A Duke by December by Sabrina Darby

A Duke by December by Sabrina Darby
This is book 5 in the A Year Without a Duke series, a multi-author series.
The Duke has finally been found and it is Nathaniel Hughes. Having been poor most of his life, Nathaniel went to America and amassed his fortune. No one is more surprised than he, that the dukedom became his. Taking his secretary and her brother, Nate heads to England to take controls of his estates.
Having been rescued by Nate and made his secretary, Elizabeth Smith had hidden her attraction for Nate, as she knows there is no way that her reciprocates her feelings.
But as Nate comes to count on Lizzie more and more, he realizes that the only way he can make everything work is with her by his side...for the rest of their lives.
This is the last book of five that tells the story of the residents of the Duke of Beckworth's estate. Having read all 5 of them, I would definitely recommend reading them all together, although they could each be read as stand alone.
This was a great conclusion to this series. We finally get the duke settled in, all he needs now is a wife! 
When Nate rescues Lizzie, he is given the impression that she wants nothing romantic from him. So he keeps his attraction to himself and tries not to be in situations where they are alone. Because of this, when Lizzie starts to have feelings for Nate, she thinks that her feelings are not reciprocated. All of this leads us on a merry chase following these two to the alter!!
I really liked the way the authors came together to do this multi-author series. I'm hoping that they do it again in the future!

You can get this book at the following retailers:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble  | Kobo | iBooks | All Romance

Thanks go out to the author via NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.

Lady of Intrigue by Sabrina Darby

Lady of Intrigue by Sabrina Darby
This book 2 in the Group of Eight series.
Lady Jane Langley's carriage is wrecked on her way to meet her father. Coming to, in the middle of the wreckage, she sees one of her traveling companion's murdered. She soon learns that the murderer knows she saw him and he takes her hostage. Injured from the crash, she has no choice but to accept the menstrations of her captor. 
Gerard Badeau should have killed Jane when he discovered that she could tell everyone that the crash was not an accident, but there was something about her that drew him to her. As the bastard son of a nobleman, Gerard was raised to be a spy and did not fit into Jane's world.
As Jane and Gerard grow closer during her convalescence, where will it lead? Gerard won't be accepted in Jane's world and she is not willing to give it up.
As I've mentioned before, I always like a good spy element when reading a romance novel. This story is a little different as Gerard was raised to be a spy and not simply trained as an adult. This life is all he knows. It is not until he meets Jane that he even knows that he wants something different.
I will say that Jane annoyed me a little. She claims to be in love with Gerard, but won't give up her place with the ton. That kind of turned me off from her. I'm thinking that if it were true love, she would do anything to be with her man. Because of this, Gerard was prepared to do what had to be done to secure a place for himself in society.
In the end, all worked out of course.... I'm looking forward to reading more about the Group of Eight in Darby's upcoming books!

You can purchase this book at the following retailers:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Thanks go out to Entangled Publishing via NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.

Lord of Regrets by Sabrina Darby

Lord of Regrets by Sabrina Darby.
Despite being in love with her, Lord Marcus Templeton can not marry Natasha Polinoff. He has to follow his grandfather's dictates or he will be out of his inheritance. When Natasha announces that she is pregnant, Marcus flies off the handle and tells her to get rid of the child. Determined to save the life of herself and her child, Natasha flees into the night.
It has taken 5 years, but Marcus has finally located Natasha. Determined to wed her and be out from under his grandfather's rule, Marcus has worked hard to earn his own money. He has never stopped loving Natasha and wants her and his daughter to finally be a family. Can Natasha forgive Marcus for what he did 5 years ago and make a family for her and her daughter?
I really didn't like Marcus at all at the beginning of the story. That his first instinct was to kill the child just turned me off of him. He did grow on me as the story went on and I really loved seeing his relationship with his daughter grow.
I can totally relate to Natasha.  After having Marcus say to kill her child, I'd have run far away too.  I'm glad that it took her awhile to forgive him, because that was a horrible thing for him to do.  
I'm intrigued by some of the secondary characters and hope that Darby writes their stories too!

You can get this book at the following retailers:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble 

Thanks go to Entangled Publishing via NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.

Scandalous Summer Nights an Anthology

Scandalous Summer Nights by Grace Callaway, Sabrina Darby, Jennifer Haymore, Sue London, Kate McKinley, Sandy Raven and Vivienne Westlake. This anthology includes seven series-opening novellas. The Widow Vanishes by Grace Callaway
Annabel Foster has just found out that her husband has passed away and left her in debt to a man no one is willing to cross. After trying to earn the money respectfully, she is forced to sell her body. Her first night turns out unexpectedly. William McLeod has been given his choice of women for the night in reward for a job well done. Little did he know that the woman he choice would change his life forever. This was a nice quick read. This is an introduction to her new Heart of Enquiry series, but had a few characters from her Mayhem in Mayfair series too. The story has me hunting down the Mayhem in Mayfair series to read!
Scandal Before Sunrise by Sabrina Darby
Abigail Billings had been one of the wild girls before disappearing from the ton for three years. Now she is back and looking for a respectable husband before everyone learns that there is no longer any money with her father's title.  Unfortunately,  the man that interests her is not interested in marriage but wants an affair instead. Elliot Jones has just returned from fighting for England and is ready to have some fun. His friends talk about bad girl Abigail and she has peaked his interests. But when he finally meets her, she is no longer that fun lovin' girl his friends talked about.   Can Elliot find that fun lovin' girl behind the woman that wants a respectable marriage? A great story with a mischievous girl trying to do right. This novella definitely peaked my interest for reading the rest of the books in the Weekly Scandal series. I'm hoping the series includes Elliot's friends from this novella!
A Highlander's Heart by Jennifer Haymore
Claire Campbell is determined to fix her marriage, but to do that she must find her husband who is in the middle of fighting a war.  Finding her husband wounded on the battlefield at Waterloo, Claire is determined to see him regain his health. Rob Campbell thinks it's an angel approaching him on the battlefield, but when she gets closer he realizes that it is his wife whom he is estranged.    Can these two mind their marriage in the middle of this horrible war? Haymore does an excellent job of setting up her new series. We are introduced to the male leads and given enough of a back story on each to peak our interest.  Her new Highland Knights series is definitely on my TBR list!!
Lord Lucifer's Disciple by Sue London Elisa Jarvis know that all her husband prospects are just after her dowry, plus they are all boring! That is until she meets a mysterious foreigner at a masked ball. John Howards has always been awkward during social functions, so when he finally agrees to attend his cousin's masked ball he pretends to be his foreign friend. It gives him the courage to do things he would never dream of as himself. What will Elisa do when she unmasks her foreign friend? This was my first story by Sue London and I really enjoyed it.  So much so that I need to hunt down all her Haberdasher books to read the stories of all the secondary characters I meet in this one.  How to Lose a Duke in Ten Days by Kate McKinley
Pippa Welby can't imagine why the man that gave her the cut direct is asking her to marry him. He has even given her an invitation to her own engagement ball that is to happen in 10 days. Pippa has been looked down on by the peerage her whole life because of her heritage and there is no way she is going to marry into it.

Lucas Alexander, the Duke of Arlington, is smitten with Pippa the first time he sees her. So taken with her, he was at a loss for words and walks away from her. Finding out that her father owns the largest coal mine in the area is just the icing on the cake.

What happens when what starts out as a seduction of convience turns into true passion? Can Pippa forgive Lucas when she finds out why he really wants to marry her?

It was a very enjoyable read. It's often hard for authors to write novellas without the story feeling rushed. McKinley does an excellent job of keeping the pace of the story without leaving out any details. Lucas was definitely an alpha male, but also showed that he had a softer side to him. Pippa, as a headstrong young miss, was not going to let Lucas walk all over her. They were perfect for each other!
Miss Amelia Lands a Duke by Sandy Raven Amelia Manners-Sutton is the companion for her aunt, whom is not very nice, but she took Amelia in when she didn't have any where else to go. Since her aunt doesn't want Amelia to ruin anything for her at the house party, Amelia is left to her own devices and finds herself wondering the gardens where she meets a man named "Sir." She is intrigued by him, but it is not until she is almost caught in the library with him that things get interesting. Marcus Halden, the Duke of Caversham, is just looking for some peace and quiet when she encounters "Miss." He is also intrigued and when she is about to speak and alert her aunt to their presence in the library he kisses her. What will happen when they are caught in a compromising position? There was just something about this one that I didn't like. I think part of it is the age difference in the H/H. He was old enough to be her father and I just don't want to read about that in one of my romances.  The other was the editing of the piece, which I hope was fixed before publication.... Lady Northham's Wicked Surrender by Vivienne Westlake Rowena, Countess of Northham, is in the home of her former suitor when she learns that he will be arriving soon.  She was jilted by the man and doesn't know how she will act when she sees him again. Simon, Lord Rutherford, is on his way back to claim his former love.  She rejected him once, but he has hopes that she is ready to be his forever. What happens when they learn what they thought happened, was all lies? I really enjoyed this very short story and am looking forward to reading more by this author. Over all I really enjoyed this set of stories and have found several new authors that I will be putting on my TBR list. I would definitely pick this one up for your keeper shelf!!

You can get this book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, and All Romance E-Books.

Caroline and the Duke by Sabrina Darby

Caroline and the Duke by Sabrina Darby.
Caroline, Lady Ballister has decided to take a lover at the urging of her best friend.  Caroline had an unhappy marriage and doesn't want any emotional attachments.
She chooses the Duke of Sutbridge, who happens to be the man that she fell in love with 10 years ago. Unfortunately for Caroline, Sutbridge wants marriage. He has been regretting his lose of her since she married.
Who will win this battle of wills? Can Caroline tear down her walls to take the love that Sutbridge is offering?
I really enjoyed this short story. The author was able to convey the story and not have it feel rushed (it helped that the h&h had a previous and ongoing relationship). I hope that the author continues to write historical romances as I will definitely be a buyer!

You can get this book at Amazon.

Thanks go to NetGalley and Sabrina Darby for a copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.