Weekly Reads: April 21 to 27, 2025

Hardly a Gentleman by Eloisa James (2025)

Historical romance. Georgian-era England. Book 2 of the Accidental Brides series. Clara is a walking scandal after hitting the prince with her reticule. On her way to Scotland to stay with her aunt, she hitches a ride with another carriage who’s there to pick up a new housekeeper. She’s clearly not a housekeeper and an even worse fake housekeeper, but she’s befriended the driver and she’s on her way. Caelan is the widowed laird who has basically let his estate go to rot because he’s completely apathetic and rustic. But the whole town thinks that he’s heartbroken over the loss of his wife and he doesn’t even have the interest to correct them. When Clara shows up as the new housekeeper, he knows she’s really a lady, but he’s instantly attracted to her and eventually decides he wants to keep her. I loved how delightfully messy these two people are and how they’re able to be fairly direct and honest with each other. It was a lot of fun to read their romance develop and get to know that meddlesome town Caelan oversees.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

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Single Player by Tara Tai (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Cat and Andi have the worst first meeting ever where they make awful first impressions; Cat being rambly and awkward and Andi being cold and standoffish. And Cat gets to be the unwanted temporary employee at Andi’s company, so the work tension is definitely high. Oh, and Andi was totally cold because she was busy being distracted by her intense attraction towards Cat. We have a lot of messy miscommunication here and it’s complicated by the fact that Andi is basically afraid of the world after having been doxxed, stalked, and reviled for years, and Cat is a chronic people pleaser who fakes her personality to match whatever she thinks someone else wants her to be. It’s definitely a slow burn romance as these two very very very slowly become friends and then more. Throw in a bit of workplace sabotage, and we get a very interesting story to read.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

What Dreams May Come by Christina Dodd (2025)

Historical romance. Book 1.5 of the Daughter of Montague series. Basically just a one-night adventure story. Rosie has discovered that her younger sister and her friend, the princess, have gone out at night dressed as boys and the princess lost her mother’s ring at a brothel. Rosie goes out to recover the ring and ends up in a series of misfortunes before being rescued/captured by her betrothed. Quick little novella.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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The Duke Disaster by Kathleen Ayers (2025)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the League of Extraordinary Widows series. Widowed Celia is living it up after getting out from under the overbearing thumb of her brother-in-law. She was basically unloved and discarded by her husband immediately upon marriage, so she’s doing her best to find some fun and affection. Unfortunately, it has caused her to collect a scandalous reputation and the family duke, Oliver, is called in to corral her behavior. Oliver is the model of propriety and rigid in all his standards, mostly due to the influence of his very strict mother, so he is instantly aggravated by Celia’s behavior, despite being intensely attracted to her. His anger/attraction is clearly about the boil over at any moment, and we’re not sure if it’ll lead to a proposal or an affair. Celia really is just looking for any shred of affection and her reality is not as scandalous as her reputation appears, but she does love to thumb her nose at all of Oliver’s strict mandates. It’s pretty tense to read how much they dislike each other and I did wonder how they would eventually work it out. Overall, a solid steamy read.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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The Duke Report by Fenna Edgewood (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Must Love Scandal series. Tragic prologue for all where Cherry is a single mother grieving the loss of her husband and in a different time and place, Cross is a single father grieving the loss of his wife. Both swear never to love again to avoid another heartbreak. Years later, Cross runs into Cherry in a darkened room, has no idea who she is, mistakes her for a lady he was going to have an assignation with, and kisses her neck. It’s not a good start because Cherry is completely indignant at the situation and tells him off. Cherry is also alarmed that a maid who was supposed to meet her to discuss a secret group of men who have harmed women didn’t show up. There’s a wicked mystery going on in this book with powerful men causing serious harm, and Cherry is the investigative journalist who’s on the case. Until she writes a column blaming the wrong man, and gets entangled back up with Cross, as he clears his name. I loved the flirty banter here and how well their families blended together once their children meet up. We also continue with the mystery that was left hanging from the previous book and learn more about these cruel abductors.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.

The Thrashers by Julie Soto (2025)

Young Adult Thriller. Standalone novel. This book was a lot of fun to read and kept me hooked to find out what happens next. We’re in a high school setting where one girl has committed suicide and five students who make up a tight-knit popular friend group are accused of bullying. We get the whole story from Jodi’s perspective, one of the five, but who often feels like the odd one out. It was super interesting to see the friend group dynamics change over the timeframe of the criminal investigation for these teens. Add in some possible haunting and we’ve got some eerie things happening.

Advance ebook provided by Wednesday Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Macmillan Audio.