A HOLIDAY BY GASLIGHT: A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS NOVELLA by Mimi
Matthews is a beautifully written Christmas historical romance. The cover is
gorgeous and the novella within will warm your heart and is perfect for the
season.
Sophie Appersett is ever the dutiful eldest daughter. Sophie
and her mother work hard to economize to keep the household running and her
younger sister happy. Both have gone to London for the season. Sophie’s father
is approached by a wealthy man of business to court her and Sophie is willing
to marry outside of her class for the financial benefit of her family.
Mr. Edward Sharpe is instantly taken with the beautiful Sophie and he knows he is fortunate that Sophie’s family needs funds. Ned has worked hard his whole life to improve his circumstances, so he refers to “The Gentleman’s Book of Etiquette” to court Sophie properly, but Sophie does not like the perfect gentleman and breaks with Ned.
Sophie’s father is enraged when he learns what Sophie has
done. Sophie’s mother though is ever practical and has a heart to heart with
her daughter. Sophie is willing to give Mr. Sharpe another chance and invites Ned
to the Appersett Christmas house party with the ground rules that both shall be
honest with each other and they will work to get to know their true selves.
This is a novella that had me finishing it all in one
sitting. Ms. Matthews writes with a beautiful style, accuracy and knowledge of
the Victorian era so that you just fall into the story and feel like you are present.
Ned and Sophie are wonderful characters and the way they fall in love is sweet,
romantic and era appropriate. All the secondary characters are well fleshed out
and add depth to the story and settings. For a novella length story, everything
I could wish for is present and I did not feel slighted at all by the shorter
length.
A wonderful Christmas historical novella that I can highly
recommend.
Today I am sharing the Feature Post and Book Review for Julia London’s first book in her new A Royal Wedding series – THE PRINCESS PLAN.
Below you will find a book summary, an excerpt from the book, my book review and the author’s bio and social media links.
***
The Princess Plan
London, Julia
FICTION/Romance/Historical/Victorian
Mass Market | HQN Books | A Royal Wedding
On Sale: 11/19/2019
9781335041531
$7.99
$10.99 CAN
***
Book Summary
Princes have pomp and glory—not murdered secretaries and crushes on commoners
Nothing gets London’s high society’s tongues wagging like a good scandal. And when the personal secretary of the visiting Prince Sebastian of Alucia is found murdered, it’s all anyone can talk about, including Eliza Tricklebank. Her unapologetic gossip gazette has benefitted from an anonymous tip about the crime, prompting Sebastian to take an interest in playing detective—and an even greater one in Eliza.
With a trade deal on the line and mounting pressure to secure a noble bride, there’s nothing more salacious than a prince dallying with a commoner. Sebastian finds Eliza’s contrary manner as frustrating as it is seductive, but they’ll have to work together if they’re going to catch the culprit. And when things heat up behind closed doors, it’s the prince who’ll have to decide what comes first—his country or his heart.
***
Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE
London 1845
All of London has been on tenterhooks, desperate for a glimpse of Crown Prince Sebastian of Alucia during his highly anticipated visit. Windsor Castle was the scene of Her Majesty’s banquet to welcome him. Sixty-and-one-hundred guests were on hand, feted in St. George’s Hall beneath the various crests of the Order of the Garter. Two thousand pieces of silver cutlery were used, one thousand crystal glasses and goblets. The first course and main dish of lamb and potatoes were served on silver-gilded plates, followed by delicate fruits on French porcelain.
Prince Sebastian presented a large urn fashioned of green Alucian malachite to our Queen Victoria as a gift from his father the King of Alucia. The urn was festooned with delicate ropes of gold around the mouth and the neck.
The Alucian women were attired in dresses of heavy silk worn close to the body, the trains quite long and brought up and fastened with buttons to facilitate walking. Their hair was fashioned into elaborate knots worn at the nape. The Alucian gentlemen wore formal frock coats of black superfine wool that came to midcalf, as well as heavily embroidered waistcoats worn to the hip. It was reported that Crown Prince Sebastian is “rather tall and broad, with a square face and neatly trimmed beard, a full head of hair the color of tea, and eyes the color of moss,” which the discerning reader might think of as a softer shade of green. It is said he possesses a regal air owing chiefly to the many medallions and ribbons he wore befitting his rank.
Honeycutt’s Gazette of Fashion and Domesticity for Ladies
The Right Honorable Justice William Tricklebank, a widower and justice of the Queen’s Bench in Her Majesty’s service, was very nearly blind, his eyesight having steadily eroded into varying and fuzzy shades of gray with age. He could no longer see so much as his hand, which was why his eldest daughter, Miss Eliza Tricklebank, read his papers to him.
Eliza had enlisted the help of Poppy, their housemaid, who was more family than servant, having come to them as an orphaned girl more than twenty years ago. Together, the two of them had anchored strings and ribbons halfway up the walls of his London townhome, and all the judge had to do was follow them with his hand to move from room to room. Among the hazards he faced was a pair of dogs that were far too enthusiastic in their wish to be of some use to him, and a cat who apparently wished him dead, judging by the number of times he put himself in the judge’s path, or leapt into his lap as he sat, or walked across the knitting the judge liked to do while his daughter read to him, or unravelled his ball of yarn without the judge’s notice.
The only other potential impediments to his health were his daughters—Eliza, a spinster, and her younger sister, Hollis, otherwise known as the Widow Honeycutt. They were often together in his home, and when they were, it seemed to him there was quite a lot of laughing at this and shrieking at that. His daughters disputed that they shrieked, and accused him of being old and easily startled. But the judge’s hearing, unlike his eyesight, was quite acute, and those two shrieked with laughter. Often.
At eight-and-twenty, Eliza was unmarried, a fact that had long baffled the judge. There had been an unfortunate and rather infamous misunderstanding with one Mr. Asher Daughton-Cress, who the judge believed was despicable, but that had been ten years ago. Eliza had once been demure and a politely deferential young lady, but she’d shed any pretense of deference when her heart was broken. In the last few years she had emerged vibrant and carefree. He would think such demeanour would recommend her to gentlemen far and wide, but apparently it did not. She’d had only one suitor since her very public scandal, a gentleman some fifteen years older than Eliza. Mr. Norris had faithfully called every day until one day he did not. When the judge had inquired, Eliza had said, “It was not love that compelled him, Pappa. I prefer my life here with you—the work is more agreeable, and I suspect not as many hours as marriage to him would require.”
His youngest, Hollis, had been tragically widowed after only two years of a marriage without issue. While she maintained her own home, she and her delightful wit were a faithful caller to his house at least once a day without fail, and sometimes as much as two or three times per day. He should like to see her remarried, but Hollis insisted she was in no rush to do so. The judge thought she rather preferred her sister’s company to that of a man.
His daughters were thick as thieves, as the saying went, and were coconspirators in something that the judge did not altogether approve of. But he was blind, and they were determined to do what they pleased no matter what he said, so he’d given up trying to talk any practical sense into them.
That questionable activity was the publication of a ladies’ gazette. Tricklebank didn’t think ladies needed a gazette, much less one having to do with frivolous subjects such as fashion, gossip and beauty. But say what he might, his daughters turned a deaf ear to him. They were unfettered in their enthusiasm for this endeavour, and if the two of them could be believed, so was all of London.
The gazette had been established by Hollis’s husband, Sir Percival Honeycutt. Except that Sir Percival had published an entirely different sort of gazette, obviously— one devoted to the latest political and financial news. Now that was a useful publication to the judge’s way of thinking.
Sir Percival’s death was the most tragic of accidents, the result of his carriage sliding off the road into a swollen river during a rain, which also saw the loss of a fine pair of grays. It was a great shock to them all, and the judge had worried about Hollis and her ability to cope with such a loss. But Hollis proved herself an indomitable spirit, and she had turned her grief into efforts to preserve her husband’s name. But as she was a young woman without a man’s education, and could not possibly comprehend the intricacies of politics or financial matters, she had turned the gazette on its head and dedicated it solely to topics that interested women, which naturally would be limited to the latest fashions and the most tantalizing on dits swirling about London’s high society. It was the judge’s impression that women had very little interest in the important matters of the world.
And yet, interestingly, the judge could not deny that Hollis’s version of the gazette was more actively sought than her husband’s had ever been. So much so that Eliza had been pressed into the service of helping her sister prepare her gazette each week. It was curious to Tricklebank that so many members of the Quality were rather desperate to be mentioned among the gazette’s pages.
Today, his daughters were in an unusually high state of excitement, for they had secured the highly sought-after invitations to the Duke of Marlborough’s masquerade ball in honor of the crown prince of Alucia. One would think the world had stopped spinning on its axis and that the heavens had parted and the seas had receded and this veritable God of All Royal Princes had shined his countenance upon London and blessed them all with his presence.
Hogwash.
Everyone knew the prince was here to strike an important trade deal with the English government in the name of King Karl. Alucia was a small European nation with impressive wealth for her size. It was perhaps best known for an ongoing dispute with the neighboring country of Wesloria—the two had a history of war and distrust as fraught as that between England and France.
The judge had read that it was the crown prince who was pushing for modernization in Alucia, and who was the impetus behind the proposed trade agreement. Prince Sebastian envisioned increasing the prosperity of Alucia by trading cotton and iron ore for manufactured goods. But according to the judge’s daughters, that was not the most important part of the trade negotiations. The important part was that the prince was also in search of a marriage bargain.
“It’s what everyone says,” Hollis had insisted to her father over supper recently “And how is it, my dear, that everyone knows what the prince intends?” the judge asked as he stroked the cat, Pris, on his lap. The cat had been named Princess when the family believed it a female. When the houseman Ben discovered that Princess was, in fact, a male, Eliza said it was too late to change the name. So they’d shortened it to Pris. “Did the prince send a letter? Announce it in the Times?”
“Caro says,” Hollis countered, as if that were quite obvious to anyone with half a brain where she got her information. “She knows everything about everyone, Pappa.”
“Aha. If Caro says it, then by all means, it must be true.”
“You must yourself admit she is rarely wrong,” Hollis had said with an indignant sniff.
Caro, or Lady Caroline Hawke, had been a lifelong friend to his daughters, and had been so often underfoot in the Tricklebank house that for many years, it seemed to the judge that he had three daughters.
Caroline was the only sibling of Lord Beckett Hawke and was also his ward. Long ago, a cholera outbreak had swept through London, and both Caro’s mother and his children’s mother had succumbed. Amelia, his wife, and Lady Hawke had been dear friends. They’d sent their children to the Hawke summer estate when Amelia had taken ill. Lady Hawke had insisted on caring for her friend and, well, in the end, they were both lost.
Lord Hawke was an up-and-coming young lord and politician, known for his progressive ideas in the House of Lords. He was rather handsome, Hollis said, a popular figure, and socially in high demand. Which meant that, by association, so was his sister. She, too, was quite comely, which made her presence all the easier to her brother’s many friends, the judge suspected.
But Caroline did seem to know everyone in London, and was constantly calling on the Tricklebank household to spout the gossip she’d gleaned in homes across Mayfair. Here was an industrious young lady—she called on three salons a day if she called on one. The judge supposed her brother scarcely need worry about putting food in their cupboards, for the two of them were dining with this four-and-twenty or that ten-and-six almost every night. It was a wonder Caroline wasn’t a plump little peach.
Perhaps she was. In truth, she was merely another shadow to the judge these days.
“And she was at Windsor and dined with the queen,” Hollis added with superiority.
“You mean Caro was in the same room but one hundred persons away from the queen,” the judge suggested. He knew how these fancy suppers went.
“Well, she was there, Pappa, and she met the Alucians, and she knows a great deal about them now. I am quite determined to discover who the prince intends to offer for and announce it in the gazette before anyone else. Can you imagine? I shall be the talk of London!”
This was precisely what Mr. Tricklebank didn’t like about the gazette. He did not want his daughters to be the talk of London.
But it was not the day for him to make this point, for his daughters were restless, moving about the house with an urgency he was not accustomed to. Today was the day of the Royal Masquerade Ball, and the sound of crisp petticoats and silk rustled around him, and the scent of perfume wafted into his nose when they passed. His daughters were waiting impatiently for Lord Hawke’s brougham to come round and fetch them. Their masks, he was given to understand, had already arrived at the Hawke House, commissioned, Eliza had breathlessly reported, from “Mrs. Cubison herself.”
He did not know who Mrs. Cubison was.
And frankly, he didn’t know how Caro had managed to finagle the invitations to a ball at Kensington Palace for his two daughters—for the good Lord knew the Tricklebanks did not have the necessary connections to achieve such a feat.
He could feel their eagerness, their anxiety in the nervous pitch of their giggling when they spoke to each other. Even Poppy seemed nervous. He supposed this was to be the ball by which all other balls in the history of mankind would forever be judged, but he was quite thankful he was too blind to attend.
When the knock at the door came, he was startled by such squealing and furious activity rushing by him that he could only surmise that the brougham had arrived and the time had come to go to the ball.
THE PRINCESS PLAN (A Royal Wedding #1) by Julia
London is the first book in a new historical romance series. A Cinderella
styled romance with a mystery subplot.
Prince Sebastian of Alucia is in London to officially close
a trade deal with England as well as secure a noble bride. The morning after a
masked ball, the personal secretary and most trusted friend of the Prince is
found murdered in his bed.
Every tongue in London is wagging, but no one seems to know who
is responsible. Prince Sebastian is told that a ladies’ gossip and fashion
gazette has printed a rumor implicating a member of his entourage. He and his
brother seek out the author.
Eliza Tricklebank is a spinster firmly on the shelf after a
scandal in her youth. She lives with and assists her blind father who is a
judge on the Queen’s bench. With her widowed sister, Hollis and their best
friend, Carolyn, the three produce the gazette the princes seek.
Prince Sebastian does not know what to make of this commoner
who has no regard to his status, but he is also intrigued. Sebastian finds
Eliza frustrating, but also helpful in his quest. As they work together to
uncover a killer, their attraction grows. As everything comes to a head, Sebastian
will have to choose between his country or his heart.
I enjoyed Sebastian and Eliza and their banter. I also
enjoyed Eliza with her sister and friend as the three always supported each
other. I did feel that this story had some problems with being in the
historical genre and would have been better suited in a more modern setting. No
matter how enlightened, I had to suspend historical belief on the way Eliza dealt
with the Prince, also at a ball when Eliza ran into the man who caused her young
scandal because he was with his pregnant wife, which in no way would happen; women
stayed at home when pregnant.
This is a fun, fluffy and fast read, but not my favorite by
this author.
***
Author Bio and Social Media Links
AUTHOR BIO
Julia London is a NYT, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of historical and contemporary romance. She is a six-time finalist for the RITA Award of excellence in romantic fiction, and the recipient of RT Bookclub’s Best Historical Novel.
THE MacINNES AFFAIR by Blair McDowell is a contemporary
romance intertwined with a historical romance with a mystery subplot. The
present MacInnes and Glendenning investigate a mystery and the history tied to
their MacInnes and Glendenning 19th century ancestors. This is a
standalone romance read.
The Present
Canadian Lara MacInnes is getting away from her broken
engagement with a trip to Athdara castle B&B in Scotland. Athdara castle
has been in the Glendenning family for generations and the current generation
has done everything to ensure it continues on for many more. None more so than
the handsome Highlander Iain Glendenning. As Lara and Iain begin to discover
how much they have in common, they also discover the journals of a long ago
Glendenning woman in love with Lara’s very great-grandfather.
The Past
Elspeth Glendenning is in a carriage accident and rescued by
a rugged Highlander named Lachlan MacInnes. While the clans may have been
feuding since Culloden, Elspeth and Lachlan fall in love. They discover the
carriage wreck was not an accident and the two are caught up in events beyond
their control.
Lara and Iain research the long ago romance and historical
events that intertwine their two families. As these two work to uncover a
murder mystery from the past, they fall in love as well. Can this generation of
MacInnes and Glendenning’s solve a mystery that persists from their clans’
past?
I really enjoyed reading this entertaining contemporary and
historical romance mix. It was not what I was expecting from the genre listings
on the description because it is not a time-travel or paranormal romance. It
has two time-lines that intertwine, but no one travels to another time. That
said, both plot-lines are well written and I never felt confused as the two
stories shift from past to present and back again. The present day romance
progresses at a believable pace and the historical romance is filled with
situations that are appropriate to that time.
This is the type of book you can just fall into and get
engrossed by the history and mystery and not want to put down. This is the
first book I have read from this new to me author, but I will definitely be
looking for others.
Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.
This is the Feature Post for Christi Caldwell and her new title THE BLUESTOCKING (Wicked Wallflowers Book 4). Below you will find a guest post from the author, an excerpt from the book, my book review and a Rafflecopter giveaway.
I am a proud Bluestocking, are you?
As always, good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway!
***
You Might Be a Bluestocking If… with Author
Christi Caldwell
In my newest novel, The Bluestocking,
Gertrude, the eldest Killoran sister, has spent a lifetime being
underestimated—especially by her own family. She may seem as vulnerable as a
kitten, but given the chance she can be as fierce as a tiger. Her adopted
brother Stephen has just been snatched back by his true father, and she’ll be
damned if she relinquishes the boy to the man reviled throughout London as the
Mad Marquess.
Still haunted by a deadly tragedy that left him
publicly despised, Lord Edwin holds only hatred for the Killorans—the people he
believes kidnapped his son. And not one of them will ever see the boy again.
But when Gertrude forces her way into the household and stubbornly insists that
she remain as Stephen’s governess, Edwin believes he may have found someone
madder than himself.
With every moment he shares with the
tenderhearted Gertrude, Edwin’s anger softens into admiration . . . and more.
It is possible that the woman he loathed may be the only person who can heal
his broken soul?
Gertrude was such a wonderful character to
write. She’s the eldest of her siblings and firmly on the shelf. She’s
incredibly diverse in her strengths and in her interests and in the knowledge
she possesses: it’s a knowledge that really is all-encompassing, spanning
furniture-making to the care of animals to skills for surviving on the streets.
In addition, she’s been responsible for educating the children in her family’s
care, and what I found so fascinating is that she knows the value of education
and what she’s been providing has been so important, and yet so many have
failed to appreciate the power of her contributions.
In honor of Gertrude, an intelligent, interesting,
and ultimately irresistible heroine, I have written a short game of “You
Might Be A Bluestocking If…” so you can test yourself to see what you
have in common with Gertrude.
You might be a bluestocking if…you have
more than one cat.
You might be a bluestocking if…your hands
are permanently ink stained from your writing.
You
might be a bluestocking if…you have an in-depth knowledge of ancient
furniture design.
You
might be a bluestocking if…you prefer lectures to balls.
You
might be a bluestocking if…you would rather have a book in your
hands than needlework.
The Bluestocking Excerpt
Who was this . . .
daughter of Diggory? The one few spoke of and about whom little was known.
Edwin pushed himself away
from the door, and folding his arms at his chest, he took slow, predatory steps
closer, walking a path around her. His earlier assessment in the darkened foyer
of the woman had proven correct. Drab brown hair. Nondescript brown eyes. Of
medium height, and in possession of a slender frame that left her cloak hanging
unflatteringly upon her, there was nothing extraordinary about the last unwed
Killoran. Which was no doubt why she’d not snagged herself a wealthy or
powerful husband as her sisters had already done. At his lengthy scrutiny, she
dared him with her eyes. And yet for her . . . ordinariness, there was a
strength of spirit that radiated, casting a soft blush upon cream-white cheeks,
that marked her as . . . interesting. She was interesting. He
stopped abruptly. Seeing this woman in any light except the darkened one was a
betrayal to his late wife and his children, both living and dead . . . and
himself.
“I was clear with my
demands. Get out now, Miss Diggory.”
The stubborn chit pursed
her slightly too-full lips. “As I said earlier, you were less clear than you
give yourself credit for,” she challenged, ignoring the latter part of his
directive. My God, she is an insolent bit of baggage. “And my name
is Killoran.”
The names were synonymous
and interchangeable.
Edwin stopped before her
so only a pace divided them. “And tell me, where was I not clear?” he purred.
“Was it the part about making sure Broderick Diggory hangs, as he deserves,
that was not clear?” The color bled from her cheeks. “Or was it my stated
intentions for your sisters . . . what are their names? Ophelia? Cleopatra?”
he asked, mocking that Shakespearean queen’s name, and the woman in front of
him frowned deeper. “How . . . unfortunate it would be if their business
ventures were both to fail.”
The young woman curled and
uncurled her coarse hands at her sides. “Do not threaten my
family,” she said coolly.
He’d hand it to her. She
remained undaunted.
“Or what, Miss
Diggory?” A muscle ticked at the corner of her right eye, but she did not rise
to the bait, either. “Will you set my townhouse afire and attempt to steal my
son . . . again?”
Her features leached even
more of their color, leaving those previously blushing cheeks a ghastly
grey-white. And for her earlier brave show, it was her turn to falter. “I
didn’t . . .” And he celebrated that triumph over his enemy.
“What was that?” he
barked, cupping a hand around his ear. “You didn’t what?” Destroy my
life? Shatter my family? “Kidnap my son?” he settled for, refusing to
voice aloud his greatest agonies before this of all women.
She flinched.
“Now leave, and tell
your real brother if he violates our arrangement once more,
using you or another one of your . . . sisters or his henchmen to do his work
for him, I’ll take you all down.” His in-laws’ earlier recriminations flooded
forward. It was just something else they’d been right about.
Edwin had stomped over to
his desk when he registered the absolute silence—more specifically, the lack of
retreating footfalls.
He turned back.
Miss Diggory jutted her
chin up defiantly. “No one sent me, my lord. I am here of my
own volition.”
He chuckled, that rusty,
ill-used laugh more a growl than anything that could ever be confused with a
real expression of mirth. No one came here of their own volition. As a rule,
the world avoided him.
Shifting direction, he
returned to the stubborn chit’s side, and leaning down, he placed his mouth
close to her temple once more and fought the maddening pull of whatever damned
perfume she dabbed behind her ears. “Do you think I’m foolish enough all these
years later to believe a lie dripping off a Diggory’s lips?”
The young woman’s back
moved up and down, an indication of her rapid breath. Of her fear. A lifetime
ago, he’d have sooner chopped off his left hand than deliberately taunt a woman
and take pleasure in her fear. No longer. That pathetic excuse of a man who’d
gotten his wife and babe killed, and the other son snatched, reveled in this
woman’s unease. “Hmm?” he prodded, and she jumped.
“I have no reason to lie
to you, my lord,” she said calmly, and as she spoke, her breath, containing a
whispery trace of honey, filtered from her lips and fanned his mouth. Another
unexpectedly sweet scent, at odds with her past and name and sins. It enticed,
drawing his gaze to her mouth and holding his focus there, mesmerized. “There
is nothing I want, need, or desire.” She darted her tongue out and traced the
plump seam of her lips. And God forgive him, his gut clenched. For even as
self-loathing spiraled through him, something far worse, far more perilous and
viler and more treacherous, held him in its snare: desire. “The
only reason I’ve come . . . the only worry I had . . . was for Stephen.”
Stephen.
That single name, spoken
aloud, snapped whatever siren’s trap she’d sucked him momentarily into.
“August.” Had there ever been a doubt as to his insanity, this quixotic
fascination with the woman’s slightly too-full mouth as she spoke was evidence
enough of it.
She tipped her head, and
one of the few brown strands that had managed a curl bounced at her shoulder.
Edwin flared his nostrils.
“His name is August Rudolph Thadeus Stephen Warren, the Earl of Greyley.” He
flicked a stare over her face. “You’ve no relation to him. He is His Lordship
to you.” Stalking over to the front of the room, he pulled the door open. “Now
that you’ve seen him”—he peeled his lip in a mocking sneer—“safely delivered to
his rightful home, you are dismissed. You may leave now.”
Gertrude Killoran drew in
a breath. “I am afraid I cannot do that.”
He narrowed his eyes. “And
whyever not?”
“I’m not leaving.”
“I beg your pardon?” What
more could she possibly want or expect of him?
The young woman clasped
her palms before her, like a nun at the abbey. “I’m staying.”
Confusion rooted around
his mind. “Staying?” he repeated. “Staying where?”
“Here.” She settled her
features into a serene expression he’d have believed impossible for a Diggory.
“Indefinitely,” she clarified.
Edwin rocked back on his
heels.
My God, I’ve finally found someone madder than myself.
***
My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
THE BLUESTOCKING (Wicked Wallflowers Book 4) by Christi
Caldwell is the historical romance I have been waiting for in this series. The
Mad Marquess is about to meet his match in more ways than one and it comes from
an unlikely source. This romance is a part of the Wallflowers series and the
romance plot can standalone, but there is a background storyline in all of the
books that I feel makes these books even more enjoyable if they are read in
order of publication.
Lord Edwin Warwick is known as the Mad Marquess to all in
the ton. He is accused in whispers of having started the fire that killed his
wife, son and unborn child. He discovers his son, Stephen was not killed in the
fire, but kidnapped.
Stephen is taken in by Broderick Killoran and his band of ‘siblings’
that have survived as a gang in the worst part of London. They were all abused
by the man, MacDiggory who ran the family and had Stephen kidnapped. MacDiggory
is now dead and Stephen is about to be returned to his true father and returned
to his place in refined society. Edwin demands that none of Stephen’s current ‘family’
may come with him to his new home or ever visit him again.
Gertrude Killoran has taken care of Stephen since he joined
the family. She refuses to follow the orders of the Marquess and send Stephen to
a new, unfamiliar place and life without her supervision. She pushes her way
into the Marquess’ home and refuses to let him bully her. She will be Stephen’s
governess no matter Edwin’s dislike.
As the days progress, both Gertrude and Edwin learn about
the misconceptions both harbor in regards to the other. Can these two find a
way to deal with their mistrust and pain and learn to trust the other with
their hearts?
Gertrude and Edwin come alive in this book! Ms. Caldwell’s
writing once again had me feeling every emotion on each page of this romance. Gertrude
came out of the shadows and blossomed in this book as she found her own strength
and found the power to help Edwin and Stephen heal as well. I loved Edwin’s
love for his son and cried during the scenes from their pasts. This is one of
those books and series that immerse you in the past and characters so that when
you put the book down, you have to take a minute to reorient yourself.
I can highly recommend this addition to the series. Keep the tissues handy and get ready to go on an emotional roller coaster ride to this HEA!
***
About the Book
Title: The Bluestocking
Author: Christi Caldwell
Release Date: May 7, 2019
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Summary
Gertrude,
the eldest Killoran sister, has spent a lifetime being
underestimated—especially by her own family. She may seem as vulnerable as a
kitten, but given the chance, she can be as fierce as a tiger. Her adopted
brother, Stephen, has just been snatched back by his true father, and she’ll be
damned if she relinquishes the boy to the man reviled throughout London as the
Mad Marquess.
Still
haunted by a deadly tragedy that left him publicly despised, Lord Edwin holds
only hatred for the Killorans—the people he believes kidnapped his son. And not
one of them will ever see the boy again. But when Gertrude forces her way into
the household and stubbornly insists that she remain as Stephen’s governess,
Edwin believes he may have found someone madder than himself.
With every moment he shares with the tenderhearted Gertrude, Edwin’s anger softens into admiration . . . and more. Is it possible that the woman he loathed may be the only person who can heal his broken soul?
***
Author Bio
USA
Today bestselling,
RITA-nominated author Christi Caldwell blames authors Julie Garwood and Judith
McNaught for luring her into the world of historical romance. When Christi was
at the University of Connecticut, she began writing her own tales of love. She
believes that the most perfect heroes and heroines have imperfections, and she
rather enjoys torturing her couples before crafting them a well-deserved
happily ever after.
The
author of the Wicked Wallflowers series, which includes The Governess,
The Hellion, and The Vixen, Christi lives in southern
Connecticut, where she spends her time writing, chasing after her son, and
taking care of her twin princesses-in-training. Fans who want to keep up with
the latest news and information can sign up for Christi’s newsletter at www.ChristiCaldwell.com or
follow her on Facebook (AuthorChristiCaldwell) or Twitter (@ChristiCaldwell).
SEDUCED BY A SCOT (The Highland Grooms #6) by Julie London is a historical romance set in 1758 Scotland. Even though this book is part of a series, it can be easily read as a standalone.
Nichol Bain is a “fixer” for the aristocracy. He prides himself on finding a solution for any problem or making it disappear for a price. When a prominent Scottish family is on the verge of having a lucrative business deal fall apart, which is also tied to the marriage of their children, Nichol is summoned to find a solution. To save the deal and the problem of the family’s ward, who has been accused of enticing the future groom, Nichol believes he can easily use the ward to solve another of his problems of a rich bachelor looking for a bride.
Maura Darby has been a ward for several years after the death of her father. As she has grown into her beauty, she has been increasingly detested by the mother and daughter of the house. She has done her best to fade into the background, but it is never enough. She desperately wants to be able to make her own choices for her future, but it is just not possible in her current situation. When Nichol arrives to escort her to her new situation, he is captivated by her spirit and beauty.
As their journey takes them closer to the solution Nichol has thought out, he finds he is not at all sure it is the right one for all involved. He is challenged by Maura at every turn to see her a person rather than a problem to be solved and to see things from a different point of view. When he discovers a secret from his past, it could be that he needs a problem solver himself. Could it be he needs Maura for himself?
I enjoyed Nichol and Maura’s story. They both had unique backstories which made the plot more entertaining. The story moves at a good pace with several plot twists that keep the couple reevaluating and adjusting to their situations. The sex scenes are well written and appropriate to the growth of the romance. The romance plot and the H/h make this story a little different than your normal historical romance read and I enjoyed it as I have enjoyed so many of Ms. London’s previous books.
Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR BARON (What Happens in the Ballroom #1) by Diana Lloyd is a historical romance with a mystery of suspicious deaths in the hero’s family and a naïve heroine who seeks adventure, but ends up in hilarious situations. This entertaining story kept me reading to solve the mystery and laughing out loud at the heroine’s antics.
Elsinore Cosgrove, the youngest of six daughters of a duke, wishes only to seek out adventure and make her own decisions. When she believes she sees Lord Byron at a ball, she follows to get her copy of his poems signed. What happens is a comedy of errors that have her hastily engaged to a Scottish baron who does not even know her name. Elsinore is not happy to once again not have a say in her future, but she believes she can train her baron into the husband she wants.
Quin Graham has secrets, but rather than bring more scandal to his name, he agrees to an arranged marriage. Quin believes that once his bride gives him his heir, he will send her away for her own safety, but he begins to care too much for his curious and clever wife. As the threat escalates, Elsinore fights to not only stay with her new husband, but to uncover all of Quin’s secrets, while Quin tries to protect his new wife at all costs, including his heart.
I enjoyed this book so much. Elsinore is quirky, witty and so much fun. The predicaments she gets herself into are hilarious and the two books she has as guides for her marriage had me laughing out loud. Elsinore is also steadfast, smart and willing to fight, even Quin, to make her marriage a love match. Quin has had a tragic year before he meets Elsinore and fights to protect his heart, but Elsinore sneaks in and proves she is perfect for him and is willing to fight by his side for their future. The sex scenes are well written, hot and appropriate to the story.
Ms. Llyod has written a historical romance with an intriguing plot, wonderful characters, humor, heat and a much deserved HEA. I am looking forward to more books in this series.
Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.
