Mad and Bad

Mad and Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency- Bea Koch
Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: September 1, 2020

Rating:
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis:  Regency England is a world immortalized by Jane Austen and Lord Byron in their beloved novels and poems. The popular image of the Regency continues to be mythologized by the hundreds of romance novels set in the period, which focus almost exclusively on wealthy, white, Christian members of the upper classes.

But there are hundreds of fascinating women who don't fit history books limited perception of what was historically accurate for early 19th century England. Women like Dido Elizabeth Belle, whose mother was a slave but was raised by her white father's family in England, Caroline Herschel, who acted as her brother's assistant as he hunted the heavens for comets, and ended up discovering eight on her own, Anne Lister, who lived on her own terms with her common-law wife at Shibden Hall, and Judith Montefiore, a Jewish woman who wrote the first English language Kosher cookbook.

As one of the owners of the successful romance-only bookstore The Ripped Bodice, Bea Koch has had a front row seat to controversies surrounding what is accepted as "historically accurate" for the wildly popular Regency period. Following in the popular footsteps of books like Ann Shen's Bad Girls Throughout History, Koch takes the Regency, one of the most loved and idealized historical time periods and a huge inspiration for American pop culture, and reveals the independent-minded, standard-breaking real historical women who lived life on their terms. She also examines broader questions of culture in chapters that focus on the LGBTQ and Jewish communities, the lives of women of color in the Regency, and women who broke barriers in fields like astronomy and paleontology. In Mad and Bad, we look beyond popular perception of the Regency into the even more vibrant, diverse, and fascinating historical truth.

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When we think of the phrase "mad, bad, and dangerous to know" we think (of course) of Lord Byron and the men like him: dangerous rakes who could seduce a woman with a glance.  But in Mad and Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency, author Bea Koch turns this idea on its head by examining Regency England through the women who did't meet the stereotype of a demure Regency miss.  Koch refutes critics who bash Regency romances, claiming the historic time period is window dressing for stories with far too 'modern' heroines, by introducing us to real Regency heroines, from Lady Jersey and Caroline Lamb to DIdo Elizabeth Belle and Caroline Herschel.

Among the contradictory aspects of the Regency, sex and decorum are at the top of the list. So it is only natural that Koch starts Mad and Bad with some of the real "bad girls" of the era- women who pushed against Society's rules to be influential mistresses of royalty or highly placed politicians.  Any reader of Regency romance knows Almack's Assemblies and the strict and starchy Patronesses who ruled Polite Society.  But Koch gives us the behind-the-scenes stories of their affairs and intrigues that would shock any debutante.  How many Patronesses slept with the Prince Regent?  Or with each other's husbands? Who really ruled the ambassadorial home (and work) of Count and Princess Lieven?

Once she has hooked you with sex, Koch introduces us to women who might not be shocking by today's standards, but certainly didn't fit the stereotypical Regency mold.  Artists, authors, and actresses the reader may know by name are fleshed out into real people following their muse.  Female scientists, astronomers, and geologists struggle to be recognized in a man's world.  Today we think of movies or books that add LGBTQ and non-white characters as being "politically correct"- Koch introduces us to famous, infamous, and relatively unknown, but true life, LGBTQ and non-white people living in Regency England. Koch looks past the scandalous reputations women like Caroline Lamb have to try and find the real woman behind the myth, to put them in context of the times, and to show us the networks of women (and sometimes men) who supported them.    

The writing style of Mad and Bad is relaxed and informal, the people are introduced in relatively short pieces, as the book itself is not designed to be in-depth biographies.  Instead, it is an introduction to a world many readers might not have known even existed, and an introduction to the people who may become the forefront of history as we ask new questions about the "real" Regency England.  Koch provides the reader with plenty of 'recommended reading' and bibliographies to access more in-depth histories of any of the individuals who particularly grasp your attention, and I know my own "to read" list about doubled because of this!  My only complaint was the tendency towards repetition, a little more editing would have pushed this review from 4 to 5 stars easily.

An excellent introduction to a few of the strong women of Regency England who helped pave the way for women to this day.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

You Lucky Dog

You Lucky Dog- Julia London
Berkley/Penguin Group
Release Date: August 25, 2020

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Carly Kennedy's life is in a spiral. She is drowning in work, her divorced parents are going through their midlife crises, and somehow Carly's sister convinces her to foster Baxter--a basset hound rescue with a bad case of the blues. When Carly comes home late from work one day to discover that the dog walker has accidentally switched out Baxter for another perkier, friendlier basset hound, she has reached the end of her leash.

When Max Sheffington finds a depressed male basset hound in place of his cheerful Hazel, he is bewildered. But when cute, fiery Carly arrives on his doorstep, he is intrigued. He was expecting the dog walker, not a pretty woman with firm ideas about dog discipline. And Carly was not expecting a handsome, bespectacled man to be feeding her dog mac and cheese. Baxter is besotted with Hazel, and Carly realizes she may have found the key to her puppy’s happiness. For his sake, she starts to spend more time with Hazel and Max, until she begins to understand the appeal of falling for your polar opposite.

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Carly Kennedy dreams of the perfect life, as presented in every rom-com and social media account out there telling her to work hard and life will reward her: she'll move to New York City, have the perfect job, lots of friends, live somewhere trendy and beautiful, eat and drink at trendy, beautiful places.  Life will be perfect.  So far, she's perfected the "work hard" part, but the rest isn't following.  Her life is a non-stop whirl of crazy, artistic publicity clients (who knew two people could feel like so much more?); crazy, divorced parents; and a crazy, stressed-out sister who dumps a depressed basset hound on Carly to deal with.  When the dog walker leaves the happy Hazel in place of her depressed Baxter, that's it!  By the time she tracks Baxter down days later, she's ready to explode.  She's not ready for Max Sheffington, who is feeding her dog mac and cheese on the couch and is far too cute to be a neuroscience professor.  Hazel and Baxter hit it off so well that Max and Carly keep puppy play dates going, which quickly turn into something magical between the dog parents as well as the dogs.  But into every rom-com some wrenches must be thrown, and Carly and Max have to try and untangle more than just leashes if they're going to get their happily ever after!

Carly is a stressed publicist trying to build a brand with a twenty-year old "artistic" fashion designer and a retiree who believes wooden circles are art.  The most sane person in her life is probably Baxter, the depressed basset hound her mother adopted to give away as a surprise gift (spoiler alert- pets as surprise gifts are never a good idea, even under the best and most thoughtful of circumstances.  Which this wasn't).  Having the dog walker mix up Baxter and another basset seems like the kind of thing that would absolutely happen to Carly.  But at heart, Carly is an optimist who accepts the craziness life enjoys throwing at her and attempts to positively reframe it in ways that would make her podcast motivational speaker mentor proud.  Max is a "brain scientist", a professor of neuroscience who researches dogs, humans, and autism- inspired by his autistic brother Jaimie.  He's a bit of the classic science type, not great with social setting or cues, not sure if someone's flirting with him, and never confident around women.  He's also kind, caring, super cute, and loves dogs.  The outgoing Carly and the quiet Max seem like opposites, but thanks to two stubborn dogs, they get the chance to discover that opposites really do attract.  The longer they spend together, the more they discover they enjoy each other's company, and the relationship that develops is sigh-worthy in its wonderfulness.

Right from the start, You Lucky Dog lets you know it is going to be a fun, comedic experience. The writing is bright and bubbly, rather like Carly herself, with plenty of humor, but never so overblown that it crosses into crazy, unrealistic drama.  Instead, the drama is completely believable and largely thanks to Carly's mother, who turns every scene she's in into a whirlwind that leaves you breathless and unsure whether you're coming or going.  Jaimie and the struggles and stresses he, Max, and their dad go through are well-written, with touching empathy.  The characters are wonderful all the way around.  The dogs are magical in their basset cuteness. 

You Lucky Dog is a celebration of dogs, love, and what happens when you stop overthinking and let things happen.  It was a book I smiled at every time I picked it up (with a cover like that, how can you not?) and was sorry when I had to put it down for any reason.  A definite must read for romantic comedy fans, dog lovers, and anyone else looking for a happy way to spend the afternoon!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review 

Who Wants to Marry a Duke

Who Wants to Marry a Duke (Duke Dynasty 3)- Sabrina Jeffries
Zebra Books
Release Date: August 25, 2020

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: A past kiss with adorably bookish Miss Olivia Norley should be barely a memory for Marlowe Drake, the Duke of Thornstock. After all, there are countless debutantes for a handsome rakehell to charm beyond a young lady whose singular passion is chemistry—of the laboratory type. But Thorn has not forgotten—or forgiven—the shocking blackmail scheme sparked by that single kiss, or the damage caused to both their names. Now Thorn’s half-brother, Grey, has hired the brilliant Miss Norley for her scientific expertise in solving a troubling family mystery. And the once-burned Thorn, suspicious of her true motives, vows to follow her every move . . .
 
For Olivia, determining whether arsenic poisoning killed Grey’s father is the pioneering experiment that could make her career—and Thorn’s constant presence is merely a distraction. But someone has explosive plans to derail her search. Soon the most unexpected discovery is the caring nature of the reputed scoundrel beside her—and the electricity it ignites between them . . .

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Who Wants to Marry a Duke continues the Duke Dynasty series, where siblings work to uncover the truth behind the potential murders of their fathers/step-fathers.  The urgency picks up when several suspicious "accidents" prove that the murderer is still very much alive and keeping an eye on the siblings- and willing to go to any length to prevent them from learning the truth!  It's a book of hiding secrets, suspicious motives, and long-believed lies- both in the romance and the mystery!

The Duke of Thorndale met Ms Olivia Norley his first year in England and was instantly attracted to how different she was from every other debutante.  When he's blackmailed into proposing to her, Thorn believes she must be like every other woman, out to snag a rich duke.  His pride is hurt and it doesn't help any when she turns him down.  Nine years later Thorn is a confirmed bachelor and rakehell, cynical and refusing to believe in love or reveal his inner self to anyone.  Olivia is now an accomplished chemist who Thorn's brother Grey convinces to test  his father's remains for arsenic.  Thorn refuses to believe she can do what she claims and joins her, determined to prove she is the schemer he has built up in his mind.

Olivia thought Thorn saw the real her nine years ago and didn't mind that she preferred chemistry to small talk, didn't know how to dance, and had no interest in flirting.  She didn't understand why he proposed when he didn't want to, and was crushed by how he treated her.  He only confirmed her belief that she was meant for science, not love.  Grey's offer is the chance to prove a test she's developed and make a name for herself as a chemist.  But a suspicious Thorn interrupts her at every turn, and the worst part is that the chemistry between them is as volatile as phosphorous and oxygen.

Who Wants to Marry a Duke is a delightful twist on a second-chance romance, where both Thorn and Olivia have been burned by their attraction and are too resentful to want to see where it could lead them.  Pride and misunderstandings stand between them, but being forced to spend time together allows them to see their true selves and to question the past as they understood it.  Every step of the way, Sabrina Jeffries reminds us of the importance of communication in a relationship, and how hiding secrets never ends well.  Thorn is closed-in and sensitive, afraid to show even his family members all of his true self, and he's built a hard shell around his heart to protect it from what he thinks love means and refuses to even acknowledge that his siblings might be finding the real thing. At times you want to shake him, at others comfort him.  Olivia is the stronger of the two in many ways: she's willing to admit when she's wrong, willing to admit when she's fallen in love (despite trying not to!) and willing to forgive when necessary.  She's gained confidence in herself in the nine years since Thorn saw her and has no problem being a chemist and not marrying.  Nor is she willing to give up what others consider a 'hobby' were she ever to marry.  It would take a special kind of man to give her both the respect and love she wants in a marriage, and Thorn has to decide if he can become that man for Olivia,  if he's capable of risking himself by falling in love or of losing her for good.

Full of Jeffries' lively sense of humor, complex characters, and enough urgency in the mystery to keep the plot moving along, Who Wants to Marry a Duke is a good continuation of the Duke Dynasty.    Despite being book three of a series, it could be read as a stand alone for new readers with no trouble, and sets up well the next book, promising us poisoners aplenty and dangerous dowagers as the mystery continues!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.