Monthly Archives: March 2021

Review: The Heiress Hunt by Joanna Shupe

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The Heiress Hunt by Joanna Shupe
Series: Fifth Avenue Rebels #1
Publication Date: March 9th 2021
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

High society reprobate.
An unconventional heiress.
Childhood friends.

Is it too late…
Knickerbocker scoundrel Harrison Archer returns to New York to discover that his deceased father has bankrupted his estranged family. To save them from ruin, he’s forced to quickly find and marry an heiress. For a matchmaker, Harrison turns to the one woman he wishes he could marry: his childhood friend and true love, Maddie, who once broke his heart and is now engaged to a duke.

For true love?
When her best friend Harrison left for Paris without a word, Maddie Webster took refuge in her infatuation with tennis. Now Harrison is back and needs her help in finding a bride. Begrudgingly, Maddie arranges a house party in Newport with a guest list of eligible heiresses. But watching Harrison flirt with potential brides is more than she can bear.

When Harrison and Maddie reunite, the passion between them ignites. But with their marriages to others looming, time is running out. Is their fate inescapable . . .or can love set them free?

I am such a big Joanna Shupe fan so when I heard she would be releasing a brand new series called the Fifth Avenue Rebels series, I knew I had to read it! And then the gorgeous cover was revealed and I needed the book even more. I sadly didn’t love this one as much as my favorite series of hers, the Uptown Girls series, but I was enjoyable for the most part.

I love the friends to lovers trope and was incredibly excited about the matchmaking plot in The Heiress Hunt. Harrison and Maddie were childhood best friends, and Harrison was in unrequited love with Maddie. He left her and left for Paris without another word to live a life of debauchery. But now he’s back and needs an heiress to marry to save his family from ruin.

I was engaged with this book at the beginning. I loved the setup and I always enjoy Joanna Shupe’s writing. But the more I read, the more I wished… more from it. The story wasn’t fleshed out enough, I wasn’t a big fan of Harrison or Maddie, and I was disappointed we didn’t get to see more of the tennis aspect of Maddie’s character. There’s a mystery I didn’t care enough about and the ending just wrapped up too easily and neatly for me.

As sad as I am that I didn’t love this new Joanna Shupe more, I’m still looking forward to what she has in store for us next. She’s my go-to for steamy historical romances, and in that department, The Heiress Hunt definitely didn’t disappoint.


lacey

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Review: The Devil in Her Bed by Kerrigan Byrne

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The Devil in Her Bed by Kerrigan Byrne
Series: Devil You Know #3 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: March 9th 2021
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

​The Devil in Her Bed is the final book in the stunning Devil You Know trilogy by USA Today bestselling author Kerrigan Byrne!

He lives in secret service to the Crown—a man of duty, deception, and an undeniable attraction to a woman who threatens to tear his whole world apart.

They call him the Devil of Dorset. He stands alone, a man of undeniable power. Moving in and out of shadows, back alleys and ballrooms, he is unstoppable and one of the Crown’s most dangerous weapons. However, when he sets his sights on the undeniably beautiful Countess of Mont Claire, Francesca Cavendish, he doesn’t realize that he has met a match like no other.

TRUE LOVE WEARS NO DISGUISE

Francesca is a countess by day and stalks her prey—those responsible for the death of her family—by night. What she does not expect is to be thrown into the path of the devil himself, the Earl of Devlin. She has secrets of her own and he seems determined to lay them bare. Can her heart survive finding the love of her life and losing him when all is revealed?

I am just a little bit devastated I didn’t love this one. I had such high hopes for Francesca ever since she was introduced in book 1, and I loved the setup for her romance in book 2. You can probably guess who the mysterious “Devil of Dorset” is from the ending of All Scot and Bothered. I have one main reason why I was disappointed by this (which I’ll get into below), but I will say that even though it’s my least favorite of the series, I was still hooked onto the pages. Kerrigan Byrne always writes sexy, exciting, almost suspenseful historical romances with fantastic heroines and antiheroes, and The Devil In Her Bed hit the spot regarding that.

Francesca is the last of the 3 Red Rogues to get her story and she’s always been the most mysterious one. She lives her life as a Countess, but it turns out her true goal in life is to get revenge against the people who killed her family and the people her family worked for. Francesca has a secret past full of murder and deceit, and she’s so much more than she seems. She’s a fierce, strong, intelligent heroine I loved pretty much from the start. And one of my favorite parts about this series is the wonderful female friendship between Francesca, Cecelia, and Alexandra, so I was happy to get even more of that brilliant friendship in this book.

Our hero goes by so many names that I don’t even know what to call him without slightly spoiling things, lol. His identity isn’t that much of a secret if you’ve kept up with the series, and the prologue gives you a good sense of who he is anyway. He’s still an intriguing character – he’s dark, tortured by his past, and works as a spy for the government. All of those things should’ve made me love him, but the main reason I couldn’t get into the romance as much as I wanted to was that this hero thinks Francesca is someone else for almost the entire book. So it was hard for me to buy that he loved Francesca for her, rather than for someone else. I don’t blame him for thinking she’s someone else because of her hidden identity, but he kept going on and on about being in love with this person from his past that I just wasn’t sold enough on him loving the real Francesca.

I’m sad the ending to this series didn’t quite live up to my expectations, but I’ll still be reading anything Kerrigan Byrne writes. I love her storytelling and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next!


Reading Order: Devil You Know series

#1 ~ How to Love a Duke in Ten Days: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ All Scot and Bothered: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ The Devil in Her Bed: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

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Review: Waiting For A Scot Like You by Eva Leigh

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Waiting For A Scot Like You by Eva Leigh
Series: Union of the Rakes #3 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: February 23rd 2021
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Eva Leigh concludes her Breakfast Club and 80s movie-inspired Regency series with a merry widow and a stoic major on a bumpy road to love…

Adjusting to life in peacetime isn’t easy for Major Duncan McCameron. Escorting a lady on her journey north seems like the perfect chance to give him some much-needed purpose. That is, until he learns the woman in question is the beautiful, bold, reckless Lady Farris. She makes his head spin and being alone together will surely end in disaster.

Beatrice, the Dowager Countess of Farris, is finally free of a stifling marriage and she has no plans to shackle herself to any other man. Ready to live life to the fullest, she’s headed to a week-long bacchanal and the journey should be half the fun. Except she’s confined to a carriage with a young, rule-abiding, irritatingly handsome Scottish soldier who wouldn’t know a good time if it landed in his lap. But maybe a madcap escapade will loosen him up…

Between carriage crashes, secret barn dances, robbers, and an inn with only one bed, their initial tension dissolves into a passion that neither expected. But is there a future for an adventure-loving lady and a duty-bound soldier, or will their differences tear them apart?

I recently binged on the first two Union of the Rakes books by Eva Leigh and have been dying to read the third and final book! I was especially excited because it’s got two romance tropes I love: grumpy + sunshine characters, a road trip, age gap (with an older heroine), and forced proximity. I enjoyed Duncan and Beatrice’s romance so much. It’s definitely my favorite of the series!

Our stoic Major hero Duncan has been asked to escort widowed Dowager Countess Beatrice to Nottinghamshire for… a week long orgy. Beatrice’s marriage was less than happy and she’s taking charge of her life after being freed from her husband. She wants all the pleasure she can get and she refuses to ever marry again. Duncan is very much an uptight, rule-following sort of man. They are opposites (yay for the opposites attract trope) but still perfect for each other.

I had a lot of fun with this book. If you love road trips and small adventures, this book would be great. I loved the nods to Ferris Buehler’s Day Off and Footloose. It’s steamy, entertaining, and… there’s only one bed! I would recommend this one, especially if you enjoy the rest of the series.


lacey

Reading Order: Union of the Rakes series

 

#1 ~ My Fake Rake: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Would I Lie to the Duke: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Waiting For A Scot Like You: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

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