Review: A Duke in Need of a Wife by Annie Burrows

I love reading historical romances, they are perfect escapism, and I always find myself turning to Annie Burrows when I'm in need of a comfort read - in this case I was in bed with the flu! 

Sofia is an unlikely heiress and has had an unconventional upbringing. She spent the first ten years of her life with her father, a serving soldier (and the second son of an Earl), who had sole responsibility for her after her mother (the daughter of a Portuguese wine merchant) died. When Sofia goes to live with her aunt and uncle after her father's death, they are horrified at the way she has been brought up and work hard to turn her into a proper lady.  

It is sad the way Sofia tries so hard to fit in with the stuffy English, only to keep being rejected. She even hears the man she loves admit he only wants her for her money. So when the Duke of Theakstone invites her to a bride-finding house party, she knows he's never going to want to marry her, no matter how desperate he is to find a wife, because she feels she's just not good enough and never will be.

A Duke in Need of a Wife is a sweet story that's a lot of fun. The antics of the back-stabbing would-be brides are hilarious and I loved the scene where poor Sofia ends up in the lake. Much of the humour comes from Sofia's thoughts and what she really thinks about these awful people. I don't know how she manages to keep quiet! And I adored Snowball the dog.

Recommended to fans of light-hearted historical romances and authors such as Georgette Heyer. This was a five-star read for me.


Related Posts:

The Marquess Tames His Bride (Brides for Bachelors #2) by Annie Burrows
The Major Meets His Match (Brides for Bachelors #1) by Annie Burrows
The Debutante's Daring Proposal by Annie Burrows
Once Upon a Regency Christmas (anthology) by Louise Allen, Sophia James and Annie Burrows

Review: The Governess Game (Girl Meets Duke #2) by Tessa Dare

Tessa Dare is one of my favourite authors, so I was thrilled to get my hands on an early copy of The Governess Game. It's a historical romance, but written in the style of a modern romantic comedy, and is the second in the Girl Meets Duke series. Each book is effectively a stand alone, so you don't need to read them in order. The link between the stories is a group of female friends.

Chase Reynaud is in denial. He doesn't want to be the heir to a dukedom and he certainly doesn't want to be the guardian to two little orphaned girls, Rosamund and Daisy. The girls aren't thrilled to be dumped on him either and delight in making his life difficult. Their best time for frightening off a new governess currently stands at seventeen and a quarter hours. Which is why Chase offers Alexandra a fortune to take on the job - and is why she takes it!

Alexandra Mountbatten earns her living ensuring the clocks of the wealthy keep perfect time. How she ends up as the governess to the two young wards of Chase Reynaud is a little convoluted but didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story. Purists won't like the historical inaccuracies; although some of these, like the quote from The Titanic movie, are deliberate and add to the fun. But that's The Governess Game in a nutshell - a lighthearted romcom that's a whole lot of fun.

I loved the characters, their rapid-fire banter and all the one liners. Chase tries so hard to duck out of his responsibilities - there is a running joke throughout the story about his attempt to build himself a 'gentleman's retreat'. But the best part of the story is definitely the antics of the children - Daisy's doll 'funerals' had me in stitches and she reminded me of Tootie in Meet Me in St Louis.

Recommended, especially if you love light-hearted, funny historical romance, and authors such as Julia Quinn and Eloisa James.

The Governess Game is out in the UK on the 28th of August 2018.

Thank you to Tessa Dare and Mills & Boon for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Related Reviews:

The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke #1) by Tessa Dare

Do You Want to Start a Scandal (Castles Ever After #4/Spindle Cove #5) by Tessa Dare

Review: Ravished by Amanda Quick

I have a bad habit of buying books and then forgetting about them. I probably downloaded this one to 'try' when it was a 99p deal on Kindle (the Kindle version no longer seems available) but I rediscovered it recently after reading a stack of Amanda Quick books I brought home from the charity shop. 

Ravished is a slightly tongue-in-cheek historical romance; I do prefer this genre when there is humour! Harriet Pomeroy, daughter of a recently deceased Vicar, is obsessed with fossils, particularly the ones she has discovered in the caves owned by Gideon Westbrook. When she discovers thieves have been using 'her' caves to store their ill-gotten gains, she is furious and demands that Gideon gets rid of them. Gideon, meanwhile, has been nicknamed The Beast of Blackthorne due to his scarred face and dubious past. He's not happy at being drawn out of seclusion to capture these thieves but decides he might as well go along with it - anything for a quiet life. Except once he becomes involved with Harriet and her plans, a quiet life is the last thing he has.

Harriet and Gideon are very likeable characters and it was easy to become engaged with their story. I loved the way the author pokes fun at the Beauty and the Beast trope, and also the running joke about heroines being 'ravished' in the kind of gothic romances that were popular at this time. I do sometimes find Amanda Quick's stories a bit over-the-top, but Ravished was not one of them and I really enjoyed it. Recommended - provided you like this kind of thing!

Related Posts:

Review: With This Ring by Amanda Quick

Review: Deception by Amanda Quick

Review: Scandal by Amanda Quick

Review: Deception by Amanda Quick

I was in the mood to read something completely escapist, ideally along the lines of Romancing the Stone, but unfortunately no one seems to write/publish those kind of books! So I had a rummage through my 'to be read' pile (all 5 crates of it) and found a selection of historical romances by Amanda Quick that I'd recently picked up from a charity shop. This particular one caught my eye because it mentioned pirates and buried treasure, but although it does (sort of) have a pirate, the action takes place entirely in Dorset and London.

Olympia Wingfield spends her time tracking down old books, journals and letters that deal with travel and exploration, and has become something of an expert in treasure maps - even though she rarely leaves the library of her home. However, her life has been recently turned upside down by the arrival of her three orphan nephews, who are completely out of control. The arrival of a new tutor seems like a gift from the gods, even if he does bear a remarkable resemblance to a pirate...

The hero, Jared Ryder, is a fascinating character. His very flamboyant family are descended from a notorious 17th century privateer (legal pirate) and have been searching for his missing treasure ever since. Think: National Treasure, except Jared is the only sensible one, forever bailing his family out of trouble, and he has no interest in long-lost treasure maps. Until he meets Olympia.

Deception is a completely unbelievable, thoroughly over-the-top romp - and I absolutely loved it. The characters are a delight: Jared the 'sensible' pirate, his eccentric 'Captain Jack Sparrow' father, the grumpily impertinent housekeeper, the hooligan nephews, the mad dog. It's totally brilliant - provided you like that kind of thing! The only negative for me was that sometimes the nautical-themed dialogue got a bit daft and the word 'siren' was severely overused. Recommended for fans of authors of the romantic-comedy style of historical romance, such as Julia Quinn and Eloisa James. 

Related Review:

Scandal by Amanda Quick

Review: The Marquess Tames His Bride (Brides for Bachelors #2) by Annie Burrows

I'm a huge fan of Annie Burrows's Regency romances and I've read all of them. The Marquess Tames His Bride is the second in the Brides for Bachelors series, but it can be read as a standalone. It doesn't end on a cliffhanger, romance-wise,  but there is a mystery that threads through each story which I am assuming won't be resolved until the last book.

The Marquess of Rawcliffe and Clare Cottam (a Vicar's daughter) were childhood friends but have grown apart after Rawcliffe proposed and Clare took it as a joke and turned him down. Now each thinks the other is completely uncaring, although they are still attracted to each other. After several years they meet again. I won't spoil the surprise for you, but after an extremely original proposal scene Clare finds herself accidentally engaged to him. Does she really want to go ahead with marriage to the Marquess, or is he not quite the cold-hearted man he seems?

The proposal scene was definitely my favourite part of the story but I also liked the characters, particularly the strong-willed Clare when she is stands up to Rawcliffe during his alpha male moments. Can she break through the shield he has formed around his heart to stop himself from being hurt? The Marquess may feel he is turning his untamed childhood sweetheart into suitable marchioness material, but it does sometimes seem as though it's the other way around - and that's why I really enjoyed this story!

Review: The Major Meets His Match (Brides for Bachelors #1) by Annie Burrows

Major Jack Hesketh meets Lady Harriet Inskip when she stops his horse from bolting. He thanks her by drunkenly falling on top of her and kissing her, assuming she's a light-skirt. By the time he's sobered up and realised his mistake, she's decided he's an idiot - unfortunate, because over the next few days he realises he really likes her! How can he get her to change her mind?

I've read nearly all Annie Burrows's historical romances and I think this is my favourite. I loved the good-humoured banter between hero and heroine - I always enjoy books where the main characters actually like each other! The story doesn't go in quite the way you expect either, another plus. Harriet is staying with her aunt and beautiful cousin but, instead of a Cinderella story where our heroine is treated appallingly, her relatives are really kind. Her aunt introduces Harriet to Society and even buys her new gowns. Unfortunately, Harriet has terrible taste in clothes - another funny twist.

There is a mystery running through the story, about stolen jewellery, carrying on into the next book in the series, The Marquess Tames His Bride. We're also given a fascinating glimpse into the sad/tragic lives of Jack's friends, who will feature as heroes in the remainder of the series.

If you like sweet, funny, warm-hearted, historical romances, then this is the book for you. Recommended!

Review: Marrying His Cinderella Countess by Louise Allen

While I love murder mysteries and romantic suspense, I suppose you could call historical romance my guilty pleasure - except I don't feel remotely guilty about it! I've read almost all of Louise Allen's books and she is one of my favourite M&B Historical authors. She always comes up with great stories, meticulously researched, which often don't go in the way one would expect - and this is one of those.

It is 1816 and Ellie Lytton is dependant on the charity of her step-brother, Francis. She has money of her own, which he has control of (as was usual at the time), and a small income from writing children's books. Then disaster strikes and Francis dies leaving her destitute - not only had he lost his own money, he'd also managed to lose hers. Ellie has no choice but to pack up and head to Lancaster and her sole remaining inheritance - a small, practically derelict farmhouse. As she has no means of getting there, she manipulates her step-brother's friend, Blake, into taking her in his carriage.

You might think this would be a fairly predictable story (the clue's in the title, etc) but it is so cleverly written that every time you think you know what is coming next, something completely different happens. I also enjoyed the way the main characters actually liked each other and the only thing stopping them getting their HEA was their failure to communicate - both had issues in their past that needed to be overcome.

 So, an enjoyable Regency romance with lovable characters, a few surprises along the way and a very sweet ending. Recommended.

Review: The Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean

Sarah MacLean has been incredibly brave writing this story, because the hero has behaved so badly towards the heroine - and not in a villain-we-love-to-hate way either - it is hard to see how he can redeem himself. So, has the author pulled off a satisfying ending? I think so!

The Day of the Duchess is the third in a series called Scandal and Scoundrel - 'scoundrel' being the heroes (obviously!) and 'scandal' being the disaster the heroine has usually embroiled herself in. Now, usually this is the part where I say that the book works well as a stand alone and it doesn't matter if you haven't read the others in the series, but this time it really is of benefit if The Rogue Not Taken (Scandal and Scoundrel #1), is read first. You will get to see exactly what the hero did that was so unforgivably awful, rather than hearing about it second-hand.

Our heroine is Sera, one of the scandalous daughters of the Earl of Wight, who won his title in a card game with the Prince of Wales. Now incredibly wealthy, the Earl started life as a coal miner. No matter how hard they try, his daughters have never been accepted by the aristocracy, so they've given up - and delight in being shocking. When Sera meets the Duke of Haven and falls in love, no one seriously believes he'll marry her. So her mother stages an intervention; the couple have no choice in the matter and their marriage is doomed from the start.

Basically this story is about two people who fall in love, betray each other, hate each other, do their best to destroy each other - and are now at the 'can't live with, can't live without' stage of their relationship. Helping/hindering in a possibly reconciliation are Sera's forthright sisters and her business partner - the incredibly loyal and rather gorgeous Caleb.

I would recommend this to fans of the more modern style of historical romance, who are perhaps looking for something a little bit different from 'rake falls for debutante'. I found it very romantic, particularly the ballroom scene, and was almost in tears by the ending (and I'm usually as hard as nails, so that takes a lot!). I am so looking forward to the next in the series, although it is hard to see how Sarah MacLean will be able to top this one!

Review: To Kiss a Thief by Susanna Craig

This story popped up as an 'also bought' recommendation from Amazon and the title intrigued me. I am wary of buying books by authors I don't 'know', so I read a sample and was hooked. Sarah Pevensey is the daughter of a wealthy merchant and has recently married St John Sutliffe, Viscount Fairfax. It is an arranged marriage and neither parties are particularly happy about it. Her father wants a title for his daughter and St John's father needs her large dowry as the family are broke. Sarah and St John have only been married for a couple of weeks when Sarah is found sitting on the lap of Captain Brice, her clothing in disarray and the priceless Sutliffe sapphires missing from around her neck. She tries to explain her innocence to her husband, but he just walks out of the door. Her father-in-law calls for the Bow Street Runners and only her mother-in-law is sympathetic - arranging for Sarah to escape the house to a small fishing village on the Devonshire coast. When a body is pulled from the Thames a few weeks later, it is identified as Sarah's and everyone believes she is dead. 

Meanwhile, unknown to Sarah, St John fights a duel with Captain Brice, survives, but leaves immediately to the West Indies, only returning three years later. St John is told his wife is dead, but then finds a receipt for her pension in his step-mother's possession. He heads off to Devonshire to find out what is going on.

As it turned out, the plot of this story is similar to one I read a few weeks ago, but it did not spoil my enjoyment. I liked that at the start Sarah is a 'little mouse' but when she begins to make friends with the villagers, and realises how hard their lives are, she begins to work to help them them and her own confidence improves. By the time St John turns up she is more than capable of dealing with him - but he still believes she's a liar and a thief ... 

The author creates lots of problems for the characters to work through. Just as you think they are finally due a happy ending, something else pops up. There is a mystery to solve too, regarding the disappearance of the jewels, and where they have been for the past three years, although that was not too hard to solve.

This story is the first in a series of three, loosely tied by the heroes having recently returned from the West Indies and the heroines running away from something. But I did enjoy it and have downloaded the next one.

Review: Seven Minutes in Heaven by Eloisa James

I read so many novels that familiar tropes, particularly in romances, really grate on me. This is why I love Eloisa's books - they never quite go in the way you expect.

Eugenia Snowe is a wealthy widow and the daughter of the Marquis of Broadham (hero of Duchess by Night). Devastated when her husband died, Eugenia has no intention of marrying again. To the horror of the ton, she has set up a very successful employment agency for governesses but still feels as though there is something missing in her life.

Ward is a brilliantly clever inventor and the illegitimate son of the Earl of Gryffyn (hero of Desperate Duchesses). However, Ward's mother Lisette was a complete nightmare - neglectful and more than a little unhinged. Or as Eugenia's father says, 'The type who would keep drinking tea while faint screams came from the dungeon'. But it turns out Lisette had two more children before she died - legitimate ones - after scandalously running away with the under-age Viscount Darcy. Lisette has entrusted her young children into the care of Ward - but now his evil grandmother wants custody - and is prepared to fight him in Court to achieve it. Ward is in desperate need of an ultra-respectable governess to mould his eccentric siblings into perfect children and he's decided only the best will do - Eugenia herself.

As with all Eloisa's books it is the sheer brilliance of her writing which keeps me entertained, along with the humour and, of course, her characters. Eugenia and Ward are attracted to each other right from the start, don't bother to hide it and soon embark on an affair - but nothing serious, obviously, because Eugenia was madly in love with her late husband, and Ward because he knows he has to marry an aristocrat if he is to keep custody of his half-siblings. It's a shame he's so wrapped up in himself he doesn't realise Eugenie neatly fulfils all his criteria (she actually tells him so at one point!) until it is far too late.

As well as the banter between hero and heroine, I loved the characters of the children - Lizzie, who has taken to wearing a black veil at all times and quoting inappropriate lines from Shakespeare, and Otis, whose pet rat goes everywhere with him. I particularly loved the rat!

I only had one niggle. As I read the story I kept thinking 'I'm sure this character is dead', to the point where I had to dig out the book they originally appeared in and - sure enough - the character was dead - I hadn't imagined it! I then spent the rest of the story worrying that perhaps Eloisa James had forgotten she'd previously killed the character off. However, the reason for their Lazarus-like reappearance is explained in the author's note at the end of the story - I just wish this note had appeared at the beginning!

Recommended for all fans of historical romance and romantic comedy.

Review: The Spinster and the Rake by Anne Stuart

Anne Stuart is one of my all-time favourite authors. I think the first book of hers I read was one from her House of Rohan series when I bought my Kindle. Over the years I've read most of her books - not as easy as it sounds, because she has been writing for over 40 years (mainly romantic suspense and historical romance) and some books are out of print. The Spinster and the Rake is one of her older books, originally published in 1982 and now brought out as an ebook, revised and with new material.

The Spinster and the Rake is a familiar trope to readers of romance: bad boy meets innocent heroine, but as usual Anne Stuart puts her own twist on it.

Gillian Redfern divides her time between the households of her two sisters and domineering elder brother, running errands for them, helping with their children and generally behaving as an unpaid servant. She does have her own money, thanks to legacies from her mother and an aunt, but has sleepwalked into her current lifestyle without realising it. It takes a chance meeting with the wicked Marquis of Marlowe for her to understand what she has been missing.

I enjoyed the banter between the characters and their growing respect for each other. I liked the way Gillian was not some downtrodden Cinderella character but quite capable of standing up to her bullying elder brother. The minor characters were well-drawn too - Gillian's nephew, who has incurred gambling debts, and her niece, who is determined to marry an impoverished Vicar. Not to mention her sister-in-law, who hardly moves from the sofa, no matter what disaster threatens the family!

If you enjoy this book then you will love The Devil's Waltz, which has a similar plot and is one of my all-time favourite books. If romantic suspense is more your thing, then I'd recommend Anne Stuart's Ice series.

Thank you to Anne Stuart, Bell Bridge Books and NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an  honest review.

Review: Moonlight and Mistletoe by Louise Allen

I've always been a fan of Louise Allen and I picked this up when I had the urge to read something Christmassy.  The story is about Hester Lattimer, who has arrived in a sleepy English village hoping to escape a scandal. She has a small inheritance, which she used to buy the beautiful if slightly decayed Moon House and sets about trying to establish herself as a respectable single woman, with the aid of a timid ex-governess as her companion, a rescued waif with ambitions to be a butler and her maid. This is slightly hampered by the deliciously dashing Earl of Buckland setting up house directly opposite, setting village tongues wagging.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, because as well as the historical romance, there is also a bit of a mystery, both about Hester's 'scandal', threatening to derail her friendship with the Earl, and Moon House itself, which has not been lived in for many years and might possibly be haunted. Is the Earl's interest in Hester only a sham, to hide his interest in buying the house for himself? And what of the mysterious dead roses, appearing throughout the house?

The story is firmly set in winter, leading up to Christmas, although not overly festive. I loved the light humour and the characters - Hester, determined to be independent and not rely on a handsome man to save her; Jethroe, saved from the slums with ambitions to become the best butler ever; even nervous Miss Prudhome, the companion, determined to do her job and 'save' Hester from the advances of the Earl, even though she doesn't particularly want saving!

This is a well-researched, very entertaining Mills & Boon historical romance with a bit of a mystery and the occasional sex scene, and would definitely appeal to fans of the genre. Recommended!

Review: A Mistletoe Masquerade by Louise Allen

At this time of year I like to read books with a Christmas theme and so I picked this one by Louise Allen, one my favourite authors. It is a novella, of less than 100 pages, and at the time of writing it is only 99p on Kindle.

The story is about Lady Rowan Chilcourt, concerned about a marriage arranged between her timid best friend, Penny Maylin, and the Earl of Danescroft - who is suspected of murdering his first wife! So Rowan arranges to travel with Penny to a Christmas house party, disguised as her dresser (a kind of lady's maid), to find out everything she can about the notorious Earl.

Meanwhile, the Earl's friend Viscount Stoneley is equally concerned that he might have fallen prey to a fortune hunter and agrees to travel to the same house party disguised as the Earl's valet ... 

I enjoyed this story because it is different to the usual Regency romances in that it is set in below stairs and shows the lives of the servants, and how hard their work could be, with lots of well-researched historical details. I loved the characters and the final denouement at the Christmas ball, and the little festive touches, such as kissing beneath the mistletoe ...

Fans of Mills & Boon historical romances will love it!

Review: Do You Want to Start a Scandal (Castles Ever After) by Tessa Dare

When I originally downloaded this book I had assumed it was part of Tessa Dare's Spindle Cove series because the heroine is Charlotte Highwood, whose sisters have their own stories in A Week to be Wicked and Beauty and the Blacksmith. Instead it turned out to be part of Castles Ever After - the hero, Piers, is the brother of the hero in Say Yes to the Marquess. However, you don't have to have read any of those other books to enjoy this story.

When Charlotte finds herself a guest at the same country house party as Piers Brandon, aka the Marquess of Granville, she feels duty-bound to warn him that her mother is likely to have designs on him as a prospective son-in-law. In fact, her mother is so keen to bag an aristocrat for her youngest daughter (particularly as the elder one has just married a blacksmith), it hasn't escaped Society's notice - and Charlotte has been nicknamed the Desperate Debutante. Of course just after Charlotte has tracked Piers down to the library, and informed him of all this (much to his bemusement), they hear voices outside the door and realise they are about to be discovered alone together. And in Regency times that would mean a very speedy trip to the altar - exactly what Charlotte was trying to avoid. So they hide behind the curtains and inadvertently end up witnessing a romantic tryst between two other guests. And then, after the embarrassment of all that, Charlotte and Piers still end up being caught together - although strangely, Piers doesn't seem all that bothered ...

*mild spoilers coming up*

I enjoy reading Tessa Dare because she creates such great characters and her stories are as funny as they are romantic. I love humour in the books I read, and I also like a bit of a mystery. Part of the plot of this story was Charlotte's attempt to track down the other couple in the library, hoping to get out of her engagement to Piers, but that kind of fizzled out. There were also what appeared to be a couple of attempts on her life but again, they weren't quite what they seemed either. As I'd spent a chunk of the book trying to work out likely suspects, I found this a little disappointing.

So, recommended if you love your historical romances to be modern, funny and sexy. Not recommended if you're hoping for something more traditional, like Jane Austen. And if you've never read Tessa Dare before, I recommend you also try When a Scot Ties the Knot, which has to be one of my all-time favourite books.

Review: Once Upon a Regency Christmas by Louise Allen, Sophia James and Annie Burrows

Once Upon a Regency Christmas is a lovely Christmassy book containing three novella-length, Christmas-themed, Regency romances by Louise Allen, Sophia James and Annie Burrows. I am a huge fan of both Louise Allen and Annie Burrows, and have read all their books, but Sophia James is new to me. The theme running through all three stories is that the heroes might not be quite who they seem to be.

On a Winter's Eve by Louise Allen

Lady Julia Charlcott is newly arrived in England from India. Her much older husband has died but her plans to re-enter English society is thwarted when she overhears her sister-in-law bargaining with a gentleman over what he would pay if Julia were to wed him. Furious, Julia walks out, intending to have a traditional Christmas at her late husband's home in the country. Unfortunately she heads straight into a snowstorm, where she meets Captain Giles Markham trudging through the snow with a live turkey...

Marriage Made at Christmas by Sophia James

Christine Howard's heart has been frozen since the death of her fiance but when her life is saved by a mysterious American, she can feel herself begin to thaw. Hired as her bodyguard, it is soon clear William Miller would risk everything to protect her - but what if Christine is not the target?

Cinderella's Perfect Christmas by Annie Burrows

When Alice Waverley catches a cold, she realises it is the perfect excuse to spend Christmas home alone, doing exactly as she pleases, while her horrible relatives head off to a country house party. Unfortunately they've only been gone a few hours when Captain Jack Grayling and his two young children arrive at the house seeking shelter from the snow. 

I loved On a Winter's Eve and Cinderella's Perfect Christmas because they were both very traditional, Christmassy stories - just the thing to read to get into the Christmas spirit. The characters decorated the house, created presents from very little, were snowed in and built snowmen. I loved the tale of the escaped turkey from On a Winter's Eve and the wry, wicked humour of Cinderella's Christmas. Marriage Made at Christmas was not quite so festive as the other two stories, but I did enjoy the very different story of the scarred bodyguard searching for his own happy ever after.

Definitely recommended!


(I received my copy of Once Upon a Regency Christmas directly from one of the authors)