Review: Every Rogue Has His Charm by Susanna Craig

Every Rogue Has His Charm by Susanna Craig
Series: Love and Let Spy, Book 4
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Genre: Historical Romance 

ISBN: 9781516111312
Source: Publisher/Purchased by Reviewer
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Love, intrigue, and a fresh spin on historical romance make a sexy and suspenseful mix in the latest novel in Susanna Craig’s Regency-set series—as the wife one man left behind becomes the woman he can’t live without…

Caroline, Marchioness of Chesleigh, has been married for six years—at least in name. In fact, Caro has hardly seen her husband since the early days of their union. Scarred and reclusive, Maxim wasn’t ready to trust his wife with his secrets—or his heart. Instead, he quickly resumed his life of espionage in France, believing Caro was better off alone.

When the spy who left her returns upon inheriting the Dukedom, he finds his wife is not the girl she once was. Her heart is a little harder. She’s learned to stand on her own. Yet the desire that once ignited between them burns as hotly as ever…

Now, the more Caro learns about the past Maxim tried to hide from her, the deeper their bond grows. But danger haunts her husband’s every move, jeopardizing their passionate reunion…

I adore a good second chance romance and Every Rogue Has His Charm is a wonderful one. Susanna Craig wraps up her Love and Let Spy series with an utterly engrossing love story.

An innocent mistake, a locked library, and a marriage to save a lady’s reputation – that’s how Caroline ended up wed to the mysterious Marquess of Chesleigh. Married to a stranger, Caro discovers it’s actually quite easy to grow fond of her dark and dangerous husband. But when Maxim up and leaves four days after their wedding, Caro is left on her own. Six years later she’s in Brighton when who turns up at her door but her husband! Caro is determined not to fall for Maxim again, but that’s easier said than done when the flame that burned brightly between them never went out.

Caro is bright, smart, and independent. She didn’t wither with all the whispers when her husband abandoned her. She created her own life, though it is a bit lonely. Maxim, a spy embedded in France, has returned to England to share critical intelligence. Except he keeps getting distracted by his wife. The wife he abandoned because he was terrified of opening his heart to her. Maxim screwed up badly with Caro but he wants to make it up to her. I loved watching them both come out of their shells. They are so sweet together it brought a smile on my face. They’re the type of couple who just match each other perfectly and I was easily lost in their romance.

Craig gives readers a two-for-one in this book as widowed Fanny Drummond also gets her chance at love in this book. Fanny has long been part of the Underground but when finally tasked with a mission she seizes the opportunity – and finds love along the way. Like Caro and Maxim, Fanny has been hiding her true self and she comes into her own in this story. I enjoyed her journey almost as much as I did Caro and Maxim’s.

Every Rogue Has His Charm has danger, intrigue and a lovely romance with a hero and heroine who are easy to root for. I adored this book from beginning to end. If you’re new to the Love and Let Spy series, you can easily jump in here. And if you’re a fan, then the epilogue featuring the matchmaking General Scott is sure to put a smile on your face. I loved Maxim and Caro’s story and I can’t wait to read it again!



FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I also purchased a copy of this book. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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Review: One Thing Leads to a Lover by Susanna Craig

One Thing Leads to a Lover by Susanna Craig
Series: Love and Let Spy, Book 2
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Genre: Historical Romance 

ISBN: 9781516110605
Release Date: April 6, 2021
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Audible

Amanda Bartlett, widowed Countess of Kingston, is a woman beyond reproach. Married at nineteen, she dutifully provided the Earl with an heir and a spare before his death three years ago. Since then, Amanda has lived a simple, quiet life. A life that, if she were honest, has become more than a trifle dull. So when an adventure literally drops into her lap, in the shape of a mysterious book, she intends to make the most of it—especially if it brings her closer to a charismatic stranger…

Major Langley Stanhope, an intelligence officer and master mimic known as the Magpie, needs to retrieve the code book that has fallen into Amanda’s hands. The mistaken delivery has put them both in grave danger and in a desperate race to unearth a traitor. It’s also stirred an intense, reckless attraction. Langley believes the life he leads is not suitable for a delicate widow, but it seems he may have underestimated the lady’s daring…and the depths of their mutual desire…

A widowed countess’s dull life gets a lot more exciting in One Thing Leads to a Lover. Amanda Bartlett, Countess of Kingston, has always done her duty, acted the perfect lady, and never put one toe out of line. Then a mysterious French cookbook winds up in her possession instead of the geometry book she had purchased and her life is upended. For the book in question is a codebook both the French and the English would kill to get their hands on. Enter Major Langley Stanhope, known by his fellow spies as the Magpie. Langley needs to get his hands on the book, but what should have been a simple exchange gets a lot more complicated. Langley fears Amanda and family are now in danger, but if he expects the well-bred lady to simply idly stand by, he’s in for a shock.

One Thing Leads to a Lover is a fun and engaging read, thanks to author Susanna Craig’s delightful storytelling. Amanda and Langley are both incredibly likeable characters who are at a crossroads in their lives. Amanda loves her sons and her mother, but her life is beginning to feel suffocating. She takes charge of her life and I loved watching her break out of the rut she’s in. She’s a kind and caring person; definitely the kind of character you’d like to be friends with, were she real. Langley is a master mimic, but only Amanda sees the true man. An orphan taken in from the streets and raised to be a gifted spy, Langley has an interesting backstory that I loved diving into. He also is haunted by a mistake he made and I definitely wanted him to find peace. Langley fits right into Amanda’s family and I adored watching him with her sons. Separately and together, Amanda and Langley are endearing and I was rooting for them every step of the way. Their chemistry is fantastic and their romance made me smile. They made an excellent team as they worked together to catch a traitor and get the codebook before it could fall into enemy hands. I felt like the pages of this book flew by and I hated whenever I had to put it down.

One Thing Leads to a Lover is the second book in the Love and Let Spy series but it can easily be read as a standalone. The series is tied together by the matchmaking General Scott who is determined to help his agents find love. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed both books in this series so far and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next Love and Let Spy novel!



FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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Review: Who’s That Earl by Susanna Craig

Who’s That Earl by Susanna Craig
Series: Love and Let Spy, Book 1
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Genre: Historical Romance

ISBN: 9781516110582
Release Date: August 18, 2020
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Will scandalous secrets stand in the way of a second chance at love?

Miss Jane Quayle excels at invention. How else could the sheltered daughter of an English gentleman create lurid gothic novels so infamous someone wants their author silenced forever? Fortunately, Jane has taken steps to protect herself, first by assuming a pen name, and second, by taking up residence at remote Dunnock Castle, surrounded by rugged scenery that might have been ripped from the pages of one of her books. Her true identity remains a secret, until one dark and stormy night…

After years of spying for the British army, Thomas Sutherland doubts the Highlands will ever feel like home again. Nevertheless, thanks to a quirk of Scottish inheritance law, he’s now the Earl of Magnus, complete with a crumbling castle currently inhabited by a notorious novelist. When the writer turns out to be the woman Thomas once wooed, suspicions rise even as mutual sparks reignite. As danger closes in, can Jane and Thomas overcome their pasts to forge a future together?

Susanna Craig starts her Love and Let Spy series on a high note. Who’s That Earl is a lot of fun to read and Jane and Thomas were easy characters to root for.

After being cast out by her family, Jane has become a famous and wealthy author of gothic novels. Only she writes under a pen name Robin Ratliff and rents a remote Scottish castle, all the better to protect her true identity. That doesn’t stop danger from appearing on her doorstep in the form of threats from someone angered by her lurid novels. Assistance and protection comes in the form of Thomas Sutherland, the man she once fell for as a young woman. Like her, Thomas has changed in the years since their blossoming romance was crushed. The British spy has inherited an earldom thanks to a quirk of Scottish law and the mantle of the earldom sits ill on his shoulders. Both have secrets and each of them is suspicious yet still attracted to the other.

Jane and Thomas’s romance is, in a word, entertaining. They are likeable characters with pasts that have shaped them into interesting protagonists. I particularly enjoyed that Jane was a writer of salacious gothic tales. Her writing was such fun to read about and the way she has embraced her career and freedom made her an engaging heroine. The banter between Jane and Thomas was fun and made Who’s That Earl move at a quick clip. I also enjoyed watching Thomas learn to accept the curveball life has thrown at him. The mystery of who wants to harm Robin Ratliff was a good way to keep Thomas and Jane together at the beginning, but on its own it was just a so-so plotline. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed Who’s That Earl. The atmosphere was fantastic, the romance entertaining, and I finished the book looking forward to the next Love and Let Spy story.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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Review: Lord Bredon and the Bachelor’s Bible by Mia Marlowe

Lord Bredon and the Bachelor’s Bible by Mia Marlowe
Series: The House of Lovell, Book 2
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Genre: Historical Romance

ISBN: 9781516106639
Release Date: April 30, 2019
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

With the dowries of all the season’s debutantes exposed in its scandalous pages, The Bachelor’s Bible is a handy tool for an earl in need of an heiress…

Edward Lovell, newly minted earl, bears a weighty responsibility: to restore his family’s estate to its former grandeur. The task requires not simply a wife, but a wealthy one. Thanks to The Bachelor’s Bible, he already has a particular lady in mind. He has only to convince her sponsor that he will make a suitable husband. There’s just one complication: the sponsor is none other than the only woman he’s ever loved—and inexplicably lost. Now a young widow, Lady Anne Howard is more beautiful than ever…

Anne is not about to be taken for a fool a second time. When they last met, Edward was Lord Bredon, the man she adored—the man who destroyed her dreams of a happy future. Now he is pursuing the hand of the young lady Anne must keep safe from unscrupulous suitors. But who will protect Anne from the earl who still possesses her heart?…

Lord Bredon and the Bachelor’s Bible is a charming second chance romance with likeable characters and a satisfying happily ever after. In the wake of his father’s death, Edward Lovell, Earl of Chatham, is in need of funds in order to save his estates. Edward is an honorable man who feels the weight of responsibility toward those who depend on him, which is why it’s easy to swallow his decision to marry for money. When he discovers a guide to the wealthiest debutantes of the season, it seems a sign. All Edward has to do is marry Martha Finch and his problems will be solved. It’s a practical decision and given his title and looks it shouldn’t be too difficult to secure the lady’s hand. There is just one problem: Martha’s sponsor is Lady Anne Howard, the woman Edward once loved and lost. Like Edward, Anne is a sympathetic protagonist. She has suffered heartbreaking loss and an unhappy marriage; widowhood is freedom and she isn’t looking to give that up.

The connection between Anne and Edward is positively electric and it’s clear they’re made for each other, which made it easy enough to root for their happily ever after. But Edward’s duty to his title and the financial strain that goes with it isn’t a simple obstacle to overcome. I enjoyed seeing the push-pull both feel between duty and desire. With Anne and Edward so often finding themselves at an impasse, the story did sometimes slow down, but I wasn’t overly bothered by this and read the book in one sitting. There was an interesting mystery thrown in near the end of the story and the bulk of the action in the book takes place in the last quarter. I do wish the intensity had been turned up on the suspense plotline and woven more through the book, but I did like the way multiple plotlines converged at the book’s climax. There was also an interesting reveal in the story (one I can’t reveal without spoiling the book), but nothing came of it, which was a pity because it would have been interesting to see Edward’s reaction.

Lord Bredon and the Bachelor’s Bible is the second book in Mia Marlowe’s House of Lovell series. You don’t have to have read The Singular Mr. Sinclair in order to follow along, so long as you don’t mind some minor spoilers. As a fan of the first book, I was delighted to revisit Caroline and Lawrence and I’m sure readers new to the Lovell family will enjoy their scenes as well. Overall I liked Lord Bredon and the Bachelor’s Bible quite a bit, but I will admit that two days after finishing the book neither the story nor the characters stand out in my mind. Still, it’s an enjoyable story to pass the hours with and I do hope Ms. Marlowe continues the House of Lovell series because I’d love to read Ben Lovell’s book.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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Review: The Singular Mr. Sinclair by Mia Marlowe

The Singular Mr. Sinclair by Mia Marlowe
Series: The House of Lovell, Book 1
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Genre: Historical Romance

ISBN: 9781516105977
Release Date: July 17, 2018
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N

Lord and Lady Chatham were blessed with five sons and only one daughter. But when it comes to Caroline, one is more than enough…

Caroline is about to embark on her third Season and her parents fear she’ll be permanently on the shelf if she fails to make a match this time. Unfortunately for them, that is precisely what Caroline wants! Curious and adventuresome, Caroline longs for a life of travel, excitement, and perhaps even a touch of danger…

If only she can remain unmarried until she turns twenty-one, Caroline will inherit her grandmother’s bequest and gain her freedom. It’s not a staggering amount, but it’s enough to fund her dreams without a husband’s permission. She has her future all planned out—until Lawrence Sinclair appears on the scene…

Intense, intriguing, and handsome, the man reminds Caroline of a caged lion. In fact, the more she knows of him, the more questions she has. And when she learns how dangerous he really is, he may just become her new fascination—the one she can’t resist…

The Singular Mr. Sinclair is a true delight to read! Reformed rakes and silver-tongued rogues make for fine heroes, but there’s something about a slightly awkward hero that just grabs my heart. Lawrence charmed me from the start and made me smile. He isn’t a dashing duke, but rather a self-made man whose position as heir to an earldom is tenuous at best. He’s not someone most ladies would fawn over because he’s not suave or witty, but they’d be missing out because he’s a smart, honorable, kind, loyal, and strong man. He’s also unabashedly head-over-heels for Caroline from the very start and that just made me melt.

Caroline may have grown up in the heart of the ton, but she longs for a life much different than the one laid out for her. She’s determined to see the world and she’ll even flirt with an unsuitable gentleman if it undermines her parents’ plans to marry her off before she comes into her inheritance and can take off on her own. The one thing Caroline never planned for was Lawrence. He needs her help if he’s to fit into society, but there’s something about her brother’s friend that knocks her just slightly off-kilter and she senses that there’s more to him than meets the eye.

The Singular Mr. Sinclair has a slightly slow pace, but I was charmed enough by the characters that I didn’t mind. Caroline and Lawrence’s romance develops organically and there are just enough obstacles that I was curious to see how they would ultimately end up together. Caroline and Lawrence would be enough to make this a satisfying read, but the addition of Caroline’s brothers filled out this story nicely and made me look forward to more House of Lovell books. The Singular Mr. Sinclair was a joy to read and by the time I finished the book I was excited to read more of Mia Marlowe’s work.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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Review: Trifling Favors by Heather Hiestand

Trifling Favors by Heather Hiestand
Series: Redcakes, Book 7
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Genre: Historical Romance

ISBN: 9781616507978
Release Date: March 15, 2016
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N

The sweetest treat is a kiss…

Greggory Redcake’s plate is full. Widowed young and left with two small children, the manager of the Kensington location of the illustrious tea shop is besieged on all sides between the bakery and family matters. If only his remarkably efficient shop assistant, Betsy Popham, could manage his home life, too! But Greggory can’t linger on thoughts of Betsy’s fetching smile when a dead body is discovered in the bakery…

Betsy has no time for romance, not even with the delectable Mr. Redcake, whose kisses are all too unforgettable. Haunted by a specter from her family’s past, Betsy is terrified that the man blackmailing her has turned to deadly violence. Yet the only way to save her position--and possibly her life--is to accept Greggory’s help as their delicious attraction sweetens into the tantalizing promise of true love…

Trifling Favors is a story I wanted to like far more than I did, which makes it a bit difficult for me to review. Hardworking Betsy Popham has been an interesting secondary character in the Redcakes series and I was excited that she finally got a book of her own. I loved learning more about Betsy and my heart broke for her more than once over the course of the story. She’s the daughter of a convicted killer and has lived her life with that hanging over her head. Not only that, she’s been blackmailed, used, stolen from, and disappointed by love. Through it all, Betsy has remained a determined, hardworking woman who keeps her head held high even when life throws yet another curveball at her. In other words, she’s the perfect example of a strong heroine who you want to see find love with a hero who will appreciate all that she is.

What Betsy gets is Greggory Redcake, who – though likeable on his own – is lackluster as a romantic hero. Greggory is a widower with two babies and a teashop he and Betsy have worked hard to make a success. I was looking forward to seeing them fall in love and work together, but ultimately the romance never rang true for me. Greggory was certainly attracted to Betsy, but his “love” for Betsy felt more like lust mixed with wanting her organizational skills to run his chaotic home. He didn’t seem to appreciate Betsy for who she was, but instead tried to cherry pick what he liked about her and then fit her into the mold of what he thinks a wife of his should be. Needless to say, this was incredibly disappointing. As for Betsy, though she cared for Greggory, she still seemed more hung up on Ewan Hales, the man she loved and lost. Greggory was almost like a consolation prize, one I doubted if she was wholly certain she wanted before her hand was forced. I finished Trifling Favors wishing there was more to the ending so that I could feel the romance come together. As it stands, the story ended more with a whimper than a strong happily ever after that would satisfy.

Though I did have a number of issues with the romance, Trifling Favors wasn’t a bad read. It was slow to start, but once it picked up I enjoyed author Heather Hiestand’s writing. There’s a mystery involving theft and murder that was fun to watch Betsy and Greggory pick apart and solve. It’s this plotline that is the book’s saving grace, for it adds excitement and offers readers the opportunity to become invested in the tale.

Trifling Favors is the seventh book in the Redcakes series, and as I have been reading the series out of order I can safely say the book stands on its own. That being said, a lot of past Redcakes heroes and heroines are mentioned or briefly appear, which should delight fans. Trifling Favors isn’t the strongest book in the series and I was sadly disappointed in the love story, but I enjoy Ms. Hiestand’s writing enough that I will definitely finish catching up on the series.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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