Shannon Gilmore

If ever you find yourself deep in a hole, just keep digging. At least that appears to be the philosophy of Caden Landon Scott, the Duke of Justamere when he is mistaken for a solicitor by the lovely widow upon whom he has just called to inquire about a land purchase. He should tell her the truth, but … After all, she really does need help … And, those lips surely look as if they want him to kiss them … There is plenty of time … He'll tell her later …

Baroness Fredda (Freddie) St. George is fearfully afraid. After a chaste marriage to the kindest, sweetest man on earth, she is in danger of losing everything he had tried to do to save her. Her brother and sister-in-law are trying to get the marriage annulled by declaring her a fortune hunter who took advantage of an ailing man and by claiming the marriage was never consummated. What to do? What to do? When a woman from the Wicked Widows League approaches Freddie at her husband’s funeral and offers help, she quickly realizes they might be the resources she needs to fight her in-laws. What she needs is a solicitor and someone to make sense of the estate books – and a friend, she could really use a friend.

The whole thing quickly spirals out of control and Cade bypasses opportunity after opportunity to tell Freddie the truth. What will happen when she finds out who he really is? He knows she will find out; he’d just like to be the one to engineer the circumstances when she does. Right…

When Freddie does find out, in the worst way possible, she is deeply hurt and deeply angry. Then, to have to pretend she’s never known him… and then, her sister-in-law, the hateful, spiteful witch has set her cap for him… Oh! My! Sparks are going to fly, heads are going to roll, and Cade may never manage to dig himself out of that hole. But he wants to – so badly. Can he convince her? Can she forgive him?

I thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining read with lovely characters and a well-paced plot. I haven’t read any of the other Wicked Widows League books, but I do know that each of them can be read as a standalone. Perhaps this story has inspired me to read the novella detailing the beginning of the League. Curious minds want to know.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.… (más)

This book was a delight all the way through – from the ‘meet cute’ until the HEA, you couldn’t have found two people who were more perfectly suited to each other. He thinks she is a spoiled rotten, privileged product of the ton – and she is, but she is so much more. She thinks he is a stable master at the Duke of Foxwood’s country estate. How will very prim and proper Lady Constance manage to totally defeat Mr. Derek? Well, it certainly won’t be with demure patience because she has none. It will be with a full-on frontal assault – and he can run, but he can’t hide. The book was delightfully witty, humorous, and populated with characters who were very likable and relatable.

Lady Constance Whitmore, the only daughter of the Earl of Buckthorn, is definitely a product of the ton. She is proper, doesn’t misbehave, follows appropriate protocols and rules, and she’s learned how to make that work so she almost always gets what she wants. She usually tells the truth, but perhaps not all of it, or perhaps it is a tad stretched, or maybe she just totally misunderstands – but she doesn’t lie. Telling the flat-out, unvarnished truth - complete with inappropriate words - has gotten her into trouble and banned to Foxwood, the country estate of a family friend. OOPS! Perhaps, though, being banished isn’t necessarily a bad thing. She’s got freedoms she never has in London – and there is that very intriguing stable master who could give her some lessons . . .

Julian Derek Montgomery, son of a Marquess, grandson of a Duke, and carrying the courtesy title Earl of Westforde wants absolutely nothing to do with the ton. He avoids the ton like it was the plague, yet, here he is, being tempted by a female who is everything he despises about the ton. She is a tempting little morsel though, and he is a gentleman. But . . .

I loved it when we got to the obligatory big scene where they have the big breakup. While that scene in most books seems very contrived to get it into the story, It was very realistic and believable in this one.

I definitely recommend this book as an excellent read. For me though, I REALLY wanted there to be an epilogue – but we didn’t even get a wedding. Somehow, I never feel the story is complete until we get the wedding – for me, that makes the HEA believable. At any rate, it was an excellent story with wonderful characters and I just know you’ll love it. I sure did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.… (más)

Mitchell Harrison, now the seventh Earl of Richfield, and Lady Amelia Covington have a history. They broke each other’s hearts, neither has ever really recovered, and each blamed the other. So, imagine his surprise when he finds her working in his home as a maid. Just what is she up to?

Amelia’s parents are true cold-hearted, despicable people who have run up huge debts and have fled to stay out of debtor’s prison. Lovely caring parents that they are, they sent an unsuspecting Amelia from London to the Covington country estate to be greeted by creditors who are there to strip their home of all of its contents. Then, there was also one very scary, threatening man who raised all of Amelia’s instincts. She couldn’t stay in an empty house, she had absolutely no money, no food, no clothes, and no place to go. Lucky for Amelia, her former lady’s maid managed to get Amelia a job as a maid at the neighboring estate – which just happened to belong to Mitchell. Amelia assumed they wouldn’t cross paths because he spent his time in London. She was certainly wrong about that. What a lucky thing that was.

Mitchell served during the wars and then he became part of the Sub-Rosa Order that undertook distasteful, yet necessary, matters the crown could not. The organization is a shadow organization and the matters it handles are not sanctioned by the crown – so – if the members are caught, they are on their own. Mitchell’s role is that of an assassin and he has relieved England of a number of souls who were the vilest and most reprehensible of its citizens. Since Mitchell didn’t really care if he lived or died, he executed his assignments without much thought. However, in his heart, he always regretted those actions and has finally decided to quit the organization.

As Mitchell comes to realize the extent of Amelia’s troubles and the danger her parents have left her to face, he knows he has to do something. For one, he has to find and deal with the man who threatened her, and then he can worry about saving her reputation within the ton because she definitely doesn’t have a future as a maid.

I certainly enjoyed this book, but not as much as I did the first book in the series, It Was Only a Kiss. I enjoyed the banter between Mitchell and Amelia – Amelia had a wicked sense of humor. Actually, I loved Amelia because she was an intrepid soul who just kept on keepin’ on no matter what was thrown at her. I had a much harder time warming up to Mitchell and I never came to really love him because I could not imagine loving anyone who could deliberately murder someone. Also, Mitchell’s constant angst and internal navel-gazing just made me insane. Somehow, the book managed to be overly busy and yet draggy in spots. By overly busy, I mean there were just too many villains doing too many separate things. I also have to say, I firmly believe that villains should get their punishment. Yet, Amelia’s despicable parents got a reward rather than any punishment.

This is the author’s second book and I hope you’ll give the book and the author a try.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.… (más)

It was truly delightful to be able to read and enjoy this debut author’s wonderfully exciting, well-written, fast-paced, and romantic story. The characters are robust, fully developed, and you will absolutely love them (and their very expressive eyebrows). The witty banter will keep you chuckling and the danger will keep you flipping the pages as fast as you can read them.

Grant, the Duke of Havenly, has always had a love-hate relationship with his grandmother. He cannot forgive her for the way she treated his mother – and his father – so he is bound and determined that he will never marry and have children no matter how hard she pushes at him. He doesn’t care about the duchy – it can pass to a distant cousin for all he cares. Yet, she keeps on at him – time after time after time. He also has a curiosity about a box he won in a card game. It is a simple little box, but there are some odd engravings in and on the box. He’s been investigating and believes the box ties back to a legend about hidden treasure. Finally, he’s identified the original owner of the box and all he has to do is finagle a meeting with her.

Nicolette Bradenton has known three homes in her short life and she was loved in all of them. Until she was ten, she lived with her much-loved parents in a quiet little village. When Nicolette was ten, her mother died, so she and her father lived on the ship he captained, the New Horizon. When she was sixteen, she went to live with her aunt and uncle because her father had been murdered. She’s been with them for three years now and she’s tried really hard to fit into the world of the ton, but it is so hard. There are just so many rules to follow, and she’s not really very good at following rules. So, when a handsome man approaches her at the opera, she isn’t very good at following the rules.

Grant is intrigued by the unconventional and irreverent Nicolette who isn’t cowed by his title and wealth. He loves their verbal sparring; he loves how beautiful and spirited she is – but he does NOT love her. However, with Nicolette in danger, Grant will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. He still won’t love her – and he certainly won’t marry her – but he will keep her safe.

I highly recommend this debut author and hope you will give both the author and the book a try. It was so entertaining and so much fun watching these two working their way toward a HEA.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.… (más)