Anna Bradley (1)Rezensionen

3.5 stars

I had enjoyed Anna Bradley's previous books and had no qualms trying this and I was not disappointed.

I enjoyed this book immensely. It had all the tropes that I liked - A stern Hero who is actually a marshmallow inside :) Tristan is my absolute favorite kind of hero. I like a good man turned good as much as the other person, but there is something to be said about a Man who is good and yet slightly dangerous so not boring. Sophia was also a darling. I admire how the book struck the right balance in her character by her not being a pushover and yet not pushy. I loved that she was a woman of agency and their chemistry was so good.
It also had good class struggle although that was ultimately on part of heroine.

Then come the friendships, as always I am a sucker for a good bromance and sismance and there was this in spades here. The women friendships was so good and I can't wait to read about their future adventures.

As I mentioned earlier, they had fantastic chemistry and although the romance aspect of the book was not the major focal point, I believed in their story, journey and HEA. That is not an easy thing to do especially in a book that had a murder mystery that needed solving but the author did a great job of building the world.

TBH The 2 things I didn't really care for were the title (LOL) and the mystery I felt was quite amateurish. I think I knew the bad guy almost immediately.

All in all, this was a lovely book. It had great pace and awesome characters. Give it a try if you adore feisty women and the men that love them.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

This is the story of Cecilia and Gideon the Marquess who is rumored to be haunted by the wife he killed. I really liked our two leads. I admired Cecilia's spunk and determination in the face of great odds. I felt for Gideon's loss and loneliness so much and admired the way he loved his niece.

The book had a gothic feel which I was not expecting, and which enhanced the story. Filled with great supporting characters - Lord Haslemere, Isabella, Amy etc., it was delightful. Second book in a series about the Clifford Charity School Girls and I absolutely adore that the tone, characterization, and settings are completely different. It's easy for authors to fall into the trap of making all the books similar in tone but that was deftly handled here.

Thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley for the ARc

Third book in the series and still loads of fun. This tells the story of Georgiana and Benedict. I always love book smart heroines and Georgiana is a math guru

Anne Bradley is always a delight to read! I enjoyed this book and I am glad that it's the beginning of a new series. It stars Jonathan and Emmeline, a case of mistaken identity, lovely sisters bonding, wagers, great characters - all the tropes that I enjoy :)

After Emmeline's sister Juliet accepts an outrageous wager that takes her to London for a season, scandal arises when the Earl of Melrose mistakenly kisses Emmeline. So starts a search and a journey to an enjoyable HEA commences.

This was a a fun read and I am thoroughly looking forward to the next in the series.

Thank you to the Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC

The last book in an enjoyable series, this tells the story of Emma and Samuel. Emma has been a character that I had looked forward to reading her story since she introduced in previous books, and I still enjoyed her here. The disconnect came a bit with the romance with Samuel. I didn't totally buy their romance or pairing and that reduced my enjoyment. Also I felt they were a bit too apart for a good bit of the book.

I will miss the crew and the first 2 books were really good to read.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

As the second book in her Games Earls Play series, the author relies on the fact that we have read and remember the events of the first book a little too much. We are thrown right into a house party being thrown by Miles (the ML) who has convinced himself that he will never marry and therefore wants to match his cousin, who is his heir, with a wife. Enter Juliet who Miles apparently had a tendre for (albeit a grudging one) and hijinks ensue.

Anna Bradley is an author I enjoy and I was looking forward to this. Unfortunately I ended up not really enjoying it. I think dropping us in the story without enough background or buildup ended up hurting it. Eventually it lead to a story that was quite forgettable.

I have high hopes for Juliets' sister and her employer though.

Thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Give the Devil His Duke by Anna Bradley
Drop Dead Dukes #1

Who knew that pink could become the favorite color of a duke? Or that a woman who said no instead of yes would intrigue him? Or that his plans to redeem the family name would happen…but not quite as he planned?

What I liked:
* Lady Francesca “Franny” Stanhope: only child of a mother ruined under questionable circumstances and father who was a duke till killed in a duel to avenge his wife, loving daughter, abandoned by relatives, living poorly in the country, offered a season by Mrs. Crump, has a plan to save her mother
* Giles Drew, duke of Basingstoke: hedonist, well thought of, rather full of himself, good friend, loves his mother and three sisters, a bit clueless, surprised more than once by Franny, grew a great deal in the story, liked him more at the end than beginning of the story
* Mrs. Crump and the pink dresses
* The plot, pacing, setting, and conclusion
* Meeting Dukes Montford and Gratham who will probably star in the next two books of the series
* Franny’s spirited personality, strength, and willingness to achieve her goals…would love to have her as a friend
* Watching the relationship develop between Giles and Franny
* Giles mother and sisters
* Knowing that there will be two more books to look forward to

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to
* Knowing that sometimes relatives can be as evil as Giles father and Franny’s uncle and aunt

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington-Zebra for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars½

Pink outfits, red hair, and a London season!

Lady Francesca Stanhope has come to London to save her mother. Her mother had been embroiled a scandal years before. Consequently Franny’s father had been killed in a duel. Her father’s viscous brother, her uncle, Lord Edward Stanhope became the Earl, and had promptly thrown them out of the family home, giving them no assistance, and they’d had to make their way in a damp, cramped, country cottage.
Her mother’s health is failing and Franny consents to a season with the kindly Lady Crump who lives a step away from her uncle. Franny sees this as an opportunity to throw herself on her uncle’s mercy and ask for assistance for her mother. BTW Lady Crump has a wardrobe of pink ball dresses recently made but never worn because her niece Dorothea married and not had her London season. So the dresses will be used by Francesca. Francesca of the red hair will endure the pink dresses if it gives her a chance to approach her uncle.
Of course nothing goes to plan, including a run in with the deplorable yet blindingly handsome Giles, Duke of Basingstoke, whose father was the engineer of all the Stanhope family woes. Oh, and who it seems is becoming engaged to Fanny’s cousin Susannah.
Then there’s interesting factor of Giles discovering a Peeping Thom, sorry Peeping Thomasina in his garden. Mmm!
A rapidly moving and lively story with wit, rancour and romance.

A Kensington Books ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

Barbara’s rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Series: Drop Dead Dukes #1
Publication Date: 7/25/23
Period: Regency - 1817
Number of Pages: 320

Hang onto your hats because this review is going to look like an Etch-A-Sketch drawing. Sorry about that. However, that is how I feel about the book – I’m all over the place – I love parts of it, I like parts of it, I dislike parts of it, and I disliked one part of it almost enough to put it down and not read the rest. Through all of those likes and dislikes though, the writing was excellent, the timing and delivery were well done, and there was a lovely epilogue. So, if you don’t object to any of the things I objected to, you’ll probably think this is a 5-star read.

Through what was dropped throughout the story you will learn; the Drews and the Stanhopes have a history. The previous Duke of Basingstoke was a villain of the first order and it sounds to me like he assaulted Francesca’s mother. The word that is used in the book is seduced, but it didn’t sound to me as if she had any choice. Then, when Francesca’s father challenged the duke to a duel – the duke killed him. Now, I don’t believe the father's sins should be visited upon the child – but I do believe it would take more than a cursory glance at the son to forgive and forget all of the pain and suffering caused by the previous duke. Especially when you don’t really know whether the current duke is a chip off the old block or not.

Lady Francesca Stanhope was a happy child, living in a happy home with a father who doted on her and a mother who loved her – until she wasn’t. Ten years ago, her father, an earl, was killed in a duel and her cruel uncle banished Franny and her mother to a dilapidated Herefordshire cottage where they had to grub in the dirt to grow enough to eat. Her mother’s health is deteriorating rapidly and Franny knows she has to find funds somewhere to get her mother away from the damp and cold. Perhaps if she could just meet with her uncle – reason with him – maybe he’d fund them. *** and pigs can fly ***

Giles Drew, the Duke of Basingstoke, has been doing his very best to rehabilitate his family name from all of the damage caused by his father. Although he isn’t a saint behind closed doors, the ton believes he is the golden child and can do no wrong. With his sisters soon making their debuts, he has to continue rehabilitating the family's reputation. One way to do that is to marry the new earl’s daughter, Susannah.

I did finally come to like Giles, but it wasn’t until the latter portion of the book. Before that, I spent my time trying to figure out if Giles suffered from hubris, arrogance, or obliviousness – or all three. I will say, that part did lend a bit of humor to the tale because Giles had no clue that anyone could or would ever say ‘no’ to him. Nobody ever had. Everyone always wanted to do whatever he asked – they always wanted to listen when he spoke – everyone always liked him – until Franny gave him his first tongue-lashing and told him no. Then, he was totally perplexed.

I liked Franny from the beginning. She wanted to help her mother and was willing to endure a trip to London and confront her Uncle Edward to do it. Whatever it took, she was willing to do. Just when she thinks she has managed to pull it all off, disaster strikes.

I did enjoy the read, and I think you probably will as well. The writing is excellent as is the delivery, but the ménage à 'however-many' in the third chapter could have been left out as it added nothing to the story and portrayed Giles in a very poor light. It would have also been nice to know why Francesca’s father didn’t provide for them in his will – or from the marriage settlements.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Templeton sisters may have faced tragedy in the past, but these days they all seem to come up roses -- at least, in the end! This time its Helena, the governess to the young children of Adrian Chatham, the Earl of Hawke, whose heart is in jeopardy. Her first meeting with the earl doesn't go well -- she's literally stuck in a tree -- and things only get worse for quite some time.

But their attraction to one another will not be denied -- of course! -- and things proceed apace. It helps that the two of them are both besotted with his children. And Helena seems to have awakened an unexpected softness for cats in the earl, particularly in the very pregnant Hecate, which Helena is using to teach the children animal husbandry. (The softness comes as quite a surprise even to him.)

This is a fast, fun read, though without the extended erotic scenes Anna Bradley occasionally writes. There is still plenty of heat, though, and lots of romance. It's short enough to be read in one concentrated evening, following the previous two evenings no doubt spent reading the first two entries in this series. It breaks no romance boundaries, but it is a fine example of the genre.

Thank you NetGalley and Oliver Heber Books for the chance to read and review this book!

While there isn't anything really wrong with the book, it just got slightly boring. We never really got into his time in London. Didn't really learn much about anyone. The main thing used to get things going in the book were the cats.

This story captured me from the beginning!

Helena was engaging right from the start, she was funny, smart, sassy and her devotion to her charges was very relatable.

Adrian took a while to like for me, the other characters and even for himself. Ms. Bradly did a good job in changing this angry, scared and self-loathing rake into someone who was worth of his children and Helena.

This was a well written and entertaining historical romance that gave the reader enough backstory to feel comfortable not having read the previous books but wanting to because the stories are intriguing.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank-you to Oliver Heber Books and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

#FellinLovewithanEarl #NetGalley

Scottish puzzle! Scottish sizzle!

Braw Daniel Brixton is surprised! Who is this feisty young woman who took him captive—even though he managed to free himself? Mairi Cameron is shocked that Daniel refuses to acknowledge her and her grandmother Lillias. In fact he thinks she’s lying. What?
Mairi has come to London searching for him to return to Coldstream in order to set her grandmother free. She’s been accused of murdering—him!
Daniel remembers nothing of his life before he was eight. Now this young woman who makes his blood boil in more than one way is tying him in knots with her lies. Lady Clifford sends them both to Scotland to find the truth. Which turns out to be more than Daniel had bargained for!
Another lively story from Bradley and the Clifford Charity School for Wayward Girls.

A Kensington Books ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

Oh! My Goodness! If you hitch your horse to this wagon, you are in for a wild and wonderful ride! I’ve read and loved all of the books in this series, but this is the best one yet. We’ve seen Daniel in the background of all of the books of the series – taking care of the ladies, protecting them, but always subservient, quiet, and unobtrusive. Somehow though, you just KNEW there was more to him than meets the eye. You knew he had a story – and now we finally know that it is a hum-dinger!

Mairi Cameron has to find Daniel Adair and convince him to return to Coldstream within the Scottish borders because it is the only way to save her grandmother’s life. She’s followed his trail and learned that Daniel Adair is now Daniel Brixton. She and Daniel were friends when they were small children – she adored him then – but he and his father took off and she hadn’t heard anything from him since. Now though, her grandmother has been accused of Daniel’s murder after the village found the body of a small boy in a pond on the local Viscount’s property. Twenty-four years ago, when Daniel disappeared, he loved her grandmother as much as Mairi did, so he’ll surely return to save her grandmother – since he isn’t dead.

Mairi tracks Daniel for several days and finds him in the worst slums of London. It seems that the sweet, loving Daniel Adair she remembers has grown into the slimiest of creatures who calls himself Daniel Brixton. He is part of that criminal element that populates the underbelly of London – or is he? Well, he certainly must be – just look where she found him. Then, of all things, she had to save his life from one of those thugs bent on knifing him. He certainly owes her now! Except, he doesn’t see it that way – and he has no idea who she is and he’s quite positive he’s not Scottish. Oh! My!

Against his better judgment, Daniel takes Mairi back to Clifford School so Lady Clifford could help him decide what to do with her. He certainly couldn’t leave her in that hovel in which he found her, but he also had no intention of going to Scotland with her. Of all things – she thought he was Scottish. Ha!

Daniel and Mairi are delightful characters and I enjoyed watching them sizing each other up and coming to a truce. After Daniel and Mairi head out for Coldstream, Scotland, the fireworks really begin – between them – but also with the whole fantastical tale Mairi tells Daniel. Can it all be true? Then – the additional revelations that come to both of them will rock their worlds to the core.

I highly recommend this book and hope you will love Daniel and Mairi as much as I did. I loved that the villains actually got their just punishment – and – of course – one of my favorite things – there was a lovely epilogue. Yep! A truly lovely read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Want a will they won't they chemistry filled short historical romance? Ding! Ding! We have ourselves a winner.

The scorching hot tension between Juliet and Miles can be felt page by page. Though I would have preferred it to be longer and little bit more plot, overall, it was a pleasant read and hope to see more of this couple in future series releases.

Isla Ramsey is due to marry Henry Northrup in six weeks but she's distracted by Hugh Courtney. It's a terrible winter and Henry is due to visit so she rides out to see if he's coming only to get lost in a snowstorm, rescued by Hugh and forced to spend some time in his house where the attraction builds. Meanwhile Henry is involved in an accident and has to face up to the truth about himself and honestly his romance is a better one of the two, even if the book is ostensibly about Isla.
Enjoyable story of two romances, one M/M

Steamier than usual Regency. Two great characters, Lily Somerset and Robyn Sutherland, have the starring roles. Lily has issues from the recent deaths of her parents and Robyn had a dreadful father, also recently deceased. The romance is how they overcome these troubles to fulfill their romantic destiny.

Better-than-usual Regency romance.

Delia, the oldest of five sisters, is invited along with her sister Lily to a house party at the Earl of Carlisle's home. She's expecting to spend time with the Earl's sisters and staying in the background, but when Alec, the Earl of Carlisle, finds her intriguing and fascinating, a sweet romance ensues.

True love prevails despite the shadow of a long-ago scandal and well-meaning siblings.

A fun romp.

Not Just Any Earl by Anna Bradley
Games Earls Play #1

Mistaken identity, a sizzling kiss, and then the search to find out who Lord Melrose actually had his interlude in the library with titillates the ton for days in this introduction to a new series. There is no glass slipper but instead an elusive scent and also the search for the rose necessary to finish making a perfect perfume.

What I liked:
* The introduction to the Templeton sisters and wondering how all five will find their happily ever after
* Mrs Fosberry: kind of like a fairy godmother and a friend of the sisters’ father – gives Juliet and Emmeline a chance in London
* Emmeline: loves roses, enjoys science, is seeking an elusive rose to recreate a perfume her father once made, has most of her beliefs about couples perfect for one another blown to smithereens
* Lord Melrose: brother, earl, ready to settle down, knows immediately the Lady in Lavender is meant for him…but who is she?
* Lord Cross: probably the man for Juliet and perhaps their story will come next
* Juliet: Emmeline’s sister, the beauty, outgoing, a perfect match for Lord Cross
* The set down Melrose renders grasping Christine and her mother
* Thinking about what is happening with Helena who left at the beginning of the book to become a governess to the Marquess of Hawke
* Wondering what is up with the oldest and youngest sisters…there is much more to learn about both of them.
* Knowing there are more books to look forward to

What I didn’t like:
* What and whom I was meant not to like…the gossiping ton and nasty vipers making up stories
* That scandal ruins not only the scandalous but their families as well
* Not a dislike but a wish – that there will be more about Emmeline and Melrose in the future books as I felt there was more to their story than written in this book

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Oliver Heber Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars½

Scents and scentsability!

A Cinderella remix / mashup with the glass slipper being replaced by a ribbon redundant with a subtle yet heady scent of roses.
Emmaline Templeton is one of five daughters whose scandalous mother Alice ran off to the continent with her Marquis lover years before. (Members of the Ton find that hard to forgive!) Their father died a year later. The young women are trying to make ends meet. Emmaline is trying to work out the elements constituting her father’s most perfect perfume. He never wrote the components down. The search is her passion.
Lady Fosberry (fairy godmother figure) descends on the family to whisk Lady Juliet away to spend the season with her. Emmaline will join them but stay in the background. Her desire is to search out the missing ingredient for her botanist father’s rose perfume.
What Emmaline didn’t expect, during a ball at Lady Fosberry’s house, when she crept downstairs into the darkened library, was to to be thoroughly kissed by Lord Melrose (aka the Nonesuch)
This wouldn’t do. In her head she’d seen Lord Melrose as a potential partner for her sister Juliet.
The ton is expecting Lord Melrose to become engaged to Lady Christine Dingley, a vacuous and, as it later proves, vicious and spoilt young woman. (Ugly sister equivalent!) But after the ball, with no announcement, the ton is awash with speculation and gossip. Society’s top group is portrayed as a rapid monstrosity baying for blood. Hounds of the Baskervilles are tame compared to the ton’s dismembering of its own!
I must admit Emmaline does my head in with her excuses, pondering and double takes about how the man she loves must marry her sister Juliet. I really, really lost all patience with Emmaline during these moments.
And yes, this Regency romance has its fairytale ending. A pleasant quick read.

An Xpresso Book ARC via NetGalley
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

** 3.5 Stars **

This was a nice, straightforward introduction to the series, Games Earls Play, the Templeton sisters, and, of course, it includes a sweet romance. If you are looking for an exciting, heart palpating, hold-your-breath kind of read, well, this isn’t it. It is a steady, lovely romance between two very likable people who seem totally wrong for each other but are really so very right. I would have liked for it to be a tad longer so we could have gotten to know the characters a bit better – and so we could have spent more time seeing the dastardly dirty folks in the ton get their comeuppance.

The Templeton sisters are Emmeline (our current heroine), Euphemia (the oldest), Mathilda (the youngest), Juliet (her book is next I think), and Helena who is in service as the governess to the Marquess of Hawke (maybe he will be her hero???). Three years ago, two of the Templeton sisters had been in London for their season when their mother, Alice, ran off to the continent with her lover. The scandal, of course, drove the girls out of London and they’ve never set foot in it again. Since their father’s death, their circumstances have become direr and direr – until all of them will probably end up in service. So, when their father’s old friend, Lady Fosberry, coaxes Juliet and Emmaline back to London, it is their hope that Juliet will make a match – particularly with Lord Melrose.

Jonathan Parrish, the Earl of Melrose, is the male equivalent of a diamond of the first water. All the ladies admire him, sigh over him, and wish he’d notice them. He’s decided he’ll marry this season – and he supposes it might as well be Lady Christine Dingley since his mother once expressed a desire for that. He’s not particularly attracted to her, but he does have to marry. Isn’t it nice that fate has a way of stomping all over our best-laid plans?

At Lady Fosberry’s ball, Jonathan heads across the ballroom to request a dance from Lady Christine but becomes distracted when he notices a lovely widow with whom he’s spent some pleasant hours. Did I mention Jonathan is drunk as a skunk? He follows the lady from the ballroom and thinks he has lost her until he enters the library and notices her (well, he thinks it is her) there. He quietly comes up behind her and -- well, she didn’t stop him from kissing her – and she even kissed him back. Only, it wasn’t the lady he thought it was. Oops! He never saw her face because it was so dark – and now, he really wants to find her, she intrigues him – but he has no idea how to find her nor can he even describe her.

I really liked Jonathan because he was a lovely, sweet, caring, honorable man. I also really liked Emmeline who was all about family, and it was heart-warming to see the two of them become friends and then come to love each other. Again, I would really have liked the book to have been just a tad longer so we could see more of their coming to love each other.

I would recommend this book to a friend as a nice set-up for what promises to be a very nice series. The writing is good, the characters are very likable, the plot is a good one, but, overall, it is a pretty bland read. The set-up for the next book, which I assume will feature Juliet and Jonathan’s friend Lord Cross, is threaded throughout this one.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an advanced reader copy of this story.

I love this book, it gets a rare 5 stars from me. I was lucky enough to pick up Anna Bradley's first book, A Wicked Way To Win An Earl, by chance at a bookstore. I had never heard of her but the cover looked divine. I've been following her ever since, not creepy just on Facebook. Not Just Any Earl, also with a divine cover, has likeable characters and I read the book in one evening. I was up past my bedtime but it was worth it. Emmeline and Jonathan are good together from their first meeting, fabulous as a couple. Emmeline is scared of the Ton and frankly so am I. Johnathan isn't and being a man he can get away with anything and still be invited to dinner. I'm going to give away one tiny spoiler, the meet cute & hot was in a library. Pure gold to a bluestocking like me. I'd recommend clearing your calendar and ordering out for pizza because you won't want to put it down.

I'm now waiting on Juliet and Cross to finish their story, it's bound to be a whopper.

#AnnaBradley #NotJustAnyEarl #GamesEarlsPlay #Oliver-HeberBooks #Netgalley #historicalromance

3.5 stars rounded up. Eleanor had seemed very insightful in the two previous books, but I felt like she lost most of that quality in this one. She remained likable though. Also, the first 2/3s of the book or so felt more engaging to me than the end, but it wasn't a bad ending. I think the whole thing would have been stronger with a bit more editing.

I felt like this one had good potential, but a couple things brought it down a bit for me. The heroine is kind of a ninny. She's naive, yeah, but also very gullible, easily manipulated, and lacking in insight! I don't need all my leads to be brilliant, but I would have enjoyed her a lot more if she had more sense. Also, the hero, I swear fell in love between scenes. One moment he's all 'love her? I'm not sure I even like her!' and the next he's entirely certain in his undying love for her and acts like that's just a given. ? It left me feeling a bit suspect rather than won over. Smaller things- all the characters went on and on that she jilted him *twice* but the second time was just a refusal to be engaged again, that's not a repeated break of an engagement. They brought it up like 20 times and it was inaccurate in all of them. lol. Also, they went on and on about his "dark desires" and "tying women up with cravats" but then didn't show any of it! If they brought it up a couple times and then didn't ever produce evidence, fine. But it was mentioned SO many times! And then he never did any of it to her. And wasn't really into anything very wicked either. Double lame. The horse was a good addition to the story.

I read 4 chapters of this and just wasn't seeing anything that interested me enough to read 19 more. The premise was ridiculous, and peeking at some other reviews it doesn't sound like my opinion would improve much from there. The heroine witnesses a fistfight that ends with a man being knocked down and dragged off and she convinces herself it was a murder. She doesn't tell anyone though, even her sisters days after when they ask why she's been distraught lately. She hides behind pillars at her own debut because she hates being noticed in any way, but then when she sees the "killer" in a crowded ballroom she makes a huge scene openly calling him a murderer. ... I don't really think that's how shyness works. Even after she's revived from fainting she still sticks to her story without a single doubt in her mind. Like murder is the only possible outcome. She's just kind of a ninny.