Lydia's Updates en-US Thu, 17 Apr 2025 06:23:50 -0700 60 Lydia's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7177467324 Thu, 17 Apr 2025 06:23:50 -0700 <![CDATA[Lydia added 'This Wicked Gift']]> /review/show/7177467324 This Wicked Gift by Courtney Milan Lydia gave 5 stars to This Wicked Gift (Carhart, #0.5) by Courtney Milan
I LOVED this Christmas novella by Courtney Milan. When I read it this holiday season, I knew I wanted to do a longer post because this book had me truly feral, frothing at the mouth, etc., and it’s been a while since I had a book hit quite this hard. Here are a few more reasons I loved this book:

1) The very lower middle class Regency milieu it depicts. These characters are NOT rich and while they gain more material comfort by the time we reach the epilogue, they start out from a very modest place and it’s a very historically accurate depiction of this reality. We don’t see a lot of heroes in historical romance who have real financial constraints on them and I LOVE when an author captures a working-class or middle-class hero of this period with care and precision. The fact that William is not a rich man just makes this so much hotter—for him, the ten pounds he spends to buy Lavinia’s debt is EVERYTHING but that’s how badly he wants her.

2) The Christmas Carol vibes. It would be wrong to say that this book is A Christmas Carol retelling but it’s just short of that. The milieu of this novella (see above) is very much that of A Christmas Carol and William feel like a young Scrooge. It’s heartwarming in the same way too. It just hits all the right winter/Christmas notes.

3) The twist. When Lavinia reveals that she never had to sleep with William at all to pay the debt AFTER she has done so�.I want more table turning of this variety in historical romances. It worked so well and made clear that she always had control of her sexuality and had agency. It was such a great flipping of the scripts re the themes of patriarchy, capitalism, and power we so often see in historical romance.

4) It’s just so well-written. Ofc, this is Courtney Milan so what do you expect, but I was really blown away by this one.

Anyway, I completely recommend THIS WICKED GIFT if you’ve never read it. One of my new all-time favorites!! ]]> Review7495783273 Thu, 17 Apr 2025 06:21:52 -0700 <![CDATA[Lydia added 'A Midsummer Night's Duke']]> /review/show/7495783273 A Midsummer Night's Duke by Colleen Kelly Lydia gave 5 stars to A Midsummer Night's Duke (ebook) by Colleen Kelly
This book is just…everything I want in a historical romance right now: it has gorgeous prose, a self-assured heroine, a hero who shows real vulnerability and is a total simp for HER but usually keeps it buttoned up for the dukedom. The historical details are also top-notch; they felt both immersive and totally natural to the world.

I loved Kelly’s first novella, THE EARL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS, so if you haven’t discovered her yet and start with this novella and then want more, I also recommend that one. I am really hoping for more from Colleen Kelly soon. I’ll read anything she writes.

All in all, Kelly’s historicals are this perfect blend of great prose, a sprightly plot, spice, and deep character work—they zip along but never compromise artistry in the process.

In short, I implore you to sign up for Kelly’s newsletter and read this one now!! ]]> Rating848056036 Wed, 16 Apr 2025 19:02:26 -0700 <![CDATA[Lydia Lloyd liked a review]]> /
Lydia Lloyd liked Colleen Kelly's review of A Midsummer Night's Duke:
A Midsummer Night's Duke by Colleen Kelly
"This is my book! I had fun writing it and love these characters so much. I hope you like them, too."
]]> AuthorFollowing108559074 Mon, 14 Apr 2025 18:06:34 -0700 <![CDATA[<AuthorFollowing id=108559074 user_id=148738743 author_id=417479>]]> Review7177469440 Sun, 05 Jan 2025 12:31:45 -0800 <![CDATA[Lydia added 'The Captain's Midwinter Bride']]> /review/show/7177469440 The Captain's Midwinter Bride by Liana De la Rosa Lydia gave 5 stars to The Captain's Midwinter Bride (The Daltons, #1) by Liana De la Rosa
]]> Review7177467324 Sun, 05 Jan 2025 12:31:20 -0800 <![CDATA[Lydia added 'This Wicked Gift']]> /review/show/7177467324 This Wicked Gift by Courtney Milan Lydia gave 5 stars to This Wicked Gift (Carhart, #0.5) by Courtney Milan
I LOVED this Christmas novella by Courtney Milan. When I read it this holiday season, I knew I wanted to do a longer post because this book had me truly feral, frothing at the mouth, etc., and it’s been a while since I had a book hit quite this hard. Here are a few more reasons I loved this book:

1) The very lower middle class Regency milieu it depicts. These characters are NOT rich and while they gain more material comfort by the time we reach the epilogue, they start out from a very modest place and it’s a very historically accurate depiction of this reality. We don’t see a lot of heroes in historical romance who have real financial constraints on them and I LOVE when an author captures a working-class or middle-class hero of this period with care and precision. The fact that William is not a rich man just makes this so much hotter—for him, the ten pounds he spends to buy Lavinia’s debt is EVERYTHING but that’s how badly he wants her.

2) The Christmas Carol vibes. It would be wrong to say that this book is A Christmas Carol retelling but it’s just short of that. The milieu of this novella (see above) is very much that of A Christmas Carol and William feel like a young Scrooge. It’s heartwarming in the same way too. It just hits all the right winter/Christmas notes.

3) The twist. When Lavinia reveals that she never had to sleep with William at all to pay the debt AFTER she has done so�.I want more table turning of this variety in historical romances. It worked so well and made clear that she always had control of her sexuality and had agency. It was such a great flipping of the scripts re the themes of patriarchy, capitalism, and power we so often see in historical romance.

4) It’s just so well-written. Ofc, this is Courtney Milan so what do you expect, but I was really blown away by this one.

Anyway, I completely recommend THIS WICKED GIFT if you’ve never read it. One of my new all-time favorites!! ]]> ReadStatus8868435246 Sun, 05 Jan 2025 12:30:49 -0800 <![CDATA[Lydia has read 'This Wicked Gift']]> /review/show/7177467324 This Wicked Gift by Courtney Milan Lydia has read This Wicked Gift by Courtney Milan
]]> ReadStatus8445952440 Tue, 24 Sep 2024 12:17:28 -0700 <![CDATA[Lydia has read 'Love Letters by the Sea']]> /review/show/6874095730 Love Letters by the Sea by Erica Ridley Lydia has read Love Letters by the Sea by Erica Ridley
]]> ReadStatus7649751845 Mon, 13 May 2024 18:29:57 -0700 <![CDATA[Lydia has read 'Detransition, Baby']]> /review/show/6306591830 Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters Lydia has read Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
]]> ReadStatus7829996371 Wed, 17 Apr 2024 11:01:11 -0700 <![CDATA[Lydia has read 'When the Viscount Wanted Me']]> /review/show/6436083277 When the Viscount Wanted Me by Lydia Lloyd Lydia has read When the Viscount Wanted Me by Lydia Lloyd
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