Another sister dealt with and happy as a lark. From page one Madeline & Harry are meant for each other. No guessing for Harry, he intends to marry Madeline and that's that. Meeting her causes him to rethink his role as a new MP, ponder what he really wants out of the position. Poor Madeline falls more in love with Harry every day but she's getting a little parental pressure to go for the top of the eligible men pile. For her Harry confirms that holding out for love & butterflies & tingles is everything & her sisters were very right about it all. Every time Madeline became wishy-washy I internally, or externally if I was at home, screamed. Harry has to be one of the most forthright, honest and truly likeable male character that I've run into lately. He thinks the sun rises and falls in Madeline, I decided if she didn't want him then I did.

#TheHusbandList #TheWorthingtons #EllaQuinn #historicalromance #netgalley #Zebrabooks #KensingtonPublishing
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance reader copy of this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Book with a beautiful cover. Interesting plot at first sight. Sadly, I found the story not very engaging and with zero chemistry between the main characters.

I am okay with romance books that aren't every detailed in the intimacy and that are mostly fade to black if I really feel the romantic pull between the characters. I did not in this book. Both character seemed very prim, proper and detached. When she wrote that she enjoyed him helping her off his horse like the description was that and there was a sentence describing that she liked the feelings of his hands on her waist, just nothing for me to be Giddy about. and they are both so lofical.about the whole thing that I just never felt the lists attraction between them. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book so I could provide my honest opinion on it.

This is the second book I have read in this series and to be honest I find it much the same as the first one I read. There isn't much difference in the stories besides the names of the two main characters change, one sister to another and a new husband potential.
This is Madeline's story. Her and her two sisters are having their come out year and looking for husbands in the ton's "marriage mart". They make a list of what they are looking for in a husband.
Madeline is the more conventional of the sisters and she favors the more quiet life, an estate in the country, London for the season, home and family rank high on all the sister's lists.
Harry begins to court Madeline and is sure he wants her as his wife, Madeline is not convinced she wants the life of an ambitious politician's wife.
As in the other novel in this series there are plenty of proper manners and society rules to be followed. So proper and so many that I could really just scream at times. There is a lot of people pleasing done by Madeline, she is overly worried about pleasing her mother which grates on my nerves also after a while. The whole family is just a little bit too proper and perfect for me I think. I like a story and people with a little more grit to them. Kinda muddy and ruddy, not so proper, against the grain, not go along with it type.
There is a happily ever after though it does lack any steamy, hot scenes except maybe in Harry's fantasies, his wishes he dare not express to Madeline, for if she knew what he was thinking her proper self would probably faint on the spot!
I will give 3 stars, it is not a bad book, just not the greatest. And I thank Kensington Books and Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.

Oh my gosh, can't heart this story enough. It pulls all the heartstrings and has invested in this love story from the very beginning, the trouble is you do not wish it to end.

Summary:

Lady Madeline Vivers is looking for a conventional match, and Harry Sterns doesn't quite fit the bill. He's not a peer, and he's also a politician. Harry, on the other hand, falls for Madeline at once, and he has a season to convince her to set aside concerns about his career and her mother's objections to marry him.

My review:
This is a ballroom romance set during the social season. The characters take part in ton activities like rides and dances and drawing room calls, and lot of the nitty gritty when it comes to courtship is shown— dance strategizing, parental and sibling approval, how social status factors in, etc.. That being said (and bear in mind this is coming from an amateur history buff), this story is not set in a vacuum, and I appreciate that Ella Quinn took the time to do some research, particularly because the hero is political, and the heroine comes from a political family. Women's property rights are discussed. The Corn Laws are mentioned. Harry is explicitly a Radical MP.

I feel like the notion of political hostesses and upper-class women's contributions to politics is an aspect of the Regency Era that isn't explored enough. I think if more authors caught on, they could have a lot of fun with it, particularly with newer HR stories having more explicit feminist themes. That being said, was this a book where the heroine had fun with politics, per say? No, but I did appreciate that she found a worthy cause to champion (helping homeless people, especially children), and that the hero was supportive of her efforts, taking it as a sign of her being politically-minded.

The plot itself is centered around the courtship between Madeline and Harry. Madeline has a list of traits (that's vaguely referenced throughout the book) she desires in a husband. Basically, the two obstacles for her is that a) Madeline doesn't know if she wants to be the wife of an MP, and b) despite having a strong support system by way of the majority of her extended family, she still wants to please her mother by marrying a peer, which Harry is not. There's also the sideplot of Madeline helping kids off the streets. Otherwise, the book is split between a lot of low-stakes family drama (ex: her sister and her suitor that she seems to have beef with) and Madeline and Harry going on a lot of rides, trips to Gunters, and balls.

As a sidenote, it might be worth reading the books prior to this one in the series, and even the series this one is a spin-off of, because a lot of the characters consistently interact with Madeline.

The sex:
There's a lot of "oh if only she knew what KIND of exercise I wanted to do with her" kinda thoughts coming from the hero. Man's playing the long game when the only sustained contact he has with her for the majority of the book is when he helps her off her mare everyday. The sex itself is a couple pages and low-heat. I've never read Ella Quinn before, so this just might be standard for her.

Overall:
For me, this book was a nice change of pace from all fast-paced HR I've been reading of late. It was very low conflict, and family-centric. The Husband List wasn't personally for me, but I would recommend this book to fans of Julia Quinn, or even people who like Austen-esque novels of manners.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

*Note: This ARC review will be posted on my tumblr blog on May 27th, a month before the book is published.

Lady Madeline Vivers is content to have a sensible and respectable husband and a conventional life. Mr. Harry Sterns sees Madeline persuade a shopkeeper to hire a thief and falls in love with her and tries to convince her to be with him....

Love Ella Quinn's characters and plots. The characters are always interesting, funny and sassy. The plot is always fun and fast-paced. Really enjoyed it.

Thanks the publisher for the arc.

The Husband List was a very charming read, if not a bit slow goings pace wise. Both the hero and the heroine were a pleasure to read about.

Determined to tame the marriage market on their own terms and make advantageous love matches, three confident sisters draw up a list of qualities they expect their new beaus to meet. But as they are about to discover, people are hardly ever perfect - including one handsome politician whose ambition and glib smile masks a tender heart and the sincere desire to help improve the everyday lives of the average English citizen…

While her older sisters have sought out adventure, Lady Madeline Vivers is content to be the conventional one in the family. A respectable husband, spring and autumn in Town, a place in the country—these are Madeline’s very reasonable goals. And Mr. Harry Stern is not the man to help her reach them—no matter how much he causes her pulse to race. He is far too ambitious and determined to make his mark in Parliament. Yet, somehow he’s convinced that Madeline is just the helpmate he needs . . .

The moment Harry witnesses Madeline gently convincing a shopkeeper to hire the child who is stealing from him, he’s intrigued. If only she realized how much good they could do together, aiding their fellow countrymen and women. And the way her color deepens at his touch tells him she too feels their intense attraction. In fact, Harry has never felt so powerful an attraction either. What better reasons to use all his gifts of persuasion to convince her she belongs by his side—and in his arms . . .

This is a typical Ella Quinn novel. A neat description of a life in which all dealings and encounters were subject to etiquette rules. The book explores Harry’s search for a wife, and he has set his eyes on Madeline. I missed a bit of pace and chemistry between Madeline and Harry. But if you like Ella Quinn’s style of writing this is the book for you.
I received and reviewed an advanced copy of this book and I am grateful for this opportunity. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

this was a great sequel in the Worthington Brides series, it had what I was looking for from the Marriage List and improved upon it. It had a great writing style from Ella Quinn, it worked well in the historical novel and had great characters. It left me excited to read more in this series and from Ella Quinn.

"She caught a glimpse of Lord Montagu being led by Lady Markham to a young lady. But he had not been standing or strolling with another lady at the time. Then she saw Elizabeth Harrington cast an appraising glance at Harry. “I would not be too sure about that.” “I was presented to some of the young ladies when my sister took me around, I don’t remember their names or what they even looked like.” He pulled a face. “I met a great many people that day.”

This was amazing like always when it comes to Ella Quinns romance books. Her plot is always good and this one is no exception. I love her characters in all of her books she has such a great way with them. This needs to be on your TBR.
I just reviewed The Husband List by Ella Quinn. #TheHusbandList #NetGalley
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