Wonderful Start to a New Series! 'A Thieving at Carlton House' - Of Cloaks & Daggers 1 - by Erica Vetsch

 

About the book:

The Home Office has asked Sir Bertrand Thorndike to head an investigation into stolen royal jewels. And as with everything concerning the Prince Regent, discretion is paramount.

It's the perfect chance for Bertie to step out of his brother's long shadow. Unfortunately, his superior, the Duke of Haverly, has a plan that makes him balk. In order to sell his cover, Bertie must play the part of a man looking for love, ready to reform his rakish ways.

Philippa Cashel escaped a life as one of society's best-known courtesans and now devotes her time to helping other women in dire straits. Her hope is that laboring hard enough at her charity work will allow her to feel worthy of God's forgiveness of her past. So when Sir Bertrand Thorndike approaches her about becoming an agent of the Crown, she is skeptical. Why her? She's focused on getting her school for underprivileged women up and running, not on cloak-and-dagger skullduggery.

But when two of Philippa's rescued girls become targets, Philippa risks partnering with Bertie to find the loot and stop a killer.

My review:

This was a wonderful start to a new series but also such fun to see characters from past books and get caught up on their lives.  The combination of romance and investigation and suspense in the Regency period was fun and interesting.  Bertrand and Philippa themselves were fascinating characters as  Philippa's past makes her pretty unique as the heroine of a Regency and then you have Bertrand's years of spying and his public persona, not to be confused with his real one.  I loved how tough Philippa was and how she stood up for the fallen women she was trying to help.  It was wonderful to see how Bertrand started to slowly change as he used to hold himself aloof from most people and situations but he started to care and get invested in helping.  Philippa struggled with feeling unworthy because even though she repented she still felt like so much more of a sinner than other people.  There were some good conversations both about that and her bitterness towards her father and the importance of forgiveness.  I can't wait to see where this series takes us as we get to know Philippa and Bertrand better and see how he handles his new mission and whether Philippa will join him in it!  I highly recommend this book!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.  I was not compensated for this review.  All opinions are my own.

Enjoyable Addition to Heritage! 'Here With Me' - Home to Heritage 2 - by Mandy Boerma, Tari Farris & Susan May Warren

 

About the book:

He’s helping her stay. She’s making sure he can leave. This second chance at love in a small town will tug at your heart and make you believe in love all over again.

Love ignites in a last-chance hardware store, but will their hearts, like the failing family business, require a rescue?

She just wants a fresh start…

Inheriting her best friend’s daughter and a store on the brink of collapse, Sadie Hoover is determined to provide Lottie a stable life and keep the family business afloat. But her resolve is tested when the past walks in, wearing a tool belt and a smile that still weakens her knees.

Is he back to break her heart?

David Williams, once the love of Sadie’s life, returns to Heritage not as the missionary he was, but as a man in search of healing and purpose. Tasked with community service, he’s thrown into the daily grind of nuts and bolts, unaware that the hardware store’s troubles—and Sadie’s struggles—are more than just loose hinges and unpaid bills.

What will it cost her to fall for him again?

As they grapple with financial peril and the echoes of a love once lost, David and Sadie are forced to confront what they truly want. The store’s impending foreclosure looms over them, a testament to their joint past and the future they must shape.
If the store fails, they lose not just a legacy, but the second chance life has offered them. Can they rekindle their love while saving the heart of Heritage, or will their dreams rust away like forgotten tools?

Can love be rebuilt from the ruins of their shared history, or will the fight for survival drive the final wedge between them?

My review:

This was an enjoyable addition to the Heritage sphere of characters as we get to revisit this wonderful small town and reacquaint ourselves with past characters while getting to know Sadie, David and Lottie.  This is a second chance romance as Sadie and David dated seriously a decade ago but a misunderstanding split them up.  Now David's back and trying to figure out if God's still called him to Costa Rica or is he to follow a new plan?  Sadie's a widow, taking on her family's hardware store but realizing too late how much trouble it's in, all while raising her step-daughter and going through the process of adopting her.  That's a lot for anyone and she's used to taking care of everything herself because she can't really trust anyone to help, including God.  She'll decide the plan and then ask God to bless it.  David feels like he knows the plan but for some reason it's not coming together like it should, so he needs to try harder.  They were both very stubborn people, which was frustrating at times, as it seemed like they should have learned by now.  David kept making the same mistakes and was sure he was meant to go back to Costa Rica but hadn't asked God about it. Sadie was too scared to trust him again and then when she started to, her worst fears seemed to be realized.  What they had was a failure to communicate!  David had a lot of good people in his life giving him great advice and it shows how important it is to listen to wise counsel.  Sadie, too, had her family in her corner and the story and this town of Heritage really shows the importance of community and supporting each other.  It also showed the importance of forgiveness and following God daily and being open to whatever His plans may be for you.  The romance was satisfyingly sweet and you should enjoy this story if you like romance.  

I received a free kindle copy of this book from the authors.  I was not compensated for this review.  All opinions are my own.