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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
Book #158 read in 2022
Emmeline will do anything to keep her home. Thanks to the inheritance rules set forth by her grandfather, she needs to be the first to marry and also produce heirs. An arranged marriage with a friend and a little white lies about their (non-existent) children have served their purpose. Except now, they have a family gathering and need to produce the make believe children, so they borrow two siblings from an orphanage.
This was so fun! As ridiculous a situation it is, the more fun it became. The kids were a riot and it was easy to see why Emmeline fell in love with them, as naughty as they were. Even the support staff were entertaining. I smiled throughout the entire book and can't wait to read more by this author.
Emmeline will do anything to keep her home. Thanks to the inheritance rules set forth by her grandfather, she needs to be the first to marry and also produce heirs. An arranged marriage with a friend and a little white lies about their (non-existent) children have served their purpose. Except now, they have a family gathering and need to produce the make believe children, so they borrow two siblings from an orphanage.
This was so fun! As ridiculous a situation it is, the more fun it became. The kids were a riot and it was easy to see why Emmeline fell in love with them, as naughty as they were. Even the support staff were entertaining. I smiled throughout the entire book and can't wait to read more by this author.
This is a really interesting take on marriage of convenience because the couple's marriage occurs before chapter one begins eight years later. So in some ways, it is more reminiscent of marriage in trouble. But truly, it's just unique.
Emmeline and Will must have an heir in the first five years of their marriage to keep their home. So she lies about having kids. And suddenly, she needs to be able to show off the children.
The plot took a large amount of suspension of disbelief, particularly in the beginning. But if you can get past how ludicrous the premise is, then it becomes quite a fun story.
The characters, the Pershings and also the children and all their staff, are so interesting. And I found myself rooting for a happy ending while half believing it wasn't possible. I got so caught up in the story and could not put it down. The focus was more on the antics and intrigued than on the romance. I found it quite fun.
Thank you to SMP Romance and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.
3.5 stars rounded up
Emmeline and Will must have an heir in the first five years of their marriage to keep their home. So she lies about having kids. And suddenly, she needs to be able to show off the children.
The plot took a large amount of suspension of disbelief, particularly in the beginning. But if you can get past how ludicrous the premise is, then it becomes quite a fun story.
The characters, the Pershings and also the children and all their staff, are so interesting. And I found myself rooting for a happy ending while half believing it wasn't possible. I got so caught up in the story and could not put it down. The focus was more on the antics and intrigued than on the romance. I found it quite fun.
Thank you to SMP Romance and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.
3.5 stars rounded up
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this!
I thought this was going to be much more romance marriage of convince trope-y goodness, and it wasn’t. Unfortunately that’s what I was excited for. If you like historical comedy, where a couple finds family in some orphans, and everyone gets up to some trouble and secrets, you will probably like this!
I thought this was going to be much more romance marriage of convince trope-y goodness, and it wasn’t. Unfortunately that’s what I was excited for. If you like historical comedy, where a couple finds family in some orphans, and everyone gets up to some trouble and secrets, you will probably like this!
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a lighthearted Regency romance that reminded me of a romantic comedy from the early 2000s.
It features a marriage of convenience between two friends that grows into something more many years later.
Emmeline propositioned Will eight years ago because she was afraid she would be ousted from the home she grew up in. Her grandfather has a rule that only a married couple may reside at Winnover, and to keep their tenancy, they must have a child within five years. She assured Will that she would do everything in her power to advance his political career. Will always loved Emmeline, so he agrees to the marriage. When she rebuffs intimacies, he concludes that she only wanted him as a placeholder and a means of securing her residence.
Eight years later, the entire extended family is invited to her grandfather's birthday celebration. And Emmeline must now produce the children she has been raving about in her letters to her grandfather. The imaginary children Emmeline has conjured are essential for she and Will to remain at Winnover, and she is determined to find them.
A madcap adventure to find these children ensues. Because Emmeline has been very specific in her descriptions, it's very difficult to find suitable matches. When they finally find George and Rose at an orphanage, they have a handful of weeks to deliver their ruse. But the wily, endearing orphans have a very different impact - they force the couple to see that their marriage of convenience and comfort is actually one based on love and trust.
Steam level : 1 - this is a completely closed door historical romance.
Recommended for fans of Suzanne Allain and Mimi Matthews.
It features a marriage of convenience between two friends that grows into something more many years later.
Emmeline propositioned Will eight years ago because she was afraid she would be ousted from the home she grew up in. Her grandfather has a rule that only a married couple may reside at Winnover, and to keep their tenancy, they must have a child within five years. She assured Will that she would do everything in her power to advance his political career. Will always loved Emmeline, so he agrees to the marriage. When she rebuffs intimacies, he concludes that she only wanted him as a placeholder and a means of securing her residence.
Eight years later, the entire extended family is invited to her grandfather's birthday celebration. And Emmeline must now produce the children she has been raving about in her letters to her grandfather. The imaginary children Emmeline has conjured are essential for she and Will to remain at Winnover, and she is determined to find them.
A madcap adventure to find these children ensues. Because Emmeline has been very specific in her descriptions, it's very difficult to find suitable matches. When they finally find George and Rose at an orphanage, they have a handful of weeks to deliver their ruse. But the wily, endearing orphans have a very different impact - they force the couple to see that their marriage of convenience and comfort is actually one based on love and trust.
Steam level : 1 - this is a completely closed door historical romance.
Recommended for fans of Suzanne Allain and Mimi Matthews.
lighthearted
✨This was…questionable.✨
I mean…my main question is simply…why?
Never Fall for Your Fiancé doesn’t even have great reviews so idk why they tried to recreate it here. Both books are just severely long for no apparent reason. I liked NFfYF and enjoyed the first half of this one but James made it a slog.
There was humor and the story was clever, but it was more of a screwball comedy than a romance, and even then the romance it did have was held up more by the secondary romance than the main one. I’m always a sucker for cute kids and meddling servants, but the kids even got to be a bit too much by the end.
My second question: why couldn’t they just say they adopted the kids to the townspeople they were worried about wondering why they had kids???? They were bound to see the townspeople more than her family anyways so they could’ve used their real names. It took them way too long to let those poor kids know that they were loved and I was getting super annoyed. By 80% they were still gonna give them away.
The ending was just meh and the whole thing with James was just so ridiculous. He needed to go fuck a meat grinder. I hated that his character was introduced. This book could’ve been a hundred pages shorter without him and the issues he caused. I was really enjoying my time until he showed up and then this book became more of a chore than a treat.
If you enjoyed Never Fall for Your Fiancé, then you may enjoy the atmosphere of this one…but I don’t think there are many of you out there lol. I’m rounding up to 3⭐️s because I did like the overall story and enjoyed the first half but no I really don’t recommend this. There are far more historical romances that are better paced, a proper length, just as funny, and include steam. Also don’t put a bed on the cover if there’s no hot sexy sex in said bed.
⭐️⭐️.5/5
I mean…my main question is simply…why?
Never Fall for Your Fiancé doesn’t even have great reviews so idk why they tried to recreate it here. Both books are just severely long for no apparent reason. I liked NFfYF and enjoyed the first half of this one but James made it a slog.
There was humor and the story was clever, but it was more of a screwball comedy than a romance, and even then the romance it did have was held up more by the secondary romance than the main one. I’m always a sucker for cute kids and meddling servants, but the kids even got to be a bit too much by the end.
My second question: why couldn’t they just say they adopted the kids to the townspeople they were worried about wondering why they had kids???? They were bound to see the townspeople more than her family anyways so they could’ve used their real names. It took them way too long to let those poor kids know that they were loved and I was getting super annoyed. By 80% they were still gonna give them away.
The ending was just meh and the whole thing with James was just so ridiculous. He needed to go fuck a meat grinder. I hated that his character was introduced. This book could’ve been a hundred pages shorter without him and the issues he caused. I was really enjoying my time until he showed up and then this book became more of a chore than a treat.
If you enjoyed Never Fall for Your Fiancé, then you may enjoy the atmosphere of this one…but I don’t think there are many of you out there lol. I’m rounding up to 3⭐️s because I did like the overall story and enjoyed the first half but no I really don’t recommend this. There are far more historical romances that are better paced, a proper length, just as funny, and include steam. Also don’t put a bed on the cover if there’s no hot sexy sex in said bed.
⭐️⭐️.5/5
4.5 Stars
I had a slow start getting into this book. Mostly, I think because I haven't read a book like this before (in the time period maybe...). But I ended up really liking the story. Took me so long to read because I got sick twice but I powered through and finished because it was amazing!
The story and the characters are very clever and the buildup to the birthday party, while long, was what made the book that much more exciting. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the relationships of all the characters progress throughout the story, including the servants relationships with each other and with the kids. The ending was very heartwarming and beautiful and I'm glad I got the chance to read it.:)
I had a slow start getting into this book. Mostly, I think because I haven't read a book like this before (in the time period maybe...). But I ended up really liking the story. Took me so long to read because I got sick twice but I powered through and finished because it was amazing!
The story and the characters are very clever and the buildup to the birthday party, while long, was what made the book that much more exciting. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the relationships of all the characters progress throughout the story, including the servants relationships with each other and with the kids. The ending was very heartwarming and beautiful and I'm glad I got the chance to read it.:)
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No