Very pleasant read. We have the combination of an impulsive, but loving girl and a reclusive guy who is, of course, not interested in marriage. Georgiana's impulsiveness and curiosity get her in big trouble and it's up to Frederick to rescue her by offering a loveless marriage of convenience.

I had not read a Christine Merrill book for a while and was very pleased to see some lovely "sparkles" of clever writing. By that, I mean clever turns of a phrase, similes, etc. They really added to my enjoyment of the story.

Frederick Challenger. Was a stickler for propriety. Georgiana was looking for a way to escape her stepmother's cousin. She tried to disgrace herself. He offered to marry her. They had to find away for their marriage to work. Should they live apart. There are many twists and turns in their relationship. It was a fast read. I really enjoyed it.

Christine Merrill joins forces with three other Harlequin Historical authors to bring us a new series of four books under the title The Society of Wicked Gentlemen. The gentlemen in question are a group of friends of differing backgrounds who met at university and who now jointly own a rather scandalous and extremely popular club at which members of the ton can freely indulge their vices, whether their preference is for strong drink, high-stakes gaming, sexual peccadillos or a mixture of all three.

Mr. – formerly Major – Frederick Challenger, was, before he went to war, quite as ready as any of the club’s clientele to indulge in those very same vices. Coming from a family whose name is a byword for scandal, Fred’s way of dealing with the fact that his parents and siblings were known for their many excesses, affairs and public embarrassments was to out-debauch them all with his wild ways and scandalous behaviour. But now that’s all changed. A veteran of Waterloo, Fred discovered he preferred the organisation of military life to hedonism and he has turned his life around to become a sober, uptight and somewhat joyless businessman who now regards the sort of organised debauchery to be found at Vitium et Virtus (Vice and Virtue) as something almost mind-numbingly dull.

Georgiana Knight’s stepmother is absolutely desperate to get her step-daughter married off and out of her home, and is constantly pressuring her to accept the suit of Sir Nash Bowles, a relative of hers whom Georgiana very much dislikes. When Georgiana’s maid tells her that Bowles has a reputation worse than any rake, she decides she has to take steps to avoid marrying a lecher and comes up with a – rather silly, it has to be said – plan to expose his unsavoury activities by going to the notorious club of which he is a member, seeing what goes on for herself and then telling her father why she doesn’t want to marry him. It’s only when she finds herself in the middle of a darkened room surrounded by men eager to bid for the opportunity to deflower her that Georgiana realises her scheme might not have been such a good one after all.

When a masked but clearly furious man outbids everyone, disperses the crowd and then literally carries her out of the room, Georgiana doesn’t quite know whether to be afraid or annoyed. It’s only when he reveals his identity that she decides on annoyed; ever since Frederick Challenger refused an introduction to her one evening at Almack’s she’s had the feeling he’s forever finding fault with her.

Frederick is similarly irritated to discover the identity of his ‘purchase’. Ever since he overheard her stepmother describing him to Georgiana as eligible and rich, he has retreated behind a wall of ice and done his best to avoid her. Each time he has seen her, she is doing something outside the bounds of propriety, and given the reputation owned by his family, the last thing he needs is to be associated with a woman who can’t seem to abide by the rules of society. An association is, however, unavoidable when Sir Nash Bowles insists that he will ensure word gets around about Georgiana’s appearance at the club unless she marries him, leaving Frederick no alternative but to offer for her himself. He might not like the woman, but condemning her to a life with a pervert like Bowles is something he cannot bring himself to do.

Georgina recognises that she’s trapped between a rock and a hard place. Frederick Challenger wouldn’t have been her husband of choice, but he’s most definitely the lesser of two evils and she agrees to marry him after he makes it clear that theirs will be a marriage in name only and that they will live separate lives. When Georgiana greets this idea enthusiastically, Fred can’t help but be just a little put out – and wonders what on earth he’s doing, depriving himself of the only benefit he could gain from their union. Georgiana is lovely, vivacious and he’s strongly attracted to her, yet no matter how many times his friends tell him how lucky he is to have found such a beautiful, clever and delightful bride, and that she’s just the person to pull him out of the funk he’s been in since he returned from the Peninsula, all he sees is the potential for disaster and indiscretion.

It would be easy to see Fred simply as a stiff-necked, over-starched prig who is intent on maintaining the double standards so prevalent at the time the book is set. Because of this, it’s easy to understand why a woman like Georgiana – who has spent the last several years listening to the endless criticisms of her stepmother – would resent his attempts to dictate her behaviour and insist that she behave as a pattern-card of propriety. Yet through it all, he is somehow a sympathetic character, especially when his family circumstances are taken into account. He’s the only responsible adult in his family and desperately wants to make sure that his younger siblings don’t fall into the same patterns of behaviour as their elders. Because of this, he imposes a higher standard upon himself – and by extension, his wife – and has encased himself in a prison of his own making and become a victim of his own inflexibility.

So often in this sort of story – spirited heroine meets starchy hero – the heroine is childish and deliberately contrary, getting herself into stupid scrapes because she ignores good advice and is generally a pain in the arse. That isn’t the case here, and I really appreciated Ms. Merrill’s presentation of Georgiana as thoroughly likeable and not at all TSTL. She does make mistakes, but they are either the result of ignorance (such as when she goes shopping with Fred’s sister-in-law without knowing he wouldn’t have wanted it) or because of a situation created as a result of her stepmother’s dislike of her. Much of the time, Fred and Georgiana’s battle of wits is lively and amusing and the attraction between them is strong and well-developed so that by the time they finally hit the sheets, the sexual tension is so thick it could be cut with a knife. The addition of the physical dimension to their married life quickly dissipates a lot of the strain that has existed between them and they finally start to develop a better understanding of each other.

I enjoyed the book, although a couple of flaws have affected my final grade. Firstly, Fred’s unbending attitude towards Georgiana goes on for perhaps a bit too long, and it starts to seem that every time they reach a kind of understanding, something happens to push them back to square one. After a while this got frustrating and ultimately it leads to the second flaw in that the story is somewhat unbalanced. The final chapters and ending are very rushed, and I can’t help wishing that the author had spent more time on the resolution to the couple’s difficulties and their ILY moments, and less on setting up the conflict, which is very well established by the half way point and didn’t need to be hammered home to quite such an extent.

With those reservations expressed, however, A Convenient Bride for the Soldier is entertaining and the two central characters are engaging and well-written. I’m happy to give it a qualified recommendation.

Grade - B/4 stars

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the opportunity to read A Convenient Bride for the Soldier. This is the first book I have read by Ms. Merrill, and I enjoyed the story. It did take me time to warm up to the characters, but the plot kept me engaged until I grew to like them. I was very glad they found their happy ending.

The pacing is nice and steady, and I enjoyed the secondary characters a great deal. I will definitely look for other books in the series. The romance between Georgianna and Frederick was very satisfying. If you enjoy a story with an intriguing plot and engaging characters, then you will enjoy A Convenient Bride for the Soldier. Happy reading!

Georgiana is in a difficult position. Her step-mother is pushing her to marry one of her family members, and he is repulsive. So repulsive that Georgiana is forced to take drastic measures. But when her plan goes awry (mostly due to her naivete) she's forced into an arrangement she hadn't even considered and with Mr. Challanger, the owner of a disreputable club.

There was a lot to like about this novel. The story is simple, which allows for the characters to be a little more intricate. I really liked how they fit together. Georgiana and her spunk and Frederick and his perpetual feeling of being lost. They really work well together.

I had hoped, though, that the repulsive cousin, or her step-mother might prove more challenging, but that seemed to absent from the book. There were issues between the married couple instead, but few external issues, which I was a little disappointed with.

It's a good solid read, though; perfect for a light read.

MY RATING: 4/5 STARS

An Arc was provided in exchange for an honest review.

It's been a long time since I read a historical romance novel but when I A Convenient Bride for a Solider was up for request, I knew I would regret it if I didn't at least try to get back into the wonderful genre. I'm a mood reader so if I'm not in the mood, I lose focus very easily and I feel like I'm forcing myself to read the particular novel.

However, I found myself easily getting into this story and following Fred and Georgiana's love-hate romance. Fred is an uptight solider that has no time for rambunctious girls who don't care about their reputations. Georgiana is a fiery spirit, feeling oppressed for the majority of her life, and seeks excitement without scrutiny from the public eye. So when Fred saves Georgiana from being married off to scum, they both agree to marry and live separate lives.



Of course, it doesn't go as easily planned. Through time, Christine Merrill allows readers to see Fred and George slowly fall for each other through daily interactions. They go riding together, they eat breakfast together, they do everything a married couple would do. Except for the one thing that makes their marriage legal. Sex. And while the heat and tension between them was sometimes unbearable, I enjoyed having a little innocent romance until more than 75% in when they finally did the deed.



I also really liked George and Fred as characters. We saw the hardships both suffered in their past that made them who they are and we also saw the different complexities of them as well. For example, Fred has double standards. He goes to the club he runs that is filled with courtesans but doesn't allow George to go because he doesn't want scandal. Firstly, couples are known to go to the club together so it's hardly a scandal if she goes. Secondly, he didn't want her to go because he was scared she would not be loyal in their relationship but he expected George to trust him that he wouldn't do anything that would break their promise to each other.



The reason why this book was not a perfect 5/5 was because the ending. I was shocked when I realized I was on the last page and there was nothing left to it. It was pretty unsatisfying and made me disappointed.

MY RECOMMENDATION:

Regardless of the ending, the book was a solid read but don't expect the world. Just enjoy George and Fred as characters that are both in love with each other but are afraid to admit it to themselves and to each other.

Another buy buy buy buy buy book from this fantastic author! At first I thought oh no this one will not live up to her prior writings, I was so wrong! With twists and turns and surprises through out the story I was caught! I love her way of writing and her characters are strong and realistic. Her romances are given with heart and warmth as well as passion and life. Through out the entire story you are captivated by the way she is writing the story to life inside your imagination. Over and over again she just totally captivates! I was given this book in return for an honest review. Anna Swedenmom

I really liked this book, and read it very quickly. It develops the friendship and then love between hero and heroine slowly, and shows real character growth. It’s also full of great historical expressions - and funny.
However, I practically groaned when A Convenient Bride for the Soldier came up for review and I read the blurb. The “virginity auction” is likely THE most ridiculous of all historical romance tropes. On the other hand, I trust the Harlequin Historical line to almost always to deliver a great read, and the author’s name was familiar to me, so I dived in.
The heroine of this one is naïve in some ways, and far more worldly than she is given credit for in others. Young - nineteen - she is frustrated with her innocence (not her virginity; her ignorance of so many things in the world). And it is not helped by everyone treating her like a child and a bother to be handed off to someone else.
I loved that she was age-appropriate, and also liked her because no matter how much everyone, especially the hero at first, tried to “tame” her out of her personality, she was determined to cling to it.
The hero was interesting because he was sometimes hard to like. His life has shaped him into a very rigid, rule-following man (despite the club he runs), and he historically-accurately expects the wife he never wanted to fall into line.
However he has a strong moral code and sometimes finds himself slipping. Even though he is older than the heroine it is he who has to grow the most.
It was also great that the author resisted the temptation to tie up either characters’ family situation in too many bows.
There was so much fun in amongst all of this. It wasn’t slapstick, but it was funny. I laughed at a few points in this (the bird!), usually at the dry, offhand comments.
I also loved the language, and by that I mean that the author peppered her book with archaic terms without making it impossible to understand. Even though I knew otherwise, I went back to check because the prose (apart from a couple of teeny slip-ups) read as if it was written by a Brit.
Despite the promises of the blurb, this is not a book filled with sex; as I said, the relationship takes LOTS of time to develop. However, hero and heroine are on the page together almost the entire book, so it’s not like there’s a lack of romance. In fact, I don’t always love it when the two are in most scenes together, and yet I enjoyed both of them so much I really liked it here.
This was one of the review books I’m going to buy my own copy of, so I guess that’s a strong endorsement.