This novella tells the tale of Viola Hextall, sister to the Earl of Boden. To be honest, I wasn’t sure about this story at the start, as Viola didn’t impress me much in ‘A Good Rogue is Hard to Find’. She was portrayed as a shallow, frivolous young lady whose only aim in life is to marry a duke. In the pursuit of this, she tried to compromise herself with the Duke of Worth, the earl’s best friend. Boden is completely frustrated with her behavior, […]
A Great Regency Romp with Underlying Seriousness
It’s one thing when your mother is an eccentric lady with a penchant for live poultry; it’s quite another when you’re the Duke of Worth, your mother is the dowager duchess, and the haute ton is gleefully gossiping about her. He’s been loathe to deal with the situation, but then he arrives at her home for a dinner party to find the guests fleeing, the dining room in shambles, chickens roosting on the sideboard and a woman with a live snake around her neck. It […]
An Almost-Duke to the Rescue
This book, the first in the “Lords of Worth” trilogy, covers a lot of topics not usually found in Regency romance. This was Ms Bowen’s debut novel, and it’s a strong start to be sure. The title and cover are rather misleading – you’d think it was a fluffy holiday themed story, and it’s nothing like that. Once again, the publishers seem to be playing fast and loose with the presentation. Also, the hero isn’t a duke, just a close relation to one, so it […]
Taking Care of Scandal
Kelly Bowen is a new-to-me author, and I am thrilled to have discovered her. I can’t remember where I stumbled across the book recommendation, but I’m glad I followed up on it. She has a fresh take on the historical romance genre. This is the first book in a new series; the previous trilogy ‘Lords of Worth’ is definitely something I will be diving into next. “The silk was the color of sin. “On the bodice of a ball gown, it would have been spectacular. […]