Sasha Killick is traveling with her family to England on a boat. She is thinking back at all that has happened. Her parents went to London for King Alistair and on the way back their ship sank leaving Sasha an orphan. The queen decides to adopt her and take care of her. Princess Ilaria and her other siblings become sister and brothers to her. She knows she is loved. King Alistair was a cruel and mean person and had decided she would be a servant. She became a companion to Ilaria and sometimes body double.
The Earl of Bramwell, Thomas James Mackenzie Martindale was among the gentlemen on a list to marry Ilaria. His father caused a financial disaster to the Earldom. He was trying to fix it but knew he would have to marry an heiress. He meets Ilaria but is most taken with Sasha. But he must get his house in order but he keeps thinking of lovely Sasha.
I very much enjoyed this story of unrequited love. Sasha and the earl were wonderful together but no spark with Ilaria. She needed to get married also. It read so well and the writing was complementary to it. Although, I think I read some previously in book one. But it was still a great book.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

Sasha Killick’s parents died while returning from England on a diplomatic mission for King Alistair of Athawick and at the behest of his wife, Queen Giabella, they adopted Sasha and she was raised as a sibling to their children. But when she grew older, the King refused to let the Queen give her the same priveledges as his daughter Princess Ilaria and forced Sasha into servitude – she was no longer to be treated as their daughter, now she was to be Ilaria’s companion and occasional body double. Not that the queen or her children ever treated her that way, but that was how she was viewed by the world. So when King Alistair died and her “brother” Grantham ascended to the throne, they traveled to England to form ties and to find a match for Princess Ilaria, Sasha knew her role and that any dreams she ever harbored of a HEA for herself were just that; dreams and something she thought she was alright with until she met the man intended for her “sister”.

Thanks to the ineptitude and schemes of his no-good father, Thomas Martindale, the Earl of Bramwell has inherited a mess and a tarnished name, that was further tarnished when his sister Aurora finally married the man her father kept her from years ago. Thomas has done his best to restore the estate and his family name, but he knows to truly save the earldom, he will have to marry an heiress. When his mother suggests a match with Princess Ilaria of Athawick, he agrees to meet her and consider the match, knowing he doesn’t really have any other options. But it isn’t the princess that captures his attention and his heart, it is her adopted sister Sasha and try as he might, he just couldn’t drum up any enthusiasm for a match with Ilaria. But with his estate in need of a fortune, he is not free to follow his heart and tries to quash his feelings for Sasha – but the heart wants what the heart wants and he resigns himself to a loveless marriage with Ilaria for the “greater good” – but when Ilaria is attacked and Sasha steps in to play her double, thus putting herself in danger – it is then that Thomas knows that he can’t give her up, but first he needs to find a way to save her!

This was a well-written, fast-paced story with wonderful characters, but a good majority of the book felt like a rewrite of the previous book. That is not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, I did, but it felt like déjà vu for the first 75% of the book. The book follows the same timeline as the first book in the series, but is told from Sasha and Thomas’ POV, their connection is instant, strong, and forbidden, they both try to ignore the pull, which leads to a bit of an angsty tale with wonderful characters, a touch of mystery, some steamyish love scenes and finally a well deserved HEA. I did wonder when I finished the book why the queen waited so long to rectify the late king’s cruelty, especially considering how much she appeared to love Sasha, but it was still a good read and would recommend it – this is the second book in the series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title with no problems.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Earl’s Choice is a “companion” novel to the prior book, To Protect a Princess, in the sense that both take place at the same time following the same events from different perspectives. As such, it does work as a stand-alone, but the character relationships are compelling enough that it’s worth it to read both.

And indeed it is Sasha and Thomas as characters who carry this book, Sasha in particular. I really liked Sasha and her unique place in the royal family, sometimes raised as one of them, but not really one of them, a fact the deceased late king made clear when he was alive. I really liked Sasha’s relationship with Ilaria, and how they care for each other, something that was a facet of the first book, but seeing it from Sasha’s POV was much more impactful.

I really liked Thomas as well, because of the way he valued Sasha from the beginning. She was meant to serve as a double for the woman he was supposed to marry, but instead he saw her and only her. He too has some baggage from his upbringing, and, like her, is resigned to doing the right thing, even if it means sacrificing his own happiness, which created decently compelling stakes for them as a couple.

The conflict did feel a bit repetitive from the prior book, given each couple is in a similar situation, what with the political marriage being necessary, so to fall for someone else is obviously forbidden. However, I think Thomas and Sasha being a bit more duty-focused, while making the story a bit monotonous in their thoughts at times, did allow differentiating in character from those of the first.

On the whole, I did enjoy this one more than the first book. I feel more familiar with the political structures of Athawick going into this second book, and felt that it being a second book allowed for a bit less of the over-explaining that dragged down my experience of book one. If you love Regency and/or Royal romance, I definitely recommend trying this one!

Sasha Killick travels to London with the Royal Family of Athawick who have taken her in since she was a young girl. They are there to see the sister of her heart, Ilaria, married off to Thomas, the Earl of Bramwell, The Royal Fami!y could use the connection to the London title that Thomas offers and he could benefit from the dowry needed to repair the damage done by his father that left them with nothing but debts.

Sasha also acts as a body double for Ilaria from time to time and on one such occasion, Thomas and Sasha meet for the first time and sparks fly. But can anything come out of it with so much at stake?

This story runs concurrently with the previous book in the series and because of that, it felt like I had already read this before. It was also an insta-love connection so there was not much new added to the romance aspect that I hadn't read before. I thought there might be a bit more to Sasha and Thomas that hadn't been seen previously but not enough to keep me engaged.

This is the second book in the Athawick series, known as the Royal Regency series.

Thomas, Earl of Bramwell, has a duty to repair his family’s coffers by marrying Princess Ilaria of Athawick, who has come to London to secure her brother Grantham's place as the new King of Athawick with England.. Miss Sasha Killick is Ilaria's companion and body double who accidentally has a run in with Thomas that neither can forget. What I loved about this book, is it occurs simultaneously to the first book in the series, where Ilaria is falling for Captain Jonah Crawford while she is supposed to be entertaining the idea of a marriage to the Earl of Bramwell.

I love the complex characters and the family's interactions. This second book does find as a standalone, but to really appreciate the emotional complexity I would strongly recommend reading the first book in the series and this one right after. Sasha is the adopted sister, the outcast, the unpaid servant who is still loved by her adopted siblings and mother. She feels guilt for the feelings she has for her beloved sister's future husband. Thomas is torn between his duty and his heart. This is a slow burn novel that will have you staying up to see how it all plays out.

I am anxiously awaiting the next story in the series, which is Remington's story. He deserves a happily ever after and a woman to put him through some hoops!

What can I say about this wonderful, awesome, spectacular new book by Jess Michaels? Only that I’m loving this royal saga more and more with each book! In my review of the previous book, To Protect a Princess, I said that this series had a lot of potential and the author is definitely fulfilling it! This time the main characters are Sasha, Princess Ilaria’s “double” and adopted sister, and the Earl of Bramwell, the princess’s intended. Sasha and Thomas are both sweet, honorable, passionate and endearing characters who are ready to sacrifice their happiness for duty. I suffered with them from the very beginning, because the author was able to beautifully bring them to life, to make them very real. The entire royal family is a real treat! They are quite unconventional, that’s true, but this is what makes them such interesting characters. One last thing: The book can be read as a standalone, but it is deeply interwoven with the previous book because it takes place exactly at the same time and it even has many dialogues in common. I’d suggest to read both books in order. They’re definitively worthwhile!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review copy shared via NetGalley.

A silly but saucy regency adventure full of danger and dalliances.

The Earl of Bramwell is urged by his mother to marry well and restore the family name and she has her heart set on Princess Ilaria of Athawick.

Ilaria has no wish to be married for duty and struggles to reconcile herself to her fate - relying on her best friend, adopted sister and body double/protector Sasha to enjoy some freedom and excitement before her marriage.

Sasha, feeling like an outsider looking in on the royal family, loves them deeply but feels like something vital is missing from her life. When a chance encounter with the Earl of Bramwell ignites a spark between them, they must choose between duty and love.

Characters: Sasha and Thomas are considerably well rounded for a 202 page romance. They have a history, a family and feelings. Michael's builds their characters enough for us to believe something is building between the two.
Having not read the first book in this series, the secondary characters feel a little empty. Ilaria is a main character but she and her love interest, and the dangerous situation unfolding around her, happen in another book despite running parallel with this story. It makes it a little hard to enjoy them though the hints at their personalities in Earl's Choice make them intriguing characters and I've added the first book to my 'to-read' pile.

Cover thoughts: Easily recognised as a steamy regency romance but I don't find the models work for me. They seem a little bland compared to the characters within the story. I'm also not a an of the font - it is a little difficult to read. At first glance, I thought I'd requested something in another language. The lettering is inconsistently sized and overly elaborate.

Ultimately, this was a fun read and I'd pickup more from Jess Michaels. It was easy to read and had an engaging, easy to follow but detailed storyline.

My Rating is 3.5 of 5 Stars - Rounded Up

After the first book in the series, I could hardly wait to read Thomas and Sasha’s story. The writing is good, the characters are delightful, and you can really feel the stress and danger for Sasha and Ilaria. The author really makes you feel the hopelessness and sadness of Thomas and Sasha as they realize they love each other, but also know that nothing can come of it.

Sasha Killick was orphaned at the age of six when her parents' ship sank as they were returning to Athawick from England. Sasha was taken in by the Queen and raised as one of her own. The King, however, was a totally different story. He was a nasty, mean-tempered man who had no love for his own family much less Sasha. However, she did have a home and a lot of love from her new siblings and the Queen. After the old king died and her brother Grantham ascended to the throne, Sasha accompanied the family to England on a state visit. Sasha senses the tension in the air during the crossing and is apprehensive – then she learns the reason for the tension and she’s even more apprehensive. It is the intention of the senior royals to marry Ilaria off to an English nobleman. As Ilaria isn’t a particularly biddable female, Sasha knows troubled times are ahead. When Sasha meets one of the gentlemen under consideration, she feels a strong attraction. Uh-Oh!

Thomas James Mackenzie Martindale, Earl of Bramwell is still trying to recover from the shambles his father left the earldom in. He left them in both social and financial ruin with little hope of finding their way out. He was a cruel and hateful man who would have taken great delight at their dilemma. Thomas has done almost all he can do to turn things about and he knows they have to have an infusion of cash or they are totally down the tubes. He can make himself resigned to the fact that he is on the list of contenders for Princess Ilaria’s hand if he has to do so to save his family. That is, he can resign himself to it until he meets her sister, Sasha.

The royal family is in danger and it seems to be focused on Ilaria at the moment, so Ilaria has been secreted away and Sasha is acting as her double. When Sasha is brutally attacked, things begin to come to a head. I am assuming that the villains will continue to plague the royals throughout the series, but there are hints about who might turn out to be the nasty faction.

So, why did I rate it 3.5 stars rather than the 5 stars I gave the last book? Well, it is because I had already read most of the story in the last book. It is from a slightly different perspective, of course, but it is the same story with not a lot of new added. We have additional scenes between Sasha and Thomas, etc. but not as much as I would have thought. Still, it is a lovely story and I enjoyed it. Now, I can hardly wait for Rimi’s story, Princes Are Wild because it takes place in a different place and date.

I hope you will enjoy this book as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

Adopted into the Athawick Royal family from the age of 6, Sasha Killick owes her family everything. She has that strange position of adopted daughter/sister, and companion/body double, so is always feeling like she is on the outside looking in. No one outside the family has ever discovered that she sometimes stands in for her sister, Ilaria, until now. When Thomas, Earl of Bramwell, discovers that the only way for him to save the estate is to marry, and marry well, his mother thrusts him towards the beautiful Princess Ilaria. Needing to breathe from the expectations, he slopes off to the terrace during the Royal Ball, and meets Sasha, and is immediately drawn to her in a way he's never been before. He knows that he should do his duty, but whenever he thinks of Ilaria, he's always drawn to Sasha, and then as Sasha puts herself in the way of an assassin to protect Ilaria, Thomas will do just about everything to save her, even if it breaks his heart in the process. Can they be together, or is duty too strong to overcome?

I loved Sasha and Thomas when we met them in To Protect a Princess, and this story basically runs alongside the action of Ilaria and Jonah's book. Sasha occupies a strange position with the royal family. Her parent's died when she was six, and she only had her father's steward, Dash, for company and protection, and he's become a father figure to her since working in the king, and later, queen's household. The king didn't care about her, but Queen Giabella loved her like a daughter, and wanted her to be honoured the same way as her adopted siblings, the princes and princess. However, as a teenager, she was made Ilaria's companion, and body double, so was now somewhat of a servant, but one who called the queen Mama. I felt for her so much. Sasha would do anything for her family, but was wholly aware of her position, and never thought much about just how much the royals loved her. She expected to stay with Ilaria her whole life, but when it seemed like Ilaria would marry the only man she could ever love, it was too much for her. Thomas was the same, really. He inherited a broken estate, and the scandal of his sister's marriage to Nicholas Gillingham, before regaining some of their reputation, lead him to realise he needs to marry an heiress, to keep afloat. He doesn't expect to find love, and resigns himself to marry Ilaria, though there's no spark there, but meeting Sasha makes him wish everything was different. So many forces are going against them, and it's only because I've read To Protect a Princess that I knew a happy ending could be expected. Jess creates fantastic romances, and I am desperate for the other three books in the series, especially Giabella's!

Thomas, Earl of Bramwell, has a duty to repair his family’s legacy and coffers by marrying Princess Ilaria of Athawick. Miss Sasha Killick is Ilaria's companion and body double, so how can she find herself falling for the man intended for the woman she loves like a sister? When Sasha’s life is endangered by people seeking to harm Ilaria, Thomas will risk all to protect Sasha.

This is the second book in the Regency Royals series. It takes place on the same timeline as the first book, To Protect a Princess, and therefore felt a little repetitive in spots. I loved Sasha and Thomas as a couple, though. They were both very loyal and wanted to do what was best for their families, even if their hearts suffered in the process. Sasha felt out of place - never completely part of the royal family - and I loved that Thomas always saw her and put her first. I was rooting for them since the first book, so I was glad they reached their happy ending.

Tropes: Class Difference (sort of), Forbidden Love, Royalty

* I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

The Earl’s Choice is book two in Regency Royals series and features Thomas, the Earl of Bramwell and Sasha Killick who is a body double and adopted sister of Princess Ilaria — the Princess that Thomas is to marry. This book overlaps book one of this series, “To Protect a Princess”, however it is written in such a way that you can enjoy the story as a stand-alone—I would still recommend reading book one first as the characters overlap and backstory is included. Although this book focuses on Thomas and Sasha it also features Princess Ilaria and Captain Jonah Crawford. It’s a tangled story involving longing, desire, love, forbidden encounters, midnight rendezvous, and hearts desire versus duty and obligation.

Thomas and Sasha are both slightly tortured characters who are resigned to their fate and doing what benefits the greater good versus their own happiness. Thomas must marry to save the Earldom his father ran into the ground and he must marry for the size of a ladies dowery, love has no place in his future. His life is immediately turned upside down by the beautiful woman who catches his attention far more than any princess. Thomas must decide whether his life is to be one of duty and obligations to the earldom or if he is to choose love and happiness with the woman who has captured his heart and soul.

Sasha has lived a life that started with tragedy and then brought her into the fold of the Royal family of Athawick. While she was not born a royal she is treated as a daughter of the family and grew up as a sister to Princess Ilaria. Does this Sound like a fairytale and too good to be true? That’s because it is. Sasha is not only kept close to the Royals because of her quasi familial bond, but because she acts as a double for Princess Ilaria. She serves at the will of the family and does so happily because they are the only family she has ever known. Sasha often feels as if she is a part of something yet still held separately and looking in to the world she is just not quite a part of, yet she is grateful for her life and circumstances as she is all to aware how much worse her life could have been. She holds on to this attitude and places herself in harms way to protect Princess Ilaria without hesitation, this is her life. Until she meets Thomas, the Earl of Bramwell.

Princess Ilaria of Athawick Knows she will be used as a political pawn and her marriage will be one of uniting Athawick with England. She has accepted her fate. However she demands to have one last encounter with her true hearts desire — Captain Jonah Crawford.

Captain Jonah Crawford was part of the Royal Honor Guard that accompanied the Prince Regent on a visit to Athawick two years ago and it was there he first laid eyes on the princess. I won’t go into detail about the relationship between Jonah & Ilaria as they are featured in depth in book one.

I really enjoyed this story, more so than book one of the series, the angst and longing drew me in and the positions our hero and heroine are in, duty versus love, kept me hooked from beginning to end. This story really highlights the ways of royals and nobles in matters of marriage and duty, and made me remember that being a Princess isn’t always a life of frivolous charm. I am happy the author chose to explore the darker side of upper class obligations and highlight the downside of apparently “having it all” — she wrote a very compelling story. I hope the rest of the series continues to involve all the characters from the Athawick royalty as I will be eager to see how the H/h from books one and two are doing.

I also enjoyed the way the heroines in this series are very determined, they know what they want and do not hide behind simpering facades. It was refreshing for a change to have a heroine who was not an afraid virginal maiden but rather a sex positive woman and equal participant in the conjugal scenes 😉

Overall 4.5 Stars ⭐️ | 4 Flames 🔥 | A fun series to read!

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Sasha Killick has been raised as adoptive daughter to the royal family, but she has always felt that she belongs neither here nor there. She sometimes plays Ilaria's body double, and it's during one of these times that she meets Thomas, Earl of Bramwell. They have an instant connection with each other, but tough situations are preventing them from being together. His mother and the queen want to marry him off to 5he princess, and Sasha doesn't have the money that Thomas needs to rebuild his crumbling estates.

I did like this one mostly because I was really rooting for this couple from the first book. I really like Sasha and Thomas as characters and as a couple together. I felt for Sasha being out of place and never fitting in, and I really enjoyed how Thomas always saw her. She was never invisible to him. I thought they were sweet. Sometimes though, I wish their thoughts wouldn't have been so repetitive and I think it caused stuff to drag a little in the middle. Overall, still a good story and looking forward to Remi's story.

What a wonderful book! I love the idea of the body double for the Princess yet made family as well.
Thomas is caught between a rock and a hard place. He must marry for money not love. I loved how this happily ever after took place.