This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
About The Book
A barrister determined to claim his inheritance meets his match in the woman who intends to keep it in this Regency romance that “will have you swooning!” (Sabrina Jeffries).
A bastard by birth, James Devlin lives on his own terms—until a twist of fate reveals that he is the true Duke of Blackwood. Though he swears to hold on to his freedom, Devlin is keen to take back his childhood home. But once at Wyndmoor Manor, he discovers a hitch in his plan in the form of widow Bella Sinclair. Her hot-blooded claim to his home is amusing . . . and arousing. Which is why Devlin isn’t leaving until he takes possession of the house and everything in it, starting with his stubborn adversary . . .
After years of living under someone else’s thumb, Bella Sinclair is finally free to live the way she chooses. So when the duke barges into Wyndmoor Manor and declares it rightfully his, Bella is filled with righteous fury. She’s not about to give up her haven without a fight, no matter how determined the duke is—or how sensual the battlefield. But once she’s sharing a house with the beguiling barrister, Bella finds she’s in danger of losing everything—one stolen kiss at a time . . .
My Review
First Impressions
In The Barrister’s Bed is the second book in the “Regency Barrister” series but this is my first time reading this author.. I saw this title in my Libby App and as I have been wanting to explore older historical’s, I decided to grab this one up and I will be honest in that the cover really drew me in, I just loved her pink dress. I am so happy that I was able to pick this one up though, I was quickly drawn into this story and I loved that it was a barrister as a hero (for those that don’t know a Barrister is a lawyer-regency term) and the set up was really fun and I was curious to see how this book would develop. I never know how picking up new authors will work for me, but apparently, this author is my cup of tea because I easily read this in one sitting and I was really drawn into this world that the author created. It has such a real authenticity that is so balanced with the romance and I really liked seeing how these two get entangled with each other, and ended up being a solid read for me.
He had come to Hertfordshire to claim a piece of land and a country home. But his motives had changed, along with his mission. If Bella was in trouble, he swore to help her. And if she wasn’t, then he would ensure that she never had another worry in her life.
Summary
James Devlin, was born a bastard and was ostracized by his own family, except his father who only loved him in secret. James was provided for where his schooling was concerned, and he decided to make a life for himself and became a Barrister, and one of the best in the business. But when his father dies, and he confesses on his death bed that James was never born a bastard, he is now the Duke of Blackwood. James doesn’t care for the Dukedom, but now that he is, he will take back his childhood home that bears only the good memories he has of him with his father when he was young. But what he doesn’t expect, is that the manor has also been sold to another person….the beautiful widow Bella Sinclair. Bella is a widow, and still recovering from the abuse that her husband dealt her, she is determined to find peace at Wyndmoor Manor and make a home here and move on from her painful past. But then she gets entangled with James Devlin, who is arrogant and cocky but is sexy and there is powerful chemistry between them. Bella is determined not to give in to the temptation, but when his life is put in danger because of her past, she will do everything she can to protect the man she has come to love ….
What I Loved
There were so many elements that I really enjoyed out of this one, The first is the enemies to lovers trope, the angst between the two is so well done. They had such a nice layering of bantering that really worked. They are both sold the same home, so you see how they have to deal with this unexpected surprise and try to work together to rebuild Wyndmoor Manor and work with the tenants. There is a strong chemistry between them both, but neither one of them trusts the other at first. We see how they have this forced proximity to each other and have to learn to work together and deal with one another and learn the value of compromise. The building tension between them is just so well faceted and I was impressed with how this author built their connection,. We also get introduced to some other Barristers and I know one of them is the first book in the series. This is a duo series, but she has some spy barrister novels and I believe they are the other friends that we get introduced to so I am eager to explore this more. The plot that is built within the story was quite unexpected (I think I have been reading too many newer historicals in recent years) because this story took a turn I least expected and I was on the edge especially in the latter half of the story as the plot gets built up with a more dangerous aspect and there are multiple villains and I totally didn’t see that coming and I really loved how devoted James and Bella are to each other, the methods they go to in order to protect each other was so intense and captivating. I never wanted their story to end because I was so drawn into their book and seeing them find their way to a HEA. Tina Gabrielle, is an author I will be delving more into because I was utterly charmed by this solid historical!
The heart makes its own rules. If only one could control it with logic, it would never be broken. But love and logic tend to stray from each other.
What I Struggled With
There wasn’t really anything I struggled with, it’s not quite a five-star read, I actually had a hard time rating this because I really enjoyed it but I don’t think it got to the point of it being a five star read. I think I just wasn’t in the mood for the angst in the first half, but I think if I had been in a better mood for it, it would have gotten a higher rating.
Overall View
I found In The Barrister’s Bed to be a fascinating historical romance, that delivered just right. It’s a story with an exciting plot, plenty of charm and wit, and an engaging flair to the writing that rocked my socks off!
Love meant bearing his soul, risking emotional pain, and he’d spent his entire adult life barricading himself from that danger.
Title: In The Barrister’s Bed
Author: Tina Gabrielle
Genre: Historical Regency Romance
Format: eBook
Source: Library
Length: 353 Pages
Book Links
Amazon| Barnes and Noble| Kobo| Goodreads| LibraryThing| StoryGraph| Literal Club
Book Evaluation
Storytelling Quality: 4.5
Story Itself: 4.25
Character Development: 4
Writing Style: 4
World Building 4
Feels + The Romantic Heart 4
Pacing 4
Plot 4
Cover Art 4
Ending 4
Book Ratings
Overall Rating of the Book
Steam Level
Simmering—soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warm- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Series Order
Regency Barrister
In The Barrister Chambers-Pub 2011 #1 in the Series
In The Barrister’s Bed-Pub 2012 #2 in the Series
About Tina
Amazon best-selling author Tina Gabrielle is an attorney and mechanical engineer whose love of reading for pleasure helped her get through years of academia. She often picked up a romance and let her fantasies of knights in shining armor and lords and ladies carry her away.
Tina’s books have been Barnes & Noble top picks, and her first book, “Lady Of Scandal,” was nominated as best first historical romance by Romantic Times Book Reviews. Tina loves to hear from readers. Please visit her website to learn about upcoming releases and to join her newsletter and enter to win free monthly contests and giveaways.
Sounds angsty and romantic! I may have to check this one out!
Yes it has angst but very well written and so swoony!
This actually sounds so good! I need to read it now!
Yes! It was amazing and your library might even have it!