Regency Romance Archives - Proud Book Reviews

May 29, 2023May 30, 2023

A Laird for the Highland Lady – Catherine Tinley

This book contains:

Marriage infidelity
Attempted “sale” of a person
Extreme neglect of tenants.

Eilidh and Max were first introduced to me in A Laird in London, and what I learnt of them in this book solidified my thoughts on them.

Eilidh is a fun, gracious woman of her time who wants to find a good husband, but also doesn’t want to let her people or her brother down. While she tries to do right by everyone around her, she doesn’t expect much in return, especially when she accidentally says what she’s meaning without taking a moment to think first.

Max is a a-typical second son of the Ton. While he certainly behaves as such, he has ambitions to more in life, even if he’s not sure what that looks like just yet. Since his brother has refused him the opportunity to work and discover what he’s passionate about, he has no direction to follow and therefore goes where opportunities arise to discover what life might offer him.

The first portion of the storyline follows Eilidh’s time in London which as get in more detail in A Laird in London but from the perspective of Eilidh and Max in their rare interactions. However, where A Laird in London ends, we continue with much more detail following as Max discovers what it means to be a Laird and do right by his tenants, and Eilidh.

I really enjoyed getting Eilidh and Max’s perspective, especially since it had a little bit of a crossover with A Laird in London. While I don’t normally like books that repeat the same time periods, in this case, we get a very different perspective, it’s highly truncated and it almost explains all the oddity’s I picked up on in A Laird in London.

And of course then the gorgeous Scottish highlands!

The descriptions were so amazing I found myself Googling where they ended up trying to see if pictures could match the magical feeling of the place Catherine gave me. While most didn’t, I could see the hint of it that made me think it’s one of those things where you truly have to be there to feel it. Which is exactly the emotions Max was described as going through.

I definitely think I need to go back and grab A Laird for the Governess just to get more of the Scottish landscape and the people of this unique area.

Continue to read further down to find out about the author and any extra giveaways available.

Author Bio

Catherine Tinley is an award winning author of historical romance. She writes witty, heartwarming Regency romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon. Her first book, Waltzing with the Earl, won the Rita® Award for Best Historical Romance 2018, while Rags-to-Riches Wife won the RoNA Award for Best Historical Romance 2021 as well as the HOLT Medallion, and A Waltz with the Outspoken Governess has won the RoNA Award for Best Historical Romance 2022.

She has loved reading and writing since childhood, and has a particular fondness for love, romance, and happy endings. After a career encompassing speech & language therapy, Sure Start, maternity campaigning and being President of a charity, she now manages a maternity hospital. She lives in Ireland with her husband, children, cats, and dog.

Giveaway – Win a signed copy of A Laird for the Highland Lady (open international)

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January 9, 2023January 2, 2023

A Laird in London – Catherine Tinley

This book contains:

Racism towards non-English people
Forced marriage.

Isabella is the youngest child and only girl in the Burtenshaw family and because of that, she’s wild, confident and knows what she would like from her life. The problem is, as a woman in regency times, her rights and options are limited and generally controlled by her eldest brother, the head of the Burtenshaw family.

Angus is the head of his family, and desperate to get adjoining lands back to improve the quality of his people’s lives. While he’s a confident and take-charge leader in Scotland, he’s a different man when he gets to London. While still confident and proud of his heritage, he’s also restrained and cautious to ensure the success of his trip to London.

Angus must travel to London to try and meet with the Lord who owns the neighbouring lands in order to try and purchase them. His sole aim is to procure the lands and return to Scotland as quickly as possible. At the same time, Isabella is forced to attend the London season in order to find a husband.

From an accidental meeting, Isabella and Angus are drawn to each other in ways they can’t explain, and they need to navigate it and their own individual goals for the season.

This was such a fun read and gave me a few Outlander vibes with the descriptions of the handsome Scottish Laird. His brave actions, consistent persistence to achieve his goal but also the way he navigated his feelings for Isabella was so enjoyable to read.

Isabella on the other hand had very modern thoughts for a woman, which given Catherine Tinley’s style isn’t surprising, and it made me wonder what else she might include in the book. One of those thoughts actually had me wondering and REALLY hoping she’d do it, but she didn’t.

For a book I practically binged in my last few days of work before Christmas, this definitely rated up there for me!

Continue to read further down to find out about the author and any extra giveaways available.

Author Bio

Catherine Tinley is a multi-award winning author of witty, heartwarming historical romance. Her first novel, Waltzing with the Earl, won the Rita® Award for Best Historical Romance in 2018, while Rags-to-Riches Wife won the RoNA Award for Best Historical Romance 2021 as well as the HOLT Medallion, and A Waltz with the Outspoken Governess won the RoNA Award for Best Historical Romance 2022.

Giveaway – Win a signed copy of A Laird in London (open internationally)

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December 26, 2022December 26, 2022

The Wrong Way to Catch a Rake – Lara Temple

This book contains:

Mentions and depictions of theft
Descriptions of espionage.

Phoebe and Dom are vastly different characters, and yet still so similar and complementary.

Phoebe is a quiet, contained, but not demure woman in a man’s world. Given her family history, she has every right to feel the way she does, and she’s doing the best she can to make her place in the world, but it’s hard. She spends her days with her aunt working towards the political gain of her home country, but it takes up all her life and there’s no room for anything else.

Dom, however, is the heir to a Dukedom, a drunk and a rake by all accounts. He spends his days sleeping and his nights drinking, gambling and carousing with women. So very different to Phoebe, yet their end goals are remarkably similar.

Phoebe and Dom are currently living in Venice, in very different ways. Phoebe is spending her time as her aunt’s companion and exploring the city while apparently trying to figure out some espionage related activities. On the other hand, Dom spends his time drinking, gambling and whoring his way through life appearing to do and achieve nothing.

As Phoebe and Dom get to know each other, they realise there’s more to each other, and yet they can’t quite place it together until someone else prompts those thoughts to connect and then everything changes.

This was the first regency romance I’ve read in quite some time, and it came right as I knew I needed my fix. While it didn’t have as much of the ballroom kinda stuff, you’d expect in a regency romance, it had plenty of the chivalry, politeness, class differences and of course, the differences in what the two sexes are allowed to do.

I think the best part for me though, was trying to figure out when they’d figure out each other. The constant questioning how it’s going to connect, what they’ll do with that connection and everything else is what made it so thrilling for me.

While not your classically great regency romance, I enjoyed it all the same. And I hope you can find the same weird little thrill.

April 28, 2022June 4, 2022

The Earl She Should Never Desire – Lara Temple

This book contains:

Emotional results of war
Descriptions of the death of a husband, mother and child
Family disputes.

Lily left home when she was barely old enough to be married and eloped with her husband to Greta Green. Since their families disapproved of their union, they ran away and joined the war effort, during which Lily had and lost a child before then losing her husband on the battlefield. After her husband dies, Lily returns home to Manchester to find work and try and live her life without her mother’s disappointment and disapproval constantly interfering.

Marcus promised his mother he would find himself a wife to become his countess and continue the family lineage and sets out to find the perfect bride. This search leads him to Lily’s sister as someone he can get along with, produce heirs and not hate his life. That’s all he’s asking for in a wife.

Lily’s younger sister is engaged and begging her to some to London to meet her fiancé and be there for her wedding. Despite her reservations, Lily travels to London and endures her mother’s wrath to be there for her younger sister.

When Marcus meets Lily, he’s instantly drawn to her despite his betrothal to her younger sister and somehow finds ways time and again to protect her and help her bear her mother’s antics. He even helps her when the after-effects of seeing war grips her tightly and she’s frozen.

Lara Temple’s regency romances have always drawn me in. The way she’s able to tell a story where the characters emotionally struggle and yet you feel like you’re struggling with the characters, and you want to help them is amazing. While we never have to fear a cheating situation happening, you still find yourself wishing they could hurry up and find a way to be together.

I read this in like the space of two days in amongst chores and uni work and the whole time I just wanted to go back to reading this because it was so good!

Author Bio

Lara Temple writes strong and sensual Regency romances about complex individuals who give no quarter but do so with plenty of passion. She lives with her husband, two children, and one very fluffy dog and they are all very understanding about her taking over the kitchen table so she can look out over the garden as she writes and dreams up her Happy Ever Afters.

November 9, 2021November 7, 2021

Never Fall for Your Fiance – Virginia Heath

This book contains:

Bribery in action
References and descriptions of a con artist
Fake relationship.

Hugh is an Earl with a mother who’s insisting he needs to get married, except he’s not interested. He doesn’t feel like he’s suited to marriage or any long-term romantic attachments. Especially given the way his parents’ marriage progressed.

Minerva is an everyday woman working to survive and make enough money to keep her family afloat. After the way men have treated her in the past — her father, her almost fiancé and most of her customers — she’s got zero interest in becoming emotionally involved with one.

Hugh’s caught out when he gets word that his mother is on the way home and wants to meet his made-up fiancé. Only problem is, she’s expecting to come to wedding planning, and he doesn’t even have a fiancé, let alone a wedding in preparation.

Thanks to a chance encounter with Minerva, he suddenly sees a way out of his disaster. He helps her, and then hires her to pretend to be his fiancé while his mother is in town. Of course, family is involved which means there’s all sorts of drama that gets in the way in the most interesting way possible!

I had so much fun reading this. Most of the regency romance novels I read have more mystery or general drama in it. Not many of them have me laughing like I was with this one!

I mean, how much drama can happen in one book?

And the way they all interacted! Such chemistry!

The laughter had me going almost the whole way through the book with each little bit just adding to the whole thing. So when they did finally find their way together, it felt like something more was going to happen… then it didn’t.

Continue to read further down to find out about the author and any extra giveaways available.

Author Bio

When Virginia Heath was a little girl it took her ages to fall asleep, so she made up stories in her head to help pass the time while she was staring at the ceiling. As she got older, the stories became more complicated, sometimes taking weeks to get to the happy ending. Then one day, she decided to embrace the insomnia and start writing them down. Twenty-two books and two Romantic Novel of the Year Award nominations later, and it still takes her forever to fall asleep.

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October 18, 2021October 18, 2021

Undercover Duke – Sabrina Jeffries

This book contains:

Attempted kidnapping.

Sheridan is the final child of Lydia not yet happily married. He’s inherited a dukedom that appears to be failing and he’s struggling to figure out how to make more money while continuing to help his family solve their mystery. He’s adamant that he can do things his way and achieve everything he needs to without the help of anyone else.

Vanessa has featured in a few of the earlier novels as the younger cousin of Grey. All this time she’s been known to have her eye on a “poet”. Now she’s centre stage and we get to learn more about her, such as her creativity, intelligence and tenacity.

Sheridan is tasked with having to question Vanessa’s mum by his brother Grey, who suggests Sheridan pretends to court Vanessa to give him the opportunity to question her mum. Of course, like any good romance, Vanessa finds a way to encourage him to court her while she’s working towards her own goal.

With Sheridan being the last child of Lydia to get married, we know we have to figure out who’s been murdering all her husbands. While there were lots of unexpected twists and turns along the way. The culmination of all the books to this point was DRAMATIC!

It’s really hard sometimes to end a series like this, where each book can be read as a stand-alone book and follows a different couple each time, without ruining the final love match. In this case, Sabrina has found a really good balance, although at times, I think she left it JUST A TOUCH too long before bringing the investigation back into the focus.

April 16, 2021April 17, 2021

Duchess if You Dare – Anabelle Bryant

This book contains:

blackmail
human trafficking and slavery
attempted murder.

Scarlett is a young woman who’s lucky enough to be independent and without need of a male to provide for her. She has a knack for investigating and has developed keen fighting skills to keep her safe while she’s a member of the Maidens of Mayhem.

Ambrose on the other hand is a Duke constantly bailing his younger brother out of various trouble to protect the family name. Only this time it seems to have landed him in deeper water than normal.

Scarlett and Ambrose are both chasing information about people they care for. While doing so they keep crossing paths until they finally give in and decide to work together since they seem to have a common goal.

Over the course of the book, they’re challenged in way they weren’t expecting, and through it all strive to come out as better people for it.

I loved how empowering this book was for women, even if it wasn’t quite historically accurate, it was still a great read. The adventure throughout, the small instances of romance, the thought provoking comments and the overall emotionally charged story.

There’s more to this series and I’m hoping I’ll be able to come back to it in the future because it was a great read in the regency times that just hits the nail of action and romance so well!

Continue to read further down to find out about the author.

Author Bio

USA Today Bestselling author Anabelle Bryant began reading at age three and never stopped. Her passion for reading soon turned into a passion for writing and an author was born. Happy to grab her suitcase if it ensures a new adventure, Anabelle finds endless inspiration in travel; especially imaginary jaunts into romantic Regency England, a far cry from her home in New Jersey. Instead, her clever characters live out her daydreams because really, who wouldn’t want to dance with a handsome duke or kiss a wicked earl?

Anabelle’s books have been translated into several languages including Japanese and Russian, but writing isn’t all that keeps her busy. Building miniatures, baking and photography are other favorite pastimes. Often found with her nose in a book, Anabelle is just as happy in a room full of people. She enjoys meeting readers, attending conferences and book signings. She has earned her Master’s Degree and is ABD for her Doctorate Degree in education.

A firm believer in romance, Anabelle knows sometimes life doesn’t provide a happily ever after, but her novels always do.

February 18, 2021June 11, 2022

The Duke’s Runaway Bride – Jenni Fletcher

This book contains:

family violence in the form of control, both financially and mentally.

Quinton is the Duke of Howden and has been for about a year. Three to four months prior to the when the book starts, he marries Beatrix for her fortune since his family is dead broke thanks to his father wanting to leave them penniless. Not to mention all the other drama and emotional abuse he dolled out to Quinton’s whole family over the years.

Beatrix on the other hand has spent the past 12 years almost entirely confined to her room by her aunt and uncle after her parents pass on. The abuse she felt throughout that time shaped her actions and her view of the world from the moment she married Quinton.

Beatrix ran away on her wedding day (after marrying Quinton) to create a life of freedom. Only, she needs to get rid of her husband so she can truly be free and let him be free to find a new wife. The big hitch in that plan is that Quinton isn’t playing ball and instead convinces her to trial being married to him for 6 weeks.

During that time, they get to know each other, learn why the other behaved the way they did and show the world what a strong marriage looks like. But they still need to figure out how to communicate what they’re feeling at the end of the 6 weeks if they’re going to make the right decisions.

I’m really glad Jenni stayed true to the time period (she always does) and delved into how men treated their families in those times. I think to brush over it as if it never happened paints an inaccurate picture of how family violence has progress over the years and as if it’s a modern problem.

Yes, I wish it wasn’t something anyone had to worry about ever. But the truth is, in some way, shape or form, family violence has been perpetuated throughout history. To pretend like it hasn’t and like society as a whole has always objected to it (like I know some authors have done) doesn’t help anyone. So, thank you Jenni for always staying true to history and what actually happened!

Those kinds of details, even in other less obvious areas are what makes her books amazing to read. You know she’s put in the time and effort to research and be as true to the time as possible while still giving us a great romance and female empowering story.

Author Bio

Jenni Fletcher was born in Scotland and now lives in Yorkshire where she writes historical romance novels ranging from the Roman to late Victorian eras. She studied English at Cambridge and Hull and has been nominated for 4 RoNA awards, winning for Short Romantic Fiction in 2020. She teaches Creative Writing at a university in the north of England and her favourite hobbies are baking and, of course, reading.

January 18, 2021January 16, 2021

A Match for the Rebellious Earl – Lara Temple

Thank you Lara for reaching out to me to review this. You remembered I loved Return of the Disappearing Duke, and I’m so thankful you thought of me to review this for you.

Throughout the book we swap between Kit Carrington (the new Lord Westford) and Genny Maitland’s perspectives. Both characters met when Genny travelled with her grandfather’s army regiment several years earlier, however, were never close and weren’t in contact once they separated ways.

Kit is reluctant to take the mantle of Lord Westford, especially because of how his cousins treated him. The only reason he’s back is because his half-sister is getting married and she wants him there. His plan is to sort out the family business, attend his sister’s wedding and set sail again! Genny is in a different position. With no family, her sister’s dead husband left them with a lot of debt and no way to support themselves. On top of that, they’re stuck living with Kit’s horrible grandmother who torments them every chance she gets.

Genny is trying to find a way to clear her sister’s husbands’ debts and find a new life for them, free from the Dowager Westford. To get what she wants she uses the skills her grandfather nurtured to form alliances and manipulate people and situations to achieve everyone’s goals.

One such alliance is with Kit, the goal of which is to find suitable husbands for Genny’s sister and Kit’s step-mum. While working with Kit to organise everything to her liking, they discover their attraction to each other. As they execute each part of their plan, they’re fighting their attraction for each other, without letting anyone realise what’s happening.

I’m a fan of Lara’s works and always enjoy a story with a strong female lead. Throughout this story I was left wondering how they’d get their happily ever after. They fought it every step of the way, which for some reason made me all the more determined that they should get it!

I got so invested in their relationship that I found myself stressing that maybe this would be the book where they didn’t get a happily ever after.

The fact that in the end, it was Kit’s maturity that helped them bridge the gap and move forward was awesome. The fact that you could tell how nervous he was, how he didn’t want to risk his heart but at the same time knew he had to put himself out there, it made that moment so much more believable.

All their interactions leading up to that moment allowed it to feel so much more alive and real. Every time they’d come close to maybe admitting their feeling one or both had shied away. So that moment where they both finally put it all on the table had me cheering them on.