Review - - Is This Real or Just Pretend?

Is This Real or Just Pretend?

by Emily Sullivan

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: September 9, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

 

Alexandra Atkinson prides herself on being in control. It’s why she’s such an asset to her father’s investment firm—along with her utter lack of a social life and her talent for spotting successful ventures for investors. But with her father nearing retirement and the board unwilling to have a female head, Alex could lose everything . . .

After his business partner burned him, Lucien Taylor is determined to start over. But he doesn’t know how until his childhood friend’s sister, Alexandra Atkinson, comes to him with a most unusual proposal: She’ll help Lucien find the funding he needs if he pretends to court her long enough to secure her claim to her father’s company.

But Alex and Lucien soon realize they didn’t quite account for all the details in their arrangement—like how they can undo each other with just a look. And the more time they spend together, the more the intensity shimmering between them can’t be controlled. Not even by Alex. And if they give in? Well, she’s not sure which of them will be in more trouble . . . but she’s willing to find out.

PJ's Thoughts:

Emily Sullivan's historical romances are fast becoming auto-buy books for me. Her newest is book two in a series featuring the Atkinson sisters. It can be read as a standalone though I enjoyed it more for having read Duchess Material first as the Atkinson sisters and parents are key characters in both books. 

I was immediately intrigued by Alex in book one and wondered if there might not be hidden layers to this financial wizard who keeps the family business afloat without any credit from the outside world. Turns out there are. She guards her emotions tightly but there are deep feelings rumbling within. Who knew it would be the coachman's son who would bring them to life?

I enjoyed this gender-flipped, Victorian romance inspired by the movie, Sabrina. It was fun to watch the newly-returned Lucien sort through his feelings while attempting to overcome the disaster his former business partner had created. He goes through quite the evolution from beginning to end, which he needed to in order to be the right partner for Alexandra. Of course, there needs to be growth for Alex too and I was pleased with how her personal evolution played out. 

Alex's family have key roles in this story with youngest sister, Freddie, the most prominent. I can't quite decide how I feel about her (you'll understand once you read this book) but I'm looking forward to discovering where her book's journey takes her. As with Alex, and Phoebe in book one, I have a feeling there may also be hidden layers within Freddie that are waiting for the right moment to be revealed. 

If you enjoy fake courtship, cross-class romance, age gap (she's five years older), virgin heroes, buttoned-up heroines, and complex family dynamics, you might want to give Is This Real or Just Pretend? a try. 

 

Review - - The Worst Duke in London

The Worst Duke in London

by Amalie Howard

Taming of the Dukes - Book 3

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: September 24, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

 

Lady Evangeline Raine prefers animals to people and has no interest in marriage­--much to the dismay of her flirty younger sister, Viola. Because their father has one rule: Viola may be courted, only if Effie has a suitor as well.

Saddled with debt, Gage Croft, Duke of Vale, is determined to rebuild his estates. When the owner of his vowels offers him a fortune to charm the impervious Lady Evangeline for the season so Lady Viola can be courted, the game is on, even if it means pretending to seduce an unconventional wallflower.

But Gage gets much more than he bargains for in an adversary who wants to make her own scandalous arrangement. Effie will go to London for the season, but only if Gage agrees to be her lover. Yet when their fake courtship leads to passionate feelings, will their indecent proposal end with the season or be the start of something real?

PJ's Thoughts:

If you enjoy spicy historical romance with a modern feel, Amalie Howard’s The Worst Duke in London may be a good book for you. It’s the third book in Howard’s Taming of the Dukes series and while it features cameos by other couples in the series, it can be enjoyed as a standalone (though I enjoyed reading them order). 

Evangeline (Effie) is a woman who knows what she wants. She’s fiercely independent, well read (erotic novels, anyone?), devoted to her animal rescue efforts, and ready for a man…if not marriage. I like the way she goes after what she wants if, at times, I took issue with her attitude with Gage. Howard gives her a good growth arc though that satisfyingly develops her character as well as her relationships. I love how her friends support her, challenge her, and also hold her accountable. 

Gage is a total sweetheart. He’s big, muscular, an underground boxer, and a handsome but insolvent duke with a delicious Scottish brogue. Yes, he takes a wager that involves seducing Evangeline but he does so for honorable reasons…before he meets her. I like that his plans change once he gets to know her (alas, she has her own plans) and, also, as he begins to unveil his adversary’s true character. I like that he struggles with the ethics of what he’s doing - even though the physical relationship between him and Evangeline is consensual on both parts - especially as unexpected feelings begin to develop and then deepen (he falls first and hard). 

Supporting characters (including four-legged ones) add complexity and richness to the overall story. I especially appreciated the evolution of Evangeline’s sister, Viola as well as their sibling relationship. If you’re reading the series, we also get more information in this book about a couple of intriguing side characters whose stories I am eagerly anticipating. Will they - or won’t they - be a couple? And just who is running things at the Earl of Lushing’s club, Lethe? I can’t wait to find out. 

Review - - In Want of a Viscount

In Want of a Viscount

by Lorraine Heath

The Chessmen: Masters of Seduction - Book 3

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: February 20, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

American Leonora Garrison has come to England in desperate search of investors to keep her family business afloat but instead finds surprising pleasure when she visits an exclusive ladies’ club and dares to kiss a stranger, who leaves her yearning for more.

With a libertine for a father, Viscount Wyeth, more commonly known as Rook, vowed to live his life above reproach, with nary a hint of disgrace. Until one night, he takes a mysterious beauty into his arms, a lady who tempts him to cast his sterling reputation aside in favor of more wicked pursuits.

When fate reunites the couple, they are torn between desire and duty. Leonora may want the viscount, but she needs a stakeholder not a lover. When caught in a compromising situation that places everything they hold dear at risk, they must determine how best to win. However, in this scandalous game, nothing except love takes all.

PJ's Thoughts:

You know those authors who never let you down? The ones who give you yearning, angst, sensual romance, and hard-won happy endings time and again? That's Lorraine Heath and she does it once more with her newest Chessman novel: In Want of a Viscount. 

Even though I've loved all three books in the series, this one is my favorite. It's charming, witty and emotional, with plenty of steam but also soft moments that are endearing and lovely. It really was such a joy to read. 

Rook is kept from embracing - or revealing - his true self due to his father's many...many...scandals (what a horrible man). While he has good friends and is well respected, he's also closed himself off emotionally and has no plans to marry or ever be vulnerable to the whims of love (so delicious to see this type of hero slowly realize he can't live without that one woman who holds his heart). Leonora is unlike anyone he's ever met. She's bright, focused, curious, loyal, caring, remarkably skilled at all things mechanical, and driven to make her family's business a success. All characteristics that have made her an oddity within both society and her own family (don't get me started on them) but make her unique and special to Rook. Together, these two just may be the one and only key that unlocks the other's heart and opens the door to an enduring love and life together. Watching them slowly make that journey, with its unexpected pitfalls, sizzling encounters, and quiet, heartfelt moments, was pure pleasure. I adored them.

This book is set within the same Heath world as her Sins of All Seasons and Once Upon a Dukedom series with many characters from both series making appearances. It's always fun to catch up with favorites from earlier books, like the other Chessmen and their wives as well as the Trewloves. Aiden Trewlove (The Duchess in His Bed) and Finn Trewlove (The Scoundrel in Her Bed) are Rook's illegitimate brothers with Aiden in particular having an important role in Rook's story. Readers new to Heath, however, should be aware that this book can absolutely be enjoyed on its own without having read the others. Though they really should. Read the others, that is. So many great stories.  

If you enjoy epilogues, the one at the end of In Want of a Viscount is *chef's kiss* with interactions that left me laughing, sighing, and mopping up a few tears. That seems to be the case with many of Lorraine Heath's epilogues. She has a knack for wrapping up a wonderful story with an even better "guess what happened next."