Reviews

REVIEW of The Hapgoods of Bramleigh (SERIES) by Christina Dudley

This six-book Regency series follows the story of the Hapgood family as several country misses find love amidst unconventional circumstances. With elegant prose and clever dialogue reminiscent of Georgette Heyer, each book is a delight to read. Billed as “traditional Regency romances,” the books contain more realism than many modern-day Regency pastiches, painting the lives of a genteel family of four girls (similar to Jane Austen’s Bennet family) who must find husbands with small marriage portions and their father’s estate entailed to the nearest male relative. Most of the titles do not contain a real “villain,” but the exigencies of fortune and circumstance conspire to throw monumental obstacles in the way of each couple before they can reach their happily-ever-after….

EXCERPT from To Kiss a Wallflower (Timeless Regency Romance #19)

Miss Ellen Young was tired of being called beautiful.

As she gazed into the gilt-framed mirror, wrinkling her pert nose, pursing her rosebud lips, and narrowing her lake-blue eyes, she scowled at her reflection. Perhaps if she held this facial expression for an hour, a wrinkle would result. Or perhaps if the rain would stop for an afternoon, she could traipse through gardens and earn a few freckles…

REVIEW of The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray (BLOG TOUR)

When the Knightleys of Donwell Abbey decide to hold a house party with the Darcys, the Wentworths, the Brandons, and the Bertrams, they’re not expecting an uninvited guest of Mr. Wickham’s ilk to come knocking on the door. Ever since his scandal of seducing Lydia Bennet, Wickham has been up to one scheme after another, and his latest scheme involves a speculation that’s swindled half of these good people out of their money…

REVIEW of Jane and the Year Without a Summer (Jane Austen Mysteries #14) by Stephanie Barron (BLOG TOUR)

When Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra go to Cheltenham to take the waters, they find that not all is as it seems in the little spa town. As the gray, cold summer rolls over England, an eccentric preacher predicts the end of the world, a trio of young ladies conceal their past, a debonair Captain pays his addresses, and an abandoned husband comes looking for a wife he does not seem to want….

REVIEW of The Siren of Sussex (Belles of London #1) by Mimi Matthews (BLOG TOUR)

Evelyn Maltravers has come to London aware that she can only afford to have one season and that she needs to make the most of it. While she would easily be outshone in the ballroom, her best asset is her horsewomanship (pretend that that’s a word). To accentuate her equestrian skills, she needs a riding habit with style and panache. She needs a riding habit to die for. She needs a riding habit made by London’s most up-and-coming tailor, Ahmad Malik….