Showing posts with label Regency Romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Regency Romance. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Promises and Primroses (Mayfield Family #1) by Josi S. Kilpack



    

Publication: September 4, 2018
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Source: Publisher & Purchased my own copy

Summary:

Lord Elliott Mayfield aims to correct the very messy marital mistakes and spousal scandals of his brothers and sisters by requiring his nieces and nephews to choose worthy companions.  If they choose wisely, they will receive their generous share of the family’s inheritance.

Peter, Elliott’s eldest nephew, thinks the entire idea is ridiculous. A widower with two young daughters, he simply needs a governess, not a wife. Julia Hollingsworth certainly has the credentials and the experience, but is altogether too young and pretty for such a job. So why can’t he stop thinking about her?

Julia loves working as a governess, despite the objections of her mother, Amelia. And as it turns out, Amelia has a lot to say about the Mayfield men—none of it good. But Julia dismisses the rumors of ruined reputations and instead concentrates on helping Peter with his children and his fledgling business in canine husbandry. His kindness and gentleness is endearing—and increasingly attractive.

But Amelia, whose heart was broken thirty years ago by none other than Elliott Mayfield, is determined to prevent any relationship from blooming either between Peter and Julia—or between herself and Elliott.

Hearts and history collide as both couples must face their pasts and decide if risking it all is worth the promise of new love and a new future.


******

When Elliott tells Peter of his idea to help better his nieces and nephews, Peter isn’t 100% sold on it. He shrugs off the idea of himself needing help. He isn’t looking to get married and is already a respectable member of society. When Peter hires Julia to be a governess to his two daughters’ things seem to be going well. Well enough until Julia’s mother Amelia starts to make her opinions known. Peter is confident and headstrong. He likes to do things his own way, but it isn’t always the correct way to do things. That’s something he learns more than once in this story.

Amelia just wants Julia to say close to home, find a suitable husband and have children. However Julia has other plans. She wants more out of her life and more importantly, she wants to have some space from her semi-controlling but well-meaning mother; which is why she is looking for a new governess position. Julia loves her new position within the Mayfield household. And she adores Peters’ little girls and they adore her as well. How long can Julia's happiness last with her mother's interference?

Amelia is familiar with some members of the Mayfield family; especially Elliott Mayfield. Still recalling the pain from all those years ago and determined to not let history repeat itself when it comes to her daughter, Amelia attempts to take matters into her own hands. But can she judge the present clearly when she is still held firmly in the past?

I loved Julia. She is smart, independent (especially for the time period) and not afraid to be herself and say what she wants. Julia and Peter make a rather cute couple. I was rooting for them all the way. Amelia was the most frustrating character. There were several times I wanted to shake her and tell her stop being so ridiculous! 

Having this story told in multiple POV’s made it all the more entertaining to read. This was the first time I had read a book by Josi Kilpack and it will not be the last. The story was well written and it had a good steady pace to it. I very much enjoyed reading this book. Promises and Primroses made me fall back in love with historical romance all over again. It is a sweet story with traces of humor and warmth throughout. One that I hope you check out soon if you haven’t already.


RATING: 5 out of 5.



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Sunday, August 23, 2015

A Sapphire Season by Lynn Morris Blog Tour!



Thank you for stopping by my stop on A Sapphire Season Blog Tour! To follow the rest of the blog tour click here.



Publication: August 11, 2015
Publisher: FaithWords
Source: Publisher



Lynn Morris, bestselling author of The Baron's Honourable Daughter, once again sweeps readers into the Regency era with striking period detail.
Lady Mirabella Tirel, the beautiful daughter of the Marquess of Camarden, takes a practical approach to love since a dashing captain broke her heart at age 17. Now at almost 22 years old, she has decided to endure one last London season to secure a suitable engagement and begin a simple life in the country. Sir Giles Knyvet is Mirabella's oldest friend and her most dependable ally, and he is also secretly in love with her. Yet he knows the prospect of a relationship is doubtful: Besides being a mere baronet, he aims to settle a large family debt before sharing his feelings with her. But as Mirabella draws close to a suitable match, Giles may need to interfere to buy himself more time.

A Sapphire Season was such a sweet story to read.  Mirabella and Giles have grown up together and have a very close friendship. So naturally when the season starts they decide to go to London together with two of their friends. Mirabella has a plan. In lieu of marrying for love, she makes a list of all the best possible matches she thinks would be suitable. She soon discovers the list may not be the greatest idea and it isn’t so easy finding someone you are compatible with. While she is narrowing down her list of potential suitors, Giles has been busy himself, catching the eye of a particular woman that ends up making Mirabella a little jealous.

I really enjoying Mirabella and Giles together. They had a fun witty banter that showed perfectly how close they were. Though I would’ve thought one of them or both would’ve realized their feelings a little sooner than they did.

Sometimes love comes unexpectedly and to a person you might have never thought that way before. A Sapphire Season is a good example of that. The story was easy to follow and the characters were likable. I’m a sucker for good historical fiction romances, especially involving childhood friends. If you enjoy reading clean historical fiction romances then you will want to take a look at A Sapphire Season.  



RATING: 3½ out of 5.



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About the Author
 LYNN MORRIS is the bestselling author of over 25 novels, including the popular Cheney Duvall, M.D. series. She is the daughter of Christy Award-winning author Gilbert Morris, with whom she has often collaborated. She lives in Gulf Shores, Alabama.







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Thursday, April 9, 2015

Romancing the Duke (Castles Ever After #1) by Tessa Dare



Publication: January 28, 2014
Publisher: Avon / HarperCollins Publishing
Source: Bought/Own


In the first in Tessa Dare's captivating Castles Ever After series, a mysterious fortress is the setting for an unlikely love . . .
As the daughter of a famed author, Isolde Ophelia Goodnight grew up on tales of brave knights and fair maidens. She never doubted romance would be in her future, too. The storybooks offered endless possibilities.
And as she grew older, Izzy crossed them off. One by one by one.
Ugly duckling turned swan?
Abducted by handsome highwayman?
Rescued from drudgery by charming prince?
No, no, and… Heh.
Now Izzy’s given up yearning for romance. She’ll settle for a roof over her head. What fairy tales are left over for an impoverished twenty-six year-old woman who’s never even been kissed?
This one.

Izzy’s father has died and left her with no money and no home to stay in. But as luck would have it, she receives a letter stating that she has been named in the will of the Earl of Lynforth. So she packs up her meager belongings, and travels to Rothbury Castle in Northumberland in hopes that she inherit money.
Once she arrives, she discovers that it isn’t money she has inherited, its a castle...Gostley Castle to be exact. A castle that very much needs some TLC and already has an inhabitant. It happens to be the home to Ransom, the Duke of Rothbury. And he isn’t very happy to have her there. Even though he finds her intriguing, he doesn’t want her staying and he is pretty insistent, that there is a mistake and that Gostley Castle is still rightfully his.  But Izzy has nowhere else to go, and she isn’t so willing to just give up the chance of having a home.
Ransom is pretty stubborn…..he is vulnerable, and not just because he is blind. He’s afraid of falling in love, and doesn’t believe someone would truly want to be with him.  Izzy is witty and smart, but insecure about her looks. Ransom can push and try as hard as he likes to scare Izzy away, but she refuses to back down easily. I loved that. Despite their differences, Ransom and Izzy have great chemistry and they compliment each others personalities so well. I couldn’t get enough of them.
Tessa Dare’s books are the type of books you read when you want to laugh, swoon, indulge in a few steamy sex scenes, and enjoy a  good old fashioned romance. And that is exactly what I got when I read Romancing the Duke. It was the perfect romantic pick me up. And by the end of the story I wanted a Ransom of my very own.



RATING: 4½ out of 5.

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Thursday, August 14, 2014

Tainted Angel by Anne Cleeland



Publication: June 4, 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Source: Publisher

A deadly game of deception
A notorious beauty with a shadowy past

In the time of Napoleon, Vidia Swanson appears to live a gilded life of ease and luxury. Beneath this façade, however, she works for the Home Office as an ‘angel,’ coaxing secrets from powerful men who may or may not be traitors to the Crown. In the course of her latest assignment, matters take an alarming turn when she realizes that her spymaster suspects that she is the one who is tainted--a double agent working for the enemy.

Lucien Carstairs is a fellow agent with his own dark secrets--unless he is setting an elaborate trap to reveal her own supposed treason. Backed into a corner, she can only hope to stay one step ahead of the hangman in a race to stop the next war before it destroys them--and destroys England.

Tainted Angel offers up a compelling game of cat and mouse in which no one can be trusted--and anyone can be tainted.

Vidia is a spy.  Her job is to basically use her beauty in order to coerce secrets from power men. When the people she works for believes that she is a traitor, Vidia has to prove where her true loyalties lie.  

Vidia was a fun character to get to know. She is quick on her feet, smart, and knows how to do her job well. She was really good at what she did, it was hard to tell if she really was a double spy or not.

Tainted Angel is filled with a good amount of action, double crossing, and suspense. It was a very entertaining story. There are lies and secrets everywhere and it isn’t very easy to find out who is on what side and who is being honest.  There was never a shortage of activity going on.  It succeeded it what I think it set out to be…a fun and entertaining story.


RATING: 3½ out of 5.

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Friday, January 31, 2014

Blackmoore (A Proper Romance) by Julianne Donaldson



Publication: September 9, 2013
Publisher: Shadow Mountain


Kate Worthington knows her heart and she knows she will never marry. Her plan is to travel to India instead—if only to find peace for her restless spirit and to escape the family she abhors. But Kate’s meddlesome mother has other plans. She makes a bargain with Kate: India, yes, but only after Kate has secured—and rejected—three marriage proposals.

Kate journeys to the stately manor of Blackmoore determined to fulfill her end of the bargain and enlists the help of her dearest childhood friend, Henry Delafield. But when it comes to matters of love, bargains are meaningless and plans are changeable. There on the wild lands of Blackmoore, Kate must face the truth that has kept her heart captive. Will the proposal she is determined to reject actually be the one thing that will set her heart free?

Set in Northern England in 1820, 
Blackmoore is a Regency romance that tells the story of a young woman struggling to learn how to follow her heart. It is Wuthering Heights meets Little Women with a delicious must-read twist.


BlackMoore was such a delightful story. I ended up buying the audiobook and it was hard for me to stop listening. The narrator, Cassandra Campbell did a really nice job with the different character voices and the emotions of the story.

I liked Kate a lot. She is a 17 year old young woman who so determined and passionate about going to India with her Aunt and learning to be independent and out from under her ridiculous mothers thumb. The way her mother behaved and flirted in public was completely inappropriate. I thought that Elizabeth Bennett’s mother from Pride and Prejudice was bad…I would take her as a mom over Kate’s any day of the week.

I understood Kate’s longing to be free and to have a better life. And even though I get why she never said anything to Henry or to anyone; I really wished she had.

“It was one thing to set a bird free, but how on earth was I to set myself free?"

There are a few flashbacks into Kate’s past to explain why she made some of the choices she has made. But you won’t find out why Kate is so against marriage until more than halfway through the book. At first I kept thinking, how she cannot know that Henry loves her, but it wasn’t about her finding that out. You’ll just have to read it to find out more.

He drew in a breath and his voice sounded hoarse and vulnerable and soft when he said, “You were the only surprise in my life Kate. And I am afraid, I am very afraid that once you leave, I will never be surprised again."

The author did a nice job with this story. The writing flowed, it had a nice pace, the characters were lively, and I never once felt bored. I loved the friendship…the connection Kate and Henry shared. It was sweet. Blackmoore was a very charming story that made me feel warm and happy once I was finished.


Readers who enjoy classics like Pride & Prejudice, Mansfield Park, or any clean romantic historical novel should take a look at Blackmoore.



RATING: 4½-5 OUT OF 5.



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