Sophie Reads YA: Bianca Blythe

2022 New Release challenge

ARC Review: The Duke Trap (Determined Debutantes #3) by Bianca Blythe

12:00

The Duke Trap
Series: Determined Debutantes #3
Author: Bianca Blythe
Published May 11th 2022 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
One determined debutante. One despised duke. One brilliant plan.

Leonora Holt never expected that her two younger sisters would find love before her. Lately she’s grown disconcertingly accustomed to her brother’s sighs and hints that she needs to marry. How can she find anyone when one dreadful man, the Duke of Dartmouth, is intent on reminding all the ton of her mother’s scandal?

Sebastian, the Duke of Dartmouth, knows he should probably forget how the Holt family destroyed the last years of his father’s life. At one point, he even considered Leonora Holt his best friend. Of course, that had been when he was ten, and he’s achieved far more wisdom since then. He’s also gained a secret, but that’s something he has no intention of ever revealing.

Leonora is determined to trap Sebastian. If his reputation is maligned, perhaps he will halt disparaging her family.

Fortunately, she has the perfect plan, one that absolutely does not involve falling in love with the duke herself.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Miss Leonora Holt has seen her sisters find love and happiness, but she can't see that in her future. Her brother, though, is acting like it's more than time that she should be married, but with Sebastian, Duke of Dartmouth, not letting anyone forget about her mother's scandalous nude portraits, there's not many men willing to marry her. Sebastian has a vendetta against the Holt family. Their estate neighbours his own, and he's always believed that their father was the cause of his own father's death, so he will do whatever it takes to ruin the Holt's. And Leonora angers him the most, though that could have more to do with his feelings for her - after all, it's hard to be attracted to your nemesis. When they plan to stop the other in their tracks, they're inevitably thrown together, and soon they learn the the line between love and hate is closer than they think.

I've been waiting for this book for so long. Whenever these two were together in the previous books, it was clear their attraction was off the charts, and their story was going to be great. I felt like the enemies to lovers trope was executed perfectly in The Duke Trap, and I really enjoyed the fact that they used to be friends when they were young, and reconnecting was good for them. Maybe this was a little too full of angst, but it was definitely enjoyable, and lived up to all expectations. My favourite in the series!

Dates Read:
April 30, 2022

Rating
3 Stars

2022 New Release challenge

ARC Review: You've Got an Earl (Determined Debutantes #2) by Bianca Blythe

11:00

You've Got an Earl
Series: Determined Debutantes #2
Author: Bianca Blythe
Published January 7th 2022 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
An earl mistakes a debutante for the woman hired to play his faux secret beloved.

Percival, the Earl of Plymouth, is in trouble. Terrible trouble. His aunt is eager for him to marry. Since Percival has no desire to be thrust onto the marriage mart, he may have told her he has a secret beloved. Fortunately, Percival’s best friend Sebastian volunteers to find Percival someone inappropriate with whom to pretend to have an amorous relationship. After all, Percival’s aunt won’t desire a scandalous future countess.

Sabrina Holt has adored Percival ever since she first laid eyes on him. When she wanders into Percival’s library during a ball, and he begins to kiss her, she knows he’s felt the same way as she has for all these years.

Percival is pleasantly surprised at his friend’s pick. The woman in the library’s lips feel perfect, and his aunt is appropriately shocked to discover them.

Unfortunately, Sabrina is not the woman his friend hired for him to be caught with. If only Sabrina weren’t the wrong faux beloved, and if only Percival weren’t tempted to give her his heart.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

As Earl of Plymouth, Percival is expected to marry well, and beget an heir. He's not ready to give up his freedom just yet, but his aunt is on at him to marry, so Percival hatches a plan. He will find someone wholly inappropriate to play at being his beloved, and have his aunt catch them together. But when Miss Sabrina Holt wanders into the library at the wrong moment, and he believes she is the one sent to be his 'fiancee', she soon finds herself in that position. Percival's aunt is the best pleased by Miss Holt, but at least she's from a noble family, though one tainted by scandal. Soon they have to keep the facade up, and it's hard for them to see the fact from fiction.

I liked this book, but not quite as much as the first one. I feel like there wasn't as much happening, but it was still a quick and enjoyable read. Sabrina had had feelings for Percival since their first meeting, but he had been completely blind to it all until their fated meeting in the library. They were a nice enough couple, but like I said, not enough really happened for me to see them well. Still, an enjoyable book, and I reckon the final one, about Leonora and Sebastian, will be worth it!

Dates Read:
January 8, 2022

Rating
3 Stars

2022 Beat the Backlist challenge

ARC Review: The Secret Life of a Debutante (Determined Debutantes #1) by Bianca Blythe

10:00

The Secret Life of a Debutante
Series: Determined Debutantes #1
Author: Bianca Blythe
Published November 30th 2021 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
When scandal strikes her family, this debutante must act quickly!

Welcome to book 1 in the steamy new series Determined Debutantes by bestselling author Bianca Blythe.

Eloisa Holt is not the type of woman to wander London on her own. In fact, she’s not even the type of woman to consider such a thing. After all, her governesses hailed her as a paragon of everything proper. But when a nude painting of her mother scandalizes the ton, Eloisa must stop more paintings from being displayed. This debutante is desperate.

Lord Cornelius Chichester knows the first rule of being a best friend:

Don’t fall in love with your best friend’s sister.

Unfortunately, that rule becomes difficult to follow when he discovers Eloisa by herself at an indecent hour. Still, perhaps helping his best friend’s younger sister is honorable. He may have promised his friend long ago he would never marry one of his sisters, but Cornelius never promised he would not be of assistance.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Eloisa Holt is the perfect debutante, but on the eve of her and sister's debuts, a nude portrait of their mother is made public, and they are tarred with the same brush. Now her perfect reputation is in tatters, and she must do whatever it takes to ensure that no other paintings come to light, and rescue her future, and those of her sisters. She's desperate, and risks everything, but luckily, the only person who notices what she is doing is her brother's best friend, Cornelius. Lord Cornelius Chichester may think he's kidding everyone, but it's clear he's falling for his best friend's sister, and though he's trying to be honourable in protecting her, the closer they get in their efforts to hide the paintings, the harder it is to stay part.

I wasn't too sure what to expect from this book. I thought that Eloisa would be a little bit too prim and proper for my liking, but she had a feisty persona hidden from view, but that she used when protecting those she cared about. As the oldest girl, she felt the brunt of the scrutiny, so she wanted to shoulder the burden and protect her sisters as much as possible. Even taking risks she could never have imagined, but she was willing to do it, at least for them. When Cornelius found her out, she was worried, but surprised he wanted to help. She'd had feelings for him for years, but never expected anything to come of them, so treated him as a friend, which was great for them both to open up to each other, and see the true person. An enjoyable Regency romance, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

Dates Read:
January 6-7, 2022

Rating
3 Stars

2020 New Release challenge

ARC Review: My Favorite Duke (The Duke Hunters Club #2) by Bianca Blythe

11:00

My Favorite Duke
Series: The Duke Hunters Club #2
Author: Bianca Blythe
Published May 31st 2020 by Amazon Digital Services

Goodreads Synopsis
Lady Juliet is happy. Very happy. After all, she’s engaged. Perhaps it is slightly odd that she rarely sees her betrothed. She also wonders why various men give her sympathetic glances when she mentions her future husband, the Duke of Sherwood. When she learns the Duke of Sherwood is spending time with another woman, there’s only one thing she can do: discover the truth herself.

Lucas, the Duke of Ainsworth, enjoys science and the calm normally found in laboraties. When he travels to the Lake District he is shocked to discover Lady Juliet in disguise. Lucas vows to help her, no matter how distracting her alluring presence is.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

My Favorite Duke follows Lady Juliet who should be one of the happiest women in England, but she's not. She's been engaged to the sought after Duke of Sherwood for over a year, and he keeps postponing their wedding. Once others start giving her pitying looks, and some even let slip that Sherwood may be spending time with other women, enough is enough. She needs to find out once and for all what is up, and plans to sneak off this his nearby estate, and have it out. While travelling to the estate, the carriage her and her cousin, Genevieve, are travelling in is beset by highwaymen, who try to take them hostage but fail. Lucas, the Duke of Ainsworth, appears to the outside world to be bookish and interested wholly in science. However, this is a ruse, as he's really helping the government to discover a counterfeiting ring in Cumbria, and he thinks the carriage travelling the roads at night may be linked. When it's revealed that Lady Juliet is inside, he's still suspicious, and organises a trip to her home to see if she's involved, and when she steals his clothing and disguises herself as a man to travel to Sherwood's estate again, he can't help but follow. Stuck together overnight, they overcome their initial differences, and band together to work out who is behind the crimes, and soon fall in love. Will Juliet be able to back out of her engagement, or is Sherwood more dangerous that they thought?

We met both main characters in book 1, All You Need Is A Duke, and I was intrigued by them, especially Juliet who wasn't that big a character last time. She's slightly annoying at first, being completely self involved, but as we learn more about her childhood - with a father who hated her mother, and was cheating on her - and why she wanted to marry so much, she grew on me. I really enjoyed seeing her growth too, and how she wasn't going to accept how her dad and stepmother treated her any longer. Lucas, with his spying background, and painful first love, just pulled at my heartstrings, and I found his chapters the best. When they were both together, their mutual growth was amazing to see, and though their romance seemed quick at times, I loved how it came to a conclusion.

Dates Read:
June 8, 2020

Rating
4 Stars

2020 New Release challenge

Review: All You Need is a Duke (The Duke Hunters Club #1) by Bianca Blythe

10:00

All You Need is a Duke
Series: The Duke Hunters Club #1
Author: Bianca Blythe
Published March 10th 2020

Goodreads Synopsis
She needs to wed... And he's going to find her a husband.

When Margaret Carberry’s mother drags her upstairs at a ball, Margaret does not expect her mother to tie her to the bed and lock the door. Unfortunately, Margaret’s mother has taken it upon herself to declare Margaret compromised—whether or not Margaret wants to resort to such tactics to snare a husband.

Jasper Tierney, the Duke of Jevington, is surprised to encounter a half-clothed woman sprawled upon his bed. He is even more shocked to discover her identity.

Margaret Carberry is renowned as an incorrigible wallflower, not a seductress, no matter how appealing her bare flesh is against his bedding. When Margaret declares she won’t go along with her mother’s scheme and will find a husband on her own, Jasper vows to assist her, lest Margaret’s mother concoct another method to arrange a compromising situation. Jasper is certain of one thing: he has no desire to marry.

As Jasper works to match Margaret to a fellow duke, the prospect of a forced marriage with her lacks its earlier loathsomeness. Perhaps he missed his chance for true bliss.
Goodreads

Review
All You Need is a Duke follows self proclaimed wallflower, Margaret Carberry, as she tries to adapt to London society, where she is made to feel unwelcome because of her father's occupation in trade. Richer than most debutantes, the stigma of being the daughter of a Scottish tradesman is undeniable, and it leads her mother to try and orchestrate Margaret being compromised by the handsome Duke of Jevington at his own ball. Margaret can't believe her mother would go so low, and when Jasper arrives in his room, she begs him to free her, and flees out of the window - just in time. She knows now that her mother will not relent, so she goes to the one person she can think of to help her find a husband, Jasper. Jasper was more than relieved not to find himself engaged, and agrees to host a house party in his Dorset estate, with the other eligible dukes, to help Margaret. There's a few candidates he can think of that would be perfect for her, including the bookish Duke of Ainsworth, but the more time he spends trying to make everything perfect for Margaret, he soon realises he doesn't want her to marry anyone but himself.

This book was so enjoyable, and I honestly couldn't put it down. From meeting Margaret, I fell in love with her, and she was a fantastic main character. Not prepared to let others organise her whole life, she now is taking a stand for her own future, and is overjoyed that Jasper is helping her to choose her own husband. She's known since going to finishing school that her position in society is very different to her 'peers', and marriage to a Duke is asking too much, but she just wants to be happy, and have time to spend on her own pursuits, such as reading and searching for fossils. Whenever she's with Jasper, it's the time when she can truly be herself, and not be the shy and stuttering Miss Carberry that most people think she is. For Jasper, it's a slow burning kind of love, because he has never thought to marry, especially after the pain of losing his parents and sister when he was still at school. He wouldn't want to put himself in a situation that could be so painful again, and opening up to Margaret is one of the hardest things he's done. However, he's so far gone by the time he truly realises it, and it could be too late for him to convince her, but he does everything he can to bring her back. The chemistry between Margaret and Jasper was wonderful, and the moments they were alone were some of the best I've read.

Dates Read:
June 8, 2020

Rating
4 Stars