Sophie Reads YA: July 2021

July Summary

11:00

To Protect a Princess
Series: Regency Royals #1
Author: Jess Michaels
Published July 20th 2021 by The Passionate Pen LLC (eARC)
Read: July 3 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

Love, Hate & Other Filters
Series: None
Author: Samira Ahmed
Published January 16th 2018 by Hot Key Books (eARC)
Read: July 3-4 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

These Hollow Vows
Series: These Hollow Vows #1
Author: Lexi Ryan
Published July 20th 2021 by Hodder & Stoughton (ARC)
Read: July 5-6 2021
My Rating: 5 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

Secrets Of A Summer Night
Series: Wallflowers #1
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Published June 7th 2012 by Piatkus Books
Read: July 9-10 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

Reputation
Series: None
Author: Lex Croucher
Published July 8th 2021 by Zaffre (eARC)
Read: July 10 2021
My Rating: 3 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

The Devil's Own
Series: The Wicked Waywards #1
Author: Liana LeFey
Published June 14th 2021 by Entangled: Amara (eARC)
Read: July 11 2021
My Rating: 3 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

How to Fool a Duke
Series: The Husband Dilemma #1
Author: Mary Lancaster & Violetta Rand
Published December 3rd 2020 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc. (eARC)
Read: July 11 2021
My Rating: 3 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

It Happened One Autumn
Series: Wallflowers #2
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Published September 2nd 2010 by Piatkus Books
Read: July 11-13 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Devil in Winter
Series: Wallflowers #3
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Published January 20th 2011 by Piatkus Books
Read: July 13 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

Scandal in Spring
Series: Wallflowers #4
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Published March 1st 2011 by Piatkus Books
Read: July 14 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Girl With Flaming Hair
Series: None
Author: Natalie Kleinman
Published June 15th 2021 by Sapere Books (eARC)
Read: July 15 2021
My Rating: 3 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

A Wallflower Christmas
Series: Wallflowers #4.5
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Published November 2nd 2010 by St. Martin's Press
Read: July 15 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Peer's Roguish Word
Series: The Dukes' Pact #5
Author: Kate Archer
Published June 8th 2021 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc. (eARC)
Read: July 16-17 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

Someone to Love
Series: Westcott #1
Author: Mary Balogh
Published November 8th 2016 by Piatkus
Read: July 16-18 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

Discouraging the Duke
Series: Dukes Done Wrong #1
Author: Alexa Aston
Published July 16th 2021 by Dragonblade Publishing (eARC)
Read: July 18 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

Someone to Hold
Series: Westcott #2
Author: Mary Balogh
Published February 7th 2017 by Piatkus
Read: July 19-22 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

Someone to Wed
Series: Westcott #3
Author: Mary Balogh
Published November 2nd 2017 by Piatkus
Read: July 24-26 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

To Win a Widow
Series: Soldiers and Soulmates #5
Author: Alexa Aston
Published July 21st 2020 by Dragonblade Publishing (eARC)
Read: July 29-30 2021
My Rating: 3 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

Challenges Update:
2021 New Release Challenge: 7 (79 total)
2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge: 11 (90 total)

Summary:

July hasn’t been too bad a reading month. I finished working at my first proper school, and am looking forward to having a break before starting at my new school in September.

How have you done this month? Let me know below.

July

Stacking the Shelves: July 31st 2021

10:00

2020 Beat the Backlist challenge

Review: The Truth About Love and Dukes (Dear Lady Truelove #1) by Laura Lee Guhrke

10:00

The Truth About Love and Dukes
Series: Dear Lady Truelove #1
Author: Laura Lee Guhrke
Published March 28th 2017 by Avon

Goodreads Synopsis
Dear Lady Truelove . . . I have fallen in love, truly and completely in love, for the first time. The man whom I hold in such passionate regard, however, is not of my station. He is a painter, a brilliant artist. Needless to say, my family would not approve . . .

Henry, Duke of Torquil, wouldn’t be caught reading the wildly popular “Dear Lady Truelove” column, but when its advice causes his mother to embark on a scandalous elopement, an outraged Henry decides the author of this tripe must be stopped before she can ruin any more lives. Though Lady Truelove’s identity is a closely guarded secret, Henry has reason to suspect the publisher of the notorious column, beautiful and provoking Irene Deverill, is also its author.

For Irene, it’s easy to advise others to surrender to passion, but when she meets the Duke of Torquil, she soon learns that passion comes at a price. When one impulsive, spur-of-the-moment kiss pulls her into a scorching affair with Henry, it could destroy her beloved newspaper, her career, and her independence. But in the duke’s arms, surrender is so, so sweet . . .
Goodreads

Review
In The Truth About Love and Dukes, we see suffragist and newspaper editor Miss Irene Deverill come toe to toe with the staunchly traditional Duke of Torquil. Her popular “Dear Lady Truelove” column recently published a letter from the Dowager Duchess of Torquil, showing her intent to marry her younger Italian lover, and Henry is enraged. He wants to stop the gossip rag from publishing any more, and force Irene to help him stop his mother's marriage to someone wholly beneath them. His plan is to use Irene and younger sister Clara's family connection to a Viscount, their father's drinking problem, and financial control over the family paper to force Irene's hand, and by inviting the Deverill sister's to his home for the time being, hopefully his mother with be dissuaded from the marriage. Henry thinks the enticement of a little Season would be enough to entice Irene, but he thought wrong. Obviously though, Irene cares nothing for the rules and regulations of the ton, and she isn't afraid to let Henry know this. Will Irene be able to succeed, or will the chemistry and banter between herself and Henry get in the way?

I've heard a lot about this author since falling in love with regency era books, and I now know why people keep mentioning her. This book was definitely a solid one, and if you're a fan of this genre, then this book is for you. Both of the main characters are strong and developed, and just perfect for this story! Irene was someone I really enjoyed, and I can see why she was the way she was. Her father started drinking heavily once their mother died, and wouldn't listen to any of the children, let alone his son, who he ran off, and so Irene was left to pick up the pieces. The family publishing empire was now only one small paper, but Irene had sole control - of both that, and the household really. Still, her father thought he knew what was best, and wanted more for her and Clara, so jumped at Henry's offer to sponsor the sisters and buy the paper to leave money aside for dowries. Irene just wished her father knew her, and spoke to her about it all, but he didn't listen. Henry was so stuffy and highbrow, but Irene managed to break down his defences, and I loved see his change. He was not a bad person, but he was a result of his upbringing, and it was made clear the more we saw of him. Their chemistry and budding romance was a joy to read, and the angst we inevitably had further into the book actually made me feel a little heartbroken on their behalf. I can't wait for my copy of The Trouble with True Love to arrive now, to see how Clara's story turns out!

Dates Read:
September 16-19, 2020

Rating
4 Stars

2019 Contemporary Romance Challenge