I have always wanted to read a book by Jenna Jaxon and thanks to NetGalley I was able to read an ARC of What a Widow Wants from her Widows’ Club series.
I enjoyed reading about the women of the Widows’ Club. These women were great friends and a support system for each other as they navigate this new chapter in their lives. I read a lot of historical fiction/historical romance and prefer a widow as the main character since widows were granted more freedoms in society than unmarried young women. Fanny has just been released from her year-long mourning period of her cheating husband and is ready to start enjoying the freedoms that come with a being a widow.
Matthew, Lord Lathbury, has been in love with Fanny for years and is in a rush to marry her now that she is out in society once again. I did tire of her waffling between Matthew and her freedom. The author explained Fanny’s rationale for her indecisiveness, but I was just anxious for her to begin her HEA with Matthew, who is written as a great romantic hero.
This book has romance and drama. There is an adventurous ending with peril and suspense.
I would recommend this book and will be reading the entire series.
Thanks again NetGalley for the ARC

Yeah I so did not like this book, and regretted giving my time to it. So we meet Fanny and I get that her husband was unfaithful to her so now that she is free she wants to go all wild and is not ready to make another commitment when she feels that she has to get to know Mathew for real, since she apparently did not take as much time with her husband and he ended up being horrid. That is the beginning of this book not making sense. She apparently knew Matthew for along a time, he was one of her suitors when she had her coming out season. And even though she did like him she went after the man she married, and when she found out her husband was cheating on her she did the same and for a good while. The stopped their affair seven years ago when Mathew wanted her to leave her husband and she didn't want that. So now her husband is dead and she passed her mourning period and wants to sleep with others, Matthew has proposed repeatedly and while she may be attracted to him she is thinking of it but wants time to as I mentioned go wild. Come to find out her daughter is also Matthew's and she kept it from him..Hated her and story.

Fannie, Lady Stephen Tarkington and Matthew, Lord Lathbury have been in love for ten years. She chose someone else over him when she was young and foolish. She meets him again at a masquerade and renews her acquaintance. He asks her to marry him, but she has just come out of mourning her husband and has no desire to marry at this time. The love affair continues where it left off. When she keeps putting him off, he starts paying attention to someone else. She knows she has to make a choice or lose him forever. She agrees to marry Matthew if her daughter likes him. He visits her in London and everything is ready for the wedding. When a surprising revelation comes to light, the wedding is off. Someone wants Fannie dead. Can Fanny and Matthew forgive each other? Will Fannie survive a deadly attack? I really liked this book but I didn't love Matthew. I wanted to smack him at times. This book is part of the series, The Widows Club which I recommend. I received this book from Net Galley and Kensington, Lyrical Books for a honest review and no compensation otherwise. The opinions expressed are my own.

Fanny, Lady Tarkington, is now a widow. She is finally free to experience life to it's fullest and start anew. Things are looking well until Fanny runs into an ex-lover, Matthew, Lord Lathbury. There is definitely still a spark there, but unfortunately Matthew wants more than Fanny can give... marriage.

Matthew has waited patiently for the woman he has loved for years. Fanny has broke his heart more than once, but he just cannot give up on her. Now that she is widowed, Matthew will use his every means of persuasion to win Fanny's hand. Does Fanny have similar feelings for him? Can he convince her to give love and marriage another try.

Author Jenna Jaxon's WIDOWS' CLUB series is sure to be a hit with historical fans. It consists of three novels to date: TO WOO A WICKED WIDOW, WEDDING THE WIDOW and WHAT A WIDOW WANTS. Each tells the story of a woman that belongs to an exclusive group of ladies that are widows and also good friends. WHAT A WIDOW WANTS is Fanny's story. Fanny made a rash decision in her previous marriage and suffered for it in more ways than one. Years later, Fanny is forced to face her past and some very real consequences. Fanny will need courage and determination to survive. It helps that the man she come to love will be by her side. Matthew, IMHO, deserved someone less flighty than Fanny. It actually made me angry how she just strung him along until she decided that she really wanted him. Kudos to Matthew for such a gentleman through it all. In the end, Fanny makes up for some of her antics. but the real hero of the story is most certainly, Matthew. I give WHAT A WIDOW WANTS a 3.5 star rating. I cannot wait to see what's in store for the next WIDOWS' CLUB member.

I really hate to put a spoiler in but this whole story is based on cheating, Matthew was the ‘other man’ for Frances ‘Franny’, for 4 months. She cheated 3 years into her mistake of a marriage when her husband repeatedly cheated on her with wives of other powerful men and that of her own childhood best friend right in their marriage bed. If I would have known about the cheating even as a revenge sort I wouldn’t have read this story. And to have a 6 year old child she sworn was her husbands and then when Matt and her daughter are together she sees the truth and still hides it from him for weeks because she was to cowardly and her fears kept the truth at bay until she had no choice then to reveal the parentage. And her fear is right when Matt is gone. Only when her sick brother in-law forces his hand on her and the by blow when Matt does something right but will he save his girls? The ending kinda rushed up fast, the early u til the middle chapters are lengthy and the last 4 or so they are quick and something’s just didn’t make sense when the times were jumping around.

I loved Matthew and his continued love for Fanny. It took me a long, long time to like Fanny. She had no substance, no ambition. She had a jerk first husband...and now decides to be an adventurous widow. I won't give away the plot but Matthew puts up with a lot from the woman he's loved forever...just to get his HEA.

I received an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review

This one didn't pull me in, not enough tension, not enough suspense, but the characters were refreshingly likable