Romance, suspense and Regency is a great combination. I loved this story. There is so much going on and the mystery kept me guessing. Jack and Ginny are really fun together. I loved their banter, but also their sweeter moments together. There are some wonderful secondary characters and some questionable ones as well. This story pulled me right in and I hated when I had to put it down.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through Netgalley and this is my honest review.

If you’re looking for your next Regency fix? Then here you go! A Heart Worth Stealing is all things fab and swoony tucked within a gorgeous cover!

The author does such a great job pairing an intelligent, slow-to-trust heroine with a charming, bend-the-rules, thief-taker. The plot was engaging that I struggled putting the book down. The romance was well-paced and full of sparks. And the overall book was just stellar.

I’m excited to see what’s next from this author!

I received a NetGalley copy. My opinions are my own.

A Heart Worth Stealing by Joanna Barker is a well written, plot driven novel that has a light under current of romance. The premise of this novel definitely intrigued me and the mystery is definitely the main driving force of the story. Barker’s writing is easily engaging and she has an easy tone which makes this novel a quick paced read. I think technically this novel has a lot going for it, I neither hate nor overly enjoyed this novel. Ultimately I did not really connect with the hero and heroine enough to really root for their romance, so I did not feel fully invested. I do think that Barker has a really lovely way with her words and there was definitely some charming and bantery moments.

Overall, if you love a soft and cozy style mystery that is very light on romance than this novel might really work for you. Well written and an easy read, I think that many people will find this to be exactly what they are looking for.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Oh. My. Goodness! A Heart Worth Stealing by Joanna Barker just jumped to the top of my list of favorite 2023 releases. This book deserves all the heart eyes. It contains mystery, romance, and adventure all set in a delightful Georgian setting. I officially claim Jack, thief-taker and shameless flirt, as a book boyfriend. Though Jack isn’t the only character to steal my heart. Ginny is determined and strong, making her and Jack an incredible duo. This book is beautifully written and well-paced, making for one novel I can’t recommend enough.

I love a good mystery and this was definitely one!! I knew the guilty party early on, but it didn't make the book any less enjoyable.
Genevieve grew up in an unusual situation and was trying to prove herself worthy of her inheritance. She really just wants to be respected as an intelligent woman and not treated as a helpless woman.
This was my first encounter with a thief-taker !! An interesting job that was not given a lot of respect. I really enjoyed Jack Travers, his wittiness, his honesty, and his determination.

I was given a complimentary copy to review. My review is my own personal opinion.

I. Loved. It! This was a wonderful and the writing was excellent. really enjoyed the plot and characters in this one. It was angsty and swoon worthy. I loved, loved Ginny and Jack’s romance. And the kisses!! I felt the tension and loved the banter between them.
The author wrote a great book and I highly recommend it. Thanks Shadow Mountain Publishing via NetGalley!

I liked the ending but I honestly struggled with both Ginny and Jack for half the book. Both characters were irritating.
Over the years I’ve read a number of historical romances. I had a hard time reconciling the way Ginny acted with the time period. That she inherited the house in the first place was slightly unbelievable.
Jack was often flippant and presumptuous.
I suspected a certain character of having involvement with some happenings in the book. I was right and it took an awfully long time for the supposedly smart Ginny and Jack to figure things out.
I did like how things worked out and I liked Jack’s family.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author. The book may be a nice way to pass a few hours.
Thanks to Netgalley and Shadow Mountain for the opportunity to read the book.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 (4.5)
Steam Level: 🔥 (kissing only)
Trigger Warning: death of a loved one recounted, house fire, brief mentions of gun violence

Over the past few months Genevieve Wilde has been dealing with strange occurrences at her family estate, and when her late father's pocket watch goes missing she decides it's time to get help. After failing to get aid from the local magistrate, Ginny decides to hire Jack Travers- a thief-taker and former Bow Street Runner. With his flirtatious manners and roguish good looks, Jack is nothing like Ginny expected. Thankfully, he proves to be good at his job and is very thorough in his investigation. As the threats against the estate increase, Ginny becomes desperate to find the culprit. But her feelings for Jack only make things more complicated. Can the man she hired win her heart and catch the elusive villain who threatens her safety?

This was another delightful read from Joanna Barker! Jack instantly won me over with his playful charm and wit. I loved how he protected Ginny and never made her feel foolish or inadequate. He had the sweetest words that left me swooning, especially near the end of the book. Ginny was a wonderful heroine. She was strong and independent but also had to overcome the loss of her father. I loved the journal entries, letters, and memories that were sprinkled throughout to show the special bond these two shared. I'm so glad she was able to find peace in the end! The suspense elements in this book were done well, although I did find it easy to predict the villain. There were still a few surprises at the end, though, that had me gasping and questioning how everything would end. This book really had the perfect blend of romance and suspense, and I am excited to see what comes next from this author!

Thank you Netgalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun mash-up of a proper romance and a mystery.

I had mixed feelings about Genevieve, aka Ginny. She is running an estate, but she makes bonehead decisions that endanger her life. I appreciate her dedication to her estate and wanting to protect it, but putting yourself in danger? Not smart, Ginny! But at the same time, I enjoyed watching her mature when it came to matters of the heart, mostly due to Jack Travers. She even managed to mend some fences with family members, which is another reflection of her maturity.

I enjoyed the mystery and watching it unfold. Was the thief someone we are introduced to in the book or someone unknown? You'll have to read the book to find out, but I will say that the answer surprised me.

My only complaint about this book is that there are no chapters, or at least not in the copy I read. This made it very hard to find a good stopping place. This is only the 2nd book that I can remember reading without chapters, and I still don't like it. I do not know if all of her books are like this, but if they are, I won't read another.

Overall, this was a fun book to read (despite my comment above), and we give it 4 paws up.

Thank you to @netgalley @shadowmountainpub and @authorjoannabarker for my eARC!

This published on May 2!

💕Ginny’s recently deceased father’s beloved pocket watch has gone missing and the local authorities aren’t taking her seriously. It’s the latest in a series of suspicious activity around her manor home and Ginny wants answers. So she hires Jack Travers, a thief taker aka Private Investigator. Jack turns out to be not only competent and brave but lighthearted and flirtatious. They get into trouble, have to solve the mystery, fight off bad guys, and fall in love.

This book was such a fun delight! Jack steals the spotlight in every scene he’s in with his banter and humor. And Ginny was a great mix of a believable Regency lady with tons of intelligence and determination.
I couldn’t put this down and can’t wait to read other books from the author!

Read if you love:
💕Historical Fiction and mystery with
💕Unexpected twists
💕Swoony, flirty heroes
💕the Regency era

A Heart Worth Stealing has everything you could want in book. It has romance, mystery, wonderful characters, an evil villain, and a swoony kissing scene in a tree!

Ginny is trying to recover from her fathers death and prove herself capable of running the estate her father left her. After a series of “accidents” and a stollen pocket watch she decides to hire a special investigator to help her out.

Jack enters the story. He is everything you could want in a hero. He is handsome, charming, flirty, and entirely devoted to Ginny. The chemistry between the two was amazing from the the first meeting.

This is such a fun story! I was sad to see it end. This one gets five stars from me. I highly recommend it!

This was such a fun story to read! I loved Jack! His big smile and his zeal for life was just great. I love how strong and independent Ginny was, yet she knew when she needed to get help.

I loved the banter between Jack and Ginny! Nearly every time they were together there was banter of some kind and I was there for it!

I loved the mystery of the story, the whole time I kept trying to figure it out and when it was solved I was so happy with how it ended.

Thanks to netgalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Such a fantastic read! I was engaged right from the beginning. Ginny and Jack were wonderful main characters. Both strong yet vulnerable in their own ways. They come from quite different backgrounds, but compliment each other so well. As their attraction and love grow, there are so many beautiful romantic moments. The tree! Believe me, you’ll know it when you get to it. I enjoyed that Ginny was a strong heroine, but not in that abrasive and militant way that heroines sometimes are written in historical novels by modern authors…like an in-your-face defiance of convention. Ginny was not a shrinking flower by any means, but she still fit in the era and circumstances. Jack was a charming but noble rogue, in the best way. There was some great and entertaining banter throughout. The mystery plot was very well done. It was interesting and built steadily throughout the book. I thought I had it figured out (and I did, for the most part) but I was never able to be certain because the author crafted the intrigue so well, one layer at a time. Kept it interesting. Really, such a great book. There were a couple modern words that I wish I could have switched out, and there was misconception that cousins (single male and female) could completely break the rules of propriety because they were safe (like brother and sister, was the implied meaning), whereas it would be scandalous if they had a romantic relationship. Uh, no. It wasn’t uncommon for first cousins to marry during that era, so none of that works. It doesn’t affect the story too much, but I always get distracted by those kind of details. Besides that, I loved the story. This book is a beautiful historical romance to love, and an engaging mystery to intrigue. A wonderful book. Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain for this complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own, shared voluntarily.

What a book, y'all. What. A. Book.

A Heart Worth Stealing is my favorite book by Joanna Barker yet. It is one of those books that definitely has it all - mystery, suspense, a handsome thief taker, a brave heroine, the swooniest kissing scenes, bad guys that deserve a facer or twenty, a BFF and a fence you can't help but love (can those two end up together? That would be the best. Just sayin'. Joanna, take note 😉)....what more could you ask for? It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it, and I didn't ever want to put it down. I may or may not have stayed up late reading it several days in a row 😶

Basically y'all just need this book in your lives. It is so good. So good, friends.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy; all thoughts are my own :)

When her late father’s pocket watch is stolen, Miss Genevieve Wilde reluctantly employs the services of Mr. Jack Travers, a former Bow Street runner turned professional thief-taker.

But it’s more than just a stolen watch. Her estate seems to be the target of an unknown assailant, and Jack, as frustratingly handsome and annoying as he is, is determined to help Ginny feel safe once again.

With a mystery to solve and a home to protect, the last thing Ginny can afford to lose is her heart.

This is a regency romance that has all the good and swoony things: well developed MCs, witty banter, a ball, kissing in a tree, family drama, a little danger and lots of heartfelt declarations.

I will definitely be reading more from Joanna!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Regency Romance
Age Level: Adult
Content: kisses

Likeable characters, fun dialogue, Regency romance plus some mystery.

Genevieve/Ginny Wilde is mourning the death of her father six months earlier and trying to look capable of managing his estate as a young single woman. Her most sentimental family heirloom is his beloved pocket watch. When it disappears, she pushes past the grief to hire special investigator Jack Travers in hopes of getting it back. Their conversations are fun to read from the moment they meet, neither expecting the other to behave the way they do. She’s all manners and proper while he’s flirtatious and witty.

I enjoyed this book from the beginning and as it progressed I didn’t want to put it down. I thought it would be predictable, but I was kept guessing to the end. It was clean but very romantic and fun to read. This is a new author to me and I plan on looking for more of her books. Thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC to use for my review.

I love it when a romance has a deeper plot within it. Joanna Barker hit it out of the park with this romance mystery. The romance was great and I really enjoyed following the mystery as well.

“𝘿𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚.” 𝙈𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧. “𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚.”
“𝙉𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙, 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚. “𝙉𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”
___

Gah, Jack and Ginny were just adorable! I love their banter and their interactions always had me coming back for more. The tension caused by their forced proximity was perfection. It was so satisfying to see the walls come down and watch these two fall for each other. The mystery element was intriguing and I also enjoyed the evolution of Ginny’s relationship with her older sister. Another fantastic read from Joanna Barker!

Thank you so Shadow Mountain for an advanced copy. My thoughts are my own.

I really enjoy this author’s previous books and was excited for this one as well. Overall it was good, but I didn’t enjoy the premise as much as her others.

A Heart Worth Stealing by Joanna Barker tells the story of Miss Genevieve Wilde. She is determined to take care of the home she was left by her father, without help from judgmental friends and relatives. When her father's watch is stolen, she hires a thief-taker, the handsome Jack Travers, to investigate. As the two work together to solve the mysterious happenings at Wimborne, they discover more than they expected to find.

Things I loved about this story: witty banter, roguish hero, believable romance, swoony kisses, she kisses him first!, his sweet family, Wily, the mystery, family reconciliation, Ginny's relationship with her father and Beatrice, well-done villain, happily ever after

Favorite quote: "If you care for the things you love, if you protect them and cherish them, then they will shine." Ginny and Jack both helped each other become better and truly shine. They are a perfect pair!

Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the ARC; all opinions are my own.