Review - - Nearly a Bride

Nearly a Bride

by Sabrina Jeffries

Lords of Hazard - Book 2

Publisher: Kensington Books

Release Date: April 28, 2026

Reviewed by PJ

After more than a decade separated from his home and family, the Earl of Heathbrook returns to his London townhouse to face a new test: reclaiming guardianship of his younger brothers. His reputation as a rakehell, it seems, has followed him from detention inside Napoleon’s France and caused his own father to block Heathbrook’s rightful custody in his will. However, the clever rogue concocts a plan to restore respectability and rescue his siblings . . . by finding a “fiancée” with no strings attached.

Giselle Bernard is not looking to wed an earl with a wild past. All she seeks is a connected nobleman who can legally secure her new life in England and head off a mysterious stranger’s threats. Posing as Heathbrook’s bride-to-be would surely benefit them both. But as revelations come to light—the ill-fated young affair that left Heathbrook embittered, and the mademoiselle’s own guarded secrets—their engagement charade may unexpectedly blossom into a promise to love, honor, and cherish . . .

PJ's Thoughts:

Imagine being a 17-year-old forced to accompany your father on a trip to France then spending the next eleven years detained, then imprisoned, by Napoleon. It's the type of experience that leaves a person fundamentally changed, not to mention the changes to everyone and everything left behind in England. That's the premise of this new series from Sabrina Jeffries who has created two books, so far, that have been hard to put down.  

This second book in Jeffries' new trilogy kept me engaged from start to finish. I admit, fake engagement is one of my favorite romance tropes and it's done so well in this book. Giselle and Heathbrook are on equal footing when the deal is struck which, for me, made it even more enjoyable. Each needs the other, neither wants a permanent relationship, and, oh, how much fun it is when those pesky romantic feelings enter the picture.

I really enjoyed the different relationships in this book, those among friends, family, and couples. There are more than a few twists that impact those relationships as well as the progression of the story. But I also enjoyed how the evolution of the relationships revealed facets of individual characters. Giselle's deepening bonds with Heathbrook's brothers, in particular, not only gave readers additional insight in her character but helped Heathbrook repair his sibling relationships as well as open his eyes to possibilities between him and Giselle. 

I love character growth in a book and in this one, Heathbrook has a boatload of growing to do. It was immensely satisfying to watch his evolution and the results of it upon his family, his relationship with Giselle, and his overall outlook upon life. By the end of the book, I was firmly in his corner and cheering the person he had become. 

If you enjoy historical romance with secrets, complicated family dynamics, witty banter, slow-burn romance, a bit of a mystery, surprising twists, and a hard-won happy ending, give Nearly a Bride a try. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Review - - The Last Lady B

The Last Lady B

by Eloisa James

Publisher: Gallery Books

Release Date: May 12, 2026

Reviewed by PJ

In the depths of winter, Lady Genevieve Hughes, her pet piglet, and her septuagenarian husband travel to a haunted abbey in the Scottish Highlands. Evie is excited to meet a ghost (perhaps one of her husband’s three previous wives), but didn’t expect the funny, quirky guests to become the friends she’s never had. And she certainly didn’t imagine meeting Sir Godric Everly, a sardonic, witty solicitor who loathes her husband.

Yet as secrets and lies turn Evie’s world upside down, Sir Godric becomes the one person whom she can trust.

When ghosts, multiple wills, and a shocking marriage certificate bring Lord Burnsby’s past crashing into his present, Burnsby promptly dies, leaving Evie free to remarry…though as a virgin wife, now a virgin widow, she is more unnerved by the marriage bed than a spectral visit.

More importantly, she has to figure out whose identity is false, whose vows are dishonorable, whose truths could destroy her reputation—and where her heart belongs.

PJ's Thoughts:

It's rare for an author I've been reading for 20 years to surprise me but that's exactly what Eloisa James did...and in a very good way. I've read everything this author has published. The Last Lady B, in my opinion, is one of her best. 

The point of view is written in first person, a departure from past James books but very effective in this book. Evie's mind is such a fun place to be! The plot is fast paced, keeping me on my toes from start to finish. While I had no idea how Evie and her true love would ever get their HEA, I was truly hooked and eager to turn each page to discover what awaited around the next corner of this twisty tale and, let me tell you, I did NOT see some of those twists coming! Underpinning the twists are plenty of humor, conflict, witty dialog, social commentary, endearing chemistry, awkward physical intimacy (so well written!), and family of the heart.  

I really enjoyed the characters. They are all (good and bad) expertly developed with organically depicted evolutions that I found believable and relatable. I wanted to be friends with them (well, most of them) but especially Colette and Genevieve (Evie). I love that Colette is so quintessentially French, confident, outspoken, and loyal to those she loves. And, Evie. I really enjoy that she is firmly "of her time" throughout much of the book. It makes her evolution that much more satisfying...and fun. 

Whether you're an Eloisa James fan or new to her books, I enthusiastically recommend picking up a copy of The Last Lady B. I loved my first reading of this engaging Gothic romance. I know it won't be my last.

*ARC received from publisher via Edelweiss+

Fair and unbiased opinions

Tour Review - - Thistlemarsh

Thistlemarsh

by Moorea Corrigan

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: April 21, 2026

Reviewed by Nancy

In the wake of The Great War, the world is a decidedly unmagical place for Mouse Dunne. She once dreamed of becoming a Faerie anthropologist, but with one telegram, her world shattered. At the Battle of the Somme, her cousin’s body disappeared into the mud, and her brother was left

with debilitating shell shock. It was time, she knew, to put aside childish dreams.

When Mouse receives news that her uncle has left her the Faerie-blessed Thistlemarsh Hall, a dilapidated manor in the English countryside, she must leave her brother’s side and return to her

childhood home to claim her birthright. But there is a catch in her uncle’s offer: If Mouse does not rehabilitate the crumbling house in one month’s time, she will forfeit her inheritance and any hope of caring for her brother.

It quickly becomes clear it’s impossible to repair the manor in the allotted time, until a mysterious Faerie appears with a proposition. He offers to restore Thistlemarsh...for a price.

Mouse knows better than to trust a Faerie—especially one so insufferably handsome and arrogant—but she is out of options. There are dark and magical forces at work in the house, and

Mouse must confront the ghosts of her past and the secrets of her heart or lose Thistlemarsh, and herself, in the process.

Nancy’s Thoughts:

Thistlemarsh is an engaging fantasy romance with some dark undertones. The romance grows slowly amid hints that something is not right. Mouse doesn’t know whether the problem is something about Thornwood, the Faerie attempting the repairs or arises from the magic infesting the house and interfering with the repairs or comes from something else altogether. As the story

progresses, the hints that something is off become more common but are never clear. Corrigan does a good job of making them troubling but so cryptic that Mouse’s failure to act on them,

despite her efforts to decipher the clues, is understandable.

Mouse is easy to root for. Because she has few good memories of life at Thistlemarsh, her first impulse is to waive her claim to the house. If she does, however, she loses not only the house but

the money that comes with it to a spiteful, selfish cousin. The same thing happens if she fails to restore the house sufficiently to satisfy her uncle’s solicitor. Unless she has that money, she

cannot pay for the convalescent home where her brother lives.

Thornwood is more enigmatic. He can be snide and arrogant, but he also has unexpected moments of kindness. As he and Mouse seek to unravel the magic that’s impeding his repairs, 

her courage and cleverness earn his trust and respect. A bond slowly forms between them.

Not everyone is happy about Mouse’s decision to work with a faerie. Mouse’s one childhood friend in the village, John, the vicar, doesn’t want to hear about faeries. The gardener, Mr. Hobb, who was friendly with Mouse when she lived at Thistlemarsh, avoids Thornwood. While their attitudes trouble Mouse, she has no alternative to helping Thornwood proceed.

The world is generally built in detail. The woods, the magical traps, and the house itself are beautifully drawn. The story incorporates Mouse’s experiences as a nurse on the Western Front in ways that add depth to her character and texture to the world.

Most of the supporting characters have enough depth to make them seem real. The main exception to that is Mouse’s nasty cousin, Anthony Carlyle. He seems one-dimensional in his

meanness. He truly is awful in his few appearances in the story, but I would’ve liked to see a little, tiny something more to him. I also wanted some deeper reaction from Mouse to his fate in

the story.

John tells Mouse the villagers disapprove of her staying at the house with Thornwood, but we never see the villagers’ disapproval. We only hear about it. And this disapproval seems

inconsistent with their attitudes at the end of the story.

Finally, a supporting character who appears late in the story initially insists on staying out of the confrontation Mouse is preparing, but this character later takes a pivotal role, which seems inconsistent. I would’ve liked a little more motivation for that. I wasn’t happy that this character’s actions overshadow Mouse’s in solving the big problem.

Despite those concerns, the final resolution to the story was satisfying overall. I was especially impressed with the way so many things about Thistlemarsh and some of the characters turned out to be not what they seemed. These revelations were surprising, but the story laid enough groundwork for them to be believable. Mouse’s relationship with Thornwood suffers a

devastating blow. The way she handles it at the end may not work for every reader. Although I expected a little more motivation for her decision, I found it believable.

Thistlemarsh offers a detailed magical world, a problem with clever, interesting magical twists and turns, and engaging characters. I recommend it.

Tour Review - - Archangel's Eternity

Archangel's Eternity

by Nalini Singh

Guild Hunter - Book 18

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: May 5, 2026

Reviewed by Nancy 

 A thousand years.  

It’s been a millennium since Elena’s fateful first meeting with Archangel Raphael. She has survived war and loss, experienced beauty and cruelty. But no matter what, she has always held on to her mortal heart, as she and Raphael have held on to each other. Passionate and vibrant, they’ve built a life that has stood the test of time, growing ever stronger with each turn of the sun.

But change is coming—of a magnitude they could have never imagined—and it will forever alter the trajectory of their existence. 

Even as they grapple with the cataclysmic shift in their personal lives, the Cadre of Ten, which has maintained a hard-won peace for centuries, begins to simmer with dangerous fault lines. The specter of madness looms in one archangel, the promise of war burns between two others, and in darkness far from mortal and immortal eyes stirs an ancient, slumbering power.

Suddenly, the future is terrifyingly uncertain . . . at the very moment that Elena and her archangel need to protect a treasure infinitely more precious than eternity.

 

Nancy’s Thoughts: 

Nalini Singh has announced that Archangel’s Eternity is the final book in her long-running, popular Guild Hunter series. Her letter to readers at the end confirms this, as does the structure of the book. It is very much a farewell to the series world and its characters, and it reads like a book written for fans, not as one designed to attract new readers. 

The focus of this book is the characters and their relationships, especially Elena and Raphael. The theme is the importance of family, both blood-linked and found. Unlike the other books in this series, there is no overarching, threatening plot. There’s not much adventurous action and little about the politics of the Cadre, the group of archangels who rule the world. 

Readers who love the action and adventure that were such a part of this series may miss that and thus may find the pace a little slow. Others may find that focusing on the relationships and character interactions is a fair trade-off. 

Writing a detailed review of Archangel’s Eternity  would require spoiling something that has been carefully kept close by Singh and by Berkley. Rather than do that, I’ll just say that characters we haven’t seen lately—some of them, not in a very long time—reappear and have a moment with Elena and Raphael. I didn’t remember who some of them were, which isn’t surprising with a series this long, but the text includes reminders. It’s likely that some of those I didn’t recall are favorites of other readers, who will enjoy those bits all the more for having a deeper appreciation of the relationships. 

As the blurb promises, Elena and Raphael’s life is about to change, and that change runs through the story. It’s also the reason for many of the reunions in the book. 

Singh has always written emotion beautifully, and this book is no exception. I don’t generally cry at books or movies, but I got a little choked up several times and had to blink back tears at one reunion. 

Archangel’s Eternity is a moving and fitting end to this series. While reading the last of something I’ve enjoyed is bittersweet, I applaud Singh for closing the series on a high note rather than keeping it going past its prime. 

If you’re a fan of the Guild Hunter series, you’ll love this book. If you’re not already a fan, go back and read from the beginning, Angels’ Blood. You won’t be disappointed.

 

~ Nancy