A Notorious Countess Confesses

A Notorious Countess Confesses Julie Anne Long

This is the latest book in the Pennyroyal Green series. Evie Duggan, Lady Wareham, has arrived in Pennyroyal Green, hoping to outrun the scandal in London. Sadly, everyone in the village knows all about the "Black Widow"-- actress, courtesan, and after being won in a card game, countess until her husband died rather suddenly. Alone, and lonely, Evie wants friends and turns to Adam Sylvaine, Eversea cousin and vicar for help in getting in good with the local ladies...

Yes. They're named Adam and Eve.

But, I love Evie. I loved that she didn't apologize (nor see the need to) for who she is and what she's done in life. It was also really funny-- the whole scene where the Lady's Society tries to scare her off really did make me laugh out loud. It's one of the funniest books in the series.

And, tantalizingly, more plot developments in the Olivia/Lyon story. And not just revelations of what happened, but NEW plot developments... cannot WAIT until we get their book.

A note-- there are some proofing issues in this book-- most notably, Lady Wareham randomly becomes Lady Balmain in some chapters. A few pronouns get switched, too. I knew about this going in and it didn't really phase me. According to her Facebook group, Long knows about the issue and they're fixing it, so if that's something that's going to trip you up, you may want to wait for a corrected edition.

Book Provided by... my wallet

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Perils of Pleasure

The Perils of Pleasure Julie Anne Long

Ack. I read this book awhile ago, and wrote the review awhile ago, and for some reason it never posted!

So, this is the first book in the Pennyroyal Green series, but I read it fourth. It’s also the first book I read to feature the Everseas! Huzzah! Based on the first three books I read, this is what I know about the Everseas-- rogues and charmers, Olivia is why Lyon dissapeared and the only time Isaiah Redmond ever swore was when Colin Eversea failed to hang.

The book opens with Colin’s hanging and his rather dramatic rescue from the gallows. Colin doesn’t know who, or why, he was rescued, only that he was about to hang for a crime he did not commit. Madeleine Greenway is known for being able to get things done. She doesn’t know who hired her, but shortly after successfully rescuing Colin, it becomes very apparent that whomever hired her wants her dead. She and Colin are on a race across London and beyond to uncover the truth about who made Colin’s witnesses disappear before the trial, who rescued him, and who’s after Madeleine.

To be honest, I’m glad I was immersed in the world of Pennyroyal Green before I learned the giant twist at the end. Knowing more about the characters and their tangled webs made it that much more unexpected and shocking.

Plus, grave robbing! Secret pasts! Blackmail! London’s seedy underbelly! It's very cool and fun, but there’s a bit of research overload, which isn’t a problem in the other books.

The Everseas are very different from the Redmonds. I’ve had three books of Redmond scoffing at Eversea luck, charm, and exploits, as compared to the straight-laced and proper Redmonds. And the bit of information we learn at the end of I Kissed an Earl does cloud a bit of my Eversea picture, but... reading about them, they’re just damn fun. It’s a much happier house than Redmonds.

Also, this isn’t about this book in particular, but the series in general, can I just say how much I adore the minor subplots of the marriages of the Eversea and Redmond parents? It’s a nice touch.

But, let’s talk about Madeleine-- she’s not your average romance novel heroine, especially in a Regency Historical. There’s the obvious from the plot--she does just as much rescuing as being rescued and she’s not a member of the ton or a hanger-on. She knows her way around a pistol and darker sides of London. But... she’s older, more experienced, and not a virgin. She’s a widow. She used to have a shop. She’s a VERY nice change of pace from sheltered ladies in pretty dresses who play out their stories in various drawing rooms and dance floors (not that I don’t LOVE that, but... something different is always good.)

PS-- Please check out my latest project, YA Reading List.


Book Provided by... my local library

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Since the Surrender

Since the Surrender Julie Anne Long

OK all. This is the last Pennyroyal Green book (until the new one comes out in October) and my last romance for awhile. I know this is a genre that not a lot of my readers also read (although maybe you should pick one up to try?)

Captain Charles Eversea (Chase) literally and metaphorically carries the scars and weight left over from the wars and Waterloo in particular. Since the end of the war, he's had a hard time fitting back into life in Pennyroyal Green.

Rosalind March lost her Colonel husband at Waterloo. For once in her life, she doesn't have to work just to survive. But then her sister is arrested for petty theft and goes missing from Newgate. She's getting threatening letters and certain names keep coming up-- men who served under her husband.

There's only one person who can help her, but they have A HISTORY AND A PAST. It's very sordid*

The thing I didn't like about this-- when they finally get together they do it in the worst possible place and time. Not once, but twice. FOR REALZ?! How stupid are you? The answer to the mystery is glaringly obvious and right around you if you could just keep your pants on and skirts down for 15 bloody minutes. Also, some glaring plot holes in terms of the length of a tunnel and how far a giggle really would carry.

BUT I DON'T ACTUALLY CARE. Because I really liked this one. In fact, I think it's my favorite! Mostly, because it handles some BIG TOPICS that you don't see often in books that are pretty much escapist fantasy.

There are some deep, hard looks at:

1. The war. Both the lead up to Waterloo and the battle itself, but mostly at its effects on the survivors, both physical and mental. It's very well done.

2. Street urchins/London's urban poor. Heartbreaking. Soooooooo heartbreaking.

3. English justice of petty crimes during this time period. (Stole a loaf of bread? HANG! or be transported! Either way, a bit overkill.)

And, they mystery of Lucy and what's going on is super sordid and shocking and HOLY COW. I'm a bit surprised she went there but am glad she did. There's a depth to this on that I'm not used to in romance, or even in this series. In fact, the mystery/other stuff plot may have overshadowed the romance plot. I actually found myself skimming the kissing scenes (and I NEVER skim a kissing scene) to get back to the other action. While that's usually not good in a romance, it worked in this one. Trust me.

*not really, but kinda. They make it out like it's much more sordid than it actually is.


Book Provided by... my local library via ILL

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What I Did for A Duke

What I Did For a Duke Julie Anne Long

Another entry in the Pennyroyal Green series!

In the sea of craziness and drama in her family, Genevieve Eversea is a sea of calm.

After he catches Ian Eversea in bed with his fiance, the cool and dangerous Duke of Falconbridge vows revenge. He gets his opportunity a few days later at an Eversea houseparty. He'll seduce, ruin, and abandon her.

But Genevieve has just had her house broken. She may be kind, she may be nice, but she's also smart. The Duke of Falconbridge is up to something. They quickly suss each other out and call each other out. He abandons his revenge plans and they strike up a friendship that's about to be derailed by their underlying passion and attraction.

It's another houseparty plot-- let's stick everyone in the same house for a week and see who gets their freak on! Historically, I know that house parties were one of the only ways to find a match outside the Season, but it can seem a bit contrived. Also, in a series that's six books long (so far) this is the third I've read that's a houseparty plot. Ugh. THAT SAID, I actually really liked this one. It's houseparty done right. (If nothing else, Falconbridge got himself invited to the houseparty not only to seduce Genevieve but also just to have his presence torture Ian, which is one of the reasons I love Falconbridge. He's not exactly wicked himself, but he's got a wicked sense of humor. I liked Genevieve. I loved how Long paints her-- she's smart and constrained by her time period without chaffing at it. We don't see that much in historical fiction. She's a heroine I believe could exist. I also loved the Duke. There was a lot of rumor and gossip surrounding him, but when it came down to it, he just cultivated aloofness. More importantly, I believed the sizzle and the sexual tension. I bought the relationship and enjoyed it.

It doesn't have some of the drama and antics of some of the other ones in the series, but it's still one of my favorites (no stowing away on to go hunting pirates).

Book Provided by... my local library

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Pennyroyal Green: I Kissed an Earl

I Kissed an Earl Julie Anne Long

I’m reviewing these all out of order because I read them all out of order. The books stand alone, so you don’t have to read them in order, but you’ll find out that so-and-so recently married so-and-so, which is a technically a spoiler for the previous book, but... If you don’t realize the two main characters are going to get it together by the end of the book in this style of romance...

The odd thing about reading these in the order I read them in (which was solely determined by the order my ILLs arrived at the library) is that I read the three novels about the Redmonds first, and then the three about the Everseas. In order, the books alternate between the two rival families.)

ANYWAY, THE BOOK!

The newly minted Earl of Ardmay is a sea captain, and his new title was given in hopes he could catch a notorious pirate, one that recently killed Ardmay’s mentor and father-figure. Once Ardmay catches the pirate, the King will grant him the fortune and lands that such a title deserves, enough money for Ardmay to settle down and start the family and stability that he’s always longed for.

While talking to him at a ball the irrepresible Violet Redmond learns a few things about this pirate Ardmay’s chasing. His name is Le Chat, he looks almost identical to Violet’s brother Jonathan, and his ship is named Olivia. Of course, Violet’s mind immediately turns to her long-missing brother Lyon (for isn’t a Lion a Big Cat?) who disappeared after something happened with Olivia Eversea.

So, of course, she decides to stowaway on Ardmay’s ship because if Lyon has turned to piracy, he obviously has a really good reason and shouldn’t hang for it. (Plus, she just really wants to see Lyon. She misses him.) And of course Ardmay is *thrilled* to find a gentlewoman on his boat, intent on helping him catch a pirate, but only to free him. There are thrilling points of call, a big storm, and lots of swoony moments.

Overall, I loved this one with one reservation-- Ardmay is British/American and said to be a quarter Cherokee. This gives him his devastating cheekbones AND his “savage” ness. Being called savage is actually a childhood vulnerability for him. He doesn’t seem to personally know any Native Americans, so it’s not that, but the whole things is very problematic. True, the ton’s feelings on it are historically accurate and it’s only a few mentions, BUT. Just... why? It’s very unnecessary and, like I said, very problematic.

BUT! Despite that, LOVE. I love how Violent rushes in and tries to take charge of the situation to get what she wants without really thinking through the consequences. I also really appreciate her character growth-- while at sea she realizes that she’s always been protected by her family and her status-- something she’s never realized or appreciated before. Which means she needs to start thinking a little first.

I love that Ardmay is not a rogue. He doesn’t have time to deal with Violet, he has his mission and means to complete it. There’s not a love triangle.

The plot’s a bit insane (seriously? Stowing away?) But delightful.

AND! More clues to the Lyon/Olivia saga! (The last book in the series will be their story, yes? This is an undercurrent throughout the entire series, which has my interest very, very piqued.)

Book Provided by... my local library

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Pennyroyal Green (double review!)

Pennyroyal Green is a village in Sussex with two aristocratic, powerful families-- the Everseas and the Redmonds. Of course, they are enemies. It is the these families and the other people in the village that the Julie Anne Long's Pennyroyal Green series of romances concerns itself. I've read the second and sixth book (as those are the only two my local library owns.)

Starting with the sixth and most recent book (Because that's the one I read first)

How the Marquess Was Won Julie Anne Long

Phoebe Vale is a teacher at Miss Endicott's Academy-- the girls school in Pennyroyal Green for recalcitrant aristocracy.
Over the holidays, she's invited to the Redmonds to be a companion their niece, Lisbeth, who has her sights set on the Marquess of Dryden. Dryden wants Lisbeth because her dowry contains land that made up his mother's dowry and was lost by his father's gambling--- it's the only piece of the estate that Dryden has yet to recover. Of course, the chemistry is between Dryden and Phoebe. Lisbeth does all she can to remind Phoebe of her place, and Phoebe just wants to survive long enough to catch her boat to Africa, where she'll be joining a missionary group in order to see more of the world.

I loved Phoebe's strength, voice, and wit. I also liked the slow burn of the attraction between her and Dryden. Even after it's there, it takes forever to act on. Long builds the heat and tension slowly and gloriously. I liked it so much I went straight to the only other book I could get my hands on.

Like No Other Lover Julie Anne Long

Miles Redmond is a scientist and renowned explorer of the South Seas and, since the complete disappearance of his brother Lyon, Miles is also heir apparent. Cynthia Brightly was the toast of the ton, but no she has a broken engagement to an Earl's heir and is down to her last few pounds. Her best friend, Violet Redmond, doesn't know how desperate she is, that she must find a husband at this house party, for when it ends, she has no where to go.

Cynthia immediately goes for Miles, but he's been ordered to woo someone else, someone who's father will fund his next expedition. Plus, Miles is still smarting from something he overhead her say years ago, when she was Belle of the Ball and he was still a second son. But of course, they're super attracted to each other anyway, even as they try to make matches elsewhere.

I didn't like this one as much. It took me a long time before I liked Cynthia and I was well into the book before I believed their attraction or relationship. Had I not enjoyed How the Marquess Was Won so much, I doubt I would have finished it. But, I'm glad I did, because I did end up enjoying it.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series-- they're all on their way via ILL. The two I've read are later, and there are many clues about Lyon Redmond in both titles--I want to learn more. Also, both of the ones I've read focus on the Redmonds, with heavy hints and clues about Eversea scandal-- I want to learn more about Pennyroyal Green's other prominent family. Plus, I really loved Violet in Like No Other Lover and I know one of the books is all about her. Now, I just have to wait for the ILLs to come int!

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.