Fiction
TO SWOON AND TO SPAR by Martha Waters
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When Viscount Penvale’s uncle offers him the chance to buy Penvale’s childhood home–on the condition that he marry his uncle’s socially inept ward, Jane Spencer–Penvale feels it’s worth the sacrifice. The lady may be insufferable, and not particularly attracted to him, but she assures him she isn’t being coerced and agrees to a chaste marriage of convenience. It’s only after they are married that his uncle reveals the second catch: the estate Penvale has just purchased is haunted.
Jane’s scheme worked too well. When she began faking the haunting of Trethwick Abbey, she’d hoped to merely drive her odious guardian to spend more time in town, to free herself from his micromanagement while getting to stay in the beautiful estate she’d come to love. Unfortunately, the bloody christening gown in his bedchamber scared the man so badly he went and sold the manor–and Jane’s hand in marriage along with it. Now she has another wealthy, controling man to frighten out of her life. But Penvale doesn’t seem as easy to scare away as his uncle, and he may be as attached to Trethwick Abbey as she is. Determined to find out which of the staff is pretending to haunt–and why–Penvale begins nightly searches of the manor, dragging an increasingly anxious Jane along with him. The more time they spend together, however, the more Jane’s feelings of antagonism warm to friendship, and as Penvale comes to better understand his abrasive bride, their determination to remain married “in name only” begins to fade until ghosts aren’t the only secrets lurking between them.
This steamy enemies-to-lovers Regency romance continuation of Waters’ series that includes To Marry and to Meddle will delight fans of the series or newcomers to Waters’ work (although I recommend reading To Love and to Loathe first since it’s hero/heroine feature prominently as secondary characters in this one, and it is also my personal favorite in the series). The antagonism is believable, the premise deliciously absurd, and the sparring full of crackle. I recommend the whole “Regency Vows” series to fans of the genre!
A TEMPEST AT SEA by Sherry Thomas
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Following the events of Miss Moriarty, I Presume, Charlotte Doyle has spent months in hiding, isolated from her closest allies, even her lover Lord Ingram. Nothing tempts her to risk exposure to Moriarty’s numerous spies until Lord Remington offers his protection in exchange for Charlotte performing a service for the crown and retrieving a sensitive item from a possible spy. Remington’s protection might actually allow Charlotte to return to normal life, and so she reaches out to her allies and dons a new disguise to board a passenger vessel and hunt a spy. With Lord Ingram, Mrs. Watson, and Lydia aboard, Charlotte has plenty of allies to help achieve her mission, but the presence of a police inspector on board and the unexpected arrival of Lady Holmes throws a wrench into her plans and threatens her exposure. And when one of the passengers is murdered–and Lady Holmes a suspect–Charlotte must discover which of her fellow passengers is a murderer and which an agent of her most sinister enemy.
It might have been difficult to keep momentum up in an enclosed setting, especially after the dramatic finale of Charlotte’s previous adventure, but Thomas does so with seeming ease, immediately reestablishing every delightful Lady Sherlock trope–from clandestine meetings between Charlotte and her allies to disguises and hidden identities–within a tightly plotted, Agatha Christie-esque mystery. Fans of the series will not be disappointed! Newcomers, however, will want to begin with book one to fully appreciate the tie-ins from previous Moriarty encounters.
UNDER A VEILED MOON by Karen Odden
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Inspector Michael Corravan has found his stride at Scotland Yard, although some will never accept him due to his Irish heritage and background as thief and boxer in Whitechapel. Corravan has tried to distance himself from his past, but that grows more difficult when murders and vandalism in his old neighborhood get dangerously close to his foster family–leading him to suspect that his foster brother Colin might be mixed up with the vicious gang that drove Corravan out of Whitechapel years earlier.
When a tragic boat crash on the Thames leaves hundreds dead, Corravan’s superiors suspect the Irish Republican Brotherhood might be involved. Corravan has his doubts, but when the papers get wind of a possible Irish scandal–with a Parliamentary bill for Irish Home Rule gaining traction–they’re quick to leap to conclusions. The only remedy is for Corravan to continue his detailed inquiry, to shake off the threats and suspicions of anti-Irish colleagues trying to get him thrown off the case, and find out what Colin’s gotten mixed up in before he’s just another body in the gutters of Whitechapel.
Character depth and cogent themes balance high-stakes in this Victorian mystery which will appeal to fans of police procedurals. Clues unfold at an even pace while the interwoven family drama ramps up intensity toward a thrilling climax. The second in the Inspector Corravan series, UNDER A VEILED MOON picks up where the previous book left off, but includes enough context (and a wealth of character development) that it will be easy for new readers to fall right into the well-developed historical world. Both this novel and its predecessor (DOWN A DARK RIVER) are perfectly plotted, character-rich procedurals for fans of the genre!
DEATH ON A WINTER STROLL by Francine Mathews
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Police Chief Merry Folger is used to the logistical hassle of high-profile politicians spending Christmas on Nantucket. Unfortunately, this year the holidays will include not only the Secretary of State and her family but a Hollywood film crew–and a couple of dead bodies.
The Sec’s stepson Ansel recently learned that his estranged mother was squatting on their old house on Nantucket, despite the fact that his father told him she was dead. He spends two days with her, admiring her artwork and watching her photograph island birds on the moor before she turns up dead for real–murdered. Grief-stricken Ansel confides in his new friend Winter, daughter of the lead actor in a film shooting nearby, who lost her own mother years earlier to suicide. But Winter has problems of her own, being sexually harassed by a vindictive, abusive Hollywood agent, husband of the film’s director, who has spent every day of his short time on the island making enemies. When he goes missing, it’s too much to hope that the two incidents could be unconnected, and it will be up to Chief Folger and her team to untangle the secrets and hidden connections between the stars and the suits before the killer strikes again.
Grudges galore and shifting points of view yield abundant suspects for this evenly-paced, traditional murder mystery. With echoes of the COVID-19 pandemic and the #MeToo movement in Hollywood, DEATH ON A WINTER STROLL juxtaposes timely explorations of grief and trauma with a charming Nantucket Christmas backdrop for a satisfying, suspenseful read with moderate edginess. No need to have read the previous books in this series to jump right in with this one!
THE SISTERS OF SEA VIEW by Julie Klassen
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With their father deceased, his estate passed on to a distant male relative, and their mother’s health failing, four gently-bred ladies are suddenly left without a source of sufficient income, their only asset their beloved house on the coast that is suddenly too large for them to maintain. Against her younger sisters’ objections, the eldest, Sarah, moves forward with a plan to rent rooms in their seaside home and take on other small jobs around the town to keep them all from destitution. The new venture stretches the four sisters out of their comfort zones and throws them into the paths of eligible gentlemen–from a Scottish widower to a bedridden war veteran–opening unexpected opportunities for personal growth and maybe even a chance for love.
This family-centric historical romance is sure to delight Klassen’s fan base and pull in new fans from the gentle reads / inspirational romance arena. Klassen devotes as much attention to the sister relationships as she does to the romantic ones and builds her story slowly with great attention to each character’s quiet evolution.
BENEATH HIS SILENCE by Hannah Linder
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Ella arrives at Wyckhorn Manor hoping to succeed in the soul-consuming mission her late father did not live long enough to complete: proving that Lord Sedgewick murdered her sister.
From the moment she meets Lord Henry Sedgewick, it is clear her sister made a mistake in marrying him. He is cold, aloof, and admits he never even loved Lucy. Ella assumes a false name and takes a position as governess to Henry and Lucy’s young son, hoping to get to know her nephew and gather proof of Henry’s iniquity. Yet under his distant exterior, Ella is surprised and somewhat alarmed to find a compassionate, generous, devoted Christian who begins gently prodding her doubting soul back toward the faith. But Henry and Wyckhorn Manor hold dark, guilty secrets, and though neither Henry nor Ella know it, they are both in grave danger of losing their hearts, their lives, and everything they hold dear.
This Gothic, Bronte-esque Christian Regency Romance packs suspense and emotional drama alongside a sweet (clean) courtship and each protagonist’s arc toward self-forgiveness. The Christian elements are prominent—a journey toward conversion—making this title ideal for readers who enjoy both Christian Fiction and Regency Romance rather than either in isolation. If you are a reader of both categories, I can highly recommend this story as immersive, exciting, and emotionally satisfying.
HER LAST BETRAYAL by Pam Lecky
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Sarah Gillespie has survived a year of wartime tragedy. Her sister died in a German air raid which she later learned was facilitated by her own father, an IRA operative who faked his death to continue secretly collaborating with Nazis in return for their aid with the Irish republican cause. As if that suffering and betrayal weren’t enough, her fiance’s ship is attacked by the Nazis, leaving him missing in action.
When MI5 approaches Sarah for her help undermining her father’s spy mission and bringing him to justice, she can’t say no. Unfortunately, they pair her with insufferable American operative Tony Anderson, suspicious of her due to her Irish heritage and dismissive of her espionage skills. An undercover mission takes them to Wales to track down Sarah’s father, but German moles have infiltrated their operation and as Sarah’s sparring with Anderson gives way to attraction, she will need to decide whether the surly American can be trusted–or whether he might be the sinister double agent they’ve been hunting.
Twisty with just a touch of enemies-to-lovers romance, HER LAST BETRAYAL is a quick, fun read for fans of the historical thriller genre. Lecky packs her story with colorful secondary characters and enough red herrings to keep you guessing to the climax. The second in a series, an open ending teases more adventures from Sarah Gillespie in the future.
THE DUKE IN QUESTION by Amalie Howard
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Desperate to use her privilege as a white noblewoman to contribute to the fight for racial justice, Lady Bronwyn Chase accepted the clandestine identity as “the Kestrel,” a spy not exactly in the employment of the Crown. Unfortunately, she has caught the Crown’s notice, and on her first transatlantic mission to help turn the tide of the American Civil War, the Kestrel is pursued by one of their most stoic former agents, Lord Valentine Medford, the Duke of Thornbury and best friend to Bronwyn’s half brother, the mixed-race Duke of Ashvale.
Bronwyn has long been attracted to Lord Valentine. Valentine on the other hand can’t imagine being romantically interested in the superficial personality Bronwyn projects–and he would never guess that she was the elusive Kestrel. Yet, Valentine finds himself drawn inexplicably and inexorably to Bronwyn, and when her assignment goes wrong, he is there to save her life–and arrest her. Bound together by conflicting duties, Bronwyn can no longer escape their smoldering attraction to one another. But will they be able to let one another go to save their reputations–and Bronwyn’s neck?–or will an unavoidable, passionate affair ruin them both?
Immediately following RULES FOR HEIRESSES, this sizzling enemies-to-lovers romance continues Howard’s nuanced exploration of gender, class, and race in the Victorian Era with the same perfect execution of historical romance tropes that will thrill fans of the genre, plus a dash of romantic suspense a la Sherry Thomas’s HIS AT NIGHT and MY BEAUTIFUL ENEMY. Wrestling with their privilege and desire to be allies, the white hero and heroine consistently run up against barriers of systemic racism, while injustice constrains characters of color–even those advantaged by wealth and title. Yet like all satisfying romances, the plot ends with hope and love–plus a thick cloud of steam. Highly recommend to readers of the genre and fans of the Netflix adaptation of BRIDGERTON.
IN THE SHADOW OF A QUEEN by Heather B. Moore
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Like all of Queen Victoria’s children, Princess Louise adored her compassionate, attentive, and fun-loving father who often provided a buffer between the free-spirited girl and her strait-laced, duty-focused mother. But when the devoted husband and father succumbs to typhoid fever, both mother and daughter find their lives irrevocably altered. As the queen becomes more severe and rigid in her mourning, Louise throws herself into her unconventional artistic pursuits, determined to find a balance between familial love and responsibility and the deepest desires of her heart.
Steeped in historical detail and broad in scope, Moore’s Victorian family drama will entrance readers who love deep dives into history from female perspectives. Drawing on Princess Louise’s rich, gently-unconventional life, Moore animates the historical figure and her indomitable mother, using the controlled tension of their relationship as the touchstone to track Louise’s choices from adolescence through marriage and adulthood. The plot simmers gradually, making this book ideal for readers who relish immersion in a historical time period over a focused, quick-paced story arc.
MILLSTONE OF DOUBT (THRONDIKE & SWANN #2) by Erica Vetsch
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After wrapping up a whirlwind case as an agent-in-training for the Crown, Lady Juliette Thorndike has tried her best to forget Bow Street runner Daniel Swann and the improper, impossible feelings she has for him, a man entirely below her station. Although she and her family have often flouted class barriers, she worries that Detective Swann would only be embarrassed by her interest, a girl from such a frivolous world compared to his own.
But Daniel has some improper, impossible feelings of his own, and when a murder at a local mill looks like the work of anarchists, both Scotland Yard and the Crown get pulled into the case–meaning Daniel and Lady Juliette will be working together once more. As Juliette attempts to comfort (and glean information) from the victim’s grieving daughter, Daniel does some digging into the mill’s enemies. But the case is more complicated than it seemed, jeopardizing not only their hearts but their lives.
A (sweet) Regency romance pairs with an edge-of-your-seat murder mystery in a page turner with plenty of clues to piece together. Vetsch eschews the angst and slow-burn commonly infused in historical mystery relationships, relying instead on the murder itself and secrets from her hero’s past to drive suspense while the detective couple advances smoothly toward their happily ever after. Published by a Christian house, the book’s characters practice Christianity, but spiritual elements are smoothly incorporated with a light hand. A fun read for fans of the genre!
Susan the Librarian 