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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thanks to Net Galley for a copy of this Arc in exchange for an honest review!
To summarize, Emmie and Will need to borrow children in order to continue living in Emmie's childhood home. They eventually decide to temporarily adopt 2 children from an orphanage in London. What they fail to realize is that children who have been responsible for themselves are wildly different than the children they would have been raising for years! They try their best but will they fool the Duke and get to keep their home without anyone getting hurt in the process?
I absolutely adored George and Rose. Having children the same age, all of their antics made me giggle several times! I was as big of a fan of the adult main characters, but there is a bit of redemption at the end.
I think it's a bit of a stretch to call this a romance and I found myself wanting a little bit more in that area.
Overall I enjoyed this story!
To summarize, Emmie and Will need to borrow children in order to continue living in Emmie's childhood home. They eventually decide to temporarily adopt 2 children from an orphanage in London. What they fail to realize is that children who have been responsible for themselves are wildly different than the children they would have been raising for years! They try their best but will they fool the Duke and get to keep their home without anyone getting hurt in the process?
I absolutely adored George and Rose. Having children the same age, all of their antics made me giggle several times! I was as big of a fan of the adult main characters, but there is a bit of redemption at the end.
I think it's a bit of a stretch to call this a romance and I found myself wanting a little bit more in that area.
Overall I enjoyed this story!
This book was cute and lighthearted. I usually find historical romance a little serious but this one was fairly light, but most likely not very historically accurate. I loved George and Rose, and Will and Emmie were also sweet. My favorites however may have to be the staff who were very endearing and funny!
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book. This does not influence my honest review of this book.
Rating: 2/5
Release date: September 20, 2022
The storyline for this book was well thought out and it was an entertaining read. However, it’s categorized as a historical romance and besides the setting, it didn’t really sell it for me. The dialogue felt questionable at times with the phrases that were used. Even if it was historically accurate for its time, it doesn’t feel like it should be used in our day and age.
This book is written in third person versus first person so if that’s not your cup of tea, this may not be the book for you! However, if you love fake dating and friends to lovers trope, this book may be your next pick!
Romance isn’t the center plot for this book even though the cover depicts it that way. You get to see Emmeline and William’s relationship slowly develop in the background, but it doesn’t really come into the forefront until the end.
I did think that that the situation regarding the children was a bit odd. They went into town and asked a couple if they could loan their kids for a bit??? When that didn’t work out, they went and adopted two for the convenience…it’s just screaming privilege. Nonetheless, the kids’ personalities were really a highlight in this story.
Rating: 2/5
Release date: September 20, 2022
The storyline for this book was well thought out and it was an entertaining read. However, it’s categorized as a historical romance and besides the setting, it didn’t really sell it for me. The dialogue felt questionable at times with the phrases that were used. Even if it was historically accurate for its time, it doesn’t feel like it should be used in our day and age.
This book is written in third person versus first person so if that’s not your cup of tea, this may not be the book for you! However, if you love fake dating and friends to lovers trope, this book may be your next pick!
Romance isn’t the center plot for this book even though the cover depicts it that way. You get to see Emmeline and William’s relationship slowly develop in the background, but it doesn’t really come into the forefront until the end.
I did think that that the situation regarding the children was a bit odd. They went into town and asked a couple if they could loan their kids for a bit??? When that didn’t work out, they went and adopted two for the convenience…it’s just screaming privilege. Nonetheless, the kids’ personalities were really a highlight in this story.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Infertility, Death of parent
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Emmeline and William Pershing agreed to a marriage of convenience so Emmeline could keep her family home and Will could have assistance in his political career. Eight years later, Emmeline's grandfather summons them to his home, and Will is shocked to find out that Emmeline has made up a story about them having two children. Turns out, they must have children to keep their home, so they find two orphans, George and Rose, to borrow and pretend to be their own. But even temporary and fake parenting comes with its own challenges, and even the weirdest circumstances can make a house a home. This story was so sweet! I expected more romance but loved the story of the whole family coming together! The children were hilarious, and I loved reading about their many shenanigans.
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Griffin, and Suzanne Enoch for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. It was such a sweet and fun story!
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Griffin, and Suzanne Enoch for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. It was such a sweet and fun story!
emotional
funny
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:
No
This book has a really fun concept and overall I enjoyed it, but it desperately needed more romance. Not even spice, just basic romance. It’s written like it should be a historical romcom featuring a marriage of convenience and friends to lovers and orphans getting into shenanigans and bringing the love interests closer, and while yes, technically it does include those things, the right emotions don’t come across enough at all.
There is a second chance romance playing out in the background of the story, but like, way too much in the background. We don’t really get to experience any of the pivotal moments in their reconnection, we just hear about them in passing after the fact and it feels disappointing and strange and without enough development.
What I’d say this book actually is (and it does it well) is a historical comedy. I loved the kiddos and every member of staff and watching their worlds blend was truly entertaining. There’s one character who is introduced about halfway into the story who I thought was unnecessary (those pages could have been devoted to the love story!) but overall this was really fun. We get nearly everyone’s POV at one point or another, which felt odd to me when I was still trying to make this a romance in my mind, but ultimately I think it worked really well for the story that this was.
While I definitely think this would have been improved by leaning into the love story a lot more, if you’re just looking for a light and funny historical romp then this might be one to check out!
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was so boring and bad. It felt like the main characters were using the kids as props and didn't actually think of them as people. Also it was hard to tell who's pov it was in most of the time and why did we get random characters povs?
I received an arc through netgalley.
I received an arc through netgalley.