A LOVE MOST DARING - MY FIRST 2026 READ

WOW, I completely LOVED this book!

1803
Beatrice Lacey is somewhat sassy, vulnerable, and she has an opinion! Her deepest desire is to be rid of her past and find an everlasting love.

Alexander Rawlings is a stern Bow Street Runner. He has secrets and little time for ladies.

When these two are forced together, danger trails them constantly, and their disdain for one another will have to take a back seat if they are to survive.

I found this tale delicious, dangerous, and delightful! It is my first time reading this author, and I just purchased the two previous eBooks. I cannot wait to read them!

Synopsis: From best-selling author Joanna Barker: Proper romance meets page-turning mystery in this captivating tale of danger, redemption, and love worth fighting for.

After years of whispered gossip and quiet exile in the countryside, Beatrice Lacey arrives in London determined to reclaim her life. But her resolve is shaken when she witnesses a horrific attack tied to a chilling high-profile murder case gripping the city.

Thrust into sudden danger, Beatrice finds herself under the reluctant protection of Alexander Rawlings—a brooding Bow Street officer with a guarded heart and a fierce sense of duty. Though it's clear he’d rather be chasing the killer than shielding a scandal-stained Society miss, their forced closeness begins to unravel his defenses. In the unnerving moments between danger and discovery, every sharp exchange and lingering glance fans a slow-burning connection—one neither of them expected and neither can resist.

With danger closing in and old wounds resurfacing, trust may be their only refuge—and love their most daring risk of all.

Genres: Historical Fiction / Regency / Romance
320 pages, Paperback
Expected publication March 3, 2026


NetGalley reviewer.
All opinions are mine alone without expectation or compensation.

📚GoodReads Reading Challenge 2026: Book No. 1 > Read 1/13-14/2026

Until next time, hugs and a cup of tea

A Pursuit of Home - Fantastic New Regency Read

A Pursuit of Home – Haven Manor Book 3 - by Kristi Ann Hunter (one should read the previous Regency Era books in order)

***Fantastic Characters***

French Countryside, 1806 Jessamine Beauchene - wealthy, royal niece to the King of Verbonne, petite at age 15. Her family attacked in the middle of the night. Shoved into a hole in the floorboards with their family’s secrets.

[Absolutely one of my favorite scenes is when a beloved character from Kristi’s very first novel appears.]

The board lifted and the light from a single lantern revealed a pair of grey eyes… “What’s your name?” he asked. “Jess-“ hiccup – “Jess-” sniffle… “Well, Jess,” the man said, “I’m here to rescue you. How do you feel about going to England?”

[He is somewhat of a hero and definitely has amazing wit.  Without revealing too much I was thrilled to have him back!]

Marlborough, England, 1816

Ch. 1 Sometimes despite time, distance, and a significant amount of ignoring it, the past never quite went away. Over the past two days, everything Jess had run from had spilled over the wall of the past and covered her present like gravy. Lumpy, bitter, burnt gravy. Every emotion she’d worked hard to bury had risen to the surface, making her mind a muddled swarm of incomplete thoughts and sharp colors.

… her current situation irritated her … she was going to have to ask a very bothersome man for his assistance. She needed Derek Thornbury’s help. To get, she was going to have to ask him, which required talking to him, which required, which required being in the same room with him without taking her knife from its hidden sheath and stabbing him in the leg. A tall order, as the man was simply too vexing for words.

“I brought you tea.”

“I see that.” He crossed the room and lifted the top of the pot to gaze into the depths of the brown liquid. “Is it poisoned?”

…Derek was a scholar of antiquities. He worked with things created by dead people.  When he was working he might go days without a significant interaction with anyone who drew breath. Living people, quite inconveniently, required him to recall his manners and finish his sentences. Jess wasn’t merely an inconvenience, though. She was a massive complication, a mystery that was constantly changing, frustrating him to no end even as it kept enticing him closer.

Tea Quote: Anyone who insisted on foisting their romantic notions on her could find themselves with ipecac in their tea.

Faith Quote: …how important it was to seek God in the quiet times in order to know what to cling to in the chaos.

KristiAnneHunter.com

Enjoyable story as always!

Thank you to Bethany House, the author and NetGalley for a copy. My opinion is my own and given freely. Keep updated on the author’s website, Kristi Ann Hunter dot com

Haven Manor Series:

“The Haven Manor series follows a group of women who take what could have been a life-crushing circumstance and turned it into an opportunity to help desperate women and their children from the same fate. Their pasts may have brought these women here, but God has an amazing future in store for them.” -Author’s Website

Book 0.5 A Search for Refuge (Margaretta’s Story) 03/2018 FREE eNovella (available in print 2019 in the 3 author collection Love At Last)

Book 1 A Defense of Honor (Kit’s Story) 06/05/2018

Book 1.5 Legacy of Love (Sarah’s Story) 10/2018 Novella in The Christmas Heirloom Collection featuring 4 different authors

Book 2 A Return of Devotion – Daphne’s Story - coming Feb. 5, 2019

Book 3 A Pursuit of Home - Jess's Story - 11/5/2019

CLICK HERE

Until next time, Hugs and a Cup of Tea (hopefully without ipecac or poison!)

The Unexpected Champion – High Sierra Sweethearts Book 3 - by Mary Connealy

Well, friends, I am suffering from a chest cold so this review will be short and sweet.  

***LIKE A BULLET, THIS STORY LEAPS OFF THE PAGE AND DOESN’T SLOW DOWN***

Sierra Nevada Mountains – June 1868

Beginning where “The Reluctant Warrior” left off this book is by far the best in the trilogy!  I really enjoyed it.

John McCall, a Pinkerton agent, has helped haul in the man he just shot to the town of Dismal, NV.  Penny Scott is a strong frontierswoman and ready to give her account of the day’s events to the sheriff.  She can take care of herself.  But, when trouble finds them both and McCall offers to die for her, a long adventurous fight for their lives follows.  The story is romantic, outlandish with the disguises and harrowing at times in the rough boomtowns and terrain of mountains, lakes, old mining shacks and wilderness.  I enjoyed Penny’s and John’s chemistry.  Our previous characters return as well, which rounds out the story nicely.  This group is fiercely protective of each other and won’t stop until everyone is safe and justice found.

The only tea reference (albeit slim) I found: “the front windows let in enough light that they managed to not fall tail over tea kettle to the ground floor.”

Copy provided by Bethany House Publishing via NetGalley with no other compensation.  I am not required to provide a favorable review and my opinion is my own. Please read other reviews for a more well-rounded purchasing decision.  

High Sierra Sweethearts Series:

1 – The Accidental Guardian – April 2018☆☆☆☆☆

2 – The Reluctant Warrior – October 2018 ☆☆☆

3 – The Unexpected Champion – coming March 5, 2019☆☆☆☆☆

Connect with the author at Mary Connealy dot com

Until next time, hugs and a cup of tea,

TO LOVE A STRANGER Book Review

NetGalley cover shown here. Click HERE
to go to CBD for more information & to purchase.
Note a different cover is currently shown on CBD
as seen below.

To Love a Stranger

Colleen Cobble

•°o•:*:•.Diverting, but feels rushed .•:*:• o°•

April 1868

Bessie Randall is age twenty-six from a prestigious family in Boston.  She is the older, plainer and quieter sister to Lenore, who is beautiful, and toast of the town at age twenty-one.  On a whim, Lorna has decided to correspond with a handsome soldier, from Fort Bridger, Utah Territory, who is interested in marriage. She thought nothing would come of it, but the letters continued over six months.  She had used her older sister’s name, knowing her parents would never approve of her writing.  When he asked for a marriage by proxy, it sounded exciting, so she just did it.  Then she met Richard and changed her mind. She tells her sister, “I know you would like Jasper. And you’d make a much better soldier’s wife than I would”.  Bessie feels both betrayed, and bound to a promise made in her name.  Fearing her sister may even go to jail, she agrees to follow through on the marriage.

Jasper is smitten with the beautiful photo of Lenore, who he thinks is “his” Bessie, and feels connected to her through their many letters.  Knowing she craves adventure, he intends to surprise her with the fact his regiment is being reassigned to the untamed land of Arizona, filled with Indians, and other dangers.  When the real Bessie arrives, he feels duped and betrayed.  Bessie prays he will accept her and not send her packing. He has little choice when his timetable gets moved up.  Either try to deal with the situation along the way, or leave her behind, legally married to him.  They decide to wait until they get to Phoenix to figure out the best course.  Along the way, Bessie finds an Indian baby, destined to die in the dessert.  They immediately help care for the baby, and Jasper discovers there may be more to this tiny waif of a woman than he originally thought.  They encounter hardships together, and walk on eggshells with each other, constantly assuming and reevaluating things in their minds, as they muddle through their new relationship.  They finally agree to use the Bible as a road map for love, and try to figure out God’s direction for that.  FAVORITE QUOTE: The Lord called me as His own when I was ten years old.  I will do my best to raise my daughter in the ways of Jesus as we travel among my people to tell them of His love.” Thomas, Ch. 15

Because this book is only 224 pages, it felt quite rushed to me.  I would have liked things to develop at a more realistic pace.  It is well written, but also lacked the mystery element this author is usually famous for.  It is a nice diversion, and I easily read it in one evening.  I also noticed more than one cover.  I liked the one featured on NetGalley, but I did not care for the one I saw on Christian Book Discounters, which appears dated.

I recommend this book as a light read, and appreciate receiving an advance eCopy through NetGalley. My opinion is my own.

                                                                                                                                   

HHHH (4 stars)

224 Pages

Thomas Nelson Publ., scheduled for release June 19, 2016 - UPDATE: THIS BOOK APPEARS TO BE A REPACKAGED BOOK FROM 2000, PER THE LINK SHOWN IN GOODREADS.

Read: 4/20/2016