Review: Three Hearts Hideaway by Luna Day*

 *I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.

Title: Three Hearts Hideaway
Author: Luna Day
Genre: Romance

Trigger warnings:  Verbal Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Kink Shaming, Slut Shaming, Physical Violence, Gambling Addiction, Narcissistic Behaviour

Rating: ★★★★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Explicit & Plentiful Open Door)

When Ava stumbles into sleepy Little Greenfield with nothing but a suitcase and humiliating voice message on her phone, the last thing she expects to find is Roman—a tattooed B&B owner who offers her a place to stay.

After dumping her narcissistic boyfriend and running away from the embarrassment he caused her, she needs to focus on herself. It’s up to her to puzzle out what she truly desires in a partner, and the sparks flying between her and Roman—and his broody best friend Logan—are too tempting to pass up.

But when her past comes knocking, it’s hard not to crumble to the familiar cycle of cruelty, even when things feel so right in this small town—with both these men.

Could Roman and Logan be her soulmates? Or will Ava prove she’s exactly what her ex says she is? A deviant.

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Three Hearts Hideaway is the spicy fast burn debut contemporary romance from author Luna Day. It’s a sizzling fast burn why choose MFM romance with off the charts spice and a really sex positive theme, which is absolutely brilliant to see. I absolutely devoured this book in a single sitting and loved every aspect of the strangers to lovers to found family story.

Ava was a brilliant, sexy and strong-willed FMC whose resilience and eventual self-love and self-empowerment will really empower female readers. I saw another Goodreads reviewer say they couldn’t decide if they wanted to be Ava or date Ava and I couldn’t agree more.

We also get to enjoy two swoon-worthy MMCs and I fell in love with both of them. Roman was a brilliant golden retriever boyfriend and Logan a brooding and grumpy alpha; you truly get the best of both worlds with this two absolute hunks. Ava had sizzling chemistry with both of them and the three of them complemented each other really well. Their open communication was also a breath of fresh air to see within a romance novel and there’s no third act breakup in the story.

This is a fast-paced quick read which is predominately made up of spicy scenes and let me tell you they are HOT. There’s a real variety of scenes with the three partners exploring a range of kinks and the book is packed full of blush-inducing dirty talk.

There is potentially triggering content including kink shaming, slut shaming, verbal abuse and emotional abuse, all from a narcissistic partner/ex-partner (please see a full list of triggers at the top of this review). This was well explored and I loved that we got to see Ava start to process this trauma and get to a place of self-love. This is a really sex positive book and over the course of the story Ava starts to really understand what she wants and needs physically and emotionally from a sexual/romantic relationship and she also starts to feel confident enough to communicate this within said relationship. There’s a real theme of overcoming shame culture which is really excellent to see within romance fiction.

I loved the charming Canadian small town setting of Little Greenfield. I really didn’t feel ready to part with it by the end of the book so would love to return in some capacity in a later book from the author.

You will love Three Hearts Hideaway if you fancy a light-hearted read which is the perfect combo of sweet and spicy. This is a brilliant debut from Luna Day and I can’t wait to read more from her. In fact I’m off now to read Three Hearts Hideaway again (and probably again); I just can’t get enough.

Review: A Duke of One's Own by Emma Orchard*

*I received a copy of this book in eBook format in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. This review is being posted as part of the A Duke Of One's Own blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.

Title: A Duke Of One's Own
Author: Emma Orchard
Genre: Historical Romance

Trigger warnings:  Guns, Blackmail, Death Of A Parent, References To War

Rating: ★★★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Explicit Open Door)

Summer, 1816. A notorious rebel is about to meet her match...

Lady Georgiana Pendlebury is no stranger to breaking the rules of polite society. But when a so-called ‘friend’ invites her to a clandestine party, Georgiana is shocked to discover the event is more scandalous than even she could have imagined. So when a mysterious stranger offers help, she accepts, not realising their encounter will turn her life upside down.

Later that summer, Georgiana is invited to attend a house party at an infamous castle in Yorkshire. The gathering is a loosely veiled effort to arrange a marriage for the Duke of Northriding, who desperately needs an heir. Duke Gabriel Mauleverer has a terrible reputation as a rake, and Georgiana is happy to be a guest purely for the entertainment, but upon arrival, she is shocked to discover that the Duke is none other than the stranger who rescued her weeks earlier.

As the other ladies vie for the Duke’s attention, Georgiana is desperate to avoid their shocking secret getting out. But she finds herself caught, unable to avoid Gabriel’s gaze. Are they a threat to each other? Or could they be the answer to each other’s greatest desires?

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A Duke Of One’s Own is the latest compelling regency romance from author Emma Orchard. Set in 1816, in the middle of the regency era, our story is packed full of all of your favourite regency romance tropes and is perfect for both seasoned regency readers and readers who are newer to the genre.

Emma Orchard is an incredible storyteller who had me hooked from the very first chapter. Her vivid descriptions made the Yorkshire coastal castle setting of Northriding Castle come alive on the page. The chapters set here felt very Gothic in style which I loved, and I was fascinated by all of the little secret passageways and doors which Gabriel was able to use to secretly visit Georgiana.

This is a lighter regency romance read which is perfect if you’re looking for something quick and steamy (no pun intended!). I easily read the whole book in a single sitting of a couple of hours thanks to how fast-paced and engaging the narrative was.

As previously stated, A Duke Of One’s Own is full of all of your favourite regency romance tropes and they are all wonderfully written. This includes an age gap romance between a virgin heroine and a brooding older Duke and a forced marriage as a result of these characters being found in a compromising situation.

Lady Georgiana Pendlebury, or Georgie as she’s known by her loved ones, is our feisty and headstrong debutante FMC. Our brooding, swoon-worthy silver fox MMC is Gabriel Mauleverer, the Duke of Northriding. The way Gabriel talked about Georgie was gorgeous and he fell first, and harder, which was really well portrayed within the story. I’m also a sucker for a good sickbed scene, especially when it’s the MMC taking care of the FMC, and this was wonderfully done within A Duke Of One’s Own. If I hadn’t already been head over heels in love with Gabriel by that point in the story, how he looked after Georgie would have done it.

Georgie and Gabriel had great chemistry and – especially for a miscommunication trope hater like myself -seeing such open and honest communication between the two of them was wonderful. We have lots of really hot spicy scenes throughout the book and they navigated the contrast of experience between Georgie as a virgin FMC and Gabriel as a more experienced and older MMC very well. Their great communication continued within their steamier encounters, particularly around consent and exploration of potential kinks, which was great to see within a regency romance.

A Duke Of One’s Own has great LGBTQIA+ representation within the story which was fantastic to see, especially as the representation came without any real comment outside of just total familial acceptance. Miss Spry – who was, to quote the book, Georgie’s aunts “sapphic companion” – was my favourite supporting character, particularly when she said to Georgie “You’re not a possession, though the law says you are”.

A Duke Of One’s Own is the second instalment of the The Runaway Heiress series but the story also works well as a standalone story and this was my introduction to the series. As I was reading I did find myself getting really interested in the backstory of Georgiana’s brother Hal and his wife Cassandra so I was really excited to see that they were the focus of the first book in the series (The Runaway Heiress) and it has gone straight onto my TBR. Within A Duke Of One’s Own we also get a little peek into the next instalment of the series (What the Lady Wants – due to be published in August 2024) through the introduction of the character of Isabella and I’m now highly anticipating the release of this next book.

Overall, A Duke Of One’s Own is a fantastic spicy regency romp, perfect when you want a lighter historical read which is still packed full of steam and romance. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the series has in store.