Book 48: "Pride Comes Before a Fall" by Virginia Heath

Page count: 320 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for this ARC. My opinions are my own. This book is on sale now.

Leopold "Leo" Sloane, the Duke of Debden, has dragged his two younger sisters to Bath in an attempt to keep them out of trouble. The youngest is crazy for any man in uniform, and the eldest snuck out of the house and got injured during a protest march. After saying some less-than-complimentary things to his mother about her ability to keep them in hand, she promptly goes on strike (good for her), returns to London and leaves Leo to handle them himself. Obviously, he cannot.

Portia Kendall discovered Mary Wollstonecraft's writing when she was sixteen, and has burned for reform and a better life for the downtrodden masses ever since. When she is given the job as assistant editor of Equitas, one of the foremost papers that champions reform, she rather impulsively quits her position as a governess in London to travel to Bath, only to discover that none of the people working for the paper actually get paid. They also have to keep their work secret, since the local constabulary and most of the magistrates consider their writing seditious and would like nothing more than to arrest everyone involved in running it. 

Portia despises the aristocracy, but she also needs a paying job, so when she sees the Duke of Debden is looking for a chaperone and social secretary for his sisters, she goes to the interview, but is kept waiting for so long that by the time it's her turn, she has given up any chance of actually getting the job, and is sharp and snarky and very honest during her conversation with the (far too handsome) duke, and is therefore shocked when he actually hires her. As it turns out, his younger sisters are both determined to give her hell, and she certainly earns her salary trying to keep them in line.

Once Portia discovers that Leo is one of the local magistrates, and that the constable most determined to bring Equitas down reports directly to him, she is tempted to resign her position. She can tell that for a nobleman, Leo is a lot more progressive than most of his peers, but he is very much at the top of the social class she is violently opposed to, which makes it all the more difficult that she finds herself increasingly more attracted to him, and her feelings seem to be reciprocated. 

This is the first novel I've read by Virginia Heath, but it's unlikely to be my last. There was a lot to like here, but also some things that annoyed me. 

Things I liked:

- Portia is a great heroine. She's intelligent, hard-working, principled and loyal to her cause, but also pragmatic enough to realise that you can't survive on political ideals alone. She is not deterred from her duties, even when Leo's sisters are being difficult little shrews.

- Portia writing essays to debate with herself on various things. 

- Leo's Mum is a delight. Good for her that she refused to stay and be criticised by her overly protective son.

- The dogs and cat were a fun addition.

- The plot took quite a few unexpected turns. 

Things I didn't like as much:

- Leo's extreme protectiveness and frankly unreasonable demands towards his female relatives and later, Portia. It's like Anthony Bridgerton in The Viscount Who Loved Me, but less charming (and Anthony behaves like a d*ck in a lot of that book, so that should tell you something). For a lot of the book, Leo is a total golden retriever, except when he's suddenly a very unreasonable, almost crazy dictator

- Leo's extreme dislike of his eldest sister's suitor, in particular

- While the goofy dogs and the psychotic cat were mostly a fun touch, they also contributed to some farcical elements that went a bit too far.

- Leo reading Portia's private writing.

- Much of the final bit, including the whole incident at Parliament. 

On the whole, this was an enjoyable read, and a blue-stocking heroine is always going to appeal to me. I may go back and read the previous two novels in the series next.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR18 Book 44: "Scandal of the Summer" by Alexandra Vasti

Page count: 352 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC. This book is on sale now.

Lady Ruby Ballimore has tried her very best to be the perfect debutante, but no matter how hard she tries, she can't be quiet and biddable and seemingly empty-headed. After yet another disastrous dinner party, which has shown off her unladylike academic prowess to the Ton and enraged her father, she decides that she needs a change of setting.

Ruby's father is the ambassador to a small European principality, and Ruby happens to know that the Princess has a mansion in Cornwall that's just conveniently standing empty. She forges a letter of introduction from her father, claiming that she and her two best friends are ladies-in-waiting to the Princess and have been sent to prepare the house for her possible visit in the future. 

The ladies are not prepared to find a mostly derelict house full of an odd assortment of supposed staff. Malcolm Archer has, in fact, been hired as the steward of the estate, but none of his former crew, who are basically his family, have been officially hired. They are squatting in the house and running multiple smuggling schemes to make enough money to survive. None of them was expecting the arrival of Ruby and her friends, so they set a number of schemes in motion to try to scare away the ladies. Terrible food, an infestation of beetles, and a made-up sea monster. Nothing works. The ladies keep ignoring the discomforts and work diligently to make the mansion habitable again. Which turns out to be good, because it seems like the Princess may be making an unexpected visit, and her arrival will force the deceptions of both groups of occupants of the house out in the open.

I've been lucky enough to read several of Ms. Vasti's romances as ARCs. They are usually well-researched and very entertaining. In this, we get the unlikely pairing of a bluestocking wallflower and a disgraced naval captain turned smuggler. Both protagonists have found families of sorts. Ruby has her ride-or-die friends, both of whom I'm assuming will be getting books later in the series. Malcolm has a number of former crew members who left the navy when he was dismissed, and while he may be a former privateer and now a smuggler and occasional con man, all his lies and schemes and his considerable charm are used to support his people and create a safe haven for them. Unfortunately, he is so used to lying and tricking people that even when he may be hurting those close to him with his deceptions, he sometimes has trouble being truthful.

Ruby is the eldest daughter of an earl, and no matter what she says or does, she ends up making a mess of things. She has travelled through Europe with her father and younger sister (who is now a viscountess) and is very well-educated, but lacks the necessary social skills to be a hit on the Marriage Mart. One of her two best friends, Alice, is the daughter of a man who was accused of treason and therefore mostly shunned by polite society. She's rather shy and soft-spoken, but also a keen entomologist (and hence is delighted by the bugs, rather than scared off). Ruby's other BFF, Tamsin, is a self-proclaimed sapphist, has cut her hair into a pixie cut and prefers to wear trousers. The aunt she had been living with got married and conveniently moved to Cornwall, so Ruby lied to her father about spending the summer there. 

As well as being rather run-down when the ladies arrive, the manor house is also full of dogs, since Wall, one of Malcolm's former crew members, has begun to specialise in veterinary medicine, and keeps adopting stray litters of puppies. So there's a surprising number of dogs for a historical romance, some even prove central to the second half of the plot. 

If you haven't read any Alexandra Vasti before, this is a good place to start. If you have read any of her books and enjoyed them, this is another delightful read.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR18 Books 38-39 : "The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh" and "The Rushworth Family Plot" by Claudia Gray

The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh

Page count: 400 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Since Mr Jonathan Darcy, son of the esteemed Fitzwilliam Darcy, and Miss Juliet Tilney, daughter of Henry Tilney, have now solved not one, but two murders among their extended acquaintance, word has gotten around, and as a result, Lady Catherine DeBourgh has summoned the young Mr Darcy to come to Rosings Park to help her identify the person who is trying to kill her. He insists that Miss Tinley be invited as well. Both young persons are accompanied by their fathers, who, unfortunately, take an instant dislike of each other. Mr Tilney thinks Mr Darcy is a supercilious snob, while Mr Darcy thinks Mr Tilney takes things too lightly and jokes too much at inappropriate times, not at all a suitable manner of behaviour for a clergyman. 

Some of the people surrounding the dowager suspect she may be exaggerating the danger she is in. She claims her carriage was sabotaged, then someone tried to shoot her, and when this failed, they nearly pushed her down the stairs. As the two young people start investigating, it becomes obvious that someone is indeed trying to do away with Lady Catherine, and that their attempts are becoming more aggressive. Because Lady Catherine rarely leaves Rosings Park, it also means the culprit is someone very close to her, a family member or loyal retainer. Can our young detectives figure out the identity of the would-be murderer before they actually succeed in doing away with the old lady?

The Rushworth Family Plot

Page count: 336 pages

Rating: 4 stars

While Mr Jonathan Darcy and Miss Juliet Tilney have been very clear with each other about their mutual fondness and hopes for a future match, their fathers developed a mutual dislike during their stay at Rosings Park. General Tilney, Miss Tilney's tyrannical grandfather, who normally isn't known for his generosity, is incensed enough by the perceived snub of his grandchild by the Darcys, so he is determined she will make a grander match during the London season. Juliet and her authoress mother is ordered to London to purchase a new wardrobe of clothes for her, and find her an appropriate suitor.

Jonathan, meanwhile, is also in London, staying with the family of Edmund and Fanny Bertram, since his family had to return to Pemberley after his younger brother broke his arm. He knows his parents would like him to find some suitable young lady to court, but he has no intention of asking anyone but Juliet Tilney to marry him. However, the ambitious Mrs Allerdyce (who was Caroline Bingley before her marriage) is determined that if SHE couldn't be the mistress of Pemberley, then her daughter will instead. Jonathan may be a keen investigator of murders, but in social situations involving young ladies, he is far too clueless to realise he's being manipulated. 

Claudia Gray also reintroduces some of Austen's most scandalous characters (how can Mansfield Park be so painfully dull when it also has the dastardly Henry Crawford and the whole running off with Maria Rushworth, nee Bertram subplot). Maria Rushworth, now many years divorced, shows up in London with her aunt/companion in tow, along with a daughter who was clearly born out of wedlock. Maria swears that Rushworth is the father, but anyone with eyes can see the strong resemblance to Henry Crawford. Maria claims that she and Rushworth are going to reconcile and marry again soon, but lo and behold, it doesn't take long before Mr Rushworth is found brutally strangled in his townhouse. Jonathan and Juliet promise the Bertrams they will do their best to find the murderer before the scandal surrounding the whole thing further tarnishes the family.

I have long complained that Gray is being far too slow and dragging out the romance between Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney too much. I get that they are unlikely to surrender to the throes of passion while investigating murders (or attempted murder, in the case of Lady Catherine), but I would still have liked some stronger declarations from both parties. Gray keeps throwing obstacles in our young sleuths' way. In The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, both young people are accompanied to Rosings Park by their fathers, who are vastly different and dislike each other pretty much on sight. Their antipathy towards each other does not get better as the story goes on. 

In The Rushworth Family Plot both the elder Mr Darcy and Mr Tilney are safely away in their homes, and the only parental figure around is Juliet's mother, Catherine Tilney, now a famous author of Gothic novels.  She sees the warmth and attraction between the two and is very surprised by her husband's impression that Jonathan Darcy is cold and indifferent towards Juliet. She is very impressed with how he seems to genuinely listen and trade ideas with her daughter, never seeming dismissive or overbearing. She can see that they have a very good partnership while investigating and is convinced they would make a very good match. Unfortunately, because as soon as the parental disapproval may have been dealth with, there need to be other difficulties, Juliet is embroiled in a scandal of her own, through absolutely no fault of her own. Because of the careless and opportunistic acts of someone else, her reputation may be absolutely ruined. Jonathan Darcy, who is appalled by this turn of events, challenges the besmircher of Juliet's honour to a duel to prove her innocence. It all went a bit melodramatic, and I really hope Gray can let these two have a happy ending soon.

With Juliet falling victim to the Regency version of a manipulated photograph, which marks her as utterly unsuitable as a wife to anyone with taste, as well as Mrs. Caroline Allerdyce's scheming to get her daughter married to Jonathan, it just felt like too many things still muddying up the works.

One of the very fun things with these books is obviously how Gray takes the minor Austen characters from various novels and gives them more prominence. In The Perils of Lady Catherine DeBourgh, we see that Lady Catherine's sickly daughter in no way minded that Mr Darcy chose someone else. She has married his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam and seems mostly very happy with him. They are both very sad that their young son has been sent away to boarding school (because no heir of Lady Catherine is to be homeschooled), and there are certain communication difficulties leading to friction, but it all gets sorted out in the end. We also see how Charlotte and Mr. Collins are managing in their marriage. They now have two children, a son and a daughter, and there is something strange in the son's behaviour that neither Jonathan nor Juliet can figure out at first. 

In The Rushworth Family Plot, we meet Edmund and Fanny Bertram again (who were also supporting characters in The Murder of Mr Wickham), as well as Edmund's older brother, now the head of the family, his dog-obsessed mother, their vivacious non-scandalous sister, and, of course, Maria Rushworth and Henry Crawford. Fanny is deeply depressed after a failed pregnancy, and Edmund is unaware that she overheard the doctor say she is unlikely to ever bear children. Edmund's brother has been persuaded that selling their plantation in Barbados is the only humane thing to do because of the evils of slavery. He is also courting Caroline Allerdyce's eldest daughter. Gray does a good job of showing the readers that Caroline Bingley never really wanted Mr Darcy, only the wealth and prestige of being mistress of Pemberley. She has clearly been very happy in her marriage to Mr Allerdyce, but now that Jonathan Darcy is present and available in London, she can't help but scheme and manipulate to try to make her daughter mistress of Pemberley in the future instead. 

I have an ARC of the fifth book in the series that I need to read in the next couple of days (it's also why I finally needed to knuckle down and review these two books. I really hope that Gray is bringing the series to an end soon, I don't know how much longer I can wait for Jonathan and Juliet to get their happy ending. 

CBR18 Book 35: "Game of Rogues" by Julie Anne Long

Page count: 384 pages

Rating: 4.5 stars

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for this ARC. My opinions are my own. This book is out on June 3rd, 2026. 

Guinevere "Ginny" Woodville travels alone and unchaperoned to London to confront the man known as "The Reaper", Gabriel Marchand, owner of one of the most exclusive gentlemen's clubs/gaming hells in the city. Her newly come of age younger brother, who also recently became the Earl of Highgrove after the death of a cousin, got drunk one evening and gambled away not just the entire newly acquired fortune, but also mired himself in debt. Since some of that money was going to provide dowries for the Woodville women, so they could secure good marriages, it's imperative that Ginny get the money back within the month.

Marchand offers to forgive her brother's debt of several thousand pounds to him if Ginny agrees to spend a whole night in his bed. Naturally, she refuses his offer and hopes to never have to see him again. As fate and the sort of coincidences that usually only happens in romance novels to throw our lovers together would have it, Marchand and Ginny are both staying at the Grand Palace of the Thames, where the rules of the proprietresses require all guests to dine together and socialise in the parlour at least four nights each week. 

Ginny manages to identify the person her brother lost a whopping 15,000 pounds to (in addition to the 4000 he owes Marchand), and he's none other than the Earl of Sydenham, her father used to call friend, but who also seemed to never have forgiven that Ginny's mother married Woodville instead of the Earl. If Ginny manages to locate a rare Ming vase, part of the inheritance her brother would have gotten from the late Earl of Highgrove, Sydenham is willing to forgive the debt. Otherwise, he wants it paid in full in a month.

The Woodville siblings became orphans when Ginny was sixteen, after her father drove his high-flyer too quickly around a corner. Ginny's mother survived her husband by two days, and on her deathbed, Ginny promised to always take care of her younger brother and twin sisters, and make sure they all made good marriages someday. Having single-handedly spent the last eight years raising her siblings, taking care of the family finances, managing their crumbling estate, basically taking on the responsibility of both her deceased parents, Ginny is determined to find the vase so she can restore the fortune that her brother lost. Unexpectedly, Marchand proves to be a valuable help in this search, both helping to locate possible places the vase may be, and providing protection when she insists on going to more unsavoury areas of the city to look for it.

Of course, all this galivanting around unchaperoned with a devastatingly handsome rogue, while also seeing softer sides of him when they spend evenings together in the cosy parlour of their boardinghouse, means that Ginny not only stops hating Marchand, but also realises that she may be ruined for all other men, not least Francis, the carefully respectful third son of a duke she had assumed she would marry until she had to go off to London to save her family. Marchand is equally surprised to find that this stubborn and unusual young woman, who refuses to be afraid of him and constantly challenges him, is making him yearn for a very different future, one that doesn't involve him eternally striving to acquire more wealth and influence. 

Really good historical romance is getting harder to find. Meredith Duran is no longer writing. Sherry Thomas is writing historical mysteries. Tessa Dare's last novel was published in 2019, and fans are still waiting for the promised fourth book in that series. Julia Quinn is busy with the TV adaptations of her work and is now apparently making luxury hardback editions of romance novels for collectors. Loretta Chase and Courtney Milan publish a new book every few years. Julie Anne Long, however, is still reliably publishing a romance a year, and while I thought the first few novels of her Palace of Rogues series were merely good, not great, the last three have been absolute stone-cold classics, and I'm happy to say that this book continues her streak. I was both happy and surprised when I was granted an ARC, and because of my terrible memory and my tendency to fall behind on reviews, I waited to read it until just before the release date.

Some books take a while for me to get into. Not so Ms. Long's books. Within the first few chapters, reading one of her books feels like a soothing escape from reality. Each new book in the Palace of Rogues series introduces us to a new main couple, but also lets us come back to the comfortable found family of regulars to see how they are getting on (we're getting closer and closer to a romance between Pike the footman and Dot the maid with each story). Delilah and Angelique, their handsome husbands, Mr. Delacorte, Mrs. Pariseau - it's like seeing old friends again, while also getting to experience a new and exciting love story each time I pick up one of her books. 

We're rapidly nearing the end of term, and I have a lot of work to do and many grades to finalise, yet once I started this book yesterday morning, I pretty much ignored all of my other responsibilities until I had finished it before lunchtime today. Julie Anne Long writes interesting characters, and frequently her heroines are people who have been shouldering a huge amount by themselves, and have spent their lives fixing things for others, until they finally find the man who wants to ease their burdens and take care of them. Her heroes are often intimidating, powerful men who have troubled backgrounds and finally find the woman who sees their insecurities, refuses to be intimidated by them and makes them soften, without really losing any of the things that make them powerful. 

I don't know how many books Ms. Long has planned for in this series, but her Pennyroyal Green series ended up being twelve books and a novella, so I'm hoping I can keep visiting this comfortable and charming corner of the fictional Regency for many years to come. If you've enjoyed other books by her, this is another keeper, which I can see myself returning to for re-reads, if not as many times as with What I Did for a Duke, in my opinion, her best book, and one of my favourite ever romances. And I only just now realised that both of the heroines have very similar-sounding names. No wonder reading this made me want to reread it, for the umpteenth time. 

Judging a book by the cover: Since these books will no longer be printed in mass market paperback format (a development that makes me very sad), it seems that Avon decided to introduce a new cover design entirely, which means this book won't match its predecessors. Since some of the covers earlier in this series have been, at least in part, really awful (usually the portrayal of one or several of the people on said covers), this isn't necessarily a bad thing. But as someone who hates it when my physical books don't match, this radical difference in cover design also annoys me. That said, the choice to make the cover look like a playing card, with very stylised silhouettes rather than realistic images of the couple, works for me. It feels classier than the traditionally illustrated covers. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR18 Book 13: "Better Than a Duke" by Suzanne Enoch

Page count: 352 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Bramble for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

Beckett Raines, the Marquis of Hentrose, has been widowed for ten years, leaving him a single father to young Rebecca (who would like to be known as Lady Becks). He's been aided by a number of loyal servants, but now his meddling mother has decided that it's time for him to marry an appropriate woman who can be a good role model to the girl. Because Beckett was guided by his emotions the last time around, and his wife turned out to be very pretty, but rather vapid, and then died in childbirth, he's determined that his next marriage will be a partnership, with no romantic feelings involved. 

Iris Silbern has been widowed for four years and currently has to reside with her ten-year-old son, Edmund, with her aunt and uncle, in the house neighbouring Beckett's, and their first meeting isn't exactly flattering to her. She comes storming into his house, threatening him with a shovel, with her hair like a haystack around her head and her clothes wrinkled from a long time travelling. She accuses him of having abducted Edmund (when in fact, the rascal came up with a sob story about being a starving orphan), but calms down once she sees how happy her son is playing with Rebecca. It doesn't take long before the children are pretty much inseparable, and Beckett and Iris are bonding over being widowed single parents. 

It doesn't take long for Rebecca to discover that while the lady her father is possibly going to marry may look pretty and pleasant while there are other adults around, she's clearly planning to have Beckett to herself. She strongly implies that Rebecca will be sent off to boarding school and that her father will be all the happier for it. Meanwhile, Iris is hoping to borrow money from her uncle to buy herself a house in the country, where she plans to take in lodgers. They, on the other hand, believe she should get married again, even though she has no wish to ever remarry. They introduce her to the Duke of Trent, who is over seventy, already has two sons and several grandchildren, but is nevertheless looking for Duchess number six. Marrying the lecherous old man would ensure that Iris got enough money to secure a good education and a decent future for Edmund. And while he's outlived five wives so far, surely he'll not outlive Iris as well?

Obviously, neither child is happy with their potential step-parents, especially since it would mean Rebecca and Edmund would be separated. They'd much rather be siblings and decide to get their parents to marry each other, and their plans are forced to get ever more elaborate as Beckett and Iris stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that their perfect partner is right there on the other side of the garden wall.

Last year, I got an ARC of A Duke Never Tells, Suzanne Enoch's previous novel, and it was a perfectly fine read, but I can't really remember a thing about it now, except that two different couples were romancing each other while assuming other people's identities. It certainly didn't make me smile, and even laugh, as much as this one. The previous book became a bit too messy to be a fun romp; this one succeeded better. A lot of romance novels, movies and television have done parent trap retellings, or stories with similar tropes. A few years ago, I read Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban, but here the scheming children are debutantes who try to get their parents to marry so they themselves don't have to. This one was a lot more entertaining, which isn't always an easy feat when two of the characters concerned are children of nine and ten. 

Even when they start acknowledging that they are growing to be more than just friends, neither Beckett nor Iris considers the other as a suitable future spouse. Beckett wants a lady of impeccable pedigree and breeding who can help advise and guide Rebecca and ensure that she fits into polite society. While he tries to ignore his overbearing mother, her constant criticism is starting to wear on him, and he's worried that growing up without a mother is damaging Rebecca. Because he was blinded by love and made a rather poor choice of first wife, he now wants a marriage without romantic entanglements. He wants a marriage of convenience, a platonic partnership, more to offer a maternal influence for his daughter than for himself. Iris is stubborn, has a terrible temper, is not afraid to speak her mind and has, on occasion, punched men who offended her. While he admires her spirit, he doesn't want his daughter to behave that way. 

Iris, meanwhile, married a man she thought needed her help and guidance, only to discover that he had a gambling problem even before they got married, which only got worse as their marriage continued. He fell when drunk and drowned in a ditch. Iris' father-in-law allowed them to stay in one of the houses on his estate, but as soon as he passed, her brother-in-law kicked them out, leaving them homeless and helpless. She knows what Beckett is looking for in a new wife and understands why she's not suitable. While she feels happier in his company than in years, she also wants him to have a wife who will be accepted in society, rather than constantly shocking and causing minor scandals. 

If the book had been longer, I suspect I would have been annoyed with the length of time it took for the other marital candidates to be neutralised (and while she is clearly an unpleasant person, I think the consequences for Beckett's first choice ended up being more horrible than she deserved) and for Beckett and Iris to finally get together. This is also one of the times when an epilogue would have been nice, to see how the new family was getting along. It is possible to have epilogues in romance that don't involve pregnancies, and one would have been nice here. 

Judging a book by its cover: I don't think smug-looking dude in a cravat is the way to sell a romance, but I'm not mad that it's not a cutesy cartoon cover. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR18 Book 12: "In Which Winnie Halifax is Utterly Ruined" by Alexandra Vasti

Page count: 196 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Reading Rainbow - Purple/violet cover

It's 1811. Winnifred "Winnie" Wallace just wants to settle down in a small town in Wales and raise sheep. She has a modest amount of money, given to her by her con woman mother before said woman absconded to France. However, being a single woman trying to establish herself leads to a lot of suspicion, so Winnie fibs a tiny bit and claims to be married, but estranged from her husband. She literally makes up a name and an address for her fictional spouse, and suddenly she's welcomed into the community.

Ten years later, Spencer Halifax, the Earl of Warren, is told by his solicitor, Henry Mortimer, that it has come to his attention that a woman claims to be married to Spencer, and has copies of banns that very much seem to suggest that the wedding took place. Because all the church records of the place where they supposedly got married were lost when the church burned down, legally speaking, there is no way to disprove the claim, and Spencer may in fact have a wife in Wales. 

Spencer has to rescue his fake wife from the local jail, where she's ended up after punching a rival farmer who accused her of theft. Once she cleans up all the grime, he is, of course, stunned by her beauty (they are never just plain and average in these stories). She convinces him that she in no way wanted to defraud or entrap him in any way, and is rather shocked to realise that her clever lies and external circumstances might mean they are actually legally married. She agrees to accompany him to London, but there is a chance they may have to ask for an actual annulment.

Margo's novella was the shortest of the three stories, and the one I liked the least. Matilda's is probably the longest, and the one I liked the most. That puts Spencer's novella smack bang in the middle, at four stars. It's the most farcical of the three stories, and the plot just keeps getting more and more preposterous as the story progresses. There's the fake marriage to be dealt with, and Winnie's secret plan to return the stolen necklaces her mother gave her to their rightful owners, which involves showing up at dinner parties and hiding in broom closets, and sneaking about at the opera, and what have you. It's not quite insta-love in this story, but it comes very close. Winnie and Spencer don't spend a lot of time together before it becomes clear that their fake marriage should become a real one, and that both of them are sick of being alone and terribly responsible apart, when they have so much fun together. 

I'm really glad that I have discovered Alexandra Vasti as a writer. I have an ARC of the novel she's releasing in June, and I'm really looking forward to reading it.

Judging a book by its cover: The covers of Vasti's self-published novellas are a lot less elaborate than her current romance covers. I do really like the shade of purple used for the background and the little white flowers. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

CBR18 Book 11: "The Halifax Hellions" by Alexandra Vasti

Page count: 384 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Novella 1: In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation (3.5 stars)

Novella 2: In Which Matilda Halifax Learns the Value of Restraint (4.5 stars)

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

This book collects two previously self-published novellas of Alexandra Vasti's, and includes an additional epilogue which has never before been available.

Margo and Matilda Halifax are identical twins, the wealthy younger sisters of an Earl and have basically been seen as outrageous scandals for the years since they made their debut. Both are fiercely loyal and protective of the other; however, neither of them knows that the other has grown rather weary of being seen as shocking and extreme, and they mostly now long to settle down and live quieter lives.

Lady Margaret "Margo" Halifax shows up, soaking wet, on the doorstep of Henry Mortimer, her brother's solicitor and best friend. She believes Matilda has eloped with a dangerous and unpleasant man, and wants to intercept her sister before she gets to Scotland to get married. Henry has been a responsible and steady presence in her life since they met seven years ago, and he's the only one she can think of to ask for help in this situation. 

Henry Mortimer has been in lust with Margo since the first moment he saw her, tying a cherry stem into a knot with her mouth, while fending off suitors in her family's drawing room. He's been in love with her almost as long, because as her brother's best friend, he has seen other sides to Margo than most people in the ton have. The thought of being alone in a carriage with Margo for days on end is pure torture, because he's not sure he'll be able to keep his feelings hidden, but he can't let her endanger herself by running off alone to rescue Matilda.

I'm sure it will be no surprise to anyone that Henry's absolutely right, and that after days in close confinement, they are ready to jump each other's bones. Margo is less in tune with her feelings than Henry, so it takes her a bit longer to realise that she doesn't just want a quick fling with Henry, she'd like to spend the rest of her life with him (whether they manage to stop Matilda or not). 

My notes show me that I read this novella in August 2024, and despite this, I only barely remembered any details. It felt like I was reading it for the first time, not re-reading an old favourite. I can only imagine I was in a very strange headspace when I first read it, which made the details of the story slip from my mind. 

Margo and Henry's novella is the shorter of the two, taking up the first third of the book. Towards the end of the story, our bumbling pursuers actually manage to catch up to Matilda and her potential groom, and it's clear that the sisters should have been a lot more honest and forthcoming with one another. 

Matilda has not been entirely truthful about her true relationship to Christian de Bord, the Marquess of Ashford, who has a very fearsome reputation and possibly murdered his wife. Ashford normally resides alone with his sister in Northumberland, but travels to London because very erotic images of him have been printed in a lewd pamphlet, and he has identified the artist as none other than the infamous Matilda Halifax. She's rather shocked when he confronts her, and while she proves to him that the original drawings have been tampered with, probably to sell more pamphlets, she also feels compelled to confess that he was the inspiration for a lot of her drawings (she's been illustrating erotica in secret for years). Our Matilda has heard rumours about Ashford that he may share certain sexual proclivities of hers, and has apparently been nursing some pretty spicy fantasies about the reclusive nobleman.

Because of the drawings and his already rather dark reputation, Ashford hasn't been able to find an art tutor for his younger sister. Matilda, who is an accomplished artist (she doesn't only draw erotic images) and feels guitly about her part in his difficulties. So she offers to go with him to his estate in Northumberland to tutor his sister, and hopefully persuade her that she might want to travel to London in the near future. Instead of explaining this to her sister, however, Matilda concocts a lie about eloping, and the situation is further complicated because Margo disguised herself as her sister and tried to confront Ashford. Feeling rather irritated because of his inconvenient attraction to the young lady, Ashford said some very shocking things, only to realise shortly afterwards that he'd made suggestive and rather threatening remarks to the wrong twin. So Margo believe her sister to be running off to marry a deranged, perverted wife-murderer. 

While Margo's novella takes place in quite a short space of time, Matilda's story is spread out over a longer time period. There is delighful bantery letters exchanged between her and Ashford, and there's all sorts of mutual pining, Matilda adopting a cat she plans to give to Christian's sister (and him allowing the cat to stay, despite being violently allergic). There's also winning over the Mrs. Danvers-esque housekeeper and trying to befriend Ashford's painfully shy younger sister. I liked the second novella a lot more, mainly because I felt the relationship between Christian and Matilda had time and space to develop properly.

I enjoyed both novellas, though, and am glad I also have the third one Ms. Vasti self-published, where we find out how the elder brother of the twins meets and falls for his wife. 

Judging a book by its cover: I like the bright colours and whimsical details on this cover. The dark and forboding castle in one corner, with the implication that Matilda has been carried off by the brooding Christian, while Margo and Henry pursue them in a carriage. The cherries and the cat are also nice touches (although the cat decribed in the story seems a lot closer to a Persian than the cat on this cover). 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR18 Book 4: "I've Got My Duke to Keep Me Warm" by Kelly Bowen

Page count: 352

Rating: 4 stars

Buzzword Reading Challenge 26: Me/My

Buzzword Cover Challenge 26: Wearable accessories (the cape!)

Defeating the Goblin TBR: The Dusty Book (has been on my TBR since 2016)

Monthly Keyword Challenge: Keep

Reading Rainbow - White Cover

Everyone believes that Giselle Whitby, is dead. Four years ago, she had to fake her death to escape her sadistic, controlling and abusive husband, the Marquess of Valence. To make sure there was no doubt of her demise, Giselle made sure the boat she and her stepdaughter were on exploded, in sight of half of London society. Conveniently, Giselle was wearing a very expensive diamond necklace at the time, meaning she escaped with a large share of her husband's fortune. Since her disappearance, Giselle has been in hiding, establishing a network of associates, helping other women in abusive relationships escape their husbands. Now she has discovered that Lord Valence plans to marry another young lady, and she has less than a week to stop him. 

Because one of her usual co-conspirators is off to Scotland to get married (to the stepdaughter who also escaped four years ago), Giselle needs to find another man who can help her foil her erstwhile abuser's marriage plans. She finds James "Jamie" Moncrieff drunk in a tavern and decides he will serve their purposes well enough. Once he sobers up and has a bath, Giselle and her partner (her husband's former valet) discover that he is a former war hero, still struggling with PTSD and guilt from the Napoleonic War. He is also the illegitimate son of a duke (because his father, the duke, married his mother a few hours after he was born. So he's the eldest son, but has no claims to the title. He is tall, muscular, handsome, charming, intelligent, deeply honourable, excellent at cards, great with horses and looks spectacular in evening wear. Does this man have any flaws at all?

Aiding Giselle in her plans is the Dowager Duchess of Worth, who is tremendously wealthy and appears mad as a box of cats every time she appears in public. To support her eccentric reputation, she collects chicken memorabilia (everything from carved birds, porcelin and even jewelled chickens) and even has a pet chicken with her every time she leaves the house. Her son, the current Duke of Worth, is concerned for his mother and keeps trying to get her to move in with him, without any luck. 

Giselle is described as a beautiful and accomplished woman, a bit of an ice queen, but thanks to her sadistic ex, is covered with scars on parts of the body fancy gowns would normally cover. With the impressive collar of diamonds she escaped with, she could have fled far away from England and made sure there was no chance her husband could ever find her. Instead, she has the Dowager Duchess sneakily selling off the diamonds to fund her rescue operations, and has gathered a network of concerned helpers from all layers of society to give these battered women safe havens when they've been successfully disappeared.

As far as I can tell, this is Kelly Bowen's debut romance novel, the first in her Dukes of Worth trilogy. Goodreads tells me that I read the third book in the series back in 2017, but didn't find it too impressive. In her later romances, Bowen basically has all her heroines be impressively competent in a number of fields, and all the men who fall for them are happy to play a supportive role in these women's lives, while clearly also adoring them. There are traces of that here as well, but since the entire plot takes place over the course of about a week, I think Giselle and Jamie fall for each other implausibly quickly, especially considering Giselle's previous abusive relationship. I was entertained enough that I'm going to want to read the second book in the series as well, featuring the Duke of Worth and his mother's mysterious ladies' companion. Also, I wish Bowen still wrote traditional historical romance; she was really good at it. 

Judging a book by its cover: I literally have NO idea what this cover has to do with the book, except for the cover model being a blonde. This is a fairly dark novel, with protagonists who have gone through a lot. Absolutely nowhere in the book does Giselle put on a big red fur-lined cloak and dance about in the snow. She mostly stays hidden and wears plain clothing so as not to attract attention. I also don't think the book is set in the winter. What were the design team thinking here? With all the red and white, it also makes it seem like a Christmas book. It is not. 

 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR17 Book 66: "Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen

Page count: 464 pages

Audio book length: 11 hrs 25 mins

Rating: 4.5 stars

CBR17 Bingo: Black (a book with a black cover)

I had completely forgotten that I read and reviewed this book back in 2016. My original review can be found here. 

My plot summary of the more than 200-year-old novel can be found in my previous review. Nevertheless, my reading experience this time around was different enough from earlier times that I wanted to write about some of my thoughts and observations, not to mention some of the points of discussion that came up during my book club discussion about it recently.

There are some rather uneducated modern beliefs that there were no neurodivergent individuals in the past. Because there has been a sharp rise in the number of people (especially children) diagnosed with either ADHD or Autism, many believe that this is something new, and not something that has always been around, just unacknowledged by people, because they didn't have the diagnostic tools to identify it. Case in point, some now suspect Jane Austen may have been on the autism spectrum, and eagle-eyed readers claim that there is at least one autistic-coded character in each of her published novels. The reason I'm opening with this is because one of the members of my book club, who is on the autism spectrum, posited that Marianne Dashwood is clearly also neurodivergent and, over the course of the novel, forced to adapt and conform to societal pressures and learn to mask her true self. Based on my own experiences, with an autistic husband and a son with ADHD, I'm now more convinced than ever that Mr. Darcy is on the spectrum, so once this member explained her reasoning, it seems likely that she might be right about Marianne as well. 

According to her, Marianne's complete disdain for the thoughts and opinions of others, to the point where she is frequently brusque and rude at social gatherings, her inability to govern her emotions (or "sensibility") and her hyper-focused love of her own interests, at the expense of anything else, are all very autism-coded. She has difficulty with social cues, which is one of the reasons she causes a scene in public when she finally sees Willoughby again at the ball in town, after months of no contact. By the end of the book, heartbreak and prolonged illness have made her a mere shadow of her former self, and she seems to accept that she needs to be a quieter, more moderately behaved young woman.

Another thing that was strange and a bit uncomfortable when re-reading the book this time is realising that I'm now older than most of the characters. Colonel Brandon, who is frequently described as old, set in his ways and fussy, is only 35 years old! Also, it is mentioned more than once that he like wearing a flannel waistcoat, as if this is something negative, and not proof that the man dislikes the cold and likes to be comfortable. I totally defend his desire to be snug and warm. At 46, I am now older than Mrs Dashwood, the girls' widowed mother, and the character I am probably most like in social status and age is the meddling, yet ultimately kind-hearted Mrs Jennings, a matron with two grown daughters. So all I can look forward to now is trying to match-make and chaperone younger women. 

Another point of discussion was the fact that all the men in this, yes, EVEN Colonel Brandon, are kind of awful. He is the least worst, but his attraction to Marianne does seem to be based on her similarity to his doomed first love, rather than because of her own personality. And every single character, even Marianne's mother and beloved sister Elinor, seems to think that it's only right and proper that he get Marianne as his wife for being patient and pining, without really considering Marianne's agency in the slightest. Marianne seems so exhausted and dejected towards the end that she's clearly willing to go along with anything, especially if it means she will stop her family from worrying about her. He does get points for raising his dead love's illegitimate child, ignoring all the gossip that whispers that she is his child out of wedlock. 

I think it's only because of Hugh Grant's adorable puppy dog portrayal of Edward Ferrars, Elinor's love interest, that I didn't recall that he is one of the dullest people I have encountered in fiction. He is described as not particularly attractive physically, he makes absolutely no attempts to try and influence his life, and even though his mother treats him appallingly, he never stands up for himself. He's not brave enough to confess to Elinor about his secret betrothal when they first meet, and he falls in love with her; she has to find out in the worst possible way from conniving snake Lucy Steele. He doesn't even end his own unhappy engagement; he waits around until he is dumped by Lucy Steele, cast off for his own brother. If she hadn't eloped with someone else, he would just have dully suffered in silence in a dreadful marriage of unequal partners. 

Then there is Willoughby, who, one of the members in my book club feels, is actually even worse than Wickham, who is despicable and an absolute predator, but at least owns his own actions. Willoughby not only knocks up and callously abandons Brandon's ward, leaving her absolutely no way of contacting him (ghosting was WAY easier in the 1800s, you just had to move to a different part of the country and leave no forwarding address), and actually seems surprised and dismayed when his elderly aunt takes him to task for this. He never makes any concrete promises to Marianne, and when she is on her deathbed, he shows up and drunkenly rants at Elinor about how sad he is, because while he loves Marianne, he loves himself and his financial security more. He HAD to marry the extremely wealthy young heiress with 50,000 pounds a year, because true love doesn't pay for expensive horses and fancy carriages and the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed. We were all in agreement that if he lived now, he would have a podcast and be a manosphere influencer. No taking responsibility for his own careless actions and owning up to his mistakes for Willoughby. 

We also agreed that while Lucy Steele is a conniving, mean girl, if the ultimate goal for Regency women was to marry someone who could secure them for the rest of their days, she is absolutely the winner. Her constant "worried" confessions to Elinor about her secret engagement to Edward are obviously meant to taunt and torture the other woman, and she is obviously a social-climbing opportunist. She even takes all of her poor sister's money when she runs off to marry Ferrars the younger. We all hoped her boring sister ended up happily married to her doctor eventually. 

Some of the members of my book club were rather surprised at this being categorised as romance, and those of us who are long-time fans of Austen had to explain that because SOME of her novels have a strong romantic plot, it would be more accurate to classify them as social satires. Because Pride and Prejudice is so very romantic, and her most popular one, all of her books have been labelled by publishers as romance, because that sells more. This book is more a family story, and a coming of age novel, and the plot would have worked just as well if all the suitors were taken out of the equation. Marianne would certainly have been better off because of it. 

Judging a book by its cover (and illustrations): The cover I have chosen to feature is that of my older paperback edition (because it is actually mostly black, except for the lady faces). These women seem much older than 17 and 19, though. The edition I actually read, this time, was my tiny pocket-sized hardback, the 250th Anniversary Edition, which has a red and green cover, and cover illustrations inside by Hugh Thompson. While they are lovely, the pedant in me got annoyed that they are not period-appropriate. Austen's novels are famously set in the Regency era, while all the clothes and hairstyles from the illustrations were clearly from the Georgian era, several decades earlier. It's a stupid niggle, to be sure, but it annoyed me throughout. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

CBR17 Book 57: "Ladies in Hating" by Alexandra Vasti

Page count: 345 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this ARC. My opinions are my own. 

Lady Georgiana Cleeve was disowned by her father when she announced that she was the author of several popular novels, and has lived alone with her mother ever since, cut off from all contact with her brothers, convinced that the scandal she brought on herself and her family would irrevocably tarnish the reputations of anyone connected to her. She is selling well and her books are popular, but for the last few years, she has noticed a number of worrying similarities between her own books and those of another lady novelist, who also writes Gothic romances. Could the preposterously named Lady Darling be plagiarising Georgina? And if so, how is she getting her information?

Georgina becomes obsessed with unmasking this mysterious rival, and eventually resorts to hiding in the bushes outside Belvoir Library, which distributes for both of them. She is shocked to discover that not only is Lady Darling someone she recognises, but someone she shares a past with. Catriona Rose Lacey is the daughter of a butler who worked for Georgina's family, but was suddenly fired and banished from the estate by Georgina's imperious father. She hasn't seen Catriona for over a decade, but seeing her again reawakens feelings that Georgina had almost forgotten existed. 

When confronted by the furious Georgina, Catriona fervently denies all her claims of plagiarism. While she read some of Georgina's early novels, she's been so busy writing and building her own career for the past few years that she's not had time to read anything at all. Cat writes to support herself, her cousin and her teenage brother, who now has a position as a clerk. For many years, after her father died, it was only the money Cat could bring in, from her writing and working in a pie shop, that kept the family from starving. Unlike what Georgina fears, Cat doesn't really hold a grudge against Georgina's father for firing her father and sending them packing, but that obviously takes some time to be revealed.

Since this is a romance, obviously, the two women can't stop thinking of each other, even when they are annoyed and consider the other a rival. Despite their attempts to avoid each other, they keep being thrown together, and once they end up literally trapped together in a crumbling Gothic mansion, which may or may not be actually haunted, their forced proximity leads to them eventually going from mutual pining to actually snogging (and eventually more). 

Cat and her family are worried that she's going to get her heart broken, mostly because of the big class difference between the two women. They aren't aware that Lady Georgina was cut off entirely by her father, and even after his death, has refused to contact her brothers for fear that they will reject her. Because of her father's treatment of her, she's convinced that she will lead anyone close to her to be tarnished by her scandal and ostracised by society, so she keeps herself entirely isolated, which, of course, is very destructive in the long run. 

This is a fairly slow-burn romance, and there is a fair amount of angst from Georgina, which keeps her from being able to fully open up to Cat or accept affection from anyone. There's a lot of fun shenanigans in the dilapidated mansion they spend a bunch of time in, and it's never entirely clear whether the place is actually haunted, or whether this is more the vivid imagination of the two women. 

This is the third and final novel in the Belvoir's Library series, but it works fine as a stand-alone novel. You don't need to have read any of the previous two, but for the curious, it's fun to see Lady Georgina as a supporting character in Ne'er Duke Well (where she avoids marriage proposals by pretending to be the most vacuous of airheads) and in Earl Crush, where she is a very supportive and entertaining friend to the heroine. She was a great supporting character in both of these previous novels, which is why I'm glad she got a romance of her own. It seems that Iris, another supporting character in these novels, is going to be denied her happy ending, since Ms. Vasti didn't get to continue the series to a fourth book. I am nevertheless very excited to see what she writes next. 

Judging a book by its cover: While I'm not exactly super fond of the various shades of pink of the cover, the cover image shows a fun and rather dramatic scene in the novel (where our two heroines are trying to escape the Gothic ruins they find themselves trapped in). I especially like the inclusion of Georgina's fluffy dog, (Francis) Bacon, in all his derpy glory.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR17 Book 32: "Manic Pixie Dream Earl" by Jenny Holiday

Page count: 320 pages

Audio book length: 11 hrs 15 mins

Rating: 3.5 stars

Thanks to Jenny Holiday, Netgalley and Tantor Audio for this ARC. My opinion is my own.

Edward "Effie" Astley, Viscount Featherfinch, is a poet and a terrible disappointment to his father. Thankfully, he's about to set off on the annual "Earl's trip" with his two best friends, who support him come what may. So they don't ask any questions when Effie asks them to help him store a broken printing press, nor why he's so preoccupied with letters from a Miss Evans. Effie doesn't really want to confess to having become infatuated with a non-aristocratic lady, who coincidentally thinks he's a woman too, called Euphemia. 

Miss Julianna Evans loves the magazine she publishes, but hates that her odious brother insists on weekly editorial meetings and keeps questioning every decision she makes, constantly cutting her budget. Normally, she's far too busy to ever consider taking a brief holiday, but when there is a delay at her printers, and the alternative is waiting impatiently at her sister's house, generally just being in the way, she impulsively decides that she's going to spend some of her hard-earned savings to go to Brighton to meet her best friend Euphemia, who she knows will be staying there with her friends. 

Brighton isn't a big enough place for Effie and Julianna to avoid each other for very long (nor would this be a particularly effective romance novel if they did). Considering Effie has been lying about his identity to Julianna for the past five years, she gets over the deceit remarkably quickly. Effie's two best buds also take it in their stride that their slightly unorthodox bestie is in love with a magazine publisher who is quite a few years his elder.

The publisher claims that this book is Ted Lasso meets Bridgerton meets The Hangover. I have complained in the past that absolutely everything set in the Regency era is now marketed towards "fans of Bridgerton", and I can only surmise that the Ted Lasso comparison is made because this book features non-toxic male friendships and guys who support each other in wholesome ways, while The Hangover is thrown in there because it's the most famous dudes on a road trip story out there, even now, sixteen years later. I despair at these sales pitches. 

There is a lot to like here. Effie is bisexual and has no problem admitting this to his friends, although his friends seem to have suspected him to be gay and/or asexual before he reveals his feelings for Julianna. There's the aforementioned non-toxic male friendships. We have an age gap, where the heroine is about a decade older than the hero (Effie is in his late twenties, Julianna is in her late thirties). Most of the book takes place in Brighton rather than London, and the more unusual location made for a nice change. 

Harry Frost does a good job with the narration of the book, but I find that about a month after finishing the story, I don't remember too much of the overall plot. While I've liked several of Jenny Holiday's contemporary romances, I'm not sure I liked her rather unusual take on the historical genre. Nevertheless, I already own Earl's Trip, the first book in the series, so I'll probably get round to reading it at some point. I also hope she gets round to writing about Effie's friend Olive in some future instalment, she was the most interesting supporting character here. 

Judging a book by its cover: This cover is rather busy, and features a number of people in various situations, not all of which take place in the actual story, unless my memory entirely fails me. I think there are too many things going on here. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR17 Book 22: "Lady Knight" by Amalie Howard

Page count: 384 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Nowhere Books Bingo 25: Book by an author you've never read

Thank you to Netgalley and Joy Revolution for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

Lady Zenobia "Zia" Osborn and several of her female friends have started a secret society, calling themselves Lady Knights, and at night, they dress up as highwaymen and rob the carriages of Lady Zia's brother's rich friends. They need to collect enough money to ensure the survival of their boarding school, not to mention the orphanage next door to the school. The rents keep being raised, and if the nuns who run the orphanage can't pay, they and all the helpless children will be evicted. 

One of Lady Zia's teachers is a progressive young woman who allows her charges to read controversial literature, like Mary Wollstonecraft or Frankenstein. She also encourages the young women's intelligence and critical thinking and encourages Zia's interest in music. Despite their best efforts to disguise themselves, someone recognises Zia, and can't for the life of him figure out why the daughter of a duke would risk her life at night, robbing noblemen.

Mr. Rafi Nasser, nephew to the unscrupulous nobleman who wants to evict the orphans, also happens to be the best friend of Zia's older brother. As such, he's had plenty of opportunities to observe Zia, and he can recognise her distinctive perfume and her voice, even when she's dressed up and robbing him at gunpoint. Even when he finds out why Zia and her friends (none of them from families as rich and influential as herself) are doing their dangerous nighttime raids, he encourages her to stop, before anyone gets hurt. 

Even Zia's daytime pursuits are enough to make her father upset with her, wanting her to settle down and find a suitable husband. Rafi has a vested interest in keeping an eye on Zia, Zia needs someone her parents like as a suitor, so they agree to a fake courtship to get Zia's parents to calm down. As is always the case with fake courtships, it doesn't take very long before the feelings are all too real.

I know Amalie Howard has written a number of historical romances for adults, and this is her second one for a YA audience. While I own several of her books, including Queen Bee, the companion novel to this one (featuring Zia's brother and the woman he eventually ends up engaged to, in a YA Regency twist on The Count of Monte Cristo, if the description is to be believed), I have never actually sat down to read one of her books. So getting this ARC was a good thing because it forced me to actually commit to reading one of her books. I'm now really glad that I have a large back catalogue of her books to dive into, because this book was delightful.

While it may seem like Zia and her friends get up to all sorts of anachronistic lady shenanigans, it seems like Howard has actually done her research pretty well, although as with the Bridgerton TV series, the English nobility of Howard's fictional universe is certainly a lot more diverse than I suspect was the case in real life. Zia's formidable duchess mother is from India, and Rafi's mother is Persian. One of Zia's best friends is Asian, and there is also some very nicely done queer representation in the book, including Zia's asexual best friend, who's known her intended (also ace) husband since childhood. Representation matters, people, especially in YA books. 

Since this is a YA novel, it is a rather chaste affair. I think there was some kissing between Zia and Rafi, but nothing beyond that. Their romance was very sweet, though, and I can't wait to go back to read the story of Zia's brother and future sister-in-law. 

Judging a book by its cover: Not only does this have yet another animated cover, but it looks a bit like it was made as a colouring book template. The whole thing looks like it may be from a "Regency colouring book for adults". The couple on the cover at least look like they might be Zia and Rafi, though, so I guess that's a good thing. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR17 Book 21: "A Duke Never Tells" by Suzanne Enoch

Page count: 352 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Bramble for this ARC. My opinions are my own. 

Lady Margaret "Meg" Pinwell is about to start her first season when her father announces that he's spoken to his old friend, the Duke of Earnhurst, and secured her a coveted match with said duke's son and heir. Before Meg has a chance to even go to London and have any fun during the Season, the Duke promptly dies, and forces Meg into a year of mourning, since she is now affianced with the new duke. 

A year later, with absolutely no contact from the man she is contracted to marry, Meg is unsurprisingly a bit fed up. A missive to her parents assures them that the new Duke still intends to honour the agreement and Meg will become a duchess without ever even having been to London. The new Duke is rumoured to be quite the rake, with a reputation for gambling, carousing and womanising before his father's death. He didn't even show up to his own father's funeral. Meg asks her aunt Clara (her mother's younger sister) for advice, and they think up a scheme, where they will go to the ducal country estate, pretending to be ladies on the way to London, touring country estates. With Meg disguised as Clara's impoverished companion, they will hopefully get the chance to ask the duke's staff about him, so Meg can get a clearer idea of whether she wants to marry this man at all.

Unbeknownst to Meg and Clara, James Clay, the current Duke of Earnhurst is in fact residing at his country estate, arguing with Elliot Riniken, his father's former (now his) estate management about how his irresponsible behaviour has led to the estate being an overgrown mess, with a manor house that's falling apart. Water leaks have led to several holes in the ceiling, the library is partially covered in mould, and most of the staff have run off to get new positions, with the former butler having stolen a lot of the more valuable silver. The reason the estate is in such a dreadful state is that the former Duke wanted his son to return home, and face his responsibilities for a few years before his death. Both men were incredibly stubborn, James refused, while his father just gave up on any and all upkeep of the house or surroundings, because he decided it was up to his son to fix things. Now they're about to host a wedding in six weeks, and Rinikin can't authorise any repairs until the new duke signs off on them. James seems mostly happy to drink himself into a stupor. 

Since there are barely any servants left on the premises, the duke himself opens the door when Clara, not actually a noblewoman but the younger sister of a woman who has married an earl, arrives, disguised as a highborn lady, Lady Sophronia, accompanied by her paid companion, Mabel (Meg). Having recently raided the wine cellar, James thinks it will be a great idea to claim he is the butler of the estate, and he takes the two ladies into the duke's office, claiming that Mr Riniken is the duke. Riniken, a former army officer, is a good ten years older than James, so the two ladies are quite shocked by his appearance, not to mention the ramshackle state of the building, and the fact one of the only servants they can see appears to be drunk in the middle of the day. 

Since the ladies are pretending to tour country houses, they agree to go on a tour of the premises (in some of the rooms that aren't actively dangerous to enter), but they've not been there long before Meg tumbles down half a staircase, due to a rotten bannister, and injures her foot badly. The doctor proclaims that she needs complete rest for at least one week, probably two, and suddenly James' practical joke will need to be maintained for the duration of the ladies' stay, lest gossip spread to London that the new Duke of Earnhurst is a drunken madman who pretends to be a butler to visitors. 

Four people, lying about their true identities, two of them also about the reason they're even at the estate in the first place, are stuck in a house that's falling apart, forced into close proximity while maintaining an increasingly more elaborate deception. Since Meg/Mabel is forced to stay bedridden for a lot of the stay, Clara/Sophronia spends a lot of time trying to get to know the "Duke" better, so they can find evidence to present to Meg's parents for why the match must be broken. Finding herself gradually falling for the man she believes is her beloved niece's intended isn't exactly ideal. Rinikin, on his part, is fighting his attraction to what he believes to be a woman of a much higher status than himself. James, seemingly the world's worst butler, would also be a deeply inappropriate match for Lady Margaret Pinwell, or even Mabel the ladies' companion - but they also can't seem to stop being drawn to one another, kissing whenever the opportunity arises.

In your standard romance novel, you sometimes get romances featuring the mistaken identity trope. Well, in this book, not only do you get two romances for the price of one, but you get mistaken identity times four. Not only that, but you get multiple POVs. Not only do the readers get to see the story through Meg, Clara, James and Elliot's eyes, but there are a few chapters from the POV of James' very supercilious and long-suffering valet. 

It's been years since I read a romance by Suzanne Enoch, and this was quite different from any historical romance I've read before. Sometimes you have secondary romances taking place in the background while our protagonists find their HEAs, but in this book, there are four protagonists and both romances come with a number of complications, getting more and more farcical as the story progresses. 

While we are given reasons for why James Clay has been completely ignoring his responsibilities for years, causing his country estate to deteriorate so badly, they just seemed rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things. His father was too hard on him, he seemed to always prefer the opinions of Rinikin and treated him as a replacement son (at least in the eyes of James). Because of the weird power struggle between the former duke and his son, most of the staff went without wages and were forced to find jobs elsewhere. Rinikin is at his wits' end trying to keep the business side of the dukedom afloat. It's not until a beautiful woman is badly hurt falling down the stairs that James seems to see that the house is a wreck and he needs to do something to fix it. Not only does he authorise Rinikin to handle craftsmen to come to repair it, but he does a lot of the physical labour himself, especially when it comes to restoring the gardens (this also seemed rather out of character for a privileged nobleman). 

Obviously, everything works out fine in the end, with everyone's true identities being revealed in plenty of time for a double wedding and HEAs all over the place. This was a fun enough book, but I think four people running around lying about their identities was a bit too much for me. I don't mind a light-hearted romp, but there were a bit too many complications for me to be likely to want to reread this in the future. 

Judging a book by its cover: While I'm delighted to see something other than yet another cartoony cover on a romance novel, I'm not sure that this is a great improvement. The hot pink, the lurid green, the teal of the cover model's cravat. It's all a bit of an eyesore. The guy's smirk isn't exactly helping, either. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR17 Book 8: "Earl Crush" by Alexandra Vasti

Page count: 352 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Nowhere Books Bingo 25: Book about a road trip or travelling

Disclaimer! This was an ARC granted to me from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. My opinions are my own. 

Lydia Hope-Wallace is a wallflower, and perfectly happy to remain so, because she has crippling social anxiety and tends to throw up if forced to interact too much with people outside her immediate family or friends. She's been secretly writing seditious pamphlets and publishing them anonymously for the past three years, and for almost as long, she has been corresponding with a man she believes to be the Earl of Strathrannnoch. When she discovers that Strathrannoch castle is pretty much falling down and the earldom has no funds to fix this with, she rather impulsively decides to go see her penpal and offer him a marriage of convenience. Lydia may be a wallflower, but she's also the second richest heiress on the marriage mart, and all those buckets of money that come with her hand in marriage should be enough to restore any mouldering old castle and struggling estate.

Unfortunately, when she arrives in Scotland, her pragmatic and sensible friend Georgiana in tow, she discovers that Arthur Baird, the Earl of Strathrannoch, has no idea who she is. It turns out that it's Arthur's younger brother who has been writing to Lydia for all these years, and he's currently gone missing, having stolen one of Arthur's inventions to boot. Arthur isn't entirely sure what to do with the beautiful flustered redhead on his doorstep, let alone why she might be proposing to marry him, but Lydia is his best chance at trying to track down his missing brother, who might be wanting to use Arthur's invention (a telescopic rifle sight) for nefarious means. So while she's initially mortified and tries to run away, he's able to persuade her to help him locate his brother. 

What follows is a road trip romp, involving zebras, awkward house parties, Arthur and Lydia having to pretend to be married, lying to family friends, and lying to Lydia's brother, who suddenly shows up in Scotland under an assumed name, possibly treasonous French people, spies, a possible plot against the Duke of Wellington and more. There is a whole lot of travelling from Scotland to London or from London to Scotland at speeds that seem implausible to me, and the rigours of travel mostly being ignored in service of the light-hearted plot. 

Arthur is convinced Lydia is in love with his brother (she's not, she really did want to offer him a platonic marriage of convenience so he could use her money). Lydia is cripplingly shy and struggles in any social situation, and doesn't think anyone could ever want her. Both are madly attracted to the other, but it takes some time for them to realise this and act on their feelings. Once they do, there's a fair amount of smexy times, including outside in what seems to be rather a cold forest grove. There's a lot of pining and angst from both characters, even after they've actually started acting on their pants feelings, culminating in Arthur doing something truly stupid towards the end of the book (it's OK, he grovels and makes it all better after a while). 

As well as the reappearance of characters the reader may have met in Ne'er Duke Well (Selina and her husband, as well as Georgiana), there is a rather large supporting cast, including the lovely retainers at Arthur's castle, who keep conspiring to make sure he and Lydia end up together, Lydia's four older brothers and even her rather meddlesome mother are all a lot of fun. This was an entertaining book, but there seemed to be too many shenanigans and a bit too much "he/she couldn't possibly love ME" for it to be one that I see myself revisiting for comfort rereads. I'm very excited for the third book in the series, though, where Georgiana finally meets her (sapphic) match. That's not out until September, sadly.

Judging a book by its cover: I like that while the cover for Ne'er Duke Well was mostly in blue and green, here there is a lot of violet and purple to complement the green. What I don't like is how tiny the guy in the carriage is. Arthur is described as a big hulking giant of a man so many times throughout the book, this guy looks perfectly normal-sized. Disappointing. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR17 Book 7: "Ne'er Duke Well" by Alexandra Vasti

Page count: 354 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Nowhere Book Bingo 25: Recommended by a friend (see, Des, I finally read it!)

Buzzwords 2025 Cover Challenge: Foliage

Peter Kent has lived most of his life in America, and certainly never expected to inherit a dukedom. Now he's the Duke of Stanhope and desperately trying to be granted custody of his younger half-siblings, both of whom treat him with disdain and claim they are perfectly happy living with their decrepit guardian. It doesn't help his case that Peter's inexperience with English high society keeps inadvertently landing him in scandalous situations. He needs help to rehabilitate his reputation and turns to the cleverest woman he knows.

Lady Selina Ravenscroft has an impeccable pedigree and a flawless reputation because no one knows that she organises and runs a circulating library of erotic literature for women. The way to clean up Peter's somewhat shaky image would be for him to court and preferably marry a thoroughly respectable woman, preferably before the court hearing about the custody of his siblings. Selina quickly makes a list of three perfectly suitable young women and tries to coach Peter on how best to court them. Unfortunately, the only woman Peter feels any sort of interest in is Selina, and the more time they spend together, trying to make him fall for another woman, the more certain he becomes that the only woman he wants to marry is her. 

My friend Desdemona has been nagging me to read Alexandra Vasti for absolutely ages, since long before this novel was even published. I did take her advice and read the first of Vasti's Halifax Hellions novellas last year and enjoyed it, but then got distracted by something else shiny on my ever-expanding TBR list, and I never got around to reading any more. When I was granted an ARC of Vasti's second novel through NetGalley (so exciting!), it seemed natural to read this one first. As far as I understand, that novel's heroine is Selina's best friend Lydia (also the name of my best friend!), who here features as one of Peter's potential brides-to-be. Unfortunately, Lydia has crippling social anxiety, frequently vomits in potted plants at balls, and can't seem to manage to speak to anyone outside her immediate family and friends - so doesn't really respond too well to Peter's advances. Plus, it's obvious to her and everyone who sees them together that Peter is mad for Selina, and he doesn't have eyes for anyone else when she's nearby.

There were several scenes in this book that felt a bit farcical, but I enjoyed the chemistry and banter between Peter and Selina enough to overlook a lot of it. Peter's half-siblings are given enough characterisation to not just be plot moppets, and his determination to become their guardian and give them safe and happy lives is explained once the reader is given insight into his past and the half-sibling he lost while growing up in America. I love a nursing back-to-health scene in a romance, but not really involving potentially dying children - that's just a bummer all-round. 

The supporting cast, featuring Selina's family members (her twin brother Will only appears in letters they exchange - he's off being a soldier, mourning his dead wife and child), and her various friends who she tries to set Peter up with, are mostly a delight. I would not be surprised to see all of them in future novels of Vasti's, finding their own HEAs. I also liked that there was no actual villain in this story. The baron who is set to judge the court hearing is portrayed as stern and concerned with traditional values, but he clearly adores his wife and seems somewhat concerned that Peter may not be up for the task of raising headstrong children (which, considering his townhouse barely has furniture when Selina first moves in(!) is a fair thing to be concerned about. 

This was a fun little romance, and a heroine who takes it upon herself to educate the women of the ton in matters of sexuality, to ensure that they're not woefully unprepared for married life is impossible not to admire. 

Judging a book by its cover: If there have to be animated covers (and what romance doesn't have those these days?), at least it's nice to see one that tries to depict something close to a scene that actually appears in the novel. Not that the character supposed to be Selina looks like she just took a swim in a river. So points deducted for that. I do like all the blues and greens on the cover - they please the eye.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.