I'm rounding up to 4 stars, it had a pretty good beginning and ending, but there was a long drag in the middle. We hear what felt like 40, different instances of catty women resenting the heroine for landing a duke. Despite how, even in this very series, we've been shown repeatedly how people flock to suck up to new (or newly pending) nobility. Her circumstances were a little worse, but we didn't see I don't think a single person exhibiting that, only case after case after case of the other. I liked the main characters only so-so for a good portion of the story, but the more they developed feelings for each other the more I enjoyed them. At one point it starts to head into a drama-heavy misunderstanding that I expected to drag out further, and then it was just averted. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with the characters. This had a good wrap up at the end that closed the series nicely. ( )

Georgianna isn't interested in marriage even though the Duke of Everingham is determined to have her. He traps her in a compromising position and she is forced to marry him. He wants a marriage of convenience, but... well, this is a pretty well-worn trope in regency books.
Anyway, Ms Gracie manages to write two interesting characters and an enjoyable story, so I found it a good and fast read. ( )

Anne Gracie is the reason I started reading romances again after many years; she is underrated and deserves many more accolades for her fun, lovely, characters and very engaging stories. Finally getting George’s tale was worth the wait, and I was surprised that the hero had some good self-reflection as he started as an ass. ( )

Series: Marriage of Convenience #4
Publication Date: 5/26/20
Number of Pages: 336

Whew! What a delightfully entertaining and lustful couple Hart and George turn out to be. I absolutely adored each of them and could easily see why they were so very skittish and protective of their hearts. Thank goodness for manipulative and interfering family members who end up making the right thing happen for all of the wrong reasons.

When we last saw Redmond Jasper Hartley (Hart), the fifth Duke of Everingham, he was being left at the altar by his betrothed (Marry In Secret). He has a very low opinion of women and being left at the altar did nothing to soften that opinion. After all, he and his father had been manipulated by the champion manipulator, his mother, and he had no reason to believe any female would be different. No, he didn’t love his betrothed, but he had negotiated in good faith and he’d been livid at being left standing at the altar. Yes, he has a reputation of being cold, unfeeling, arrogant, and aloof – and he believes he is – just as everyone else does. When he decides to seek another bride, he has specific criteria – she must be independent minded and not hang off his sleeve, one who would like to retire to the country and keep out of his way, they need have few interactions other than conjugal visits.

Lady Georgiana (George) Rutherford loves her newly found family and has absolutely no intention of giving them up. She also has absolutely no intention of marrying. Men are a worthless, faithless lot and she sees no reason to subjugate herself to one. It is her desire to live in the country and breed horses and dogs and to care for other animals. She doesn’t give a fig about what any male has to offer her – money, prestige, titles – she doesn’t want any part of it.

George and Hart are really two kindred souls – both a product of their unhappy experiences early in their lives – but neither of them can see that. When Georgiana is brought to Hart’s attention – in the most manipulative of ways, of course – he is incensed. But then, when he sees her – and kisses her. That does it for him – he decides she is the one who will be his bride – whether she wants to or not. So, he begins his own plan of manipulation and entrapment.

I loved watching Hart and George at war with each other. Neither was going to give in and each was bound and determined to win. When Hart compromised her and then announced their betrothal, she was incensed. But, later, when he offered her the opportunity to get out of the betrothal, she decided to let it stand. She didn’t know why. What had possessed her?

They are two very passionate, very caring people and it was a delight to get to know them and to see them find their way to a loving, passionate life together. I hope you’ll enjoy this story as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

Scandals galore!

A humorous rendition of the marriage of convenience trope.
Redmond Jasper Hartley, the fifth Duke of Everingham, has been left at the altar. Now the punctilious Lady Salter, his mother's friend, and aunt to his ex fiancé, has decided that another of her niece's would be the answer. After all the Dukedom needed an heir.
Well neither Lady Georgiana nor the Duke agree. They didn't like each other. Except, there was that moment of laxity and The Kiss at a ball. Furthermore at a musical soirée, the unexpected continuation of that kiss thrust them into the ton's notice in such a way that nothing but an engagement would do. Though even that was taken out of George's control much to her anger.
I adored Lady Georgiana Rutherford, George to her family and friends.
Like George I eventually came to appreciate the emotionally deprived Hartley.
Fast forward to the wedding! I was in raptures over George's wedding dress and her moments of feisty independence, a gauntlet thrown down in the face of the ton who decried her and worse when her forthcoming marriage to a prize catch had been announced--much to her horror, particularly as she didn't want to get married. Georgiana had had a curious upbring.
BTW I loved Aunt Dottie and simultaneously despised and pitied Aunt Agatha.
Hartley's narcissistic mother is in a self centered cage all of her own making. Like Hartley I abhorred her shallowness and self serving actions.
Of course there's the usual conglomeration of beloved animals that an original like George would have. Indeed, Hartley's original contact with George builds around her horse. And then just as an HEA ending was in the offing for George and Hartley, another tangled problem comes to light.
A nice touch are the Jane Austen chapter heading, an enlightening commentary on what is to come.
A rather tantalizing addition to this Marriage of Convenience series.

A Berkley Group ARC via NetGalley ( )