Scan barcode
jackiehorne's review
2.0
ARC from Netgalley
I enjoyed Gracie's 2nd book in the "Marriage of Convenience" series, and was looking forward to reading the story of elder sister Rose's romance. But I found myself more disappointed than overjoyed by this latest installment. The book opens with Rose at the altar, about to marry a duke whom she's chosen because he, like she, doesn't want to marry for love. But when the wedding is interrupted by an unkempt but well-spoken man, it turns out that Rose had once, and secretly, married for love, when she was an adolescent. Rose hadn't told anyone in her family about the secret wedding; at the time, her beloved sister Lily was ill with a dangerous case of the mumps, her favorite brother was away at war, and her father and eldest brother would only have had the marriage annulled, since she was underage and married without permission. And since her husband was soon reported dead at sea, she had no reason to tell anyone later.
Rose's reaction to the sudden reappearance of Thomas Beresford (he was 23, she was 16 when they married) is unexpected; rather than embrace him with joy after his four-year absence, as Thomas had imagined, she's upset and standoffish, surrounded by female relatives who want to protect her from this apparent interloper. At first, Thomas insists Rose is his no matter what her male relatives say. But, worried that perhaps Rose no longer wants him, and that he is no longer worthy of her, he has a sudden change of heart and abruptly agrees to her family's wishes for an annulment. As soon as he does, however, Rose decides she wants to abide by her marriage vows, even though the engaging, open man she married is far from the abrupt, taciturn near-stranger who faces her now.
Both Rose and Thomas have experienced trauma in the four years since they've been apart, but while Rose confides her difficulties and hurts to Thomas, he keeps the details of his hidden, although it is revealed fairly early on in the story that. The two have a lot of sex, but beyond that there isn't much to show them getting to know one another again, or any events that bring them emotionally closer. Rose is cheerful, Thomas is taciturn, the story is amused by all the "female" bustling about decorating their new house and preparing for the ball announcing Thomas's return to society. And then there's some melodrama about someone trying to kill Thomas...
Perhaps because I'm in the midst of doing research about the British in West Africa during the Regency period, reading a lot about British involvement in the African slave trade, I found myself frustrated by the awkward combination here of lighthearted narrative (cute dog, men laughing at the way their women bulldoze over their wishes, etc) with the backstory of Thomas's enslavement.
It made me wonder: how many historical romances have featured Europeans coming back from being enslaved by Barbary pirates, vs. those that have featured Englishmen who were actively involved in the African slave trade (even as villains)? So many real Brits were involved in the latter, even members Brits of the aristocracy (37 members of the House of Lords received compensation from the West India Slave Compensation Commission in 1833, as did 80 of the 650 MPs in the House of Commons). And many newly wealthy members of society had made their money from their involvement in slavery or its allied trades (see https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b063db18). In contrast, while thousands of Europeans were enslaved by the Barbary pirates, most were from southern Europe, which suggests that, at least during the Regency period, the number of Brits who benefited from the Atlantic slave trade was far higher than those who were the victims of the Northern African slave trade.
Though it was surely not the intention of Gracie or other white authors of historical romance to minimize the severity of the Atlantic slave trade, those who feature protagonists who experienced enslavement at the hands of the Ottomans and ignore the participation of Europeans in the Atlantic slave trade can inadvertently suggest that Europeans were the ones most harmed by enslavement during the English Regency period, and contribute to unthinkingly to white supremacist rhetoric and discourse.
I enjoyed Gracie's 2nd book in the "Marriage of Convenience" series, and was looking forward to reading the story of elder sister Rose's romance. But I found myself more disappointed than overjoyed by this latest installment. The book opens with Rose at the altar, about to marry a duke whom she's chosen because he, like she, doesn't want to marry for love. But when the wedding is interrupted by an unkempt but well-spoken man, it turns out that Rose had once, and secretly, married for love, when she was an adolescent. Rose hadn't told anyone in her family about the secret wedding; at the time, her beloved sister Lily was ill with a dangerous case of the mumps, her favorite brother was away at war, and her father and eldest brother would only have had the marriage annulled, since she was underage and married without permission. And since her husband was soon reported dead at sea, she had no reason to tell anyone later.
Rose's reaction to the sudden reappearance of Thomas Beresford (he was 23, she was 16 when they married) is unexpected; rather than embrace him with joy after his four-year absence, as Thomas had imagined, she's upset and standoffish, surrounded by female relatives who want to protect her from this apparent interloper. At first, Thomas insists Rose is his no matter what her male relatives say. But, worried that perhaps Rose no longer wants him, and that he is no longer worthy of her, he has a sudden change of heart and abruptly agrees to her family's wishes for an annulment. As soon as he does, however, Rose decides she wants to abide by her marriage vows, even though the engaging, open man she married is far from the abrupt, taciturn near-stranger who faces her now.
Both Rose and Thomas have experienced trauma in the four years since they've been apart, but while Rose confides her difficulties and hurts to Thomas, he keeps the details of his hidden, although it is revealed fairly early on in the story that
Spoiler
he was captured by Barbary pirates and sold as a slavePerhaps because I'm in the midst of doing research about the British in West Africa during the Regency period, reading a lot about British involvement in the African slave trade, I found myself frustrated by the awkward combination here of lighthearted narrative (cute dog, men laughing at the way their women bulldoze over their wishes, etc) with the backstory of Thomas's enslavement.
It made me wonder: how many historical romances have featured Europeans coming back from being enslaved by Barbary pirates, vs. those that have featured Englishmen who were actively involved in the African slave trade (even as villains)? So many real Brits were involved in the latter, even members Brits of the aristocracy (37 members of the House of Lords received compensation from the West India Slave Compensation Commission in 1833, as did 80 of the 650 MPs in the House of Commons). And many newly wealthy members of society had made their money from their involvement in slavery or its allied trades (see https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b063db18). In contrast, while thousands of Europeans were enslaved by the Barbary pirates, most were from southern Europe, which suggests that, at least during the Regency period, the number of Brits who benefited from the Atlantic slave trade was far higher than those who were the victims of the Northern African slave trade.
Though it was surely not the intention of Gracie or other white authors of historical romance to minimize the severity of the Atlantic slave trade, those who feature protagonists who experienced enslavement at the hands of the Ottomans and ignore the participation of Europeans in the Atlantic slave trade can inadvertently suggest that Europeans were the ones most harmed by enslavement during the English Regency period, and contribute to unthinkingly to white supremacist rhetoric and discourse.
amy9909's review
2.0
This author decided to ask the questions 'how does a young couple separated by time and trauma rekindle their relationship' and 'how will a woman betrayed and used by her husband forgive and love him' and generally takes away any intriguing motivations or complex emotions from these characters (namely the man because this is a cheap romance, and thus woman aren't flawed because they aren't even the main characters no matter how they market it), and then decided those questions couldn't possibly be interesting, let's instead answer to question 'who be stealin'. As soon as I learnt that the plot was abandoning half it's characters half way through and any complexity or depth in favour of fixing the problems off-screen so nobody had to deal with any negative emotions or consequences for even a second, I literally had to force myself to finish it and lost any interest in the story. My expectations were low, I am generally very easy to please, but those expectations literally got shattered with how disappointing this book gets. Such a waste of time.
luckyvjn's review
2.0
Historical inaccuracies abound in all of them but this one was particularly annoying: that’s. Not. How. Succession. Worked.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
1.0
Honestly I felt this one got worse and worse and I do not know why I did not dnf.
Rose is about to marry a Duke, but then he long lost hubbie shows up. The one she never told anyone about, the one she married at 16.
First the drama is about her family not wanting him around.
Then when there is happiness, the drama changes to this other thing. That just felt weird.
I honestly lost interest and it felt like a chore. I know I know, DNF! But I need to dnf audio in the first hour, when I am half way through I push on which I know realise is a mistake.
Very disappointed
Rose is about to marry a Duke, but then he long lost hubbie shows up. The one she never told anyone about, the one she married at 16.
First the drama is about her family not wanting him around.
Then when there is happiness, the drama changes to this other thing. That just felt weird.
I honestly lost interest and it felt like a chore. I know I know, DNF! But I need to dnf audio in the first hour, when I am half way through I push on which I know realise is a mistake.
Very disappointed
fringebookreviews's review against another edition
3.5
3.5/5 Very cute. Took me a few days to read and I lost a bit of interest but shaped up to be cute. I love the interrupted wedding trope.
erinarkin20's review against another edition
4.0
I love Anne Gracie’s books. I came across her books when a friend posted about how much she loved her stories so I immediately grabbed one and couldn’t stop reading. Marry in Secret is the third book in the Marriage of Convenience series, and it focuses on Rose.
Rose is looking for some freedom and has come to a decision that the only way she will get it is if she marries. Just as she is walking down the aisle to wed one of the most eligible bachelors in London, someone she never expected walks back into her life and stops everything…her husband! We find out that Rose secretly married Thomas, a naval officer, just before he headed out to sea and for the last four years has thought he was dead. Of course, his turning up not only stops the wedding but also puts these two in a situation they never thought they would be in. As they determine what is the best course of action for their marriage, they also have to overcome the danger because Thomas was clearly betrayed, and someone is still trying to get rid of him.
I loved Rose. Despite the initial shock of seeing Thomas return, she knew immediately what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to push Thomas to acknowledge they should still be together no matter how much he tried to push her away. I thought Thomas was a great character as well. He has had a rough time since he was thought lost at sea but his motivation to find out why he was betrayed and to get back to Rose are what drove him to find his way back. I loved that once he was back, he never gave up on trying to find the men that survived with him. His desire to bring them home no matter what showed his true character.
If you have read the other two books in this series, you know the typical cast of characters. I loved that we got to see how their relationships were progressing and I’m looking forward to the next book in this series so we can see what happens next for George.
As always, another great historical romance by Anne Gracie. Consider checking her books out if you haven’t already. I love how she develops her characters, builds out the story, and keeps me turning the pages so I can get to the HEA.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rose is looking for some freedom and has come to a decision that the only way she will get it is if she marries. Just as she is walking down the aisle to wed one of the most eligible bachelors in London, someone she never expected walks back into her life and stops everything…her husband! We find out that Rose secretly married Thomas, a naval officer, just before he headed out to sea and for the last four years has thought he was dead. Of course, his turning up not only stops the wedding but also puts these two in a situation they never thought they would be in. As they determine what is the best course of action for their marriage, they also have to overcome the danger because Thomas was clearly betrayed, and someone is still trying to get rid of him.
I loved Rose. Despite the initial shock of seeing Thomas return, she knew immediately what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to push Thomas to acknowledge they should still be together no matter how much he tried to push her away. I thought Thomas was a great character as well. He has had a rough time since he was thought lost at sea but his motivation to find out why he was betrayed and to get back to Rose are what drove him to find his way back. I loved that once he was back, he never gave up on trying to find the men that survived with him. His desire to bring them home no matter what showed his true character.
If you have read the other two books in this series, you know the typical cast of characters. I loved that we got to see how their relationships were progressing and I’m looking forward to the next book in this series so we can see what happens next for George.
As always, another great historical romance by Anne Gracie. Consider checking her books out if you haven’t already. I love how she develops her characters, builds out the story, and keeps me turning the pages so I can get to the HEA.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
ironskin's review
3.0
I have no idea how this ended up on my Tbr except maybe because it’s a second chance romance? But it was an easy read, and sweet although it the anti slavery angle was a bit awkwardly handled, I’m not sure there’s a good way to do that though.