For lovers of gothic romance this is the perfect escape. These stories will give you hours of nail biting suspense and intrigue. Dark mansions with unending and confusing corridors lend just the right eerie touch to these stories. Some are a bit humorous, others poignant, but all are intriguing and compelling?

An enjoyable selection of Gothic Romance stories and they all are great for light, fun reads; perfect to jump out of reality for a while and into these. A couple are much more gothic than the others, and I enjoyed these more as I like a gothic setting, and of course it provides a rich, dark and dramatic backdrop to a period romance.
Overall, I'd recommend this selection of romance reads, perfect for a cold winter night by the fire.

Absolutely fabulous kept me gripped throughout, I’m not even sure where to start. They were fun to read with the right amount sinister suspense for me a great balance of sexual tension and I loved all the characters who were very believable and you had a great connection with.
I love the brooding heroes the feisty heroines and altogether fabulous read, that was a different read for me but one that I totally enjoyed and would happily recommend.

I'm a huge historical romance reader but not many of those have been Gothic love stories. I found the dark castles, ghosts, secrets, second chances and romances a lot of fun to read. Something different from my usual reads.
I love reading Erica Ridley books when I need a little break from my norm. They are shorter in length but not short on humour, love and happenstance. I highly recommend her books.
I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

Each book in this set was fantastic. They were intriguing and romantic and I couldn’t wait to see how they unfolded. They each had a ghostly storyline that left me guessing and a black guard that left me guessing too, in a good way. Book provided by NetGalley.

Too wicked to wed: 4 stars
I enjoyed this book with Evangeline and Lioncroft. The supernatural aspect was entertaining as well. The story line kept me engaged and I couldn’t wait for The Who dun it reveal! The romance was at a good pace and I enjoyed all the characters! Would recommend this book.

Too sinful to deny: 4 stars
This story is Susan Stanton’s story. She was a side character in book one. Susan has been ostracized from London and is now in a small smuggling town. Evan Bothwick is our hero in this story. He just discovered his brother is dead and his cargo is gone. Susan and Evan are entertaining together. Again, I felt their romance grew at a good pace. The story line was interesting and once again I couldn’t wait to see who the culprit was. The supernatural edge of this story was entertaining. I would recommend this book.

Too tempting to resist: 3 stars
This was a short novella. I found the characters engaging but there was no edge to this story like there was in the first book. There was no supernatural aspect either. I felt this book was okay but wasn’t what I expected. I would still recommend reading since it is part of the series.

Too wanton to wed: 3 Stars
This story is about Violet and Alistair. I enjoyed both of the characters, but I found the story to be just a little off to me. The writing is good, the story just wasn't really for me.

Too Wicked to Kiss

While I have read this author’s work before Too Wicked to Kiss is a departure from her usual style of writing. It did take me a while to get into it, maybe because for some reason I kept imagining Jane Eyre as I was reading it - I’ve no idea why. Perhaps Gavin Lioncroft reminded of Mr Rochester minus the mad wife in the attic of course. It was a bit darker than her other books and is without the customary humour I’ve come to expect from an Erica Ridley novel. She set a believably sinister scene complete with the requisite dark and brooding scarred hero. The heroine Evangeline, well I have to say I preferred Susan as a character to her but the story itself was filled with suspense with a slight paranormal element which I really enjoyed. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.


Too Sinful to Deny

Too Sinful to Deny is the second book in the Gothic Love stories series and I was looking forward to this book as Susan was one of my favourite characters from the first book but unfortunately it didn’t live up to my expectations. There is plenty to grab a reader’s attention with smugglers, ghosts and pirates and an atmospheric, sinister setting but for some reason I kept having to go back and re-read parts because I just wasn’t taking in. Maybe in a couple of weeks I’ll give this one another go.


Too Tempting to Resist

Too Tempting to Resist is a second chance romance, more in keeping with Erica Ridley’s usual style of writing so I’m unsure why it’s been included as part of the Gothic Love Stories series. There wasn’t the suspense/mystery event I’ve come to expect with this series so even though I enjoyed this book I can’t help but feeling a little disappointed overall with the storyline.


Too Wanton to Wed

Violet is on the run from the hangman’s noose and has found refuge at a gothic abbey complete with catacombs as the governess of Alistair Waldegrave’s young daughter. A child who he keeps locked away as she has the misfortune of suffering from an illness that leaves her vulnerable to the superstitions of the villagers.

I can honestly say that Too Wanton to Wed is my favourite book in the Gothic Love Stories series. The characters are all well developed and the setting described so vividly I can visualise it in my mind as I read. The story moves at a steady pace making it easy to read. Definitely a book I’ll be happy to re-read at a later date.

I had a really hard time getting into these stories. Normally I am a huge fan of Ms. Ridley, I just wasn't so into these.

Easy-to-read Gothic love stories in a boxed set. Vampires, secret passages, smugglers, ghosts are just a few of the motives in these four books. The heroines are strong and have to work their way out of some very dire situations.

Book two is a little weak in comparison to the other three books, but still a solid 3-star read.

A great collection of gothic romances with a dark castle and no one does it better than Erica Ridley. Each books has some elements from paranormal, pirates, wounded souls needing love redemption and a mystery to solve as our hero and heroine learn to trust and fall in love in these captivating stories. I voluntarily read and reviewed this collection of exciting gothic mystery and romance.

It had been a while since I had read a good Gothic romance with them being what was the first kind years ago on what got me started on romance. In this one you get a great collection of her finest that sweeps you away without you having to stop if you do not have too. The settings alone are divine then put that together with the characters you are in for amazing. Mystery with it keeps you captivated with the romance ass the tales are spun.

I'm a big fan of Erica Ridley. And a big fan of romance stories. But to date, i haven't really read a lot of gothic love stories.
I'm not sure that's really going to change in the future. The style in general doesn't really do it for me.
However, having said that, I'd read anything Erica writes. Her books are just so much fun. The stories are so easy to get into and to get caught up in.

Overall, I really loved these four books. I thought they were really great Gothic Romances. My favourites were 'Too Wicked To Kiss' and 'Too Sinful To Deny'. I really loved the Gothicness of these two books and the mysteries in each of these two stories. 'Too Tempting To Resist' I felt as a little too short, it was an alright story but the focus was more on the romance than the Gothic. The Gothic elements in this story was more of a backdrop for the romance between the two characters. Lastly, 'Too Wanton To Wed' was my least favourite of the four stories. I felt that this book didn't move fast enough for me and I didn't really connect to or care for the characters in the same way as I did with the other three stories.

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'TOO WICKED TO KISS' - Rating 4/5

Evangeline Pemberton has been invited to a party at the sprawling estate of reclusive Gavin Lioncroft, who is rumored to have killed his own family in cold blood. First she is afraid of the towering, rude and brusque man. But finds that he might be the only innocent with nothing to hid when one of their parties is murdered in the night. Even when everyone else is convinced of his guilt Evangeline is the only one willing to look and investigate the many other suspects that have secrets to hide. But she is torn between believing that the man she is drawn to is innocent or a ruthless killer.

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I really liked that it wasn’t just romance, marriage and money that steered the plot. It was very much about finding the murderer who is hiding in plain sight and blaming a (for this crime) innocent man.

There was a large sized cast of characters in this book that made it even more interesting. As they all had something to hide and their own motivations for killing Lord Heartherbrook. Well, almost everyone. Some have no connection to the man or are children. There are a lot of theories and red herrings of who’s done it but so many of the people that Evangeline accuses end up being innocent. I remember thinking to myself that the next person that she accuses had better be the murderer or I’ll tear my hair out. Thankfully the next person was the murderer. Who I hadn’t suspected at all. I didn’t like the character but I hadn’t thought that they were a murderer so I was happily surprised.

Evangeline I thought was an interesting character but I was a little thrown off by her “Gift”. Mainly because I wasn’t expecting it. I liked that even though she could see and experience peoples’ secrets, memories and peeks into their future, it took a toll on her. She was left with headaches and feeling unwell after using her Gift, it wasn’t just ‘oh, wow, she can just do this amazing thing and there’s no affects on her in anyway’. It’s not something that she wants to use but she will to help people. The book would have been over a lot quicker if she had used it on everyone and swiftly figured out who the murderer was that way. The only person that it doesn’t work on is Gavin, aka Lioncroft/Lionkiller.

She sometimes acted holier-than-thou and was quick to judge often jumping to the wrong conclusions without enough evidence. I did think Evangeline was a very generous character that was mostly kindhearted but would often act as if she was, or knew, better than everyone else.

Gavin was a very dark, dangerous brooding character with a dark and violent past, perfect for a Gothic hero. At the start of the story he had shut himself off from his family or society for twenty years after being blamed for the death of his parents. And I think you can see it in his character because he just doesn’t know how to act around other people. Mainly because he doesn’t want other people in his house that aren’t family.

He’s the first one to be blamed for his brother-in-law’s death. And the only one that doesn’t is Evangeline. He is the very obvious suspect, especially after his parents’ death, his strong dislike of his brother-in-law and the fact that he threatened to kill him in front of everyone. So, yeah it wasn’t that surprising that he was blamed.

As the two of them end up working together to prove his innocence and find the real killer they end up growing closer and developing feelings for each other. There was a number of scenes with the two of them alone in empty rooms and corridors that would have caused a major scandal they had been discovered. Not to mention the night they spent together. Which is kind of funny considering how Evangeline was there to find Gavin and Susan in a comprising position so he’d be forced to marry Susan, when Evangeline and Gavin where more likely to be caught. And almost were a few times.

With it being a gothic love story I knew going into this book that it was going to be a dark story. Murder, violence, abuse and trauma. It wasn’t an idyllic tale of romance, there were many, many bumps in the road. I did think that the two of them might not even end up together and instead part ways. I wasn’t sure if there would be a happy ending for them. But I’m glad there was.
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TOO SINFUL TO DENY' - Rating 4/5

One look at the towering ocean-side manor that is to be her new home, and exiled socialite Susan Stanton knows: This is a place haunted by secrets, and riddled with menace.

For Susan, there is no escaping the most dangerous element of all—dark-haired smuggler Evan Bothwick, a man whose rakish countenance cannot hide his wicked intent.

But Susan has a secret of her own—a special gift that renders her privy to the darkest mysteries lurking within the walls of the manor and in the labyrinthine cellars beneath. And the only man who can help her is the very rogue she would do anything to be able to resist…

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I really enjoyed reading this story. I really loved the mystery and romance in this story. Also, pirates! Well, smugglers but similar enough. I love stories about pirates and I loved that several of the characters were smugglers/pirates. I also loved that the male hero/romantic lead was a smuggler. Especially as it meant that Susan and Evan had very different ways of life that clashed often.

This story was written in a dual perspective between Susan and Evan in third person. I would say that Susan was the main character of this story overall, with Evan being the second main character.

I loved the Gothic elements in this story. The dark manor, the wild landscape, ghosts, dark secrets, a woman trapped by her husband, a private grave site on the manor’s grounds. I loved it all.

This definitely was not a particularly happy tale . Much of the story revolved around the mystery of Moonseed Manor, what had happened to the late Lady and Lord Beaune and why was the lady haunting Susan. What was the new Lord of the house hiding and where was his wife, Susan’s cousin? And what did Evan Brothwick had to do with any of it?

Honestly Susan goes threw quiet a number of things over the course of the book. First she has to deal with being haunted by multiple ghosts. Some of which only want her complete a simply task before they can move on forever whereas other want her to finish bringing to justice the smuggling ring that operates in area. Then she also has to deal with having no way to return home without any money or friends in Bournemouth. And the people that could help her she either doesn’t trust or are fairly useless or don’t trust her. She also ends up trying to solve the murders that have happened. And finally, she doesn’t know how to fully process the fact that she finds a man attractive that she would never be allowed by her parents to marry.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Susan in the first book, Too Wicked to Kiss, where she was a side character that became friends with Evangeline (the main character of that book) who sadly is only mentioned in this story. I found Susan a bit annoying and bowed down to her mother too much and a busybody that knew little about life outside of Society. But in this book Susan really grew on me. She wasn’t under her mother’s watchful gaze and didn’t have to follow her every command. Susan had a lot of freedom in this story and was able to free to run around Bournemouth doing whatever she could to get out of town and back to London. All while trying to solve the mystery that surrounding the manor and trying to figure out her feelings for Evan.

I loved the journey and character development that Susan went on over the course of this story. She really grew on me and I really loved how strong minded she was and I do wish that there could have been more of this in the first book.

There was equal parts mystery and romance in this book, both moved the story forwards as more secrets came to light and the closer that Susan and Evan became.

I would say that you don’t have to have read the first book in the series as they are written as standalones with little overlap pf characters. But it does give you more of an understanding as to what Susan’s mother is like (as she features in Too Wicked to Kiss more than she is in this book).

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'TOO TEMPTING TO RESIST' - Rating 3/5

Rebecca Bond has been an orphan for five years, living like a ghost in her great-uncle’s home. Everyone has forgotten about her. Know remembers that she lives there. Which suits her just fine until she finds herself without her great-uncles hospitality and the new heir that inherits refuses to keep her. Forcing her to find a husband in three months otherwise she’ll be on her own with nowhere to go.

Daniel Godwin, Lord Stonebury, was the only man she ever loved. Summoned to hear the will of Rebecca’s late great-uncle. But they haven’t seen each other for nine year after their relationship ended in disaster. But he might be just that man that can help her find and charm a country gentleman.
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Unlike the past two books in this series there is no murder/mystery to be solved. As this is a much short book only being over 100 pages long I would have been surpirsed if there had been. Instead this short story focused on a romance between two once childhood friends that have not spoken or seen each other for nine years.

There was still elements of the Gothic in this story with wild, moody weather, a maze that one could easily get lost in, a haunted castle/estate. It was set tone of the story and was more of a backdrop to the romantic story.

I though that this was a somewhat heartbreaking short story. I thought that there would not be any happy ending for the two of them together. Because right up until the last chapter the two of them had resigned themselves to never being together. They were actually grieving for this lost relationship and the belief that the other would never want them.

I really liked that what had happened in the past that had pushed them apart nine years ago was discussed and shown from both characters. All so a lot of the happier memories were brought back for the two of them and over the course of the story they began to become friends again.

If it wasn’t for the very uplifting ending and epilogue set four years later in 1815 then I would probably have been upset by the story.
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'TOO WANTON TO WED' - Rating 2.5/5

A young woman on the run, committed an unspeakable crime to save a child. To escape Violet uses what little money she has to put as much distance between her and the scene of the crime. She is given the chance to take refuge in a crumbling abbey with secrets darker than her own.

The master of the house must hide his daughter away from the outside world, hiding all evidence of her life behind the Gothic abbey walls. Searching for a cure that villagers call demonic, his new governess brings much need light and joy into their lives. But the outside is fast encroaching their sheltered walls, bringing to light secrets that they all would rather keep hidden.

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Now I did enjoy this story, it was pretty fun to read but this is my second least favourite of the series. I didn’t feel very much tension in this story. Unlike in the first two of the series where there was high stakes and there was a sense of tension and impending doom/disaster. Whereas with this story I didn’t feel the same when reading. There was a deadline, in a way, and some tension but there wasn’t enough to grip me completely.

I think that this might be because there wasn’t a strong a mystery to figure out. One of the main characters is accused of murder, runs away and ends up hiding under a false name. But this happens very quickly in the story. After that I felt like there wasn’t much tension or drama around this until the later half of the story. Until then it’s very monotone, being trapped inside Waldegrave Abbey means that very little of the outside world comes in as if it doesn’t exist. The characters are very cut off from the outside which means that there is a delay for news to reach them. So the story is very much centred around what happens inside the Abbey, which in all honesty isn’t very much.

Violet teaches Lily and gets her to make art and have some manners, Alistair is awkward and doesn’t know how to talk to his daughter, Lily hates her father, Violet and Alistair try not to let their feelings get the better of them (Alistair especially tries to act like a gentleman and put distance between them). This is repeated so much that it took me a while to get through the story. It just felt a bit too slow for me. I would have liked it to have moved at a faster pace earlier in the story as it picked up the pace towards the end.

I also think that the ending wrapped things a bit too quickly for my liking. Especially as so much of the story progressed slowly it felt so rush in the final chapter that I was felt feeling a bit disappointed and a bit like “is this it?”

I wasn’t a big fan of the romance, which might be why it took me so long to read this book, it just didn’t feel that strong to me and felt a little flat and forced.

Some things I did like about Violet and Alistair’s romance was that they helped each other move forwards and put their past behind them so they could be together. Alistair was still very much in mourning for his dead wife (even though it’s been almost a decade since she died) and needed to move on with his life. For Violet it was learning to actually trust a man and allow herself to trust her own feelings.

I really liked that it wasn’t a pure, virginal woman and an experience man. As that is a very common theme in Romance. So I liked that that was an important part of the story and Violet and Alistair’s relationship. As it makes Alistair realize that he very much idealizes the women in his life and often likens them to angels when they aren’t actually as angelic as he imagines.

The setting I thought was very interesting as Waldegrave Abbey is dark, creepy and filled with secrets. There is literally no natural light allowed inside, with all of the windows covered and every door with an automatic lock so only those with a key can get in and out. There are also catacombs that the characters travel between the main house and the sanctuary. Which just added to the creepiness. As well as a preserved bedchamber that belong to the late Mrs Waldegrave. I think that the only thing I didn’t like was that the house and sanctuary ended up feeling pretty homey and fairly familiar too quickly. I would have liked there to have been a longer duration of creepiness to be honest.

I did like that there was also some supernatural elements, accusations of vampirism and being the spawn of Satan. Which caused some violence and twists and turns in the story that kept it interesting.

I did find this interesting and an alright read but it was just a bit slow for me. I like slow burns but this wasn’t an exciting slow burn. I knew that in the end the two of them would end up together. Even though they were battling their feelings for one another it was pretty obvious that they would end up together in the end.

Gothic romance with all the twists and dark corners. Ridley is a connoisseur of historical romance and she continues to show it here.

I am a TOTAL sucker for Gothic romance. Like, to the extent that I would have loved to read Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron if that book actually existed (and apparently it will in Graphic Novel form). These books are wonderful examples of that genre. Full of haunted mansions, darkened coastlines, and crumbling (and not so crumbling mansions). Erica Ridley does a wonderful job of bringing the wonderful dreary, stormy worlds to life with memorable heroines and wonderful heros. My favorite part is that in all but the first story, the heroine saves her self! And even in the first book - she was on her way to getting free when the hero came to her rescue. The only thing that would have made these stories better is if they were all interconnected. The first two are loosely connected (the heroine of the second book plays a prominent role in the second, but other than that nothing.

I really enjoyed these and I think, if you love gothic, and the tongue-in-cheek prose of Erica Ridley you'll like them too!

Book 1: Too wicked to kiss
I think this one might be my first gothic romance. When I finished this book I was (actually) surprised how much I enjoyed myself.

This is the perfect example how I imagine that women were treated so many centuries ago. It showed how little power women had over their lives and how many dangers were lurking in the dark places. In the beginning every time Gavin was harsh and insulting towards Evangeline I cringed. She was struggling really hard to accept how much she liked him.
I like the way half way through the book she did found her self-worth and stared to help him prove his innocents.
Overall it was a decanted and enjoyable read.

Book 2: Too sinful to deny
I have to be honest and say this book didn't do it for me as well as the first one...It kinda moved a bit slow with the romantic part of the story. You kinda get the sense that they are attached to each other but are fighting their feelings with every step they take. As for the mystery and intrigue?? I was perfect with all the strange characters, smugglers and the danger..I just wished for more of the uncontrollable love that I usually read with HR books...
On to the next one 😉

Book 3: Too tempting to resist
Simply beautiful - this short story was everything I want in a second chance romance. It was hard to read when Daniel was struggling with doing what he thought was the right thing. And I loved Rebecca; she could have let life beat her down but she found little things to keep her (somewhat) happy.
Even though this was a short story it didn't seemed rush and it's pacing was perfect every step of the way.

Book 4: Too Wanton to wed
This book took me on a journey I found to be too short for my liking.

This story is one about wanting what was best for a child but in the process ended being second chance at love. I really liked Violet. She was running and ended up finding her safe place in the arms of Alistair and his daughter. The little girl was probably my favorite character in this book.
Even though at times Alistair made me roll my eyes due to his daughter illness I still liked him.

This story made me laugh, cry and smile at the end of it. I'm turning into a huge Erica Ridley fan and I can't wait to see what’s next in store for us.

Overall: 4,5*

This is a great series that’s a mix of longer and shorter romances. I was fully engrossed in Too Wicked to Kiss, which is a who do it, mystery romance. The second, Too Sinful to Deny, I wasn’t a big fan of, mainly because Susan the heroine didn’t engender herself to me in the first story. The third romance, Too Temping to Resist, was a quick second chance romance about childhood friends. This is my favorite trope and my favorite romance out of the bunch. The fourth and final romance, Too Wanton to Wed, had heft, like the first, and a captivating sets of characters.

For me, three of the four are real winners and 3 out of 4 is pretty good in my book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a fairly entertaining collection of 4 romantic tales about ghosts, clairvoyance, curses and vampires. In the 1st story, a lady with the ability to see events that happen to the people she touches, tries to solve a murder mystery to save the man she loves. The 2nd story .is centered around a secondary character from the first. She is a spoiled debutante who has been sent to a remote area as punishment. She gets caught up in murder and smuggling, Frankly, it was my least liked of the stories as a found it slow going. In the 3rd, a young lady has been given a month to find a bridegroom, as her uncle doesn't want to support her. Her best chance of assistance is a man who broke her heart years before. The last story involves a lady who becomes governess to a mysterious man and his strange young daughter who never go out into the sun. The collection is fun for those who enjoy gothic romance.

The Gothic Love Stories series by Erica Ridley consists of books that were previously released before and have been edited and re-released. Books three and four were published under different titles in their prior editions: Too Tempting to Resist was known as Romancing the Rogue and Too Wanton to Wed was known as Dark Surrender.

Unlike a lot of Ridley’s writing, these books were darker and more substantial in length. The gothic theme is strong throughout three of the four titles—I found it lacking in Too Tempting to Resist, but the story was enjoyable regardless as a general historical romance. This series has murder, mystery, ghosts, creepy castles, intriguing plots, engaging characters, and so much more.

Each book is standalone with no cliffhangers and a HEA.

Individual book comments:

Too Wicked to Kiss (3.5 stars): Evangeline is dragged to a house party at the estate of a rumored murderer. Unfortunately for Gavin, someone gets murdered at the party. Was it him, as most suspect, or does one of the many suspicious house guests have a motive?

In Too Wicked, I really liked the build-up of tension behind the reveal of the murderer. This story crosses into the paranormal with Evangeline’s special power, and it made her useful to forwarding the plot. Gavin’s background was kept under wraps for a bit too long, at least in regards to the reader being left in the dark. Evangeline’s friend, Susan, was too flighty given the situation, which is thankfully improved upon in the next book when she gets her own story.

The murder theme is laid on so thickly in this book—enough such that I’m not sure if it was charming or overbearing after a while. You can only have so many thunderstorms, gargoyles, and red cloth laying about.

While I would have enjoyed more passion between the main characters, the epilogue was a great ending to their story. It is short yet brings us a satisfying look at Evangeline and Gavin after the story’s events, and what they have waiting in their future.

Too Sinful to Deny (3 stars): Following yet another scandal, Susan’s parents want her far away from London, and so she’s evicted to spend time with a distant aunt. Evan is a smuggler by trade, but when danger closes in, he finds himself working with the new pampered lady in town to uncover the answers.

I really enjoyed the core plot of this story, and liked how it used communication with ghosts for its gothic element. However, the ghost aspect often fell aside until the plot needed a new shove forward, so the way it was used felt like a crutch at times. There was murder and mystery, but the smuggling itself (especially after the build-up about its dangers) was anti-climatic. The plot was paced well and was intriguing, but the ending felt quite sudden in comparison to the rest.

Susan and Evan were distinct and delightful to read. I enjoyed that they were both tenacious and adventurous, each in their own ways.

Too Tempting to Resist (4 stars): When Rebecca’s uncle inherits the castle she resides in, she’s given an ultimatum: marry quickly, or get lost. Then the only man she ever loved—and the only man to break her heart—is summoned to the reading of the will. Daniel regrets his past choices and hopes to rebuild their friendship, and perhaps more.

This is the shortest of the four stories, and it isn’t as dark as the rest. It’s a second-chance romance set in a creepy locale—and that’s where the “gothic” part of this story ends. That didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story, but it was a notable contrast for the series.

I may have rated this five stars if it weren’t for the believability factor to be lost in regards to Rebecca’s life at her uncle’s manor. The fact that her uncles and the solicitor forgot she lived there was too much—the solicitor, if anyone, should have been aware from the moment she became a permanent resident. Another detraction is when Rebecca reflects in the opening chapter on how the staff doesn’t notice her and attributes things she does to ghosts of the castle, yet later in the book they recognize her and are at her beck and call.

That aside, the story of Daniel and Rebecca’s relationship was engaging, touching, at times heartbreaking, and satisfying. My only true lament is that the final chapter wasn’t just a little bit longer, as I wasn’t quite ready to let these two go.

Too Wanton to Wed (4 stars): After Violet commits murder (of a sort) to save a child, she flees to avoid retribution. She stumbles upon Waldegrave Abbey, where its denizens live inside the darkness of its boarded-up walls, for a shocking reason—a sensitivity to sunlight. Alistair doesn’t look like a vampire, nor does his young daughter, who is kept locked away. As Lily’s new governess, Violet seeks to bring some light into the little girl’s world while hiding from the demons of her own.

This story was full of mystery and the gothic element is at a high with the comparisons to vampirism, the dungeon-like structure of the abbey, and late night walks. I would have enjoyed some more concern over Violet’s original situation throughout the entire story, but the way it wove back into the narrative did feel natural.

The building of Violet and Alistair’s relationship was done well, as was the mending of Lily’s devastating childhood and Alistair’s heart. There is a brief epilogue that wraps everything up, but unlike the one in Too Wicked, it was too abrupt and didn’t give quite the same sense of completion.

One thing I hope for the future is that a grown-up Lily gets her own story!



I received an ARC of all four books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advance reader’s copy of this book.

Too Wicked To Kiss
I really enjoyed reading this gothic historical love story. It was engaging and entertaining. I loved how the murder of a guest was set up where any of the guests could be the guilty party. Gavin, rumored to have murdered his parents, is the primary suspect. Evangeline is caught between her attraction and wondering whether Gavin had murdered his houseguest. The attraction between Gavin and Evangeline is present from the moment they meet. Their relationship deepens as they spend time together. The book was hard to put down as I wanted to keep reading to find out how the story would end.

I’m looking forward to reading the next book.

Too Sinful to Deny

I received an advanced reader’s copy of Too Sinful to Deny.

This is the second book in the series and can be read standalone.

This is a great addition to the series. Susan and Evan are at odds from the start as a result of the circumstances they find themselves in. It’s not clear in some cases which secondary characters could be trusted and which could not. This story has subplots that intertwined with the mystery and keep the reader wondering how it would all be resolved in the end. I loved that Susan did not give up in her efforts to resolve matters and looked out for others. Evan is flawed but likable and his interactions with Susan change him for the better.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.