The first FOUR books in the Baleful Godmother historical romance series.
Embark on a journey that stretches from the glittering ballrooms of the aristocracy to the dark underbelly of Regency England.
1000 pages (260,000 words) of passion, danger, adventure, and romance—with a little magic thrown into the mix.
This collection includes two full-length novels, one shorter novel, and a novella.
Unmasking Miss Appleby Resisting Miss Merryweather Trusting Miss Trentham Claiming Mister Kemp
UNMASKING MISS APPLEBY (Book 1, a full-length novel)
On her 25th birthday, Charlotte Appleby receives an unusual gift from the Faerie godmother she never knew she the ability to change shape. Penniless and orphaned, she sets off for London to make her fortune as a man. But a position as secretary to Lord Cosgrove proves unexpectedly challenging.
RESISTING MISS MERRYWEATHER (Book 2, a novella)
Sir Barnaby Ware made a mistake two and a half years ago. A massive mistake. The sort of mistake that can never be atoned for. He knows himself to be irredeemable, but the captivating and unconventional Miss Merryweather is determined to prove him wrong.
TRUSTING MISS TRENTHAM (Book 3, a full-length novel)
Letitia Trentham is noteworthy for three reasons. One, she’s extremely wealthy. Two, she can distinguish truth from lies. Three, she’s refused every man who’s ever proposed to her. Until Letty receives a proposal she can’t turn down. Icarus Reid barely survived the Battle of Vimeiro. He lives for one thing—to find the man who betrayed him to the French. He doesn’t want to marry Miss Trentham; he wants to use her talent for uncovering lies.
CLAIMING MISTER KEMP (Book 4, a shorter novel)
Lucas Kemp’s twin sister died last year. He’s put aside his mourning clothes, but not his heartache. If Lucas ever needed a friend, it’s now—and who should walk in his door but Lieutenant Thomas Matlock… Lucas and Tom are more than just best friends; they’ve been in love with each other for years. In love with each other—and pretending not to know it. But this time, Tom’s not going to ignore the attraction between them. This time, he’s going to push the issue.
Emily Larkin is the USA Today bestselling author of the Baleful Godmother historical romance series, a series that readers are calling “sexy, unusual and vastly entertaining,” and "ridiculously wonderful."
When not reading or writing, Emily can be found hiking—preferably somewhere off the beaten track. She loves to travel, and has lived in Sweden, backpacked in Europe and North America, and traveled overland in the Middle East, China, and North Africa. Her varied career includes stints as a field assistant in Antarctica and a waitress on the Isle of Skye.
Emily writes fantasy novels as Emily Gee, and historical romance novels as Emily Larkin. She has been a finalist in the Romance Writers of America RITA award, as well as the National Readers Choice, Booksellers Best, Australian Romantic Book of the Year, Sir Julius Vogel, and Koru awards. Her websites are www.emilylarkin.com and www.emilygee.com.
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On her 25th birthday, Charlotte Appleby receives a most unusual gift from the Faerie godmother she never knew she had: the ability to change shape. Penniless and orphaned she has been living with her uncle & aunt but has been treat as a servant & has been called Charity by the household, she sets off for London to make her fortune as a man. Christopher Albin becomes secretary to Marcus Langford Earl of Cosgrove proves unexpectedly challenging. Someone is trying to destroy Cosgrove and his life is increasingly in jeopardy. Marcus thinks he’s being targeted because of his views against slavery but Charlotte / Christopher isn’t convinced & she uses her shapeshifting powers to investigate. When I read the synopsis I wondered whether I’d enjoy the book or read a little & discard it, whilst a love Regency romances I’m not a fan of supernatural novels. I need not have feared, I really enjoyed the book. Marcus was having a difficult time & his new secretary helped him to cope. Charlotte was a strong character who was able to help her employer who she respected & came to love. It, of course, wasn’t your usual romance but the pace of the story was good & kept me turning the pages wanting to find the villain. I’ll certainly look for more in the series. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book
Resisting Miss Merryweather
Sir Barnaby Ware made a massive mistake two and a half years ago. When he slept with his best friend’s Marcus Langford Earl of Cosgrove wife Lavinia. Barnaby has been invited to Marcus’ home but is dreading it & almost turns back until that is a young woman appears & asks for a lift. Marcus wants to start over but Barnaby can’t forgive himself as he knows himself to be irredeemable, but the captivating and unconventional Miss Merryweather is determined to prove him wrong. He spends time with Merry & they both feel a strong attraction. Merry is shortly to have her 25th birthday when she’ll be granted a wish by her Baletongue godmother, she has still to decide on what to wish for. Two young boys find some caves, there are rock falls & some are trapped, will they be rescued. I’ve really enjoyed the previous books in the series & whilst this book could stand alone it does continue Marcus’ & Charlotte’s story. It is a short but enjoyable read & I recommend it & look forward to the rest of the series I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book
Trusting Miss Trentham
Letitia Trentham is noteworthy for three reasons. One, she’s extremely wealthy. Two, she can always distinguish truth from lies. Three, she’s refused every man who’s ever proposed to her & so far eighteen have proposed this season alone. Icarus Reid barely survived the Battle of Vimeiro. He lives for one thing, that is to find the man who betrayed him to the French & caused the deaths of the four men who were with him. He doesn’t want to marry Miss Trentham; he wants to use her talent for uncovering lies. Suddenly, Letty finds herself breaking the rules, pretending to be someone she’s not, and doing things a lady would never do. But her hunt for the truth may uncover more than one secret, including the secret that haunts Icarus day and night & has him having horrific nightmares every night. The secret he intends to take to his grave. Whilst this is the third in the series it could be read as a stand-alone novel. Another entertaining well written book from the author The story is well paced The characters are well portrayed both Letty & Icarus are likeable. It’s also uplifting that the author’s characters are flawed they aren’t extremely beautiful but can be plain with a long nose & wide mouth. The beauty of her characters is in their characters Icarus may be living in his own hell but he still has time to help injured soldiers & Letty uses her wealth to help underprivileged women & children. I look forward to more in the series. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book
Claiming Mister Kemp
Lucas Kemp’s twin sister Julia died last year. He’s put aside his mourning clothes, but not his heartache. If Lucas ever needed a friend, it’s now, who should walk in his door but Lieutenant Thomas Matlock who finds Lucas drunk & crying on his birthday in a darkened room Lucas and Tom are more than just best friends; they’ve been in love with each other for years but if they give into their feelings then their lives could be ruined or ended Tom escaped death in Portugal & is not going to ignore the attraction between them. This time, he’s going to push the issue. He’s going to teach Lucas how to laugh again. A short book slightly longer than a novella, which I read in two sessions. Tom no longer fights his feelings but Lu does, he does start to question his feelings & talking to Letty & Robert also makes him look into his beliefs, then an incident happens which brings things to a head. I’m not normally a lover of M/M books but this was well written & managed to portray the way homosexual relationships were viewed & dealt with in the nineteenth century. It was more than two men finding love it was about how a very lonely Lucas gradually began to live again after the death of his twin This book runs at the same time as ‘Trusting Miss Trentham’ & whilst could be a standalone I liked it that a different side to events in both books meshed. Another enjoyable read in the series & I look forward to the rest of the series I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book
I really enjoyed these sprightly novellas. The stories are connected and reading them all in one sitting is highly recommended. If you plan to read Ms. Larkin's Regency novels in the series, definitely read this quartet first. As a veteran researcher on The Enchanted World series, I always enjoy a *good* retelling of a fairy story or as the case is here, an imaginative and coherent new story in the mold of old Celtic tales where the Fey were not dragonfly-winged and harmless, but powerful, dangerous and utterly self-serving. The author's writing is very evocative; she painted a vivid picture of the characters and locales, and I really wanted to fall into Dapple Vale!
4 stars. I read the books separately. Though I wasn't fond of book 1, the rest of the series were great. This is only the vol. for 1-3 but I read the whole series up to 6, so I'll recommend. All 3 reviews can be found on the respective goodreads book pages. But spoiler alert for each of them!
Very, very good! I do like these 'modern' fairy tales :-) I had already downloaded the first one (Unmasking Miss Appleby) as a freebie and liked it so much that I bought this series. I was right in buying it, as the other three books were also well worth reading 🙂
Four beautiful stories that contain laughter, hope, redemption and acceptance in one boxed set. The characters are all intertwined so it is best to read them in order. Highly trcommended read.