devinelybookish's review
4.0
When Charles Wycombe, the dashing and incorrigible Earl of Billington, toppled out of a tree and landed at Ellie Lyndon‘s feet, neither suspected that such an inauspicious meeting would lead to marriage. But Charles must find a bride before his thirtieth birthday or he’ll lose his fortune. And Ellie needs a husband or her father’s odious fiancée will choose one for her. And so they agree to wed.
But will the marriage of convenience ever lead to love? Especially when it seems someone does not want that to happen.
.
Okay. I definitely enjoyed this one more than the previous book. There was no instalove in this one. Nor miscommunication trope and for that, I thank the author.
Both characters had chemistry from the moment they met and I loved the witty banter between the two of them. The plot was easier to digest as well, but there was also still a lot of arguing between characters. And it seemed to be about the same subjects each argument.
I felt that Ellie was undermined a lot, despite proving her intelligect and worth many times. Every character brushed her off. It made it difficult to like Charles in these moments.
But Charles is also a sweet character who is very family oriented.
Ellie refuses to consummate the marriage until she is better acquainted with him and Charles agrees so long as he is allowed to seduce her. So there are some spicy scene's but nothing intimate happens until near the end of the book.
Overall, I enjoyed the characters, the banter, and the story. The constant arguments and undermining each other could have been avoided as frequently.
I'd probably give this a 3.5/5 stars
But will the marriage of convenience ever lead to love? Especially when it seems someone does not want that to happen.
.
Okay. I definitely enjoyed this one more than the previous book. There was no instalove in this one. Nor miscommunication trope and for that, I thank the author.
Both characters had chemistry from the moment they met and I loved the witty banter between the two of them. The plot was easier to digest as well, but there was also still a lot of arguing between characters. And it seemed to be about the same subjects each argument.
I felt that Ellie was undermined a lot, despite proving her intelligect and worth many times. Every character brushed her off. It made it difficult to like Charles in these moments.
But Charles is also a sweet character who is very family oriented.
Ellie refuses to consummate the marriage until she is better acquainted with him and Charles agrees so long as he is allowed to seduce her. So there are some spicy scene's but nothing intimate happens until near the end of the book.
Overall, I enjoyed the characters, the banter, and the story. The constant arguments and undermining each other could have been avoided as frequently.
I'd probably give this a 3.5/5 stars
smithel's review
4.0
I admit it, it's silly - but for anyone who likes regency romance it's a completely charming, very light and easy read. Good for travelling.
laurenjodi's review against another edition
1.0
Brighter Than The Sun
1 Star
Simply too ridiculous for words.
The hero and heroine have absolutely no chemistry, constantly bicker over nothing and suffer one accident after another - you can't even blame all of them on the villain.
Hoping the Bevelstoke series will be better.
1 Star
Simply too ridiculous for words.
The hero and heroine have absolutely no chemistry, constantly bicker over nothing and suffer one accident after another - you can't even blame all of them on the villain.
Hoping the Bevelstoke series will be better.
ashleydwilliamson's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
adelita18's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
arabellasbooks's review against another edition
4.0
In this book we follow a marriage of convenience - for both parties - between Charles (Earl who needs to wed before his 30th in order to get his money and inheritance) and Eleanor (Victoria’s sister who is on the verge of killing her future stepmother and wants to be in charge of her own life, and finances, without having to run it all through her father) and the pair begin on their journey of an extremely unfortunate beginning to their relationship as everything that Ellie does is sabotaged by someone who is later revealed to be Claire (Charles’ 14 year old cousin who wanted him to wait and marry her - strange but Ellie helps her to come to her senses) and the turmoil that they go through in the duration of this book was so back and forth but I loved it. Sue me. As the book continues and Charles and Ellie grow closer, it is then revealed that the most recent sabotages were actually attempts on Charles’ life committed by his cousin Cecil who wanted to inherit the money for himself and decided that killing all the heirs (and Ellie by association) would grant him that chance, although Charles revealed that should he die all his money would go to Ellie. Ellie recognises the truth of Charles’ abduction and goes there herself where after a lot of tension, she shoots and kills Cecil so that they can finally live in a semblance of peace as a family and eventually we also see them begin to start their own.
From the get go I knew that I preferred this book to Everything and the Moon as the characters were just so much more likeable and the storyline was also a lot stronger in my opinion and I loved the marriage of convenience becoming one of love and adoration very quickly on both sides despite their attempts to suppress it. I also liked the small details they picked up off each other such as Ellie picking up on Charles’ habit to create seemingly pointless lists about everything as I just found it adorable. Another thing I loved was the way Ellie made the best of all situations, doing her best to make things positive for everyone even after the burning fiasco caused by Claire and you can just tell she would make an incredible mother based on her reactions with Claire and Judith alone. Adorable. One thing I did not like as much though was the ending of the book with Cecil as it was very sudden and seemingly out of place within the rest of the novel but other than that I did have fun reading this book and loved the cheeky nature of Charles combined with the headstrong one of Ellie and I just think that they make a good pair anyway.
From the get go I knew that I preferred this book to Everything and the Moon as the characters were just so much more likeable and the storyline was also a lot stronger in my opinion and I loved the marriage of convenience becoming one of love and adoration very quickly on both sides despite their attempts to suppress it. I also liked the small details they picked up off each other such as Ellie picking up on Charles’ habit to create seemingly pointless lists about everything as I just found it adorable. Another thing I loved was the way Ellie made the best of all situations, doing her best to make things positive for everyone even after the burning fiasco caused by Claire and you can just tell she would make an incredible mother based on her reactions with Claire and Judith alone. Adorable. One thing I did not like as much though was the ending of the book with Cecil as it was very sudden and seemingly out of place within the rest of the novel but other than that I did have fun reading this book and loved the cheeky nature of Charles combined with the headstrong one of Ellie and I just think that they make a good pair anyway.
ashleydavies1813's review
4.0
Very cute and heartwarming. Great book to read with a cup of tea and a thick afghan in front of the fire.
lornarei's review
2.0
Not my favorite Julia Quinn. I liked the couple, but the subplots were kind of annoying.
arabellasbookshelves's review against another edition
4.0
In this book we follow a marriage of convenience - for both parties - between Charles (Earl who needs to wed before his 30th in order to get his money and inheritance) and Eleanor (Victoria’s sister who is on the verge of killing her future stepmother and wants to be in charge of her own life, and finances, without having to run it all through her father) and the pair begin on their journey of an extremely unfortunate beginning to their relationship as everything that Ellie does is sabotaged by someone who is later revealed to be Claire (Charles’ 14 year old cousin who wanted him to wait and marry her - strange but Ellie helps her to come to her senses) and the turmoil that they go through in the duration of this book was so back and forth but I loved it. Sue me. As the book continues and Charles and Ellie grow closer, it is then revealed that the most recent sabotages were actually attempts on Charles’ life committed by his cousin Cecil who wanted to inherit the money for himself and decided that killing all the heirs (and Ellie by association) would grant him that chance, although Charles revealed that should he die all his money would go to Ellie. Ellie recognises the truth of Charles’ abduction and goes there herself where after a lot of tension, she shoots and kills Cecil so that they can finally live in a semblance of peace as a family and eventually we also see them begin to start their own.
From the get go I knew that I preferred this book to Everything and the Moon as the characters were just so much more likeable and the storyline was also a lot stronger in my opinion and I loved the marriage of convenience becoming one of love and adoration very quickly on both sides despite their attempts to suppress it. I also liked the small details they picked up off each other such as Ellie picking up on Charles’ habit to create seemingly pointless lists about everything as I just found it adorable. Another thing I loved was the way Ellie made the best of all situations, doing her best to make things positive for everyone even after the burning fiasco caused by Claire and you can just tell she would make an incredible mother based on her reactions with Claire and Judith alone. Adorable. One thing I did not like as much though was the ending of the book with Cecil as it was very sudden and seemingly out of place within the rest of the novel but other than that I did have fun reading this book and loved the cheeky nature of Charles combined with the headstrong one of Ellie and I just think that they make a good pair anyway.
From the get go I knew that I preferred this book to Everything and the Moon as the characters were just so much more likeable and the storyline was also a lot stronger in my opinion and I loved the marriage of convenience becoming one of love and adoration very quickly on both sides despite their attempts to suppress it. I also liked the small details they picked up off each other such as Ellie picking up on Charles’ habit to create seemingly pointless lists about everything as I just found it adorable. Another thing I loved was the way Ellie made the best of all situations, doing her best to make things positive for everyone even after the burning fiasco caused by Claire and you can just tell she would make an incredible mother based on her reactions with Claire and Judith alone. Adorable. One thing I did not like as much though was the ending of the book with Cecil as it was very sudden and seemingly out of place within the rest of the novel but other than that I did have fun reading this book and loved the cheeky nature of Charles combined with the headstrong one of Ellie and I just think that they make a good pair anyway.