 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. I think Alexis Hall is one of the best banter writers I’ve read & it’s very apparent in A Lady for a Duke. Wouldn’t it be so great if we were as quick, funny, & astute as an Alexis Hall character? Let me just say I welcomed those moments of humor with open arms because so much of the romance is a rich, dense, & incredibly thoughtful plumbing of emotions, heart, & friendship. Which is amazing…& also served really well by an occasional bon mot for levity. A Lady for a Duke has everything & it just feels so colorful to me. I don’t think I’m in danger of forgetting the characters—they’re truly magnificent in their own ways, from the leads—indomitable Viola Carroll & the sternly principled & honorable Justin, duke of Gracewood—to Viola’s brother, a not very bright but also affable person called Badger who is beloved by his wife, (a magnificent would-be puppet master with a heart) Louise. The story, too, is unforgettable, featuring a trans heroine who, as she says, made choices that severed her from her old life—as a beloved best friend to Gracewood—but that allowed her to live as herself. This childhood best friends, class difference (Viola is a lady’s companion) romance has bold & romantic speeches & moments, stunning descriptions, a devastating sense of drama, & an absolutely lovely Epilogue that serves up major feels. Check out the CWs but this book is soo good & highly recommended! 5 ⭐️. Release date: 05/24.
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 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.I had never read a Caroline Linden book before All the Duke I Need but I loved this romance. Seriously loved it. From the hot leads to the hot chemistry between them, from the surrounding familial drama to the estate workings, from the cute little moments—throwing apple cores & walnuts to the almost-kisses—this book is a total delight. Did I mention that one of the MCs is compared to a pirate in appearance & total charmer but is sometimes moved to blushes and/or stupification (is that a word?) by the heroine’s sass?! Other things I love: 💛 Class difference. He’s an estate steward & she’s the duchess’s ward (& almost grand-daughter) & heiress. 💛 Secrets & a twist I didn’t anticipate 💛 A consideration of the brutality of colonization (though I wanted the consideration to be even more assertive) 💛 Angst. Kind of kidding here bc you might know I’m not one for angst but it’s really well done here & I could feel the pain & rawness of their separation. This is a wonderful book & this couple made me so happy. I feel like I had the biggest smile in my heart/possibly on my face reading their interactions. So good! 5 ⭐️. Release date: 04/26
 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.A commode heiress named Cleopatra Lewis with an unconventional upbringing who’s also the granddaughter of a viscount. A self-made brawny American businessman, Jacob Astor Addison, who is the possessor of a formidable jawline. What kind of trouble could they get into when they both want the same costume business? I always enjoy Eloisa James romances. They seem so sophisticated—I think it’s how her characters banter— & they’re sexy & bold. She’s keeping the streak alive for me with How to be a Wallflower, a romance featuring a lead whom every other character knows is *not* a wallflower. Cleopatra is a standout of the book. Every time she does something without permission, like staying in a hotel while unwed, smoking a cheroot, deciding to buy a business, I cheered internally. As Jacob comes to appreciate the same qualities that once bedeviled him & stops being as misogynistic 🙄😆 he grew on me too. Do you remember how I described him earlier? He’s a real fox. But one development in the romance arc happens abruptly for me & overall the arc isn’t quite as smooth & straightforward as I would like, particularly when it comes to potential other entanglements like the woman in America Jacob has “an understanding” with. All things considered How to be a Wallflower is invigorating, refreshing, sensual fun & the epilogue has me 👀 for what I assume is book 2. 4 ⭐️. Release date: 03/29.
 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. I’ve written this before (way to be original, Jess 🙄) but every single time I’ve read a Grace Burrowes book I think, it feels like I’m watching Downtown Abbey right now. Restraint & repartee meets drama!!! (Why am I feeling like that koala in the movie Sing right now?! 😬). Never a Duke has that same Downton Abby-ness. Also a truly nice hero, an unconventional heroine who isn’t liked by many of her contemporaries, & sweet love story that wavers a little for me toward the end but for the most part soundly holds my interest. Burrowes explores class boundaries & the legal system compellingly with this one when she repeatedly relays how poor people are punished for trying to exist, trying to keep themselves & their families alive & fed & provided for. It’s a belief that the leads Ned Wentworth & Lady Rosalind Kinworth share & that draws them together, despite the fact that Ned was born on the rougher side of London & was sent to Newgate for crimes & also nearly transported for them & Lady Rosalind is the daughter of an Earl. Binding everything together is a stirring mystery focusing on missing young women in service & an attraction that shimmers between Ned & Rosalind, despite the many obstacles between them. Rosalind occasionally comes across as somewhat high-handed to me but watching her pursue him & challenge the seemingly indomitable Wentworths also has its fun recompenses. Never a Duke is another strong installment in this series. It’s been really fun meeting such an unconventional & powerful family that straddles class lines & seeing them shake the aristocracy—& my own reader expectations—up a bit. 4 ⭐️. Release date: 04/26.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. Q: what’s one of your fave 2021 covers? I think this one is gorgeous! Shout-out to Diana Quincy for writing a viscount/bonesetter couple in The Viscount Made Me Do It, a daring combo that was fun to read for the first time. Hanna Zaydan is the bonesetter in question, a woman who faces discrimination on account of her profession, her sex, & her Arabic ancestry & culture. But she’s not bowing down to anyone’s idea of what she should do, not even her mother & grandmother, who want her to marry an Arabic man & stop practicing bonesetting. Viscount Thomas Ellis “Griff” has spent the last couple of years in tremendous pain but that’s not why he visits Hanna. It’s because he sees her wearing his murdered mother’s necklace & wants to question her about its providence. The fact that she heals his arm when others haven’t been able to garners his respect for life & her beauty & demeanor capture his more romantic admiration. But there are big obstacles between them & tbh, I had my doubts about how it would all work out. The characterization of Hanna is often delightful. She’s ambitious, skilled, & she really isn’t afraid of much. There’s a flower scene with Griff—where she really lets her feelings go— that I adore. But Griff is frequently frustrating to me. One mark in his favor is his appreciation for Hanna’s skill, but I find his overall attitude toward her & their relationship to be not as romantic as I would like. There are a couple of moments where I feel like he’s somewhat cold. Hanna is a compelling heroine but sadly the romance in this one is a little lackluster for me. 3.5 ⭐️. Release date: 07/27.CW:
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.M. A. Grant’s Rare Vigilance hit a real sweet spot for me: it’s a paranormal romance between the bratty but secretly compassionate wealthy heir to a finance throne & the gruff bodyguard who resents his charge...at least for a little while. Bodyguard Atlas Kinkaid doesn’t talk about why he was involuntarily discharged from the armed forces. Regularly stricken with migraines, Atlas is just trying to get by. But then his sister & boss Bea puts an opportunity in front of him: working his preferred hours & guarding the son of the most famous businessperson in their community. His protectee is Cristian Salva. (Whom I imagined as a Theo James type 🤩. Prob not necessary info for this review ). But despite his attraction for Cristian, things happen & Atlas finds himself with BIG stressful decisions to make. Rare Vigilance is a fun ride that kicks off what I think will be a series focusing on the same couple. There’s some kissing, one scene where things go further, & a cliffhanger. Grant sets up things for this couple well—Atlas’s efforts to resist Cristian & the way he tests his control are delightful—& it was an escape to sit inside this world for a while. I won’t ruin the PNR aspect of the book but I love how it plays out amidst a story of capitalism & power & how it’s complicated by Atlas’s awareness that working class people (& maybe others too) are suffering. There are some aspects of this book that don’t feel thoroughly developed to me—I wanted more subtlety & clarity in the transition of Atlas’s feelings toward Cristian, for example—but I’m really excited to have discovered this author & to read her backlist! 4 ⭐️. Release date: 6/22. Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. When I saw who the author of this book is—not to mention the delightfully soft seafoam cover & read the synopsis—I wanted it fiercely. Cat Sebastian books are one of my love languages. The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian did *not* disappoint. It gave me everything I was looking for: outstanding chemistry, emotional intimacy, & smooching, *&* even some things I didn’t know I was looking for, & it’s a big HURRAY for me. There’s a ballad about an indomitable, almost heroic highwayman, Kit Webb. He actually exists, minus some of the song details. But after a leg injury took him out of the highwayman business, he’s a coffeehouse owner. That doesn’t stop him from being tempted though—in more ways than one—when Edward Percy Talbot, supposed heir to a dukedom, invites him to rob his father the Duke of a precious book he carries in exchange for funds. You see Percy has just learned that his father is a bigamist & he’s being blackmailed to keep it a secret. But he & his stepmother, who grew up close, have hatched a plan that the supremely reluctant Kit Webb can help them pull off. The magnetic attraction between Kit & Percy from the get-go gives me butterflies: two intimidating, seemingly unreachable people who can’t help but stare at the other. Can’t help but want. I love how Percy is bratty—I believe the text says—but lovable, & how Kit gives him hard truths about what his family’s wealth has cost & is costing others. How the legacy Percy is so tied to has tied down others & thrown them away when they’re deemed useless. The scene at the estate Percy faces losing is so moving to me. (With that being said, I do feel feel the text’s two references to the Duke’s “property” in the West Indies & the deeds of manumissions Percy later commissions are too briefly considered.) Overall the dynamic between Kit & Percy is everything I love in romance. Kissing because they can’t help but kiss each other / emotional truths between people who just can’t keep it casual / & a HEA kind of love. 5 ⭐️. Release Date: 06/08
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Q: which kind of anti-hero are you more drawn to: the charming, rogue type or the terrifying, mostly silent type? Kerrigan Byrne’s Dancing with Danger has a lot of the KB trademarks. ✅ a hero on the wrong side of the law. ✅ a heroine who comes across as “innocent” but not so sheltered that she can’t handle the drama associated with him. ✅ some darkness & violence. ✅ but a once in a lifetime love can offer some kind of hope & redemption. Wealthy and privileged Mercy Goode puts the skills she’s learned as a member of the Detective Eddard Sharpe Society of Homicidal Mystery Analysis to work after the unfortunate death of a friend. Whom does she discover at her friend’s murder scene but the charming ne’er-do-well, Raphael Sauvageau, smuggler, gangster, & lord of the Fauves? Assuming Raphael to have been the murdered woman’s lover, Mercy agrees to exchange info with him in an effort to find her killer. But the more Mercy & Raphael are around each other, the more their chemistry becomes apparent until Raphael issues a daring proposition 🤭. The explosive chemistry between Raphael & Mercy is complemented by the sweetness of how much Raphael delights in Mercy’s somewhat unorthodox personality. She’s saucy & he loves it. You can tell he has feelings for his chaton, as he calls her, from the beginning & an antihero having tender feelings that most people don’t pick up on (because they seem impervious to softer emotion ) is one of my fave things. While I read Dancing with Danger quickly & enjoyed it thoroughly, the plot also often feels rushed to me. The connection between the leads is intense but things between them progress so quickly that it feels a bit shallow. I think the somewhat short length of the book might be a factor here too. But with that being said Dancing with Danger is a sexy, fast read with enough of those things I love about KB’s writing to bring a sparkle to a reader’s eyes. I waffled a little on the rating but I’m going with 3.5⭐️. Dancing with Danger is out on 02/09/21. Thanks to Berkley Pub for inviting me to be part of the blog blitz celebration for Harper St. George's The Heiress Gets a Duke. All opinions provided are my own. My ReviewI’m all about an independent, business-minded heroine who would rather not marry a Duke, thankyouverymuch! Harper St. George’s The Heiress Gets a Duke offers that plus an aristocratic hero who *shudder* has to “work” to get his intended bride to accept his suit & some sweet & sexy moments between the two. American August Crenshaw & her family are temporarily in London to visit a friend when her wealthy parents announce that they’re marrying off her younger, more conventional sister to a penniless, arrogant Duke. Evan Sterling, said Duke, does not want to marry but he must to save the people who depend on him & to live that Big D—Duke, silly—life to which he is accustomed. But saucy August—who wants to help run her family’s company, Crenshaw Iron Works, & who decidedly does not want to marry—is the Crenshaw who catches his eye. The fortune-hunting hero/American heiress pairing isn’t one that I’ve encountered a lot before & it complicates the dynamic between Evan & August in an intriguing way. The set-downs August lays, the fact that she basically laughs in his face at his arrogance, gave me a lot of pleasure ;), & the vulnerable moment Evan has when he shares his grief over his brother is touching. But I think my biggest quibble with the romance is that it doesn’t feel that truly romantic to me. The hero & heroine are both quite resistant toward marriage well into the book, & though their resistance wears down, their romance arc is never assertive enough. Persuasive enough. Without offering any specific spoilers, it just feels lackluster to me. Please also note there is reference to Crenshaw Iron Work’s possible expansion into India, a moment that @liber_lady explores in greater detail in her own review. The Heiress Gets a Duke is an interesting read with a heroine who wants to make her mark on the world & the cover is truly ravishing, but unfortunately the romance falls flat for me. 3 ⭐️. The Heiress Gets a Duke is available today. About Harper St. GeorgeHarper St. George was raised in the rural backwoods of Alabama and along the tranquil coast of northwest Florida. It was a setting filled with stories of the old days that instilled in her a love of history, romance, and adventure. By high school, she had discovered the historical romance novel which combined all of those elements into one perfect package. She has been hooked ever since. She lives in the Atlanta area with her family and loves to hear from readers. Thanks for joining me at The Naptime Writer Blog! Hope to see you again soon! Thanks to Harlequin Publishing & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Q: are you/were you “good” at first dates? My husband was only the second person I dated & I think I was probably very awkward but also I must have been cute in some way . Last year someone’s review compared Cara Bastone’s debut to Kate Clayborn’s writing & I was there so fast. Since then I’ve loved reading more of Bastone’s work. The burn is so slowwwwwwwww, the relationships are so deeeeeeeppp, the kissing stuff—when it finally happens—is so delicious. Flirting with Forever is another wonderful installment, focusing on 37 year old Mary Trace—a gorgeous shop owner who is the last member of her close friend group who has not found her One yet—& John Modesto-Whitford, a public defender who is very grumpy & often rude. When they’re set up on a blind date by John’s mother, he actually says to Mary, “I thought you’d be younger”—or something like that—& Mary ends up leaving. But after meeting again at a block party they form an arrangement whereby Mary will run John’s mother’s other date suggestions by John to get his opinion before she wastes her time. Along the way Mary realizes there’s some secret kindness in John & he realizes more than ever that he was an idiot & not very nice to her & he’s been FRIEND ZONED. This book is a delight & the tropes keep coming & they don’t stop coming (I’ve been waiting to use Smash Mouth lyrics in a review.) There’s older woman/younger man; enemies to friends to lovers; sunshine & the grumpy; & some money difference conflict, with her having a lot more money & coming from a wealthier background than he did. The chemistry between them is so sexy; the hero is a big grump w/ a heart of gold; & the plot is straightforward. The end started to drag a scotch for me but Flirting with Forever is another winner & I really want this series for my shelves. 4 ⭐️. Flirting with Forever is available on 01/26/21. |
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