This was cute!

Some over the top soap-opera bits, rosy romance (a couple of weeks a solid relationship does not make, but I'll take it on suspension of disbelief) and all, it was a nice romance and the fantasy flavor was pretty awesome (that gift makes me so envious! The possibilities!).

I confess I toyed with the idea that it would go further and more bravely into the possible dynamics, but it went the expected extremely straight road. It was not something I thought the author would have the balls to go with, but felt a bit like a missed opportunity. And the bit where the guy goes into a rage over having maybe fucked someone that once had been male was... I can hear protest over the times mores and law, and verisimilitude, from my shoulder devil and it still sits wrong (specially given that we have fairies, and magical gifts, duh). The part where the man was more upset about the loss of trust than anything else was really good though.

Book source ~ NetGalley

Charlotte Appleby is living a miserable life with her aunt and uncle. Sure she has a roof over her head and food to eat, but they treat her like crap. So when a Faerie shows up in her room on her 25^th birthday and says she has to bestow a gift on her, what’s a woman to do? Pick one and get the hell out of Dodge, that’s what. Charlotte chooses the gift of metamorphosis or shape-changing. The best part is: it’s not just shape-changing, it’s life-changing for Charlotte.

This is one of those books that will grab your fancy and not let go until the end. Charlotte has to pick a gift and the Faerie bestowing it is not like the fairy godmother in Cinderella. She’s like the ones in Grimm Fairy Tales, she may have to bestow a gift, but she’s going to be cruel if she can get away with it. Charlotte is no dummy though and asks questions and carefully weighs her options before choosing her gift.

The year is 1805 and Charlotte’s options are limited. So she decides to shift into a man and apply as a secretary to a Lord from an ad she sees in the paper. She may be a poor relation now, but at one time her mother and father made sure their daughter had a well-rounded education. She’s confident she can do the job. She’s not so sure about being a man. Luckily, Lord Cosgrove takes a chance and hires her, uh, him, uh, Charlotte who is now Christopher Albin. Lord Cosgrove is having some difficulties that a mere secretary would have a hard time helping him to investigate. But Charlotte is in a unique position. She can change into any person or animal and sneak into places neither one could go. The plot is twisty, the characters are wonderful, and Charlotte’s adventures into shape-shifting are fun to witness. Add some romance to the mix (it’s complicated) and it’s the perfect storm. I had a hard time putting this book down. I couldn’t wait to see what was on the next page. Who was the one causing Cosgrove all the trouble? When would he find out about her shape shifting? What would happen when he did? The suspense builds at a steady pace until the big finale. Wonderful!

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I’ve been eagerly waiting for the sequel to Emily Larkin’s Baleful Godmother series for quite a few months now. Primrose and the Dreadful Duke, is the first in the Garland Cousins series and I’m happy to say it was a delightful read mostly because I adored our H and the h, Oliver and Primrose. Of course, I do love Emily’s writing style, so all in all, this was a great initiation to a new series!

Though Primrose and the Dreadful Duke can be read as a standalone, I’d suggest you read the Baleful Godmother series and its prequels containing 4 books, titled the Fey Quartet. The prequels are set in the ancient times when magic seemed real and Fae roamed the earth. You get to know why a family of females were gifted with special powers by a cold and scary-looking Fae named Baletongue. It began with the Miller Family; Widow Miller and her 3 daughters Hazel, Ivy and Larkspur. Then the female descendants of their families were gifted by Baletongue with a special power, what you can also call a ‘super power’ of their choice. The wish would be granted when they turn from somewhere between 21 and 25 depending on which sister they descended from. Girls born from a male descendant won’t inherit it and if a female who was the last of a line inheriting special power either lived her life as a spinster, or passed away without having a daughter, that line would die with her.

The Baleful Godmother series is Regency set and contains 5 books and a novella, each telling the story of a girl descended from the Millers one way or the other. Some of them were cousins; others didn’t even know they had relatives with special powers until circumstances brought them together! It was a super fun series, and apart from book 1, I enjoyed them all. The novella is M/M, with 2 male characters appearing in the installment right before it. It doesn’t really connect to the theme of the series directly but the state of affairs in both books went simultaneously, so it’s connected that way. The novella was written in a way that if M/M isn’t your cup of tea you can skip it. I read and loved it myself. :)

Book 1, Unmasking Miss Appleby is of Charlotte’s and book 2, Resisting Miss Merryweather is of Merry’s. They’re cousins. Book 3, Trusting Miss Trentham is about Letitia Trentham who turns out to be Charlotte and Merry’s distant relative. Book 3.5 is the M/M novella, between one of Letitia’s cousins and his best friend. Book 4, Ruining Miss Wrotham and book 5, Discovering Miss Darlymple aren’t directly connected to the first installments but by the theme, though I think Charlotte and Merry do make appearances in book 4. I’m sure all those ladies are relatives one way or the other, whether they know each-other or not.

This was a really good book.. I know not very descriptive but it captured me and sucked me in.. I am not normally a historical reader anymore but the inclusion of the Fairy Godmother in the story and the magic peaked my interest.. I kept feeling I got the plot line and story arc and then it went a direction I was not expecting... 

And can I say I loved the character development... the interactions between the two main characters was great.. some pretty funny one liners... 

Overall I enjoyed the book and I think I have found a new series and author...So yea me.. I have already bought and started reading the second in the series.. we will see.. (I have high hopes)

I liked the hero and the heroine but the paranormal aspect of shapeshifting kept them from building a romantic relationship together. I know they spend time together but hero doesn't know it's her and they never bond that way. 
The trying to murder mystery was loose end, red-herring, and fractured for me; didn't flow or provide entertainment for me to follow along with.
I may be too square for this story, lol. Like I said in a update, there was more intimacy between the heroine and her "pego" for most of the story than between her and the hero. I'd be interested in reading this author if she didn't include paranormal elements because I liked the hero and heroine's character.