It’s All About the Duke by Amelia Grey

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It’s All About The Duke is the third book in Amelia Grey’s The Rakes of St. James series of Regency-era historical romance novels. I enjoyed reading the second book in this series, so I was looking forward to finding out what was going to happen next.

The Duke of Rathburne, or Rath, as he prefers to be called, finds himself in possession of a young ward who needs to make her debut in Society. Rath is acting out of a sense of duty and responsibility; this jaded rake certainly isn’t going to do anything foolish like fall in love with the girl. Read more

Poco and Moco Are Twins by Jun Ichihara

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Poco and Moco Are Twins is a picture book written and illustrated by Jun Ichihara. My girls have mostly moved beyond picture books, but they still enjoy checking out the digital review copies that I receive.

Poco and Moco are a pair of sheep twins. Poco is a boy, and Moco is a girl. They share similarities, but they also have their differences. Poco likes bread, and Moco likes desserts- but they both like donuts! There’s not much of a plot, but that’s okay, because this book is intended for older toddlers and younger preschoolers. It’s more of a concept book than a narrative.     Read more

My Name Is Victoria by Lucy Worsley

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My Name is Victoria is a YA novel written by Lucy Worsley. I was excited about the opportunity to read this book because 19th century England is my favorite era in history. I also enjoyed the Victoria television series, as well as Daisy Goodwin’s companion novel and Julia Baird’s biography of Queen Victoria.

The story is told from the perspective of “Miss V”, the daughter of John Conrad, who oversaw the future Queen Victoria’s upbringing. The young Victoria was kept in isolation, and V is one of Victoria’s first friends. Victoria has been told that she needs to be kept apart from society because of her scheming uncles and cousins who might wish to harm her because of her proximity to the throne. Whether there is any merit to this claim, or whether this is intended to instill a sense of paranoia remains to be seen. Read more

Ship It by Britta Lundin

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Ship It is a YA novel by debut author Britta Lundin. I was excited about the opportunity to read this book because I enjoy YA books, and the premise intrigued me.

Claire is a teenage girl living in rural Idaho. She doesn’t have a lot of friends at school, but she is a very active member in the Demon Heart fan community online. She writes slash fanfiction (gay romance) about the two male protagonists, and is absolutely convinced of the chemistry between them. When a comic convention comes to Boise, Claire is eager to attend the Demon Heart panel. She asks the actors whether or not he’ll be making SmokeHeart (the romantic pairing) canon (a real part of the show). Forest, who is one of the actors, answers rather rudely, and Claire is devastated and embarrassed. However, she ends up winning a huge prize- the chance to travel with the cast to two more conventions.

Claire knows that she needs to mend things with Forest, but at the same time, she wants to convince him of SmokeHeart’s importance. She also wants to convince Jamie, the showrunner, to make SmokeHeart canon. She’s rather persistent in her efforts. Read more

A Duke Like No Other by Valerie Bowman

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A Duke Like No Other is the ninth book in Valerie Bowman’s Playful Brides series of Regency era historical romance novels. I was excited about the opportunity to read this book because I’ve read almost all of the other books in this series, and I have been looking forward to reading this one.

Mark Grimaldi is a career soldier who has worked with some of the heroes from previous books. As the story begins, Mark learns that he is being considered for a prestigious government position. His odds of being selected would improve if he were a family man. Fortunately for Mark, he is already married. Unfortunately for Mark, he has been estranged from his wife for almost a decade.

Nicole has spent the last ten years living in France. She’s not sure what to think when Mark arrives at her house, and asks her to return to England with him and pose as his wife. But there is something that she wants as well, so perhaps a bargain can be struck. Can they find peace together after so many years of strife, or is their bond irreparably broken? Read more

Lady Rogue by Theresa Romain

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Lady Rogue is the third book in Theresa Romain’s Regency-era Royal Rewards series. I was very excited about the opportunity to read this book because I enjoyed the second book in the series.

Callum Jenks, the hero of this book, played a minor role in the earlier books. He works as a Bow Street Runner, and he is summoned to the house of Isabel Morrow. He investigated her husband’s death a year ago, but now she needs help dealing with a different matter entirely.

Isabel’s husband was involved with art forgery, and she needs Callum’s help to keep this shameful secret from being revealed. Her proposition consists of a scheme of questionable legality- is it really a crime to replace forgeries with originals? If the truth about the late Mr. Morrow came out, it would ruin Isabella, as well as her young ward, who is poised to make her debut in Society. Read more

The Luck of the Bride by Janna MacGregor

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The Luck of the Bride is the third book in Janna MacGregor’s The Cavensham Heiresses series of Regency-era historical romance novels. I was very excited about the opportunity to read this book because I’ve read the other two books in the series, and I was looking forward to finding out what happens next in the series.

I usually point out that entries in a historical romance series function well as standalones and readers don’t have to read the earlier books before the current book. That is certainly true with The Luck of the Bride– however, given that the hero and heroine both appear in earlier books, one gains a fuller appreciation for the pairing by reading the earlier books.

March Lawson has been taking care of her three siblings for almost a decade, with very little help from their guardians. March has taken upon herself to procure the money they need to buy food and maintain the estate by forging the signature of the Marquess of McCalpin. She knows that it’s wrong, but she is only taking money out of Lawson accounts. She can’t access the money herself because she is a woman, and her brother- Viscount Lawson- can’t access the money either because he’s a child. Read more