A Most Deceptive Courtship Review

ABOUT THE BOOK

Miss Arabella Sharp is not a fortune hunter. She simply requires a rich husband. Urgently. Wealthy and unattached, Colin Campbell is exactly the sort of gentleman who could solve all her problems. But his twin, Clark…is exactly the sort of gentleman who could create an abundance of them.

When Clark Campbell's recklessness nearly destroyed their family name, Colin paid the price to bury the scandal and restore their reputation. So when Arabella sets her sights on Colin’s fortune, he sees a chance to call in the favor his twin brother still owes him. The plan is simple: Clark must impersonate Colin and court her himself, exposing her as the fortune hunter she really is.

But the longer Clark plays the charming suitor, the more dangerously real it becomes. As gossip mounts and feelings grow, Clark and Arabella discover that the greatest risk isn’t scandal—it’s falling in love with the very person they were trying to deceive.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ashtyn Newbold grew up with a love of stories. When she discovered Jane Austen books as a teen, she learned she was a sucker for romantic ones. When not indulging in sweet romantic comedies and regency period novels (and cookies), she writes romantic stories of her own. Ashtyn also dearly loves to laugh, bake, sing, and do anything that involves creativity and imagination.

REVIEW

When Miss Arabella Sharp attempts to catch a rich husband, she captures the wrong man's attention. Colin Campbell despises fortune hunters. To teach Miss Arabella Sharp a lesson, he enlists his twin brother's help. Clark tries to impersonate his brother but finds himself falling in love with the very person he's trying to deceive.

The main characters start off as enemies then slowly become friends to lovers. The story builds gradually. The main characters have a good chemistry starting with the memorable and original meet-cute. The author continued to build the characters as the story unfolds. The novel contains twists, turns, misunderstandings and more. The romance is clean and builds gradually. The only downside is I felt like there was more to discover with the minor characters, and they could use their own stories.  Overall, it's an entertaining read. To learn more, click here.

Please note that I received a free ebook to review, however, my opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

A Day with the Dragons Virtual Book Tour, Author Interview, and Giveaway

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Day with the Dragons
Written by Raven Howell
Illustrated by Alexander Santos
Ages: 2-7 | 34 Pages

Publisher: AMInk Publishing (2026) | ISBN-13: 978-1958842706

Publisher's Book Summary: What do you do when you and your brother have different interests but still want to spend the day together? Dragons Blue and Green set off on a series of comical misadventures. After risky jellyfish encounters and allergic red spots from dandelions, will they begin to understand that love and respect for one another matters more?

Available for purchase on Amazon and/or Bookshop.org.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Raven Howell is the award-winning author and poet of over 30 children's books. She writes for magazines including Highlights, Cricket, and The School. She's a journalist for Story Monsters Ink magazine and a writer for children's educational publishers. Raven enjoys visiting students in schools and libraries, and most importantly, believes in magical dragons.

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ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

Alexander Santos is a Brazilian illustrator with almost 30 years of experience. He has illustrated for several newspapers, dozens of children's, school, and literature books, and hundreds of children's magazines. He created and illustrated puzzles for the magazine Recreio (Brazil). He also designed children's games and taught drawing for 11 years. Alexander doesn't remember when he first encountered dragons, but he hasn't strayed far from them since discovering RPGs in the 80s.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Life Is What It's Called - What makes A Day with the Dragon stand apart from other books on the market?

Raven Howell - A Day with the Dragons is a light-hearted family story for children who find themselves in rupture with someone they love. I wrote it with a friendly, humorous tone to tackle this heavier theme.

My book purposely neglects moral statements and adult-oriented instruction prevalent in the children’s market today. The plot reveals a pathway to heal and come into our hearts and respect for one another with warmth and play.

Life Is What It's Called - What will readers like most about this book?

Raven Howell - The mischievous, colorful dragon brothers who have very specific, non-negotiable preferences are most engaging and relatable to readers of all ages. Attempting to out-trick one another, a resulting comedic collision is the highlight of the story.

Illustrator Alex Santos created the artwork to depict visual narration of the physical sensations and emotions of (dragons) Blue and Green. The illustrative work is hilarious, and self-explanatory, even for the preschool child.

Life Is What It's Called - What is your favorite line from this book?

Raven Howell - One of my favorite spots in the book is when Green tries to persuade his brother, Blue, to go hiking with him. He’s talking to Blue, who wants nothing more than to go sailing on the sea, with this silly, imaginative made-up obstacle

“Green insisted, “The water current is bringing in a lot of jellyfish. Jellyfish especially like to sting dragons!”

Imagine the horror on Blue’s face as thoughts of a dragon-stinging jellyfish fill his mind! 

Life Is What It's Called - What inspired you to write this book?

Raven Howell - I wanted to create a new book series and so, was considering magical, humorous, and loving characters I could turn to for a variety of story lines time and time again. And dragons had become a special part of my life.

As an intuitive, a few years ago, I was happy -and surprised- to find they were quite real as divine, powerful, and enchanting spirits. Dragons inspire me in many ways!

Life Is What It's Called - What would you like readers to know about you?

Raven Howell - I’m grateful for my long writing career. And over the past 3 decades, my favorite thing remains connecting with children and students. Not only is every generation different, but each child carries their own unique light in our world, learning and responding in their distinct way.

If as a parent, teacher, or caregiver, you’re reading A Day with the Dragons with your little ones, my hope is you make allowance to talk over or ask questions about the story’s conflict and resolution. The dragons give children a shared language, a shared story – powerful tools in their lives today.

GIVEAWAY

Readers who follow along on this virtual book tour will have the chance to win one of five signed hardcover copies of A Day with the Dragons. One lucky grand prize winner will receive a cozy A Day with the Dragons throw pillow plus 10 of Raven Howell's bestselling children's books, spanning preschool through early reader favorites.

This post is sponsored by Raven Howell. The review and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal views. Or: Disclosure: I received a copy of this book to share my opinion.

A Most Unfortunate Happenstance Book Review

ABOUT THE BOOK

Captain John Calder has finally secured the means and standing to propose to the woman he has dreamed of since the day they met—and a house party offers the perfect opportunity to become reacquainted with her.

But a violent storm on the road to Blackwell changes everything. The cold and damp strike John down with a sudden and violent return of the ague.

Evelyn Blackwell, traveling to her family’s estate to secure a suitor for her disgraced cousin, is caught in the same storm and forced to take refuge alone in an abandoned cottage. The door flies open to reveal a fevered stranger who promptly collapses at her feet. She keeps vigil through thunder, darkness, and delirium, certain he may not survive.

But he does survive and in the morning light, they promise to leave as strangers, hopefully never to see each other again, bound only by the secret of a shared night together.

However, days later, John arrives at Evelyn’s house party. Now they must spend weeks together while Evelyn balances arranging a match for her cousin with memories of that night—memories John does not share.

The longer they spend in each other’s company, the more Evelyn wonders if her cousin’s happiness can come only at the cost of her own—and whether the storm that brought her and John together has set her heart on a course to be broken apart.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Esther Hatch grew up on a cherry orchard in rural Utah. After high school, she alternated living in Russia to teach children English and attending Brigham Young University in order to get a degree in archaeology. She began writing when one of her favorite authors invited her to join a critique group. The only catch was she had to be a writer. Not one to be left out of an opportunity to socialize and try something new; she started on her first novel that week. Visit her at estherhatch.com.

BOOK REVIEW

In A Most Unfortunate Circumstance by Esther Hatch, Evelyn's family encounters a storm while traveling. To make her family more at ease as they spend the night in a carriage, Evelyn seeks refuge in a small, abandoned cottage. Her solitude is disturbed by a stranger who also seeks refuge in the storm from his delirium and illness. Evelyn cares for the stranger. At the end of the night, they both hope that they won't encounter each other again, however, they meet again at a house party. The stranger doesn't share the same memories as Evelyn and seeks to make a match with her cousin.

Esther Hatch starts off with the novel with what would have been considered a scandalous event during the Regency period. The main characters, Evelyn and John, start off mistrusting each other due to some misunderstandings. The chemistry begins to build slowly through the book through several memorable scenes and dialogue. The author does a good job at describing the scenes and the characters' actions that create a memorable impression. The story is also interwoven with humor and light-heartedness. This is a fast-paced romantic comedy and a fun read. To learn more, click here.

Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book to review, however, this is my honest opinion. This post contains affiliate links that help support this blog.