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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via Edelweiss. This in no way impacted on my view.
Lady Georgiana Rutherford has only recently discovered her family, and the fact that her absentee father was an earl. Now brought to London, she's considered strange and weird by the Ton, as she would rather be called George, and is more at home on the back of her horse, Sultan, or with her dog. She has absolutely no intention to marry, and whenever a suitor comes calling, she sends them packing. Hart, the Duke of Everingham, was jilted by her aunt at the altar recently, and he's dealing with the fall out. When he meets George at some society parties, he is intrigued, especially when she defies him again and again. He decides he wants her, and she seems to enjoy his kisses too. When they are discovered in an embrace by half of the Ton, he immediately announces their betrothal, and George is furious. She's adamantly against it, but relents when she realises that it will give her some security, and also, to stop all of the gossiping about her being a Jezebel. To openly defy the polite society, she wears a scarlet dress for her wedding, proving she's not someone to listen to convention. As George and Hart go into the country for their honeymoon, and to deal with an issue that's arisen with one of Hart's wards, she realises that the feelings she's been developing are more than just lust, and she has actually fallen for him. Does he reciprocate her feelings, or will she be left alone, as per their marriage agreement?
I loved George - she was such a feisty and headstrong character. Her upbringing had been awful, with only her nursemaid, and pseudo mother, to care for her, and she absolutely no idea that she was a Lady, nor that she had a family who cared for her until she was grown, and somewhat stuck in her ways. When she met her family, she didn't immediately take to them, but it's clear throughout this book that she loves them, and would do anything for them. Her great aunt Agatha, is manipulative, and wants everything done her way, but George fights back, and with the help of Aunt Dotty, they have a lot of fun. When she found herself in the situation of being compromised, and the gossiping and hatred from the Ton, she took it on the chin, but we could see, when she was being vulnerable, that it was bothering her, and I loved how she decided to sort of fight back by wearing the red dress, and Hart's response to that before the wedding breakfast.
The relationship between George and Hart started slowly, but it was good to see them develop from somewhat enemies - not majorly, but they definitely disliked each other - to lusting for one another, and then finally love. Both were strong personalities, and neither wanted to give way without a fight, which is why the scene when they discuss their marriage settlement is one of my favourites. It was all give and take, with compromises being made to suit both parties. The scenes where they were being true with themselves, and showing vulnerabilities was sweet, and I really adored their time in the country, especially with the subplot of Philip and Danny being added into the mix. I've just learnt that this is book 4 in a series, all about George's family, and I think I'll try and get copies of the others so I can see more of their stories - especially Emm and Cal's relationship. This is definitely an author I'll try again.
Lady Georgiana Rutherford has only recently discovered her family, and the fact that her absentee father was an earl. Now brought to London, she's considered strange and weird by the Ton, as she would rather be called George, and is more at home on the back of her horse, Sultan, or with her dog. She has absolutely no intention to marry, and whenever a suitor comes calling, she sends them packing. Hart, the Duke of Everingham, was jilted by her aunt at the altar recently, and he's dealing with the fall out. When he meets George at some society parties, he is intrigued, especially when she defies him again and again. He decides he wants her, and she seems to enjoy his kisses too. When they are discovered in an embrace by half of the Ton, he immediately announces their betrothal, and George is furious. She's adamantly against it, but relents when she realises that it will give her some security, and also, to stop all of the gossiping about her being a Jezebel. To openly defy the polite society, she wears a scarlet dress for her wedding, proving she's not someone to listen to convention. As George and Hart go into the country for their honeymoon, and to deal with an issue that's arisen with one of Hart's wards, she realises that the feelings she's been developing are more than just lust, and she has actually fallen for him. Does he reciprocate her feelings, or will she be left alone, as per their marriage agreement?
I loved George - she was such a feisty and headstrong character. Her upbringing had been awful, with only her nursemaid, and pseudo mother, to care for her, and she absolutely no idea that she was a Lady, nor that she had a family who cared for her until she was grown, and somewhat stuck in her ways. When she met her family, she didn't immediately take to them, but it's clear throughout this book that she loves them, and would do anything for them. Her great aunt Agatha, is manipulative, and wants everything done her way, but George fights back, and with the help of Aunt Dotty, they have a lot of fun. When she found herself in the situation of being compromised, and the gossiping and hatred from the Ton, she took it on the chin, but we could see, when she was being vulnerable, that it was bothering her, and I loved how she decided to sort of fight back by wearing the red dress, and Hart's response to that before the wedding breakfast.
The relationship between George and Hart started slowly, but it was good to see them develop from somewhat enemies - not majorly, but they definitely disliked each other - to lusting for one another, and then finally love. Both were strong personalities, and neither wanted to give way without a fight, which is why the scene when they discuss their marriage settlement is one of my favourites. It was all give and take, with compromises being made to suit both parties. The scenes where they were being true with themselves, and showing vulnerabilities was sweet, and I really adored their time in the country, especially with the subplot of Philip and Danny being added into the mix. I've just learnt that this is book 4 in a series, all about George's family, and I think I'll try and get copies of the others so I can see more of their stories - especially Emm and Cal's relationship. This is definitely an author I'll try again.
Marry in Scarlet has some pacing weirdness, an unnecessary last-minute subplot, and an overly saccharine epilogue...but it still worked for me. There isn't anything really new going on here, but for the most part, it's well executed. There's a really great scene in which the heroine confronts the insufferable hero on his manipulative behavior and lack of consideration, leading him to reexamine his actions. It's the turning point in their relationship and the reason for my 4-star rating.
Anne Gracie’s “Marry in Scarlet” is a wonderful tribute to independent women and the men who love them. George and Hart are a wonderful couple, albeit ill-fated from the beginning. Hart’s betrothal to George’s aunt was ended at the altar, and that experience left both of them uninclined towards the other. But this big-hearted duo are meant to be together, and their developing romance is a perfect storm.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Bad decision book club. This was so good I stayed up till midnight. No regrets.
Marry in Scarlet is the fourth entry in Anne Gracie’s Marriage of Convenience series. The novel is about Lady Georgiana “George” Rutherford, a rather unconventional young heiress and the brooding and aloof Duke of Everingham. After being caught in a compromising position the pair are forced into a marriage of convenience that George isn’t sure she wants. Can the underlying passion between them be enough?
This book was my first in the Marriage of Convenience series, and I will warn that I do not think you should read these out of order. There are several pieces of plot and characters that appear in this novel which are reliant on previous events. Gracie writes regency novels very much in the vein of Judith McNaught or Stephanie Laurens. This means the pacing, language, and characters often are not as modern feeling as a Lisa Kleypas or Julia Quinn novel. I usually don’t mind this different style of writing since it’s the language of romance I cut my teeth on, but in this novel it felt a bit dated.
Lady George is written as a hoyden that made me think of the titular character in Whitney My Love by Judith McNaught. She is brash in her words and attitudes about men and marriage. She has refused several offers of marriage before the start of this book, and she’s garnered a reputation as “untouchable” by the young men of the ton. She declares she will never marry, and her sole goal is to live alone in the country with her dogs and horses for company. She’s so uninterested in men, that she doesn’t even recognize her growing attraction for Everingham for anything else than an annoyance.
The Duke is an aloof and calculating man, who was left at the altar by George’s young aunt, Rose. He’s considering exiting the marriage mart for a time, but after a few encounters with George he finds himself intrigued. Rather ruthlessly he devises a plot to ensure that she becomes his, despite her explicit disapproval of him. I did like that this Duke, unlike so many others in regency romance, appeared to be capable of self-reflection and reform. When George points out several rather large hypocrisies to the Duke, he apologizes rather than becoming angry with her. However, this small amount of growth did not feel enough to me. George insists on getting to know each other better, but the Duke always manages to sidestep most of the sharing and instead gets George to spill some of her most closely held secrets.
The blurb for this book had led me to believe that the passion between these two would fairly burn up the pages. Instead this was a very slow burn that didn’t amount to any real passion until nearly three-quarters of the way through the novel. I had hoped the marriage would occur early in the novel since this series was supposed to be about marriages of convenience, but for most of the book these two barely spend any time together on page. This slow burn became nearly unbearable, but not much else was happening in the book. There’s not a secondary subplot until around 85% of the way into the novel and by that time it felt like too little too late.
Overall, I prefer my romance to be written in a more modern voice with a faster pace. Even in a slow burn romance I want action to be occurring around the couple that helps increase the tension between them. There was so little action in this novel it was easy to find my mind wandering as I read. I never connected with either of the two main characters and found myself actively wishing for some sort of drama to spice things up. If you’re into slower paced novels with plots that are built on the internal workings for society and families, then you may enjoy this novel. If you’re like me and need the novel to really pop off the page, then this probably isn’t for you. This gets a 2 from me, and I’d offer Devil’s Bride by Stephanie Laurens as a better example of a marriage of convenience between a brooding male and a hoyden.
ARC Received from NetGalley - all opinions are my own.
This book was my first in the Marriage of Convenience series, and I will warn that I do not think you should read these out of order. There are several pieces of plot and characters that appear in this novel which are reliant on previous events. Gracie writes regency novels very much in the vein of Judith McNaught or Stephanie Laurens. This means the pacing, language, and characters often are not as modern feeling as a Lisa Kleypas or Julia Quinn novel. I usually don’t mind this different style of writing since it’s the language of romance I cut my teeth on, but in this novel it felt a bit dated.
Lady George is written as a hoyden that made me think of the titular character in Whitney My Love by Judith McNaught. She is brash in her words and attitudes about men and marriage. She has refused several offers of marriage before the start of this book, and she’s garnered a reputation as “untouchable” by the young men of the ton. She declares she will never marry, and her sole goal is to live alone in the country with her dogs and horses for company. She’s so uninterested in men, that she doesn’t even recognize her growing attraction for Everingham for anything else than an annoyance.
The Duke is an aloof and calculating man, who was left at the altar by George’s young aunt, Rose. He’s considering exiting the marriage mart for a time, but after a few encounters with George he finds himself intrigued. Rather ruthlessly he devises a plot to ensure that she becomes his, despite her explicit disapproval of him. I did like that this Duke, unlike so many others in regency romance, appeared to be capable of self-reflection and reform. When George points out several rather large hypocrisies to the Duke, he apologizes rather than becoming angry with her. However, this small amount of growth did not feel enough to me. George insists on getting to know each other better, but the Duke always manages to sidestep most of the sharing and instead gets George to spill some of her most closely held secrets.
The blurb for this book had led me to believe that the passion between these two would fairly burn up the pages. Instead this was a very slow burn that didn’t amount to any real passion until nearly three-quarters of the way through the novel. I had hoped the marriage would occur early in the novel since this series was supposed to be about marriages of convenience, but for most of the book these two barely spend any time together on page. This slow burn became nearly unbearable, but not much else was happening in the book. There’s not a secondary subplot until around 85% of the way into the novel and by that time it felt like too little too late.
Overall, I prefer my romance to be written in a more modern voice with a faster pace. Even in a slow burn romance I want action to be occurring around the couple that helps increase the tension between them. There was so little action in this novel it was easy to find my mind wandering as I read. I never connected with either of the two main characters and found myself actively wishing for some sort of drama to spice things up. If you’re into slower paced novels with plots that are built on the internal workings for society and families, then you may enjoy this novel. If you’re like me and need the novel to really pop off the page, then this probably isn’t for you. This gets a 2 from me, and I’d offer Devil’s Bride by Stephanie Laurens as a better example of a marriage of convenience between a brooding male and a hoyden.
ARC Received from NetGalley - all opinions are my own.