The story was interesting, with only a few details that made no sense. Why didn't the heroine simply show the letters to the hero and let him come to his own conclusion? Why did the ex-fiancée want the hero back? Overall, an enjoyable read.

Fiona, a title-less heiress, needs money to pay off a blackmailer and proposes marriage to a poor duke to get her hands on her dowry. While Gray could use some money to fix up his estate, he is not interested in marrying Fiona and does his best to scare her off, which turns out to be difficult as she is not the prissy kind of girl.

I loved the banter between the two, especially in the beginning of the book. Also following how they fall in love with each other was awesome. It did get a touch long winded toward the end and could have done with a bit less repetitive feelings.

Sexual content: there are a couple of descriptive scenes.
POV: 3rd person
Location: London and London country side

One of my litmus tests for a romance, especially a Regency romance, is whether anything actually happens - e.g., whether there is a plot beyond the relationship. This book sets up a necessity for a quick romance, but then buries any tension with a not very compelling relationship and no focus on creating any real sense of urgency. So this gets a #meh from me.

Fiona Hartley must find a husband....fast. She's being blackmailed by someone with information on her sister Lily's birth mother that would cripple her chances in the marriage mart.
She does her research to find the best candidate for a quick marriage of convenience and settles on Lord Gray Ravenport, who is appalled by her note.
He could use the offered funds.....but after being dumped by his first fiancee after she saw the condition of his home, didn't want to go there again.
He decided to invite her to a house party at his home, as he was making the repairs to show her the shape it was in, sure she would cry off.
She didn't cry off. She fell in love with the house, Gray AND his grandmother.
Neighbors, friends, ex-fiancee, mother nature and the blackmailer attended the ball on the last night of the party, the one that was to announce her engagement.
She fled with her father leaving him to figure out what had happened.
After Gray pieces it together and takes care of the threat, the pair reunite.
Enjoyed it.
I requested a NetGalley ARC as soon as I saw Ms. Bennett's offering.

This was a fun story. I really liked Fiona and Gray. I thought the romance moved a little fast but it worked for the story. I loved Grays grandmother and sister. I am looking forward to Lily’s story next.

Cute, entertaining, humorous romance. The plot is implausible but the story is engaging and it has a happy ending.

Fiona is being blackmailed. If she doesn't pay up in two weeks, the blackmailer will leak an awful truth about her family. Fiona, not wanting to burden her family. decides to propose to Grey, and impoverished earl who is desperate to repair his crumbling estate. They both have secrets, and he hosts a house party thinking that he will foist her off on someone else, only to end up enchanted by her. Grey was a character with nuances, strengths, and flaws, which was nice to see. Fiona as well. She was somewhat naive, but what 20 year old girl at that time wasn't? But she was strong, and independent, and fierce in her loyalty to the ones she loves. The mystery of who was blackmailing Fiona really kept me guessing, but I found that I was annoyed when the truth was finally revealed. It all seemed a little coincidental to me. Overall, it was nice to watch Fiona and Grey fall for each other, and it was nice to see a story where you could see why they fell.

I absolutely adored Fiona! She came up with a plan to keep her family safe and nothing was going to stop her! Gray was never going to fall in love after the heartache he experienced and Fiona wasn't going to change that. The characters were awesome and I loved the fact that they kept secrets from each other, but eventually confided in each other before being forced to show their hand. I wasn't sure who the blackmailer was until near the end. It wasn't who I actually thought it would be and I'm glad for that. I stayed up til 130 a.m. finishing this book and it was well worth the loss of sleep! Thank you for the advance readers copy. You'll enjoy this read!

Loved this book. A regency romance with a difference. The usual feisty heroine, strong, handsome hero, but a less than usual tale of blackmail and romance. A great read for lovers of this genre.

Anna Bennett is becoming my go-to for Historical Romance.
Her style of writing works for me. It's not pompous or superfluous. It's easy to follow, and best, it's as close to accurate as I know.
I will continue to enjoy Ms. Bennett's novels.

Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me a sneak peak at this novel in exchange for my honest-to-goodness review.

I received an ARC via Netgalley by St. Martin's for an honest review.

Enjoyable. Just right amount of smut not to make it gratuitous. A blackmail plot that forces the story just enough but not that outlandish as other novels. I am looking forward to the rest of the series and the debutante's diaries.

I actually liked this book from start to finish. It held my interest all the way to the end. It developed the relationship between the hero/heroine by having them have conversations instead of thinking and hiding and etc. I liked the bit of mystery, but it wasn't overdone and did not take over. The author chose to highlight the relationship between the two instead of seemingly throwing everything in but the kitchen sink, as it seems even the best known authors are doing these days. I would recommend this book to anyone wholeheartedly. I am even looking forward, hopefully, to reading the sister's story.
I received this book free from netgalley and this is my own opinion and i give it freely.
Thanks to the author for developing a relationship between the hero/heroine and thanks to netgalley for making it available.