September Reading Goals

I'm behind on my reading goal, so I have an ambitious list for the month as I try to catch up. This month's reading list includes mostly books picked up from a trip to the local library, plus a few catch up review requests.  My priority is to finish Enchanted Ever After. Finishing the Enchanted, Inc. series has been a task because the last book was impossible to find! I finally found a copy, thanks to my new library's Hoopla account, but when I got 80% finished reading it, the checkout expired and I had exceeded my allowance for the month. So I have been waiting 2 weeks to finish the last few pages. So frustrating! Once I finish that, there are a few more old reads to finish that I hope to finally complete, and then several new library finds.

This is what my September reading list looks like:

Enchanted Ever After by Shanna Swendson (FINALLY)
The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite
Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas
Vic Boyo Doofus Detective: Double Murders are Twice as Bad by Milo James Fowler
The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor
Never Less Than a Lady by Mary Jo Putney
A Storybook Hero by Shanna Swendson
It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas
The Curse of Cain by Theophilus Monroe

And if I get to it, this further volume from another series that I have started:

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite

There are still reviews incoming for my August reads as well. Still; getting situated in the new house and trying to get everything for my business established in a new state (plus prepping for a festival at the end of the month) means that I have quite a backlog to post. I will get them all posted as soon as I can. I had ambitiously set up a goal of 2-3 posts a week before the move, and once things get balanced out, I hope to get back to that. Which means that there are a lot of posts coming! Please be patient and check back.

And, as always, I am open to and love discussion, so I invite you to grab a book and read along!

A Gentleman Never Keeps Score

A Gentleman Never Keeps Score (Seducing the Sedgwicks #2)

By  Cat Sebastian

ISBN: 9780062821584

320 Pages

Available in Paperback, Audible, and on Kindle

Synopsis:

Once beloved by London's fashionable elite, Hartley Sedgwick has become a recluse after a spate of salacious gossip exposed his most-private secrets. Rarely venturing from the house whose inheritance is a daily reminder of his downfall, he’s captivated by the exceedingly handsome man who seeks to rob him.

Since retiring from the boxing ring, Sam Fox has made his pub, The Bell, into a haven for those in his Free Black community. But when his best friend Kate implores him to find and destroy a scandalously revealing painting of her, he agrees. Sam would do anything to protect those he loves, even if it means stealing from a wealthy gentleman. But when he encounters Hartley, he soon finds himself wanting to steal more than just a painting from the lovely, lonely man—he wants to steal his heart.

My Thoughts:

A Gentleman Never Keeps Score is the second installment in Seducing the Sedgwicks, Cat Sebastian's second M/M historical romance series. Hartley Sedgwick, the second of the series' titular Sedgwick brothers, is laying low in his London home after having been outed as having earned his status and possessions on his back, so to speak. From the time he was a teen, Hartley was coerced into a physical relationship with his wealthy godfather. He took it upon himself to get his siblings out of their bad upbringing situation by exchanging sexual favors for placements, obtaining the vicarage for the elder Benedict (as explored in It Takes Two to Tumble), a naval rank for his younger brother Will, and the London home and an allowance for himself.

Hartley sees what he did as a necessity and a controlled situation, but Sam Fox sees it for what it was - an innocent young boy was manipulated by a corrupt man. Sam Fox is a retired boxer and the proprietor of the pub The Bell. He works there alongside his brother Nick and Kate, his childhood friend and Nick's fiancée. Kate once allowed a scandalous painting of herself to be made in exchange for money that she dearly needed at the time. The artist? The very same corrupt godfather who exploited Hartley. Kate wants the painting reclaimed and destroyed before she is married, so she turns to Sam to help. Sam attempts to break into Hartley's house, believing it to still belong to his late godfather.

I particularly enjoyed how A Gentleman Never Keeps Score gives a glimpse of the lifestyle within the black community. Not a lot of regency era books cover this, and it is a significantly different experience than that you see reading books that focus on the ton and their bustling social calendars. None of the pivotal characters in this book are titled or have elevated social status and most of the action takes place in back alleys and more lively parts of town.

Aside from the core storylines about retrieving the painting and the scandal, A Gentleman Never Keeps Score had some interesting side themes. There was the mystery surrounding the location of the (multiple!) scandalous paintings, Kate's relationship with Nick, Sam's disputes with the racist local law enforcement, and pub related drama. Most significantly, you get a bit more insight into the drama with Will Sedgwick, which was alluded to in It takes Two to Tumble and will be more fully explored in the next book.

Another big part of the story was the interactions with Alfie, the only servant that did not leave Hartley after the scandal broke, and Sadie, a young girl in a difficult situation who comes to work at Hartley's house mid book. These characters are loyal, honest, and jovial despite what life has thrown at them. As far as side characters go, they are absolutely delightful. I would love to be able to read more about them and what happens to them after this tale ends.

After binging through five other Cat Sebastian books, with this one being read number six, I was afraid that I would get burnt out on the genre and the setting. But that's not what happened. I really liked reading A Gentleman Never Keeps Score. It brings different things to the table than the previous reads. But at the same time, it does have a similar feel to A Soldier's Scoundrel. If you liked Sebastian's introductory novel, you will equally enjoy this one, as I did.

Parent's Guide:

100% not for the kids! This book is adult in nature, with graphic sexual situations. Absolutely 18+

It Takes Two to Tumble

It Takes Two to Tumble (Seducing the Sedgwicks #1)

By  Cat Sebastian

ISBN: 9780062821577

304 Pages

Available in Paperback, Audible, and on Kindle

Synopsis:

Some of Ben Sedgwick’s favorite things:

• Helping his poor parishioners
• Baby animals
• Shamelessly flirting with the handsome Captain Phillip Dacre

After an unconventional upbringing, Ben is perfectly content with the quiet, predictable life of a country vicar, free of strife or turmoil. When he’s asked to look after an absent naval captain’s three wild children, he reluctantly agrees, but instantly falls for the hellions. And when their stern but gloriously handsome father arrives, Ben is tempted in ways that make him doubt everything.

Some of Phillip Dacre’s favorite things:

• His ship
• People doing precisely as they're told
• Touching the irresistible vicar at every opportunity

Phillip can’t wait to leave England’s shores and be back on his ship, away from the grief that haunts him. But his children have driven off a succession of governesses and tutors and he must set things right. The unexpected presence of the cheerful, adorable vicar sets his world on its head and now he can’t seem to live without Ben’s winning smiles or devastating kisses.

In the midst of runaway children, a plot to blackmail Ben’s family, and torturous nights of pleasure, Ben and Phillip must decide if a safe life is worth losing the one thing that makes them come alive.  

My Thoughts:

It Takes Two to Tumble is the first installment in Cat Sebastian's second M/M historical romance series, Seducing the Sedgwicks. It tells a sweet love story between a stern ship captain and a reserved yet not-so-naïve vicar - it's all very Maria von Trapp. Maria in this case being the lead character Benedict Sedgwick, eldest of the series' titular Sedgwick brothers, who had a very unique upbringing for that time, having been raised in a household with their father, his wife, and his mistress - as well as various other interlopers and stragglers. After he is granted the vicarship of the parish of St. Aelred's, Benedict is happy to have a chance at normalcy in his life and looks forward to a most mundane future, including a marriage with his best friend Alice Crawford. That is, until the arrival of Captain Philip Dacre, the absent master of Barton Hall, a large estate within his parish. 

Captain Dacre is distant and abrasive, tormented by his own difficult childhood, but also by several recent losses: that of his wife, who he didn't so much love as appreciate for her capability at raising their children and keeping order of the household, and more importantly that of a fellow sailor on his ship. who he DID love despite not being willing to admit as much. When he arrives home from sea, his children are completely out of control, having not had a firm hand to guide them in the four years since their mother passed. He finds them in the temporary care of Benedict Sedgwick, who has been roped in to keep them out of serious trouble until a more permanent situation can be managed. He has no idea how to interact with the children, as he had almost always been at sea and had rarely seen them.

Of all the Cat Sebastian books I have read up to this point, the pair in It Takes Two to Tumble undeniably have the best chemistry. The relationship develops slowly at first, with innocent glances and touches, but by the book's halfway point they have moved beyond thoughts and to actions. To some, it may seem as though they moved too fast, but I feel like this just emphasizes the loneliness that the two have been suffering. Philip has been at sea for a year grieving the loss of a loved one that he could share with no other person and Benedict, in trying to keep his feelings in alignment with the teachings of the church, has been denying his true self for much longer than that. They are both burdened with a deep seated need for true companionship and understanding, and as soon as the realization hits that the other person may be the one to fulfill that, the door opens. The turning point in their relationship, when Phillip confessed his preferences by drunkenly telling Benedict about his feelings for his lieutenant, was a straightforward, calculated act of a man who is always in control - who was at that point desperate for a clear answer. He chose to reveal something in a manner that would be received compassionately yet could be explained away if it was not accepted as he hoped it would be.

As I have mentioned previously, I am usually hesitant about romance books that involve children. But of course, for the whole Sound of Music theme to work, children have to be present. I did appreciate the way they were handled in this book. The children were pivotal to the story, in that they initially brought Benedict to the home, and also in how they helped Philip open up and accept his own flaws - some in return gave him the ability to better bond with the children. But the children were somewhat independent and not so heavily present as to make the development of the romance awkward.

It Takes Two to Tumble did have a lot going on in the sidelines. Aside from the parent child relationships, there was plenty of Sedgwick family drama and landowner drama, plus the whole thing where Benedict had Alice the fiancée and that had to be resolved. The writer did manage to wrap that up quite conveniently in a way that may be seen as a little contrived, though no more so than a million other drama tales out there. I liked the Alice character quite a bit - she was well developed and had a strong background. I appreciated the way her storyline was resolved and would consider reading a novella about her were it not for the fact that I believe most of what could be told has been summed up in these pages already.

Overall, I quite enjoyed reading It Takes Two to Tumble. I think that of all the Cat Sebastian books I have read so far, The Lawrence Brown Affair is still my favorite, but this one comes as a close second.

Parent's Guide:

100% not for the kids! This book is adult in nature, with graphic sexual situations. Absolutely 18+

A Little Light Mischief

A Little Light Mischief (The Turners #3.5)
By  Cat Sebastian

ISBN: 9780062951045
144 Pages
Available in Paperback, Audiobook, and on Kindle

Synopsis:

A seductive thief

Lady’s maid Molly Wilkins is done with thieving—and cheating and stabbing and all the rest of it. She’s determined to keep her hands to herself, so she really shouldn’t be tempted to seduce her employer’s prim and proper companion, Alice. But how can she resist when Alice can’t seem to keep her eyes off Molly?

Finds her own heart

For the first time in her life, Alice Stapleton has absolutely nothing to do. The only thing that seems to occupy her thoughts is a lady’s maid with a sharp tongue and a beautiful mouth. Her determination to know Molly’s secrets has her behaving in ways she never imagined as she begins to fall for the impertinent woman.

Has been stolen

When an unwelcome specter from Alice’s past shows up unexpectedly at a house party, Molly volunteers to help the only way she knows how: with a little bit of mischief.

My Thoughts:

A Little Light Mischief is a much shorter addition to Cat Sebastian's The Turner's book series. Often referred to as book 3.5 in the series, this novella is the first to feature a F/F relationship, focusing on the previously introduced Molly Wilkins and her current mistress' young charge Alice Stapleton. This is the first F/F historical romance that I have read and it was interesting to see the differences in how these characters were handled.

The main character in A Little Light Mischief is Molly Wilkins, acquaintance of Jack and Georgie Turner from A Soldier's Scoundrel and The Lawrence Brown Affair. Like Georgie, Molly is a morally ambiguous, chaotic bi confidence artist. Or rather, a former confidence artist. Due to some life changing circumstances, Molly has secured legitimate work and is trying to live an honest life. Which most recently has brought her into the household of  Mrs. Wraxhall and into the life of Alice Stapleton, Wraxhall's ward.

Both Molly and Alice are depicted as feminine and innocent, each in their own way, and they are both likeable characters. Molly has had a rough life, has been taken advantage of, and came out of it more worldly, while Alice is more demure and naïve. Her naivete causes her to be slow to outwardly admit to her feelings for the ladies maid. Thus their relationship is very slow to develop. The couple only get physically intimate once in the entire book, and it does not go into the same illicit amount of detail as most of Sebastian's novels. This seems fitting given Alice's inexperience and upbringing, not to mention her trauma.

As typical with Sebastian's books, A Little Light Mischief offers a well thought out and developed non-romance side plot. For Molly, this revolves around a little secret that is kept in a house across town, and in the case of Alice, this involves family drama and betrayal. The story is surprisingly detailed for how short the book is overall. All in all, A Little Light Mischief was a good story and I found it to be a pleasant quick read, and a nice addition to the Turner-verse. 

Parent's Guide:

Probably not appropriate for any degree of youths. While being pretty vanilla when compared to the writer's other books, A Little Light Mischief is still adult in nature, with clear sexual situations. Definitely should be  18+

The Ruin of a Rake

 

The Ruin of a Rake (The Turners #3)
By  Cat Sebastian

ISBN: 9780062642530
336 Pages
Available in Paperback, Audible, and on Kindle

Synopsis:

Rogue. Libertine. Rake. Lord Courtenay has been called many things and has never much cared. But after the publication of a salacious novel supposedly based on his exploits, he finds himself shunned from society. Unable to see his nephew, he is willing to do anything to improve his reputation, even if that means spending time with the most proper man in London.

Julian Medlock has spent years becoming the epitome of correct behavior. As far as he cares, if Courtenay finds himself in hot water, it’s his own fault for behaving so badly—and being so blasted irresistible. But when Julian’s sister asks him to rehabilitate Courtenay’s image, Julian is forced to spend time with the man he loathes—and lusts after—most.

As Courtenay begins to yearn for a love he fears he doesn’t deserve, Julian starts to understand how desire can drive a man to abandon all sense of propriety. But he has secrets he’s determined to keep, because if the truth came out, it would ruin everyone he loves. Together, they must decide what they’re willing to risk for love.

My Thoughts:

The Ruin of a Rake, the third installment in The Turner's series, is your standard love/hate relationship. The lead characters start out with a severe dislike for each other and slowly fall in love despite every effort made not to. They eventually come around, after a good amount of "why do I like this person, it's so infuriating" moments.

The physically intimate scenes in The Ruin of a Rake are more scandalous and more frequent, similar to the style of A Soldier's Scoundrel. As a result of the seething dislike between the characters at the beginning, some of the intimate scenes are very one sided and have a strong sense of shame associated with them, but nothing happens that is against anyone's will.

While the first 2 books in the series are pretty much capable of being read as standalone stories, I feel like the reader needs to know what happened in The Lawrence Brown Affair to fully understand and appreciate the events of The Ruin of a Rake. A significant portion of Lord Courtenay's personality hinges on his relationship with the Earl of Radnor's son and a lot of groundwork into the two leads' interactions is set up in the previous book. You could read this one without reading the previous story and eventually get the main idea of what all has transpired, but for the full experience, I recommend reading The Lawrence Brown Affair first.

The side plot in The Ruin of a Rake is less memorable than that of it's predecessors, centering mostly on dealings with Lord Courtenay's finances and diminished reputation. The best part of it is the mysteriousness behind The Brigand Prince, the scandalous novel that is the primary source of Lord Courtenay's reputation woes. But even then, there is a degree of predictability. Overall, I felt like this book was the weakest of the trio, plot wise, but it was still a decent read.

Parent's Guide:

100% not for the kids! This book is adult in nature, with graphic sexual situations. Absolutely 18+

The Soldier's Scoundrel

The Soldier's Scoundrel (The Turners #1)
By  Cat Sebastian

ISBN: 9780062642486
308 Pages
Available in Paperback, Audiobook, and on Kindle

Synopsis:

A scoundrel who lives in the shadows

Jack Turner grew up in the darkness of London’s slums, born into a life of crime and willing to do anything to keep his belly full and his siblings safe. Now he uses the tricks and schemes of the underworld to help those who need the kind of assistance only a scoundrel can provide. His distrust of the nobility runs deep and his services do not extend to the gorgeous high-born soldier who personifies everything Jack will never be. 

A soldier untarnished by vice

After the chaos of war, Oliver Rivington craves the safe predictability of a gentleman’s life—one that doesn’t include sparring with a ne’er-do-well who flouts the law at every turn. But Jack tempts Oliver like no other man has before. Soon his yearning for the unapologetic criminal is only matched by Jack’s pleasure in watching his genteel polish crumble every time they’re together. 

Two men meant only for each other

My Thoughts:

The Soldier's Scoundrel is the first book of the set now referred to as The Turners, but it was the second book in the series that I read. I expected something a little more timid than it was and was surprised, but not disappointed. The genre of M/M romance novels is still a new thing to me, and it has been quite a while since I have read any romance novels at all, so I somewhat forgot that they can sometimes be... detailed. This didn't put me off of reading it, but it meant I had to be more careful about WHERE I was reading it.

The story is a touching tale of redemption, but not in the way you expect. Jack Turner, the more roguish character, holds the moral high ground throughout most of the book, quite adequately schooling Oliver, the proper gentleman / former soldier who needs a good reality check. This is a fun change from the typical "let me, the wealthy hero, rescue you from depravity" notion that male written romance novels tend to circle around. 

The romance element isn't forced, but develops quite naturally. But once they hit that point, they don't waste any time enjoying what each other has to offer. There are several scenes of varying degrees of intimacy. At the same time, they deal with very human relationship issues - like how Oliver is struggling to feel like a complete person after his injury - and how, due to his past, Jack has some mental hang-ups of his own to work through. In a very real way, they help each other to heal.

The best thing about this book is that the story doesn't just revolve around the relationship. There is a solid secondary plotline where they are working to solve a mystery, and it is just as captivating as the romance plot, if not more so. As someone who loves mystery stories, I was completely invested in finding out the solution to the case. I have read a lot of romance novels in the past, and while most have secondary plotlines to drive the story, The Soldier's Scoundrel has to be one of the most detailed and interesting ones I have read to date.

Overall, I thought The Soldier's Scoundrel was an excellent read. I was originally only planning to read the first book in the set that I had happened across at the library, but after going back and reading this one as well, I was motivated to finish the four book series.

Parent's Guide:

100% not for the kids! This book is adult in nature, with graphic sexual situations. Absolutely 18+