A different kind of tale. Georgana is the daughter of a captain in the British Navy in command of a frigate. She and her mother live with their grandmother while he is at sea. She is cold and heartless. When her mother dies, she comes aboard the ship as a cabin boy. For three years she has kept her disguise. Lieutenant Dominick Peyton is married to the sea. He adores his widowed mother and provides for her. He joins Georgana’s father’s ship aNd meets “George”, the cabin boy. A friendship develops during their voyage that leads to an HEA. Sweet story.

This is the story of Georgana, disguised as a cabin boy to her captain father, and Dominic, the new first lieutenant. It is a cute story. The writing is solid, and the characters are good. There were some character inconsistencies that were not explained to my personal satisfaction, but I don’t think they would bother most other readers. There is some depth to this story, which is nice.

I felt like the main focus was on life in the navy. So there is a certain amount of violence and roughness. The romance, therefore, took a backseat, and that was rather unsatisfying. To be fair, though, I’m not sure it could have been otherwise considering the situation.

I love how the Proper Romance series keeps expanding its collection of authors!
This was the first time I've read this author (I'm not sure though if this is her first published book). I've read a few books where a woman was disguised as a man for some reason or another but I think this was the first where it was done with a guardians permission. It's usually that they have no guardian and therefore no other choice. I liked that Dominic figured out Georgana's secret but kept it to himself for her sake. I liked that the story had action but wasn't overly violent or graphic. Overall I would give it a solid 4 stars and would happily recommend to others.

I honestly struggled with this book. I felt it started slow and got better as it went. but the premise was hard to believe. The characters were well developed. I enjoyed the growing relationship between the two characters, but I felt the story was too contrived.

Story in 1810 Navy ship set for Antigua from England. I enjoyed this #ProperRomance so much but I will admit, I had to Google a bunch of the sailing terms to be able to understand and get a clear picture at times.

“As a young girl, Georgana Woodall had 2 loving parents but with her father a Capitan in the Navy. However, when her mother dies, she cannot face a future under the guardianship of her abusive grandmother and instead chooses to join her father on his ship disguised as his cabin boy, “George.”

Lieutenant Dominic Payton has only one love, the sea! With his dedication to His Majesty’s Royal Navy claiming his full attention. Determined to prove himself to his new captain, he strives to be an exemplary officer and leader. When he sees the captain’s cabin boy being harassed by the crew, he immediately puts a stop to it and takes the “boy” under his wing. After discovering several clues, Dominic deduces that George is really a woman. Knowing that revealing the cabin boy’s secret would put her in danger from the rowdy crew, Dominic keeps silent and hides his growing affection for her.”

To escape her terrible grandmother Georgana and her father form the perfect plan, and for three years they have been successful; but secrets are lonely and Georgana longs for more for her life.

An adventurous regency story unlike any I’ve read before!

Absolutely spellbinding! I could not put this book down.
Imagine being a young woman and hiding that fact from all around you except your father. Imagine hiding that on a ship of the British Royal Navy in 1810 being surround totally by a male crew. If you are discovered it would mean social ruin or worse. That is the life Georganna, or George as her father calls her, finds herself in. Escaping from a physically and emotionally abusive grandmother she finds herself in disguise on the ship her father captains. She is shielded as much as possible from the crew, assigned to be the captain’s cabin “boy”. Given lighter duties and when in battle, assigned to the safest duty area. Still the secret and fear of discovery weigh on her making her wonder if returning to her grandmother’s and hoping for a quick marriage might be preferable. Then a new first lieutenant, Dominic Peyton, is assigned to her father’s ship and as their relationship grows so do her fears and longing for release from the charade she finds herself in. But she does not want a husband in the Navy. Mix in attacks by privateers, an onboard illness that can be fatal, bullying from other boys assigned to the ship and an attempted mutiny and you have a book you won’t want to set down. I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great read and one of the better Regency novels that I've encountered in some time. I really appreciated the character development that unfolded throughout the story and thought that the overall concept (exploring navy life through the eyes of a woman) was a unique and refreshing take! I also appreciated how much of a slow burn this was; the ending did not disappoint! I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a in depth look at life at sea in the English Navy. The author does a good job of giving you a very clear picture without adding too much detail/history that would bog a story like this down. It is a slow moving romance that really was a little too slow for me. There could have been some chopping down of the first half of the story. I thought the author did a good job with the characters. I could have had a little more lightheartedness tho. There was just such a sad feeling in the first half of the book. The second half was much funner to read and had some good movement. This is a sweet story with a little violence, some fighting.

I knew as soon as I read the synopsis that I would enjoy this book. This is one of the more wholesome and authentic historical romance novels I’ve read. All of the lead characters have clear and pure intentions and their goal is to be upstanding as possible.

I loved the way Hawk penned this book. The dialogue, the slow and tense build of romance, and the subtle ways the characters expressed affection and adoration.

Georgana and Peyton were perfect characters. They found connection beyond lust as their relationship began as friendship and grew into a dependency. Their love was organic and fresh. I found this to be a much welcomed novel with the tendency for romance to deliver many lines about swelling bosoms and straining pants.

I would love to read more by this author and I’d recommend this book ten times over.

I’ll write a more much formal review with synopsis and character analysis much later.

There is SO much to love about Georgana’s Secret by Arlem Hawks. First, the story is HIGHLY engaging. The pages flew by in this novel because the action is non-stop: there’s a strange illness onboard the HMS Deborah that’s only hitting a certain part of the crew, there are battles on the high sea with the French, and there’s mutiny. There are adventures in Antigua, learning to stand up against bullies, and a seriously sweet romance. I read 70% of this book in one sitting because I could not put it down! In addition to the storyline, I absolutely love the way characters relate in this novel. The camaraderie of most of the crew onboard the HMS Deborah is fun to imagine. The interaction between George and her father, Captain Woodall, appears stiff and formal, but in reality, it is exceptionally evident how much he cares for his child. And, how Georgana and Dominic’s relationship blossoms from friendship to romance is great. The Victor/Victoria relationship in this book works really well and progresses nicely. I especially enjoyed the intelligent journey Dominic takes to figure out who George truly is. And, the historical and nautical details are rich. The detail is written so vividly I felt like I was on board with the crew of the HMS Deborah. Working a boat in the 1800s was an insanely arduous task, and Hawks does a stellar job of portraying this.

Lieutenant Dominic Peyton is an excellent hero. There is so much to love about his character. His attention to detail is wonderful. He’s not an “actions first, questions later” kind of guy. Dominic is a man who watches and listens, makes intelligent assessments based on what he hears and sees, and then moves to action. I LOVE how unselfish he is. Once he learns George’s secret he feels he must have answers, but before he confronts anyone he metaphorically steps into George’s and her father’s shoes and looks at the situation from their perspectives. What he “discovers” from standing in their shoes for a moment is that they need protection. Dominic is a protector to his core, and some of my most favorite moments in this novel are when he comes to George’s defense (both before and after he finds out who she is). This, more than the swoony kisses and heartfelt words, makes Dominic a perfect hero in my humble opinion. Swoony kisses and heartfelt words are great, but truly seeing and understanding someone is the best show of love one person can give to another.

I have to mention how much I love Georgana’s character. She is AWESOME. If I had to boil her character down to one word, that word would be resilient. Georgana is a character who gets beat up a lot, and I don’t mean metaphorically. She is the quintessential underdog. She is an 18-year-old girl posing as a boy on her father’s ship in 1811. Ironically, she is doing it for her safety. In this world, Georgana gets knocked down often but she always gets back up. She is a true fighter and she is not afraid to fight for what is good and what is right, and later she is not afraid to fight for love. Georgana is definitely the perfect heroine for Dominic.

Georgana’s Secret by Arlem Hawks is a great historical romance that I cannot recommend enough. It’s a fun, adventurous romance that will have the reader turning pages well into the night. If you are in the mood for a swashbuckling adventure with a sweet romance and timely themes then Georgana’s Secret is the book for you!

I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the publisher, Shadow Mountain Publishers, via NetGalley. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was definitely a unique take on a Regency era book and I really loved that! Georgana sneaks on her father’s ship as a cabin boy George where she meets Lt. Dominic Peyton.

Their relationship, both the development of it and it’s continue md growth during the story was wonderfully done. Most importantly to me though was how well written they were as individual characters who not only found love and acceptance with each other, but also became stronger characters on their own as the book progressed.

The writing and characterization was fantastic so I’ll certainly be reading more books by Arlem Hawks!

"Georgana's Secret" is a Regency romance with most of the plot unfolding on a British Navy ship. While ballroom dances and rides in Hyde Park are sometimes enjoyable story events, this novel has none of those. Instead, there are battles, grave illnesses and injuries, and even an attempted mutiny.

Hawks paints a vivid picture of life on a Royal Navy frigate. This novel is well-researched and full of nautical terms. From raising sails and scrubbing decks, to tapping biscuits to remove weevils before eating said biscuits, life upon the seas was hard and demanding.

The characters are well-drawn. Georgana Woodall and Lieutenant Dominic Peyton are wonderful together, even when she was "George". He teaches her to defend herself, which is all the more touching given that Georgana's abusive grandmother called her a "mistake". While all secondary characters are multi-faceted, Fitz stood out for me.

This Proper Romance features lovely prose and is well-edited. It is also clean. If you are looking for rainbows and unicorns, you will not find them here. However, if you want a believable romance set against a realistic, historical backdrop, this is the book for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for an ARC of this enjoyable novel.

I must say I am a sucker for the unconventional romance. This one was absolutely fabulous and had everything a good sea story should. Storms, battles, Privateers, and mutineers. There was illness and death, but this was not just any adventure on the high seas, this one had secrets and romance.

Lieutenant Peyton thought he was trying to protect the Captain's cabin boy, George, but there was more to George than meets the eye. George was Georgana who had been whisked away in the night to protect her from her abusive grandmother. Peyton teaches her to defend herself against the other ships boys who dislike her for the captain's favor of her.

Arlem Hawks wove a magnificent tale of adventure and deception and delivered a happy ever after that was as unconventional as the rest of the story. With so many stories of romance out there, it is refreshing when one comes along that is very different than the stories that I am used to. A little adventure always livens things up fabulously.

I received an early copy through NetGalley and this is my honest review.

The characters in this story were well written and played well off each other. I liked the character arcs in the novel. The growth in the characters was well done. I liked the tension both between the "good guys" and the villain & the hero and heroine in the story. This was my first book by Hawks, but i will definitely look for more in the future

I really enjoyed this historical romance and the authors writing style! The love story was very sweet and I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing life abroad a ship!

A Regency romance novel featuring a young woman disguised as a young man?! That's definitely a trope my genderqueer heart can fall in love with. Georgana's Secret follows Georgana, disguised as a cabin boy on her father's naval ship. Hawks explains Georgana's presence on the ship by folding in a quiet yet strong narrative about Georgana's experience of an abusive grandmother. The ship offers a tenuous sense of safety, but it is urgent to keep Georgana away from her abusive grandmother. After several years at sea, her effort to hide in plain sight as George the cabin boy is thrown into tricky territory when a new lieutenant, Dominic Peyton, joins the crew and takes George under his wing. As Peyton's affection for George increases and they begin to know each other better, Peyton begins to quietly question George's backstory. Then feelings develop amidst the chaos of life at sea.

A few awkward missteps and a vague sense that of wanting a bit more aside, Georgana's Secret was a lighthearted, yet emotionally thoughtful short Regency novel. I would recommend it! (Closer to a 3.5 star for me, but bumped because I ultimately did enjoy it!)

thanks netgalley for the arc!!!

4 stars

Good story. The Author is new to me. Nice balance of viewpoints. Some from the heroine, George and some from the hero, Dominic. Lots of descriptions of life on a naval ship in regency times. The romance was clean and fairly low key. I would definitely recommend this story and this writer. Delighful Cover.

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

Captivating! I loved watching this beautiful romance bloom! Georgana disquises herself as a boy to be able to escape the cruelty of her grandmother and to sail the seas with her Navy Captian father. Dominic catches the attention of Georgana and they form an incredible friendship. Dominic is a very caring and gentle soul perfect for the hurting Georgana. I loved watching them encourage each other and help the other face their fears/past. It was fun to watch Dominic finally fit the pieces together. Arlem Hawks' writing is incredible and you feel as tho you are facing the battles with the characters! This book is a great insight into the life at sea during the 1800's. I cannot imagine being on the sea for years on end. Beautiful book and I cannot wait to read more books by Arlem Hawks!!!

I loved this story so much!

This was the first book I read from this author and I didn't know what to expect, but I really liked her writing.

This is a Regency story but it's set on a ship, which is very different from the usual balls and halls and all those other clichés.

Georgana is on a ship captained by her father, and she's disguised as a cabin boy under the name of George. They've been doing this for three years, after her mother's death, to escape her grandmother's abuse. She guards this secret for her sake and her father's, even though this life is hard for her.

Dominic is the new first lieutenant and he loves being on the high seas. When he witnesses the other boys harassing George, he comes to the his rescue. Slowly, a friendship forms between them, with him not knowing she's a young lady. Dominic's kindness is a balm to Georgana and her feelings for him change.

The setting was amazing and I loved the interactions between Georgana and Dominic, especially later in the story.

There was adventure, and peril, and beautiful moments that were a treat to read. The epilogue was so good!

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.