I absolutely adore everything Harlequin Manga has put out recently and Miss Winthorpe's Elopement was no different. These mangas take no time at all to read and I highly recommend them.

I just can't seem to get enough of the romance mangas. Love them. Love the artwork and love that they are adapted from some truly excellent stories. This one is no exception. Beautiful. Romantic. Captivating. And pardon the similar reviews for all the books. I'm catching up and have loved all of them.

Meet Lady Penelope , our heroine who loves reading books. She only needs her books in her life but her brother thinks differently. It's time for her to marry somebody! Drives from her brother's will, our Lady decided to marry Duke Adam Felkirk who has fallen and having a lot of debts. Both of them decided to marry for the convenience and runaway to Gretna Green for getting married.

As time goes by, the newly weds starts to get attracted to one and another. Well, it is pretty cute tho as they still try to resist from that attraction. Ah, this is a nice story which is illustrated beautifully in the form of manga. Defo something ones have to read.

Copy provided by Harlequin/SB Creative in exchange for an honest review.

Review excerpted from my blog post over at FanSciHist (https://fanscihist.wordpress.com/2019/03/04/miss-winthorpes-elopement-by-riho-sachimi-and-christine-merrill/)

My Rating: 4 stars

Library recommendation: Recommended for public library Romance collections.

Warning: Hereafter, you chance spoilers. I will try never to reveal major plot points, but to review any book, you must reveal some parts of the story.


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Number of titles I have read by this author: 1 (I have read both the manga and the original novel)

Love story speed: Slow burn

Relationship dynamics: The Destitute Duke (H) / The Bluestocking Spinster (h)

Sexual content: None. Kissing only.

Triggers: None.

Grammar/Editing: There are some typos and factual errors.

Review: The pacing in this manga is good and, although the manga is very condensed from the original 288 page novel, creative license was taken in several places to bring the story back together into a cohesive whole that echoes the original. It seems as if it would be an entry-level romance for teens. The historical context is reasonably done, although I couldn’t pinpoint whether it was late-Regency or early Victorian, based on the style of dress.

Because I have read the original, I feel like I should make one further comment about the adaptation: This manga is quite a sanitized version of the book, so don’t pick up the book if you aren’t ready for explicit sexual content.

Penelope is a rational bluestocking woman who makes a plan and follows through with it. Adam is very similar in many respects, although he is a recovering rake. Their relationship in the manga version is very cute and develops quite sweetly over time. It was this development that encouraged me to buy the original novel and read it. The supporting characters were quite engaging, particularly Jem, whose inner thoughts certainly come to the fore.

Gretna Green Version: It’s short. It’s sweet. Read it.



Full disclosure: I received a free advance review copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A bookworm from a good family despairs when her brother tries to force her away from her only love: her library. She therefore decides to use her dowry to buy herself a husband who won't interfere with her project to translate Homer's Odissey anew. But what if her convenient husband is a handsome duke who she just happens to fall in love with despite her best intentions? An excellent plotline for a masterful art combined in an excellent manga romance.

I've seen that Harlequin was offering manga versions of older titles but this is the first I've read. It was very interesting. This particular story has a spinster heiress whose brother is threatening to cut her off from reading (horrors!). So she decides to enter a marriage of convenience. And it's convenient that the man that she knocks down with her carriage lives to tell the tale. The two enter into marriage but it takes some time for them to find their paces.
This was definitely an interesting way to read this book but I feel like a lot of the story got left out in trying to display it through pictures instead of story.

This book came out February 1
Three stars
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley

Lady Penelope adores reading books. She doesn't need anything else in her life except for her books, but her brother thinks it is high time she got married and he forbids her to read any more books in the house. (the toad!)

Lady P is supposed to attend parties, balls and picnics but instead of doing that she runs away to find a husband so she can get married and get back to her books. And she finds one!

Duke Adam Felkirk is distraught and troubled when he learns that his shipping business venture has failed and that the ship has sunk. He believes the only thing left for him to do is to commit suicide so that his debtors and servants can be paid and so he steps into an oncoming horse carriage and ends up married to Lady P in Gretna Green.

As the newly weds work out their arrangement Adam comes to realise that Penny is interesting, wise and hard working and despite the rude and sceptical response from high society, he really likes her. It is a like that will eventually turn into love but as the responsibilities and life of high society begin to intrude will Lady P be able to adjust to this new life even if she is entranced by Adam's library. Will she ever be entranced by Adam?

This was great with lovely drawings. It was a really entertaining story with characters that held my attention. I liked Lady P who loved her books more than the thought of marriage, and Adam was also a very caring Duke, wanting to do the right thing by his tenants and business partners. And then there were the naysayers who tried to put Lady P down but she manages to best them all and show them that she may not have beauty but she definitely has intelligence and love and of course it is her love that wins the day.

This is a really lovely story. It is one of those manga romances that is just so good I have to read the print version of the story. Definitely a good story to get into and highly enjoyable!

Copy provided by Harlequin/SB Creative in exchange for an unbiased review.

It's interesting how different a manga adaptation can be from a book. In Christine Merrill's original version, we have a much kinkier, more amusing, and much darker Regency Romance. Mangaka Sachimi, however, makes everything lighter and fluffier, a carefree and sanitized version of a more robust novel.

Story: As long as she lives under his roof, heiress Penny Winthorpe's brother has forbidden her from reading her beloved books. In desperation, she sets out to find a husband willing to leave her to her studies in exchange for part of her inheritance. Adam Selkirk, meanwhile, has lost everything in a desperate gamble and decided to end his life so his brother can take over the title of Duke and hopefully do a better job. When they meet after a carriage accident, Adam and Penny come to an understanding - the commoner heiress will get a title and privacy while Adam will get his debts paid off. But Adam has a dark past and Penny her own secrets standing in the way to happiness.

The story is a redemptive arc: Adam regretting his past philandering and Penny hiding from a society that shunned her for being plain and intelligent. The story should be a slow burn as they come to know each other better but Sachimi keeps the book light and fluffy. No sex, just a chaste kiss, and a Duke who seems both clueless and hapless at the same time. The alpha male with a heart of gold is somehow transformed from book into a brainless manga handsome guy who is led along by our heroine. As such, it was a bit hard to really like him or get into him - we never got a chance to see what Penny might have seen in him.

The illustration work is, as always, quite lovely. It's the older, 1970s "Rose of Versailles" type of drawing that, while incredibly historically inaccurate and muddled, is still lovely to look at (though I like the female character designs much more than the male). In all, a lot of the heart (and heat) of the original book are gone and so characters appear much more vapid and honestly kind of silly. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

This was lots of fun. Penelope is an heiress who wants nothing more than to be left alone to read all the books she wants but then her brother forbids her from buying anymore books until she gets married! Adam Felkirk is in debt after an unfortunate investment got ship wrecked-literally! So what can they do except have a marriage of convenience? Adam gets to pay off his debts with Penelope's money and Penelope gets the freedom she desires.
The story itself was cute and kind of silly at times. The art had personality and kept the tone light. I'm not sure how well it reflected the original novel but it was an enjoyable, quick read.

Penelope needs a husband - so she will find herself one! Yes in the XIX century (I think so) - a girl goes out and is determined to take ANY man as her husband. This thing seems like a total imagination and not believeable at all - I had hopes for ths title to show things diffrently but it seemed artifical and rushed till the very end.
Not great Harlequin Manga is this one :(