Book Review: A Scandalous Kind of Duke (Longhope Abbey, #4) by Mia Vincy

FIVE STARS

It’s been two years since the last installment of the Longhope Abbey series and oh, was this worth the wait! First I should mention that all of the books in the series can be read in any order, independently, and none have cliffhangers. Thank you for that, Ms. Vincy. I hate cliffhangers.

Juno Bell (I seriously love her name) is an artist in London. She’s living on her own, making her own decisions, doesn’t answer to anyone, keeps the company of other artists, writers, and poets, although not much time is given to them. It didn’t need to be because her big story is with Leopold Halton (Leo), Duke of Dammerton. They met when they were much younger and were meeting secretly in the early morning hours for walks in the meadow and conversation. Nothing past that happened, but they fell in love.

Only Leo is a stringent follower of the rules. He’s going to be a duke someday and there are things that are expected of him to maintain honor and give power to the title. That does not include marrying an artist, who is most definitely of a lower class. She can never be his duchess. She wasn’t good enough.

All hell breaks loose after that…for both of them. They both make errors in judgment, make mistakes that can’t be undone, and assume too much. They were both suffering from broken hearts and unrequited love. They made bad decisions that affected others and in the end, nearly finished them off for good. I didn’t see how this was going to play out favorably for them.

This was a fantastic story. I loved the stoic, well-dressed Duke of Dammerton. He was rigid and unyielding until he couldn’t be anymore. I loved the whimsical, fun Juno, who guarded her heart as well as her secret drawings. She hid behind a facade of living life on her terms; a woman who did as she pleased and gosh darn the consequences. She was so broken, yet she refused to admit it or let anyone see it. The two of them were so good together and they needed each other no matter how they denied it. I liked the besotted fool Tristan St. Blaise, Leo’s half-brother. The way he nonchalantly stole things from Leo (he did it right in front of him) and poked at him was comical at times, but it almost cost him dearly. The other secondary characters, like the three I mentioned, were so well-defined and so dynamic, they flew off the screen and drew a response from me. Let’s line up and slap Beatrice, ha ha! Nobody develops characters like Mia Vincy.

This story had me from the very beginning and did not let go until the end. I loved everything about it. The characters, the angst, the plot, the steam, the clever epilogue, all make this a strong contender for my Top 10 list for the year on my blog.

So good!

Book Review: Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn

FOUR STARS

This book seriously needs an epilogue. With all the drama and excitement that literally had me holding my breath, it just suddenly ended and went to the Author’s Notes, which are worth reading, by the way.

The whole book is a powerhouse that addresses the darkest part of modern history, the Nazis and the Third Reich, and their efforts to create a master race. Of course, I knew that was one of their major objectives from my time spent in history classes and reading on the subject myself, but until I read this book I had never heard of the Lebensborn Society , which was essentially a bunch of “perfect” young German girls who were breeding “perfect” children for Hitler and the Reich. Some of them were already pregnant by “perfect” German men. Others were bedding down with SS officers, who were strangers. Yes, the Reich was running brothels; breeding operations. I was stunned when I discovered this and I wanted to know more.

The story centers on Gundi, who is pregnant by her Jewish boyfriend and is being cared for at Heim Hochland, a maternity home for unwed mothers who show physical traits of being members of this master race. The nurses there all assume that the father of her child is also Aryan and she’s not at liberty to correct them.

The second character is Hilde. How I wanted to slap her for being such a suck-up and thinking she deserved special privileges because of who the father of her baby was. I wanted her to get her comeuppance so bad. Anything bad that happened to her she deserved and then some. I’m not sure I’d actually call her an antagonist, but she was young, foolish, and unlikable. Her conniving, lying, and manipulative ways knew no boundaries. She was the poster child for the Reich. The sad part of it was she just wanted to be loved and accepted. We all do. Right? She just went to extremes to get it and sacrificed too much, which made her a totally believable character.

Then there was Irma. She surprised me more than any of the other characters in the entire book. I wasn’t too keen on her at first, but then I saw another side of her that made me step back and rethink her. What a conundrum she was in as the story progressed. She was a nurse at the Heim Hochland and part of her orders were not to get close to the girls. How does one do that?

The story is based on facts. The author definitely did her homework and presented what she’d learned in a way that horrified yet informed me at the same time. I was drawn into the lives of these three women and hoped for the best for Gundi and Irma. I didn’t care what happened to Hilde, since I didn’t like her, but it would’ve been nice to know what happened to all of them one year, two years, three years, or even after the war. I wanted to know what happened to Leo and Sister Dorothea. I wanted to know more about Renate and Gisela and even Hannah. We were left hanging with no sort of wrap up, which is why I’m giving this book four stars.

It was wonderfully written and tackled a subject that is dark, grisly, inhumane, and not known to everyone. But it needed an epilogue. Still a great read.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

**Expected release date is October 11, 2022

Book Review: Banished & Welcomed: The Laird’s Reckless Wife (Love’s Second Chance: Highland Tales Book 3)

FIVE STARS

I don’t think I’ve ever read a more broken heroine in my life. Moira just tore my heart out. She made a mistake that had her banished from her own clan and pawned off on the MacDrummond clan. In addition to her banishment, she is a seer and some think she’s a witch. Most treat her with disdain and keep their distance, leaving her alone and lonely. She did go to social functions, but kept to the sides of the hall, never wanting to draw attention to herself, but she did get the attention of an adversary and the laird.

Cormag MacDrummond. Oh my, what a fantastic hero he was. Big, strong, handsome, the laird, and an…empath. I’ve never read a historical romance, well any romance where the hero was an empath. Like Moira, he kept it hidden. He had to spend time alone to keep from becoming overwhelmed. Everything he did, every decision he made, was for the good of the clan. There was no way he was going to be able to fall in love and marry, especially with the outcast Moira, but he protected her even as he denied his feelings for her. Not only did he believe her, he believed in her. He knew she was sad, depressed, and ever so lonely. Who wouldn’t be in her situation? It made him fall for her even harder.

Throw in a precocious five-year-old girl who refuses to listen to her father and a whimsical, interfering mother who sees things simply and beautifully and you’ve got the magic to this story. They lightened the tone of more than a few scenes.

There’s action, adventure, drama, rated G love scenes that had me nearly swooning myself just from the breadth and magnitude of it all. Not all love scenes have to be explicit to feel the love between the characters and this book is proof of that. I usually like some steam and spice in those scenes, but I did not miss it at all. It was wonderfully done.

If you don’t like a weepy heroine, this book probably isn’t for you. I felt for her and got a little teary myself at times. She tried to keep a happy face even as people whispered behind her back and Ian raged at her. She knew what they were saying and agreed that they were right to ostracize her. I so wanted her to get her happy ending with Cormag. They both deserved it. It might even be safe to say they earned it.

I’ve read the previous two books in the series and enjoyed them, but this one was my favorite by far and may end up on my Top 10 Favorite Reads of the year on my blog.

*This book is part of a series, but can easily be read as an independent novel

Book Review: Dared & Kissed: The Scotsman’s Yuletide Bride (Love’s Second Chance: Highland Tales Book 2)

FIVE STARS

Emma has been in love with Finn for a long time. When she’s sixteen, she acts on a dare from her friends and just walks up to him and gives him a kiss in front of everybody then walks back to the woods and her friends as if it was no big deal.

Finn was stunned and followed her. He’d really not noticed her before, but after a stunt like that, he thought she may like him and wanted to get to know her. But as he approaches the group of girls, he overhears Emma say it was a dare and nothing more.

For the next seven years, he avoids her. He glares at her when he does see her. He spends a lot of time away from the castle. She thinks he hates her and maybe he does…sort of. She doesn’t want to see him, either for that reason.

This is a story where the conflict could have been solved with a conversation. I know this frustrates some people, but I rather enjoyed the way Finn’s friends pushed him to speak to her and the way Maggie pushed Emma to speak to Finn. Emma and Finn had some awkward moments, but it all came together in a sweet way at Christmas. Hence, the title of the book.

This is a novella and a quick read. I enjoyed it very much, even though I’m not a fan of Yuletide anything. I loved the premise of the story and loved the characters. It worked on every level.

*This is part of a series, but can easily be read as an independent novel

Book Review: Tamed & Unleashed: The Highlander’s Vivacious Wife (Love’s Second Chance: Highland Tales #1) by Bree Wolf

FIVE STARS

Having a child is like walking around for the rest of your life with your heart outside of your body.

This is a clean, sweet, love at first sight novel that I absolutely loved. I usually like some spice in my stories, but this one was so good, the characters were so strong and likable, I didn’t miss it.

Garrett and Claudia married on the spur of the moment at Gretna Green. She was actually there to marry another man who backed out. Garrett knew she was the one for him and snatched her up, shared a night with her, then she was gone with no explanation.

Meanwhile, Claudia discovers she is pregnant and goes into hiding until the baby is born. Thinking the child is a bastard and that she can’t give him the sort of life he deserves, she gives him away. It doesn’t take her long to figure out it was a huge mistake and she wants him back.

What she isn’t expecting is this handsome Scots to trail her, befriend her, and help her. She thinks he’s annoying sometimes and can’t understand why he insists on helping her when he has no interest in her or the child, but he stays with her, even though it’s disconcerting at the very least when he hears about Aiden. She doesn’t know who Garrett is and isn’t compelled to tell him that Aiden is a baby.

Secrets are revealed in a rush of frustration that left both of them stunned, but once they are united, nothing can stop them. There’s so much at stake if things didn’t go right.

I loved Garrett and Claudia. I loved the chemistry between them and the way they worked together for a common goal. The adventure in the story was great and there were some times when I wasn’t sure how they were going to get this together. The odds were against them at times. I cheered for them more than once.

One thing I really liked was the way Garrett’s Scottish brogue was written. It was done so well and left no question of his heritage. Sometimes these Scots don’t have a brogue in books and it just adds some zing to the story when they do.

But something that plagued my mind while I read this was who was feeding the baby? Never at any time did anyone feed that child, yet one of Garrett’s friends said, “He’s a braw lad.” Thankfully, he was, but it was by miracle. When Claudia was looking for him, she was looking for a lone man with an infant. There was no wet nurse or bottles or formula. How was he feeding the baby? How did Claudia feed him? It’s probably not that important and it didn’t take anything away from the story. It was just something that made me wonder.

This is an easy five-star read and I’ve already started the next book in the series.

Not that it matters, but I like the old cover better than the new one.

Old Cover