This Earl of Mine is one hell of a romantic adventure. A strong female character who possesses more money than her partner, plus intelligence and sass, is a great hook. Twists I didn't expect happened. Especially, where the main male hero was concerned. Hot, intense, and risky, this story had my full-attention! Kate Bateman created a sensual, fun, and witty tale. I loved how the male counterpart supported his leading female. Not too many men behave the way the new Earl did. A young rich woman gambles a huge risk when marrying what she believed was a crook. But desperate measures call for desperate risks. Ever since their vows of marriage, neither one could stop thinking about the other. Their lives were forever changed. I enjoyed following them. Every page was risky, scandalous, and exciting.

A promising debut for Kate Bateman. When a money hungry cousin seeks to marry shipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed, what else is a girl to do but marry in haste to man set to die in Newgate? Luckily for her that man is second son to an Earldom, Benedict Wylde, and is only in Newgate as a ruse in his job as a spy.
Although one has to abandon all sense reality, the adventures of Georgiana and Benedict were quite enjoyable. They were a free-spirited perfect match.
I look forward to more from this author.

Georgiana Caversteed, aka Georgie, needed an urgent husband to get rid of a cousin very interested in her fortune. For this she had a diabolical plan: she would marry a condemned man.
Arrangements were made - in secret, of course - but upon arriving at Newgate Prison to meet her fiance, she was surprised by the news that he had been hanged in advance.
The prison guard not to lose the money earned, got another fiance, who would not know the hangman's gallows, but would be sent to another country.
No time to waste, she accepts, even though she finds her future husband too handsome (even without a bath).
The money for her husband would be sent to a gambling house, probably to pay off one of his many debts.

Problem solved - even if her cousin had not believed that marriage in a hurry, and would trying to figure out more - she could go back to running the business left by her father for her, her mother and younger sister.

Benedict was not sent to any other countries. In fact, he was in Newgate in disguise to try to figure out some plans about Napoleon. Unfortunately, his best bait had died of fever, not to mention what Ben needed to know.
When chosen to marry the millionaire beauty, he could not reveal his disguise. And his signature on the marriage certificate, though not his full name, had enough to make their marriage legal.

Along with his two friends: Alexander Haeland, second son of a duke; and Sebastian Wolff, an illegitimate son of a duke, Benedict William Henry Wylde was the second son of the late Earl of Morcott, just opened the Tricorn Club, the gambling hell. Unlike his friends, Ben had no fortune of his own, so these spying cases he did for Chief Magistrate of Bow Street paid him a good reward.

The new Earl of Morcott, John, Ben's brother, had inherited a failed title.

Weeks later, Ben and his friends attend the same ball Georgie is at. Officially introduced to her, they now needed to find a way to separate their lives without a scandal (which was impossible). The idea then would be that he woo her and after a while they would get married (again!)

But Ben still had a job to finish, and Georgie offers to help him, a plan that puts them both in trouble.
While fleeing from enemies of the Crown, Georgie and Ben, secretly married, are overwhelmed with passion.
Club bets start on how soon an heir would be born, or whether it would be a boy or a girl, but their hearts were already hopelessly captured.
5 stars

Shipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed is finished with men!
Men who are more interested in her purse rather than her person. It’s bad enough having to put up with the ton’s lecherous fortune hunters. Although, what’s worse, is her cruel grasping cousin determined to force Georgie into marriage. Now, if she could find a way to be . . . widowed? Georgie hatches a madcap scheme to wed a condemned criminal before he’s set to be executed. Now to find an eligible bachelor in prison to marry – he gets executed – she’ll be free! What could possibly go wrong?
Benedict William Henry Wylde, wayward second son of the late Earl of Morcott and well-known rake, is in Newgate prison undercover, working for Bow Street. Georgie didn’t realize who he is when she marries him—and she most certainly never expects to bump into her very-much-alive, very handsome, husband of convenience at a society gathering weeks later. Soon Wylde finds himself courting his own wife, hoping to win her heart since he already has her hand. But how can this seductive rogue convince brazen, beautiful Georgie that he wants to be together…until actual death do they part?
*** Oh yes, this is a story plot that has been done before, but it is such a fun read when the author can give superb character building to the protagonists and their associates. Georgiana was not an aristocrat per se, but she was wealthy beyond belief and no fool. Georgie had worked beside her dad and learned the shipping business from the ground up. Extremely astute she came prepared to wed the condemned man with a no-fault paper stating that he would have absolutely no claim to her fortune before or after his execution. Unfortunately for her Wylde was only there for a short time working undercover to gather information.
The entire story then turned into a very good read for me with antics and sharp dialogs between the two protagonists. Georgie did her best to keep the handsome and disarming Lord at a distance when physical nearness left her with butterflies in her stomach and ready to swoon! Toss in Georgie’s slimy cousin who was ready to try anything to get his hands on her money, and you have some excitement that added to the adventure. However, her cousin never knew he was up against a very determined husband who wasn’t about to let anyone hurt the love of his life!
Marilyn Rondeau

What do you do when you have a large inheritance coming your way, a cousin trying to put you into a compromising position so you have to marry him and no male in your family to protect you? You marry a condemned man in Newgate, of course. It will be so easy, marry and become a widow within a week and move on to run your deceased fathers shipping business. Totally easy. Well except Georgie married someone pretending to be an inmate and then her plan goes up in smoke when she realizes he is the second son of an impoverished house.

Benedict Wylde’s father gambled away their entire fortune and left the estate penniless and in debt when he died. Back from the war, Ben is helping his brother with any money he can earn to keep it all afloat. As such he was undercover in Newgate, trying to unravel a plot to free Napoleon from his island prison. He was not expecting an heiress to come in and marry him. She is pretty though, smart and possibly a little wild. Benedict can’t wait until she finds out that she not only did she not marry a condemned man but one who is part owner in a gentleman’s club on Bow Street.

Ben and Georgie suit each other nicely. He sees the woman she is and how she was made to run the shipping company her father started. She’s only ever been pursued for her money, but as he gets to know Georgie, he decides this marriage of convenience might not be such a bad thing, he is definitely attracted to her. Now he just has to convince her that he wants her and not her fortune. To lessen the scandal, the couple agree that Ben will court Georgiana in public for the season, with a proposal at the end, then they will go their separate ways. Well, this is a romance, so we all know that really isn’t going to happen but it is fun to play along for a while.

Both main characters are extremely likable and have a nice banter about them. The side plot of trying to find the Napoleon sympathizers and a stolen submarine was a little bit fun and added some side notes to the story. I did feel a little like I got a history lesson on shipping while reading this and some of the details felt thrown in instead of weaved into the story, but that is a small complaint.

Overall this was a fun marriage of strangers to lover’s tale and a nice set up for a few more books involving the trio of war heroes turned gentleman club owners. It has some nice dialogue and moments, I would have liked a smidge more humor and possibly less attempted sexual assault, there are other ways to build tension. The romance aspect was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it.

“Juliet thinks Mr Pettigrew is extremely talented.”
He sent her a droll glance. “Yes, but I bet Juliet also thinks rainbows are made from magical fairy dust and that dragons live in Scotland,” he muttered.
“Who’s to say she’s not right about the dragons?”
“Basic common sense? Complete lack of empirical evidence? Zero credible sightings for hundreds of years?”

“It’s rather ironic, don’t you think, that someone is planning to rescue the French emperor with a British-made submarine designed by an American?”

The setup was shaky in this book, and it felt unnecessary, which was a disappointment. Only because the plot is so original, and I had high expectations going into this book. However, I enjoyed both of these characters immensely, and I will be reading future books by Kate Bateman.

Why, oh why, am I such a sucker for secret relationships?

This Earl of Mine, while employing many of the same tried and true tropes and plot points of a historical romance, started off far different from any I've read. Our heroine, Georgie, marries a man in prison.


Now that's new. 

It set the tone for her character so perfectly, a woman determined to keep what she earned in a world where those rights often went to a husband. I immediately liked her and wanted to see what sorts of trouble she ended up in. And obviously we know, from the synopsis, that the prisoner in question is not actually a prisoner, so a secret marriage of convenience ensues. And I ate it all up.

Like I said, Georgie endeared herself to me from the beginning and I loved how independent she was without outright shunning society as it were. Too often I see "independent" heroines depicted as contradicting the system entirely which seems a bit unreasonable. And Benedict, the so-called prisoner, was just trying to do his job but now with a secret wife insisting on coming along for the ride. They had some serious chemistry and I appreciated that they were given time to have a slower courtship after the rushed wedding. 

And even though the plot read much like many other historical romances I've read, especially ones that involve Bow Street or another comparable unit, I didn't want to stop reading. I wouldn't say it's a wholly unique story but it's entertaining and the romance was hot. The unsolved mystery Georgie involves herself in added plenty of tension and it was nice to see a book where the heroine isn't turned away from helping (after which she sneaks out and gets herself in trouble so the hero can save her). I never saw Georgie and Benedict as anything but (relatively) equal partners in This Earl of Mine.

My only point of annoyance was the author tended to be a bit heavy handed with Geogie and Benedict's social standings compared to everyone else. They're constantly called out (or remark on themselves) as being different and I felt it was unnecessary because that's clear from the story. But it was a minor thing and I ultimately didn't care too much by the end of the story.

I think this might actually be my first book from Kate Bateman but I will definitely pick up the rest of this series as well as check out her other work. This Earl of Mine was a promising first book in a new series and if the plot had stood out just a bit more, it would have been a truly fantastic romance novel.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This Earl Of Mine, by Kate Bateman, is available at booksellers on 10-29-19. The first in a new series, The Bow Street Bachelors, it sets the tone for stories to come. While I enjoyed this book from start to finish, I'm only giving 3 stars. Everything but the kitchen sink was thrown into the plot, it became comical. The characters are witty, even secondary ones have bon mots. Almost everyone has a job, that's refreshing, and there are still stereotypical historical romance characters interspersed throughout the story.
What is enjoyably different is also the most unbelievable. A dominate female running a large company and none of the men balk? Georgie Caversteed is an ace at her job but everyone acts as if it's no big deal. Suitors may not like it but she's still invited to ton events. It was a long time before money overshadowed a lack of title, no matter how much money it was. Georgie is a very likeable lady, always 2 steps ahead with a plan, even if it's really out there. She's too 20th century to be in a historical story but she's just great.
Ben Wyled, former soldier & broke civilian, is believable. Ben Wylde, broke & owning a share of a club is not. He's also not an Earl until after the HEA and right before "the end". The title is a stretch. He's spying for the crown, which lots of characters do, but it's very involved, not just information. He was incarcerated in Newgate prison to ferret out members of a gang. Way too 20th century for me. I like him though, he's fun, adventurous, never boring, just ton enough to be invited out, he's single and handsome too.

I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading To Catch An Earl in June of 2020. Happy reading.

#Netgalley #KateBateman #StMartin"sPaperbacks #ThisEarlOfMine #TheBowStreetBachelors

This was a very intriguing story, Georgiana needs a husband, one who won't be alive in the next day. She's trying to escape her cousin Josiah who wants to get caught in a compromising position so they'll be forced to marry. Josiah wants Georgiana's money. Georgiana won't allow herself to become a pawn in her cousins game. She decides to marry a man in prison that will be hung the next day. Now she can be her own boss, and run her own life.
Unfortunately plans don't work out as planned. Benedict is in prison undercover for the bow street runners. He ends up being forced to marry Georgiana. Imagine her shock three weeks later to discover that the husband she thought had been sent on a prison ship to Australia was not only alive and well, but a member of the peer! How they both move forward is a joy to discover. This story had intrigue and romance all rolled into one. The ending was very satisfying and just. I'd definitely recommend this book.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to more books in this series. The characters were interesting and likable and the story itself had a bit of a unique twist. I loved that the heroine didn't fall into the normal role of a lady - she ran a business and created quite a fortune. When she acts out of desperation to protect herself, she never thought she would see the man she married at Newgate prison ever again so it's quite the surprise when he shows up across a ballroom from her.

I thought the relationship that developed between Georgiana and Benedict was realistic and there is plenty of banter to make it fun too! I'll definitely be checking out more books in this series when I can.

Miss Georgiana “Georgie” Caversteed needs a husband – NOW – her cousin Josiah has been getting more aggressive in his attempts to force her into marriage and she is worried if she doesn’t marry a man of her own choosing, Josiah will compromise her and she will be forced to marry him. Georgie is a considerable heiress, her father left her his shipping business and with the help of her man of business, Georgie has continued to build on her father’s success. She has had several offers for marriage – but all of them were in love with her money and not her, so she had decided to take matters into her own hands and will marry a condemned man and live happily ever after as a widow. But her plan hit a snag when the man she planned to marry died and the only other option is a man that is being transported. Not ideal, but it is better than marrying Josiah!

Benedict “Ben” Wylde, brother to the Earl of Morcott is in Newgate undercover – he is working for Bow Street trying to uncover a plot to try and rescue Napoleon from exile again - When the guard demands that he marry Georgiana, his first reaction is to refuse, but refusal is not an option. He thinks that they will marry and then they can easily dissolve it later. So he signs her contract stating that he will never lay claim to her fortune and they marry. When the ceremony is over he teases a kiss out of her before she leaves.

Days later, Georgie is shocked to see her “husband” in Lady Langton’s ballroom. They dance and she demands answers, he tells her to meet him at his club and they will be able to talk in private. She hears rumors and thinks that Ben tricked her, but logic takes over and she knows there is no way he planned to marry her. Ben is broke, his father bankrupt the earldom and he and his brother John are working hard to restore it. Ben was in the army and when he sold his commission, he used the money to invest in a gaming hell with his friends Lord Alexander Harland, the Duke of Southwick’s younger son and Sebastian Wolff, the Duke of Winwick’s illegitimate son. Alex and Seb don’t need the money, but they like the adventure, which is why they also do jobs for Bow Street. The Tricorn Club is beginning to take off, but as of now it isn’t making Ben rich.

When they meet, they realize that there is no easy way to end their marriage and decide to make the best of it. Since she has told people she married a sailor, “he” will have to die and Ben will court her and they will marry again. They will stay together long enough for gossip to die down and then go their own ways. It is the perfect plan! But as they say, the best laid plans…

I loved this story, it was fresh, fun and entertaining. I really loved Georgie and Ben, they have such great chemistry between them and neither is quick to believe the worst of the other. The secondary characters including his friends Alex and Seb are great additions to the story without stealing the limelight and her sister Juliet and her love Simeon are wonderful and provide comic relief. If I had any complaint it would be that Josiah got off too easy, but even that didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment. So if you are looking for a light-hearted, fun story with steamy love scenes, a decent mystery and great characters, look no further, this is that book.

This is the first book in a new series and it is a lighter style than this author’s K.C. Bateman offerings, but it is a delightful read and I am happy to recommend it.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

The way that this story opens reminded me of something I’ve always wondered about. Considering the incredible lengths that Regency heroines seem to have had to go to in order to protect themselves from predatory family members and their machinations, just how vanishingly small was the percentage of even slightly functional families among the upper classes?

I understand completely why Georgie goes to the lengths she does to keep her (OMG) cousin Josiah from compromising her so that she is forced to marry him, so that he can drain her extensive fortune to the dregs. He’s a complete wastrel, addicted to gambling, alcohol and opium – and he’s also complete slime. I can totally empathize with her desire not to marry him under any circumstances and don’t blame her a bit for the ruse she intends to enact.

I only question why there doesn’t seem to be anyone getting this bastard off her back – before he puts her on hers against her will. I’ve read this trope before, and it is infuriating. We empathize with her immediately, but as level-headed as Georgie is I can’t help but think there should be someone effective on her side.

Rant ends.

But I love Georgie as a protagonist. She is smart, she’s a successful businesswoman, she knows her own mind and skills and is both willing and able to act on her own behalf. She is not waiting for anyone to rescue her – and I’m happy that she isn’t. She neither needs nor wants someone to stand in front of her and fight her battles for her. She needs someone to stand beside her, support her in her own struggles and assist her when she decides she needs assistance.

That she finds that person in Newgate Prison is a surprise to everyone involved. Herself – and himself – included.

She goes into Newgate intending to marry a condemned prisoner who will be conveniently (for Georgie, anyway) hung the next morning. She ends up married to Ben Wylde, a covert agent of the crown masquerading as a convicted smuggler and working for Bow Street (hence the title of the series).

Ben is the brother of the impoverished Earl of Morcott. He’s also a veteran of the recently and hopefully finally completed Napoleonic Wars. Most important for the story, he’s a known rake on the fringes of the ton, those sticklers of high society. A high society that Georgie’s ambitious mother wants to ascend to, by way of Georgie’s beautiful but clumsy younger sister.

Which means that Georgie and Ben are fated to meet as soon as he bribes his way out of Newgate – not that he was in there as his real self in any case. It was all part of his current case for Bow Street. But their marriage is valid, which leaves Georgie and Ben on the horns of a rather dicey dilemma. (Horns is also punnily appropriate for Ben’s condition every time they are within sight of each other!)

Georgie needs to be married to fend off Cousin Josiah. Ben has neither the need nor the desire for a wife – whatever he feels for, or in the presence of, Georgie. Particularly as it is well known that Ben and his brother John (the Earl) are in dire need of a rather large fortune to redeem their late father’s many, many (many) gambling debts. While Georgie, who possess that large fortune from the successful shipping business that she inherited and has expanded (all by her ownsome, thankyouverymuch), is naturally wary of men who want to marry her for access to her fortune.

But they are stuck with each other. Or are they? Georgie very nearly gamed the system before in order to protect what she holds dear. Can she do it again – with Ben’s able assistance?

And can they manage to do it for keeps?

Escape Rating B+: I certainly enjoyed This Earl is Mine, and that’s because of the characters. Georgie is an absolute gem. Her independence of thought, and her willingness to act on that thought, make her a character that 21st century readers can easily identify with – and root for.

At the same time, the strictures wrapped around her life also firmly ground her in her time and place – or at least do so enough to not make her attitudes anachronistic. She knows what she’s good at, and she knows what she’s worth – and not just in the financial sense. At the same time her life is hemmed in by the restrictions placed on women of her time. She colors outside the lines but not too much and is always aware that there are lines and that she – and her family – will pay a price if she steps too far outside those lines and is caught.

She also knows what she wants in a man and a husband, and isn’t willing to settle for less. She just doesn’t believe that she can have what she wants – a man who will stand beside her and not in front of her. The way that she and Ben find out just how good they are together, while filled with plenty of heat, isn’t based solely on their explosive sexual chemistry. They become friends first – in spite of how difficult that seems. And what they share that matters the most is their love of adventure in a way that bonds them so closely that when they finally realize they love each other they are both shocked, because neither of them expected it – or the other – at all.

That Ben’s pride almost gets in the way of their happiness feels real – and that they overcome it due to her good sense and forthright nature seems right.

On my other hand, Cousin Josiah reads like a bit of a paper tiger. He’s terrible and awful but as soon as Georgie has someone effective in her corner his fate is inevitable. And that whole situation felt a bit contrived from beginning to sticky end.

I will say that this book drove me a bit crazy, because I kept having the feeling that I’d read something a lot like it before. And I’ve been looking for what that was for days now.

In the end, This Earl of Mine feels like a combination of The Duke’s Den series by Christy Carlyle, the Bareknuckle Bastards by Sarah MacLean and the Bastion Club by Stephanie Laurens – all the best parts of each, of course. It also bears a strong but slightly twisted resemblance to the Sebastian St. Cyr series by C.S. Harris. I say twisted in that last instance because the author took a character who should have been the hero of a romance and turned him into a tormented solver of mysteries for Bow Street. Ben Wylde and his friends feel like the other side of that coin, a war veteran like St. Cyr who solve crimes for Bow Street while staying on the romantic hero side of the equation.

If you like any of those series, you will also love This Earl of Mine, and vice-versa. But the Bow Street Bachelors are far from finished. The series will return with To Catch an Earl next summer, when the focus moves from Ben and Georgie to Ben’s friend and fellow agent, Alex. And I’m looking forward to the season AND definitely the book!

I’ve always loved the marriage for convenience trope and with This Earl of Mine the fact that the chosen groom happened to be a prisoner about to be hanged was an extra incentive to read this. From the first chapter, readers know that the heroine Georgiana is a young lady to be reckoned with. She’s one who refuses to stand around and do nothing to change her situation. Trapped by what society expects of her in terms of marriage, she also refuses to just give her fortune to a future husband. So deciding to marry a condemned man will fix her problems for her, getting rid of fortune hunters including her wastrel of a cousin! But things went wrong from the start, well right in many ways, the prisoner from Newgate also happens to be a peer of the realm plus not really a criminal but war veteran Benedict Wylde. And this was just the beginning of an adventure for Georgina and Ben. Fantastic, well written, with a great plot, and characters that just jumps off the pages with their depth, personality and sexual chemistry, This Earl of Mine is one romantic adventure that is guaranteed to keep you turning the pages!

This was quite a fun and good book for a series opener.! For me, there were several points that made it attractive:
- I like the idea of Bow Street Runners / second sons finding a way to make a living and being rakes at the same time
- I loved the idea of portraying heroines that are fiercely fighting for their independence in times were women were not given lots of chances for that.

I was drawn to both Georgiana and Benedict and how they worked towards trusting each other and finding adventure and love in each other. The entire idea of being already married but not really wanting to but still having to navigate that was amazing.
Kudos to a great series start and a perfect combination of romance and mystery

London, March 1816 "Desperate times called for desperate measures. She was buying herself a husband." Unfortunately it was to be a man condemned who was going to hang on the morrow and then she would be a widow. Oh yes, such a great and simple scheme! It would keep her greedy, cruel cousin Josiah away so he could not get his hands on her fortune she was about to inherit when she turned twenty five in three weeks.
Little did she know, the prisoner she married was none other than Benedict Wylde, second son of the late Earl of Morcott, a known rake and working undercover for the Bow Street Runners to get information they were looking they needed.
A simply ingenious plot with a scrumptious hero and a feisty, intelligent and beautiful heroine who is determined to manage her fortune.
But fate has a way of twisting around as her "husband" turns up in society and the two meet.. well, it really gets interesting! They are married so they scheme to have him court her and eventually "marry her.". But the journey to their happy ending is filled with a mystery, historical facts that are so interesting, a sizzling chemistry and great dialogue that had me so caught up in the story I stayed up tell almost 3 reading!! Just perfect and cannot wait for more!!!

This was my first read from Kate Bateman, and with a blurb like that, I didn’t think twice about giving her a chance. I definitely don’t regret it!

This Earl of Mine offers a unique plot, along with characters who are engaging and likable and a mystery that plays out nicely in parallel with the romance growing between Georgie and Benedict.

While not the most believable of historicals, it’s certainly up there in terms of memorability—I can’t imagine forgetting much about this book. Admittedly the pace slowed at times, but for the most page, it was constantly moving forth and brimming with chemistry and intrigue. It’s a great setup for the series to come, too, and I look forward to seeing more of this couple in future books about Ben’s friends and fellow Bow Street Runners.

This one was really cute! I'm a sucker for a marriage of convenience, and this put an interesting spin on it. I liked the two main characters as well as the elements of intrigue in the plot.

4.5 stars
This was an engrossing story. It moved along at a good pace and had action and passionate scenes. Georgiana Caversteed is longing for an adventure and Benjamin Wylde is just the one to have an adventure with. There were some amusing parts, especially with the poetry! Benjamin is such a tease as well. His two friends, Alex and Seb also play a small part and I look forward to reading their stories. There is also Georgiana’s obnoxious cousin to deal with and he causes quite a bit of trouble. Georgiana’s sister, Juliet has a secondary romance with someone her mother thinks is unsuitable. It has a gratifying ending. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First up, I’m not going to lie, I read this book a while back and foolishly waited two months to properly write this review beyond words flung at a Goodreads page. A rookie mistake, I know. I should seriously know better, but I agreed to join the blog tour celebrating the release and I am a woman of my word (anyone else find it a crazy coincidence I get back into blogging around the time this post is due for the tour? You cynics you, I intended to get back into blogging sooner but this definitely gave me the push I needed to pull my finger out).

I wanted to put that disclaimer out there for any moments where this review becomes vague or if you feel like I’ve not seemed as enthusiastic as my rating makes it seem. It’s because I’ve had to flick back through and remember my favourite points and that’s difficult. But I really genuinely did enjoy this. I read it at exactly the right time and I was in the ideal mood to read it. I don’t know historical romance always leave me smiling by the end.

I loved how original the idea of this book was. I’ve read a fake relationship book. I’ve read a forced marriage. I’ve never read a book where a woman marries a convict to get out of a marriage but then finds out said convict is not actually a criminal and he hasn't died or been shipped off to the colonies as expected but instead is alive and kicking ruining the plan of becoming a widow. I mean, that concept immediately grabbed my attention because you just know it’ll be damn fun to read.

I was not wrong.

This was a great book. I knew from the first page I was going to like Georgiana. She was a woman who knew her mind and made a plan and (mostly) stuck with it. She was stuck in a bad situation where her cousin wanted to marry her for her money and she just wasn’t down for that. And she wasn’t happy marrying any the other idiots who had been interested in her because turns out they were only after her money too. Gold-diggers need not apply for the role of husband because they all wanted her money and wouldn’t accept her keeping control of her money because they thought they could do better (they were wrong).

And Benedict? Well wasn’t he just a sweetheart! I thought he might be a total alpha hero and annoy me a little but that was not the case here. He was kind and caring and he just had me swooning. I mean, I loved him from the moment he was willing to marry some random woman because she obviously must have been desperate. And their banter and flirtations were just perfect. I was swooning throughout this book because this pair was meant to be. They were perfect and even though ben seemed like he should come across as a gold-digger after her money he didn’t because he worked hard and would never try and take Georgie away from what she loves. He understood and instead was willing to work with her in his job as a bow street runner.

Sure there were plot points that were predictable but also certain plot points (namely the woman needing rescuing) were subverted in it. I would have liked Georgiana to have the chance to come to Ben's rescue but then she was the breadwinner in their relationship so there was that, but it’s a minor grumble to say you didn’t have a woman coming to the rescue.. No rich lord coming to the impoverished girls rescue here. No instead she was running a company and being a badass and who wouldn't enjoy that?

I do admit there were some majorly eye-rolling moments and there was some drama at the end, but I didn’t even care. I still enjoyed it and it was made all the better for it. I feel like some romance books aren’t made without a touch of drama.

Basically, this was a damn enjoyable book. Even if I didn’t write a review for it straight away and even though I had to flick back through it to remember everything that happened. This is a historical romance filled with great characters, some smoking sexy times and a woman who is doing it for herself (but still has to go get married to be able to enjoy her independence because women always have something to bring them down). Check it out if you want something fun and a little different.

I was of two minds about this book. There were things I liked and things that I didn't. As for the good: I enjoyed the characters. Georgie and Ben were both likable. Together I thought they made a very fun couple. Now for the bad: The plot required the reader to completely ignore reality. A storyline that had zero plausability is going to be a big turn-off for readers that are knowledgable about the era and are all about the details and facts. I do not consider myself anywhere near an expert but, while the author may have thought this story would come across as cute, it was simply too far fetched for me to buy. If these things do not bother you, it is not a awful read. For me though it was just OK.