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A review by rjordan19
The Viscount's Reluctant Bride. Book 4. by Ava Bond
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 (I definitely wanted more explicit language and more emotional connection)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑 (The scenes were on the shorter side)
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: A touch
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? More plot? It’s a bit of a mix though
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: not too long in, about 8%, or Chapter 2
Cliffhanger: No, this ends on a happily ever after
Epilogue: There is a section of the last chapter that jumps ahead a few months. There is a labeled ‘epilogue’ section but it’s more an author announcement.
Format: bought e-book
Should I read in order?
I think yes? I started with this one and while it does have a stand alone romance, there is mention and page time with prior characters and I felt like maybe the villain of this book has been in prior books and starting there might give a better background and understanding to that.
Basic plot:
A dying Viscount and a destitute school teacher make a bargain to help give what each other needs in this marriage of convenience.
Give this a try if you want:
- Regency (1816)
- Sussex, Kent and London settings (I think mostly London?)
- Viscount hero
- hero needs an heir
- bearded hero (for about 1/3 of the book ;)
- sunshine and grump vibes
- marriage of convenience
- celibate hero
- disability rep – hero has a leg injury
- school teacher heroine
- hero buys her honeycomb chocolate when she’s on her period
- bargain
- villain to overcome
- medium to higher steam – there’s plenty of scenes (5) but they are on the shorter side and the language isn’t super explicit.
Ages:
- Hero is 32, heroine is 26
First line:
There was nothing Gregory Brennan, Viscount Silverton, disliked more than a wedding.
My thoughts:
So this book didn’t work the best for me, but it’s just personal preference...I think those that want a bit of villain danger and a marriage of convenience would really enjoy this novel!
What I enjoyed: I loved the tropes at play here. Bargain is always something I enjoy and this marriage of convenience happened pretty fast and they were together pretty fast which is always a plus for me.
What didn’t work me is a bit harder to pin down. I think I just had a bit of a disconnect with the writing here. I also struggle with villain focused books, and this villain is a doozy. I also wonder if maybe reading in order would have helped me get to know these characters and understand more. I also felt like I wanted some things wrapped up a bit better. Like the issues with the hero’s mother and I wanted a bit more background of the heroine. I didn’t feel like I knew her the best. I wanted a bit more from the steam I think...there were frequent scenes and some great variety but the language was a bit too vague for what I was in the mood for and I wanted more explicitness. I also felt like the hero’s whole turnaround was out of nowhere. He went from being a grumpy jerk to being in love pretty fast and I didn’t feel like I got to feel that.
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- Hero has a severe illness and is given 6-12 months to live
- mention of parental death
- scenes of gun violence
- villain that has murdered, poisoned, raped and killed others
- murder on page
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Safe sex: No but they are getting married and trying to have a baby
Hows the consent? [ It’s good/implied
21% - kiss
30% - 🔥 kisses, fingering for her, missionary
38% - kiss
39% - 🔥 kisses fingering for her while he holds her against a wall
43% - 🔥 doggy-ish – her face down on the mattress and him on top
50% - kisses
54% - 🔥 sex on the desk
92 % - 🔥 her on top
Readability: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 (I definitely wanted more explicit language and more emotional connection)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑 (The scenes were on the shorter side)
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: A touch
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? More plot? It’s a bit of a mix though
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: not too long in, about 8%, or Chapter 2
Cliffhanger: No, this ends on a happily ever after
Epilogue: There is a section of the last chapter that jumps ahead a few months. There is a labeled ‘epilogue’ section but it’s more an author announcement.
Format: bought e-book
Should I read in order?
I think yes? I started with this one and while it does have a stand alone romance, there is mention and page time with prior characters and I felt like maybe the villain of this book has been in prior books and starting there might give a better background and understanding to that.
Basic plot:
A dying Viscount and a destitute school teacher make a bargain to help give what each other needs in this marriage of convenience.
Give this a try if you want:
- Regency (1816)
- Sussex, Kent and London settings (I think mostly London?)
- Viscount hero
- hero needs an heir
- bearded hero (for about 1/3 of the book ;)
- sunshine and grump vibes
- marriage of convenience
- celibate hero
- disability rep – hero has a leg injury
- school teacher heroine
- hero buys her honeycomb chocolate when she’s on her period
- bargain
- villain to overcome
- medium to higher steam – there’s plenty of scenes (5) but they are on the shorter side and the language isn’t super explicit.
Ages:
- Hero is 32, heroine is 26
First line:
There was nothing Gregory Brennan, Viscount Silverton, disliked more than a wedding.
My thoughts:
So this book didn’t work the best for me, but it’s just personal preference...I think those that want a bit of villain danger and a marriage of convenience would really enjoy this novel!
What I enjoyed: I loved the tropes at play here. Bargain is always something I enjoy and this marriage of convenience happened pretty fast and they were together pretty fast which is always a plus for me.
What didn’t work me is a bit harder to pin down. I think I just had a bit of a disconnect with the writing here. I also struggle with villain focused books, and this villain is a doozy. I also wonder if maybe reading in order would have helped me get to know these characters and understand more. I also felt like I wanted some things wrapped up a bit better. Like the issues with the hero’s mother and I wanted a bit more background of the heroine. I didn’t feel like I knew her the best. I wanted a bit more from the steam I think...there were frequent scenes and some great variety but the language was a bit too vague for what I was in the mood for and I wanted more explicitness. I also felt like the hero’s whole turnaround was out of nowhere. He went from being a grumpy jerk to being in love pretty fast and I didn’t feel like I got to feel that.
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- Hero has a severe illness and is given 6-12 months to live
- mention of parental death
- scenes of gun violence
- villain that has murdered, poisoned, raped and killed others
- murder on page
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Safe sex:
Hows the consent? [ It’s good/implied
21% - kiss
30% - 🔥 kisses, fingering for her, missionary
38% - kiss
39% - 🔥 kisses fingering for her while he holds her against a wall
43% - 🔥 doggy-ish – her face down on the mattress and him on top
50% - kisses
54% - 🔥 sex on the desk
92 % - 🔥 her on top