I've Grown Accustomed to My Scott

 I've Grown Accustomed to My Scott

The Mackenzies Take London #2

Sara Bennett

Reviewed by Helen

Book two in this wonderful series and we see the second Mackenzie brother Rory arrive in London to continue on in his reckless life he has no intention of falling in love or heaven forbid marrying, Rory is about the carefree life but things just might change when he ends up in a duel and then with his caring ways rescues and marries Grace, it is to be a paper marriage only he will see her settled in a home and he can go on his merry way or that is what he thought.

Grace sadly is known as Disgrace after a scandal when she thought a man would be able to help her escape her cruel stepfather, but when her stepfather finds her another husband and he ends up in a duel with a Scotsman is seems the she will now marry Lord Rory Mackenzie although she knows that it is a marriage on paper Grace dearly wants to make it real one at least once she is shocked when Rory refuses, he is a man of his word.

But with Rory’s Aunt Jennie encouraging them to be seen out in public to push the scandal away their time spend together sees them forming a relationship that is growing and soon they are sharing a bed and things are changing for both of them but falling in love was never on the plan for either but life has a way of changing things could they find a HEA together?

This is a truly a lovely story one that I loved Rory and Grace are made for each other and I do highly recommend this one and the series and I can’t wait for the next one bring it on I am looking forward to getting to know the next Mackenzie sibling.

My thanks to Dragonblade Publishing and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

5 stars

June 6, 2026 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc

Rebel Spirits

 Rebel Spirits

Paula J Beavan

Reviewed by Helen

This is another fabulous Australian historical from one of my favourite authors, Paula J Beavan it is 1865 and we are in the small town of Jump Up Creek in The Hunter Valley of New South Wales and we meet the Maguire’s, Paddy and his two adult children Ellen and Michael, times have been hard since the death of wife and mother and since the railway went through, their roadside inn The Harp and Hound known as one of the best is no longer getting the patronage that it had and Ellen had promised her mother that she would keep things running and look after her father and brother.

Ellen continues to make the woman’s elixir that has been handed down from her granny then to her mother and now Ellen but when needs must with the help of their cook Mrs. Reid Ellen is soon doing something that she never would have thought possible, making poteen to an old family receipt and this could bring them back from the brink of ruin or destroy everything they have known as a family.

When Ellen rescues and injured Englishman Jack Bell who is searching for his long lost niece, Ellen offers him a place to stay and the care he needs for a while but soon there is a pull that she is not sure about, and it appears that Jack is feeling the same but they are from two very different worlds and with what she is doing at the moment nothing can happen.

Dangers seems to be appearing from all corners now when the mystery niece arrives with her secrets and what of her brother Michael and the things he is up to with the poteen she has been making and the sly grog shops and the neighbour who is after their land and the police are doing their best to contain the sly grog throw in a couple of children some Llamas and Alpacas and a race horse and this story has all that is needed for a wonderful story that had me smiling, cheering Ellen on and turning the pages.

I loved this one from start to finish, the author has bought the era, the characters and the events to life on the pages, who will Ellen choose family or the handsome Jack Bell? I do highly recommend this one, I never miss a Paula J Beavan story you will be transported back in time and get hours of reading joy, many thanks MS. Beavan for another fabulous story.

My thanks to the author for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

May 27, 2026 by Paula J Beavan

The Marriage Trap

 The Marriage Trap

Victoria Purman

Reviewed by Helen

1960 in a suburban town in Adelaide and we meet the Langley family, Len, Olive, Cathy and Evelyn there are also another two sons and another daughter but they have married and moved out, this story concentrates on the three females Olive, Cathy and Evelyn and what life was like starting at 1960 and going through to 1970 and it was a bit different to what we know now come along and meet them.

Olive is sixty and is a strict catholic she has had five children the last one Evelyn was a change of life baby and born when she was fifty it was a big shock, did she ever want five children probably not but as a married woman and catholic there was not a lot she could do but she always hoped that her daughters would one day have a little more control over their lives.

Cathy is twenty and at teachers college she has her life planned teaching for a couple of years before she settles down and marries and starts a family of her own but she would like more control about those things but when she meets Andy she discovers that love is opening up a new world for her and one night will change all of her plans for the future and she finds herself married but one thing is for sure she is determined to decide how many children she has and she just might get that wish when there is talk of a contraceptive pill, this will change her life.

Evelyn is ten and is very smart she loves the family dictionary she uses it all the time she loves listening in on adult conversations and will look up any word that she does not know the meaning of and along the way she soon discovers that life for a woman is not all it is made out to be will things be different as she gets older, she certainly want sit to be.

I did enjoy this story and getting to know these three females and what life was like back then although I was born in the 1950’s and married in the 1970’s things were still changing for the better for me there is a lot of back story information throughout about the contraceptive pill and the catholic church and the thoughts of the men who ran it, did Olive’s ideas change over the years as her girls grew into woman? One thing is for sure I am glad things have changed for woman.

My thanks to HQ Fiction and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

4 stars

May 1, 2026 by HQ Fiction

The Governess's Guide to Spells and Managing Misfit Marquesses

 The Governess's Guide to Spells and Managing Misfit Marquesses

The Parasol Academy #2

Amy Rose Bennett

Reviewed by Helen

I am loving this series, the first one was brilliant and now we get to know Parasol Academy Governess Hermina Davenport when she takes matters into her own hands to protect a child, come along for a journey filled with danger, fun and so much more.

Mina Davenport takes her job very seriously and when she is sacked form her job as Governess to a young, orphaned Viscount, she will use all of her magical powers that she needs to protect him and gets herself on the ship that is whisking him away to The Artic by his new guardian, too late to walk down the gangplank she uses her tel-ley-porting spell and finds herself and young Christopher on another boat this one belongs to an Irishman a huge man who has recently become a Marquess and here the journey starts with Phineas O’Connell , Lord Kinsale and his rather pugnacious pug Brutus.

Phineas grew up on the streets of Dublin and being a Lord was the last thing he expected and his life so far has not been easy he stutters and his accent is strong and he is finding it hard to fit in with The Ton, but when a mysterious woman and young child just arrive on his yacht, are they stowaways he has no idea but before long he comes up with a plan that this governess can help him with his etiquette and his elocution but first he must have a young ward to be able to hire her and in steps young pick pocket Tom Fleet, soon Mina, Phineas, Christopher and Tom are living and learning together.

This really is a fabulous story Phineas and Mina are perfect together and it shows when evil and supernatural forces make themselves known putting them all in danger Phineas stands his ground and will do anything to protect the woman he has fallen in love with and Mina a true Parasol Academy Governess uses all of her powers magical and beyond to keep them safe as she falls for her big bulking Irishman.

I do highly recommend this one, a fabulous historical romance with a twist it is as fabulous as the first one in the series and I am really hoping we will have more in the series, I loved it is filled with emotion, it is sensual and so much fun, Brutus is the best so many awesome characters.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

5 stars

March 31, 2026 by Kensington

The Hobart Hotel

 The Hobart Hotel

Mary-Lou Stephens

Reviewed by Helen

I loved this one, again MS Stephens has not disappointed me this story, it is absolutely fabulous told in two time lines, with wonderful characters and settings I fell into it and savoured the story.

1939 and it is the big opening for the Riviera Hotel in Wrest Point Tasmania and Mrs. Sabine Winters has travelled from Europe to be at the opening she is looking forward to the glamour after all that she has been through in Spain and now what is happening in Europe, she will have some choice selections for her (stolen) collection of jewellery she is sure, what happens is she is blackmailed by Mr. Grey into joining him in spying and she soon finds herself married to Mr. Grey and landing in Uruguay, South America where she puts herself in danger to get information about the Nazis who are doing their best to take over the country.

In 1973 Hobart is the place to be with the opening up of Australia’s first casino at The Wrest Point Hotel Casino and twenty year old Jenny Davis and her friends attend the opening and Jenny has found a gorgeous gold dress at the back of her mother’s wardrobe and she wears it, it really is special and she is soon approached by one of the managers and asked if she would like to become a Ladybird and Croupier but she knows that her mother will not stand for it she is against the Casino, but matters are taken out of her hands and soon Jenny finds herself, training to become a Ladybird, making new friends and earning more money that she ever did but is also causes a rift between her and her mother and soon she is living in The Riviera Hotel. With Jenny’s twenty first birthday coming up she finds a letter with a key that says this will change her life and soon Jenny and her friends will be uncovering an old mystery that will change her life.

This is a fabulously told story of two strong woman, two awesome settings it really is a page turner and has everything an historical fiction story needs, mystery, romance and adventure, I loved both Sabine and Jenny and the two timelines, the 1973 one bought back lots of memories for me with bands and music and The House or Merewether, I remember The Casino opening and all the fanfare that went with it. The ending is just the best, a fitting end to an awesome story.

I do highly recommend this one I loved it.

My thanks to Harlequin AU and Netgalley for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

April 1, 2026 by HQ Fiction

The Italian Correspondent

 The Italian Correspondent

Belinda Alexandra

Reviewed by Helen

Rome 1951 and Italian correspondent for Vogue, Veronica Gold is working hard after the war years and the loss of her daughter it is not always easy there is still a lot of conflict about the past and the fascists and the horrors she has seen while reporting the war are not easy to forget but she has her sister Penny and her cat Oggi and life will go on, but will she find love again?

With her life settled she is living in Rome when some men from her past arrive, Professor Marcello Fabbri, archeologist and former Partisan a man she spent one glorious night with during the war, her ex-husband Lyle Cooper who is an American diplomat he left her to marry her best friend heiress Emerald Evergreen add to that Count Carlo Durazzo, Emerald’s current husband and her life is just about to get turned upside down in so many ways.

When Lyle asks her to cover a story for him and then he is found murdered and it is looking like Emerald has killed him, Veronica is convinced she did it but Carlo says she is innocent but evidence shows that she may not have done it, Veronica and Carlo work together to set her free, this will need more help and Marcello steps in to help and a tangled web of emotions between all of these people grows making decisions for Veronica very hard, a couple of twists will really change the way she thinks, spies, the threat of nuclear war and so much more, but what of her heart will she finally find the love that she so very much deserves after all she has been through?

This is a story that is well written, Veronica Gold is based partly on the woman correspondents who worked so hard and made a difference back then, she is strong and determined but honest and real in herself, I could feel all that she was going through, there are so many fabulous characters in this story that made it what it is good and bad. There is adventure, mystery and murder and it is one that I highly recommend, I loved it.

My thanks to Harper Collins AU for my copy to read and review.

5 stars

March 31, 2026 by HarperCollins AU

Harbored Desires

 Harbored Desires

The Hazelby Sisters #1

Shannon Frances James

Reviewed by Helen

I do love an historical romance and this debut hit the spot beautifully I loved getting to know Harriet Hazelby and Alexander Ordell, come along and meet them for a rollicking sensual adventure.

Harriet is the third sister and has always been happier helping her father with his estates, riding horses and has been known to dress as a stable boy here and there for an adventure, it is one of these times when she has left her home after her eldest sister Eliza who is a duchess is insisting that she come for tea at the home of a Duke that she takes off into the town of Hull here she is mistaken for a sailor and ordered to board the The Seren with a message, this day could change Harriet’s life.

Captain Alexander is in a hurry to sail with the tide but when he discovers a stowaway on board who he wants off immediately that is until the young lad gives him a message and this message changes everything not only that but this young lad is not a lad at all but a young woman. This message cannot be ignored and it puts her life in danger so young Harry is soon sailing the seas with him and his crew and he puts her to work, was this the right thing to do, who is she really?

As they sail the sparks fly between them, Alexander is enjoying his spitfire she does not back down easily and Harriet is learning to be a sailor and quite enjoying it but she is also enjoying her time with Alexander and his dog Shadow. Alexander has sworn of marriage after what his mother went through but could Harriet be breaking down those walls and as for Harriet she has always thought she was not good enough to find a match as her parents did, could she be wrong?

This is a fabulous debut a beautiful story witty and sensual as we know love doesn’t always run smoothly and there are a few hurdles for Harriet and Alexander to jump before they find their gorgeous HEA, I loved both of them and the other characters in this story that help make it what it is and I am very much looking forward to more in this series and see what the authors has installed for them. I do highly recommend this one to any lover of a good historical romance it had me turning the pages and cheering them on and very happy at the end.

My thanks to the author for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

April 11, 2026 by By The Fire Publishing