ARC REVIEW Lord of Vice by Erica Ridley

Rogues to Riches #6, "The road to me is paved with gold intentions" That right finally Maxwell Gideon! and the final Grenville sibling Byrony. This can be read as a stand alone but it is a pretty great series. The whole Grenville family is gregarious, Bryony is less so, she forces it, she hates going out in society for the soul purpose of finding a husband especially since her mother has made it her mission that Bryony marry higher than an Earl by the end of the season. Grenville are known for their musical talent Byrony is a wonder on the violin but it grates on her nerves that her mother very openly complains that the violin is her only winning point to attract a man. Byrony is so much more than just a pretty smile and a violinist, she can do math sums in her head she can assess a situation and tell you the best out come, she can look at an investment and know if it will be successful or not which is how she got to be involved in being the investor for The Cloven Hoof and the deed holder for the land and the building.

Maxwell Gideon rose from almost nothing to being the most infamous game hell owner in all of London. The men that once blackballed him from their gentlemen clubs are now blackballed by him. Maxwell has dreamed of this day for forever and the only thing keeping him from finally achieving that dream fully is his investor and their unwillingness to sell Max the deed. Bryony doesn't have all the information she needs to make an informed decision about selling Max the deed, and she needs to decide whether or not she want to keep it and continue getting rent from such a prosperous property or sell it and use the money to do something else and if her mother gets her way she end up married and everything she's worked so hard for goes to her husband that's something Bryony really doesn't want. Max and Bryony met by accident she snuck into The Cloven Hoof when it was supposed to be closed and Max caught her there, not knowing who she was. Even after he kicked her out she kept coming back and proved she was helpful on several occasion. Bryony was just happy that he actually listen to her suggestions. An attachment forms but Bryony feels guilty and blurts out who she really in right before he kisses her for the first time. Max feels betrayed but reluctantly agrees that she can shadow him there at The Clover Hoof for one month then she will make her decision about whether or not to sell; one month to fall in love.

Overall, this was a wonderful end to the series. Max really is a roasted marshmallow all crispy and bitter on the outside but all soft and gooey on the inside. Once he realizes his feeling for Bryony he feels like he's not good enough for her, and that he won't be welcomed in society even after meeting her siblings and their eclectic group Max still feels like he wouldn't belong. Bryony is so giving and so willing to put others before herself. They both were great characters and fit so perfectly together. As always Erica Ridley is a great story teller and a wonderful world builder.            

ARC REVIEW Lord of Secrets by Erica Ridley

Rogues to Riches #5, This one runs parallel with some of the previous books, it can be read as a standalone but I think it would be more enjoyable if you have read the others, especially the ones with the rest of the Grenville Family. Even with the 200+ pages this is a quick read the romance is a little on the slow burner side. Half of what happens are occurrences and scenes from the other books but from Heath and Nora's POV. The other half is Heath trying to find the caricaturist and falling in love with Nora while Nora tries to find a way to tell Heath her secret without him hating her and breaking her heart.

Heath Grenville is a problem solver, he makes scandals go away his newest client has asked him to find the artist doing the caricatures and get him to stop. Elenora Whitfield is a distant cousin to Lady Roundtree, in order to help her aging grandparents and brother save the sheep farm she grew up on she takes a post as a companion to Lady Roundtree. Heath is immediately taken with Nora's beauty, no woman has ever caught his eye the way she has, but as a lady's companion she is completely unsuitable to be his wife, logically he knows this and he tries to move on but his thoughts keep going back to her. For Nora Heath is everything she ever dreamed about and never ever hoped to have, their shared love of art is just one thing she loves about him. The more time they spend with each other and as Heath watches his sisters fall in love the more Heath realizes he should follow his heart. 

Overall, this was a nice read. Nora and Heath are well matched and it was pretty much an easy romance. I especially love how they handle the situation at the end when Heath finds out the truth, very mature.       

      

ARC REVIEW Lord of Temptation by Erica Ridley

Rogues to Riches #4, I was looking forward to Hawk's book out of the friends he just seemed the most responsible and since Faith Digby was introduced and it was discovered she knew Hawk and acted like she despised him I knew they would end up together. I love second chance romance I don't think I'll ever get tired of them, but there is a secondary trope that I guess I have gotten sick of and that dragged the book down for me. Through most of the book I didn't like Faith she was very closed minded and kind of a bitch, by the end of the book I liked her a little better. Hawk I didn't like as much as I had hoped, nothing about him really stood out. Simon on the other hand made me love him even more. 

Hawk is finally getting to the point where he can finally start making money and pay off the debts that were left to him by his father and by his guardian. His mother's health is at a decline and he can barely even afford to pay for the doctor. His half brother Simon is also becoming a more stable person in his life. Simon also brings Faith back into Hawk's life. Even after all this time Hawk still loves Faith, he feels guilty for letting his Mother and advisers talk him out of marrying her. Faith isn't going to let Hawk back into her life just because he apologise. Hawk isn't going to give up on her so easily, but winning her over and trying to convince her that she dowry has nothing to do why he wants her and that he never stopped loving her is going to be difficult. Faith has a secret she's been hiding from Hawk and when it comes out both their lives life will forever change.   

Overall, not my favorite, but still a good read. I love Ridley's writing style it is always a quick read that flows easily.

Haven't read the first three books? Get them all in one fell swoop with the Rogues to Riches box set volume one.

Lord of Chance:
Anthony and Charlotte fell victim to the well known in Scotland but apparently not England law that if you announce yourself married boom you are legally married romance troupe. As tired of this troupe that I am this was cute and well executed. This has to be one of the best written books by Erica Ridley I ever read, the ending fell short for me but as a whole this story was really good.

Lord of Pleasure: 

Lord of Pleasure is book two of Erica Ridley's new series Rogues to Riches. This is another great story by Erica Ridley, the characters are likeable and the whole situation is humorous. It's a fantastic Cinderella type story. Camellia is the perfect daughter she does as she's told, she sings when they want her too and what they want her to sing, she's also the sensible one, but her parents go too far when the arrange her marriage to a much older gentleman who doesn't even have the courtesy to actually ask her, then leaves for a month. Lord Wainwright, Michael, is tired of getting his image drawn as a caricature in the paper linking him to all sorts of gossip and rakish behaviour, sometimes it's true but he's tired of being made fun of, as a joke his friends bet him he couldn't stay out of the gossip column for 40 days.

Lord of Night:

A chance meeting on the streets of St. Giles Dahlia is saving a young girl from a man with nefarious purposes and Simon comes to their aid, from that night on Simon life is different. He stops by the school and visits with the girls even helps them learn how to dance and his attraction to Dahlia grows into love. Dahlia loves Simon with all her heart but she has to many secrets from him and as much as it hurts she can not risk her girls or his job for their love. After meeting Dahlia Simon realizes there are more things to life than just being a runner even coming to terms with his half brother and becoming friends with him. Dahlia has changed his outlook on life, but will all that change after he finds out who she really is? My new favorite. I love Simon so much.

ARC REVIEW Lord of Night by Erica Ridley

Lord of  Night is book three if Erica Ridley's Rogues to Riches series. Lord of Night follows Bow Street Runner Inspector Simon Spaulding and Miss Dahlia Grenville. For being 350 pages it was a quick and easy read. The pacing was smooth it seemed like a much shorter read than it actually is, but it was a really good read.

Dahlia and Simon have a slow but sweet courtship but Dahlia feels guilty because she has been hiding the fact that she is a well bred daughter of a Baron. Simon just thinks she is the headmistress of  a school for orphaned and abandoned girls in St. Giles. Dahlia feels even worse after she finds out that Simon is hunting the Thief of Mayfair. Dahlia is that thief, between the lectures from her mother on finding a husband and quitting this silly hobby and her father's indifference on his daughters Dahlia more than once has stolen a little trinket from some of the wealthy snobs whose collection is purely for the idea of having something that other don't and sold it to a pawn shop and then sends a letter to the owner where they can find their missing item. All of it for the care to her students.

A chance meeting on the streets of St. Giles Dahlia is saving a young girl from a man with nefarious purposes and Simon comes to their aid, from that night on Simon life is different. He stops by the school and visits with the girls even helps them learn how to dance and his attraction to Dahlia grows into love. Dahlia loves Simon with all her heart but she has to many secrets from him and as much as it hurts she can not risk her girls or his job for their love. After meeting Dahlia Simon realizes there are more things to life than just being a runner even coming to terms with his half brother and becoming friends with him. Dahlia has changed his outlook on life, but will all that change after he finds out who she really is?

Overall, this was a good read, I enjoyed the characters and the plot and how it played out. I can't wait for the next one.    

ARC REVIEW Lord of Pleasure by Erica Ridley

Lord of Pleasure is book two of Erica Ridley's new series Rogues to Riches. This is another great story by Erica Ridley, the characters are likeable and the whole situation is humorous. It's a fantastic Cinderella type story. Camellia is the perfect daughter she does as she's told, she sings when they want her too and what they want her to sing, she's also the sensible one, but her parents go too far when the arrange her marriage to a much older gentleman who doesn't even have the courtesy to actually ask her, then leaves for a month. Lord Wainwright, Michael, is tired of getting his image drawn as a caricature in the paper linking him to all sorts of gossip and rakish behaviour, sometimes it's true but he's tired of being made fun of, as a joke his friends bet him he couldn't stay out of the gossip column for 40 days.

In an atypical act of rebellion Camellia accepts the invitation meant for her sister to the notorious Lambley's masquerade ball. Once there she is swept off her feet by a masked man who seems to not only listen to her but enjoys talking to her. She has four weeks until her fiance returns and has the banns announced so she decides to enjoy her time with the masked man and returns to the masquerade ball every week.

So far Michael is succeeding in avoiding the gossip rags, he's seen in all the right places and attends his duty in the House of Lords and is terribly bored the only thing keeping his interest is Lady X a wonderful woman whom he has no idea who she really is. The other perplexing thing he comes across is the obvious dislike the Grenville sisters have for him. He has no idea that he made one off hand remark that caused the backing out a charity that was run by one of the sister and out of loyalty all the sister must hate him too. It doesn't take very long before Camellia discovers her masked man is none other than Lord Wainwright. Camellia is despaired that the man she has fallen in love with the same man who is a notorious seducer and who inadvertently hurt her sister. Camellia needs the strength to finally stand up to her parents and shake things up a bit, but can she find the courage Michael knows she has or will it all be for nothing.        

Overall, it is a great Cinderella retold story.

ARC REVIEW Lord of Chance by Erica Ridley

First book of Erica Ridley's Rouges to Riches series. As much as I love Erica Ridley I was almost hesitant to read this book, I blame the blurb it just didn't appeal to me, but being I  love Erica Ridley I picked it up and read it and I'll be damned if it's not one of the best one of hers I've read. Call me slow, I may or may not have known this beforehand and I just forgot, because I do that sometimes, but Anthony Fairfax is none other than the brother to Sarah Fairfax of The Brigadier's Runaway Bride (2015). It started kind of iffy, Anthony and Charlotte fell victim to the well known in Scotland but apparently not England law that if you announce yourself married boom you are legally married romance troupe. As tired of this troupe that I am this was cute and well executed. This has to be one of the best written books by Erica Ridley I ever read, the ending fell short for me but as a whole this story was really good.

 Charlotte is the bastard daughter of a courtesan. She dreamed of a life different than her own, one where people accepted you and invited you places and didn't chant Charlotte the Harlot when they saw you. She also dreamed of having a father who would sweep her away and become a princess. Charlotte above all else wanted her father to love and accept her all she had to go by was what she assumed to be his name and a ruby matched set earrings and necklace. With the name she had she thought him Scottish and after a horrible argument with her mother she left to Scotland and vowed to find him.

Anthony is a well known gambler he started young and helped his family stay in fashion to fit in with the fashionable crowd. It wasn't easy and he was broke more often than he had money but being strapped for cash was never this bad; he owed the accumulative amount of two thousand plus scattered about but his so called friend bought all his vowels and demanded payment or else it was debtor's prison for him. Anthony escaped London to try some smaller venues to try his luck at the gaming table it wasn't until a small town in Scotland did he met up with his Lady Luck.

Charlotte and Anthony play a couple hands and he eventually loses everything to her. At the end of the evening in Charlotte's paranoia of someone finding out who she is she proclaims out loud that she and Anthony are married. It isn't until the next morning do they find out that it is legally binding and Anthony also discovers the severity of his debt. The emotional rollercoaster ride that Charlotte and Anthony go through strengthen the feelings and the bond between them. It shows Charlotte that not every who sees her expects her to be her mother and Anthony learn the his life doesn't have to revolve around a table. Not much action takes place it mostly internal conflict between their insecurities. I have to say that is the best part of the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Despite the overall conflict being built up so much and then being solved so easily left me wanting more the romance and the character development was fantastic.