Lady Appleby’s Gorgeous Imposter
Cerise DeLand
Historical Regency

He’s the last man Viv wants to see.
Vivienne de Massé goes to Paris impersonating her oldest sister, the infamous Drury Lane actress, Charmaine Massey. Viv has a reason…and a plan to avenge the capture and death of their other sister during the Terror. Only one man can stop her.

Tate Cantrell is the only man who sees right through her.
Tate Cantrell bursts into her dressing room one night in Paris and calls Viv’s bluff. He reminds Viv she plays a role—and a dangerous game she cannot win alone.

He declares she needs him. She always has. Indeed, he’s spent the last decade helping the émigré Massé family—and falling in love with charming Viv. Now the Earl of Appleby, Tate works as a spy for Scarlett Hawthorne’s network on the Continent. He alone has the means and the connections to help her….if she’ll let him.

Uncaged Review: During the French-England wars, Vivienne and her family have to escape one night, as they had been living in France for several years, but now the French were rounding up the English and sending them to prisons or the guillotine. In the carriage making their escape, a mob attacks the carriage and pulls out Diane, Vivienne’s younger sister and pulls her away, and a friend of the family, Tate, jumps out and tries to get to her, but she is taken away. All left in the getaway, is Vivi, her mother, her horrible older half sister Charmaine and Tate. Fast forward and Vivienne has felt guilt for years, for not jumping out to help Diane, and now back in France, during some peaceful times, she poses as Charmaine, who had made a name for herself on the stage, and she pulls it off until Tate. Determined on finding out what happened to Diane, she eventually begrudgingly accepts help from Tate, who is now a grown man and a spy with a lot of connections, also a man she’s loved since childhood.

There is a lot of secrets to be revealed, plenty of danger and action and this is a different type of historical that really had me glued to the pages, wanting to know how it all came together. This spy series easily keeps you on the edge of your seat and the revelations will surprise you. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

The Honor of an Heir
Linda Rae Sande
Historical Regency

They swore never to marry. But will the right suitors melt their hearts?

Fiercely independent and daughters of a wealthy countess, twins Dahlia and Diana have no desire to husband-hunt, despite their mother’s pleas. But when the ghost of their late father makes an appearance, he takes it upon himself to guide the girls into marriage – even if his presence will scare off potential suitors.

Caught cheating in one of their university courses, twin brothers Anthony and Andrew’s dreams of a Grand Tour are shattered when their father pulls the plug on their allowances. They had hoped to put marriage off as long as possible – but with their father withholding their allowances until they are wed, they have no choice but to face the daunting task of a lifelong commitment. There’s only one problem – although one of the brothers wants to marry, the other feels as if he‘s being forced to wed for money.

Brought crashing together by fate and aided by the girls’ late father, both pairs of twins must learn to see through their differences and get along. But marriage is no easy decision, and it will take more than a miracle to convince these sisters to tie the knot.

Are the twins a match made in Heaven? Or will the girls’ independence and the brothers’ lack of a fortune serve to drive them apart?

Uncaged Review: Two young women and twin sisters, Davy and Danielle, were arguing about making love. When Davy and Danielle’s mother, Clarinda, hears them arguing, she decides to calm them both and set them straight, but who shows up? It’s the ghost of their father who wants to help too. Clarinda wanted Davy and Danielle to get married, but neither girl seemed to be keen on that. Meanwhile, at Cambridge University, Andrew Comber spare heir to the Aimsley earldom and Anthony, his twin brother and Viscount Breckinridge are attempting to get Andrew out of deep trouble. Andrew has no choice but to go home and explain himself to his parents. Andrew plans to get Danielle to honor the betrothal from when they were children to keep him out of debt. While Anthony will get Davy to agree with marriage. Will the ghost help them both find happiness and marriage or not?

I really enjoyed reading this historical regency story! It might have had two love stories, but there was some crazy mayhem, a meddling wise-cracking ghost and parents that were just trying to steer their children to fall in love. It’s amazing how Ms. Linda Rae Sande kept everything distinct, making for a nice, easy, relaxing read that kept me laughing along with all the characters and how everyone was so different. Danielle, Davy, Andrew and Anthony might be twins, yet they were unique in their own way. Even the added element of the ghost didn’t really creep me out because he just wanted everyone to be happy. Who wouldn’t want that? Do I want to read more about Ms. Sande’s stories? Well, of course, I do, because not only are her tales highly entertaining, but they are just comedic gold and wonderful books even though they aren’t real, they are definitely so extremely satisfying, making me smile and laugh. Reviewed by Roslynn Ernst

4.5 Stars

The Duchess Heist
Marisa Dillon
Historical Romance

What is the cost of a nude painting from the Royal Academy of Art?

That depends on who you ask.

Possible ruination… for Lady Lillias St. Clair, the daughter of a gambling addicted duke, when she discovers a partially completed portrait of herself reveals her identity and much more. But before she concocts a scheme to steal it from the prestigious academy, the artwork goes missing.

Perhaps salvation… for Lord William Cavendish, who hides his dark past behind a cavalier air and his good deeds. Yet, to earn true redemption and raise funds in time for a grand gesture, he must enter an International art contest with a scandalous pose of an unknown figure model, which turns out to be the daughter of the duke who stands between William and his dreams.

Worth dueling over? Both families have fought a generations-long feud between them. So when a fake engagement presents a chance to recover the missing nude portrait, Lillias and William agree the ruse may prevent a scandal.

When reputations are at stake, and a nude painting hangs in the balance, the cost could be too high until they find what Shakespeare once wrote to be true, ‘love’s not time’s fool.’

Uncaged Review: Lillias has taken to being a model, in the buff for pay. Her face is hidden by a mask to keep her identity a secret from society, but with her father’s debts after her mother passes away, the only way to keep her two younger sisters in society to make them a match, she poses for art students. But one student may know who she is, and once she gets a glimpse of the portrait he’s painted, intending to enter it into a contest, Lillias and her sister Verity feel the only thing they can do is steal it.

William is desperately wanting to win the competition, to help pay for a school for boys that are impoverished. He can’t get the model out of his mind, and he seems to run into her often. When the painting goes missing, he will join forces with Lillia to find the painting.

There is a lot of great banter among the sisters and between William and his friend Nigel. I actually laughed out loud at some of the antics. But the revelations at the end were not what I was expecting and this is a fun and different historical.
Reviewed by Cyrene

4.5 Stars

One Night in Vauxhall Gardens
Sandra Sookoo
Historical Romance

There are times when being broken isn’t the hinderance one has always assumed. It’s a strength.

Harold—Harry—Briggs, Earl of Hedgecomb, is one of the last members of the Rogue’s Arcade who remains a bachelor. Coming home from the war not quite right in the mind has meant he’s consigned himself to being alone, until one unforgettable night in Vauxhall Gardens where he meets a woman who quickly sends his life upside down. The fly in the ointment is the fact she’s off limits since she’s the sister of a fellow club member.

Lady Theresa Bollinger—sister to the Earl of St. Vincent—is thirty and unmatched. One horrible and quite secret incident in her past has made her wary of getting close men, but she still hopes for romance. During an outing to a night circus in Vauxhall Gardens, she wanders into the dark section of the area, alone with her thoughts, but when she comes upon one of her brother’s friends in a vulnerable state, she takes control of her fate by unashamedly stealing a kiss from him as a distraction.

Heated attraction and desire collide as they chase scandal in the dark. Afterward, an engagement is demanded by her brother, and further proximity between them is forced. When a villainess declares war against the Rogue’s Arcade by having two club members kidnapped and left for dead, life narrows and everything comes into sharp relief. As time—and circumstances—race against them, Harry and Theresa will need to dig deep for bravery and strength, else everything they hold dear will be lost.

Uncaged Review: Harold “Harry” Briggs, Earl of Hedgecomb, military man and hero, entered the Rogue’s Arcade Club and noticed something was irrevocably wrong. Harry noticed blood on the Earl of St. Vincent’s clothing. Harry questions who was shot, and it turned out to be the Duke of Edenthorpe, the head of the Rogue’s Arcade and one of Harry’s dearest friends. When Harry and the Earl of St. Vincent goes to Vauxhall Gardens. Harry escorts Lady Theresa Bollinger, the earl’s sister, there. Harry unfortunately suffers a debilitating nightmare that takes him back to the war, making him crouch down and unmovable. When Theresa comes upon Harry, she decides to help him and the only thing she can think of is to kiss him. Pretty soon, the kiss turns heated. Theresa and Harry are caught by her brother St. Vincent. In order to save her reputation, a marriage is planned, but neither of them want it or do they?

This is definitely an exciting, action-packed historical from start to finish. It does start grimly with a mystery, and someone being shot and a group of noblemen who are also part of a secret society known as the Rogue’s Arcade. So, even though I am reading the next to the last book in the series, I still didn’t have any trouble following the storyline. Even if you read this book you don’t have to read the others just to understand what is going on. I did wonder if the Earl of St. Vincent survived though. That was kind of brushed upon, but I am assuming that he did live. It just wasn’t really clear either. I really loved Theresa and Harry together because they were so good together. This book does have a few triggers, from rape to PTSD, which could be a bit much for some, but I still loved the tale and think Ms. Sandra Sookoo wrote sensitively with a lot of perception of both subjects, really all material, compassionately and with great care. I did want to know the creation of the club and will start the series just so I will understand more about them.
Reviewed by Roslynn Ernst

4.5 Stars