Weekly Reads: March 18 to 24, 2024

Bequeathed by Andie James (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Beaumonts series. West is the new marquess and has inherited an impoverished estate that he needs to revive. While he’s at it, he also wants to avoid doing anything his overly strict late father would have approved of, like marrying a wealthy woman for her dowry. Priscilla is a young widowed duchess out of mourning and in the swing of the Season, looking to assert her independence and not just go along with her parents’ expectations. Unfortunately, her late husband left her with quite a bit of money, so the fortune-hunting gentlemen are paying too much attention for her liking. Priscilla and West are encouraged by their respective parents to spend time together, both are clear they’re not interested in an attachment, and then end up in a fake relationship to get their families and fortune-hunters to leave them alone. As they spend more time together, they realize that they do genuinely like each other, despite their social appropriateness. The question becomes what to do with their newfound feelings when they’ve already agreed to a expiration date of their relationship.

Advance ebook provided by Andie James.

Lady Derring Takes a Lover by Julie Anne Long (2019)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Palace of Rogues series. Widowed countess Delilah is left homeless and penniless with only a mystery building on the docks to her name. She meets her late husband’s mistress Angelique at a bar next to that building and they end up becoming friends and teaming up to open a boarding house in that building. They spruce up the place with the goal of making it a comforting and inviting home, despite the fact that the building may have been a brothel once upon a time. Meanwhile, Tristan is a dutiful agent of the crown trying to find the source of a cigar smuggling operation and lands at the doorstep of the boarding house. He takes a room there to snoop around and tries to rule out Delilah as a suspect, but he’s conflicted about his growing feeling for her knowing that he’s from a different social class. Delilah is trying to enjoy her newfound independence as a widow and businesswoman, but also conflicted about her attraction to Tristan. We get to read a slow-burn romance here with a bit of mystery in the background, plus meet an interesting cast of characters within the boarding house.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Sincerely, The Duke by Amelia Grey (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Say I Do series. Rick is a duke who suffers from both secret debilitating fevers and a meddlesome mother. When his mother presents him a list of debutantes to consider for marriage, he hurriedly pens a quick marriage proposal to a random lady on the list. A few days later, a lady shows up at his doorstep inquiring about the veracity of the proposal, and being the upstanding honorable guy that he is, he decides to follow through with it. Edwina is a take-charge outspoken sort of lady who has made her father a deathbed promise to see herself and her sisters wed this Season, even though they’ve been hidden away in the country. It turns out triplets are thought to be bad luck, so they’ve tried to hide the fact that they’re triplets (even though they look exactly alike). She’s glad to be engaged to the duke but insists that he help her sisters find husbands as well. We get a lot more chaotic when the sisters show up in town (who are highly resistant to marriage) and find that Rick’s mother is very superstitious. I liked seeing Rick become protective of his new wife and family and also see him appreciate Edwina’s unique personality.

Advance ebook provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

Angel in a Devil’s Arms by Julie Anne Long (2019)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Palace of Rogues series. Angelique is the former mistress of an earl and now proprietress of a boarding house on the docks who is content with the stability and security of her current position. When the devilish Lucien comes to claim the room he’d reserved, Angelique is instantly wary of his motives and seeks to protect her own heart. Lucien is the illegitimate son of a duke, but given a title of his own, pushed into the Thames ten years prior and presumed dead. He’s back in London and out for revenge. However, he’s distracted by his attraction to Angelique and her denial of his attentions. Despite all that, they slowly become friends and then lovers while Lucien is also reintegrating himself into society. This one was a really well-written slow-burn romance that I enjoyed.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Behind the Camera by Chelsea Curto (2024)

Contemporary romance. Book 3 of the Love Through a Lens series. Sweet, funny, and super steamy all in one book. Dallas is our single dad football player almost ready to retire from the game since he cannot find a reliable nanny to take care of his daughter June. Apparently, they’re all just trying to get into his bed instead of actually doing their jobs. Meanwhile, newbie team photographer Maven (who’s also the coach’s goddaughter) needs some extra cash to pay her rent and Dallas offers her the job. Lucky for everyone involved, Maven is great with June and definitely prioritizes her care and needs. But of course, Dallas and Maven are very attracted to each other – they resist at first due to their working relationship and the fact that it would be against the team rules at their other job. But you know, that only lasts so long. This was delightful and steamy and relatively low conflict. It’s my fave kind of book to pace myself with for glimpses of joy and happiness.

Advance ebook provided by Chelsea Curto via LoveNotesPR.

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Aged to Perfection by Merry Farmer (2024)

Historical romance. Alternate Universe Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Unlucky in Love series. To make sure you aren’t as confused as I was when I started reading, we’re in some sort of alternate universe Regency England here, with different kingdoms and factions within England that are not necessarily united. They all have slightly different laws and customs and this gets referred to frequently as characters from different regions interact. Story-wise, we start with a duke telling all his sons and nephews to get married and the last unmarried man with inherit a cursed castle. Oldest son Cedric jumps right on the task, even though he had loved and lost his mistress many years ago, and somehow ends up matched up with his friend’s sister Muriel. Except when he goes to start courting Muriel, she’s completely resistant to marriage and all of the restrictions it places on women. There’s a lot of back and forth flirtation between these two, and a bunch of heartbreak as Muriel continually refuses Cedric’s proposals despite his need to get married to avoid the family curse.

Advance ebook provided by Merry Farmer via BookSprout.

I’m Only Wicked with You by Julie Anne Long (2021)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Palace of Rogues series. Our American boarder Hugh first meets Lady Lillias as she’s hiding away from her family smoking a cheroot, and he promptly tattles on her to her earl of a father. They’ve got an instant attraction to each other, but know that the other is trouble. Hugh is in England to search for his mentor’s daughter who ran off and plans to bring her back home and start working towards his own political goals in New York. Lillias is the much-pursued beautiful daughter of an earl who is heartbroken over her dear friend declaring that he’ll soon marry another woman. Hugh and Lillias could not be more different, but they continue to taunt each other with flirtation and seduction. It’s a terrible idea for everyone, but you can’t help watch these two gravitate towards each other and see through the shiny, shallow, and pretty facade that most of the world observes.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

One Tempting Proposal by Christy Carlyle (2015)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Accidental Heirs series. We have the oldest daughter of a marquess and a freshly inherited duke in a fake engagement romance in this book. In order for her father to allow her younger sister to marry, Kitty has to marry first. Except that Kitty is super picky about her choice in husband because she does not want to go from being under her father’s control to some other unworthy lord’s control. However, her sister has found a suitor she’d like to marry, forcing Kitty’s hand this season. Meanwhile, Sebastian’s best friend is the man who needs a little help arranging a match for Kitty so that he can marry his one true love. Sebastian is all-sorts of hesitant due to a past heartbreak and his general observation that Kitty is one of the popular but mean girls of the season. To help secure her father’s blessing for the sister’s marriage, Kitty and Sebastian agree to the fake engagement. And of course, they both find that the other person is more intriguing than they expected. Loads of drama with a tangle of side characters in this one and lots of fun to read.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.