ARC REVIEW Lady Be Good by Heather Hiestand

Lady Be Good is book three in Heather Hiestand's The Grand Russe Hotel series. We finally get Olga's story, we knew from the first book that she was a princess, several generations removed from the Royal family but still a decedent nonetheless. We learn in this book how she got to be where she is now, after her fiance was murdered she separated from her sister and was picked up and brought to England with the Grand Duchess, but it soon became evident that she wouldn't be welcome for long and never one for charity looked up an old friend, Peter Eyre, she then went to work with his sister in her hotel in Bath where she trained to be a chambermaid. Peter brought her to The Grand Russe to be the manager in charge of housecleaning but Olga isn't happy now unless she's doing something.
Douglas Childers was the youngest of four boys to a Duke unfortunately his older brothers all died in the war, Douglas' father is now after him to settle down and give him an heir. Douglas however in knees deep in the investigation of the Russian uprise and is currently trying to discover the location of the Russian bomber Konstantin who previously set off a bomb in the Grand Russe Hotel  and spy on the Russian delegation that has been staying at the hotel too.

Peter put Olga in charge of an art exhibit in the hotel spotlighting some of the art they have at the hotel. One of the painting she wants is in Childers' room hiding the spy equipment that is what first brings Olga and Douglas together. Douglas is immediately taken with the statuesque beauty of Olga and then he finds out her last name is the same as Konstantin. Douglas decides it's beneficial to find out as much as he can about Olga, really he just needed an excuse. He enjoys his time with her and he wants her to trust him even though he's not being truthful to her until it is absolutely necessary. Olga and Konstantin are cousins but it's not a healthy relationship. Olga is loyal to a fault and foolishly believes he can change but when he gets mean and violent with her she finally tells Douglas everything and after Konstantin blows up another location Douglas finally reveals why he's really at the hotel.

Olga agrees to go under Douglas' protection, she is falling in love with him and him with her, she's met his father and his father approves of the match. But when more of Douglas' secrets come out Olga starts to doubt him and his motives and when it all goes down Olga is left feeling betrayed and she doesn't know if she can marry Douglas after all. Even before it all went down Douglas knows unequivocally that he loves her, and the thought of losing her cuts him deep.

Overall, it was a good read. Olga broke my heart a little bit there at the end. I really hope Peter's story is next, it is revealed (I don't remember if it said previously) is part of the Redcake family, a tie in to her other series. I can just picture Olga's newly returned sister going head to head with Emmaline. (makes me giddy)

ARC REVIEW If I Had You by Heather Hiestand

I love the Roaring Twenties the dresses, art nouveau, the dancing, the Jazz! I'll pass on the gin though. I really liked Alecia I think if I had been alive in the twenties I would have been like her a little country mouse moving to the big city with dreams of being a jazz baby. I like Ivan because he has accepted his lot in life even after what happened to his family and he's all about the here and now and not dwell on what has happened, he likes his job and he does it well. I love the active setting, I can easily picture the Grand Russe Hotel the fancy art nouveau style the jazz playing in the background. All the characters were interesting, all the other hotel employees have you wondering which one will be next to have a book about them.

Alecia Loudon moved to London to work as a secretary for a Director/actor and his actress wife. She lives with them in one of the suites of the Grand Russe Hotel and every night she sneaks downstairs to listen to the jazz music through the wall that the hotel shares with the nightclub. She has been dreaming of life as a jazz baby and the good looking and mysterious security guard working the night shift. Ivan and his sister are refugees from Russia, they were luckily enough to be out of the country when a family member turned in their parents and their other sister for treason. Ivan has moved on but his sister has not let it go and when the man responsible for their parents death arrives in London and is staying at The Grand Russe she wants her pound of flesh. Ivan is happy with their life now and he doesn't want to risk his life or his sister's life with revenge that won't help only hurt and it won't bring back their family. But she gets in with the wrong crowd and the assassination plot becomes a serious problem.

Ivan finally gets up the nerve to talk to the beautiful blue eyed woman he always sees on his rounds with her head against the wall listening to the music through the wall. Alecia is a shy and sweet young woman who dreams of a life of glamour but after meeting Ivan and experiencing what the life could be like she realizes she would rather be a wife and mother but first she has to help Ivan figure out what to do with his sister and the assassination of not just the Russian Diplomat but British political leaders too. Overall, I really liked this one I love that even after they became intimate they were worried about propriety and not living together until they got married.