Series: Lords of the Armory, #2
Traits & Tropes: titled hero; former soldier; second chance; suspense
Publication Date: 02.23.21
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; London, England, 1816
Heat Level: 2
Rating: 3/5
After being caught in a compromising position, Brandon Pearce was separated from Amelia Howard, the girl he loved, and sent to the army. Now, twelve years later, Amelia is all grown up and with serious problems. Her brother, Frederick, is being blackmailed and she desperately needs to keep her past secret to keep him out of prison and ensure no harm is done to the reputation of her charity shop. To satisfy the blackmailer Frederick must use his influence as an MP to place several men into government positions. To do so successfully he’ll need help in Parliament and Pearce is just who he needs.
Brandon Pearce, now the Earl of Sandhurst, is working to adjust to civilian life after his position as a Brigadier in the Napoleonic wars. He and his fellow former soldiers of the Armory have been using their skills to investigate a criminal group known as Scepter which has been quietly engineering fatal accidents for government officials and replacing them with its own choices. Pearce must walk a fine line, appearing to agree with what the blackmailer wants so he can learn who’s really pulling the strings, even though this hurts Amelia. Regardless, Pearce wants a second chance with Amelia and won’t let anything come between them this time, even her own secrets.
This book was quite well-written, and I loved the mystery aspect and the whole concept of Specter and the Armory. It felt a bit like a Regency James Bond film but with less action. I loved Brandon as a hero because I’m a sucker for a war hero trying to acclimate to civilian life. Even so, his character felt a bit one dimensional and we didn’t get much from his perspective as compared to Amelia’s. As is so often the case for me with ‘strong,’ feminist heroines, I found Amelia to be a bit of a pill. I totally understand her hesitancy to trust men after she had been taken advantage of, but Pearce had never given her any reason to doubt him, quite the opposite in fact, yet she still unleashed vitriol on him at every turn. This made no sense combined with the fact that she trusted her brother so implicitly even when he treated her so poorly. She didn’t think or make decisions logically, so her fierce independence just came off as stubbornness for the sake of being contrary. I wasn’t really sure about the connection between Brandon and Amelia and it would’ve been more romantic for me if there had been more of a chance for their chemistry to come through rather than just his longing and her constant enumerations of reasons, she couldn’t trust a man and they could never be together. Her many thought processes in this vein grew repetitive very quickly for me. In another vein, I also found it frustrating and a little off-putting that Amelia only called Brandon by his given name twice or so, otherwise calling him Pearce, yet the brothel owner he got information from called him Brandon during their entire conversation. Not sure why I fixated on this so much, but it undermined their relationship for me, or at least Amelia’s investment in it. Issues aside, I love the concept of this series and the writing style. I think the suspenseful elements, though fairly brief, added depth to the story and an additional factor that will appeal to many, especially if they’re just dipping their toes into romance. I enjoyed the premise of this story and will read more from this author.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3134549652
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1628523337
Comments
Post a Comment