I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
The Unexpected Wife by Jess Michaels is the first book in her new series The Three Mrs. Montgomerys. To Celeste Montgomery her husbands frequent absences were perhaps the only nice thing he had done for her. When investigator Owen Gregory arrives at her door with the news that her Erasmus Montgomery has been murdered, that she’s actually the third Mrs. Montgomery and she and the other wives are the main suspects, she's not about to waste any time grieving the man and determines to help solve the murder. I enjoyed this story and the mystery and characters were intriguing but I think because of its short length things that needed a better explanation were just glossed over and time better spent on this story is used to set up the next two. I felt that a prologue would have established the scene better, perhaps explaining why Celeste ended up married to Erasmus Montgomery in the first place. Medium Steam. Publishing Date: March 9, 2021 #TheUnexpectedWife #JessMichaels #VictoryEditing #NetGalley #HistoricalRomance #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #HistoricalMystery ( )

The Unexpected Wife by Jess Michaels
The Three Mrs. #1

Three women
One dead bigamist husband
Who killed the husband?
Was it one of the wives?
Or another?

What I liked:
* Great start to a new series that introduced the characters that will feature in at least three books in the series
* Owen: investigator, intelligent, likes puzzles, truth seeker, intuitive, fact finder, falls for Celeste quickly. Charming and lusty book boyfriend
* Celeste: bright, underestimated, often overlooked, pushed into a marriage she did not want, falls for Owen quickly. Liked her.
* That though Owen and Celeste had chemistry early they did not act upon it too quickly.
* The way the relationship developed between Owen and Celeste
* The unexpected friendship between the wives
* The other two wives: Abigail and Phillipa
* The two men that will star in the next two books: Gilmore and Leighton
* The twist(s)
* That there was a HEA for Owen and Celeste

What I didn’t like:
* Erasmus “Ras” Montgomery: cad, bigamist, user and abuser
* Celeste’s parents
* Having to wait for the next book in the series.

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and The Passionate Pen, LLC. for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4.5 Stars ( )

The Unexpected Wife by Jess Michaels

The book was good, as far as story content, as far as character development, I felt like I knew each of the wives and the husband.

I gave it only 3 stars, however, for the raunchy, explicit sex scenes. Some people really like that in a book, I do not. Those parts of the book seemed closer to pornography than historical fiction, to me. I would not have signed up for it, if I knew ahead of time, that it was a part of the story.

I received a complimentary copy from #netgalley of #theunexpectedwife and was under no obligation to post a review. ( )

You Clearly Contain Multitudes
I can’t say enough about how much I enjoy the premise of Jess Michaels’ new romance series The Three Mrs. Jess Michaels does a lovely job balancing a life changing revelation with genuine kindness, that gives this book a hopeful feel. Celeste can no longer call herself Mrs. Montgomery after learning that not only has her estranged husband been murdered, but she is one of three wives. Investigator Owen Gregory was only expecting another outraged wife, and instead meets a beautiful and intelligent woman. Owen offers Celeste an opportunity to escape her dismal circumstances, and help him in his investigations. Together they search for answers to Mr. Montgomery’s murder, and gently fall in love. Owen’s kindness through this story is as extraordinary as Celeste’s fortitude. They are genuinely fond of talking about the important foundations of their lives. With just enough mystery to keep the characters guessing. This romance is a lovely reminder that we can all use a little more kindness in difficult times. I look forward to reading Abigail and Phillipa’s stories. ( )