Regency drama, vampire angst, and a dash of political intrigue—this one has it all. Silas and Viola’s romance is full of longing and impossible choices, with plenty of supernatural tension to keep things interesting. A solid sequel with just the right mix of romance and gothic flair.

A cozy sequel novel, the Viscount St. Albans continues the story of Viola Brightwell and gives plenty of updates on Poppy and Edith. If you enjoyed the first book, you’ll enjoy this too!

Ooooh I see you! I’m actually happy to report (was given an eARC) that the second book IS actually better than the first one.

The first one felt a bit slower and kinda dragged on, but I loved the theme and vibe too much to give it less than 5 stars overall. But I saw some of the faults other people had pointed out.

Hoooowever, this second one def picked up the pace (imo) and fully immersed us in the story!!! Def recommend holding on to this series because the second book is def. Worth it!

This book did not suffer from second book syndrome AT. ALL! Giving this a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

After reading Netherford Hall, I remember feeling a bit let down by the romance but I was absolutely in love with the world that the author had built, so I was ecstatic with The Viscount St. Albans. This book picks up more or less right after the end of the previous (SO PLEASE MAKE SURE TO REACH NETHERFORD HALL FIRST), but had the added perspective of following Silas and Viola as they navigate Viola's sudden change in circumstance and how it does (or does not) alter their budding relationship. However, if you are reading this book expecting a true "romance book," then you may be a bit disappointed because this is a book that has PLOT and some romance (not the other way around). But this is fine by me because the fantasy elements of this Regency England is super intriguing to me.

While watching the two of them figure their crap out, I must admit that it was many of the supporting characters that really made this story worthwhile. The found-family sub-plot involving Laertes and Ophelia was an amazing character arc for them both, was one of the highlights of the story for me, and the introduction of Roland was just *chef's kiss.*

Maybe it's my general dislike of Edith and Poppy's relationship, but I honestly was excited to see the story focus on the many other characters that were on the periphery of Book 1. The supporting cast in this world are so nuanced and loveable and perfectly imperfect.

Overall fantastic follow up and I am already jonsing for book 3!

"Sense and Sensibility and Vampires.

Silas Drake, the Viscount St. Albans, is one of the most desirable bachelors in England: approaching thirty, wealthy, and poised to inherit his father's seat in Parliament. His aunt, the dowager viscountess, insists he marries well, and soon - or she'll take matters into her own hands.

But his love belongs to Viola Brightwell, who is a commoner of modest means...and a vampire. Newly transformed after the recent battle to save Netherford, Viola rages in a locked room in Silas's mansion, wrestling with the violent passions of her new affliction.

As Silas struggles to balance the demands of his rank with the desires of his heart, he finds himself at the centre of a conspiracy by ancient and terrible powers..."

Regency Magic!!!

What happens when a most eligible viscount falls for a vampire in Regency England? The Viscount St. Albans by Natania Barron delivers passion, peril, and plenty of bite! Silas Drake, a dashing viscount, finds himself torn between societal expectations of a proper marriage and his forbidden love for Viola Brightwell, a newly turned vampire of common birth. Together, they navigate the challenges of their complex relationship while uncovering a dangerous conspiracy involving ancient supernatural forces that threatens them both.

I quickly realized that not having read the first book in this series, Netherford Hall, was a misstep. Based on the description of this book as Sense and Sensibility with vampires, and the first as Pride and Prejudice with witches, I assumed these were standalone Austen inspired retellings set in the same universe with overlapping characters. However, this is not the case, as the story here builds directly on the events of the first book.

While I appreciated Barron's explanation of her inspiration in the acknowledgements, this is not a direct retelling and bears little resemblance to Sense and Sensibility beyond its Regency setting. This is not the story of Silas and Viola falling in love as that occurred in the previous novel. Instead the plot focuses on the impossibility of their match and a mysterious conspiracy that prominently features the main couple from Netherford Hall alongside the supporting cast. This mismatch of expectations, combined with a lack of grounding in the established world, made the novel somewhat disappointing for me.

That said lovers of regency romances and cozy mysteries will find much to love here. Barron's lush and immersive world building intricately weaves tender romance with the allure of supernatural intrigue. While the falling in love portion is absent, the romance between Silas and Viola remains both sweet and electric. I highly recommend starting with book one to fully appreciate the depth of the story and its richly developed universe.

Book 2 continues this vampire/witch/fae fantasy series. Pride and Prejudice like, with multiple love stories of many types within. I like that authors present us with different things. Here the narrative is slower than many books in this genre, lots of detail, and I think this is much more like Austen like (but definitely a book for the current era reader) than many fantasy books with this sort of setting. There’s love and longing, angst, confusion, declaration, and that never to be (well maybe). There is humour, there is spice, and an immensely enjoyable climactic ending where …….. (ahh, no spoilers but it’s good!) which ends this part of the story. But also suggests the next chapter for these characters. Read book one first, or you may be a little lost settling into the story. In fact, having read the first book some months ago, it took me a little while to remember where the previous book ended. Thank you to Solaris and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

This was a strong sequel in the Love in Netherford series, it had that feel that I was looking for from the previous entry. I enjoyed how this worked with the historical setting and how it was use for the fantasy romance. Natania Barron wrote this well and had improved on the elements of this world, I'm excited to read more as this was really well done.

I had the chance to read an ARC of the first book of the series, and got lucky again with the second.

'The Viscount St Albans' follows up directly after the events of book 1, but this time the focus is on Silas and Viola. We still have a great deal of the other characters, protagonists or secondary characters of book 1. The series is constructed in a way that leave space for everyone, as they are all join together by the plot, the romance being an important part of the series but not the only important event happening. This lack of focus on Viola and Silas romance, which started in book one, might be a weakness in the overall book, given that the romance is supposed to be quite at the forefront. Nonetheless, the overall story is still an entertaining one, with multiple threads, new characters and preparation for the third book, as the threads making this tome finally come to their ends.

It's an enjoyable read, with great lore and magic system, faithful to it's regency setting, with lush description. The characters are well enough developped, though I must I don't really get much involve with their struggles. Still, following their journey is quite interesting, especially because Natania Barron made sure to keep things challenging, even for our settled couple from book one.

I'll read book 3 with pleasure (Roland is a fun character), and recommend this series for people looking for a mix of magic, cosy mystery and love in a fantasy regency setting.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in February. Thank you Solaris for the arc invite! I loved this even more than part 1. Barron is clearly getting into her rhythm with the story, the characters are really coming alive. I loved Violas pov, I am obsessed with Roland. I also enjoyed revisiting Edith and Poppy. Both headstrong as ever. So yes I recommend.

If possible, I actually think I loved this sequel even more than the first book. In this Sense & Sensibility reimagining with witches, werewolves, and vampires, we see Violet struggling to come to terms with her new reality as a vampire, and Silas has to find out how to reconcile his love for Violet with his duties as the viscount.

What I loved about this book :

- Seeing more of Edith and Poppy’s relationship, and the fact that “happily every after” doesn’t necessarily mean that everything goes smoothly, it still requires work to make the relationship work no matter how much they love each other. This is such a realistic way of writing a HEA and I adore that.

- Roland. That’s it, just his character.

- Roland and Basil’s undeniable chemistry and antagonism at war with each other - it’s absolutely delicious and I’m hoping the next book will be about them.

- Laertes and Ophelia, and how they look after and dote on Violet, much to their own surprise

- The fact that Laertes and Ronald occasionally give me Robert Burns in “Bright Star” vibes. I love that movie.

- The neurodivergence in the characters is AMAZING. I really love that representation and how well it is written as part of the characters without it being their entire personality.

Natania Barron is becoming one of my favourite authors and I’m going to be reading all of her books.

The Viscount St. Albans comes out 14 February 2025 ♥️

I adore this series so far! Good second book, I wasn’t disappointed in my expectations.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Silas Drake, the Viscount of St. Albans, is one of the most desirable bachelors in London: however his heart belongs to Violet Brightwell, a commoner and a vampire. With the pressure mounting from his aunt to marry, Silas must decide if he will adhere to duty or follow his heart.

I didn’t read the first book in the series, and I realized that was a mistake. While I assumed the novel was a stand alone, it seems to me to be more of a continuation of the first novel, especially as characters from the first novel feature prominently in this one. In fact, they feature so heavily that they take away from the main couple and there are more scenes with other characters than there with the two leads. Or so it seemed to me. Because of this it was hard to see their relationship develop. Though it’s determined that Violet and Silas are already in love in the first novel, I would have enjoyed seeing them work together to find a way to cure Violet’s vampirism or a way to make it work. Also, it was hard to connect to the two MC’s as we didn’t get to spend much time with them

I wish there would’ve been a refresher in this novel as to how the paranormal world worked and the hierarchy of the paranormal creatures. It would have helped to understand the intrigue that was at play and the lay of the land. I did enjoy the action and the pace of the novel moved quickly. Overall, it was an entertaining story.

This was an excellent book!! I enjoyed the character development as well as how the plot was developed throughout the story. The author was able to to do a good job with all aspects of the story. I would recommend to others.

Thank you NetGalley and Solaris Books for providing me with an ARC of The Viscount St. Albans. I really enjoyed reading Netherford Hall, so I was excited to read the sequel. I liked learning more about the vampires, especially the relationships Viola had with Laertes and Ophelia. We also learn more about werewolves and fae.

This book adds new characters and alternates between several points of view. In addition to Viola and Silas, we also see scenes from Poppy, Edith, and Silas’s cousin Roland. I really liked Roland, and I was excited to see more from Poppy and Edith. However, I would have liked to see a bit more focus on the romance between Viola and Silas.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Viscount St. Albans. The series as a whole has a fascinating magic system, and I did not want to put either book down. I cannot wait for the next book

The Viscount of St Albans is such a good book. I rated it 5 stars because I couldn't put it down for a bit. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good.