A Game of Hearts
Release Date: October 1, 2022
About the Author: Joanna Barker firmly believes that romance makes everything better, which is why she has fallen in love with writing Regency romances. When she’s not typing away on her next book, you’ll find her listening to podcasts, eating her secret stash of chocolate, or adding things to her Amazon cart. Joanna thinks being an author is the second-best job in the world—right after being a mom. She is just a little crazy about her husband and three wild-but-lovable kids.
MY REVIEW
Marigold Cartwell does everything perfectly. She loves her family fiercely, makes friends easily, and shoots at archery targets with the precision of Robin Hood. Her overly competitive nature is galled by one person in particular–Tristan Gates, an orphan who grew up alongside her ever since he came to their neighborhood as a ten-year-old. Marigold beat Tristan once at the annual archery contest, but he beat her the following year. And this insufferable man will never let her forget it.
Tristan finds Marigold Cartwell the most annoying woman on the face of the earth. She talks continually, gives him sarcastic set-downs, and is irrationally obsessed with winning. But when a disaster at a trip to the seashore throws the two together, they are forced to really assess each other’s character and perhaps reconsider their childhood impressions. Could it be that Marigold’s passion for life is a lot less annoying when that passion is directed at Tristan? And could the walls of reserve that Tristan has built around his heart come down for someone as forceful as Marigold?
This Regency romance leaped onto my TBR list as soon as I saw the lovely cover, but for some reason, I waited far too long to read it. It was the perfect read for a Sunday afternoon. Marigold truly is an annoyingly competitive and overexuberant lady at the beginning of the book. The event that upends both of their lives is skillfully portrayed, however, as is the change in their affections toward each other. Tristan is a superb hero as he acts with honor and learns to express his feelings in ways that will appeal to Marigold. Although I typically don’t prefer romances written in first person, it “worked” for this book quite well. Recommended.
“Thank you,” I said, voice as soft as newly budded leaves.
He dipped his head closer to mine. “Thank me by winning.”
He wanted to kiss me–that was clear from the way his eyes traced over my lips. But that would not help anything, especially not his ruse that he was injured. He exhaled and sent me one last scorching look, then withdrew to join his uncle on the edge of the field.
A Game of Hearts by Joanna Barker
Romance with Humor and Heart 
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