I’m happy that people are finally giving regency novels the hype it deserves. I love a good romance with struggles and emotions.

In A Marquis in Want of a Wife, Louise Allen adds adventure and the promise of long lasting contentment to the marriage of convenience trope to deliver a well-written historical romance.

The hero and heroine of this novel are eminently sensible people who don't care much about romance. Yet somehow the understated emotion makes this a romantic and endearing book. The action is driven by the external plot, which is fast-paced and interesting. The author does an amazing job of immersing the reader in the time period and creating a rich sense of place. If you like marriage of convenience stories, don't miss this one.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review

This is Ross and Prue’s story. He wants a wife to be mother to his son. She is afraid she is pregnant after a cad takes advantage of her. There marriage of convenience turns into much more. Louise Allen is a wonderful writer.

This is an accurate historical romance, which I appreciate greatly. Well written and engages the reader. More importantly for my clients, it will give them an escape into another world, another time.

This was my first Louise Allen book and I could not take my eyes from my screen. Prudence was compromised and betrayed by the man she thought she knew and loved. Not knowing if she is with child she needs to find a husband, lucky for her Ross is looking for a wife, not because he desires a woman but because he wants his infant son to know the love of a mother. What better reason could there be for a marriage of convenience.

Ross, once a privateer, now finds himself a Marquis and widower. He is a direct and hard man having come from east end before a making his life on the sea. Prudence is an easy natured bluestocking, her inner beauty and resilience shining through in every page. An unexpected friendship develops into deeper feelings and despite previous promises and expectations a trip to the sea side leads Ross back into danger. Prudence comes to terms that her love may not be reciprocated but a desperate situation requires her fight for her husband and son.

I really enjoyed the maritime aspect of this book, it gave the book a uniqueness within the historical romance genre. I do wish we were shown deeper interactions between Prudence, Ross, & Jon. It seemed the baby would appear for one minute then be quickly taken away by his nurse. The reader was told how much Ross and Prudence loved Jon and not shown. Also Charles, the villain, needed his comeuppance, I was disappointed to see him get off scot free.

*I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

This is a well-written story that I so much enjoyed.
I liked the story and the characters.

I do recommend.

The premise sounded interesting: An outsider marquis, AKA the East End Aristocrat because he was born in the rookeries and is a privateer by trade, is in urgent need of a mother for his baby, and so eschews mourning to marry a ruined bluestocking whose passion is ancient Greek and Latin translations. This was an uneven book. There were also some craft issues, such as head-hopping.

There were aspects of the story that made for unusual characterization and refreshing candor among these participants in a marriage of convenience. However, what sank the story was that heroine gives and gives and the hero takes and takes. She is the one who extends the olive branch the most, and she is the one who forgives him over and over again for all his transgressions, even when he verbally hurts her deliberately at the 90% mark. When much was made of her translation work at the beginning of the book, I expected to see her actively engage in it, but it was surface characterization, not a core part of her.

She comes off as alternately mature and immature with a sensible approach to the marital contract she has made with him and too-stupid-to-live (TSTL) behavior, such as haring off to a war zone to rescue him and then not really rescuing him as having him fall into her lap as she is rescued by others. I realize that this is meant to show us her indomitable, independent, and loving spirit, but the way it is written, she comes across as TSTL.

As part of her marriage contract, her job is supposed to be a mother to the baby. We see the baby immediately enamored of her even as a stranger, and we see her going up to him once in a while to scoop him up in her arms and laugh with him, but we don't see her actually spending much time with him. The baby spends most of his days with his nurse and wet nurse, so I don't see how she is fulfilling the only requirement of her marriage contract. Overall, a disappointing book.

Terrific marriage of convenience story. Both Ross and Prue are very practical people and enter into their marriage with open eyes. Neither one wants to muddy their arrangement with messy emotions.

I liked both Ross and Prue. Ross became Marquis of Cranford thanks to an unfortunate series of events. Society in general looks down on him, and he returns the favor. Thanks to his parents ' marriage, Ross had an unconventional childhood, then went on to become a privateer. He is often referred to disparagingly as the East End Aristocrat or the Privateer Marquis. Ross has no inclination for social graces, has a growly disposition and a scarred face, making him less than a catch. After his wife's recent death, he wants a wife that will be a mother to his infant son.

Prue is a young woman who is more interested in her books and Greek and Latin translations than in looking for a husband. She is somewhat naïve and falls under the spell of a charming and handsome young lord. After a romantic interlude goes wrong, Prue finds herself in need of protection. One of her friends may have a solution and sets up a meeting between Ross and Prue.

I liked the first meeting between them. Prue arrived at Ross's home for her "interview" knowing very little about him. Ross laid something of a trap, or test, for her by hiding the scarred side of his face from her until she was close to him. I loved her calm reaction and how it surprised him. Both of them are straightforward about their expectations of themselves and each other. I liked the inclusion of the baby, Jon, since he was the motivating factor for Ross's desire to marry. His obvious love for his son lightened Ross's harsh first impression. I also liked Prue's practical approach to Jon and the beginning of their connection.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Prue and Ross. They began their marriage as strictly a business arrangement. Ross made it clear that he doesn't expect physical intimacy, having "lost his appetite" for such things. He quickly came to regret that promise after seeing Prue in her wedding dress stirred up those latent desires. Prue's prior experience being what it was, she didn't expect stirrings of attraction to her new husband. It was fun to see them fight it at first, especially Ross. He tried avoiding her but found she invaded his thoughts. The time they spent together brought them closer, and I liked seeing them get to know each other. Ross was frequently challenged by realizing that Prue was nothing like his first wife and found himself unexpectedly liking her as a person. Prue discovered she wanted more from Ross as she got to know the man behind the gruff exterior.

It didn't take long for the attraction to boil over, and it added a new level to their relationship. Prue quickly realizes that her heart is at risk but can't do anything about it. Meanwhile, Ross fights hard against the idea of loving Prue. They move closer to that ultimate connection until the war with Napoleon intervenes. Ross makes a tactical error by breaking a promise to Prue and puts himself in unexpected danger. Prue is left to deal with a crisis involving Jon, which she handles as she sees best, then goes looking for Ross. I loved seeing her embrace her inner Marchioness as she deals with every obstacle. I loved seeing her give him a piece of her mind and his realization of his errors.

Ross isn't done with being an idiot, though. His reaction to her handling of the crisis with Jon was over-the-top harsh. I ached for Prue, who saw her hopes for a real marriage crumble. I loved her strength as she refused to be left behind and insisted on helping get Jon back. Her kindness and empathy go a long way toward solving the problem. Meanwhile, Ross overhears things that open his eyes, and he knows he must find a way to fix what he broke. I loved the ending and seeing Ross finally open up to Prue. I loved her statement that she married <I>"all of who he was, not simply the parts that suit me."</i>

So both Prudence and Ross were marrying for convenience sake not love. First let me start by telling you that Prudence gave up her virginity to scoundral and now was fearful that she would be pregnant which would be devastating in that era. She really didn't have prospects because she was known as a bluestocking and not very pretty. Ross is a recent widower but he needs a mother for his son and he also knows that he is not very handsome. Due to a mutual friend they get to meet each other and agree on this loveless marriage but as they get to know each other they fall in love, well Prudence was at first and even though Ross didn't want nor expect to have fallen in love he himself can not deny it.

True love blossoming from a marriage of convenience between a scarred and brooding Marquis and a ruined bluestocking.

A Marquis in Want of a Wife by Louise Allen is a lovely historical romance about inner beauty and true love. It is book #3 in the Liberated Ladies series but can be read as a standalone.

A marriage of convenience to a scarred and brooding Marquis is Prudence's only chance to save her reputation.

Prudence was a bluestocking that had never fallen in love before until she met the good looking and flirtatious Charles.

But what seemed to be a dream coming true ended up being Prudence's worse nightmare. No longer the virgin expected by her time's society and possibly pregnant, Prudence asked her friends for guidance and help.

The help came in the form of a brooding, scarred, and low-born Marquis. Ross Vincent was raised in the London slams by his disinherited father, but upon the death of all other male relatives, became the Marquis of Cranford.

After marrying a woman only interested in his titled, he was left a widower with a toddler. He was looking for a marriage of convenience that would provide a mother for his son.

What starts as a marriage in paper only evolves into a sense of companionship, friendship, desire, and finally, love. But their way to their HEA was full of curves and dead ends.

I simply love a grumpy and emotionally unavailable hero, and Ross fits the bill beautifully. I was pleased that, despite his impressive physique, he was not at all handsome and had a scarred face.

I prefer it when the characters are not externally handsome. It makes it easier to connect to them and believe in the feelings that they evoke.

Prudence is also not beautiful, at least not for the standards of external beauty of the time. Her inner beauty shone throughout the book and was irresistible even to our cranky hero.

The side characters include an adorable baby, some loyal servants and sailors, and dreadful in-laws.

A Marquis in Want of a Wife is lovely, romantic, and entertaining. My first book by the author, but won't be my last.

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*This review will be posted on https://lureviewsbooks.com on 12/01/2020*

Prudence believed herself in love with a man and slept with him.  He then informed her that she was just a bet between him and his friends.  Hurt and not knowing if she’s pregnant, Prue asks her friends for advice.  One of her friends knows of a man who is in want of a mother for his baby son.

Ross is a man who was raised in the east end of London and became a privateer.  Since inheriting the title he has given up privateering and now uses his ships for trade. Though he is a marquis, he is looked down upon for not only his upbringing, but the fact that he works – oh the horror!  He is also scarred and only six months a widower so women aren’t clamoring to be his bride.

Prue and Ross make an agreement that they will get married and it will be a marriage of convenience.  He has no desire to have a relationship and no desire for sex.  Of course, once they are married, they find that they desire each other.

This was a lovely little romance. I really liked both Ross and Prue and liked them together as a couple as well.  Ross tried everything he could to stay away from Prue because of course emotions make you stupid and reckless *insert eye roll*, but he never quite managed to stay completely unemotional with Prue. I loved that she could bring out emotion in him, whether it was desire, frustration or anger.

The baby, Jon, was absolutely a highlight in this book.  He was such a good-natured boy and I loved it when he was on-page.  There was a part of that has to do with Jon and his maternal grandparents that I thought was quite well and I appreciated that the author didn’t blow this up more than it was.

Overall a quick read and a satisfying historical romance.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5