When the Duke was Wicked
When the Duke was Wicked by Lorraine Heath is $1.99! This is the first book in the Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James series. Heath has been referred to by both Sarah MacLean and Jessie Edwards, L’AwesomePublicist at Avon, as one of the most underrated stars of historical romance. You can also grab all three books in the series for $7!
When this book was last on sale, Pooks said she loves this whole series, as the heroes were all raised by Fagin from Oliver Twist.
They are England’s most eligible bachelors, with the most scandalous reputations. But for the right woman, even an unrepentant rogue may mend his ways…
Lady Grace Mabry’s ample inheritance has made it impossible for her to tell whether a suitor is in love with her—or enamored of her riches. Who better to distinguish beau from blackguard than her notorious childhood friend, the Duke of Lovingdon?
With no interest in marriage, Lovingdon has long lived only for pleasure. He sees little harm in helping Grace find a proper match. After all, he’s familiar with all the ploys a scoundrel uses to gain a woman’s favor. He simply has to teach the lovely innocent how to distinguish honest emotions from false ones. How better than by demonstrating his wicked ways. But as lessons lead to torrid passion and Grace becomes ensnared in another man’s marriage plot, Lovingdon must wage a desperate gamble: Open his heart fully—or risk losing the woman he adores…
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RECOMMENDED: The River at Night by Erica Ferencik is $2.99! Elyse really loved this thriller and gave it an A-, but warns it’s pretty creepy:
The River at Night is a thriller that lives up to its name–it’s dark and twisty, fast-moving, and I was never entirely certain what was lurking beneath the surface. This book is far more action-adventure than murder mystery, but there are definitely elements that will creep-out some readers.
A high stakes drama set against the harsh beauty of the Maine wilderness, charting the journey of four friends as they fight to survive the aftermath of a white water rafting accident, The River at Night is a nonstop and unforgettable thriller by a stunning new voice in fiction.
Winifred Allen needs a vacation.
Stifled by a soul-crushing job, devastated by the death of her beloved brother, and lonely after the end of a fifteen-year marriage, Wini is feeling vulnerable. So when her three best friends insist on a high-octane getaway for their annual girls’ trip, she signs on, despite her misgivings.
What starts out as an invigorating hiking and rafting excursion in the remote Allagash Wilderness soon becomes an all-too-real nightmare: A freak accident leaves the women stranded, separating them from their raft and everything they need to survive. When night descends, a fire on the mountainside lures them to a ramshackle camp that appears to be their lifeline. But as Wini and her friends grasp the true intent of their supposed saviors, long buried secrets emerge and lifelong allegiances are put to the test. To survive, Wini must reach beyond the world she knows to harness an inner strength she never knew she possessed.
With intimately observed characters, visceral prose, and pacing as ruthless as the river itself, The River at Night is a dark exploration of creatures—both friend and foe—that you won’t soon forget.
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All In with the Duke by Ava March is 99c! This is the first book in the Gambling on Love series and is a gay historical romance. The description is giving me some hefty Pretty Woman plot vibes. Some readers felt the book wasn’t terribly realistic, but that didn’t deter them from enjoying the romance.
London, 1822
Max Arrington, the Duke of Pelham, vows to never again let a handsome face blind him to a man’s true intentions. But ten months of celibacy and lonely nights drive him to a decadent brothel, where a beautiful young man arouses his illicit passions as never before.
Tristan Walsh has grown tired of being used for men’s pleasure. But his latest client is different: commanding yet generous, Max makes him feel cared for as well as wanted. Yet Tristan knows he’ll never have the choice to leave the brothel and submit only to Max.
So when Max invites him to be his guest at his country estate, Tristan eagerly agrees to his terms—days to do as he pleases while Max tends to the dukedom, and nights spent together in wicked play. But when the “business arrangement” begins to deepen into something more, Tristan must face the fact that he has no true place in Max’s life—or in Max’s guarded heart…
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Menagerie by Rachel Vincent is $1.99! This is an urban fantasy novel with a creep circus that’s filled with mythical creatures. Some readers felt the ending was a bit rushed, but found the setting and the incredible amount of detail to be quite amazing. This is the first book in a trilogy, though I didn’t see any mention of a cliffhanger in the Goodreads reviews.
From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Vincent comes a richly imagined, provocative new series set in the dark mythology of the Menagerie…
When Delilah Marlow visits a famous traveling carnival, Metzger’s Menagerie, she is an ordinary woman in a not-quite-ordinary world. But under the macabre circus big-top, she discovers a fierce, sharp-clawed creature lurking just beneath her human veneer. Captured and put on exhibition, Delilah is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she’s forced to “perform” in town after town.
But there is breathtaking beauty behind the seamy and grotesque reality of the carnival. Gallagher, her handler, is as kind as he is cryptic and strong. The other “attractions”—mermaids, minotaurs, griffins and kelpies—are strange, yes, but they share a bond forged by the brutal realities of captivity. And as Delilah struggles for her freedom, and for her fellow menagerie, she’ll discover a strength and a purpose she never knew existed.
Renowned author Rachel Vincent weaves an intoxicating blend of carnival magic and startling humanity in this intricately woven and powerful tale.
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FRIENDS TO LOVERS IS MY CRACK CAKE AHHH GET IN MY FACE! I checked GR to make sure I don’t already own it and apparently I shelved this in 2014 under a shit ton of things, including “classified-rec-smart-bitches.”
Past Me wanted Future Me to buy this, obvi.
All In With The Duke: I SWEAR I JUST GOT FANGIRL LIGHTHEADED AT THAT SYNOPSIS! Fine bitches. Just take ALLLLLL my money. I don’t need it anyway.
It’s weird, I love historicals in general, with a slight preference for regency but a general dislike of US or Scottish settings, which is maybe why it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that I love love love Lorraine Heath’s US set romances, but her British ones don’t do a thing for me. She is such a good writer, I can’t point to a single reason *why* I didn’t love that series, but I definitely didn’t.
@kkw Oh that’s interesting! So you like British Regencies don’t like US set stories, but liked Hearth’s US stories and not her British ones?
That’s neat. I’ve not read Heath before, but I have In Bed with the Devil, Texas Destiny and this on on my TBR list.
I’m like you in that I have this stupid bias for British set romances and a meh-attitude for Scottish/US set stories. The Scottish set ones typically turn me off because most of them write with the brogue and my Dyslexic ass haaaates that crap.
I think I tend not to pick up US stories because I feel like my brain turns Regencyland, and by extension Fictional Britain into a Fairy Tale. Still working on this because I need to be broadening my romance horizons. Point is, I’m curious if my brain will have the same reaction as you or not.
WE SHALL SEEEEE!
Ugh, I hate to be picky, but this series is actually about the KIDS of the kids who were raised by Feagan (as it’s spelled in the books). The series that’s about the kids who were raised by Feagan is “The Scoundrels of St. James.” And the only reason I know this is that I just discovered Lorraine Heath and read straight through both series, in order, in the last eight weeks. Highly recommend!
Creepy Circus! Menagerie has been on to TBR list 4 eva! Snagged it. Luv you Bitches!
I think I really liked the Heath, although admittedly I can’t remember much (anything?) about it now…
Chiming in on Lorraine Heath being vastly underrated! I’m a sucker for Western and cowboy romances, and hers have some of the most delightful characters of any I’ve read.
Another Lorraine Heath fan here and I loved When the Duke was Wicked. Buy the book!
I liked When the Duke Was Wicked and in general love Lorraine Heath but I did find the heroine a bit annoying. She sort of just barges in an makes demands and ugh.
I managed to borrow “When the Duke was Wicked” from my local library. I was quite willing to accept a historical from Victorian times, but there were so many jarring elements for me.
The Oliver Twist parts were completely unnecessary. It felt like someone had considered fanfic and had thought to avoid legal issues by slightly changing names (“Feagin”) and referring to the children. I lost track of just who was partly related to whom, and it then started feeling like too much of a “and we’re setting up for the next installment – let’s have some handy single men set to go in the next book, shall we?”
Secondly, while the inclusion of the heroine’s Mighty Flaw was a lovely and very different one to use (and kudos for that), the particular flaw is not one that often happens to young ladies. (Please note – I’m trying hard not to spoil it here). I come from a family line who are acutely aware of this particular flaw, so having it occur to one so young was rather jarring.
I would particularly like to thank the writer, though, for not shying away from the ghastly aftermath of that flaw. It could have been glossed over. It wasn’t. That was well done.
Also, having the hero as a widower who had truly loved his wife and child, and who had lost them to the horrid diseases of the time? Nice work. This stuff happened. Well done for including it.
But generally, it felt more like the author was practised in the Regency period, wanted to move things up to the Mid-Late Victorian to fit in with the “Children of Dodger” theme, and didn’t make a lot of changes to the text to do so. Where were comments on the improvements made by others in the slums, such as the opening of wash houses? The changes in transport? The hypocritical social attitudes?
And the side-plot of the husband mistreating his wife to make her leave him really needed a mention of the Married Women Property Act of 1870 (and its uselessness in this case), because the biggest reason for her to stay in the marriage despite his mistreatment would have been that she would have had nothing had she left.
I have no doubt Ms Heath is an excellent author when dealing with earlier time periods, but so much happened to change life over the Victorian era, that this book felt very out of place, and kept kicking me out of my cosy suspension of disbelief. I’m just very glad I was able to borrow this from the library and didn’t have to pay for it.