Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Vasti concludes her Belvoir's Library trilogy (after Earl Crush) with this clever Regency. Lady Georgiana Cleeve was disowned by her late father when she outed herself as the scandalous gothic romance author Geneva Desrosiers six years before the start of the book. Now she suspects fellow author Lady Darling of plagiarism and sets out to confront her--only to discover that Lady Darling is the pseudonym of Cat Lacy, her father's butler's daughter and Georgiana's teenage crush. Their overlapping history explains the similarities in their work, but the women's hostile encounter only fans the flames of their rivalry. Neither is pleased to bump into the other again at Renwick House, a purportedly haunted Gothic mansion that both are researching as a setting for forthcoming novels. Their animosity quickly fades, however, in the face of the manor's spookiness and their intensifying mutual attraction. When an assailant traps them inside the building only to be killed by the house's crumbling infrastructure, the women work together to escape--and to figure out who's coming after them and why. Though this mystery meanders a bit, the plot engages deeply with gothic literary tradition while retaining a fun, frothy tone. Vasti also showcases her knack for sweeping love declarations and steamy sex scenes that feel firmly grounded in character. This sends the series out on a high note. (Sept.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Lady Georgiana, the privileged daughter of an earl, has achieved her own vast fame and fortune as a writer of gothic novels. Then her career is threatened by a competitor using the pen name Lady Darling, who has begun to put out books strikingly similar to some of Georgiana's unpublished manuscripts. Georgiana seeks out Lady Darling's identity and is shocked to discover it's none other than Catriona, whose father was butler to Georgiana's family long ago. Now the women can't seem to stop running into each other, and they both happen to have booked a stay at Renwick House, a creepy ruined manor in which they each hope to set their next novel. When events both supernatural and earthly threaten Georgiana's and Catriona's lives, the women must work together to investigate, which transforms their nascent desire into a lush and all-encompassing love affair. VERDICT Told in alternating viewpoints, with a fun literary storyline, a joyous sapphic relationship, and more than one mystery to unfurl, Vasti's steamy gothic Regency (the sequel to Earl Crush) will appeal to fans of historical romances where social justice is central, including the novels of Evie Dunmore and Liana De la Rosa.--Migdalia Jimenez
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two lady novelists are haunted--and not just by thoughts of each other. Lady Georgiana Cleeve has had enough. She and her mother gave up everything to escape her abusive father, and her writing career keeps them afloat, but lately every time she writes a novel, it's plagiarized before it's even published by someone calling herself Lady Darling. When, after staking out Belvoir's Library one morning at dawn, she discovers to her horror that Lady Darling is none other than Catriona Lacey, the daughter of her family's butler, with whom she was once "hopelessly infatuated." It turns out that Cat--shocked to see the aristocratic girl she used to pine for--also depends on writing Gothic romances to support her family. Unfortunately, after they part ways in the worst of tempers, they almost immediately see each other again at their publisher's office, and then at a haunted churchyard, and then, somehow, at a haunted house in Wiltshire where both expected to find inspiration for their next novel. They agree to stay out of each other's way, but in just a few days, their chemistry has fully reignited. Their first kiss is the "most erotic" experience either has had, but after their second kiss, they find a dead body in the probably haunted garden--and things only get stranger from there. And despite the supernatural happenings and growing danger, they can't keep their hands off each other, leading both to wonder if a future together might be possible. The third story in the Belvoir's Library series starts in the bookstore and then, as the women face being haunted by both the paranormal and their pasts, comes alive against the eerie setting. Georgie and Cat are tempted into plenty of scorching-hot moments no matter where they are, and they forge a gripping emotional connection as well. The satisfying ending is topped only by the excellent author's note, in which readers will be delighted to learn how much of the story was drawn from the historical record. A top-notch, spooky Regency page-turner. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
