Category: Romance

Title: The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons #2)
Author: Julia Quinn
Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Avon Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: December 5, 2000
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, This Author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London’s most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry. And in all truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better…

–Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers, April 1814

But this time the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn’t just decided to marry–he’s even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended’s older sister, Kate Sheffield–the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate’s the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams…

Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes to not make the best husbands–and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate’s determined to protect her sister–but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony’s lips touch hers, she’s suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself…

Review:

Anthony Bridgerton is the most eligible bachelor of the season. He’s finally decided to marry, but he knows he will never love his wife. He has chosen to court Edwina Sheffield, but her sister Kate keeps getting in the way. Kate is concerned with making sure her sister finds a good husband, not a rake like Anthony. To keep him away from her sister, Kate ends up spending more time with Anthony. When they suddenly kiss, neither of them can think about anything else and they have to be together.

This story followed a very similar plot to The Duke and I. The hero didn’t want to fall in love, but he ends up in a situation where he had to marry the heroine. Anthony also let his father’s life and death dictate his choices, just like Simon did in the previous book. Anthony’s father died in his late thirties, so he believed he would not live past that age. Both men had to come to terms with the fact that they had to live their own lives, without worrying about following in their fathers’ footsteps.

I didn’t find that Lady Whistledown’s articles commented on the events of the story as much as in the previous novel. A couple of times she said that she wasn’t at certain events, but she would report on them anyway. She guessed at what was happening between Anthony and Kate, rather than reporting on what she knew was happening. There were a few hints as to her identity, and since I know who she is, I loved seeing these hints.

This was another great Bridgerton novel!

What to read next:

Other books in the series:

• The Duke and I
• An Offer From a Gentleman
• Romancing Mister Bridgerton
• To Sir Phillip, With Love
• When He Was Wicked
• It’s in His Kiss
• On the Way to the Wedding

Have you read The Viscount Who Loved Me? What did you think of it?

Title: The Heiress Gets a Duke (The Gilded Age Heiresses #1)
Author: Harper St. George
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 26, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Even a fortune forged in railroads and steel can’t buy entrance into the upper echelons of Victorian high society—for that you need a marriage of convenience.

American heiress August Crenshaw has aspirations. But unlike her peers, it isn’t some stuffy British Lord she wants wrapped around her finger—it’s Crenshaw Iron Works, the family business. When it’s clear that August’s outrageously progressive ways render her unsuitible for a respectable match, her parents offer up her younger sister to the highest entitled bidder instead. This simply will not do. August refuses to leave her sister to the mercy of a loveless marriage.

Evan Sterling, the Duke of Rothschild, has no intention of walking away from the marriage. He’s recently inherited the title only to find his coffers empty, and with countless lives depending on him, he can’t walk away from the fortune a Crenshaw heiress would bring him. But after meeting her fiery sister, he realizes Violet isn’t the heiress he wants. He wants August, and he always gets what he wants.

But August won’t go peacefully to her fate. She decides to show Rothschild that she’s no typical London wallflower. Little does she realize that every stunt she pulls to make him call off the wedding only makes him like her even more.

Review:

August Crenshaw is an American heiress to her father’s railway company. She and her family go to London for the season where her parents set up her younger sister to marry Evan Sterling, Duke of Rothschild. Though Evan is a Duke, he has inherited his father’s debt and his family is suffering because of it. He must marry a wealthy woman to save his family’s properties. However, he has a chance encounter with August before being formally introduced to her family. He realizes that August is the perfect match for him, but he has to convince this working heiress that she should marry him.

This is the perfect book to read right now. It is a fun regency romance, that will appeal to fans of Bridgerton. I just finished watching the Bridgerton TV show, and this was the perfect book to follow it.

This romance had just the right amount of steam. Right away, I could tell that August and Evan should be together. The title gives away the romance, since it says that the heiress will get the Duke, but I loved reading about their journey. It was a bumpy road to getting together which created a lot of romantic tension and suspense.

I loved this regency romance!

Thank you Berkley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Have you read The Heiress Gets a Duke? What did you think of it?

Title: Gorgana’s Secret
Author: Arlem Hawks
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 12, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A Regency romance on the high seas.

1811, HMS Deborah

Georgana Woodall dreams of freedom—freedom from her past and freedom from her secret. She has been living on her father’s ship for years, disguised as a cabin boy named “George.” But hiding her true self is becoming more difficult, and she yearns to break free of her life on the sea.

Lieutenant Dominic Peyton has no time in his life for love, not with his dedication to His Majesty’s Royal Navy claiming his full attention. Determined to prove himself to his new captain, he strives to be an exemplary officer and leader. When he sees the captain’s cabin boy being harassed by the crew, he immediately puts a stop to it and takes the boy under his wing.

Georgana quickly loses her heart to Dominic’s compassion and care, but needing to maintain her disguise as a cabin boy, she is convinced nothing can come of her affection. 

Georgana’s Secret is about two hearts yearning to find a safe harbor, and possibly, a lasting love.

Review:

1811: Georgana is the daughter of a ship captain. She has travelled with him on his ships for the past three years, since she came of age, in the disguise of a boy named George. The crew thinks that George is an orphan and a distant relative of the captain, but she doesn’t have the respect of the other men and boys. Dominic is a lieutenant on the ship. His mother wants him to get a promotion to captain, but he refused the promotion so that he can have more consistent work and support his mother. His mother has heard of Georgana, the captain’s daughter, and wants Dominic to find out more about her because she wants him to get married. Dominic is drawn to George when he sees him being bullied by the rest of the crew. They spend time together, and Georgana can’t help but fall for Dominic. However, she needs to maintain her disguise as a cabin boy to protect the ship and her father’s position.

This was a very slow burn romance. There was a lot of tension with Georgana’s secret. I held my breath every time someone came close to figuring it out. At the same time, I was rooting for Georgana and Dominic to get together and for him to figure out that she was really a girl in disguise.

I was a little lost when it came to the description of the ship and all the work they did on it. Most of the story was set on the ship, except for a couple of chapters. I’m not familiar with the terms that were used so I couldn’t follow the parts where there was a lot of technical terminology used.

I liked this regency romance.

Thank you Shadow Mountain for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Have you read Georgana’s Secret? What did you think of it?

Title: The Lady and the Highwayman (The Dread Penny Society #1)
Author: Sarah M. Eden
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 3, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Elizabeth Black is the headmistress of a girls’ school and a well-respected author of “silver-fork” novels, stories written both for and about the upper-class ladies of Victorian society. But by night, she writes very different kinds of stories—the Penny Dreadfuls that are all the rage among the working-class men. Under the pseudonym Mr. King, Elizabeth has written about dashing heroes fighting supernatural threats and dangerous outlaws romancing helpless women. They contain all the adventure and mystery that her real life lacks.

Fletcher Walker began life as a street urchin, but is now the most successful author in the Penny Dreadful market, that is until Mr. King started taking all of his readers–and his profits. No one knows who King is, including Fletcher’s fellow members of the Dread Penny Society, a fraternity of authors dedicated to secretly fighting for the rights of the less-fortunate.

Determined to find the elusive Mr. King, Fletcher approaches Miss Black. As a fellow-author, she is well-known among the high-class writers; perhaps she could be persuaded to make some inquiries as to Mr. King’s whereabouts? Elizabeth agrees to help Fletcher, if only to insure her secret identity is never discovered. 

For the first time, Elizabeth experiences the thrill of a cat-and-mouse adventure reminiscent of one of her own novels as she tries to throw Fletcher off her scent. But the more time they spend together, the more she loses her heart. Its upper-class against working-class, author against author where readers, reputations, and romance are all on the line.

Review:

Elizabeth Black is the headmistress of a girls’ school and the author of books for upper class women. She also secretly writes penny dreadful novels under the pen name Mr. King. Fletcher Walker is also an author of penny dreadfuls, and he is a member of the Dreadful Penny Society, which is a group who writes the novels and helps less-fortunate children. Mr. King has surpassed Fletcher as the top writer, but Fletcher doesn’t know Mr. King’s identity. When Fletcher discovers that Elizabeth knows Mr. King, he enlists her help to figure out who he is. At the same time, they both help each other with saving children from the adults who want to hurt them.

Elizabeth and Fletcher appeared to be opposites but they had a lot in common. They were both successful writers of penny dreadfuls, even though Elizabeth’s identity was a secret. They also both wanted to help children in need. It was disturbing to see how children were treated and overworked, and there weren’t any laws to help save them or punish the people who endangered them. Though Elizabeth and Fletcher came from different backgrounds, they had the same values.

The penny dreadful serials that Elizabeth and Fletcher wrote appeared between the chapters in this story. They each had distinctive voices apart from the main narrative. Their stories mirrored what was happening in their real lives, except without the supernatural aspects. I liked seeing how the authors incorporated parts of their lives into their work.

This was a fun Victorian story!

What to read next:

Other books in the series:

• The Gentleman and the Thief

Have you read The Lady and the Highwayman? What did you think of it?