Marquess of Fortune by Tammy Andresen – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have received a free e-copy of the book Marquess of Fortune by Tammy Andresen to review.

Here is the book blurb.

The Marquess of Fortune is too dangerously wicked to ignore…

Tall, dark, and handsome, the mysterious Lord Smith is the exact kind of man with which the sister of a baron should never consort. But he captures Miss Emily Cross’s interest at every turn, her heart fluttering wildly in her chest whenever their eyes meet. Is this how a woman falls into ruin?

One delicious step at a time…

Ace knows he’s a bad man.

He has far too many transgressions to name them all, but the list of dirty deeds grows longer by the day. His only consolation is that he’s done each and every one of them to protect his family and he’d do them all again. Still, it’s only a matter of time before the law, or a criminal he’s wronged, makes him pay for his crimes. His one hope is to secure his family’s future before that day comes.

Until he meets her.

His sister’s friend, Miss Emily Cross is everything he can never touch. Beautiful, kind, wholesome, and of the peerage, she could never be his, especially with the noose around his neck tightening by the day. He ought to leave her well enough alone, except that Miss Cross knows far too many of his secrets. Can he trust her to keep them? There’s only one way to find out. Staying close to Miss Cross is a necessity…but now it’s not just his life at risk, but his heart.

***This is a bridge novella between Lords of Scandal and the spin off series, Lords of Temptation. find out how Lords of Scandal ends and a new chapter begins in the seedy underworld of Regency London gaming hells.

So we’ve now reached the final instalment in the Lords of Scandal series, namely book 22 and I’ve read all of them. Just like the rest, this works perfectly as a stand-alone read.

The story begins at a ball, where Miss Emily Cross introduces herself to Ace, Lord Smith. She knows that he is the brother of her friend Mirabelle. Ace has a long list of secrets and is worried what Mirabelle may have revealed to Miss Cross. As she drags him on to the dance floor, he discovers it seems to be everything.

Meanwhile, he wants to meet her brother Lord Boxby. He has a business proposal for Boxby. But now he has Emily on his mind too.

How will things play out?

Marquess of Fortune is available on Amazon in both Kindle format and paperback. Another nice light short romantic story from Tammy Andresen and great how it opens up ready for a new series.

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About the author

USA Today Bestselling Author, Tammy Andresen lives with her husband and three children just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She grew up on the Seacoast of Maine, where she spent countless days dreaming up stories in blueberry fields and among the scrub pines that line the coast. Her mother loved to spin a yarn and Tammy filled many hours listening to her mother retell the classics. It was inevitable that at the age of 18, she headed off to Simmons College, where she studied English literature and education. She never left Massachusetts but some of her heart still resides in Maine and her family visits often.

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Screamcatcher: Sa’be Most Monstrous by Christy J Breedlove – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have received a free e-copy of the book Screamcatcher: Sa’be Most Monstrous by Christy J Breedlove to review. You may find out more about the author on her website.

Here is the book blurb.

Jory Pike and the Badlands Paranormal Society get a strange and frantic call from a woman who claims her property has been invaded by unknown trespassers who have terrorized her and her husband and killed their two dogs. She says her husband has gone hunting for the culprits and disappeared. The Sherriff’s office performed a routine investigation and mysteriously quit. The woman also called a first nations tribe tracker to help her, but after a short investigation, he claimed she had something more dangerous than a bear and wanted nothing to do with it.

This is the fourth title in the Screamcatcher series, but works perfectly as a stand-alone read. In fact, I haven’t been reading them in sequence. I’ve read them in the order 2, 1 and now 4. All the books feature teenage friends Jory, Choice, Lander and Darcy who are collectively known as the Badlands Paranormal Society.

This story begins with Jory receiving a desperate phone call from Tonya who wants the team to investigate mysterious intruders who have been creating havoc for 4 months and have now killed her dogs. Her husband Kyle tried to hunt for them 3 days ago and hasn’t returned. The police and a tracker have found nothing bar a few prints.

Jory’s 91 year old grandfather Albert has been listening to the call and has identified the intruders as Sa’be Most Monstrous, also known as Sasquatch or Bigfoot. He considers it a very dangerous situation and insists on coming on the mission.

2 solid days of driving 1,500 miles across the States from South Dakota to California, more details from Tonya on arrival and then woken in the middle of the night by rocks being thrown at the barn walls. Sa’be is obviously aware of their arrival.

Albert is insistent that they carry no visible weapons, but dress as tourists and wear cameras as they trek into the forest for clues.

How many Sa’be are there? Where is Kyle? What danger may they face? Will the trek be too arduous for Albert?

I think this is my favourite tale in the series so far, but it could be Sa’be who has biassed me. Certainly a popular choice for a story theme. I’ve now reviewed quite a few books prominently featuring Bigfoot or Sasquatch.

Screamcatcher: Sa’be Most Monstrous is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle format. A great fantasy read, targeted at young adult readers. Highly recommended.

You may see my reviews of the first two books here.
Screamcatcher: Web World
Screamcatcher: Dream Chasers

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The Leipfold Files by Dane Cobain – book review and giveaway

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an ebook I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have received a free e-copy of the book The Leipfold Files by Dane Cobain to review. You may find out more about the author on his website.

Here is the book blurb.

Join a young James Leipfold as he discovers his knack for uncovering the truth and takes the early steps towards forming his detective agency, Leipfold Investigations…

Leipfold’s journey will take him from the deserts of Kuwait to the inside of Reading Jail and have him investigating everything from missing gnomes to drunken Santas and crooked optometrists. Along the way, he befriends a rookie cop named Jack Cholmondeley, helps a widowed army wife find closure, and falls in love with a motorbike he calls Camilla.

This collection brings together 24 James Leipfold short stories, including three shorts that take place between Driven and The Tower Hill Terror. It’s a must for all fans of the Leipfold series and any serious reader of quirky detective novels and cozy mysteries.

This is the third book in the Leipfold Mysteries series but unlike the previous two titles, this time it is a collection of short stories. You don’t need to have read the earlier books, but for me, I found it particularly good how it helps put additional context round the main characters who I already know and love.

The tales are sequential and we start way back, long before James Leipfold became a private investigator, when he was aged 14 and this is when he first meets Jack Cholmondeley, a young police constable well before he advanced up the ranks to inspector. Cholmondeley is already trying in vain to encourage Leipfold to a career in the police, something that had been touched upon in the earlier books.

The second story is from his time in the army, when he served in Kuwait and again it helps give depth to his character. The short stories also cleverly inter-relate as the third one pulls on minor characters from both the first two tales and this is the start of a pattern as the same thing happens again on plenty of further occasions too.

Several of the stories are set during a spell he spent in prison. Another continuing theme of some tales help to flesh out the aspects of his back-story which lead to him giving up alcohol. And of course we get to the point of when he set up as a private investigator. Plus how he got his motor-bike Camilla.

The last three stories take place between the first and second titles in the series, Driven and The Tower Hill Terror.

The Leipfold Files is available on Amazon in paperback, hardback and kindle formats. A great book, particularly to develop the back story between Leipfold and Cholmondeley.

And I’m hosting a rafflecopter competition to giveaway a paperback copy of The Leipfold Files to one lucky winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway – Please click on the link to enter.

I’d love to hear about your favourite read.

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The Fountain by John A Heldt – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have received a free copy of The Fountain by John A Heldt. And to find out more about the author you may visit his website.

Here is the book blurb.

Portland, Oregon. In May 2022, the Carpenters are a sad lot. Bill, 81, has just buried his beloved wife. Paul, 75, has terminal lung cancer. Annie, 72, is a paraplegic with broken dreams. Childless and directionless, the siblings face an uncertain future in their childhood home.

Then Bill, a retired folklore professor, learns from a dying man that the legendary Fountain of Youth, his obsession for decades, may be more than a myth. He races to Mexico to find the truth.

Within weeks, the Carpenters, with nothing to lose, enter a mysterious cave and exit in July 1905 as healthy young adults. They begin new lives in Oakland, California, only vaguely aware of a devastating earthquake that will rock the San Francisco Bay Area on April 18, 1906.

In THE FOUNTAIN, the first book in the Second Chance trilogy, three siblings find opportunity, romance, and heartbreak as they make the most of a new lease on life.

Readers’ Advisory: The Fountain is the first novel in a family saga that spans several years. While some storylines are resolved, others are not. They are addressed in subsequent books.

This is the first book in a new series which has a different twist to the author’s previous series. Still time travel, but age changing too via the supposedly mythological Fountain of Youth.

The main characters are siblings in their twilight years and things are not looking rosy in 2022. Bill has just buried his wife, Paul has terminal cancer and Annie is in a wheelchair. The early part of the book concentrates on Bill finding out that the Fountain is indeed real and located in a remote area of Mexico. And then convincing Paul and Annie that they should all take a dip, along with the logistics of winding up their affairs, getting there and disappearing without other campers seeing. Not an easy feat, especially for Bill carrying Annie once the wheelchair is left behind.

They emerge from the Fountain in 1905, young and healthy. Bill is in his early 20s and Paul and Annie are in their teens. It works well how they have their life experiences behind them in their characterisation, now in young bodies. They travel from Mexico, settling in Oakland, California and have vague memories from their previous knowledge of “history” that there will be a serious earthquake in San Francisco in 1906, but can’t recall when exactly.

This is a great feature of all John Heldt’s stories. He is always painstaking at weaving historical facts into his books, with fantastic attention to detail. I didn’t know about the earthquake and nor did I know the geographical proximity of Oakland and San Francisco. The story indicates that they are across a bay navigated by ferry, which I could easily see is about 10 miles on GoogleMaps.

Their new life revolves around Oakland Preparatory Academy where Paul and Annie are students and Bill gets a job. Friendships and romance blossom as we meet new characters including Cassie Lee, a teacher along with her younger adopted brother Andy, who is in Paul’s class. More classmates including Pauline Wagner.

Chapters alternate as to from whose perspective. But there is always the looming threat of the pending earthquake. When will the disaster strike? And what will ensue? A brilliant page turner.

For those who are fascinated like me, I looked up the Fountain of Youth on Wikipedia. It appears to feature in many legends and I love how the author made it focal to this tale. And yes of course I researched the 1906 San Francisco earthquake too.

The Fountain is available on Amazon, in Kindle format and paperback. I highly recommend this excellent time travel tale and am eagerly awaiting the publication of book 2.

And you may be interested to see my reviews of some of John Heldt’s other titles.
Firstly all of The Carson Chronicles series.
River Rising
The Memory Tree
Indian Paintbrush
Caitlin’s Song
Camp Lake

Then all of the Time Box series.
The Lane Betrayal
The Fair
Sea Spray
The Refuge
Crown City

Plus some of his earlier titles.
The Mine
Indiana Belle
Hannah’s Moon

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Lost: The Love of a Lord by Tammy Andresen – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have received a free e-copy of the book Lost: The Love of a Lord by Tammy Andresen to review.

Here is the book blurb.

He’s just been made an earl but he can’t tell a soul…

Mr. Ralph Fitzroy is about to receive an entire earldom for good deeds done. The catch? He needs to perform one more. Go to the funeral of the Earl of Kinross and figure out if foul play is involved. Easy enough. Except for that from the first, one major complication is making the entire affair very difficult, Miss Clara Welby. Beautiful, vivacious, and promised to his lead suspect. She’s in his way at every turn and muddling his investigation and his senses. There’s only one thing to do. Use Clara and her connection to Kinross to his advantage.
Because only a fool would let desire stand in the way of an earldom.

Which is why, he will not succumb to the guilt niggling in his gut. Even if he were willing to sacrifice his future for love, the lies he’s told are piling up so high and so thick, how could a woman as perfect as Clara ever trust a man like him?

Spoiler alert warning for previous title Vacancy: Viscount Preferred.

This is the fifth book in the Calling All Rakes series, but works perfectly as a stand-alone read. Here are the links to my reviews of the previous titles. These are romantic tales, all with a touch of mystery.
Wanted: An Earl For Hire
Needed: A Dishonorable Duke
Found: Bare with a Baron
Vacancy: Viscount Preferred

The book begins by introducing us to the back-story of Miss Clara Melby who has been smitten since age 13 with Viscount Aslin, son of the Earl of Kinross, so now she is anxious to attend the late Earl’s funeral. She is chaperoned there by her married friend Priscilla and husband, but she is not sure why Mr Fitzroy shares their carriage.

Meanwhile Ralph Fitzroy has been tasked by the Queen with investigating the cause of the Earl’s death, after which he will be elevated to the peerage himself. Can he find any information via Clara? But to do so, he weaves a web of lies. Will this backfire on him?

Clara is getting more confused. And does she still feel the same about Aslin?

Lost: The Love of a Lord is available on Amazon in both Kindle format and paperback. A nice short romantic story plus a dash of mystery.

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About the author

USA Today Bestselling Author, Tammy Andresen lives with her husband and three children just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She grew up on the Seacoast of Maine, where she spent countless days dreaming up stories in blueberry fields and among the scrub pines that line the coast. Her mother loved to spin a yarn and Tammy filled many hours listening to her mother retell the classics. It was inevitable that at the age of 18, she headed off to Simmons College, where she studied English literature and education. She never left Massachusetts but some of her heart still resides in Maine and her family visits often.

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Last Seen Alive by Carolyn Arnold – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an ebook I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have received a free e-copy of the book Last Seen Alive by bestselling author Carolyn Arnold to review. To find out more about the author you may visit her website.

Here is the book blurb.

The woman lies so still as her blood soaks into the soft bedcovers beneath her. A tear runs down her face as she looks at the wedding band on her finger. She had loved her husband so much…

When Detective Amanda Steele unexpectedly reconnects with an old boyfriend, the last thing she expects to see lying on his bed is the dead body of his wife, Claire, who walked out on him four years ago.

Logan begs Amanda to believe he’s innocent. But she doesn’t miss the gun on a nearby table, and she’s torn when forensics reveal that not only was this the murder weapon, but Logan’s fingerprints are all over it… Could he have been framed? Or is he using his connection to Amanda to get away with murder?

Determined to uncover the truth, Amanda retraces Claire’s last steps and finds that she visited her best friend the day before her death. But Amanda is devastated to discover that the friend died in a car accident just hours after meeting with Claire. What deadly secret connected them, and could more women be in danger?

But the killer is closer than Amanda realises, and when her beloved daughter, Zoe, is threatened, she’s suddenly in a race to find the final clue before the person she loves most pays the price…

This is the sixth title in the Detective Amanda Steele series and here are the links to my reviews of the previous titles.
The Little Grave
Stolen Daughters
The Silent Witness
Black Orchid Girls
Her Frozen Cry

Being a fan of this series, I was immediately hooked in by the prologue set a few days after the murder. The killer is spying on Amanda and he thinks she will drop the case if he threatens her daughter Zoe.

Rewind and the story begins with Amanda unexpectedly meeting up with former boyfriend Logan. They head back to his place, but there is a dead woman on his bed, wearing just lingerie. It is Logan’s ex-wife Claire who he claims he hasn’t seen since she left 4 years ago.

Is Logan innocent or being framed?

Sergeant Graves tries to keep Amanda off the case, but she goes to the top to get this over-ruled. Amanda and partner Trent then start following the clues.

Why did Claire have a false driving licence? Where had she been the last 4 years? What about before she married Logan?

So many twists to uncover before we reach that prologue point. And then, can Amanda keep Zoe safe and catch the killer?

Last Seen Alive is available on Amazon. A highly recommended exciting page turner. I didn’t want to put this book down.

Includes continuity references to earlier stories for those who enjoy reading the whole series but works well as a stand-alone read too.

About the Detective Amanda Steele Series
Gritty. Raw. Unapologetic.

Immersive crime fiction for fans who love their mysteries set in a small town and hard-boiled to perfection. From the murder scene to the morgue, interrogation of suspects and following down leads, you’ll feel like you’re part of the investigation. Realistic and complex characters, accurate police procedures and forensics paired with tight, serious writing make these books read more like true crime than fiction. Meet Homicide Detective Amanda Steele with the Prince William County Police Department in Woodbridge, Virginia. She’s smart, motivated, and real. Her tragic past has her claiming to be no one’s mentor, but she’s more hero than she thinks.

Here are the links to my reviews of other books by Carolyn Arnold.
Remnants
Power Struggle
The Secret of the Lost Pharaoh
On the Count of Three
Shades of Justice
Exercise is Murder
Past Deeds
The Legend of Gasparilla and his Treasure
What We Bury
One More Kill
Girl on the Run

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About the author

Carolyn Arnold was born in a small Canadian town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower. As an international bestselling and award-winning author, she has several continuing fiction series, including her popular Detective Madison Knight series. She offers readers nearly three dozen published books in genres ranging from crime thrillers and hard-boiled mysteries to cozy mysteries and action adventures. She currently lives north of London, Ontario, with her husband and two beagles.

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I’m participating in the blog book tour. Do take time to browse round some of the other posts.

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Desperate Tides Desperate Measures by Brett Salter – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have received a free e-copy of the book Desperate Tides Desperate Measures by Brett Salter to review. You may find out more about the author on his website.

Here is the book blurb.

Looks like our heroes can finally put an end to the nightmare that was Scarabadon, The Juggernaut. And it seems everyone’s favorite Synergist Knight and Master Dragon have fixed their Talisman issue too. Having thwarted every attack The Tyrant King has thrown at them to this point, The Alliance believes that they can endure any challenge as long as they remain together. Now, having the upper hand seems like the perfect opportunity to seek out more allies and even more of the realm’s mystical Talismans. Could this be a “happily ever after” for our ensemble of motley heroes? Or is this peace just a fool’s hope and just as temporary as the changing tides?

Regular followers of my blog may recognise this cover from when I did the cover reveal for this book earlier this year. I had only read the first title in the series at that point, but I’ve been gradually working my way through these great tales. So now here I am with my review of the fifth book in the Talisman series.

Once again it works perfectly as a stand-alone read but I am definitely more invested in it as an ongoing series. I certainly wouldn’t recommend reading them out of order as they are scattered with spoilers to earlier titles, the prologue being one such, as it is a recap mainly of the events in volume 4.

So trying to navigate through what I can tell you without dropping any spoilers, Rome, Julian and all the team are back fighting more Darkbrand monsters and Nocturns, meeting more allies and maybe locating another Talisman. However I love how the author manages to throw a new dimension into each book. This time it is Elementals. I just going to leave that there as a hook for you, as I can’t possibly say what or who Elementals might be. And this time Julian’s Dad, Mr Rider has more of a role in the story.

I also love how the Minotaur monsters have been categorised into types. So this time our heroes encounter Hydrotaurs and Glaciataurs. Yes think water and ice for these two. And we have previously also met Florotaurs, Pyrotaurs and Terrataurs.

Desperate Tides, Desperate Measures is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle format, targeted at young adult readers. Another fabulous fantastical installment in this series and now that I’ve caught up, I’ll have to wait patiently along with everyone else for volume 6 to be released. Suitable from age 11 upwards in my opinion.

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The Welsh Dragon by K M Butler – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an ebook I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have received a free e-copy of the book The Welsh Dragon by K M Butler to review. You may find out more about the author on his website.

Here is the book blurb.

England, AD 1471. Henry Tudor’s drop of royal blood had never mattered, considering the scores of noblemen with stronger claims to the throne. But when Edward IV becomes king during the Wars of the Roses, that drop threatens Henry’s life and forces him into exile.

Though his mother labors to restore his position, Henry would rather spend his days with his beloved Jehane, a quick-witted Breton widow, than reclaim a title that promises only further hardship. Content with humble pleasures far from the dangers of court, Henry enjoys a simple life of anonymity.

Yet, his enemies continue to conspire against him. Survival may require embracing the very birthright that drove him into exile, though it threatens his happiness with Jehane. The path to safety is littered with tangled conspiracies, narrow escapes, and a Welsh dragon banner fluttering over an English battlefield.

Bosworth earned Henry Tudor a crown, but the trials of a forgotten fourteen-year exile transformed a penniless fugitive into the man who ended the Wars of the Roses.

Years ago before I started my blog, I used to read a fair amount of historical fiction from both the 12th and 16th centuries before drifting onto other genres, so I was looking forward to reading this book set in-between during the late 15th century, about Henry Tudor, the future King Henry VII.

The story begins in 1471 when 14 year old Henry and his uncle Jasper and the Earl of Oxford flee after the news that Edward IV has defeated and captured Henry VI and executed the prince. Henry’s life is in danger due to a tiny drop of Royal blood. They head to France via Wales where Henry sees his mother Margaret Beaufort. However she refuses to come too, saying she can be more useful to their Lancastrian cause by remaining at court. But bad weather at sea means Henry and Jasper have to berth in Brittany, where Duke Francis detains them as his “guests”, under his protection.

We then follow the story in several parts over many years exiled, whilst Henry develops a relationship with Jehane, a widowed tailor. But enemies follow him even in exile.

Plenty of the chapters are also from Margaret’s viewpoint and it is interesting how they communicate, when their letters are probably intercepted.

The tale  concludes at the battle of Bosworth. But the epilogue a few years later adds another quirk to the tale.

All the major events of the time are covered including the death of the princes in the Tower of London, with a different fictional twist. I knew the broad details of this era  but after I finished reading the book I had a look online and it was fascinating to see which parts of the story had been based on actual history. Henry in the book seemed quite a different character to what I imagined before I started reading this.

The Welsh Dragon, newly published today is available on Amazon in kindle format. A brilliant historical read.

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The Baron and the Bluestocking by Katherine Ann Madison – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have received a free e-copy of the book The Baron and the Bluestocking by Katherine Ann Madison to review.

Here is the book blurb.

She’ll do anything to avoid marriage…anything…

Even climb from a second story balcony and onto the top of a trellis. All right. Perhaps that was a bit too far, especially considering Lady Matilda winds up stuck. But why does it have to be him that rescues her? Her brother’s best friend the Baron Greenburg has always disapproved of her behavior. This is just one more example of how imperfect she truly is.

He just wants a simple life…

And Lady Matilda is anything but simple. Tillie brims over with life, love, and intelligence. In fact, she’s been making a fool of him since childhood. But this time around, it’s her who looks silly and him that manages the dashing rescue. And when he holds her in his arms…

Is it possible that their many battles were a prelude to romance?

Katherine Ann Madison is a pseudonym of prolific author Tammy Andresen and this is the third title in her sweet Regency Romance series Matchmaking on the Marriage Mart. The story works perfectly as a stand-alone read, but is linked to earlier titles through some of the characters. In particular, I am already acquainted with the heroine of this book, Tille, Lady Matilda Crosby, through her much smaller appearances in the earlier two titles The Duke and the Debutante and The Earl and the Incomparable.

The story begins with Tillie annoyed because her mother is trying to make a match for her, although she won’t tell Tillie who. She wants to preferably remain a spinster and study insects or at the least, marry on her own terms. Surely her mother can’t mean the dreadful Viscount Bancroft?

Meanwhile Baron Alex Greenburg is late to the party and he simply must set up his telescope first as Venus is due to pass in front of Jupiter any day now, for the first time in 300 years. But as he heads past the pergola, he spots someone stuck on the top. It is Tillie, desperate to escape from the ballroom. She needs rescuing, but she would rather it had not been by Alex, her brother’s best friend, who always used to call her a hoyden as a child. She didn’t even realise he was at the party and he is surprised to discover that she knows about the occultation.

So childhood friends or enemies? science interests, scheming mothers plus the odious Lord Bancroft. How will this pan out?

I hadn’t previously come across the term occultation, but as one of my sons is very keen on astronomy, I thought I would look this up. It also encompasses solar eclipses, but indeed the author is correct that the Venus / Jupiter occultations are few and far between. The next one is forecast to be in 2065 but too near the sun to be visible. I loved how she wove this into the tale.

The Baron and the Bluestocking is available on Amazon in Kindle format. A nice light sweet romantic read from Katherine Ann Madison.

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About Tammy Andresen

USA Today Bestselling Author, Tammy Andresen lives with her husband and three children just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She grew up on the Seacoast of Maine, where she spent countless days dreaming up stories in blueberry fields and among the scrub pines that line the coast. Her mother loved to spin a yarn and Tammy filled many hours listening to her mother retell the classics. It was inevitable that at the age of 18, she headed off to Simmons College, where she studied English literature and education. She never left Massachusetts but some of her heart still resides in Maine and her family visits often.

Website – http://www.tammyandresen.com

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King of Thieves by Tammy Andresen – book review

Disclosure.  This post is a review of an e-book I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

I have received a free e-copy of the book King of Thieves by Tammy Andresen to review.

Here is the book blurb.

Pippa Bancroft knows that trouble is circling. Between her brother’s odd behavior, the whispers of massive debts, and the old and awful man her brother keeps thrusting at her, she assumes things are very bad. But just how awful… there is only one way to find out. She’s going to have to do some good old-fashioned spying.

The problem? When she positions herself to eavesdrop, she’s not the only one! A large and ornery Scot is also listening in on her brother’s conversation. And when Laird Lockton offers her an exchange of favors to benefit them both, she’s left to wonder, can she trust this giant of a man? Is he the devil or a grumpy angel in disguise?

Laird Lockton has a life waiting for him in Scotland. Granted, that life is full of boring drudgery, the sort he never wished for himself. Which is why he decides one last adventure is in order. He’ll help his friends with an investigation into the thefts plaguing their gaming hell, secure his future, and then return to Scotland.

But he didn’t count on one pretty wallflower inserting herself into his life and his final adventure. Nor did he plan on finding her quite so irresistible. And as her own situation grows more desperate, Lockton knows he has to help. What sort of man would he be if he didn’t?

But the more time he spends with her the more he wonders…does that mean he has to lose his heart too?

This is book 21 in the Lords of Scandal series, which keeps going and going, but it works fine as a stand-alone read too.

The story begins with Pippa and her faithful dog Trixie taking a walk in the public gardens. She is hoping to eavesdrop a conversation between her debt-ridden brother James, Baron Bancroft and the odious Cornelius Blackpalm. She hears that he wants to marry her, but that is not all. Trixie has led her to a stranger, who is also spying on James and Cornelius.

This is Lord Angus Lockton, one of the owners of The Den of Sins gaming club, who has been following the Governor (Blackpalm) because the Governor stole from the club. He wants to see the Governor put in prison, and then return to Scotland.

He hatches a plan with Pippa so that he can continue to spy on the next meeting between James and Blackpalm in the house. Where will she hide him? Can he help her avoid marrying Blackpalm? How will things turn out?

I particularly enjoyed the Scottish connection to this tale, meeting Lockton’s family. It reminded me of an excellent earlier series of Tammy’s, Brethren of Stone. I’m not keen on the cover though; so glad that I read these books on my phone, as no way would I sit on a train reading a paperback with a cover like this.

King of Thieves is available on Amazon in both Kindle format and paperback. Once again another light short romantic story from Tammy Andresen.

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About the author

USA Today Bestselling Author, Tammy Andresen lives with her husband and three children just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She grew up on the Seacoast of Maine, where she spent countless days dreaming up stories in blueberry fields and among the scrub pines that line the coast. Her mother loved to spin a yarn and Tammy filled many hours listening to her mother retell the classics. It was inevitable that at the age of 18, she headed off to Simmons College, where she studied English literature and education. She never left Massachusetts but some of her heart still resides in Maine and her family visits often.

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