A short historical romance.

Katherine faced with the prospect of being left with nothing following the death of her father finds herself in a spiral of grief and making bad choices. Alexander North - Lord Huntington comes to her rescue and finds himself falling for her. He offers her a marriage of convenience which quickly becomes an inconvenience for him as his feelings develop.

A nice story but left me wanting more.

Thanks to #NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

A cute novella full of unspoken feelings and misunderstandings. I thought the prose was decent. I would read another by this author

Pleasant regency romance. Katherine, alone after her father's death. Alexander, who has admired her from afar, rescues her from an attack. Villain and mystery needed more suspects and development. Enjoyed characters. Good, quick read. Would like to read other works by this time author.
Voluntarily read ARC, thru Netgalley and publisher, for honest review

In Name Only is a standalone novella by Meredith Lamonica.

When Katherine finds herself absolutely unprovided for after her father's death she is devastated. He didn't leave a will so everything he had, home, money etc were going to a distant relative. Although that relative offers her marriage, a more odious man she couldn't hope to be around, let alone marry so Katherine starts to make plans to go to Greece to live with her aunt. While she is trying to find out when the next ship is leaving from London she is attacked. Thankfully she is rescued and her rescuer takes her to his home to recover.

Alexander knows Katherine, but more importantly, he knew her father, they fought together in the war. He may be known as a rake but he is also a gentleman and he knows he must help Katherine. He didn't realise at the time that they could both help each other. The more thought he gave to it the more he realised that he could be free of all the marriage-minded mothers trying to get him to marry their daughters, at the same time as providing protection for Katherine if they married! The perfect marriage of convenience.

The problem is that during their time together they both started having genuine feelings for each other, and both couldn't believe that the other person could feel the same. Could they stay married if they believe their marriage was only a one-sided love affair? Emotions and truths may be forced to a head when the truth about Katharine's father's will comes to light and she finds herself in danger of losing her life!

For such a short story this really had a lot of content. The pace was fast, at times maybe a little too fast, but it had just the right amount of romance, passion, intrigue and excitement. One thing didn't sit right for me though, and that was how there was no mention of concern from Katharine about marrying when she was in mourning for her father. I know she had to marry, but I am sure she would have questioned what the 'ton' would think and say. Other than that though, I have no complaints. I enjoyed the story and if you like a quick read you will enjoy it too.

Katherine’s father had died. She had been proud of him as he had dedicated his life to king and his country. But today she wasn’t proud, why did her father have to be a soldier? Didn’t he know she would always need him? At the graveside Katherine felt the visitors should not be there-she hated them. During the seasons the women shunned Katherine and made snide remarks about her and the men never truly interested in her beyond her pretty face, as Martha- her motherly companion for five years- once said. Katherine wanted all the visitors to leave so she could mourn the loss of her father. Katherine was the only surviving member of the Andrews family which meant the Andrews home and fortune would go to her cousin James who offered to marry Katherine but he was a butthead. Katherine now knew she was truly alone. Lord Huntington/Alexander came up to Katherine and told her how sorry he was for her loss and let her know she had fought with her father . It meant so much . Then Alexander was out and saw a wretched filthy man with a woman pinned against the wall. Alexander told the wretched man to let her go when the man realized he could be hurt he scurried away like the rat he was. Just before the woman passed out Alexander realized the woman was Katherine. When Alexander brushed his finger against the base of her neck Katherine felt a bolt of energy go through her. Alexander got a short note from Mary- Katherine’s maid and she said Katherine had been drinking her father’s brandy and Mary was scared for Katherine. Alexander went to Katherine’s house and calmed her down then he said he would take care of her. After Katherine fell asleep he took her to her room and then left saying he would check on her the next day. Everyone was trying to marry Alexander off or marry him. The next day Alexander goes to check on Katherine and then proposes to her and he told her his reasoning for marrying her and Katherine agrees but it had to look as though they married for love. Alexander and Katherine were married in five days. Alexander wanted something strong to drink to dull his senses -what had he been thinking in taking such a beautiful and charming wife and promising never to touch her. Alexander needed to find a new mistress.
This was a well written romantic story that I really liked. I liked Alexander and Katherine together and usually how they interacted with each other. Although this was fairly predictable read I did really enjoy it. I liked how the relationship between Katherine and Alexander grew. Even though they were married Alexander waited until Katherine was sure she wanted to before they had sex. Also I loved how protective Alexander was of Katherine. I did also love when Alexander cried out in a nightmare Katherine went to his room to comfort him. This was a nice, easy, romantic read. I read this in one setting. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend. I do wish I could have rated this 4.5.

Cute, short story. Very light read.
I liked the hero very much, he was a formed man-ho before, but since the heroine was in trouble he was just sooo into her.
I liked the heroine very much, she was strong for this regency times... She didnt seek for money-husband.
Some OW drama
No cheating.

A wonderful short story. If you are after a historical romance with a bit of punch then this book would be for you, my only frustration was that it was too short! There were plenty of avenues in the story that could have been extended, which in turn could of added more substance to the whole plot. I look forward to seeing what Meredith will produce next, just more content, content, content please!

An interesting story, Katherine Andrews is the daughter of Captain Andrews, who fought for crown and country. He did not leave a will and her cousin James Adams was moving in and unless she wanted to marry him, she had to find somewhere to stay. Lord Alexander North, Marquess of Huntington, had served with her father and respected him. He wanted to help.
This novella length, even though I didn't think it could cover this story well, but it did. The characters were very fleshed out and seemed kind, and loving. The plot is a little twisted but it is still well written, even paced, and moves smoothly. I loved when her Aunt Rose showed up and the love that went between Katherine and her aunt was eye-opening. The author did an amazing job and can hardly wait for her next book.

This started out with a lot of promise. Katherine and Alexander develop an unlikely friendship which develops into a marriage contract that suits them both. It is set in the regency period and I struggled with the likelihood of it happening in reality. A good, quick read.

A well thought out and well composed historical romance with two strong leading characters. I enjoyed the interaction between them and others. I would read other offerings by this author.

I have rated this book at 4 stars.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased opinion.

I received this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book was good but I felt like It was missing the world build up for on the cousin. It was a pretty fast read. It did have a cute romance plot. It has several things going for it. It had a form of mystery plot as well.

I think this was the first book by this author.

This is a sweet, romantic story. Alexander is a reformed rake who wants to end the constant pursuit of women trying to catch him. Katherine is a sweet, fiery woman who is now penniless thanks to her father dying without a will. Her bad idea solution to that is to get drunk, his solution is to marry her. Love was not supposed to be part of the bargain, freedom was. They soon realize that they have feelings for one another, unfortunately it's not a relationship that's without drama or sabotage. I love this couple, they are so easily likable and romantic.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. This is my honest and voluntary opinion of it.

Eww. No one wants to marry their cousin.

I like Hudson. How does he get around so quickly.

I don't know what she was expecting, going to the docks alone.

She is a funny drunk, if a bit melodramatic.

That was a wonderful set-down.

To think, one minute, she is ready to defend her husband, the next she just assumes he's cheating.

Holy hormones!

IN NAME ONLY by Meredith Lamonica, is a new author to be and a quick read. An interesting cozy Regency Romance. Steady paced, however, the characters, to me, lacked development, the premise of the story was interesting but it felt a bit rushed at times. It is a story of a marriage of convenience, has a bit of mystery, danger, some suspense, sizzling romance and a HEA. An entertaining Regency read. I would read more from this author in the future.

❤️❤️❤️
💋
A pretty quick read .
It’s fun and romantic, and leaves you with a good feeling .
There are parts where I felt it could have been fleshed out more , as in ,we could have seen more of the cousin bent on causing problems .
I got no sense of drama or threat, almost as if it were mentioned in passing .
The rest I can say was great , it was a sweet relationship between the two main characters and loved her aunt .
I received an advanced copy of this book and chose to submit a review

I was interested in the premise for the book. However, I was disappointed with the lack of character development. The main characters, Katherine and Alexander, were likable people, for the most part. There was a villain that remained behind the scenes for the majority of the book. I wanted more information about that character. The story moved at a fairly acceptable pace, keeping my interest for the majority of the book. The ending was predictable but satisfying.

The book is in desperate need of editing. There were numerous grammatical errors and words that ran together. I subtracted a star for the errors.

Katherine is the daughter of a military man who apparently is wealthy. She is invited to ton balls and events but isn't liked and has no friends other than her maid. Her father has just died but left no will so everything is left to an odious male relative and Katherine penniless. She meets Alexander, an acquaintance, at her father's funeral and learns that he was in the military with her father. Alexander is a handsome, rich aristocrat, who suffers from PTSD and who doesn't seem to do much other than go to White's and ballrooms. He's had it with scheming mothers looking for a husband for their daughters. A marriage of convenience is just that - convenient for both of them (if they forget that it's for life!).

There is no depth to the characters, secondary characters (Herrick/Hudson, Carolyn/Caroline) are confusing, time and place are vaguely written. This is a short book which might have been more successful if it covered less (a villain, a scheming woman) and concentrated more on the main characters (why did they fall in love with each other, who were they).

This is my first book By Meredith ... It was a cozy Regency Romance ... there was a bit of action, mystery , romance , sizzling chemistry ... Both the characters of Katherine & Alexander adorable..

The pace was fast ...wat i liked about the book was it was not much descriptive ...to the point ... A very comfortable read not boring at all though the story was predictable...

I would recommend it ...try it ...a nice , sweet cozy Regency Romance ...

This book had an interesting story. It has room for a bit more character development. The storyline was intriguing and has the potential to be a very good book.

Katherine and Alexander, what a great couple. Katherine's father died.and it appears that he left her nothing in his will. She is all alone with no one to care for her.. Alexander is a rake who has no intention of getting married. She needs someone as her cousin will inherit everything. Alexander needs a wife to keep all the young women from the ton trapping him into a marriage he doesn't want.. Katherine 's fiery nature attracts Alexander. Sparks fly. I really enjoyed reading this book.and will read more by this author. I received this book from Net Galley for an honest review.