Series: The Castleburys #4
Author: Jennifer Seasons
Published July 9th 2024 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Goodreads Synopsis
A passionate playwright, a headstrong lady . . . a love story for the ages.
Pragmatic Lady Carlotta Castlebury secretly adores the theatre. Enamored with the written and performed word, she writes play scripts in her journal, her most precious possession. One fateful afternoon in Hyde Park she loses it, only to discover soon after that the latest theatrical performance on Drury Lane sounds remarkably like her play. Yet the audacious liar taking credit for it is decidedly not her. Rather, the insufferable man is London’s most popular playwright, Thatcher Goodrich. Lottie is going to march down to Rhodes Theatre and give the infuriatingly sexy writer a piece of her mind . . . and most assuredly none of her heart.
The third son of an impoverished baron, Thatcher has made his way in the world with his wit and a deft pen. When his muse abandons him and leaves him wordless exactly when King William personally requests a new play, Thatcher does what any desperate playwright would he finds one and claims it as his own! He doesn’t expect the true author to barge into the theatre like a beautiful warrior queen and demand her work back.
Yet when His Majesty wishes another play, Thatcher must pen another with her, and the more time he spends with the insightful, clever lady, the harder in love he falls. Until something in Lottie’s original play rankles a dangerous foe, endangering them.
Now they must outwit a madman . . . or risk the final curtain falling on their lives and newfound love forever.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
Lady Carlotta Castlebury, or Lottie to her family, is an avid lover of theatre. However, she doesn't understand the hype surrounding playwright Thatcher Goodrich, and is constantly rewriting his plays to improve them. So when she loses her beloved journal, and sees that Thatcher's latest play is her own work, stolen, she is enraged. Storming into the backstage of the theatre, her ire is enough to draw a crowd, landing her stuck with creating a new play for the king, cowritten with her nemesis. There's nothing either she or Thatcher can do but work together, because disappointing the king is not an option.
I quite enjoyed this book. Lottie and Thatcher had a great chemistry, and although they may have butted heads a fair few times, they really did start to care for each other, and their feelings were true. I love how there's a mystery element in this whole series, which helps tie the books together with more than just the family connection of the Castleburys. The Revivalist group have been tormenting London for years, and now they're back, angry at the feminist storyline in Lottie's stolen play. Even when Thatcher thought he still hated her, he did everything he could to protect her from harm, and help her believe in herself.
Dates Read:
September 8-10, 2025
Rating
3 Stars
