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funny
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:
Yes
I had a really nice time reading this! The main characters were reasonably well written, and the secondary characters were tropey but not overtly so. The pace was fast, with enough moving pieces to keep you on your toes. I also liked that the heroine was tall and well endowed (minor body diversity win) and truly genuinely bad at dancing, singing and horse riding.
Things I didn't like:
There is a scene I disliked in which the male MC tells the female MC that he thinks he cannot fall in love and she with her full chest says maybe he hasn't found the right woman yet. I thought that was needlessly aphobic and also just cringe.
The youngest sister is 17 but acts more like 14, which was tiring.
Also, toward the end of the book,the female MC insists on PiV sex even though they just agreed to not get married immediately. Girl, are you dumb?
I know that class is not something that romance novels are generally interested in truly getting into (because it's depressing. No your Earl is not going to be able to marry this girl of dubious parentage) but the lack of interest the book had in adressing class or the repercussions of the whole charade was kind of unfortunate because I would have liked to see how they fix all that.
Things I didn't like:
There is a scene I disliked in which
The youngest sister is 17 but acts more like 14, which was tiring.
Also, toward the end of the book,
I know that class is not something that romance novels are generally interested in truly getting into (because it's depressing. No your Earl is not going to be able to marry this girl of dubious parentage) but the lack of interest the book had in adressing class or the repercussions of the whole charade was kind of unfortunate because I would have liked to see how they fix all that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Grief, Classism
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐ 3.75/5
🌶️ 2/5
📝 A fun lil regency romp. A bit comedy of errors as the MCs try to navigate the farce that they are engaged to convince MMC's mother. Hijinks ensue. MCs fall in love. The usual.
🎧 Dual POV, male and female narrators. They were both good. There was one side character who is American, and the female narrator's American accent was pretty atrocious, but other than that (and the American doesn't speak all that much so it's easy to put aside), the performance was great on both parts.
🌶️ 2/5 There were two ardent kissing scenes and one sex scene but it was pretty tame.
✊🏳️🌈 No diversity to speak of, unless we count class diversity.
🌶️ 2/5
📝 A fun lil regency romp. A bit comedy of errors as the MCs try to navigate the farce that they are engaged to convince MMC's mother. Hijinks ensue. MCs fall in love. The usual.
🎧 Dual POV, male and female narrators. They were both good. There was one side character who is American, and the female narrator's American accent was pretty atrocious, but other than that (and the American doesn't speak all that much so it's easy to put aside), the performance was great on both parts.
🌶️ 2/5 There were two ardent kissing scenes and one sex scene but it was pretty tame.
✊🏳️🌈 No diversity to speak of, unless we count class diversity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment
Minor: Fatphobia, Terminal illness, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Infidelity, Grief
Minor: Death of parent
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My first time reading this author. The book was fine, similar in set up to When A Scot Ties the Knot, but not as good. I thought that the Hero held on to his issues a bit too long. It got eye-rolly very quickly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Infidelity, Sexual content, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It was ok. I didn’t feel like the hero’s reasons for staying single were solid. Actually it was down right ridiculous. They youngest sister seemed superfluous. And the other sister seemed way too dramatic and cynical for her own good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Minor: Infidelity, Death of parent
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5 ⭐️🐝
‘She paused and then giggled. He wanted to catch the infectious sound in his fist and keep it forever’
This was my first historical romance so I didn’t know what to expect but wanted something to cure my Bridgerton season 2 (and aggressive fantasy) hangover and this did the job.
If the fake dating plot of Bridgerton season one merged with the pining of season 2 with an additional hand-flex scene borrowed from Pride and Prejudice (2005), you’d have this book.
Hugh was a flirtatious rake with a heart of gold which I’m always a softie for, Diana and Payne stole the show completely with their funny remarks and strong characterisation, and the fake fiancée lie getting increasingly more out of hand and ridiculous was highly entertaining. This was fun, easy and escapist.
However, if you’re not a fan of the miscommunication trope even a little bit probably best to put the book down. You’ll need to suspend your belief for this one for your entertainment’s sake! I also unfortunately feel Vee was too childish and selfish, acting more like a bratty five year old than a seventeen year old girl. I’m not sure how the author will make her likeable/more realistic when it comes to her book…
However, all in all, this was an entertaining, easy and funny historical romance!
‘She paused and then giggled. He wanted to catch the infectious sound in his fist and keep it forever’
This was my first historical romance so I didn’t know what to expect but wanted something to cure my Bridgerton season 2 (and aggressive fantasy) hangover and this did the job.
If the fake dating plot of Bridgerton season one merged with the pining of season 2 with an additional hand-flex scene borrowed from Pride and Prejudice (2005), you’d have this book.
Hugh was a flirtatious rake with a heart of gold which I’m always a softie for, Diana and Payne stole the show completely with their funny remarks and strong characterisation, and the fake fiancée lie getting increasingly more out of hand and ridiculous was highly entertaining. This was fun, easy and escapist.
However, if you’re not a fan of the miscommunication trope even a little bit probably best to put the book down. You’ll need to suspend your belief for this one for your entertainment’s sake! I also unfortunately feel Vee was too childish and selfish, acting more like a bratty five year old than a seventeen year old girl. I’m not sure how the author will make her likeable/more realistic when it comes to her book…
However, all in all, this was an entertaining, easy and funny historical romance!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Sexual content, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, Classism
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"What a pointless and wholly avoidable mess."
Unfortunately, I think this quote sums up the book too well. I found it a frustrating slog rather than the intended slow burn.
This fake engagement is based on tall tales and an intricate, fabricated backstory. Hugh hires Minerva to fill the role of his fictional fiancee of the same name, and chaos ensues. I had several general issues with the book:
• There's casual slut-shaming in regards to who is wifely material. Reference is made to a marriageable woman's "pristine sheets" in contrast to the unworthy legion of lovers in Hugh's past.
• It gets worse when Hugh's "primal, wholly male, and visceral" jealousy (a different beast from bargain brand jealousy) causes him to seethe about her potential past with a sweetheart despite his own promiscuous past, particularly dwelling on the question of what degree of physical intimacy they enjoyed.
• A conversation on body image suggests that women know their own "faults" as a ...positive?
• Any comments describing the US as a land of freedom and fairness make me gag.
• The actress hired to play Minerva's mother provides comic relief, and her apparent alcoholism causes her to be characterized as a "drunkard" with her embarrassing, potentially incriminating behavior as the major concern rather than her well-being. All alcohol is removed from the premises with Lucretia as a passive recipient of the decision. Nothing is done to actually support her or treat her with any degree of empathy.
Characterization relied on telling (sometimes repeatedly) more than showing. I also disliked Hugh, both his faults and supposed strengths. Please enjoy my list of Hugh-shaped complaints:
• Philanthropy is used as shorthand for his inherent goodness (lazy).
• Acknowledgment of his rich white man privilege goes no further than discomfort and guilt, and it was exhausting to see it play out in slow motion on the page.
• The man has an actual knight-in-shining-armor complex. Hugh's top-secret (but why?) desire to "rescue" the downtrodden results in his offer to pay Minerva enough to entice her from her clear poverty for her role while knowing it is a pittance in his own terms. Minerva's view of him as her personal knight fans the flames of his instalove for her as he sheds a lifetime of adamant refusals to settle down. That dynamic was cringey.
• I was irritated by his nonsensical fear of biological programming towards infidelity. I shouldn't hate on another's mental health issues, but he goes in circles at a mind-numbingly unproductive pace. He also never actually moves past this block, just rewriting history to be happy with his believed inherited character.
Despite some brief comedic bright spots, I don't think that makes it worth the read. I wouldn't recommend it.
Unfortunately, I think this quote sums up the book too well. I found it a frustrating slog rather than the intended slow burn.
This fake engagement is based on tall tales and an intricate, fabricated backstory. Hugh hires Minerva to fill the role of his fictional fiancee of the same name, and chaos ensues. I had several general issues with the book:
• There's casual slut-shaming in regards to who is wifely material. Reference is made to a marriageable woman's "pristine sheets" in contrast to the unworthy legion of lovers in Hugh's past.
• It gets worse when Hugh's "primal, wholly male, and visceral" jealousy (a different beast from bargain brand jealousy) causes him to seethe about her potential past with a sweetheart despite his own promiscuous past, particularly dwelling on the question of what degree of physical intimacy they enjoyed.
• A conversation on body image suggests that women know their own "faults" as a ...positive?
• Any comments describing the US as a land of freedom and fairness make me gag.
• The actress hired to play Minerva's mother provides comic relief, and her apparent alcoholism causes her to be characterized as a "drunkard" with her embarrassing, potentially incriminating behavior as the major concern rather than her well-being. All alcohol is removed from the premises with Lucretia as a passive recipient of the decision. Nothing is done to actually support her or treat her with any degree of empathy.
Characterization relied on telling (sometimes repeatedly) more than showing. I also disliked Hugh, both his faults and supposed strengths. Please enjoy my list of Hugh-shaped complaints:
• Philanthropy is used as shorthand for his inherent goodness (lazy).
• Acknowledgment of his rich white man privilege goes no further than discomfort and guilt, and it was exhausting to see it play out in slow motion on the page.
• The man has an actual knight-in-shining-armor complex. Hugh's top-secret (but why?) desire to "rescue" the downtrodden results in his offer to pay Minerva enough to entice her from her clear poverty for her role while knowing it is a pittance in his own terms. Minerva's view of him as her personal knight fans the flames of his instalove for her as he sheds a lifetime of adamant refusals to settle down. That dynamic was cringey.
• I was irritated by his nonsensical fear of biological programming towards infidelity. I shouldn't hate on another's mental health issues, but he goes in circles at a mind-numbingly unproductive pace. He also never actually moves past this block, just rewriting history to be happy with his believed inherited character.
Despite some brief comedic bright spots, I don't think that makes it worth the read. I wouldn't recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Abandonment
Minor: Cancer, Toxic relationship, Death of parent