Weekly Reads: May 5 to 11, 2025

Beyond Scandal and Desire by Lorraine Heath (2018)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Sins for All Seasons series. One of my favorite tropes is the revenge plot, and Lorraine Heath does it so well in this book. Mick Trewlove is the illegitimate son of a duke who won’t acknowledge him, so he sets his sights on financially ruining the legitimate heir and ruining the man’s fiancee. Lady Aslyn is basically a sheltered miss, the ward of the duke, and has had an understanding of an arranged marriage with the Earl of Kipwick her whole life. Except a chance encounter with Mick has her questioning basically everything, especially her own attraction to the man. Loved seeing the tough and grumble Mick turn into a doting suitor around Aslyn and the build up of his revenge. Although the idiotic earl makes everything much easier. Get ready for a really good final confrontation with the duke too. Loved it so much.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Dani’s life has kind of imploded after a break-up and getting fired from her job, so she’s off on a new adventure and new job in Amsterdam. Except her apartment sucks, her job is totally sketchy, and she crashes her bike into her old flame. Wouter was an exchange student living in her house and they had a secret relationship going until he went back home and broke her heart over text. Now they’ve run into each other and Wouter ends up bailing Dani out from her apartment woes, and eventually her visa-related woes. We get an awkward marriage of convenience plot here, and you can feel the tension between these two with every interaction. It’s emotional and steamy and loads of banter. I really enjoyed reading this book. Always a bonus when the first-love learns some bedroom moves and dirty talk while they’re apart for 13 years.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

When a Duke Loves a Woman by Lorraine Heath (2018)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Sins for All Seasons series. The Duke of Thornley is having a no-good very bad day when he gets left at the altar, attacked by thugs, and left for dead in the alleyway behind a tavern. Luckily, tavern-owner Gillie rescues him and sets him back to health. She’s never felt attraction for a man before and generally keeps to herself and is the rough and tumble tavern owner, but she’s instantly attracted to Thorne when he shows up in her life. Learning that he’s a duke has not deterred her attraction, even as she knows it’s a terrible idea to get involved with him. But he needs help finding his missing fiancee and believes Gillie can provide that assistance. He’s realizing that he prefers Gillie’s company over anyone else’s, but it’s still all a bad idea due to their differences in social station. I loved seeing these two people banter and communicate and finally come together.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Super steamy flirting and banter between these two workplace rivals stuck together on a training retreat. Tris is your typical woman of color in a white male-dominated workforce, overlooked for many promotions, and losing out leadership positions to the boss’s son Rafe. She’s totally surprised when she’s selected to go on a training retreat in Maui, but irritated that she’s stuck traveling with her rival Rafe. Being forced to share a room might actually force them to call a truce though, and we get all sorts of angry flirting along the way. Once we get away from the taunting each other and get to the actual relationship-building, I loved this book, and loved how sweet Rafe actually was (and not the dude-bro persona he gives off).

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Hachette Audio.

The King of Whitechapel by Barbara Russell (2025)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 7 of the Victorian Outcasts series. Loved this quick second chance romance read. Elizabeth is the youngest daughter of an earl who is curious about the new secret visitor to her house. Christopher is the illegitimate son of a duke who was expelled from Eton and sent to the earl’s house to stay temporarily. They grow closer together when they get stuck in a terrible snowstorm, but are pretty much forced to separate upon their return to the big manor house, and also need to keep their time together a secret. We jump forward five years and Elizabeth is pretty much coerced into a courtship with Christopher’s brother and current duke. It was interesting to see how they work out their relationship after being separated all these years and for Elizabeth to finally push back against her parents. We get to see Christopher’s new domain in Whitechapel and how he allows a false but vicious reputation surround him. Loved seeing these two together again.

Advance ebook provided by Olive Heber Books via BookSprout.

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A Touch of Steele by Cathy Maxwell (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Gambler’s Daughters series. Excellent mystery-adventure plot here. Beckett Steele is seeking answers about the dreams he’s been having about someone who he believes to be his mother, and to do this, he’s decided to infiltrate a country house party of the father he has never met. Beckett enlists Gwendolyn’s help to go to the party and provide a card-playing distraction, but when they get there, nothing is quite what it seems. We get some early hints throughout the book about Beckett’s identity and danger lurking behind every corner. I loved how easy the romance part was, so that these two could quickly team up against the dangers that surround them.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.