The Perfect Rake, by Anne Gracie

The Perfect Rake is the first of the Merridew Sisters books by Anne Gracie.

I mentioned long ago that I had liked this book very much, and I still like many things about it. However, it suffers in the re-read, because I have a lot less patience for some tropes than I once did.

Someone to Watch Over Me, by Lisa Kleypas

I am indulging in another re-read, a historical romance. This is the first book in a trilogy about the famed Bow Street Runners of late Regency-era London. ¹

Reader beware: there’s graphic sex on the page, some adult language, attempted rape, and a fair bit of whorephobia.

Oh, and I spoil a key plot point in the review–though, if you’ve read some romance, you likely already know, from the blurb alone.

A Touch of Stone and Snow, by Milla Vane

Once again, first things first: heed all the warnings. The world of A Gathering of Dragons is very, very dark.

These are romances, there is always consent between the protagonists, the world building is very progressive in its sexual politics, but the background is of violence, sexual and otherwise. There’s gore and a lot of very explicit sex on the page, and the language reflect this. Also, while considerably shorter than the first novel, this one is still almost 400 pages. Reader, beware.

A Heart of Blood and Ashes, by Milla Vane

Once upon a time, I read a novella called “The Beast of Blackmoor”, from the Night Shift anthology. Like all the best short stories, it introduced me to a world I got utterly lost into, where I wanted more, more, MORE!

Years passed, and while that novella was the one memorable one in the anthology, I stopped checking the author’s website for updates on upcoming books (oh, reader slump from hell, you most hideous of fiends!). Then, on the last day of the horrible, terrible, no-good year of our doom 2021, a tweet crossed my feed: the first two full-length books in the series were on sale for just $1.99US each. What’s a reader to do?