Review: Who's Sorry Now?

Last year I finally read the first book in Maggie Robinson's Lady Adelaide mystery series and I enjoyed it so much it made my annual Best Of list for the year. I resolved I would read the remaining three books in the series, but ARC guilt, it's real.  Instead of diving into glomming this series, I put it on the back burner in favor of reading through some neglected ARCs, and here we are a year later.  Well life is short, my reading mojo is crap, and there's no time like the present. Who's Sorry Now? was a delightfully fun read and just what the doctor ordered.

After the events of the first book, Lady Adelaide Compton ran off to New York with her sister Cecilia (Cee) for a well-deserved break. The best part of all?  She hasn't seen the ghost of her profligate dead husband since the resolution of the murder that took place in the barn at her country home. Unfortunately, the reprieve doesn't last long. While enjoying a New York speakeasy, Rupert pops up to warn Adelaide that a raid is coming, she and Cee shimmer out a bathroom window, and decide it's time to head back to England.

Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Devenand Hunter has his hands full back in London. Someone is murdering Bright Young People, poisoning their drinks while they dance and party the night away at their favorite hot spots. A disreputable new establishment, the Thieves' Den, has seen two poisonings thus far and now the villain has targeted the Savoy (of all places). The victim? Lady Cecilia. Blessedly, Lady Adelaide's quick thinking may have saved her sister's life.  Unfortunately he's now got another problem on his hands - Lady Adelaide wants to help. Besides the fact that her own sister could have died, she tells the Inspector that she can get into places and talk to people who will be more forthcoming with her than the police. She's right, of course, but he can't forget how her helping him before almost got her killed. 

What follows is Adelaide (feeling older than dirt as a 30-something widow) befriending the group of Bright Young People who seem to be at the center of the poisonings. Doing his best to "help" is Rupert's ghost, who has been ordered back to assist his widow at the behest of the "higher powers" who think he needs to reform before they'll let him out of ghostly limbo. Then of course there's the mutual attraction simmering between Anglo-Indian DI Hunter and Lady Adelaide, a marquess' daughter and widow of a bonafide World War I hero, never mind he was spectacularly unfaithful when he was alive. It's an attraction they both know is utterly impossible but they're both struggling to resist.

Finally picking up this second book reminded me of why I liked the first one so much, it really is an utterly charming and delightful cozy. While an alive Rupert would be vile and insufferable, a dead Rupert trying to make amends by protecting and helping his widow injects some levity. Robinson writes about the time period (1925) very well, infusing plenty of world-building without bogging down the narrative with a history lesson.  There's also a wide cast of characters around the mystery, including a notorious girl gang (the Forty Dollies) who seem to be mixed up in the whole affair in some way - never mind their main business up until that point is stealing merchandise such as clothes, furs and jewelry. 

The author has kept the first two books fairly lean (under 300 pages) but gives readers plenty of charm, interesting characters, a whiff of romance, and mysteries that are substantial enough to keep the plots moving along. I wasn't entirely enamored with the turn the denouement took in this book, but it's action-packed and I certainly didn't want to come up for air during the final chapters. I'm not going to allow ARC guilt to distract me from picking up Book 3.

Final Grade = B

#TBRChallenge 2025: Tangle of Lies

The Book: Tangle of Lies by Patricia Potter

The Particulars: Contemporary romantic suspense, Berkley, 2005, Out of print, eBook edition by Open Road Media 2015

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I had an autographed print copy in my TBR which means I picked this up at an RWA conference, probably in (yikes) 2006 since I don't recall attending in 2005 but it's been 20 years and who even knows anymore.

The Review: Life is pretty darn sweet for Liz Connor. She's just purchased the business (an outdoor adventure company) that had been employing her for several years, she's newly elected to the Santa Fe city council, and she's repairing her strained relationship with her overprotective mother. Then her father calls. Her mother is missing. When he came home he found her, along with their outdated home computers gone.  

Betty Connor isn't missing. She's been arrested by the FBI. They claim she's really Sarah Jane Maynard, a former Vietnam War protestor who, along with her compatriots, held up an armored car and killed the two guards. Frankly it's all so unbelievable. Her mother? The stay-at-home wife who baked cookies for local school bake sales? But it doesn't take long for their traditional nuclear family to implode. Betty / Sarah Jane refuses to see her husband or her two daughters, nor take any part in mounting a legal defense. Then all hell breaks loose. Someone sets fire to Liz's home and steals her computer hard drive. Her niece is nearly abducted when a strange man claiming to be her uncle shows up at her day camp. Then two men walk out of the woodwork claiming they want to help her.  Michael Gallagher, a slick corporate lawyer from Boston who works for Betty's family (never mind nobody knew she had family....) and Caleb Adams, a haunted former Boston cop turned PI who, conveniently enough, lives not far from Santa Fe. 

I realize I just set this up to sound like a love triangle, but it's not.  Caleb is most definitely our hero, and sure enough, he's keeping a Big Secret from the heroine. "For reasons," he's been obsessed with the armored truck heist for years, working the cold case when he was with the Boston PD. Then his wife and son are killed in an explosion and that grief feeds and grows his obsession to bring the fugitives to justice. The reader is clued in right away on what Caleb's backstory is, which means the rest of the story has a Sword of Damocles feel to it waiting for the other shoe to drop and the heroine to find out. And when she does? Well she was focused in finding out the truth before, but after the bombshell drops she turns into a one-woman wrecking crew. I liked her before, I kind of fell in love with her during those final chapters.

Original Cover

The pacing in this story is relentless. Potter doesn't waste any time mashing her foot on the accelerator and we're off the races from the start of the first page. The romance takes more time. Caleb and Liz aren't really on page together for any meaningful stretch until around 25% and the romance itself is pretty light in the pants. It's hard to believe a couple is catching feelings with such a huge Big Secret standing between them, and there's a sizable enough cast of characters involved in the suspense thread that it doesn't leave a lot of time for the lovey-dovey stuff.  Naturally the attraction and lust comes through loud and clear, and there are sex scenes, but it's not what really kept me invested in the story. I'm a sucker for cold case storylines and if you mix in Ghosts of Vietnam Era Radicals Past, I will eat it up. 

Romantic suspense is tricky and there are definitely two camps of readers - those who want more forward facing romance and those who want a compelling suspense thread to take center stage.  This book definitely falls into the latter category, although I still wanted more detail about the crime itself. This is more of a "reactive" story - Liz and Caleb running around trying to uncover the truth and why anyone would now be threatening the Connor family. Is it just a matter of the money from the heist having never been recovered or is there something more sinister lurking under that rock?

The ending got a little cheesy for me and frankly I'm not so sure about the epilogue, but it was a fast-paced, entertaining read that kept me flipping the pages. Lord knows I've unearthed some duds out of my print TBR but this story definitely held my interest.  Also it's amazing how dated 2005 sounds now - smart phones weren't a thing yet and everyone's cell phone was a flip phone 😂.  Excuse me while my bones turn to dust.

Final Grade = B-

Long Live: Unusual Historicals for August 2025

I know we've all been mourning the "death" of historical romance but y'all these posts are getting to be a lot of work for a sub genre apparently in it's death rattle phase. And while I realize some of the books featured this month are with traditional publishers who are dropping contracts, we still are managing to get seventeen books in August - and honestly there's likely a few more floating around out there. These are just the ones that landed in front of my eyeballs and made my "short list."  So I hope you're limbered up and grabbed yourself a snack, we're all going to be here for a while.

The Warrior's Forbidden Viking Bride by Sarah Rodi

A forbidden desire...

...for his enemy captor!

Mourning his wife and unborn child, Saxon warrior Ryce has found solace behind the walls of a monastery and become a priest-in-training. Then Viking shieldmaiden Alivia, blazing with righteous fury, attacks and takes Ryce captive.

Ryce must resist the spark between him and his captor. For he’s vowed to devote his life to the priesthood, and to her, he represents the enemy who killed her family. Forced to work together to protect their people, impetuous and fierce Alivia reignites his warrior instincts. Now Ryce has a choice: return to his duty, or embrace a new future with Alivia by his side?

Y'all this one might be my number one with a bullet for August. A hero in deep mourning decides to pack it all in and become a priest. She's a pissed off shieldmaiden who takes him captive "for reasons." Look, not gonna lie, the power dynamics in captive romances can get real icky, real quick, but the role-reversal and SHIELDMAIDEN!!!!!

Gabriela and His Grace by Liana De la Rosa 

As the youngest and most rebellious daughter of the overly protective Luna family, Gabriela Luna Valdés claws after her freedom in any way she can. This time, her hunger for adventure has led her aboard a windswept ship bearing for her homeland, away from a mob of fumbling British suitors. But Gabby can’t escape her father’s expectation that she settle down to find a proper husband—a compromise she’s unwilling to make.

For Sebastian Brooks, Duke of Whitfield, the trip to Mexico is his last chance. His last chance to rectify his family’s estate and refill their dwindling coffers. And his last chance to match wits with the sharp-tongued but deliciously tempting Gabriela.

When Gabby finds herself in need of a hasty escape, Sebastian agrees to assist her…but their close proximity sparks a red-hot passion that could ruin all their plans. With scandal looming, can Sebastian convince Gabby his regard is sincere or will she sail away with his heart?

The final book in The Luna Sisters trilogy features the youngest, rebellious (aren't they always?) sister determined to not settle for a milquetoast British husband but stuck due to her father's expectations. So she does what one must - she boards a ship to Mexico and lands straight into the arms of our hero, making the trip in the hopes of bringing his finances back up to scratch.

The Fortune Hunter's Guide to Love by Emma-Claire Sunday

How can Lady Sylvia save herself from financial ruin?

Step 1: Move to the seaside for the summer, where there will be no shortage of wealthy bachelors holidaying.

Step 2: Strike a deal with local farmer Hannah. If Hannah can help Sylvia bag a rich husband, Sylvia will fund Hannah’s dream of opening a cheese shop.

Step 3: Charm their way into luncheons, parties and exclusive balls, but do not start to confuse friendship with romantic feelings for Hannah.

Step 4: Focus on her fortune-hunting scheme and do not let her heart get carried away by her unexpected and magical kiss with Hannah!

Fortune hunter needs to marry, but make it Sapphic. She's a fortune hunter one step away from total ruin and seeks the help of a local farmer by dangling the promise of opening her own cheese shop.  The game, as they say, is afoot.  If they could only ignore the inconvenient attraction simmering between them.

Touched by a Traitor by Mihwa Lee

He destroyed her dreams. She'll destroy his heart.

Charlotte Grace fought her way from the gutters of London to become England's first female barrister—until the man she loved betrayed her with devastating precision. Forced into marriage with her betrayer, she discovers a truth that shatters everything she thought she knew about their relationship.

Andrew Creswell, the Earl of Carlisle, thought he was protecting what was his. Instead, he's unleashed hell. When forced to choose between his fortune and Charlotte's future, he makes a decision that will haunt them both forever. Now, as Charlotte flees and his empire crumbles, he faces the ultimate choice: cling to what he bled to build or sacrifice everything to become the man worthy of her forgiveness.

The question isn't whether love can survive betrayal—it's whether either of them will survive the flames of their own making.

First in The Daring Damsels series gives readers enemies to lovers, a marriage of convenience that heads south quickly, and a second chance romance wrapped around a wrong-side-of-the-tracks heroine who pulls herself up to become England's first female barrister. I'm kind of stupid excited about this one!

The Unexpected Heiress by Cassidy Crane

All Clara Cooper wants is something exciting to happen to her for a change. She chafes against the constraints of her society, which would rather see her married off than achieve her artistic dreams. A surprise inheritance turns her life on its head, opening doors she’d never dreamed of.

Addie Barnes is nothing if not pragmatic. Getting by on nothing but her wits and her looks, she turns her savvy eye to Clara and her secret fortune. If she can become Clara’s companion, she’ll be set for life. She initially sees Clara as a means to an end, but as their connection deepens, she grapples with conflicting emotions.

Amidst the tumultuous backdrop of the Great Depression, can they find redemption and love in the face of adversity?

An artist heroine who unexpectedly comes into a fortune and a heroine who marks said artist heroine as her meal ticket. Then, of course, those darn pesky feelings start to get in the way....

The Governess and the Rogue by Mimi Matthews

Stranded in India after being dismissed without a reference, governess Beatrice Layton exchanges her freedom for passage home to England, taking a position with the only family that will hire her. But Bea hasn’t reckoned for just how dreadful her new employers will be. Stuck with them at sea in increasingly desperate circumstances, she finds an unlikely champion in the injured ex-soldier traveling aboard their ship.

Colonel Jack Beresford has spent the last fourteen years serving in Her Majesty’s Army. Though time has lent him maturity, it hasn’t dulled the roguish impulses of his youth. When he’s confronted with the tantalizing prospect of a damsel in distress, he naturally steps in to rescue her. His solution? An engagement of convenience, of course. One that will last only as long as their voyage.

But once back on land, Jack and Bea’s simple arrangement is beset by complication after complication. There are former passengers to contend with, and meddling society matrons. Most complicated of all, there’s Jack’s family—his parents, siblings, and precocious nieces and nephews—all of whom seem to think that Bea might be perfect for him. Jack is beginning to think so too. All that remains is to convince bold, beguiling Bea that he’s perfect for her.

The sixth (and final?) book in the author's Somerset Stories series. Desperate heroine takes the only job available to her in order to get herself back to England finds a champion in a colonel who has spent the last fourteen years serving in the army. A fake engagement is only meant to help her out in her current situation, it's not actually supposed to lead to love.

This Gentleman of Mine by Collette Perri

Susanna’s husband is dead, and all she feels is relief. Or, rather, relief is what she would feel, if his death hadn’t left her penniless and in jeopardy of losing her estate. And then there is that other small matter she would prefer not to think about — someone is leaving her anonymous love notes, and the writer is growing bolder by the day.

It seems that everything is going wrong for Susanna, until Benedict Stanton, railway magnate and the man she has secretly loved since childhood, appears like her own personal knight on a white horse with an offer to help. But the gentleman she hopes will solve all her problems soon sparks complications of his own, chief amongst them an insatiable lust that proves as all-consuming as it is dangerous.

Because there is someone watching from the shadows, someone willing to kill to make Susanna his.

Someone who has, perhaps, killed before . . .

The death of an undesirable husband is just the start of the heroine's problems when she realizes she's now penniless and has picked up a stalker. He's a railway magnate and the man she's been in love with since childhood. This is the third book in The Tempting Tycoons trilogy.

The Gilded Heiress by Joanna Shupe

In 1880 a baby was stolen from the wealthiest family in America. Though no ransom was ever demanded, the Pendelton family never gave up hope . . . and their reward became the stuff of legend.

After being raised in a children’s asylum, Josie Smith ends up on the streets and quickly learns how to take care of herself. Her singing voice draws crowds on every corner, and she’ll stop at nothing to become famous and travel the world, loved and adored by all. Maybe then she won’t think about the family who gave her away as an infant.

Leo Hardy isn’t afraid to use his charm and wits to make a fast buck, especially with a mother and five siblings to support. When he stumbles upon a beautiful young woman singing on the street, Leo notices her striking resemblance to the infamous missing baby’s mother, Mrs. Thomas Pendelton. The Hardys lost everything thanks to the Pendeltons, and once Leo sees Josie, he seizes the opportunity to settle the score. All he needs to do is pull off the biggest swindle of his career.

As the two are catapulted into Knickerbocker High Society, they grow closer to their goal, as well as to each other. But secrets can only stay hidden for so long. Soon the truth unfolds, and both Josie and Leo must separate what’s real from what’s just gilding.

A stand-alone riff on Anastasia that is told in dueling first person point of view. Y'all that makes me feel some kind of way, but nobody wants to read my screed which will basically be chalked up to Middle-Aged Woman Yelling At Clouds. Will this attract readers who normally turn up their nose at historical romance? Time will tell.

A Lady's Rules for Seaside Romance by Arden Conroy

He’s always loved her. A seaside holiday provides his chance.

Anne Winthrop, the Dowager Marchioness of Litchfield, is a widow out of mourning. At her daughter’s encouragement, Anne decides their Brighton holiday will make for a good place to test the waters of romance. Though she knows firsthand how marriage puts women at risk, it would be fun to dance again. And a seaside romance does promise to be perfectly fleeting.

Victor McNab’s life is exactly how he wants it. His pub, The Harp & Thistle, is thriving. His brothers are happily married. After the three of them grew up as orphans on the streets of Whitechapel, Victor is satisfied with how their lives have turned out. Unfortunately, his unwanted destiny looms. Victor learns his grandfather, the Duke of Invermark, is dying. And Victor, who wants nothing to do with the ton, is next in line.

Horrified by the news, Victor confides in his closest friend, Anne. She encourages him to join his brothers in Brighton, where she will help him reenter the ton. Victor witnesses the attention beautiful Anne attracts and becomes unraveled by a revelation: he wants her for himself. But as someone who has never before desired romance in any form, Victor must uncover what this means or he risks ruining the most important friendship of his life.

Love and friendship may go hand in hand. But they can also crash and burn together.

Well of course he turns out to be the heir to a Dukedom which is about as unusual as the terrible lemonade at Almack's. But, and hear me out, he's also a tavern owner and she's a Dowager Marchioness whose daughter (implying said heroine is "older") thinks it would be good for Mom to get back "out there" and have some fun. This third book in The Harp & Thistle trilogy gives readers a friends to lovers trope and, apparently, a virgin hero!

Heart of the Hunter by Lois Templin

He’s never failed a mission…until her.

Hunter is the most lethal member of the infamous Band of Bastards, a warrior known for working alone, living by a strict code, and finishing every mission with cold precision. Distractions are dangerous. And no distraction is more dangerous than the lady goldsmith who’s haunted his dreams for two years and threatens to crack the shell around his unworthy heart.

Anora has no choice but to take matters into her own hands. With her father aging and her brother gone, the burden of protecting their goldsmithing business, and uncovering the thief sabotaging it, falls squarely on her shoulders. When clues lead her to Castle Whyte, she risks everything to sneak inside and recover the stolen jewels.

But she never expects to run into Hunter.

For two years, he’s shared meals with her father but ignored her completely. Now, not even her protests can stop the infuriating man from interfering with her mission, or protecting her at every turn.

Forced into an uneasy alliance, Anora and Hunter must navigate danger, desire, and the undeniable pull between them. She doesn’t know he’s in love with her. He doesn’t believe he’s worthy of her. But he’ll break every rule he’s ever lived by if it means keeping her safe.

Even if it means losing everything else.

The third book in the Band of Bastards medieval trilogy features a loner warrior hero partnered with a goldsmith (!) heroine determined to find the thief targeting her family's livelihood.  With her brother gone, and her father now an old man, the burden lands on her, and the warrior who has spent time at her father's table.

The Sound of Seduction by Sara Adrien

A prince in exile. A nurse with everything to lose. One scandalous kiss could destroy them both—or rewrite their fates forever.

Wendy Folsham has spent her life holding things together: her brother’s legacy, her patients’ lives, and the sterling reputation of 87 Harley Street. As the trusted nurse in London’s most daring medical practice, she’s the calm at the center of chaos. Falling for a man—let alone a prince—was never part of her plan.

Especially not this prince.

Prince Stan von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen has spent his life shielding others—from secrets, from scandal, and from the quiet political storm he finds himself at the center of. Everyone close to him becomes a target. That’s why he keeps his distance. But Wendy Folsham changes everything. She’s competent, composed, and utterly irresistible. She saved his life when no one else could. But when Wendy kisses him in the clinic, everything shifts. His wounds may have healed, but now his heart is at war. Because the closer she gets, the more he wants her. And the more he wants her, the more he knows he could destroy her.

Loving her isn’t safe. But letting her go might be impossible.

And he can’t touch her without risking everything she’s built – everything he admires.

She can’t let him go without risking her heart.

As secrets rise, lives and reputations hang in the balance, Stan and Wendy must decide: protect their futures—or surrender to a love that could ruin them.

Royalty in historical romance is not unusual but y'all I am trash for a nurse heroine and this one is named Wendy! Hey, it's my blog, I'm allowed to make up the rules as I go along. This is the fourth book in the Miracles on Harley Street series.

Seducing the Spy by Kelsey Swanson

A spy with nothing to lose. A lady longing for excitement. A passion neither can resist.

Oliver Black clawed his way out of the gutters of London, only to be thrust in the shadows once more—this time as a covert agent for the Crown. Wounded during a mission gone bad, he finds himself with nowhere to turn but the doorstep—well, balcony—of the one woman he knows he’ll never be able to forget.

Emily Tailor, the fiercely curious daughter of a notorious Covent Garden madam, has lived the sheltered life of a princess in a tower. But when Oliver crashes into her world, bloodied and desperate, she seizes the chance to have the adventure she’s always craved. Posing as his lover, she joins him on a dangerous journey to a hedonistic house party where nothing is as it seems.

With secrets swirling and seduction in the air, every glance ignites forbidden longing. As Emily and Oliver navigate a treacherous game of deception, the line between performance and reality blurs.

Danger waits in the shadows—but so does desire…

A wounded spy who came up from the gutter lands on the doorstep of a fairy tale princess, if said princess was the daughter of a notorious madam. He needs her to pose as his mistress to infiltrate a notorious house party and she desperately wants to escape her tower.  This is the second book in the Spy Society series.

A Waltz on the Wild Side by Erica Ridley

Advice columnist Miss Vivian Henry hates how the Wild Wynchesters flaunt so many privileges ordinary people could never emulate. But when her beloved cousin goes missing and the authorities shrug, Viv has no choice but to beg for help from the vigilantes she despises. 

 

Aspiring poet Jacob Wynchester prefers animals to people. He’d rather stay behind the safety of a quill than interact with prickly clients. But when he's appointed lead investigator, Jacob finds he admires Vivian's resourcefulness and intelligence—including the sharp wit he must parry. As they team up to rescue her kidnapped cousin, they discover just how compatible they are.

 

Together, they must not only save the day, but also decide how far they’re willing to go to be who they really are. And determine whether their partnership is a mistake… or the missing piece that completes them.

An advice columnist heroine with no love for the hero's family finds herself needing their help when her cousin goes missing. Our hero is a poet who would rather hide behind his pen and spend time with animals than his family's clients.  This is the sixth book in the author's Wild Wynchesters series.

A Lady of Letters by Andrea Pickens (Reprint)

Articulate and intelligent, Lady Augusta Peabody avoids Society's censure by secretly publishing her political essays under the pen name "Firebrand." But despite all outward efforts to behave like a proper lady at the balls she can’t avoid attending, she finds herself tripping into awkward encounters with the roguish Earl of Dunham and igniting a fiery war of words between them.

Bored with life as a rake, Marcus has decided to use his position in Parliament to champion Firebrand's cause, never dreaming that the reclusive writer is the headstrong young lady with whom he's constantly clashing.

When the truth comes out, Augusta reluctantly allows Marcus to help her investigate the gentleman she suspects of running a dastardly criminal enterprise. Sparks continue to fly between them—and accidentally ignites new passions that could destroy them both if their cunning enemy has his way . . .

Originally published in 2000 by Signet's traditional Regency Romance line, this is a self-published reprint the author is branding as Book Five in the Intrepid Heroines series. A heroine who writes political essays and a hero determined to change his rakish ways by championing the writers' causes - not realizing of course that the Firebrand is the headstrong young woman who vexes him.

A Lyon's Promise by C.H. Admirand

He has never forgotten how he failed her!

Gavin King has been with the Bow Street Runners for years, with twenty men who report directly to him—a handful of whom he trusts implicitly to handle any issues that come up regarding the Duke of Wyndmere and his family. King has investigated crimes that still keep him up nights. One of those crimes involved the gruesome sight of Lord Hughes’s body stuffed into a sea chest. Though he solved Hughes’s murder, and the killer was brought to trial, he will never forget the anguished look, nor the tears that followed, when he delivered the news to Lady Lucretia Montfort as he promised. God help him, he felt helpless bearing witness to her pain.

She has no choice but to enter the Lyon’s Den!

Widowed for a decade, Lady Montfort hoped to find contentment when Lord Hughes proposed a marriage of convenience. His brutal murder was the catalyst for the recent salacious rumors, and the wager in White’s betting book that threaten the widow’s reputation.

King vows to keep another promise, one that he made to himself—that he would place Lady Montfort under his broad wing of protection. The rumors escalate and turn ugly. King receives an urgent missive from one of his longtime contacts, Mrs. Bessie Dove-Lyon, advising that Lucretia has asked for her help finding a husband. King demands Bessie sever the contract. She refuses. Little does he know Mrs. Dove-Lyon has a plan of her own!

Part of the long-running Lyon's Den continuity world, our hero is a Bow Street Runner (in management no less!) who solved the murder of the heroine's intended, a Lord she was hoping to enter into a marriage of convenience with for "reasons" that soon threaten her reputation. Things get complicated when he finds out she's sent out a call to find another husband.

The Lyon Loves Last by Charlie Lane

What’s dangerous, necessary, and arranged at the Lyon’s Den? A marriage of convenience between childhood friends.

Felix Canterbury, Viscount Foxton will never return to his childhood home. Nothing but nightmares there. He’s happy to gamble the house away to win a bride at the Lyon’s Den. Especially since his beloved grandfather is demanding he marry… and soon. Felix never expects the prize bride to be his childhood friend, the woman he deliberately enraged.

Miss Caroline Maxwell needs a house for the women's refuge she’s building. Even if it means landing a husband along with it. She doesn’t need love, after all. She already gave her heart away to Felix, who promptly dropped it. With the Widow of Whitehall’s help, she snags a husband and a house with ease.

The house is perfect.

The husband—and arrogant and all too virile Felix—not so much.

They agree to a marriage in name only, but when circumstances trap them in the house he hates, desire tests their resolve.

Unless Caroline can help Felix overcome his childhood ghosts, fear will shape their futures instead of love.

Yep, another Lyon's Den book for August.  This one features a hero determined to gamble away a house that holds nothing but bad memories and a heroine who needs a house to build a women's refuge. She's not exactly keen on the idea of a husband coming along with said house, but needs must and all that.

Doubts and Desires by Charlotte Wren

Louisa Northcott faces her second Season with quiet resolve. Her first wasn’t disastrous, but it failed to deliver the heart-stirring romance she craves. She longs for more than a “suitable” match, she wants someone who quickens her pulse. She never expects to meet such a man before even leaving for London.

Maxwell Harlow, a tall, handsome, and aloof Anglo-Scottish industrialist, captures her attention the moment she encounters him in the stables at Highfield. He’s in Yorkshire to lease the vacant Northcott Manor, Louisa’s family estate, but he’s already engaged to an aristocratic bride. Disappointed, Louisa turns her focus back to the coming Season.

Maxwell, meanwhile, has never sought marriage. Focused solely on success during Britain’s Industrial Revolution, he has little interest in anything that might compromise his autonomy. But when Lord Dent, an indebted viscount, offers his daughter’s hand for a fee, Maxwell initially declines. Purchasing a bride leaves a bitter taste. Yet the appeal of securing a noble connection leads him to accept the deal. With a wedding planned, he seeks a home for his future wife, which brings him to Northcott Manor. There, he notices Captain Northcott’s eldest daughter, but Louisa is off-limits.

Still, fate intervenes. At a London society event, Maxwell and Louisa cross paths again. One innocent yet careless moment alters everything, throwing their lives into turmoil. Maxwell must choose between the rigid control of his career and the unpredictable stirrings of his heart.

Louisa refuses to give up hope. She believes Maxwell will come to love her, truly, deeply. But her faith is tested, again and again.

Just as happiness seems within reach, a devastating crisis threatens everything. Louisa begins to question whether Maxwell ever truly cared. Has she misjudged him? Has he deceived her all along?

The start of new Highfield Hall series finds our heroine wanting something more than a "suitable match" and unfortunately the man quickening her pulse is a industrialist who is already engaged to be married - no matter it's merely transactional involving her family connections and his money. But of course they run into each other again and of course complications ensue.

Whew! I won't tell you how long it took me to draft this post but we made it!  I hope you found something to tickle your fancy this month.  What are you looking forward to reading?

Reminder: #TBRChallenge Day is August 20

Y'all I cannot believe it's August and we're over halfway through the 2025 #TBRChallenge. Our next challenge is set for Wednesday, August 20 and this month's option theme is Do the Hustle.

This suggestion came out of my annual theme poll, and I'll admit I'm a sucker for a musically inspired theme.  I always encourage free interpretation of the themes but the first thing that springs to my mind for this month are characters, well, hustling. Single moms or dads struggling to make ends meet, characters with work-related struggles, or characters with shady or ulterior motives. However, remember, the goal of this challenge is to always read something, anything, that has been languishing in my TBR pile - so straying away from the theme is perfectly acceptable if your fragile reading mood carries you off in a different direction.

Also, a reminder that it's not too late to sign-up for the Challenge (fun fact: it's never too late to sign up!).  For more details and for a list of participants, you can check out the 2025 #TBRChallenge page.

Review: Opulence and Ashes

Opulence and Ashes by Kate Belli is the fourth, and more than likely, final book in the author's Gilded Gotham Mystery series that I've glommed my way through the past couple of months. The author could likely keep things going but if this truly is the end, it's a solid finish to the series that neatly ties up a number of new and existing plot threads.

After the previous books' ho-hum (yeah, I said it) serial killer plot, it was nice to see our crime-solving couple sink their teeth into something a bit more unique, there appears to be a serial arsonist on the loose, but finding connecting threads is proving challenging.  Society reporter Genevieve Stewart and former Five Points gang member turned wealthy man, Daniel McCaffrey, are engaged, mere weeks away from their wedding, and building a new home of their own. They're also continuing their reform work, teaming up with police photographer, Dagmar Hansen to shed light on the House of Refuge, a children's workhouse and conditions in Five Points.  Genevieve is also looking into a fire that destroyed the Sunflower Mission House, a home for women of color who escaped from sex trafficking. 

However, someone isn't happy about what Daniel and Genevieve are doing. Dagmar's studio is set on fire, with both he and Daniel trapped in it, and Genevieve barely escapes a fire set at the home of a doctor providing health care (including contraception, illegal during this time thanks to the Comstock Act) to women. As if this weren't enough? One of Daniel's long-lost siblings, Connor, kidnapped off the streets as a young child and packed off on an orphan train, has returned to New York.  Genevieve and their friend Rupert don't trust the man, but Daniel's feelings are much more fraught and complicated. As the arsonist heats up, so does the danger to both Genevieve and Daniel.  Will they survive to defeat the arsonist and see their wedding day?

The author does a good job ratcheting up the tension in this story. Truly, from the beginning, it's hard to see how all these episodes and incidents tie together other than fire is involved - and fire in New York City during this time wasn't exactly a rarity. It takes time for the author to set the stage and start her characters down a path that ultimately leads to their highest stakes yet - Genevieve getting kidnapped. This is when the story really started to cook for me. Daniel out of his mind and Genevieve in a horrific situation, trapped with other women in a 19th century mental hospital.

I'll admit it, after Genevieve's various bouts of foot stamping and feistiness in previous (and this one as well) entries, there was a certain amount of satisfaction (not the right word, but you get my meaning) to see her get a bit of comeuppance. Should she have been forcibly institutionalized? Of course not - but it sure was fun to read about how she was going to wiggle herself out of that nightmare - and wiggle she does.

Ultimately this last book in the series does what all good last books should do - that is tie everything up, including a few callbacks to earlier entries, to a satisfying conclusion. To that end, I cannot stress enough that these four books should be read in order. With some series a reader can hop around (I do it all the time actually) but not here. The author builds each book off the foundation of the books preceding it which leads us to a very satisfying conclusion, and yes - a happy ending for both romance and mystery fans.

I've had a really good time reading this series. It's the first one I've read in a long time that satisfied both parts (mystery and romance) of my genre loving brain. I'm a little sorry to see Daniel, Genevieve and their menagerie family and friends go, but better a satisfying conclusion than a slow and disappointing descent into banality.

Grade = B

Review: Reunited With His Long-Lost Nurse

Y'all, my reading mojo has been in the toilet for well over a month now. I'm getting TBR Challenge books read and I've gotten through an audiobook, but I'm not reading. Why? Fatigue, not having the spoons, torn with indecisiveness of what to read next - I mean, it's a lot of things. But I miss reading and I need to kick start my mojo somehow, so I thought a category romance might be in order. When I find a decent one I can inhale the story in one sitting, which is what happened with Reunited With His Long-Lost Nurse by Charlotte Hawkes.  This is Harlequin Medical I dug up from the depths of my Kindle and it is hardly perfect, but it was readable so I'm counting it as a win.

Liam Miller is on his way to the fictional Caribbean island of St. Victoria to take over a case from a heart surgeon who has been laid up thanks to an accident. The only reason he's going is because of his dedication to his work and ensuring patients get the best care possible, otherwise he'd avoid St. Victoria like the plague. It's her home. Nurse Talia Johnson. The woman who breathed color and life into his empty existence when they worked together in North Carolina, only for him to come home one day to find she had ghosted him. Poof! Gone. No call, no note, nada.

Talia returned home for "reasons" (it takes some time to find out why) and I feel some kind of way about folks who ghost lovers, but when you meet Liam you understand. This guy might as well have a neon sign blinking over his head that screams "Emotionally Unavailable." Liam isn't the one who got away so much as he was the one that was never hers to begin with, even though she was in love with him.  Nope, this guy is an emotional black hole. Doesn't believe in love. Thinks he's damaged beyond repair. Why? Daddy, of course. Liam's mother died in childbirth and from the cradle Daddy took his grief out on his son.  

The conflict in this story is all internal and, while highly emotional, it's one of those stories where if Talia just told Liam why she had to rush home and that part of why she left is because he's emotionally vacant - well, this story would have been 50 pages long. Which means we get some talking in circles and repetition. The author infuses a decent sense of place, and pours on some medical jargon (honestly, heavier than I've read in most Medicals) but it boils down to this - Liam is emotionally unavailable and needs therapy, Talia should probably have slapped him and said, "Come find me when you want to stop punishing yourself." 

Does this sound heartless of me? Probably. And yet still I zipped through the story. Hawkes can certainly bring the sexy times and while I found the internal conflict a little tedious at the start, it becomes more emotionally charged by the end.  That said, it all felt too long and drawn out, and Medicals are roughly the same length as Harlequin Presents (under 200 pages) - so, yeah.

This is fourth and final book in The Island Clinic multi-author continuity series and it stands alone amazingly well. I didn't fall in love but I kept turning the pages and I read it in one sitting, only coming up for air when I couldn't ignore the need for dinner any longer. There was enough on the page here that I'd read this author again.

Final Grade = C+

Review: Treachery on Tenth Street

I finished Treachery on Tenth Street, the third book in Kate Belli's Gilded Gotham historical mystery series weeks ago. As in, early July sometime and y'all I just haven't had the spoons to do much of anything involving my longtime hobby (reading, blogging...) lately. But since I blogged about the first two in the series and I'm about halfway through the final book in the series, well the completist in me started getting twitchy so here we are.

This is a tale of two stories for me.  There were parts of it I really liked and parts of it that fell flat. Society reporter, Genevieve Stewart, and her partner in crime, Five Points gang member turned a member of the Astor 400, Daniel McCaffrey, become embroiled in the murder of artist's model Beatrice Holler at the behest of Genevieve's friend Callie Maple. Callie was once a society girl like Genevieve, but she and her grandmother fell on hard times through a series of bad investments. Once grandma died, Callie, citing needing some time alone to figure out her life, slipped into the ether, only to return as an artist's model and wealthy man's mistress. She knew Beatrice casually through their social circle and the police, despite the woman being found with her throat slit, are saying her death was accidental. 

Genevieve and Daniel are still recovering from the events and trauma that happened in the first two books, but Callie is a friend and Genevieve smells a story. The police cover-up boggles the mind until they learn why it's happening. Beatrice isn't the only victim and they want to quell rumors that Jack the Ripper has left London and has set up shop in New York City.

The setting driving this story forward is really different and interesting - the art scene in late 19th century New York and the women within that community living, what would be seen, as very unconventional, even scandalous lives. On top of that it's summer in New York and an infernal heat wave is gripping the city. Unfortunately it's all wrapped up in a rather pedestrian serial killer plot with some uneven pacing. I'll admit, after the more imaginative suspense threads in the first two books, a serial killer feels rather passé. It takes a while for the plot to find it's footing and once we land on Coney Island I was getting bored for something, anything to happen. Luckily it does in Coney Island, and it's rather shocking - but fitting given we're working with a serial killer plot.

Unfortunately the denouement didn't entirely work for me. We get the ol' unhinged and "crazy" culprit, which doesn't fit entirely with that character's actions preceding in the earlier chapters. I don't like to compare one book by an author to another, but frankly that's hard not to do when you're talking about a series, and this one just lacks some of the more compelling juice I found in the first two entries.

That being said, the backdrop of this story is very interesting, the Daniel/Genevieve romance takes a major step forward, and at this point I'm so invested in the world and characters things would have to seriously run off the rails for me to hate this. It wasn't as compelling for me as the first two but it does move things forward and I didn't hesitate to grab the final book in the series.

Final Grade = B-