I chose Cecelia Mecca’s The Ward’s Bride to read today and am so happy I did!

It’s a novella, the first book of her Border series. (Someone posted looking for novellas recently, try this one!)

Our hero, Adam, is awarded a lordship, a castle, and an unwilling wife. Cora wants nothing to do with the English and is determined to find a way back home.

Adam is wonderful. I loved him as a hero. He’s sweet to his new bride, he’s loyal, caring, he’s possessive, he’s understanding. Just perfect.

Cora was a tad frustrating due to her refusal to accept her new position, but she does come around.

I haven’t read many novellas/short stories. They usually feel unfinished to me, or it’s hard to get the tension across, or I feel like the sex happens too fast. I didn’t get any of that here, it was wonderful. It has tension and the story works beautifully for a quick read. I’m definitely planning to try more from this series.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Cat is totally at home running through the woods, climbing trees, and taking down wild boar alone.
Her wildness, freedom and vibrant love of life has captured Nathaniel’s attention.

When a letter from the Queen summons the best healer and protector, Cat and Nathaniel travel together to London court.

This is my first Heather McCollum and I can’t help but feeling a bit, not lost necessarily, but lacking a lot of history. Quick recaps are here and there, but I was upset that apparently I missed those first kiss from a previous book. I wish there had been a flashback to it so I could feel more tension between them.

Unfortunately for me, this book had a lot of action and the romance got lost between all the running here and there. There was a scene where they played cards to exchange information about themselves and I really enjoyed that. However, it just didn’t have the tension build up I prefer.

I do think this book is well written and if you enjoy plenty of action, politics of the era, and court intrigue, this may well be a hit for you.



I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book! Really enjoyed this story. It is a part of a series but was fine as a stand alone.

It has almost a gothic feel to it, except the heroine is the broken one and considered mad, instead of the hero. She inherited a moldering manor where she is living after escaping her parents house. She went through a traumatizing experience at a young age, then suffered panic attacks and was treated like she was insane. Her family hid her away in the attic and acted like she didn’t exist.

The hero also wants the moldering ruin pile because it was a part of his family’s legacy a century ago, but it was gambled away.

I felt like this story had enough action to propel the story forward but most of it was focused on the relationship and I loved that. The hero Rafe, does fight his love for Hedley, the heroine, because he has bad history with the rest of her family.

You get to spend a lot of time in the hero’s perspective and I loved that as well. I definitely will be searching out more by this author.

I absolutely love this cookbook. I love salad but tend to make the same one repeatedly. This has so many great ideas to add into meal rotation.

This book explains various tools and prepping strategies that will help make salad assembling quick and easy.

It discusses how to grow your own micro greens and which salt to use and even how to make salted lemons, which I had never tried before.

There is a handy notice for how long ingredients are good for so you know what to prep ahead and what to make that day.

This book also has a note for gluten, soy, or nut free for allergies.

I was so impressed with the marinade options that give your protein so much flavor to mix up for variety.

This book provides endless combinations by offering salad recipe with topping and dressing choices to mix up regularly.

This book is great for someone that loves the fast paced drama. There was a lot going on plot wise with the mystery they were solving. As others have mentioned there are a few historical inaccuracies (mentioning Dicken’s and Poe’s work before they take place) that did bother me once it was mentioned. They weren’t integral to the story though.

Hugh is now the Marquess and is looking to own the Raven Club to manage. Ellie also wants to become owner of the club. Her brother, the current owner, tells them they must have a competition to see who it will belong to. This sets up the premise of the book, where they are looking at each other’s strategies and trying to beat each other.

These two have a past, the reader finds out what High really meant early on.

I just didn’t like this book. It had an enemies to lovers feel, with their volatile history. But I didn’t like the hate, kiss, hate, kiss on Ellie’s part. I just really didn’t like either main character. Hugh kept her hanging on thinking the worst of him and not really doing much to prove it wasn’t true, while Ellie was just a mix of emotions that didn’t really make sense. I didn’t feel the tension or longing for them to be together like I want.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

I didn’t realize when I picked this book up, I had read it years ago. It was one of those readings where everything that happens, I was like, “Oh yeah, I remember that.” But I couldn’t recall what would happen next. I remember really loving this book when I first read it, but I guess it’s not my thing anymore.

Lord Lucas Stokehurst has a 12 year old feisty daughter on the cusp of womanhood. She’s his world and in desperate need of a governess and a motherly figure to guide her through the coming years. Tasia is a Russian exile, fleeing for her life from committing a murder she can’t completely recall. She has family in England, where she takes on the name Karen Billings and is introduced to Lucas as a governess.

There is SO much going on in this book. So so much. I found it rather tiring this time around and wasn’t a big fan of the hero. He comes off as aggressive, angry, and keeps referencing Karen as a child yet can’t keep his hands off her. I’m totally fine with the age gaps in romance, and I know this was more the thing in these 90s romances. It just came off as more of a weird obsession instead of him trying to find excuses to leave her alone.

Anyway. Murder. Faked death. Poison. Exile. Mistress. Fake identity. Hook for a hand. Magic psychic abilities. It was just non stop craziness and i just wasn’t feeling it. I actually would have liked more emphasis on Tasias abilities, they really just played into a short scene or two, why even include them with so much else going on.

Not keeping this book, yet I don’t think it’s terrible. Just more not my thing anymore.

I must say that Meredith Duran is an absolutely wonderful writer. I’ve read two of her books now (this and Duke of Shadows). She is amazing at totally immersing me in the world she’s created. The characters come completely to life and are so relatable. I’m totally engaged. Pretty sure I snarled at people when I was interrupted. Lol. I felt like I was there with them. I could clearly see the restaurant where Alex is encouraging Gwen to be wicked. I felt like I was in the audience watching Gwen on stage at a later scene. Just very vivid and colorful.

I totally loved this heroine. Gwen has always been society’s darling. Coming from common roots, she always has a smile for the tons snarkiness, is always ready to give to those ready to take. A paragon of virtue and manners. That is, until she is tossed over by not one, but TWO gentleman. I loved the chapter where she realizes she has the right to be herself. The rebelliousness and just pure sass during this chapter had me laughing with all of her thoughts of what she could now do. It was a wonderful journey to watch her come into her own.

Alex has suffered a childhood illness of asthma and overwhelming family. He has long since made his own way in the world, becoming close with Gwen’s brother during their travels.

I did like the first half of this book more than the second. To me the tension fizzled a tad with the push and pull of the characters. But when they get there, oh it’s wonderful. Alex’s concern and caring for Gwen is so utterly heartfelt and true and watching him come to those realizations melted my heart.

I highly recommend!