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.
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.
The Scoundrel in Her Bed by Lorraine Heath (2019)
Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Sins for All Seasons series. Fairly typical setup here with a second chance romance between the daughter of an earl and an impoverished illegitimate commoner. We get the story in a split timeline, starting with Lady Lavinia at present day where she has run away from her wedding to a duke a few months ago and now lives in a foundling home and buys babies back from baby farmers to save. She gets into a tussle one night and Finn, her former love, comes to the rescue. They haven’t seen each other in eight years and both believe that the other person betrayed them (but in a predictable fashion, we know that’s not the whole story). In the past, we learn how these two met, became friends, and then more, leading up to a plan for an elopement that never happens. In the present day, Finn is trying to figure out why Lavinia has changed so much and why she has run away from her family. I enjoyed reading about all the experience each one had in their years apart and how they come to the point they’re at now. The romance here was fairly straightforward and I was more interested in learning the secrets that Lavinia was hiding. A solid addition to the series.
Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
The Duchess in His Bed by Lorraine Heath (2019)
Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 4 of the Sins for All Seasons series. Widowed duchess Selena is at the ladies’ club on the prowl for Aiden Trewlove, the owner and bastard son of some unnamed lord. We get to see their flirty and seductive first meeting, before finding out Selena’s real reason for being there. She needs to get pregnant and quick, so she can pass the baby off as her late husband’s to keep her position and fortune. It’s dramatic and angsty and we get to catch up with the whole boisterous Trewlove family. So much steam and longing within these impossible circumstances and it was so much fun to read. Pulls at all the heartstrings just right. Loved it.
Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
The Earl Takes a Fancy by Lorraine Heath (2020)
Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 5 of the Sins for All Seasons series. So, the Earl of Rosemont is a widower who was tricked into marriage by his late wife and then for unknown reasons, his dying wife sets in motion a letter to be published in the newspaper a year after her death, basically seeking a new wife for the earl. He’s totally fed up with all the gifts and callers and young ladies, so he leaves his London townhouse and takes up residence in a totally different part of town where no one knows who he is. And so, a mere mister Matthew goes to visit his neighborhood bookshop, where he meets and is smitten by the shop owner Fancy. She’s about to have her debut with the support of all her siblings, who have always prepared her for marrying into the nobility. But she’s equally smitten with Matthew, and is worried about letting down her family by not marrying a lord. This book was filled with yearning and secrets and I loved it all.
Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
Beauty Tempts the Beast by Lorraine Heath (2020)
Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 6 of the Sins for All Seasons series. Well, I loved this book too. And sad to be at the end of the series. The former Lady Althea Stanwick has had a major reduction in circumstances when her ducal father is found guilty of treason, hanged, and his family stripped of their titles and kicked out of their home. Now, Althea lives in Whitechapel and works as a serving maid at a bar where she meets Beast. (because it’s his sister’s Gillie’s bar, if you’ve been following along with this series). Beast immediately recognizes Althea’s demeanor as someone of quality and recruits her to tutor the ladies who work at a brothel, so they can better their circumstances, and she demands some tutoring of her own from Beast. It leads exactly where you expect it to lead in terms of their romance, but oh man, the emotional moments of this book are so good. And when we finally learn about Beast’s parents (because we’re destined to tie up this story that way), everything comes full circle.
Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
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