Wagering for Miss Blake was written by Callie Hutton, and is the fourth book in her Lords & Ladies in Love series of Regency-era historical romance novels. I haven’t read any of Hutton’s other books, but I am always excited to discover new authors.

Giles is instantly smitten the moment he meets Suzanna, but she informs him that he can’t marry him because she can only consider men with titles. Giles, the third son of an earl, is so smitten that he isn’t particularly offended by this rather mercenary declaration, and he soon discovers that this is her parents’ rule, not necessarily what she wants. Giles, ever the optimist, bets Suzanna that he can make her fall in love with him.

Suzanna feels torn between her feelings and her parents’ wishes. Giles is the first man she has ever felt a connection with, but she knows how important it is to her parents that marry a man with a title. She tries to avoid him, but he is rather persistent in his attempt to persuade her to change her mind about him.

I found myself feeling sorry for Suzanna. It’s clear that her mother is overbearing, and the ironic part is that Suzanna’s father is not titled, so that makes her mother somewhat hypocritical for insisting that Suzanna rule out any non-titled suitors. Giles, for what it’s worth, is a very patient soul. He knows that he can reveal information that would necessitate a marriage, but he chooses to win his wager fairly.

There is, a Big Misunderstanding to create conflict, but it could have been solved quite easily with a simple conversation. I thought the way in which Suzanna handled the resolution was unfair, considering that she created the problem in the first place.

I would recommend Wagering for Miss Blake. This story was cute enough, and it’s fairly light in tone. There is plenty of cute banter, and Giles is a sweetheart. I’m looking forward to reading more of Hutton’s books in the future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

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

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 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.