4.5
Debutante with a Dangerous Past
ByPublisher Description
A rags-to-riches Regency romance
She’s a counterfeit lady
But he’s stolen her heart! After her criminal father is killed, Miss Nancy Black is forced to seek out her estranged aristocratic grandfather. He offers her a new life as a debutante, but only if she stays out of trouble! Easier said than done when she starts to fall for rebellious Lord Matthew Stringham. Can Nancy risk her heart by telling Matthew the truth about her identity before her dangerous past catches up with her?
From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.
She’s a counterfeit lady
But he’s stolen her heart! After her criminal father is killed, Miss Nancy Black is forced to seek out her estranged aristocratic grandfather. He offers her a new life as a debutante, but only if she stays out of trouble! Easier said than done when she starts to fall for rebellious Lord Matthew Stringham. Can Nancy risk her heart by telling Matthew the truth about her identity before her dangerous past catches up with her?
From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesDebutante with a Dangerous Past Reviews
4.5
“Samantha Hastings once again delivers a fabulous regency romance, full of delightfully witty banter and wonderfully human characters. I love how Hastings crafts stories that include both a romance and an action plot, and Debutante with a Dangerous Past fits this pattern perfectly!
Nancy and Matthew's romance is so enjoyable to read! It's swoony in all the right spots, with a wonderful arc from initial attraction to falling in love. I love that it doesn't stray past kissing and that their romance develops emotionally and intellectually as well as physically. Their romance is perfectly engaging to read while also feeling real, which is always a tricky thing to write!
Nancy's past as a member of a criminal gang and the repercussions from this make for an intriuging action side to the novel. There are twists and turns and characters who turn out to be unexpectedly helpful. The villain is terrifying because he is quite realistic -- you just know there are and always have been people who are terrible, just like Sir Alastair is. His character adds so much depth because of how true to reality he is.
Throughout the story, Hastings weaves the concept of the difficulty of trust and of people's ability to change. Trust is always hard, although obviously to varying degrees, and the theme of earning trust is woven within the plot. I enjoyed that Nancy was written in such a way that allowed for the difficulty of trust for her without being hopeless. (I'm sure it was written rather hopefully for someone who has experienced that much trauma, but I appreciate that Hastings balanced acknowledging this with also keeping the story a regency romance.)
Hastings will definitely remain on my auto buy list! Highly recommend Debutante with a Dangerous Past.
I recieved an ARC copy from the author. All opinions are my own.”
“Danager, blackmail, continuous witty banter (the word play games are the absolute best), and of course ridiculously swoony romance, this story has everything a reader wants. A rags-to-riches, second-chance-at-life story that readers will absolutely adore. This story has so many fun characters from the FMC and MMC Nancy and Matthew to the best side characters including a rigid aunt who really has a gooey interior and a standoffish grandfather who really just wanted to get to know his granddaughter. And of course there are the bad guys. This story is just an absolute delight to read from cover to cover. Especially with the swoony swoony romance between Nancy and Matthew. They have so many fun scenes that range from delightful witty banter to devastatingly paralyzing and senseless kissing. Readers will not want to miss another story from Samantha Hastings!
Series:The Stringham Family
Genre: historical, regency, romance
Publisher:Harlequin
Publication date: August 22, 2023
Number of pages: 288
Content warning: mild romance (passionate kissing, innuendo), talk of prostitution, mild moments of danger/peril, off screen death
Other books in the series:
1-The Duchess Countess
2-The Marquess and the Runaway Lady
4-Christmas in a Castle (coming November 2023)
Disclosure statement: A complimentary review copy of this book was provided from tour groups, publishers, publicists, authors, and others, including NetGalley, OR was borrowed from the library, including OverDrive, Or borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, OR borrowed from Deseret Bookshelf, OR pre-ordered/purchased for review, including Audible. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own.”
About Samantha Hastings
Samantha Hastings met her husband in a turkey sandwich line. They live in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she spends most of her time reading, having tea parties, and chasing her kids. She has degrees from Brigham Young University, University of North Texas, and University of Reading (UK). She’s the author of several YA Regency titles and also writes cozy murder mysteries under Samantha Larsen. Learn more at SamanthaHastings.com
Other books by Samantha Hastings
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