Are you a Bridgerton fan and looking for what can feel your craving for Regency romance? Check out these two novels.
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Love Letters by the Sea by Erica Ridley
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| April 2022; WebMotion; 9781954764019 ebook (204 pages); Regency romance |
Mrs. Deborah Cartwright answers advice columns and runs Siren's Retreat, helping people find their match. She certainly has no time for love herself, not when someone is trying to take the inn from her. Career-minded Patrick Gretham is working for a lord determined to take the property and turn it into a gambling hell, which Deborah has no intention of allowing.
This is the fourth novella in the Sirens Retreat Quartet, all Regency romances set in the Brighton inn; two are written by Erica Ridley and two by Grace Burrowes. While we see glimpses of other characters, this is firmly Deborah's story. Her pen pal situation started when helping the vicar's wife answer letters, and grew to be a personal joy aside from watching matchmaking happen at her inn. Patrick, in the meantime, is steadfast and patient; everyone else in the Earl of Edgewick's employ ran screaming or quit in anger after months at most, but he lasted nearly five years. The Earl was ruthless and cared only for his own financial status. With an incentive like getting a percentage of the profits, of course, Patrick would try to buy the inn on the Earl's behalf.
Buy Love Letters by the Sea at Amazon
Rules for Engaging the Earl by Janna MacGregor
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| April 2022; St. Martin's; 978-1250761613 audio, ebook, print (384 pages); Regency romance |
Constance Lysander is about to give birth to her late husband's child, and Society feels she should have a man with her. She has an aunt and the friends she made out of her late husband's other wives, and a business to run. Jonathan, Earl of Sykeson, is a childhood friend whose reentry into Society is rough due to injuries from the war. A marriage of convenience will help them both, but it soon enough seems like much more than convenience.
Rules for Engaging the Earl is the second book of the Widow Rules series, taking place after Duke in Time (read my review). That's the book where the three women Meri married met and discovered the bigamy. In this novel, we start with the arrangement soon after Aurelia is born, then there's a time skip of a year after Jonathan retreated to his country estate in humiliation. His butler intervened, ultimately asking Constance to arrive via letters he wrote in Jonathan's stead. His senior staff are all in on it and hope that Constance and Aurelia will draw him out of his self-imposed isolation. There are many humorous moments, especially surrounding the mastiff that servants can't stand, which ultimately showcases Constance at her tender-hearted best. Of course, the two are well suited and soon fall in love.
What stops the immediate happiness is Jonathan feeling sorry for himself, the lord that was threatening him (and coincidentally Constance) and the belief both had that they had to rely on themselves for everything. It all comes to a head, and in the fallout, both realize what is truly important to them and go after it. We have our happily ever after, and justice for the wrongs done.
Buy Rules for Engaging the Earl at Amazon
Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.
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