It’s my second book by the author and it came at the perfect time to switch over from thrillers. That cover alone is just gorgeous and this historical romance story has everything I want and more. Fearless heroine, a hero that doesn’t know what touched him when he just gets in love with her, a great banter and so much swooning altogether. A few twists and interesting side characters as well.
I’m really looking forward to read more in the future by the author because now I know that her books are a must for any historical romance lovers.
Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for my copy of #RulesforHeiresses

This was my first book by Amalie Howard and it will not be my last! The story hooked me in straight away with a strong, impulsive heroine and a rugged, strong hero. The subterfuge, the banter, the passion and sexual tension was all there. It was a fast paced read and I didn’t want to put it down.

I loved that this was a 2nd chance romance and all the trials and tribulations that the couple faced to get to their happy ending. The book covers the issue of race and how it was viewed amongst the ton and also shows women challenging their expected status and wanting more from their life than society at that time felt was acceptable.

This book was a DELIGHT! I loved it so much, and could've read about this couple forever!

Lady Ravenna Huntley isn't fond of her options as a well-bred lady. So, she eschews all offers of marriage, and when one suitor has a hard time taking no for an answer, she runs away. She disguises herself as a man and sails to Antigua on one of her brother's boats. Her ruse has been successful thus far, until she gets accused of cheating at a casino, and is almost sent to jail. To save herself, she must reveal her true identity and is SHOCKED to discover her accuser is the owner of the casino, and someone from her past!

Courtland Chase used to be betrothed to Ravenna when they were kids, and they grew up on neighboring estates. But, after his father's death, he was run out of England while he was still a teenager by his horrid stepmother, and his younger half brother. Mostly because she wanted the title for HER son, but also because she's a racist, and Courtland's mother was a woman of color, from Antigua. They claimed to everyone that Courtland was dead, and his brother assumed the role of heir to the dukedom. But, when Courtland's grandfather passes away and his solicitor comes to Antigua to find Courtland, the jig is up. Courtland is now the Duke of Ashvale, whether he wants to be or not. And when the solicitor finds he and Ravenna in a compromising position, marriage is the answer to both of their problems.

Cordy and Ravenna had HOT chemistry from the start and I loved their connection, and how easy it felt, since they grew up together. Ravenna was thrilled to discover him alive and well, though she had no intention of marrying him, or anyone for that matter. But, once their course was set, she was content enough, though she could tell he was still hesitant to get close to her. I loved the push and pull between them, even though sometimes it was painful, and there were hurt feelings on both sides. Their banter was always fun and unique, given their past, and I enjoyed every moment of it.

Ravenna's brother Rhystan, and his wife Sarani (the couple from book 1) were side characters here and were as wonderful as ever. I also really enjoyed Cordy's cousin and right hand man, Rawley, and another friend of his, the Earl of Waterstone. Cordy's brother and step-monster were a total nightmare, but his sister Bronwyn was great! Then there was another, quite dastardly, villainous character, who was part of a mystery subplot, and that added some intrigue to the story too.

This couple was so wonderful, and made me feel so much! I felt for Ravenna every time Courtland shut her out. I felt for him every time he experienced feelings of inadequacy, and that he wasn't good enough for her. I just really loved this pair so much and was pulling for them the entire time. I highly recommend this one, and I loved it more than book 1!!

The second book in the Princess Stakes series, this is about Ravenna and Courtland. The two have a history being once who once betrothed while young. This however failed to stand as Courtland (aka Cordy) was declared dead by his stepmother.

Like any other Amalie H book, I enjoyed the characters. My favorite without question was Ravenna. I loved her spirit of adventure and her take charge view on her life. Courtland was okay but he drove me nuts in the middle and near the end although he ultimately redeemed himself.

This book is high on the shenanigans and family estrangement but I didn't mind it. It was fun seeing Sarani and Rhy again! Also I liked the resolution of one of Cordy's siblings.

A very solid 3.5 stars.

Thanks so much to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved Ravenna and Court so much. From that first scene all the way to the end, I loved their chemistry. And those scenes when he'd say things to put distance between them were gutting. It was fun to see the Duke and Princess from the first book. And that villain Sommer was so sleazy he made me cringe.

Lady Ravenna Huntley finds herself far from home. After escaping an unwanted suitor, she lead her family to believe that she was with a friend in Scotland when really she was somewhere else.

Lord Courtland Chase, grandson of the Duke of Ashton, was pushed out of England by his awful stepmother. Telling all of the ton that Court had died, in order to have her son become the Duke of Ashton.

But when odd circumstances throw them together Ravenna learns that the man she was once betrothed to is actually alive, he learns that he is now the new Duke. Caught by guests and grandfather's solicitor kissing the two must marry to avoid scandal.

Not something either wanted to do. But when reminded of his obligation to his younger sister's he gives in. Neither denies their attraction to one another but Court is certain that he must stay away from his wife.

Read if you like: enemies to lovers/childhood friends to lovers
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This book was super cute. Ravenna wants some independence, so she runs away on her brothers she and pretends to be a man. In Antigua, she meets up with a childhood friend, old enemy that she thought was dead. After being caught in a compromising situation, they are forced to marry.
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I love a good friends and enemies to lovers story and this did not disappoint. Ravenna was fiery and Courtland was dreamy and they made a great pair!
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CW: sexual content, racism, sexism, death of a parent.

Lady Ravenna Huntley finds herself quickly betrothed to Lord Courtland Chase, the grandson of the Duke of Ashton. Courtland was driven from England by his cruel stepmother and was believed by all including Ravenna, to have died. When they meet, it soon becomes a scandal, as their kiss is seen by many. Yet the intensity of their relationship doesn’t appear to be wanning, the more time they spend together.

Ravenna is a determined woman, never quite doing what is expected of her. Courtland is the perfect match for Ravenna. His controversial manner and desire to keep Ravenna at bay, makes for an interesting read. Ravenna challenges Courtland and in doing so, makes him question his responsibilities and his feelings for her. Amalie Howard is such a clever author who brings a complexity into her writing, highlighting the emotional struggles on the characters with such subtlety.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Initial Thoughts/Expectations:

We met Raveena, our heroine, in Amalie Howards previous book The Princess Stakes where she played a minor role, but in my opinion, she completely stole the show and had me clamoring to get my hands on her story. She was brash, bold, opinionated, and hell bent on never getting married. I love my historical romance novels to include unconventional women who buck tradition, and I knew that Lady Raveena Huntley was going to do just that!
What I Loved:
I couldn’t get enough of Raveena in The Princess Stakes, and I love her even more after finishing Rules for Heiresses. She is a woman of means and privilege, but she is also a woman living in a man’s world with rules she detests. However, unlike stereotypical storybook heroines in her predicament, she isn’t content to sit around and let life happen to her. Her impulsive nature often gets her into trouble, which is how she winds up in the last place she wanted to be… the alter. I shouldn’t laugh, but her adventures and antics were hilarious and her knack for causing mayhem anytime she entered a room never got old. Courtland and Raveena were an intense couple right from the start. I’m finding that Amalie Howard writes an amazing moody hero with a heart of gold and Courtland is one of my favorites to date. The way these two stubbornly resisted their attraction to one another drove me crazy and kept me turning the page because I couldn’t wait for their next contentious encounter!

This story had a lot of heart and emotion outside of just having two people fall in love. Both Courtland and Raveena were looking for acceptance in a world that they didn’t feel they belonged in. They had their own personal demons to conquer and I thought it was beautiful to see them start to let down walls and confide in each other.

What I didn’t like:
Rules for Heiresses was a solid historical romance and there wasn’t anything I didn’t like about the story.
Final Thoughts
This book brought me a lot of laughs, a few tears, and made me remember why my favorite genre will always be historical romance with a fearless heroine. Rules for Heiresses can be read as a standalone, but for the full Raveena experience I would highly suggest starting with The Princess Stakes.

This was a cute, fun read. I love a marriage of convenience trope and especially when it was combined with a history between the characters like it was here! I definitely hope for more of this series 😍

I really enjoyed Ravenna and Cortland's story. The opening scene captivated my interest and I was hooked.
I loved seeing the development of the romance between the two, as well as seeing Cortland being reunited with his family.
Cortland is banished by his step mother due to his mixed heritage. She feels he is not good enough to be the Duke, only her son would be. When Courtland comes home, the fireworks go off.
Ravenna is wild, carefree, unconventional. Everything a Duchess shouldn't be.
But the are perfect for each other. And together they conquer the prejudices of the ton.
5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I want to thank Netgalley for the chance to review this book.

This was a well-written, entertaining historical romance. It was steamy, fun and held my interest. It was fast-paced and I didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

Lady Ravenna was cross dressing as a man....

And gambling in the Caribbean to avoid getting hitched. Accused of cheating, she can't out herself as a lady and prove she wasn't cheating. Conveniently, Courtland Chase is the one trying to shake her down. He happens to be her old childhood friend. At that same moment, Courtland finds out he's the new Duke of Ashvale. He's the male reverse cinderella, (Duke of Ashvale, his evil step-mother cast him out).

So, its back to London for these two. Very reluctantly for them both.
Super fast paced read with tightly woven moving parts. A bit edgier than Beast and Rakehell, the two previous boos in the series, but more aligned with Princess Stakes, which features Ravenna's brother, the duke.

Recommend.

Another amazing story by Amalie Howard. So so steamy! 🔥🔥🔥

I loved Sarani and Rhystan's story and this was Rhystan's little sister Ravenna's story.

She is a hellion that does not want to get married so when she gets caught on her world tour by Courtland Chase her former betrothed who was presumed dead, things get interesting.

The boy that used to follow her everywhere has definitely filled out in all the right places who has also been hiding on Antigua this whole time, being caught in a compromising situation they are forced to wed.

They have to return to England and all the wagging tongues, the questions of his legitimacy and her reputation.

This is no fade to black book btw and there's a bathtub scene 🤌

So much drama, passion, intrigue, female empowerment (not much of that back then), and lust. Ugh it's sucks when you lust after your spouse you are trying to keep at arms length makes things so much harder, if you know what I mean.

I love the full character development and the journey they take. Cordy definitely blossomed when he found his self worth, he was struggling. But that epilogue, wow!

Thank you sourcebookscasa and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the eARC

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Rules for Heiresses follows strong-willed Lady Ravenna Huntley as she is reunited with a presumed dead childhood friend - and former betrothed - Lord Courtland Chase. The unfortunate part of this reunion is that it happens while she is in disguise as a man, in Antigua, and he is accusing her of cheating at blackjack.

If that sounds like a recipe for shenanigans to you, I can assure you that you’re right. This book has a lot of action and plot. Ravenna and Courtland return to England after a hasty marriage of convenience, and they not only have to navigate their marriage, but also his ascent to his dukedom, the fact that he was thought to be dead for several years, and some light espionage.

The relationship between Ravenna and Courtland stands up against all of the plot well. Courtland’s insecurities around his title due to his stepmother and half brother’s mistreatment of him are the main driving force of their marital conflict, and it is very believable and sympathetic to the reader. His biracial heritage has caused him to feel like an outsider for most of his life, but Ravenna defends him and his claim to his ducal seat at every turn. It was refreshing to see one half of the couple refuse to be cowed by the other’s emotional walls at almost every turn. For the majority of the book she refused to doubt herself and her belief that their marriage was the right choice. I also felt that it was important that early in the book Ravenna sought out her sister-in-law’s advice so that she could better understand the way his race factored into his belief that they should not stay married.

I enjoyed that characters in this book, and I plan to go back to read The Princess Stakes and pick up the next book in the series. However, I felt that the espionage plot - while fun - was too heavy in the second half of the book. I would have preferred a bit more focus on the issues with Courtland’s family. Especially considering his stepmother only appeared on page one time. Ravenna and Courtland’s interactions with his half brother also fell a bit flat in my opinion, especially once creepy Sommers became the main antagonist.

Born to a life of privilege, Lady Ravenna Huntley rues the day that she must marry. She's refused dozens of suitors, but running away even if brash and foolhardy is the only option left to secure her independence & escape a determined Marquis. So she boards one of her brother’s ships & becomes Mr Raven Hunt, she finds herself on Antigua. Lord Courtland Chase, grandson of the Duke of Ashton, was driven from England at the behest of his cruel stepmother. Scorned and shunned, he swore never to return to the land of his birth. But when a twist of bad luck throws a rebellious heiress into his arms, at the very moment he finds out he's the new Duke, marriage is the only alternative to massive scandal. Both are quick to deny it, but a wedding might be the only way out for both of them.
Whilst this is a stand alone book Ravenna is the sister of Rhystan from ' The Princess Stakes'. A well written book which kept my interest all the way through. I really liked both Cordy & Ravenna but the pair did make me want to shake them at times. I thoroughly enjoyed their road to a HEA which wasn’t smooth as there were villains who wanted to ruin both of them. The characters had depth & were well portrayed, I also especially liked a couple of secondary characters, Bronwyn & Waterstone, I would love for them to have their stories
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Howard has done it again!
I really enjoyed The Princess Stakes so was super jazzed when I was able to read Rules for Heiresses early.
The elements that I enjoyed from book one are here: exciting beginning, diverse characters, and childhood sweethearts to enemies.
The heroine Ravenna was great. I loved how independent and determined she was. Courtland, the hero, took a while to warm up too. He was very hot and cold (I was getting whiplash from his constant mood swings).
Overall this is an enjoyable marriage of convenience and enemies to lovers romance with plenty of adventure throughout.

This is one of those stories that could have been 5 Stars with a bit of work. The story was great, the telling was slightly off since about the time you would really get into the story the author was trying to subtly feed you some of her own semi-political feelings. While it did not really detract from the story much it was noticeable to me. The interaction between the hero and the heroine was great but the sex was overdone and mostly just added pages except for a couple that really did merge into the story . So we have a Duke that never wanted to be a Duke, a Duchess that never wanted to be married much less be a duchess and a great story that was only slightly tinged by the things I mentioned and for me personally as a confirmed revenge junkie I thought several folks got off really easy. 4 Stars and will probably read the next one in this sort of series that seems not to be an official series.

Rules for Heiresses by Amalie Howard is a lovely historical romance that is sure to take readers on a whirlwind! This book had me hooked right at the beginning! Ravenna and Courtland were such a fun couple to watch fall in love with undeniable chemistry, both stubborn and set in their ways which caused some hiccups in their love story.

Rules for Heiresses by Amalie Howard
Historical romance. Subsequent to The Princess Stakes but not labeled as a series. Can be read as a stand-alone but I think better if you’ve read the prior. Touches on mixed race parentage.

Ravenna and Courtland were childhood friends until he was sent away by his stepmother. They meet again and are caught in an compromising position and are forced to return home. He must take on the title of Duke even though his family previously declared him dead and his stepbrother holds himself out as the Duke.

A fun pairing. Ravenna is wild and unconventional, and Courtland is contrary and uncommon. They play off each other well and their attraction to each other includes plenty of steamy encounters. Corruption and lies must be untangled which adds depth and intrigue to storyline.

I liked Ravenna’s strength of character and willingness to jump into any situation.
The epilogue was fantastic in wrapping up all the loose end and character questions.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley. I purchased a paperback copy to gift.

Yes! Amalie has returned to what a love about her writing. The first book in this series was okay, not enough dialog for me, but this story is fantastic. The dialog, the scenarios, and the intrigue are all outstanding. This story does not let you stay sedentary, it flies by. Courtland and Ravenna are hilarious together and she does not let anyone tell her she cannot do something. What I also like so much was her unending faith in Courtland and her love for him. Yes, they have arguments but that does not deter either of them…okay sometimes it does but not for long. I hope secondary characters get their own stories.