What a great WWII story! I stayed up late to finish this book (and I am not sorry). Gracie Thompson is working as a lady's maid in Lord Hamilton's household in 1937 when she meets Charles Power, a friend of her twin brother Stan. Gracie and Charles kind of side step each other for the first year, as he comes over to her parents' house for tea or dinner on her nights off from work. It is 1937 and the Great Depression has impacted the Thompson family hard (hence why Gracie is working). There is also a possible threat of war with Germany.

By 1938, Gracie is dating Charles and is the lady's maid for the newest member of the Hamilton residence, Penelope (Penny). Penny understands first hand the awfulness of the Nazis, as she escaped France in the nick of time. Penny is no spoilt rich girl - she spends the book trying her hand at helping the gardener plant a victory, aiding the nuns at the orphanage that took in kids from the continent, and wants to be a nurse so she can serve in the war. Penny and Gracie's friendship went way beyond mistress/maid and probably wasn't historical accurate, but I don't care I loved seeing them gossip over tea or helping people injured in the Blitz. Penny grew up in more democratic France and therefore has issues over British upper class manners and restrictions.

Stan and Charles sign up to be volunteer pilots for the RAF.

By 1940, Gracie leaves service life for life in the WAAFs. She isn't stationed at the same base of Charles, but they try to find time to see each other while on leave. Charles shows some jealousy issues, which I felt made him look like an ass rather than protective. Gracie writes to Penny often, but also makes friends with other WAAFs Macie and Jessie. Each young woman is dealing with the early days of WWII by doing, not sitting around fretting. I love this and feel that the book overall felt more women's historical fiction rather than historical romance. The romance between Gracie and Charles does get deeper at the very end and I get a HEA, but it was pretty shallow for most of the book. I can't wait to read books two and three in 2019 just so I can spend more time with the women.

A sllllloooowwww burner of a romance. I loved the main couple as both individuals and as a couple, but man it took a while for the plot to get going. I read the prequel novella to the series and enjoyed it - maybe because it was shorter and therefore didn't need all this unnecessary puff. 

Nathan Chandler is the son trying to do good in his dad's eyes and ends up falling short. He has the chance to prove himself but needs his dad's secretary, Rosalind, to go with him as a way to get his dad on his side. Rosalind isn't just a secretary, she is also spying on the Chandler family (especially the dad) due to a blackmail scheme she is a victim of. They go on the road to deliver two racing horses to Epsy for the big race. They have a crew, so their flirting with and confiding in each other has a little audience. The race lasts all of one page. Everything comes to a head when they start on the return trip to Newmarket. The sex scene is very tender due to Rosalind's past injuries, which I wonder how Ms. Romain was going to pull it off. A great read once your past the 25% mark, but it was a slog to get through that first part so have patience.

This is a short story (29 pages) in the Ladies of Lore series. The series takes place in medieval England and Scotland; this story takes place at the king and queen's residence in England. It seemed this story was written as a gift to readers of the series; as a freebie to lure in new readers, I don't think it works. It was predictable and the big bad brother was more Loki-mischief maker rather than a dark figure. It was cute, it was short - too short to get me interested in reading the series.

The heroine was definitely the highlight of this story. The hero and plot points were very typical Regency romance, nicely written but no real new ground is broken. I think the heroine watching the hero be given a blow job by some widow was a little over the top and cringe-worthy. I think the heroine's family had a plan in place to catch the couple in a compromising position, as it seems the family was QUICK to announce a marriage; it felt a little staged. A short, sweet story that stands out due to the heroine.

What a fun ride this book turned out to be! I don't know how I came in possession of it but I have had the book on my physical book shelf since we lived in California and never felt in the mood for a medieval. So it gathered dust until I was making a list of books for the Ripped Bodice Bingo and saw that this book would be good filler for a square (the "Pre-Renaissance" box). On a whim I started the book and was immediately engrossed in the story involving a second son inheriting a mid-size keep that was left in almost ruins, a runaway heiress, a wannabe sorceress who is the heroine's mother, dubious "natural" deaths of relatives, the stupidest villains in all of England, several kidnappings, and just King Edward enjoying the real life drama of his citizens while thinking of the value of the coins can help him squash the Welsh and Scottish uprisings. 

A lot is packed into this story line, but the developing romance between Garron of Kersey and Merry (the heiress in the title) was actually real and I rooted for them to get their HEA, whatever that looked like. He didn't really notice her until she mentioned her preference for making lists to help with big projects (like restoring a mid-size keep to its' former glory), then he was like "hey! you seem like a decent person to have help me" - no pants feeling at first, theirs was a meeting of the minds and intentions. Merry to her credit had major administration skills, as she was running things over at Valcourt until the death of her father, plus she didn't mind doing menial labor, like making soap or milking Eric(a) the goat, while also advising Garron on the political situation outside the walls of Wareham. 

A highly entertaining read.