4.5 Stars ⭐️ - Top Pick

Duke’s daughter Lady Ravenna Huntley was born into a life of privilege but wants nothing more than explore the world and have her own independence. Lord Courtland Chase, grandson of the Duke of Ashton, was driven from England, vowing never to return to a family that shunned him. When a twist of fate throws runaway Ravenna into his arms, at the very moment he finds out he’s the new Duke, marriage is the only alternative to a would-be scandal.

I don’t see a series title attached to this book, but it follows Amalie Howard’s prior release The Princess Stakes. This story can stand alone, but Ravenna’s brother Rhystan was the previous hero and the couple makes appearances.

I really enjoyed Ravenna and Courtland, who I thought were interesting characters individually and as a couple. Courtland is mixed race, with a creole mother from the West Indies. He was pushed out of his family by a grasping stepmother who wanted to install her son as the heir. Courtland found the family, acceptance, and success in Antigua that eluded him in England, and he is not happy to be tracked down by a solicitor and proclaimed Duke after his grandfather’s passing. Ravenna wants freedom not afforded to her as a female and refuses to be controlled. She would rather run away on her brother’s ship – dressed as a man – than get trapped into marriage by an odious lord.

This book was a whirlwind! There was no time to get bored, as the events moved along quickly. A compromising situation and marriage of “inconvenience” happen early on. It leaves Courtland vowing not to get attached to his wife, and Ravenna confused that she wants this traditional marriage. I wish that Courtland had not run quite as hot and cold, but I liked that Ravenna quickly realized his family dynamic was not what she previously believed it to be.

This story was sexy, funny, and fast paced! Give this a try if you are a fan of Kate Bateman, Sarah MacLean, or Joanna Shupe.

~ Leslie

Runaway heiress, Lady Ravenna Huntley, has found a whole new world living as Raven Hunt in Antigua – free to live independently and way from the suitors who are only interested in her dowry.

Lord Courtland Chase has made a new home for himself in Antigua after his cruel stepmother sent him away at 14. Now the death of his grandfather, and a clever minx with an inky beard, are forcing him to return to English society and take on the mantle of Duke of Ashton – with his new bride.

A romantic adventure filled with understanding, acceptance and love – Amalie Howard’s Rules of Heiresses is an engaging companion piece to The Princess Stakes.

What I liked: The romance and rebuilding of estranged familial relationships was very sweet and was pivotal to the strength of Courtland. He had found his mother’s family in Antigua and found a place where he was accepted and could give back to the community – unlike the scorn he received from his step-mother for being mixed-race and having an Islander for a mother.

Howard mentions in the Author’s Note that as a mixed-race woman of West Indian descent, born in the Caribbean she wanted to write from her own experience. She researched into the history of colonialism and British rule in the West Indies and hopes to be one of many diverse voices using their experiences to write rich stories for the world.

What I didn’t like: I feel like Rawley was a tragically underused character. Courtland spends a lot of exposition on how important his cousin is – he eased his acceptance into the community on the island, he is his right-hand man, he even returns to England and supports of the Dukes of Ashton and Embry to catch a slaver/smuggler. Yet while he often grins discreetly, or shows amusement around his face, he does not often speak.

Such an important figure in Courtland’s life should be his go-to for conversation, for bouncing ideas off – and instead those conversations are had with Embry and the Earl of Waterstone. He felt like a missed opportunity.

Despite feeling like the intention, it did not feel like race played a significant role in this story – it felt like more of a prop to be used whenever the plot needed to include conflict between Courtland and Ravenna, and as a reason for why he left England at such a young age. While it is clear his stepmother used his heritage against him in order to promote her own son, it didn’t really seem to impact the story – except to set Courtland and Ravenna up to meet in Antigua.

Conclusion: An easy read, some very steamy moments and an easy conclusion to conflict.

I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ravenna is in Antingua on her grand tour dressed as a man thinking of cheating at cards when the owner Courtland threatens to send her to the stockade. Except he is supposed to be dead.
Courtland has just come into the title of duke, one he never wanted after being treated horribly by his stepmother and stepbrother for being mixed heritage. The last thing he expected to see was his old neighbor.
When Ravenna and Courtland are forced to marry they must return to england.
I liked Courtland and Ravenna together. I really liked Courtland even though he kept pushing Raveena away.
I look forward to more from this author.

Amalie Howard is one of my favorite historical fiction authors and she really outdid herself with this one! Rules for Heiresses is a beautifully crafted tale of adventure, romance, forgiveness, and learning to love yourself no matter what society might think.

Ravenna might just be the best Victorian era heroine I’ve read! Even though she was a duke’s daughter, she was outspoken and stood up for herself and fought against society’s expectations for her. Ravenna truly had no fear, except for losing her heart to Courtland. I also really loved the hero. He was a perfect mix of strong and vulnerable, and I felt my heart squeeze a few times while reading for the boy he was, the man he had become, and the decisions he felt he had to make because of his history. I loved how Ravenna helped him as well as how Courtland accepted her and loved everything about her.

If I was a Victorian lady myself, I probably would’ve been fanning myself/swooning over the steam in this book! I also laughed and teared up a little bit. Set between London and Antigua, I especially loved the Caribbean parts of the book, and with a little action and suspense I couldn’t put this one down!

Within the first chapter of this book, I was completely hooked. This book has so much adventure and wastes no time diving straight into it and I loved every minute of it. Bravo to Amalie Howard! This is the first historical romance I've read by her and it will certainly not be the last. She tightly weaves so much into this plot but does it with such mastery that guides the reader through all of it until the end.

Lady Ravenna Huntly used to be childhood friends with Courtland Chase and was betrothed to him as a child until his untimely death. Now to avoid a loveless marriage, she has posed as a man (Raven Hunt) and stolen away on one of her brother's ships to the island of Antigua. There she finds herself at a gaming hall owned by none other than the believed to be dead, Courtland Chase. Courtland has been on the island since he was driven from his home by his stepmother. A lawyer is brought into play to give the news of his grandfather's death and to inform him that he is now the Duke of Ashton. One thing leads to another and Ravenna and Courtland find themselves in a compromising situation. They are forced into an engagement once more as Courtland tackles his family and claim to his estate,

I loved how headstrong and independent Ravenna is. She is a woman who knows what she wants out of life and goes after it. All the risks she took so she would not end up in a loveless marriage are just proof of her character. She calls Courtland affectionately "Cordy" and it is just one of the things I loved about this couple. The childhood friends to lovers trope is strong in this book and I loved that they were betrothed as children. Courtland tries to push Ravenna away, but being the woman she is, she is not having it and will stop at nothing to prove that they are equals in their love and this marriage. It takes Courtland a long time to see his love for Ravenna and all that she is willing to do to prove this. "When she enters a room, you brighten, and when she leaves it, the world dims."

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of the above opinions are of my own. Any quotes taken from this ARC are subject to change upon publication.

I believe this is part of a series, but like most in this genre it can easily be read as a standalone. The book follows Lady Ravenna, a smart, willful, and determined young woman who is eager for adventure and unwilling to be tied down by marriage. I really enjoyed her character - her strength was admirable, and her sharp tongue had me cheering her on from the beginning. On the other hand, we have Lord Courtland (love this name), a man who decides to make his own way in life after his family shuns him. Courtland is a bit of a closed wall - he keeps his emotions close to him and doesn't reveal too much out of fear.

Watching Ravenna and Courtland grow closer was an adventure in itself - I loved seeing her break down his walls, and loved watching him bring out the fire in Ravenna at every turn. This book had so many amazing tropes - childhood friends to lovers, disguised female lead, marriage of convenience, etc. It was a whirlwind with a great pace, and something new happening at every turn. I liked the different surprises that popped up with the other characters, it kept the story intriguing.

Overall, I thought this was a fun, unique historical romance. It's the first I've read by this author, but I'm looking forward to reading her other books now!

Well, hot damn!

Here was I, thinking I'd give historical romance a shot because "it can't be that bad". Let me tell ya, it was't bad at all. It was GREAT!

I know I'm reading a good book when I act like I can actually change the MC's thoughts/behaviors by talking to them, or when I start thinking about the book and the characters when I'm not reading. This was that kind of a book for me. At times, I wanted to shake Courtland and make him see what he was missing by keeping Ravenna at arms length, at times I was fangirling (like the moment in the conservatory - that's all I'll say ;) ) or swooning at their romance, and at times I was proud of both MC's. I really liked both of them - Courtland being the troubled dark, tall and handsome duke (also of mixed race, which has its own challenges in that time period that made for an interesting extra plot line) and Ravenna, the societal rules and norms defying, strong woman who'll fight and stand up for what she believes in and love with all her heart.

There were some never-disappoints tropes in this book, like childhood friends to lovers, enemies to lovers (kind of), marriage of convenience, forced proximity... I loved the banter between the MC's, but also all the sarcastic and witty replies throughout the book. There were some great side characters as well, like the Crown's spies and an American pig (just kidding, an entitled misogynistic man).

All in all, it's got a 5 star rating from me and my recommendation for everyone who loves a good (historical) romance book!

4 stars

Rules for Heiresses by Amalie Howard was a really fun read. Adventurous hoyden Lady Ravenna Huntley grew up with and was betrothed to Lord Courtland Chase, grandson of the Duke of Ashton. She was told that he died young and the betrothal was off. In reality, Courtland’s stepmother sent him away so her son could inherit the title. A chance meeting and scandal brings Ravenna and Courtland back together and the couple find themselves betrothed once again.

Ravenna was a great character. She is passionate and strong in a world that is very unforgiving towards independent women. She has suffered at the hands of polite society and the men who govern it. She abhors the role that women must play in society and she breaks conformity every chance she has. However, she still throws herself into her relationship with Courtland and fights for their happiness. Courtland also struggled with the ton. He spent most of his life in the islands and is mixed race. He experiences exclusion and racism, but handles the discrimintation very differently from Ravenna. Instead of outer combativeness, Courtland struggles within and pushes Ravenna away because he doesn't believe he is good enough for her. I also really enjoyed the side characters. I hope that the author will write a story about Courtland’s sister, Bronwyn.

The action packed story moved quickly and I could not put this book down. I really enjoyed this and will now go back and read The Princess Stakes, which centered around Ravenna’s older brother.

I was invited to read an ARC of Rules for Heiresses, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #RulesforHeiresses

Will he release the treasure he has unexpected won is to be cherished…

Even if there is no series’ name, this book is related to The Princess Stakes as it follows the hero’s sister. With this time the hero as the biracial shunned character.
Courtland has been forced to run away from his previous life by his devious step-mother and half-brother and their many abuses. Declared dead by them, he rebuilt himself and now lives a successful life far away from the ton.
But for all the wealth he has cumulated, he still sees himself as unworthy.
Ravenna might be a duke’s daughter and sister, she never confirmed to the society’s dictates, she is too strong willed to accept the strictures such a life demands from her. So after one last slight, she ran away, impersonating a young fellow. From sailor to gambler, she is living the adventure of her life when everything comes crashing when her identity is revealed and she finds herself trapped in the most unexpected marriage.
Their relationship is one of ups and downs, as both have to reconcile with how much the other one has changed during their years of estrangement. Plus their union is challenged by Courtland’s deep wounds as time has only made them fester, so instead of rejoicing to be reunited with the girl of his childhood, he keeps her at arm length, denying them both solace in one another’s embrace.

I’m still not fond of knees weak women at the sight of a male body, yet Ravenna stands her ground when necessary and knows which battle to find and what to let be.
Of course, it is more than two people being reunited, there are treachery, treason and scorned people to fight against. I was upset at Courtland for so stubbornly refusing to accept Ravenna’s outstretched hand, instead persistently pushing her away, keeping her too long in the dark about his actions and goal.
Still, this is an entertaining read with a strong heroine as I love them, danger and deceit at every corner and a villain who got his right comeuppance.
4 stars

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 onscreen lovemaking scenes

I have been granted an advance copy by the publisher Sourcebooks Casablanca, here is my true and unbiased opinion.

This book was an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. I have read several of her books and have enjoyed them. This book was no exception. The heroine in this story was wonderful. The hero was ok, I guess. He had an evil stepmother ran him out of the country. She wanted her son to become the next duke. The heroine was engaged to him from childhood. She was told he was dead and the engagement broken. They meet again as adults after his grandfather dies. So now he is the duke. He accidently compromises her and was forced to marry. From there, he struggled for acceptance. His family was awful, the heroine was so fierce. I enjoyed the story over all. It was steamy and angsty, with a little suspense. Great book, great author. thank you for a chance to read it.

5 stars!

Amalie Howard has quickly become one of my favorite, auto-buy historical romance authors right, next to the illustrious Tessa Dare! Her writing is so refreshing and seamless, and I love how her characters curse as colorfully as I do. Amalie has a way of weaving in deeper themes of love and acceptance that many other historical romance authors struggle to accomplish, and I cannot help but be enthralled by her writing.

Courtland is deemed the island duke by his peers as he is content living his own life away from London and its constraints. However, fate has a different path in store for him when he is named the new Duke of Ashvale and caught in a compromising position with his formerly betrothed, Ravenna, in a matter of minutes. He is determined to keep their marriage of convenience strictly platonic as he believes that Ravenna deserves more than to be stuck with him, but Ravenna has never been one to follow any rules set before her. I loved their push-and-pull dynamic and witty exchanges so much! Courtland and Ravenna's chemistry was so satisfying to watch as he continually tries to push her away, and the angsty longing from both parties was so perfect. I highly recommend this wonderful novel! ♡

Ravenna Huntley does not like rules. The more rules there are, the more there are to be broken. Running away from London, she finds work dressed as Mr. Hunt Raven on a ship where she ends up in Antigua, West Indies. Needing money, she survives playing cards, but the distraction of an old friend, Courtland Chase, causes her to lose track of counting her cards and he becomes suspicious of her cheating. Too many surprises and a compromising encounter, find Ravenna and Courtland, now a Duke, married. A relationship as wife and husband is in the balance, as Ravenna contends with her husband's ghosts and the passion between them.
Ravenna is a very strong unconventional young lady. Courtland let's her do and say whatever she wants, until her life is in danger. Courtland has a lot of issues with self-worth, a constant source that hinders their relationship. It was a debate to rate 5 or 4.
4 1/2*STARS*.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

Outstanding childhood friends-to-lovers romance!

In the earlier book, Princess Stakes, the author incorporated one side of her own heritage; in this book she focuses on another side that, according to her author's note, is set in a region very familiar to her own life. Courtland's feelings of never fitting in, being an outsider, are poignant and authentic. Ravenna's understanding of his insecurities was heartwarming.

These two may have been forced to marry, but only because their incendiary attraction is apparent to everyone who sees them together. The storyline is complex in ways that are completely believable and I just loved the overall feeling of being back in this fictional world where compassion and generosity of spirit are on full display.

The romance is swoon worthy, even though Courtland doesn't quite know what to do with his feelings at first. Ravenna's patience and determination to stand up for herself were nothing short of inspirational. She's the kind of feminine hero we can all stand up and cheer for.

I adored the writing style that is both effortless and intelligent at the same time. This is a book meant to be savored, read and reread to let each exquisite scene sink in. It's earned a permanent place on my to-be-reread shelf, along with the first book. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

This review provided in exchange for ARC

Rules for Heiresses is set in the Carribean during the 1860's. Courland and Ravanna are childhood sweethearts who were once betrothed. Courtland is heir to the Dukedom, but when his father passes Courtland is banished from England by his stepmother who is trying to gain the title for her own son. His friends and loved ones are told he is dead at age 14.

Ravanna is a headstrong heiress and daughter of duke. She fled England to escape a wicked fiance and dresses as a man to make money at gambling. One night, Ravanna finds herself in Courtland's casino dresses as her alter ego, and is accused of cheating. Their romance starts from there.

This book is really difficult to review. I absolutely, over-the-moon, head-over-heels LOVED the first 40% of this. The unique island backdrop to a HR, the sexual tension, the MMC's character, the strong MFC who was able to look after herself. Everything! Things started to fall apart around the midway point. The MMC pushed the MFC away... over.. and over. ....and over and over and over. Saying mean and cruel things to her to drive her away then did NOTHING to atone for it. I don't even think he even says sorry! I hated watching Ravanna turn into a doormat.

Overall 3/5
Steam 4/5
Relationship Development 2/5
Plot 5/5
Subplot 3/5

This book had one of the best openings that I have read in quite a while! I wasn't sure what I expected, but it wasn't a disguised heroine and a childhood friend reuniting over cards with a dash of surprise dukedom and ruination for good measure!

The strong start definitely hooked me and kept me invested in the story even when things tapered out for me as it went on. I think what didn't work for me was the repetitive hot and cold relationship between Ravenna and Courtland. You expect some of it in this sort of trope setup, but by about the fifth turnabout of their feelings, I was a little over it. It made it so that when they finally got together at the end it almost wasn't believable; like, what makes this different from all the other times? There was no progression of their relationship, so it made the ending less satisfying. The pacing was also a bit choppy, and the timeline jumped quite a bit with little to no explanation. One thing that also bothered me was how the character descriptions really didn't match up with the models on the cover, but that might just be me!

Outside of their hot-and-cold nature, Ravenna and Courtland were definitely enjoyable and I wish we would have seen more of some of the side characters too! I also loved how she tackled racism and society throughout the story. If you like childhood friends-to-lovers, a marriage of convenience, traveling, and a little espionage, you'll enjoy this story!

Started so strong, and then lost all momentum. I wish more of it took place in Antigua.

What I liked: I loved the time period, late Victorian is a great choice for this story.

The romance was excellent and I loved the chemistry the characters had.

I loved that we had a mixed race hero! We don’t see enough of that in romance. I can’t speak to whether this was a good representation, but it’s still notable.

The author's note was very interesting.

What I didn’t like:

I couldn’t get invested in the espionage plot at all. I think it was introduced a little too late.

Courtland just kept “walking away for her own good” a few too many times. I know this is a thing romance heroes do, but it just happened one or two times too many.

I was really bothered by Ravenna’s suffragist/feminism stance. I appreciate strong-willed women in historicals, but sometimes the feminism comes on too strong and misplaced. It feels like an antiquated girl boss attitude. She’s a feminist, but that’s her only personality trait. And it’s hard to take her views seriously because she comes from such a place of high privilege. She doesn’t seem to care too much about the women beneath her who don’t have the luxury of being outspoken and daring because they’re working class or enslaved.

I don’t like having to disparage feminism in a book, because on the whole I do like to see characters who are feminists in books. (I consider myself a feminist.) But their views and ideas are so incongruous with their stations that it’s hard to buy, and it distracts from the love story. It lacks a lot of nuance for me.

There are a lot of elements that should work, but they just don't.

Rules for Heiresses by Amalie Howard, follows many of the characters in the previous book The Princess Stakes.

Ravenna is such a strong character, previously engaged Courtland at a young age, she encounters him again when she is playing cards dresses as a man. Accused of cheating she is nearly thrown in jail. But the recent death of Courtland's grandfather changes both their lives forever. Each of these characters are strong willed and wants to live their lives by their own rules instead of societies.

This book is wonderfully written with well developed characters that are extremely likeable.

I received an ARC from the publisher and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Rules for Heiresses is the follow-up to Amalie Howard’s prior book, The Princess Stakes. It can work as a stand-alone, as while the characters from the first book do appear, there isn’t much of a connection behind a “spoiler” of who ends up together.

Like the prior book, Howard delves into the dark legacy of colonialism and the issues biracial people face in a racist society. Once again, she retains the self-awareness about how complex the diaspora experience is, and how different people from a singular ethnic group might see this experience differently based on various factors, including where they live. For myself, I appreciated the way she embedded these issues into Courtland’s character, as he faces prejudice from his family and society due to being mixed race, yet he’s the rightful heir to a dukedom.

I also appreciate the continued effort to provide a balance to the privilege the white aristocratic characters have with their consciousness of their ability to advocate for social change. Ravenna, sister to the hero of The Princess Stakes, mentions her brother’s work to fight for human rights, an issue that also came up in the prior book. And Ravenna herself is perhaps the more interesting of the two leads, being very independent minded, yet restricted by the laws of the time.

I didn’t care for Courtland as a hero. I didn’t really feel the love on his side, with him being very hot-and-cold. I could understand him being very preoccupied with his feelings of rejection, but I just didn’t get the feels I expect from a well executed marriage-of-convenience-turned-love-match.

The pacing also felt off at times. The timeline skipped around at odd times, and I felt as I reached the end that it was a bit anticlimactic.

All issues aside, this is still a pretty good book. If you’re looking for a more diverse, socially conscious take on historical romance, you might like this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest review. It was a nice enjoyable read, but most of almost all the conflict was because the main character refused to talk to each other and called out the other for stuff they also did. (Looking at you Ravenna).

Speaking of Ravenna, the numbers of times she kept telling Courtland that she could defend herself and was not weak and didn’t you know she could shot a pistol? was the same as Courtland telling her he knew she could defend herself but that the person they were dealing with was too dangerous and let professionals take care of it, really didn’t make me root for Ravenna, (and tbh Cortland also had his bas moments) and then for all the plot to just be the most anticlimactic ones on the book…one of the main reasons why I didn’t give 4 stars to the book. Also the lack of communication between them, but then if they talked to each other I guess think book would have been 100 pages long.

I really enjoyed this read and am sad i skipped the first book in this series - I will definitely be going back to read Sarani and Rhystan's story.

I love that this series has diverse characters - a half-Indian heroine in the first and a half-Creole hero in this one.

This story hooked me right from the beginning. It opens with Ravenna, in disguise as a man, gambling with Chase at his club in Antigua. He accuses her of cheating and in order to prevent herself from going to jail she reveals herself to be Lady Ravenna, pulls a gun on Chase, only to find out that he is her presumed dead childhood friend. If that isn't enough drama for you, they get caught making out by everyone at the club and, of course, are forced to marry....oh and Chase discovers he is not the Duke as his grandfather has passed away (and he is estranged from his family).

These two have some amazing chemistry. I love how strong and fierce Ravenna is and how she is determined to show Chase how valued he is and constantly fights for him.

The plot with Chase's brother and the other villain of the story didn't do a whole lot for me, but I did enjoy the epilogue where we get to see how Chase's relationship progressed with his family. One other negative was I thought Chase was a little too hot and cold with Ravenna, and after seeing the rejections after rejections you just want to smack him upside the head.

But overall I really enjoyed this one and would recommend!