Wendy Continues a Winning Series in Book 7 of The Langley Sisters

    I'm not sure I've ever really thanked Wendy Vella for opening up such a vast array of wonder and excitement for me. Her Sinclair and Raven collection originally helped me discover my love for historical fiction with a little twist. Since I pick up the first book, I've been unable to stop reading her stuff. 

    I've worked my way through the Sinclair and Raven Series, The Lords of Night Street, Regency Rakes, and the Langley Sisters. I've enjoyed watching the lives of the characters she created evolve and grow as they appear in various other series. 

    I've been anxiously awaiting the next book in the Langley Series The Lady's Forbidden Love. I was not disappointed. Wendy continues to pull us into the world of regency romance. The seventh book focuses on Daniel Dillinger and Lady Abigail Deville, who meet under unconventional circumstances when Abby attempts to take some control over her life. Her brother, Michael, Zach, Nathaniel and Gabriel are overprotective and have their own ideas about what is expected of a Lady of her standing. 

    In this book, we see the societal pressures of the nobles and the blue stockings on full display. This was also a common theme with Ace and Thea's story. The way Daniel sees himself reflected within society prevents him from acting on his feelings for Abby and struggles to move forward and forget their interactions, especially after he finds out the truth about her social standing.

    Abby has spent much of her life hidden behind the protective blanket her brothers have wrapped firmly around her. Their treatment of her has caused her unhappiness to the point where she feels as though she is being suffocated. 

    Without providing any spoilers, I will acknowledge that this book had so many events that transpired over the plot that I was truly riveted. I can definitely see Ms Vella exploring the Deville brothers as a new series and we also saw a brief cameo of Somerset Sinclair, leaving it open for another book in the series. 

    This book gets 💎💎💎💎💎! Ms Vella has found a long-standing fan in me as she continues to capture the hearts and attention of all those who dive into the world she has created. Thanks for the amazing read! I hope she continues to expand on the series! :) 

The Duke of Diamonds is our new best friend!

    I've read many books by Ms Emily Windsor and I have never been left disappointed. In fact, I've been waiting for a new book to come out! The Duke of Diamonds is everything I expected from Emily's writing style and more. 

    I've explored my share of historical romance and there have been times whereby I find myself bored with the same topic. It always needs a little something besides the usual social norms and money to separate the work from the million others. 

    In this newest book, we become acquainted with Casper Brook, the 8th Duke of Rothwell. We learn immediately that he takes his role as Duke very seriously but that he has a weakness for art. Well, one particular piece of art captures his heart. A work of a beautiful harlot back on to the viewer hangs perfectly in his study. When a young woman appears at his door alleging to have the partner for the work, he calls her bluff. The artist had long since died and there was never any talk of another work. 

    This is how he comes to meet Miss Evelyn Pearce, who claims to have the twin to his most prized piece of art. Little does he know that Miss Pearce has been driven to dishonest means to ensure the safety of her ill younger sister. Deceiving a Duke who is suspected to be holding many diamonds in his safe, seemed like a small risk for her sister's safety and health. 

    Evelyn is left to pick up the pieces after her father dies and leaves them without any money on which to survive. She's had to get money from a loan shark and now he has come to get his funds. But Evelyn doesn't have them and the shark leaves her only one option - sell her body. 

    Not wanting to believe that her only option, she takes a sketch her father had drawn before he died of the twin for one of his pieces. The same piece that the Duke of Diamonds bought for a healthy sum. 

    And so the adventure begins. It's full of wit and shows the true determination of a sister's love. We also get to see some of our favourite Duchess and Duke Rathcomb. 

    We give this five stars! And are already on the edge of our seats for the next in the series. 

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How Anxiety Controls My Life...

As many of you would have noticed, I’ve been on hiatus for a couple months. This has been due to some on going anxiety and I think it’s important to start a conversation about what that means to people and what it means to me. 

I started to show sighs of anxiety as a child. I had an incredibly chaotic childhood and was given a lot of responsibility at a young age. My anxiety was so significant at that time that I would vomit nightly. My parents were concerned that there was something physical happening and I endured tests and exams to find out what was “wrong” with me. The doctor eventually said that I had “bad nerves” but offered neither me or my parents information on how to treat my anxiety. 

Now, my parents are great people. They work hard and instilled good solid morals and values into my childhood. But things weren’t always easy and there was a lot of focus on my older sibling who had significant physical and cognitive disabilities. What I had going on was nothing compared to what she endured.  Her higher needs took priority and I understood. 

Eventually the vomiting went away, but as one symptom disappeared a new one surfaced. I cannot tell you the last time I slept normal hours with assistance from melatonin or other sleep aids. I struggled for many years when I left home to attend post secondary. I lost weight, didn’t eat and the circles under my Eyes have become a prominent feature of my once joyful face. 

As a student, I found my calling in Social Work and upon graduation was quickly hired by CPS. It was when I encountered the anxiety of the job that I sought treatment.  The medications worked for the physical symptoms for the most part. But my mind continued to spiral. 

Ever wonder what it’s like to be anxious? I’m sure many people have. They toss and turned the night before a big day at work. Or they’re worried about a family problem. Those are all “normal” circumstances where being anxious is manageable. You can identify the factor that is causing the anxiety. Once that thing is over the anxiety subsided. 

Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD is much different. There so many times where I can’t identify what the cause anxiety is.  Prediction the symptomology is not easy either. They change in my experience. 

I was once fixated on picking my cuticles to the point where they would bleed and become infected. I picked up reading to help me sleep, but found that although I loved reading, that I struggled to put down the book once I’ve started reading. Otherwise I over think the plot and possible scenarios. 

These past months have been incredibly challenging. GAD encompasses my life to the point that I needed to take a leave of absence from work in order to get myself healthy. And I did. I got to a great place and went back to work. Within two weeks I was on leave again. 

So long story short, I have no abandoned you! I’m simply taking the time to reframe and get healthy! 

Thank you all.