Weekly Reads: December 4 to 10, 2023

Ruin and Redemption for the Earl by Andie James (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Reluctant Lords series. Lady Elise is ruined for the dumbest reason ever when she’s caught giving medical care to a footman. Three years later, she’s living at the dower house of an earl’s land and hoping that the new earl doesn’t kick her out. Reid had no idea that his father had rented out the dower house and is surprised to find and meet Elise. He quickly sees that she has endeared herself to the village and made improvements to her home. Reid had been estranged from his father, joined the army, was injured, and come back to England as a politician. He’s disgruntled about changing roles and even more irritated to find his estate in poor financial condition. Reid and Elise form a friendship and then an attraction, though she does not believe she’s a suitable wife for Reid due to her former ruin. I enjoyed the slow emotional build up of the romance and the rallying of Reid’s friends in supporting Elise.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited and provided by Andie James.

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Caught on Camera by Chelsea Curto (2023)

Contemporary romance. Book 2 of the Love through a Lens series. Lacey and Shawn are friends through their friends who have gotten together last year and somehow have not started dating each other. Lacey’s on a date with a new guy at a football game (where Shawn is the coach) and ends up on the KissCam. Her date adamantly refuses to kiss her, drawing embarrassing attention to Lacey. When Shawn sees what’s going on, he saves the day by running over kissing Lacey. And then they end up in social media firestorm and decide to fake date through the holidays so that Lacey has someone to bring to her work party and so Shawn can bring a girlfriend home to his family. And then they evolve into fake dating partners with benefits and slowly start to realize that they don’t want an end to this relationship after all. Both Lacey and Shawn are fiercely independent and strong on their own, but realize that it’s nice to have someone to partner with and rely on. The romance is slow and sweet and charming (plus explicit details of their bedroom and out-of-bedroom physical relationship).

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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Once and Again with the Viscount by Andie James (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Reluctant Lords series. Angeline is a widow who is slowly re-entering society after mourning her beloved husband. She’s been struggling with seeing her friends marry and have children, as she was unable to have any children of her own in the time that she was married. Meanwhile, her neighbor, childhood crush, and brother’s best friend, Sidney is around to notice her and offer comfort. Sidney has been in love with Angeline after he notices her in a new light during her debut; however, he lost out on the chance to be with her when he left society when his father died, and returned later to find her already married. Now that she’s widowed, Sidney has a second chance to woo Angeline. There’s actually tons of tragedy up ahead though as Sidney’s older brother unexpectedly passes away, leaving Sidney as the next viscount. Angeline is even more distressed with her inability to have children because of this. It’s a lot of angsty emotional upheaval to get through before these two can find a happy ending.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited and provided by Andie James.

Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young (2023)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Super funny and emotional one-night stand, accidental pregnancy romance. Win and Bo meet at their friends’ Halloween party, flirt, hook-up, and plan on never seeing each other again. Six weeks later, Win finds out she’s pregnant and needs to rework her whole life plan. When she tells Bo the news, he’s surprisingly emotional and supportive. They end up becoming friends with a co-parenting plan and eventually move into Bo’s house together. It’s a slow-burn romance as they get to know each other better and Bo is basically the best most supportive father ever. There’s all sorts of humor as they banter with each other and it’s clear they’re going to be strong partners throughout the book. Excellent excellent read.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited. Audiobook provided by Libro.fm.

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The Duke’s Wicked Widow by Caroline Lee (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 5 of the Surprise! Dukes series. I always love a good pregnancy-inheritance scheme. Ellie is at the doorstep of her late husband’s bastard cousin, hoping to get herself impregnated and pass the kid off as the next heir. Fawkes is both insulted and intrigued and ends up complying. While Ellie’s motives may seem selfish, she’s really just trying to protect her stepdaughter and she doesn’t have any place else to go if her in-laws throw her out. There’s a lot of back and forth between Ellie and Fawkes as she tries to get pregnant and he’s keeping secrets about his role as the notorious Duke of Death. However, Fawkes proves to be kind and caring towards Ellie and her stepdaughter when they need it. We also tie back to the overarching drama of the series with a traitor and his supposed agents trying to bring him to justice. We start strong with the physical attraction in this one, with a slow build towards real affection. And we still get all of tongue-in-cheek humor that Caroline Lee’s books always deliver.

Advance ebook provided by Caroline Lee.

Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Mischief and Matchmaking series. After her father’s death, Beth is entering her first Season on the Marriage Mart and looking for a suitable husband to provide for herself and her widowed mother. At her first ball, she meets Gwen, and outspoken and charming daughter of an earl, who is basically her new best friend. Neither of these women are interested in finding a husband this year and when they notice the sparks between their respective widowed parents, they try to pair them up instead. It goes about as awkwardly as you’d think it would go, and all the while, Beth and Gwen are drawn more and more to each other. It’s takes some nudging for them to realize that they’re actually in love (and lust) with each other, but it’s all complicated by societal obligations and Beth’s pending engagement to a viscount who has been courting her. This was a fun take on the Victorian-era marriage mart and I was definitely rooting for our heroines to find a way to be together (as well as their parents).

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

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Hen Fever by Olivia Waite (2022)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Standalone novella. Super short holiday read centering around a small village’s annual prize chicken competition. Spinster Lydia happens to find a group of hens that were believed to be extinct and meets Harriet, the new occupant of the manor of the village. While their initial meeting is a bit contentious, arguing over who actually owns these chickens, they soon develop a friendship and then romance. There’s some tragic history with Harriet’s experience as an army wife and widow, which somehow ties to Lydia’s brother who also served in the army. This was a quick read with just the right blend of humor and emotion.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Courting Scandal by Ally Hudson (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Most Imprudent Matches series. Michael is the illegitimate son of a viscount who owns a gambling hell with a shaky relationship with his late father’s family. In an attempt to bring the brothers together, the new viscountess (Michael’s sister-in-law) invites Michael to weekly family dinners. Meanwhile, in a seemingly separate part of town, Juliet is being forced by her cruel and overbearing father to marry a duke who she doesn’t know at all. Juliet soon learns that her father owes a huge debt to a gambling hell and is receiving payment from the duke in exchange for Juliet’s hand in marriage. She overhears Michael (said gambling hell owner) confront her father over the matter and it helps put all of her father’s odd behavior into perspective. Somehow both Michael and Juliet cross paths again as they’re both invited to the same country house for the next couple of months. Juliet’s best friend turns out to be Michael’s sister-in-law and although this isn’t a matchmaking scheme, Juliet and Michael fall in love anyway. However, Juliet is still engaged and Michael believes he’s not good enough for her, so there’s still a bit of drama to overcome before they can actually be together for good.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Her Duke at Midnight by Christy Carlyle (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Wanton Widows Club series. Adam is known as the Heartbreak Duke after a previous affair ended in scandal. He’s always been upfront with the women he’s with and he tries to deter any sort of attachment. When his friend convinces him to attend an upcoming house party, he swears not to entangle himself with any woman there. Cecily is a widowed countess set to attend the same house party as her first outing out of mourning from her cruel husband. Her friend encourages her to seek an affair, but to specifically avoid the Heartbreak Duke. However, Adam is the only man that Cecily is drawn to and they end up together anyway. And he pretty quickly changes his tune on attachment and marriage.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.