enjoy bits of the story and then I get to jump ahead the next time I’m free to pick up the ebook. With all my different reading apps, I just use bookmarks liberally and try to break off at chapter breaks to remember where I am.
Once Upon a Wedding Night by Sophie Jordan (2006)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Derrings series. Meredith is a widow to an earl and she’s worried that the new earl is coming to take over the estate and kick her and her aunt and father out. She and her aunt come up with a plan to make it seem like she is pregnant with the next air so that she can stay on the estate. Nick is the younger half brother of the previous earl who has been found out his gambling hell and told that he is the new earl. Nick wants nothing to do with being a titled gentleman and wants to pass it on to someone else. He’s somewhat relieved to find that he might not be the next earl after all if Meredith delivers a son. Meredith and Nick are terribly attracted to each other, but he goes back to London to avoid her; when he learns that she has deceived him, he is brutally vindictive and insists that she marry someone else to become someone else’s responsibility. Except that he gets jealous and desires her for himself. Both characters are extremely stubborn and do not want to fall in love at all and both have seen pitfalls of falling in love.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
Too Wicked to Tame by Sophie Jordan (2007)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Derrings series. After five unsuccessful seasons, Portia is sent off to the country to make a match with Heath, a bachelor earl. That earl has no interest in marriage whatsoever because he believes that madness runs in his family and he will not subject the next generation to that sort of madness. Even though Portia is not interested in marriage, he thinks that she is trying to trap him and he tries very hard to resist her until one day he can’t. I’m not sure if this counts as enemies to lovers or not, but there’s definitely animosity and him being stubborn and not believing her when she says that she’s not interested in marriage. I did enjoy reading about Heath’s conniving grandmother and seeing her throw these two together as often as possible.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
Polishing the Duke by Alexa Aston (2023)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Suddenly a Duke series. An old duke reveals a deathbed secret that his first love and their child is not actually a bastard and is indeed the next duke and hires the Lady Nalyssa to polish him up for Society after the solicitor informs him of his change in circumstance. Nalyssa has been ruined by her father’s debts and subsequent suicide and has made a business of cleaning up long lost relatives to titles and making them proper gentlemen. She meets Pierce and his mother and sister when he becomes the new duke. While he has held a grudge against his father for many years, he quickly learns that many people will rely on him now that he has the title. Add in a younger half-brother who thought that he was the heir and is suddenly not. Though Nalyssa has no hopes of marrying, she and Pierce are instantly attracted to each other. I liked how well she got along with Pierce’s family and the way that she explains how seemingly frivolous spending leads to employment and income for others. I also enjoyed Pierce’s ability to be both stubborn and logical when faced with his new challenges. Quick and enjoyable read!
Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.
How to Train Your Baron by Diana Lloyd (2018)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the What Happens in the Ballroom series. A duke’s troublesome youngest daughter Elsinore gets caught in a compromising situation at a ball with Quin, a baron from Scotland. They’re quickly betrothed to marry, but Elsinore is terribly accident prone and causes calamity everywhere she goes and Quin is keeping secrets about the deaths of his parents, his wife, and his child. He’s torn between wanting Elsinore, being irritated with her, and wanting to keep her away from him for her own protection. Elsinore is also at a loss for how to keep Quin in her life and resorts to using a dog training manual for advice. It’s chaos in a book with some awkward mishap after another, and we ultimately find the culprit of all the treachery in Quin’s life. Definitely an entertaining read.
Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.
Dancing with the Duke by Suzanna Medeiros (2012)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Prequel novella of the Landing a Lord series. Alex has promised his sister and mother that he would dance with his sister’s friend Charlotte at her first ball. When he sees her for the first time in many years, he finds a beautiful woman in place of the awkward gangly teen who had a crush on him before. He’s surprised that he’s so attracted to her and tries to avoid her after that ball, but as he keeps crossing paths with her, he cannot seem to resist. It’s a quick low-angst story here to introduce his friends, who have longer stories.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
Loving the Marquess by Suzanna Medeiros (2013)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Landing a Lord series. Nicholas was the second son of a marquess and now is the marquess after his father and brother both succumbed to an unexplained illness. Nicholas is now showing the same signs of that illness and worries for his health and the possibility of passing on the disease to a future generation. When he stumbles upon Louisa’s cottage, he is nursed back to health after passing out, but he knows that his uncle has wronged her family and feels terrible about it. When his grandmother pressures him to marry, he considers asking Louisa to be his bride. In fortuitous timing for him, Louisa shows up to ask for Nicholas’ assistance after his cousin is forcing her to pay rent that she cannot afford or pay with alternative means. Nicholas proposes a marriage of convenience and offers protection for Louisa and her two younger siblings. However, he is planning for her pregnancy to be sired by someone other than him so that his illness isn’t passed on. Of course, when Louisa finds out about his plan, she’s rightfully upset and these two need to figure out how to be honest about their feelings towards each other. Bonus, we do ultimately solve the mystery of Nicholas’ illness to a happy ending for all.
Ebook purchased via Amazon.
Beguiling the Earl by Suzanna Medeiros (2014)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Landing a Lord series. We pick up a few months after the end of the previous book, with Louisa’s younger sister Catherine being out in Society. She’s had a crush on her brother-in-law’s friend Kerrick ever since they met last Fall and now she has a chance to see him at ball and events. Kerrick is trying to resist his attraction for Catherine due to their age differences and because she’s his friend’s sister-in-law, but that resistance doesn’t last long. He decides he will court her in earnest, but his work as a spy forces him to pay court to another woman to investigate her father. The romance between Catherine and Kerrick is pretty straightforward, with both understanding the need for pretense due to his work. There’s a little bit of uncertainty on both sides since Kerrick is a charming fellow and Catherine has many other gentlemen paying attention to her, but you can see that they’re both serious about each other. It was fun to see the mystery unraveling and the set up for the next book in the series.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
A Highlander’s Heart by Jennifer Haymore (2015)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Prequel novella of the Highland Knights series. This book is the older version; a new version has been edited and repackaged as To Love a Scot. Estranged married couple Claire and Rob are reunited amidst the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo. They hadn’t seen each other in a year or so after a family tragedy that caused harsh words between them. Both were stubborn and unable to see the other person’s true feelings underneath the bluster. This was a nice set up for how the soldiers transition to a different set of duties on English soil. It’ll be interesting to see how the story is adapted in its new version.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
One Night With You by Sophie Jordan (2007)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Derrings series. Oppressed widow Jane accidentally sees her childhood friend Seth at a scandalous masked party that her friends dragged her to attend. Seth had previously been in love with Jane’s sister and was humiliated by her family before going away to war; upon his return to the country, he finds that his father and older brother had died, leaving him the earl and responsible for his blind younger sister. Although Seth is interested in a tryst with the masked lady he met one night, he is looking for a respectable wife that can cause no heartbreak to help protect his sister. When meeting Jane again in the daylight, he’s attracted to her but refuses to become entangled with her. It was interesting to see how Jane steps away from her terrible circumstances through the support of her friends. I also liked reading more about Seth’s sister and her secondary romance within the book, even though Seth was a stubborn idiot for most of the book.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
Like None Other by Caroline Linden (2011)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone short story. Sweet little story about a widow and a retired naval captain who has struck up a friendship over the garden wall that separates their townhouses. He wants to court her, but doesn’t really know how, and she is afraid of looking too much into his friendliness. Super quick bit of fluff, perfect for reading in between more dramatic books.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
Shop this book via Amazon
Surrender to Me by Sophie Jordan (2008)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Derrings series. Lady Astrid’s fugitive of a husband left his family years ago but has been spotted in Scotland under an assumed name and ready to marry an heiress. Astrid feels responsible somehow and hies off to Scotland to confront the man. Along the way, she meets Griffin, who rescues her from highwaymen. For the most part, Astrid is trying to cling to propriety and avoid any physical or emotional entanglement with Griffin. She’s got a tragic backstory of a mother who left her family for an unsuitable man and a father who was rigid and forced her to be proper and unfeeling. Astrid believes that following any emotions will lead to ruin and scandal, so she always does what she is supposed to. Meanwhile Griffin is dealing with his own issues, but his need to protect Astrid becomes his priority. This story has Griffin being the one to pursue a physical relationship with Astrid, despite her protests and comes across as lacking in full consent, reading it now in 2023. It was still an interesting story, especially as we find out more about Griffin’s family and the shady dealings of Astrid’s husband.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
Scandalizing the Scoundrel by Charlie Lane (2023)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 9 of the Wicked Widows League series and related to the Cavendish Family series. Freddy is a quiet unassuming widowed viscountess with two young daughters. When she decides that she would like to become a bit more wicked, she decides on having a tryst with the ever-so-handsome horseman, Grant, from her cousin’s circus. Grant has been secretly pining for Freddy for awhile now and has been resisting her since he knows he could easily fall in love. He’s worried about getting too attached since his performing could be dangerous and decrease his lifespan. Meanwhile Freddy has no interest in emotional entanglements or marriage since she does not want her children to suffer through the loss of another father. Both are clear that they don’t want anything more from each other, but it’s obvious that they care for each other a great deal, and their problems could easily be solved by Grant giving him his stuntwork (or at least cutting back). This was a fun addition to the Cavendish stories and it’s always nice to see a seemingly demure lady find joy.
Advance ebook provided by Charlie Lane.
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