Weekly Reads: August 21 to 27, 2023

Bed Me, Baron by Felicity Niven (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Bed Me Books series. Lady Phoebe asks her best friend George for bedding lesson since she’s newly engaged to a duke and wants to know what she’s doing in the marital bed. George has been her friend since childhood and has never noticed Phoebe in that way before, but now realizes that he’s attracted to her. The steam starts early and often in this book, but the idiotic pining that George has for Phoebe is apparent throughout the book. And all of these hints from everyone in his life that they thought he would have married Phoebe years ago grates at him. While Phoebe is trying to be content with her new fiance, she continues to seek George’s tutelage and approval every step of the way. It’s heartbreak all around as these two learn to connect with each other as adults instead of the roles they’ve played all their lives. While I was annoyed with the scheming of Phoebe’s friend and George’s sister, I was glad to see Phoebe finally stand up for herself and decide that she needed some time alone to think through her options. This book was emotional and angsty in all the best ways.

Advance ebook provided by Felicity Niven.

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You, with a View by Jessica Joyce (2023)

Contemporary romance. Noelle is in a rough spot right now, living in her childhood bedroom without a job and grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother. When she comes upon some old photos and love letter of her gram with a stranger, she seeks to unravel the mystery of the missing man. One viral TikTok post later, she finds that the man is her high-school rival’s grandfather. Theo has been Noelle’s academic and athletic foil all throughout high school and is the picture of success, while Noelle has not accomplished what she wanted. When she meets with Theo and his grandfather, she uncovers a decades-old love story, including a mapped out honeymoon road trip. With nothing else to do, Noelle decides to embark on the trip herself to feel closer to her lost grandmother. And of course, the two men invite themselves along on the trip too. We get to see smooshy family dynamics, hear about a love story that didn’t work out, plus see Theo and Noelle slowly let down their walls with each other. The emotional connection (and steam) was so good to read in this book. Definitely recommend!

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Earl on the Run by Jane Ashford (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Duke’s Estates series. Jack is a newly inherited earl brought in from America who has quickly run away from his great-grandmother’s critical management. He soon joins a group of Travelers and ends up setting up camp on the grounds of his own estate. Harriet is in the country with her mother and grandfather now that the Season has ended and lives in the neighboring estate. On a walk through the woods, she meets Jack and they quickly strike up a friendship. Her grandfather is cruel and also quite controlling, so having a friendship with Jack is the highlight of her current existence. However, he hasn’t been truthful about his identity and she believes him to be a rogue. The romance here is sweet and light, until it all comes crashing down when Jack’s identity is revealed and Harriet feels betrayed. Luckily, our duchess friend next door is there to assist.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Duke and the Dressmaker by Eva Devon (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Once Upon a Wallflower series. Newly inherited duke James attempts to rescue a young woman at a tavern and finds out that she’s the sister of his missing ward. Lily and Violet are granddaughters of the old duke but not part of society due to their mother’s scandalous marriage to a French painter. Now orphaned and impoverished, Lily works as a dressmaker’s seamstress while caring for her young sister. James insists that they both move into the ducal townhouse and after a bit of a disagreement, they do. However, James and Lily are starting to stir up a scandal with all the time they spend together unchaperoned, as much as they try to keep things proper. They do ultimately get married, since Lily is so good at managing James’ household, but conflict looms ahead as James plans to leave England without having mentioned his plans to Lily. I liked how well Lily and James worked together and started to soften towards each other, even though both have been disappointed by their own parents in the past.

Advance ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.

Scoundrel for Sale by Courtney McCaskill (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 8 of the Wicked Widows’ League series. Our tragic prologue here has a man dying after being shot in battle asking his best friend to make sure his younger sister marries another man, oh, and by the way, don’t ever touch her yourself. Ouch. Gabe fulfills all of his friend’s deathbed wishes and returns to life in the army. Six years later, Gabe has returned to England as an impoverished viscount who is auctioning himself off to the highest bidder to keep some creditors at bay until he can marry a wealthy heiress. He finds that the winner of his attentions for the night is Abbie, the best friend’s younger sister that he isn’t allowed to touch. It turns out that she had a dreadfully dull marriage to man she didn’t love and wants to experience a night of passion with Gabe, before dealing with even more problems as a lonely widow. This book is short and steamy and I loved seeing Abbie going after what she wants. We also get the side story of how Abbie came to be in such despair and how that drama gets resolved.

Advance ebook provided by Courtney McCaskill.

Not Another Duke by Jess Michaels (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Kent’s Row Duchesses series. Widowed duchess Flora has horribly cruel stepchildren who recruit their own impoverished cousin Roarke to spy on Flora and determine if she’s breaking the terms of an additional clause of her late husband’s inheritance. Roarke barely has any funds to support himself and his ill mother, so needs to rely on the charity of his cousins. When he meets Flora, he finds that she is attractive and kind and not at all the seductress that his cousins described. Flora had genuinely loved her much older husband and had no intention of entertaining future suitors. However, when she meets Roarke, she’s surprised to find that she is attracted to him. These two start up a friendship which may lead to more, but Roarke’s feelings of guilt are attached to everything he does. It seems like the reveal of Roarke’s betrayal may cause the couple to split before they’ve even begun, and they still need to deal with the dangers of Flora’s stepchildren. I liked how Roarke was a reluctant villain here, being torn between his obligations towards his mother and his growing feelings for Flora.

Advance ebook provided by Jess Michaels via NetGalley.

Blame It on the Earl by Jane Ashford (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Duke’s Estates series. Total strangers, Sarah and Kenver get trapped in a cave overnight and he quickly proposes to save her reputation. While Sarah is the ultimate bookish gentleman’s daughter, she has often been overlooked by men and is usually mocked for her reference to obscure facts. Kenver is the quiet and obedient son of an overbearing earl and countess and doesn’t anticipate all the trouble his parents cause when he brings his new bride home. It’s definitely awkward around the estate where the countess is doing everything she can to keep the newlyweds apart. But eventually, we get some positive intervention in the form of houseguests and Kenver finally learns to grow a spine.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck (2023)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. This one has all the When Harry Met Sally vibes with Ari and Josh having horribly awkward run-ins with each other over the years, then becoming friends, and then making things messy with all their feelings. There’s so many time-jumps in this book that it’s labeled with nine different parts, but it’s very clear where we are in everyone’s lives. If this turns into a movie, you’ll be able to tell what era you’re in based on Ari’s hairstyle and clothing. Ari is a stand-up comedian with all sorts of aversion to commitment and thinks Josh is an arrogant asshole (who is weirdly romantic and believes in soulmates). He’s actually a chef with big dreams and wanting to distance himself away from his famous deli-owning father. We get to see the evolution of both Ari and Josh separately in both their relationships and their careers. When they finally meet again and strike up a reluctant friendship, they’re both at all-time lows and miserable company is somehow comforting for them. They keep things totally platonic, but it’s clear they have some emotional dependence on each other, complete with late night telephone conversations while watching a movie together (separately in their own apartments). It all blows up when Josh pushes for more and Ari freaks out (as expected). We get to see both points of view in this story and the humor mixed with heartbreak hurts in a good way. I love how small little details early in the story get remembered and called back to later on, in the best sort of inside jokes between Ari and Josh. The supporting cast of friends and family rounded out the story and it was nice to see how everyone interacted with each other. An amazing book and I will definitely be reading anything in the future that Kate Goldbeck writes.

Advance ebook provided by Random House Publishing via NetGalley.

The Duchess and the Wolf by Lydia Drake (2023)

Historical Romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Debutantes of London series. Susannah is nearly engaged to a duke, but is having misgivings about it and would rather travel and see the world. While out with a friend at a gambling den, she happens to play the piano is a seemingly empty room. Rafe, the owner of the club, stumbles upon her there and is encouraged to hire her to bring more sophisticated patrons to the club so that he can secure a business deal. He offers her a large sum of money in exchange for her playing at the club. While Susannah declines at first, she soon realizes that the money would give her the opportunity to run away from her imminent engagement. Rafe and Susannah attempt to keep their relationship professional, but Rafe is an awe of her playing and Susannah sees glimpses of Rafe’s kindness towards his employees. It’s a total social mismatch here, but Susannah goes after what she wants, even at the risk of displeasing her family.

Advance ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.