The Obsessions of Lord Godfrey Cavanaugh by Stephanie Laurens

Lord Godfrey Cavanaugh has always love art and paintings. He loves his job as an art authenticator... usually. Right now, he is slogging through a winter storm and isn't sure that he is going to make his destination. His valet has twisted an ankle and things are looking dark. Luckily, he finds a man named Masterson who is heading to the same manor house. Unluckily, being out in the cold brings out the same weakness that he used to suffer as a child, basically a really bad flu. 

Elinor "Ellie" Hinckley is hopeful that selling her mother's favorite painting will help restore some of the family's money. At least enough to get them through for awhile longer. She's 28 and the daughter of minor gentry so she has no hopes of marriage when a handsome man lands in their family's lap; she's more concerned about the painting being proved to be an original masterpiece. 

But all is not as it seems in the manor and Godfrey is going to be the person to help figure out what is going on. 

If you've enjoyed other books in the series, you know what you're going to get. It's a romance from Stephanie Laurens but a little muted since there is a looooooong stretch where Godfrey is ill so the action is a little lacking. I am curious about the side character of Mr. Jeffers (I was listening to the audio so the spelling might be wrong here) -- he was introduced as a man shrouded in mystery and, at least in my mind, ended the book in the same place.

Three and a half stars

This book came out 

Follows The Beguilement of Lady Eustacia Cavanaugh

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

The Beguilement of Lady Eustacia Cavanaugh by Stephanie Laurens

Frederick, Marquess of Albury, is renown for his skill at the piano but he is equally well known for not playing in public. Lady Eustacia "Stacey" Cavanaugh would like to change that. She feels like the musicians of England are in the shadow of the great names from the continent. Her plan is to have Frederick come and play in a series of musical evenings to inveigle the ton to also come and listen to her proteges. 
He isn't easily persuaded. But Stacey is a master manipulator (which has a negative connotation for me so it made the story an interesting one to listen to) so she bides her time and finally convinces him to play for her. But while thanking him, they have an accident putting them in a compromising position and Frederick gallantly proposes. He soon wants to make their fake engagement real but will have to work to convince Stacey that she's nothing like her mother.
I was actually enjoying this story quite a bit. There was A Woman in Frederick's past and she doesn't (gasp!) actually come back to haunt him. But then there was a murderer thrown in? For Reasons. It wasn't a story woven throughout the whole book and made little sense to me since Laurens is such a good writer there could have a different way to convince Stacey she could love.

Three stars
This book came out July 18th, 2019
Follows The Pursuits of Lord Kit Cavanaugh
Followed by The Obsessions of Lord Godfrey Cavanuagh

Borrowed as an audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

The Pursuits of Lord Kit Cavanaugh by Stephanie Laurens

The town of Bristol looks like it's going to be a great place for Lord Christopher "Kit" Cavanaugh to open up his new yacht building business. He's even found a warehouse. It's just too bad about the nonprofit he's displacing. But then he finds out it's a school for impoverished children. And one being run by Sylvia Buckleberry. He decides that he's going to make sure that the school is going to succeed. It has a much to do with wanting to help his new community as much as helping out the lovely Sylvia. But doing that means that he's spending more time with her and figuring out exactly how lovely she is.
For Sylvia's part, she's somewhat bemused by Kit's help but more than willing to take it. She thought he was nothing more than a fancy lord working his way through the debutantes of London. But she's learning that there are depths to this man. Ones that she'll need to rely on as there are people who aren't very excited  about her school moving to a nicer part of town. And enemies from the past that are against Cavanaugh Yachts succeeding.
This was a fine story from Lauren's but there were so many <i>things</i> happening in quick succession that it was annoying. One minor plot point really could have been erased and made the story so much better. I'm not sure why it was thrown in.

Three and a half stars

Followed by The Beguilement of Eustacia Cavanaugh
This book came out April 30th
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own