#dragonbladepublishing

[bucolicbook]

Uncovering the Lord (Courting a Curious Lady, #1) by Lexi Post US pub date - 5/21/24

*second chance romance

*single father

*close proximity 

*virgin MFC

As I started reading this I kept finding myself wondering if it was part of an existing series - I had to check and was actually a little surprised that it’s the first of a series because early on (as well as throughout) I felt like I was missing pertinent information about the characters mentioned (***I found out halfway through my reading that while this is the first title of a new series, it’s also a spin-off to a series I have not read. Hence, my feeling lost in places). 

Quite possibly because this is a spin-off, and I was unfamiliar with characters, and past events, I found that I wasn’t able to ever connect with the story, invest in the characters, or really care much about the outcome. 

Also, it takes quite a while to get to the steam here and what there was was severely lacking, imho.  

Steam - ⭐️/5

My wish after reading this is to never ever read the term “groin sac” again. 

Thank you to Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC 

Uncovering the Lord (Courting a Curious Lady, #1) by Lexi Post

[bucolicbook]

Sinfully Wanton (The Five Deadly Sins, #5) by Kathleen Ayers 

US pub date - 5/24/24

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*MFC in love with her brother’s best friend 

*virgin MFC 

*she makes the first move 

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Though number five of a series I haven’t read, I didn’t feel lost in the slightest reading this (though the ending featured characters I haven’t yet read enough about to appreciate) and Aurora and Worth were fantastic mains whose story I  enjoyed. *I also really liked Aurora’s Aunt Lottie. 

A fun and quick read, I am planning to read more of this series. 

Thank you to Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC 

Sinfully Wanton (The Five Deadly Sins, #5) by Kathleen Ayers

[bucolicbook]

The Sapphire Heiress (The Silver Order, #1) by Ella Leon 

Pub date - 1/24/25

*likeable FMC

*pirates (retired pirates, not actively pirating) 

*supernatural 

*secret society 

Other readers may find more to like from this, but I found it too much tell and not enough show. 

Thank you to Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC

The Sapphire Heiress (The Silver Order, #1) by Ella Leon

[bucolicbook]

The Duke’s Only Desire (The Dukes of Darkness, #3) by Anna Harrington 

Pub date - 2/21/25

*second chance romance 

*Beauty and the Beast 

This one was mostly great - really good writing, likeable MC’s,  showed - didn’t tell, chemistry between the leads, kept my interest and kept me turning the pages. 

The second half didn’t enthrall me as much as the first half, but I still enjoyed this one. This was my first time reading Ms Harrington; I will absolutely read more of her work 🙂

Thank you to Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC

The Duke’s Only Desire (The Duke’s of Darkness, #3) by Anna Harrington

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The Lady Courts a Marquess (Ladies of Seduction, #2) by Jillian Eaton 

Pub date - 2/11/25

I enjoy a well done marriage in trouble trope and liked this one. 

*miscommunication 

*passion 

*they’re fighting or f**king 

*both MCs have demons 

I didn’t really get Jack’s character - I would have enjoyed more of an actual story for her. As it was, it just never made sense to me. 

I did like this otherwise and will read more of the author’s work.

Thank you to Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC

The Lady Courts a Marquess (Ladies of Seduction, #2) by Jillian Eaton

[bucolicbook]

The Lady’s Reckless Abandon (Safely in Scotland, #1) by Allison B. Hanson 

Pub date - 1/28/25

Not having read the author before, I took a chance on The Lady’s Reckless Abandon and I’m glad I did. 

*a ”ruined” lady 

*a Scottish duke

*close proximity 

*yearning 

*doubt 

*friends to lovers 

This was just what I required after a long week (umm, it’s Tuesday night but it’s felt really long. I appreciated the writing, and Finn was wonderful.

Despite seriously shaking my head at Lily’s utter dumbness and predictability (although honestly, there’s only so much you can do with a historical romance plot, imho) this was a fun story and I enjoyed my reading of this. 

I’ll definitely read more of Ms Hanson’s books and look forward to the next title in the series. 

Thank you to Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC

The Lady’s Reckless Abandon (Safely in Scotland, #1) by Allison B. Hanson

[bucolicbook]

A Marriage for the Marquess (Barrington’s Brigade, #1) by Ruth A. Casie 

Pub date - 1/25/25

I was looking forward to this one but found it to be all over the place, like it wasn’t fully sure of what it wanted to focus on. This definitely affected my reading enjoyment. 

I would read more by the author but this one wasn’t for me. 

Thank you to Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC

A Marriage for the Marquess (Barrington’s Brigade, #1) by Ruth A. Casie

[bucolicbook]

The Girl Made of Stars: A Novel by K.E. Le Veque 

Pub date - 1/29/25

Historical fiction of the early Golden Age of Hollywood with a fictionalized main character comprised of many female film stars of the time.

Accessible and easy to read - and once I reached part 2, I was hooked, and wanted to learn about what became of Lola Greyson, and her ambitions and dreams far beyond the limited scope of a Hollywood career. 

Joey’s story didn’t engage me as much as Lola’s, and the story suffers from implausibility in parts - regardless, I found this extremely readable and finished it within a day. 

Thank you to Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC 

The Girl Made of Stars: A Novel by K.E. Le Veque