Two Historical Novel Society Reviews!

The Dreaming Beautyhttps://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-dreaming-beauty/

When Tansy White is betrayed by her intended, she fears she is fated to be alone. Encouraged by her three aunts, she visits Rose Cottage, the home of her late mother. Tansy has dreamed of this cottage her whole life and wonders if it can provide the answers she seeks. But after getting caught in a storm and waking up in a strange house, she meets a man with secrets of his own. Marcus Taylor, the brother of a duke, also has troubling dreams. Working together, can they find out hidden secrets and piece together fragments of dreams?
This second book in the Enchanted Regency Romance series is such a delight. What a treat to read a Regency Romance with a bit of magical realism that is also a Sleeping Beauty retelling! With many nods to the timeless legend running through it, this is a fresh, original, and intriguing romance. Tansy’s ability to dream her future is just the right touch that adds an extra layer to this well-woven story. Readers will become enchanted themselves while piecing together a tapestry made out of dreams, secrets, magic, and lies. Fans of romance and magical realism will enjoy this book.

https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-holly-and-the-ivy/

The Holly and the IvyRAY THOMPSON
An anthology of four Christmas novellas, set in the Georgian and Regency eras. In “The Holly and the Ivy,” Eden explores, through the sympathetic eyes of his nursemaid, the pressures on an eight-year-old who inherits a dukedom. In “Hiding Christmas,” Hatch sends her protagonists on a long coach ride to England so they can celebrate a traditional Christmas away from persecution by the dour Scottish kirk. In LeCheminant’s “A Twist of Christmas,” two jaded aristocrats both switch places with ironic results (she with her companion, he with his younger brother) in an effort to avoid a match-making introduction. And in Walker’s “A Season to Love,” Alice’s anxious search for a husband turns up an unexpected prospect.
Although a romantic relationship does develop in Eden’s Georgian novella, it involves two members of the lower class and is subordinate to the focus on the young duke’s struggle to cope with a burden he is too young to shoulder. The three Regencies offer more familiar situations, and in each the opportunity for the protagonists to spend time together allows romance to bloom. Those looking for inspirational Christian romances, in which the virtues of patience, kindness, and understanding are amply rewarded, will be satisfied.

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