I’ve been on a real historical romance kick recently, so I thought I’d round up some quickfire thoughts on a few of my recent reads, both good and bad! I read all of these as ARCs, which were provided free of charge either through NetGalley or through the author’s own ARC team.
I’ve been reading lots of historical romance lately, and with not much time on my hands, I thought I’d do a little mini review round up. Read on for Darcy Burke, Erica Ridley, Louise Allen, and more!
Content warnings: death of spouse/mother mentioned; hero has facial scars which are discussed by him and others negatively; hero is injured badly at one point; war and violent death discussed; kidnapping.
A Marquis In Want Of A Wife was a very sweet marriage of convenience story that had lots of heart. I loved how starkly practical both characters were, and their journey to falling in love after their marriage. Though at first they treat their marriage as a strictly business practice, with Ross gaining a mother for his son, and Prue gaining protection after a romantic indiscretion, they slowly warm to each other in a very fulfilling way. I did find that the plot got a little bit farfetched in places, once the war against Napoleon was brought in as a major plot point – I would have preferred the stakes to stay smaller, and have focused more on the emotional danger the two found themselves in, but that is my personal preference for most romance, and overall this was very enjoyable.
Also, it’s a small thing, but I appreciated the detail put into having a baby in the story – there is plenty of discussion of his nursemaid and wet nurse, which is not something you often see in historical romance, but certainly something that would have had to be considered for a baby without a mother! It helped to make the story feel more realistic for me, as I often find babies to be little more than window-dressing in these sorts of books; here, Jon is a real part of the family and having that realism made it easier to connect with both Ross and Prue’s love for him. Three and a half cats! Continue reading “Mini Romance Reviews!”
The second book in Darcy Burke’s new Spitfire Society series is out on Tuesday, and it’s a great read for a cosy afternoon in!
Darcy Burke is one of the few Regency romance authors who I trust enough that I pick up every release, so I was really looking forward to her new Christmas trilogy! Here are mini-reviews of each of the three books – I thought they’d work best reviewed together, as the stories all intertwine and focus on the same time period from the perspective of three siblings.
Continue reading “Multi-Review: Darcy Burke’s Love Is All Around Trilogy”
With the days getting wintry and gloomy, I’ve been turning more and more to comfort reads, so I was excited to get my hands on The Duke of Kisses on NetGalley. This is a very sweet and well-written romance!
Continue reading “Review: The Duke of Kisses by Darcy Burke”
A Cat, A Book, and A Cup of Tea 