A Heart Worth Stealing by Joanna Barker is a sweet romance, with some mystery and great banter!

This story follows Genevieve “Ginny” Wilde, who has inherited her father’s estate and is doing her best to keep it running. The book opens with her finding out her father’s watch is missing, as a result, she hires Jack Travers to track it down. Jack is a former bow street runner and an expert at finding missing things. Ginny is pretty sharp with investigative work and she and Jack don’t always agree. However, as they start to trust each other and work together they find out they make a pretty good team.

I loved following Ginny and Jack in this sweet romance as they solve a mystery together. The characters in the book were my favorite part. They are written well with great banter between them. You are rooting for Ginny from the start and as she grows throughout the story.

If you are looking for a fun, sweet mystery romance, then this book is for you! This clean romance is a great read for all ages and will have you grinning the entire time.

Thank you, Shadow Mountain Publishing and Netgalley, for the free copy of the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Joanna Barker writes another FAVORITE!

I loved this book so much!!! I loved the story, I loved the characters, I loved the damsel in distress moments.

Jack and Ginny standing in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!!!

I just love how these two characters complimented each other and made each other into even stronger people than they thought they could be!

I loved that this story reminds us what is most important!

Loved loved loved!

Ever since she inherited Wimborne following her father's untimely death, Ginny has been determined to prove herself to those around her - but plagued with innumerable small and not-so-small problems. But when her father's watch is stolen, she realises this is something she can't deal with on her own. When the local magistrate declines to help, she decides to hire a thief-taker to recover the watch, but Jack is not at all what she anticipated. In fact, as they spend time together, Ginny begins to fear that he may steal more than she'd ever dreamed possible - her heart. Can they find the watch thief before the escalating problems around Wimborne turn fatal? And can this unlikely pair find happiness together?

It's been a while since I read a book by this author, but reading this reminded me how much I love her writing. I was drawn into the story from the very first page and found it very hard to put down. In fact, reaching the end was slightly bittersweet because I didn't want to say goodbye to Ginny or Jack - however satisfying the ending! I loved watching Jack gradually work his way into her life - and heart. I also loved watching Ginny develop the confidence to be able to admit when things are going wrong, and accept that no one can handle everything all the time without help. All in all, a delightful read - highly recommended.

Note that I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and this is my considered opinion of the book.

Oh my goodness, I loved this book so much! I seriously smiled so much as I read it. It just has it all--great writing, a compelling plot, a great setting, amazing characters, and fantastic banter. Oh man, I love characters who are intelligent and witty and have good banter, and Ginny and Jack both fit the bill. Ginny is my favorite type of heroine--she's smart and independent and not about to sit by while Jack does all of the work. And Jack is my favorite type of hero--he's got a little bit of the bad boy element to him but has a good heart and tries to support Ginny rather than hold her back. The only thing that might have made this book any better is if we had some chapters from Jack's POV. It is adorable as it...but man, even a few scenes from his POV would have been amazing. (Actually, I'd love to see ALL of the scenes from his POV as well as Ginny's. I'm sure that wouldn't ever happen, but maybe the author will give us a bonus scene sometime in the future...I can only hope!) Easily one of my favorite books of the year and one I definitely want to re-read soon!
5 stars and one of my picks for Best of 2023.

“I had the feeling that not kissing Jack Travers would turn out to be the greatest challenge of my life.”

I loved this book! I always love a good mystery and a good romance, and this book has both! I love the witty, flirtatious banter between Ginny and Jack. And Wily made me laugh!

After Ginny’s late father’s watch goes missing after a dinner party, she decides to take the unconventional route and hires a thief-taker to track it down. She didn’t count on him being someone so charismatic. And she definitely didn’t plan on him lying to her half-sister and pretending to be a cousin. But it will all be worth it if he manages to get the watch back.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Joanna Barker is such a fun writer! This story is about a feisty Magistrate’s daughter and a thief-taker. Can you see the chaos that can produce?!

There are several things I love about this tale, but these are the highlights:

•Positive Father/Daughter relationship
•Love of the written word
•Air of mystery
•Playacting
•He falls first
•Witty banter
•Importance of good friends
•Forced proximity
•Things aren’t as they seem
•You can’t choose your parents (or their choices), but you can choose what to do about it.

If any of those are what you love in a regency/historical romance, then definitely read A Heart Worth Stealing.

*Thanks, NetGalley, for my eARC copy to review*

Ginny and Jakes story kept my attention from the start. Ginny is trying to keep a manor a float since her fathers recent death. It’s hard as a woman during that time period and she does her best to keep going until suspicious events keep happening. She reaches out for Jacks assistance . Who knew she would fall in love with this dashing gentleman ?
I loved that it wasn’t a fall in love instantaneously situation more gradually over time which made it more real to me. I loved “meeting” Jacks family and learning more about Ginny’s sister.
I laughed out loud during reading and was shocked by who is ultimately “the bad guy” . What a great read . I will definitely read again and add to my personal collection. You can’t go wrong by reading this book.
Thank-you to the publishing company for providing me with a complimentary copy of this fabulous book in exchange for my unbiased review.

This book was everything I hoped it would be and more! A regency romance with just the right amount of mystery, action, romance and resolution. Suspicious events start to take place at Ginny’s family home including the loss of her late father’s treasured pocket watch. She decides to hire a thief-taker named Jack who at first irritates her, but quickly becomes something more. Jack is the ultimate swoony love interest and their chemistry can’t be beat. I loved this one!

A Heart Worth Stealing by @authorjoannabarker

Before I knew there was a #bookstagram world, Joanna Barker was a must buy for me. I didn't even need to read the summary to know it was gonna be good. Literally all I needed to know was that she was writing a new book. Imagine me throwing my money at her and yelling "take it! Take it alllll!!!"Years later nothing has changed. NOTHING! (*sing it as if you were Whitney Houston 🎶 Nothing, nothing!!!! 🎶)

I am sure Tasha (@the_clean_read_book_club) and I will exchange words of who's Joanna's biggest fan but I know that you know that I know that I win. 💪😉

Kidding aside this book is amazing!

Ammm mmm mmmmmmazing!

This story is well-written, unique, and ammmmmmmmmazzzzzing! 🤣

I adore the main characters and their ability to be fiesty and lovable all in one scene.

If you have read this, can we take a moment to appreciate the tree scene??? Like whoa! Way to find a place for THAT moment!!!

Anywhoos, Joanna, I love you and your awesomeness. Please keep writing and remember I am your biggest fan 😘

I'm pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. It was such a sweet romance with entertaining characters and plenty of longing. I adored Jack. That cheeky, tease. He had some great lines...

"It is difficult to speak when one's lips are already occupied." ... He can "occupy" me any day with words like that haha!

I'm positive lovers of regency/Victorian romances will adore this one. Its closed door but the author plays her cards right and still brings the romance. This is the kind of book that makes you happy. It was an easy read that I finished in a few days.

THOUGHTS:
The plot twist was a little too obvious. I'm a terrible detective and I saw it coming early on. Since the book starts with Ginny trying to solve a theft and Jack is literally hired to solve the crime, I had hoped we'd have more of a mystery to solve but It wasn't there, this is not a bad thing. Just a personal preference of mine.

There were some very angsty moments and I would have loved one more as a cherry on top during the epilogue. It was sweet and satisfying but I would have liked to end on a super high note.

After the death of her father Genevieve is trying to prove herself capable of running the estate he left her. After her watch gets stolen and not being taken seriously by the local magistrate she seeks help elsewhere. In walks Nathan Travers.

This latest from Joanna Barker is an enjoyable read. The mystery was well paced and engaging.

I liked Genevieve although I did find her unnecessary defensive and suspicious towards Nathan at the start of their relationship. She's also the type of employer that everyone dreads, also looking over your shoulder and questioning everything you do. Nathan was a gem, so heroic and intelligent, he was definitely the ideal hero.

Joanna Barker has always been an autobuy for me and I was lucky enough to receive an ARC copy from Netgalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for an honest review.

Ginny Wilde is the magistrate's daughter and the sole heir of the Wimbourne estate.
At 23, she's trying to prove herself that she is capable of looking after the state and handling all the business after her father's passing.
However, when one night her father's pocket watch was stolen and other incidents started to happen around this state Ginny reached out to the police but with no help she decided to take matters into her hands and hire an investigator.

Jack Travers is a young handsome man and nothing like Ginny has expected and what started as a formel relationship turned into something else when Jack had to pretend to be Ginny's cousin and live with her in the same house so they can keep their business a secret and catch the thief.
Will the lines blur between love and work? or will all be casual? You have to read to find out 😉.

Great characters
Amazing banter
Sweet romance
All in all perfect
Thanks to @Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC of #AHeartWorthStealing in exchange for my honest review.

Xoxo💋

A Heart Worth Stealing
By Joanna Barker
Release date: MAY 2, 2023

I have not read one of Joanna Barker’s book, but this one was a great one to start with. She has produced a wonderful mystery & romance all in one! These characters are just so wonderful and funny with their banter and interactions. I do love a good mystery and Joanna delivered and kept me wondering who stole her watch.
Sowerby, England, 1802

Miss Genevieve Wilde—a magistrate’s daughter and independent heiress—is determined to meet life’s challenges all on her own, just as her late-father had taught her. So when her father’s pocket watch is stolen, she will do anything to get it back, especially when the local authorities prove incompetent.

She takes a chance and contacts a thief-taker to find the watch. It’s a choice Ginny regrets when former Bow Street officer Jack Travers arrives on her doorstep. He is frustratingly flirtatious, irritatingly handsome, and entirely unpredictable, and Ginny wonders if she’ll be able to resist such a man.

But after Ginny discovers that the missing watch is just a small part of a larger, more frightening plot against her, she needs Jack’s help more than ever. To protect her home and her reputation, the two enter into a risky charade—pretending Jack is her cousin so he can begin his investigation, starting with the household staff. As they work together to unravel the mystery, Ginny finds herself falling fast for her charismatic thief-taker, leaving her heart in just as much danger as her life.
Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for allowing me an ARC to review. All opinions are my own.
#AHeartWorthStealing #NetGalley #ShadowMountainPublishging #ProperRomance

If you were hoping for a sweet romance with an engaging investigation, you won't find it here. You will find an unlikeable (and at times mean) main character, tedious internal dialog, and a tedious slog through an mystery. While I'm reading that the setting is the regency period, the dialogue and some of what is happening in the story is more modern and therefore implausible.

I'm surprised an editor didn't smooth it out the many rough spots. For example, after noting that a character's clothing has been mended or patched several times, Genevieve's inner dialogue has her making fun of his clothing. It's unnecessary and mean. She thinks of her stolen watch as "in the grubby hands of some nibbler, hidden away in those horrible flash houses or being sold for ale money." Forget the awkward writing, she's basically assuming that the watch was stolen by a poor person and she seems to have distain for the poor. (For what it's worth, the word "nibbler" gained popularity in the 1950s.) I had a hard time discerning whether changing the often used term "wrong side of the blanket" to "under the wrong blankets" to describe Jack was deliberate or not. The fact that there are many historical inaccuracies makes me think it was done in error.

The hero's background (specifically, his job and parentage) is strikingly similar to the one in another historical mystery series that was published in the last year. Perhaps it's coincidence.

#BookRevew: A HEART WORTH STEALING by Joanna Barker

“It is not the path I would have chosen, but it is the one I have been forced to travel.”

I have always enjoyed regency romance with mystery. I have enjoyed the author’s other books and this one did not disappoint. Genevieve was close to her father, so his untimely passing shook her. She became the mistress of Wimborne overnight. Her father’s favorite watch was stolen. She had to seek help from a thief-taker. That didn’t go well at first and Genevieve was always suspicious of Jack.

This slow burn, enemies to lovers romance had fun and witty banters. I enjoyed the humor between them, but I was also a bit displeased by Genevieve’s impulsiveness. She did some things that were not very smart in my opinion, though it made the story exciting. Their forced proximity rattled Genevieve more. Jack’s roguish and sweet ways eventually won her over.

The plot was well paced. The fun twists and turns in the story were engaging. The scenes at Jack’s home were delightful. I’m glad that Genevieve was renewing her friendship with her sister. Regency fans will surely enjoy this fun read.

Rating: 4 stars
Pub Date: 02 May 2023

Thank you Shadow Mountain Publishing for the complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Dear Joanna,

Ginny loves to write so I thought you would like a letter...

Once again you have delivered a fantastic swoony historical romance. This time around you gave us a mystery to solve with a little adventure and I was here for it!

I would describe Jack Travers as handsome, sweet, flirty with a little side of arrogance...YUM. I love how he is on the edge of society expectations and so he gets to run his mouth quite a bit. The banter is 😍😍🔥🔥 enough said.

You gave us a heroine that is a bit of a risk taker but smart, genuine and the perfect firecracker for your Jack. The dialogue in this story is absolutely perfect! And I thoroughly enjoyed watching each of them make mistakes and owning up to each other. It was so sweet and tender 🥰

Thank you for giving me this lovely regency escape. the mystery was fun to solve and I enjoyed every minute of Ginny and Jack's love story!

I LOVED this book! I'm here for all your written words Joanna! I need more of your books on my shelves!

Love, Kira

P.S. what is with those tree scenes?
I see a trend 😂🥰😍🔥😘

P.S.S. this book releases May 2nd!

P.S.S.S. thank you to @shadowmountainpub @properromanceseries @netgalley for the early copy!

*Romance- kisses
*TW- kidnapping, trauma, death of loved ones, grief

✨QOTD✨ who is an auto buy author to you?

#aheartworthstealing #joannabarker #shadowmountain #mayrelease #properromance #newbook #historicalromance #histfic #sweetromance

Ginny is doing her best to hold together the estate after her father suddenly passes away. She misses him so! Ginny carefully winds his pocket watch every day and tries to do what he would do. When the watch goes missing and the local authorities don't seem to be taking it seriously, she decides to take matters into her own hands and hires someone to track it down.

Jack, however, is not quite what Ginny expected. He doesn't seem to take directions very well. And somehow, he has ended up posing as her cousin!

I love the 1st person narrative. I feel like we get to go deeper into feelings and thoughts. And Ginny struggles. She was "beginning to feel something for Jack. Something deeper than friendship or mere attraction. A low burn in my stomach when he looked at me. The urge to laugh when he teased..." "Looking at me in a way that made me feel like I might burst into flames."

Esse quam videri.

Thanks to netgalley for the eARC.

Sleuthing and action meet a happily ever after!

Although I love a Proper Romance more than anything, I do not love a first person POV. Our MCs have such great chemistry, but we never get the hero’s point of view. This was super disappointing to me!
However, other than that I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it. The resolution of the mystery was unexpected. The characters, as I said, are so lovely. Their conflicts felt grounded and not overblown. Absolutely worth reading!

Star Rating: 3/5
Tropes: Business woman, bow street runner
CW: Death of parent, violence, injury, kidnapping

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mystery and Romance, Yes Please!

When Genevieve's father dies she inherits the estate and spends the next several months trying to prove to her staff, her step-sister, and the community that a woman can manage an estate. In the midst of her struggles to prove herself, someone steals her father's pocket watch. When the local magistrate won't take her seriously, she hires a thief taker to retrieve it. The more Jack Travers discovers, the more Ginny finds that the pocket watch is just the tip of the iceberg. Someone is out to undermine her, frighten her, and possibly destroy her. As much as she doesn't like Jack's familiar way with her, she needs him more than ever, and possibly even wants him at her side.

I liked watching Jack wear Ginny down. He liked ruffling her feathers, and she needed someone to help her take a step back from her responsibilities. I really loved when she met his family, and her best friend was a delight. I hope we get her story another time.

So many fun tropes in this story- opposites attract, forced proximity. Loved the mystery aspect and the time period- definitely gave it "Miss Scarlett and the Duke" vibes. I enjoyed both main characters and watching their relationship progress. It was fun to figure out who the villain was, and the ending was intense and exciting. Would definitely recommend!