Category: Netgalley - Alyce Caswell - Author

Alyce Caswell - Author

Soapie of Serenity

4/9/2021

Summer of Serenity by Nicola Marsh

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jy Atherton is sent to Acacia Haven to shut down its only school, under the guise of evaluating its students' poor performance. Summer O'Reilly knows what he's about and she has no intention of making it easy for him - but he's got a way of sneaking in past her defences. This is just a fling, far from the lights of Melbourne. Acacia Haven isn't the town for complications...or secrets.

Well, I should say this book had a way of sneaking in past my defences. I wasn't expecting to love it so much. Jy and Summer had intense chemistry and I was all in for their relationship from their very first scene together. I liked Acacia Haven and its people, especially Summer's mother and her journey to take back control of her life. I can also appreciate a book that has a self-aware dig at itself lol. I would happily revisit Acacia Haven in the future (and I hope I can!).

Not Just a Place of Cheese & Wine

31/8/2021

Daughter of the Hunter Valley by Paula J. Beavan

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Madeleine has lost her mother and braved the seas to come to the hot, untamed Hunter Valley. Within a day of her arrival, she loses her father - and discovers that he has omitted many things in his letters home. There is no grand house. There is back-breaking work to be done, especially if she wants to hold onto her father's land and his dream. But help can come from unexpected places - and so can love.

A stunning debut novel - and I certainly hope it isn't Beavan's last. I stayed up way too late just to finish this, because I enjoyed the book so much (though now I wish I had savoured it a bit!). A lot of research went into this and it shows. The writing itself is superb and flows so well, which is part of the reason I couldn't put it down. I will admit that I was easily enthralled by the setting because my own ancestors arrived near the area at practically the same time as Madeleine!

The Eyes Have It

31/7/2021

The Dishonoured Viscount (Diamonds in the Rough #8)
by Sophie Barnes

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Marcus was stripped of his title and place in society because of his father, but he hasn't lain idle - he dedicated himself to becoming one of England's best eye doctors. Lady Louise is desperate for a more permanent solution to her recurring blindness. A chance encounter with Marcus gives her hope that this is possible - but her family doesn't approve of him fixing her eyesight, let alone courting her...

Sophie Barnes is fast becoming my favourite historical romance author. I'd been growing a little weary of the same old stories from others, but Barnes has a wonderful way of putting a new spin on things. The ophthalmology aspect of the story was fascinating! And I do like seeing scandal being presented as a real obstacle, not something that gets magically brushed away. Louise and Marcus were both so loveable that I'm already missing them.

Aftershocks and After Scot

25/7/2021

Seduced by the Scot (The Perks of Being an Heiress #3)
by Jillian Eaton

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lady Brynne Weston fell in love with Lord Lachlan Campbell beneath the stars when she was fourteen. More than a decade later, he returns to throw her life into chaos. He's not just the man she unwisely gave her heart to - he's also her husband! Brynne wants her secret dealt with. Legally. But Lachlan means to be with his wife again. Can Brynne forgive him, even after all that happened between them?

It can be tricky to juggle two timelines, but Eaton did it superbly here. This was certainly one of the things that made it very easy to enjoy Seduced by the Scot - the other was that it's unusual for the heroine and hero to already be married. I quite liked the change! I have always wondered what happened next after all those romantic dashes up to Gretna Green. Is love enough to see a hasty marriage through? So I was pleased to see a book dealing with that. However, I was unimpressed with the random (mercifully brief) POV switches to two different characters, who really had no bearing on the plot.

Unmasked

23/7/2021

Spinster Sister (Lawless Ladies #1)
by Elise Marion

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Helena Montgomery has been orphaned, left penniless, and now has to somehow give her younger sister a Season. Only a good marriage will save them now. Lord Sebastian Radcliffe seems like an excellent suitor for her sister - if only Helena didn't feel sparks in his presence! And how will he respond once he knows Helena has become a highwayman in order to support her family?

I loved the premise. I loved Helena. I LOVED this book. It made going to bed at a decent time completely impossible and I have no regrets! A plus-sized heroine...diverse characters who aren't just servants...steamy scenes...a deadly secret. This ticked every box for me. It's also on the shorter side for historical romance, which I appreciated (otherwise I'd have been awake past midnight lol) but you don't feel like you're missing anything. An excellent first book of what looks to be an excellent series.

Control C Control P

30/6/2021

Meet Me in Bendigo by Eva Scott

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Annalisa Cappelli is the last one standing - she runs the small hardware store that her family opened during the 19th century. But the arrival of a Carpenter's Warehouse, a chain hardware store, spells disaster. Why does Ed Carpenter, whose family is responsible, have to be so good looking? If only he could be more like GardenerGuy94, her online friend. Perhaps they're more alike than she realises...

Well, this book was always going to have a tough customer in me - I absolutely love You've Got Mail. But you know what? I enjoyed most of it. I'm so relieved to find a romance book that doesn't ignore or dance around the pandemic, but incorporates it into the storyline. Annalisa and Ed were great - but overshadowed by the delightful old guys and Annalisa's nonna.

Now. The big problem. Some lines of dialogue seemed to be copied and pasted straight from You've Got Mail. Mostly tweaked, occasionally verbatim. This was really off-putting to me. If I wanted to experience those scenes again, I could just watch the movie.

Meet Me in Bendigo shines the most when it stands on its own.

Badwitched

27/6/2021

A Letter to Three Witches by Elizabeth Bass

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Gwen and her cousins, Trudy and Milo, have been forbidden from practicing magic - all thanks to an ancestor and a spell that went awry. So far they've managed lived on the straight and narrow (no one wants the Council to punish them!). Well, as much as they can. But both magic and drama are about to upend their lives, especially after Gwen's foster sister, Tannith, sends them all a mysterious letter.

I found this exceptionally difficult to get into and I was thinking "oh this reaaaally isn't for me". But once the rough start was over and done with, I started to enjoy the shenanigans in Zenobia. Gwen, Trudy and Milo are great characters - I feel like I know them after all that craziness. But Tannith was a Passions-grade villain (not my thing) and oooh that rough start. That said, A Letter to Three Witches is a bit of witchy fun that may just brighten your afternoon.

Winter Warmer

26/6/2021

Kissing Under the Mistletoe
by Suzanne Enoch, Amelia Grey & Anna Bennett

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Three Christmas romances are included this collection. In "Great Scot", Jane feels that she is invisible and too old for love. But Brennan offers her a lot more than a drawing of her dream library. In "Christmas at Dewberry Hollow", Isabelle refuses to believe that this time a man will stay in Dewberry Hollow for her. But she will enjoy her time with Gate while she can. In "My Mistletoe Beau", Eva must begin a fake courtship with Jack in order to rescue her father's watch.

I read this book during winter in Sydney. It certainly helped to warm me up! I adored every story and every couple - though their romances were short, it all felt very believable to me. And all three authors knew perfectly well how to use the shorter length to their advantage - not once did I feel like the stories were missing anything. I've actually just gone and bought the other MacTaggert stories, because I really quite enjoyed "Great Scot".

All My Vices in One Spot

4/4/2021

Her Scottish Scoundrel (Diamonds in the Rough #7)
by Sophie Barnes

Charlotte's secret profession as a writer of slightly scandalous novels sees her travelling through dodgy places in London, so she decides to hire Blayne (who looks rather dodgy himself!) to escort her. Blayne has every intention of ending their arrangement - and yet, still finds himself pretending to be Charlotte's fiancé when she asks it of him. But more than their hearts are at risk if Blayne's past catches up with him.

I wanted this book to last forever. It combined so many of my favourite elements - Scottish scoundrel with a heart of gold, woman secretly making a living as an author, said woman owning a pistol, a shrewd opponent as the other suitor, lovable side characters, dark family past, etc. I could go on. Basically, this was exactly my kind of romance. I adored Charlotte and Blayne as characters, especially together! I will certainly be checking out Barnes' other novels.

Three on a Match

13/3/2021

All We Have is Now by Kaneana May

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Olive, Elsie and Bree move their growing wellness centre into a larger place and must navigate the ensuing changes and challenges in their lives. For Olive, it's her secret past surfacing in the form of the wellness centre's new masseuse. For Elsie, it's her role as stepmother and soon-to-be mother. For Bree, it's the sister who blows in and out of her life and causes trouble wherever she goes. Achieving wellness will be harder than any of them ever realised.

I'm always hungry for a novel that explores the varied and fascinating relationships between women and this certainly delivered. Olive, Elsie and Bree felt like real people to me. I could easily picture running into them on the street. May has a history of making me ugly cry (see her previous novel, The One!) and All We Have is Now was no exception. Definitely park yourself beside a box of tissues when you pick up this book. A thoroughly satisfying read.