By Hook or By Rook ~ Review with Guest Post and Giveaway

By Hook or By Rook
London League #4
By Rebecca Connolly

Someone has managed to uncover the identity of the members of the London League and it has put their families in danger. When the Gent needs to send the favorite cousin of his wife to the home of her brother he enlists the aid of Rook.

Jeremy Pratt is less than thrilled to be escorting Miss Helen Dalton from London to York. It's not that he has any problems with Helen Dalton other than the fact that he enjoys the time he spends in her company too much. But with the increased presence of highwaymen on the road to York that seem to have ties to French traitors Gent wants Helen protected and he's convinced that Jeremy is the only man for the job.

Helen is just a tad put out with Margaret's husband - she's made the trip from London to York before and never needed the protection of a man before. She just wants to leave London behind and forget the flirtation she had been enjoying with Mr. Pratt. His easy and charming personality had charmed her but the bantering they had shared had touched her in a way she had never expected and she's determined to leave it behind before her heart is broken.

But nothing ever goes as planned and both Jeremy and Helen end up getting to know one another better. But Jeremy confuses Helen - he has secrets that he refuses to share and the different personas he presents. Just who is this man sent to protect her?

By Hook or by Rook is the fourth book in the London League series and this time the reader is more fully introduced to Rook one of the newest members of the League who was brought in after the death of Trace. In addition to his normal League assignments Rook also is working on a secret assignment for the Shopkeepers looking into the death of Trace and what exactly he was working on at the time they lost him.

Helen Dalton is the cousin of Margaret both of whom the reader first met in The Lady and the Gent (book 1 in the series). She is an interesting character - she has a wit and intelligence that many don't seem to notice. She thinks she has escaped the notice of Society and is well on her way to being a spinster - which she finds surprising. And the one man who has caught her attention is a fop whom she hasn't seen for several weeks now.

This book can be read on its own if you haven't yet read the previous books in the series but it is better if read in the series order. This is an enjoyable and easy read that at just 170 pages is perfect for a weekend escape. If you are a fan of Regency period pieces or just like a historical romance fiction give By Hook or by Rook and the London League a chance to be a new favorite read.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations - all thoughts expressed are my own honest opinions.


About the Book:

​The most dangerous journeys…

Jeremy Pratt is a spy for the Crown, and one of the best. He has been in more dangerous situations than he can admit, and has always come out unscathed. But escorting his colleague’s cousin home to her family, even in disguise, just might be beyond his skills, and the temptation beyond his ability to withstand.

…May be ones of the heart…

Helen Dalton is convinced there is more to this man escorting her than meets the eye, and something familiar about him, as well. There is only one man in the world who looks at her so intensely, banters with her so easily, and makes her blush so furiously. And when he manages a daring and heroic rescue, she wonders if she ever knew him at all.

GOODREADS | AMAZON

Series: The London League
Genre:  Adult, Historical, Regency, Romance
Publisher: Phase Publishing
Publication date: July 1, 2019

About the Author

Rebecca Connolly writes romances, both period and contemporary, because she absolutely loves a good love story. She has been creating stories since childhood, and there are home videos to prove it! She started writing them down in elementary school and has never looked back. She currently lives in the Midwest, spends every spare moment away from her day job absorbed in her writing, and is a hot cocoa addict.

Connect online with Rebecca at:

​GOODREADS | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | 

BOOKBUB | WEBSITE | NEWSLETTER | AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE 

Guest Post:

Researching Regency Spying

If there’s one thing I have learned to hate since my school days, it’s research. I didn’t like it when I was in school and I’m not a huge fan of it now.

So why did I decide to write in a time period that requires lots of research?

Glutton for punishment, I guess.

So when I decided to turn a mysterious character of mine into a spy, and start off a series with him, and create more spies to go with him, I found a whole new set of obstacles. Not only did I have to get the time period details right, as my usual books required, but now I had to figure out how spies worked back then, and how I could make them work for my story.

First up was a trip to every used bookstore around me. I looked in the time period I needed and crossed my fingers. I came home with 7 books, I think, not specifically about spies in the Regency era, but about spies during the revolutionary war, political intrigue at the time, and things like that. I could make those work for me. I got a British history book that actually gave me the best historical Easter egg ever for the series, and I’m still super proud of that.

Then I hit up one of my writing chapters that specifically deals with this time period. They are always a wealth of information, and boy did they deliver! I was wading through all kinds of information from them for ages.

After that, the research that I did was story specific, depending on whatever plot twists I had. Gypsies, codebreaking, ciphers, building layouts, docks, relations with France… I take a lot of care with the situations I put my spies in and do the best I can to make it accurate and believable.

Hopefully, I succeed.

And you know what? Sometimes I enjoy doing this research. Every time I find something perfect, it feels like a victory.

Maybe that’s worth it after all.

Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a By Hook or by Rook Prize Pack  (US mailing addresses only). 

Prize pack includes the following:

Winner’s choice of print or ebook copy of 

By Hook or by Rook

Chocolate

London League Bookmarks

Book Themed Luggage Tags

Enter the giveaway HERE.
​Giveaway ends July 17 at 11:59pm MT.
​
Giveaway is subject to policies HERE.

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