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

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!

This was a good one! I really enjoyed this book. I had a hard time putting this one down. I really enjoyed the writing style and the characters chemistry was great. This was a first for me by this author but will not be my last!

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.