PinkcowlandReads

The Gunslinger’s Guide to Avoiding Matrimony By Michelle MacLean ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 The follow up to Michelle MacLean’s Hitched to the Gunslinger, The Gunslinger’s Guide to Avoiding Matrimony is finally here and the citizens of Desolation are up to more shenanigans! Running from the law retired gunslinger/gambler Adam Woodson stumbled upon the town of Desolation. His timing is perfect and he walks right into the mess groom selection/ wedding ceremony for the town and ends up married to spinster Nora. Nora hadn’t planned on picking a groom, but Adam will suit her purpose nicely- she only needs a husband long enough to inherit her property… too bad Adam has no intention of being that husband! Now the rules of Desolation state a man must marry or find a job… so Adam starts trying his hand at all the jobs, while Nora attempts to woo him to sign the marriage papers. In general this is a cute and funny premise, but Adam’s insistence that he can’t/won’t marry is too much. I felt for Nora and her inse...

  Mr. Grier and the Governess The Brazen Beauties, Book 2 By Sophie Barnes ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Historical romance lovers and fans of Jane Eyre need to to have Mr. Grier and the Governess by Sophie Barnes! Olivia Poole (😉nod to JE) is finally out from under the controlling thumb of her vicar father and now needs to make her own way in the world. Thankfully her father highly educated her and she now hopes to find a job as a governess. Too bad she needs a position immediately but there are none and her lack of references aren’t making things easier! A housemaid position will have to do… Taking a risk, she arrives unannounced and finds the position filled but is welcomed by the houses ward and soon finds that her governess skills coming in handy… that is until the handsome guardian returns and puts her to the rest! This epic romance was an absolute delight! I loved all the fun nods to Jane Eyre and the beautiful way Barnes introduces her characters, their stories and weaves together their lo...

Nobody’s Princess The Wild Wynchester’s, Book 3 Erica Ridley ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5 Don’t call her Princess! The Wild Winchester’s are back and busy saving those in need… Kunigunde de Heusch does not need saving. Kuni has stowed away on a voyage to London in order to preform reconnaissance for her King and prove her right to be in a Royal Guardsmen…  Graham Wynshester is on the hunt for a princess and believes he found her in Kunigunde. But her need to prove herself and his need to rescue puts them at odds as their attraction pushes them together. This slow burn romance unfolds as they accept whom the other is and the limitations of their time together. I loved finally getting Graham’s back story and his attempts to woo Kuni within the boundaries she creates for them. Kuni was a strong willed heroine who didn’t have time for love. I love when those characters finally fall! Overall, I love the Winchester’s and their antics as a whole but did wish there was more romance and less rescues and reco...

Remember Love Ravenswood series, Book 1 by Mary Balogh ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 Historical romance queen, Mary Balogh introduces us to another brilliant extended family and reminds up to remember love in one swoop with this series opener! First off, this epic second chance romance gave me pure romantic chills that were remittent to reading Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Her beautiful storytelling and detailed descriptions and character building really immersed me into this story and made me root for second chances and love! Childhood neighbours, Devlin Ware and Gwyneth Rhys never know the other felt the same attraction and pull towards the other until the stars aligned at the neighbourhood fete and they finally discover their mutual affection… but they were not mean to be young lovers, since family scandal befalls Devin and he is banished from his family home.  White no where to go and a determination to shed his innocence and become a man, he enlist in a foot regiment… and stays away at war ...

A Bride's Guide to Marriage and Murder Countess of Harleigh Mystery, Book 5 by Dianne Freeman ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 They finally got hitched!! Fans of the Countess of Harleigh Mystery series will be happy to hear that before any murder took place Lady Harleigh and Mr Hazelton were married with all their friends and family in attendance! But there was definitely a murder mystery discovered before the end of the wedding breakfast! This was such a treat! As a series fan I was so happy to see Francis and George finally get married and now as Mr. and Mrs. Hazelton continue their detective work. These two are the ideal Victorian era couple goals. They easily work together on mutual goals and know how to play up each other’s strengths, while compensating for any weaknesses. They are definitely better together! This book has all the trappings that we come to expect in love from the series, including quirky with relatives with plenty of drama, nosey neighbours and friends and an intriguing ...

Always Be My Duchess Taming of the Dukes, Book 1 by Amelia Howard ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 There is nothing I love more, than starting off a new book with a fun gender role swap meet cute!  In Always Be My Duchess by Amelie Howard, the series starter for her rom-com series Taming the Dukes does just this! The independent Duke of Montcroix is rescued by our struggling ballerina heroine, Geneviève Valery from a group of street thugs! As one to see the potential in a business deal, Montcroix decides to proposition Miss Valery, Pretty Woman style, to act out as his current love interest to warn off the match making mama’s of the ton! Sounds like a solid plan, win, win… until the deal gets renegotiated and Montcroix and Miss Valery start having trouble keeping the business dealings separate from their personal feelings! This was just a real fun story! From our stern and uncompromising duke hero to the self-reliant, vibrant ballerina, this opposites attract pairing has plenty of sparks and ...

Up All Night with a Good Duke The Byronic Book Club, Book 1 By Amy Rose Bennett Narrated by Sasha Higgins ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 If you’re looking for a good book to stay up late with on these hot summer nights, Amy Rose Bennett’s latest release, Up All Night with a Good Duke needs to be on your radar! This delicious new series starter follows a group of bluestockings as they attempt to avoid the parsons mousetrap! Artemis Jones is a school teacher by day and romance novelist/ seductress by night! I adored her independent spirit and gumption as she uses every advantage she has to open her own school for girls and solidify her independence! … Even if that means getting engaged to a Duke!  The Duke of Dartmoor needs some help with his wayward daughter who is getting bored he turns to an educated bluestocking for advice! Soon he’s turning to her for more than advice… and things really heat up!!! This was a fun romance and I love how Bennett’s writing reminds me of fun and excitement ...

The True Love Bookshop Somerset Lake, Book 3 by Annie Rains ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 Love and books go hand in hand in this romance! Tess doesn’t need love anymore, she had it and lost it (widowed) and now she’s content to find her romance in the pages of a good book! But when her deceased husbands former best friend, River stumbles into her book shelf, it’s more than the past he’s bringing with him, he’s makes Tess feel things she hasn’t in a long time! I’m a STAN for Annie Rains comfy small town romance and this one hit in all the right places! Tess’s emotional roller coaster of loss, betrayal, second chances and new beginnings is totally on brand and had me immersed in her journey and the daily life of Somerset Lake! River was the perfect heart on his sleeve good guy/ loner hero that you can’t help fall for and root for as he works on repairing his reputation and being the friend that Tess needs. I loved Tess and River together, but I also loved seeing the other Somerset Lake residen...

Mansplainer Last Man Standing, Book #3 by Avery Flynn ⭐⭐⭐/5   Mansplaining - Google definition: “The explanation of something by a man, typically to a woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing.” The third and final book in Avery Flynn’s Beckett cousins series releases today, Mansplainer, and I think poor Nash gets a bad rep undeservedly! Nash is the last of the cousins to have to “not fall in love “ in order to win the bet they have… but he’s been in on the scheme from the beginning and there’s no way he isn’t going to win… even if he has to get creative with the rules! In order to not have his cousins pick his match, he gets himself married for convenience with someone who isn’t interested in love and a real marriage either. Chelle just needs a husband to get her inheritance and then she can go back to her charity work and writing romance novels- she doesn’t need a man in her life! Of course these two fall for each other and fight it the whole tim...