Grace Burrowes

This was a delightful first book in a new series by this author. Finn Cathcart is an amazingly talented sculptor, who has made a name (and fortune) for himself on the continent and in England. He’s also handsome, self-confident, and self-reliant – and has no use whatsoever for anyone in the aristocracy – except to take their money, of course. He loathes anything to do with the Huntley dukedom and would love to see it revert to the crown and cease to exist. No skin off his teeth. Except, he isn’t a bad heir and can change his mind when a small, helpless, young child (Emily) is adversely affected. It seems that the ‘finder’ they have sent to find Finn finally learns that weakness and uses it to get him to accept the honors.

Finn is Finn and doesn’t intend to be anyone or anything else. The current duchess, his Aunt Edwardia, can fall into a hole and never find her way out as far as he is concerned. She is to blame for the death of his baby sister, his mother, and him finding himself on the streets at the age of 8, totally alone to fend for himself. He cannot allow the dukedom to cause hurt to another small child.

Breaking all rules of protocol and manners, Finn arrives at the home of Wilhelmina (Willie/Mina) to introduce himself to the widow of his cousin. His cousin was the heir until he did stupid things and got himself killed. Mina was to be the next duchess, but now – what will happen to her? What will happen to Emily?

Finn and Mina are attracted to each other from the first. I loved how very honest and straightforward they were with each other. No prevarications – no “He/She won’t love me anymore if they learn xxxxx”. Nope, it was so wonderfully refreshing to see such honesty and straightforward love for each other. Even when the always-required third-act “event” happened, there was no doubt. No thinking ill of the other. Each had absolute confidence in the other. Gosh, I loved that part!

As with most of this author’s books, we get cameo appearances of characters from other series. In this case, it was Westhaven, Anselm, and the wine merchant – Fournier. We even got an honorable mention for The Duke of Moreland. Yep – love all of those visits. I thoroughly enjoyed Emily who was NOT the normally required brattish child. She was lovely and sweet-natured and very insecure because she had lost her father and her doting uncle all within a very short period. Finn picked up on that and carved her some lovely playmates – Draco the dragon and the Ursulas (Major and Minor) who are bears and are featured throughout the book.

I can recommend this book if you love a wonderful, love story with strong characters who know their minds. I would love to have a peek at Finn and Mina ten or fifteen years down the road because I absolutely know he will be a formidable duke and their love story will be held up to all on the marriage mart as an example of how things should be. Happy Reading!… (altro)

I absolutely love this series. It has a unique premise in that the protagonist has come home from the Napoleonic wars as a very broken man – mentally and physically. He holed himself up in a darkened house for almost a year after his return. He was taken prisoner and tortured by the French and somehow managed to escape but wandered injured and helpless through the Pyrenees until he reached friendly territory. His hair has turned pure white, his eyesight is poor and cannot tolerate bright light, he is emaciated, and . . . worst of all . . . his fellow citizens have branded him a traitor and accused him of leaving his older brother to die in the prison camp. He is not a traitor – but the rumors persist nevertheless. I believe that you should read the whole series, in order, so you get and follow the entire background of the characters and their relationships.

Lord Julian, who has solved several mysteries lately, has been summoned to the estate of Osgood Banter to solve the disappearance of a large, prized, foxhound named Thales. Yes, we have the case of the Purloined Puppy. However, when he arrives at the estate and meets all the players, Lord Julian realizes there is much more to solve than a missing canine. Tensions are high – both on the estate and in the surrounding village. It seems the dog’s owner is not greatly esteemed by any of the residents – at home or in the village. So, if Thales's owner – Anaximander (Nax) Silforth (I know, it is a mouthful, right?) is so disliked by everyone, why is Osgood Banter leaving Nax in total charge of his vast, wealthy estate while he travels the continent? Hmmmm – you will just need to read the story to see, but it is a doozie!

In this book, we have a bit less page time with Arthur, the Duke of Waltham (Julian’s brother), Hyperia (Perry) West (Julian’s love interest), Lady Ophelia (Julian’s Godmother), and Atticus, Julian’s pint-sized outspoken Tiger. They were there but just didn’t have a lot of page time. I really love it when Julian and Perry are bouncing thoughts and ideas off each other.

Trigger warnings – the Duke of Waltham and Osgood Banter are male lovers. I love their relationship as it is longstanding, true, mature, and thoughtful – and that is what is focused on. I also love that the author depicts what a same-gender couple had to deal with during that time rather than writing like it was all buttercups, unicorns, and roses with everyone accepting and celebrating the relationship. Being in a same-gender relationship during that time often got you hanged, but if it didn’t, you were socially ostracized by all levels of society. This author shows that without being preachy about it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and all of the others in the series. I am already anxiously awaiting the next book, A Gentleman In Search of A Wife . Happy Reading!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.… (altro)

I loved the first book in this series so much that I was really fearful this book couldn’t live up to it. WRONG! This was an intriguing mystery filled with enough twists and turns to make it interesting. Couple that with just the right number of suspects and clues and – well, you’ve got another great entry into the series. I love seeing Julian grow and begin to come to grips with the outer and inner wounds from his captivity during the recent war. As you read the books, you can’t help but come to admire Julian for his strength of character, fortitude, self-deprecating sense of humor, and resilience. And – add to that – he’s becoming a great sleuth.

Julian has avoided the family seat as much as possible since his return from French captivity – mostly because, for him, it is haunted by his brother Harry. However, when he is summoned by his brother Arthur, the Duke of Waltham, he goes. It seems Lady Clarissa Valmond has set her cap for Arthur and he’s running scared. Lady Clarissa is one of the most exasperating and annoying females to ever be – but, is there more to her than meets the eye? What about her missing brother? Where are her parents – shouldn’t they be involved in helping to find her missing brother? Oh! My!

As readers, we made a pact with Julian to follow him through the events that unfolded during the story and to solve the mystery with him. That turned out to be an entertaining journey because the plot had plenty of twists and turns to keep us wondering and the surprising resolution bloomed before our eyes. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am already anxiously awaiting the next book in the series. I love Julian, but I also love the supporting cast members such as Hyperia (slow-burn romance there I hope), Lady Ophelia (Julian’s Godmother), and Arthur (Julian’s brother, the duke).

If you are looking for a great mystery with a wonderful cast of characters, then give this one a try. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.… (altro)