Weekly Reads: October 23 to 29, 2023

It Takes a Scandal by Caroline Linden (2014)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Scandalous series. We start with a tragic prologue for Sebastian, where he’s injured from war, his former best friend is accusing him of eloping with his younger sister, and his madman of a father has gone missing. Life is pretty awful for Sebastian. Fast forward six or seven years and the wealthy Weston family has moved to town so that heiresses Abigail and Penelope have the chance of meeting more gentlemen suitors. Abigail happens to meet Sebastian in the adjoining property when her mother’s puppy runs into the woods. He’s hesitant to introduce himself or spend any time with Abigail, probably due to his own tarnished and impoverished circumstances. Despite his reticence, Abigail is intrigued by him. They continue to accidentally meet in the woods until they start purposefully meeting there and it’s a slow burn romance as Abigail learns Sebastian’s secrets. At some point, Sebastian’s former friend Benedict joins the story to serve as a rival for Abigail’s affections, but her choice between the two men is pretty obvious to everyone else.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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All’s Fair in Love and Scandal by Caroline Linden (2015)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2.5 of the Scandalous series. Novella-length story. Douglas is wagered by his somewhat disreputable friend to dance with Madeline, the somewhat aloof widow who stands at the sidelines of balls. Upon rejection, Douglas is faced with an even bolder wager: unmask Madeline as the author of a scandalous pamphlet. While the reader is unsure of Madeline is the anonymous authoress, we do know that she writes some sort of column and passes it on to a publisher. She tries to maintain her distance from society, while still being invited everywhere, so that she can collect gossip from society events. She’s also completely wary of Douglas’ attentions, even though she is attracted to him. Douglas aims to spend more time with Madeline, escorting her places and attempting to flirt with her. Their acquaintance grows over the next few weeks until Douglas is convinced that he will not expose her in any way and Madeline is completely unsure of herself and her feelings for him. This all wraps up pretty quickly and was an enjoyable novella to read.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Never Wager with a Wallflower by Virginia Heath (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Merriwell Sisters series. Venus and Galahad have been at odds with each other since their first meeting without a real reason. However, things will probably become a lot messier when Galahad purchases the property next door to Venus’ orphanage to build his new gambling hell. With a negligent wastrel father, Venus has little tolerance for vice and believes the worst of Galahad. Add in Venus’ general distrust of men (and her own reaction to men), she is constantly wary of Galahad’s overtures of friendship. Galahad doesn’t want a potential war on his doorstep, so he aims to enter a truce with Venus before telling her about the gambling hell plans. In spending more time with her, Galahad shows his honorable nature and kindness towards the orphans and makes Venus start to question her perception of him. Of course, it all comes crashing down when she learns about the property purchase and she’ll have to figure out if he’s worth forgiving. This book was a nice wrap up of the series, showing how far the sisters have come from their desolate circumstances in Book 1. I also enjoyed reading about Galahad’s history and why he is so emotionally closed off.

Advance ebook provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

Check and Mate by Ali Hazelwood (2023)

Young Adult Contemporary Romance. Standalone novel. Mallory hasn’t played chess in years, since it seemingly caused the implosion of her family. Now she’s a high school graduate working to support her disabled mother and two younger sisters. Her best friend convinces her to join a charity chess tournament and she somehow wins against Nolan, the reigning world champion and top-ranked chess player. Mallory is understandably completely overwhelmed and bolts. Soon after that, Mallory is offered a well-paying fellowship to study and play chess with the hopes of entering upcoming chess competitions. While she tries to maintain some emotional distance from the sport, it all comes back to her even though she’s hiding her chess involvement from her family. Once we start heading out in the world of chess tournaments, we get more awkward meetings with Nolan and meet some of his friends. While a lot of the actual chess went over my head, the banter between Mallory and Nolan is so entertaining, as well as Nolan’s interactions with Mallory’s younger sisters. He’s clearly impressed and intrigued by her, even though she totally denies it. The romance aspect is sweet and fun to read (and the sex is closed door). We get to see these two open up to each other about the family secrets and traumatic histories, and ultimately find a way to have fun even in spite of the competition. Another super entertaining read from Ali Hazelwood.

Advance ebook provided by Penguin Teen via NetGalley.

The Runaway Duke by Julie Anne Long (2004)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novel. Rebecca accidentally gets caught in a compromising situation with an impoverished baron who meant to compromise her sister, but now has to marry this man she doesn’t love. Luckily, her father’s head groom Connor agrees to help Rebecca escape. However, Connor is not actually a groom at all, but the heir to a duke who was presumed dead at Waterloo and is living free of his duties and responsibilities. As if the running away plot wasn’t enough, we get to see a more deeply interconnected plot as we add complications due to blackmail, a former mistress, and an industrious duchess. I really enjoyed reading the multiple points of view in this story, with the interconnections of various characters. It all comes back to the fact that Connor is now the rightful duke, even though he doesn’t know it, and all of the complications of his former life. It was also fun to see Rebecca and Connor go from being trusted friends to more along their journey.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Love in the Time of Scandal by Caroline Linden (2015)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Scandalous series. We start with a tragic prologue of Benedict’s upbringing to highlight just how cruel his earl of a father is and why he might behave in certain ways. The story starts with Penelope being bored and lonely at a ball now that her friend and sister have married (in Books 1 and 2 of the series). Penelope is trying to be supportive of her new friend’s suitor, but quickly realizes that she’s talking about Benedict, the man who previously courted Penelope’s sister and turned his back on a childhood friend. With this prior experience with Benedict, Penelope is wary of his affection for her friend. Benedict tries to make amends with Penelope, but they end up bickering instead, and ultimately Benedict blames Penelope for not being able to secure an engagement with the other lady. However, when Penelope ends up being the subject of scandalous rumors, Benedict decides to marry her. For two people who cannot seem to agree on anything, it’s interesting to see how they find common ground. This book has lots of drama here with a treacherous villain in the background, plus dealing with Benedict’s horrible father.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

A Study in Scandal by Caroline Linden (2016)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3.5 of the Scandalous series. Quick novella here about an earl’s daughter who runs away from an unwanted engagement. Samantha’s cruel father has decided to punish her by arranging a marriage to a monstrous marquess’ son. She seizes the opportunity to run away, nearly gets kidnapped, but then is rescued. Gray is the son of a duke and also a painter who feels instantly protective of Samantha, even though she pretends to have forgotten who she is and will not reveal what she’s running from. In exchange for room and protection, Samantha assists Gray in his art studio and poses as his model. While the romanting relationship between Samantha and Gray develops swiftly, there is the looming danger of being caught by her father.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

A Rose Blooms in Brooklyn by Ginny B. Moore (2023)

Historical romance. Gilded Age New York. Book 3 of the Flowers Sisters series. The beautiful and spoiled Rose has not had a success of her many Seasons in London and now she faces a pending engagement to a man she doesn’t love or to serve as companion to an elderly relation. She told her parents that she’s bound for Boston to reconcile with her twin sister, but she’s really headed to New York City to enjoy the high society her cousin lives within. However, she’s shocked to learn that her cousin is living in Brooklyn, estranged from her family, and working to support herself. Rose is completely out of her element and has to adapt to such unfamiliar surroundings. Ben is a widower and political activist who owns the building where Rose has landed and scoffs at Rose’s naivete. He’s also uncomfortably attracted to her even though his heart is all sorts of closed off after the death of his wife in childbirth. The romance between Rose and Ben involves a lot of push-and-pull, with Rose realizing that she has been completely sheltered all her life and with Ben learning to embrace life and joy again. Running through the entire book is the opposition towards laws that prohibit the distribution of contraception and the movement for women’s suffrage. We get to admire Ben’s selfless dedication to the cause as well as Rose’s increased awareness and understanding of such matters. A great read, with lots of support from Ben’s found family.

Advance ebook provided by Ginny B. Moore.

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Bed Me, Earl by Felicity Niven (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Bed Me, Books series. Caroline decides to bed her long-time crush Phineas when he’s at her country home with her brother’s hunting party. The easy-going Phineas is delighted that a woman has come to his bed and thinks he’s got the best luck ever. When he realizes that he slept with his friend’s sister and that he might be forced to marry her, he thinks that wouldn’t be a hardship at all. Of course, Phineas says this out loud to Caroline and upsets her in the process. Despite all this, Phineas has decided that he wants to pursue Caroline and dismisses all his mistresses upon his return to London. Caroline was really only looking for a tryst and doesn’t aim for any type of relationship with Phineas, as her lisp and stutter were cruelly disparaged by her father. She’s been hidden away in the country for the past decade and has no interest in letting anyone know about her condition. After her father’s death, her brother brings her to London, hoping to make up for his neglect over the years. There, she finds an eager Phineas wanting to court her. There’s a lot of back-and-forth here as Caroline tries to push Phineas away, but their physical attraction is much too strong and gets them into trouble. Even though Phineas gives the impression of a confident and charming man, we see hints of his insecurity every time Caroline rejects him. When we finally do see them settle down together, we get to see Caroline step up and take charge of the household with utter confidence. I loved seeing this side of Caroline, even if it leaves Phineas questioning his own worth and competence. I really enjoyed reading this book and seeing how these two very opposite personalities come together.

Advance ebook provided by Felicity Niven.