Childhood friends-to-lovers and marriage of convenience tropes!!! Ravenna is such a strong heroine. Everything about her is fierce. Courtland carries so much baggage and feelings of unworthiness. Reading the scenes of Ravenna channeling her fierceness into convincing Courtland that he is worthy and lovable were heartbreaking but made the whole book so satisfying.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I received a free copy from NetGalley and this is my freely given review.

I was looking forward to reading this after reading The Princess Stakes, since the character of Ravenna was introduced in the latter novel, the younger sister of Rhystan Huntley, the Duke of Embry. I am glad I read The Princess Stakes first, even though there is no mention of the two novels as being part of the series, as there is connections between the two, in terms of characters but also some background as to how Ravenna views people of different backgrounds as well.

Lady Ravenna Huntley is a young woman who does not want to follow the footsteps of other ladies of the Ton, and cannot understand why young ladies are not allowed to have a grand tour, unlike the men of her ilk. It doesn't help that her brother, the Duke of Embry, had the chance to sail to exotic lands, and her sister-in-law, whom she loves and admires, comes from a foreign and exotic background, which likely fires her imagination.

So instead of being a gently bred young lady of the Ton, looking to wed a lord, she spurns many offers and connives a way to have a grand tour of her own. Ultimately that involves lying to her family, running away, and ending up disguising herself as a man, trying to gamble for funds in Antigua. This is where she meets Courtland Chase, a wealthy industrialist British ex-pat, and grandson of a duke. The two of them have a past, long ago, as they knew each other as children.

Courtland is the first son of a Marquess, who fell in love with a woman in the West Indies and married her, but when she passed away, he took his son back with him to England, where he married another woman and had a family with her, thinking she would be a mother to his first son as well. However, she turned out to be a bitchy bigot of a stepmother, who did what she could to poison her own children against her stepson, and when her husband died, drove him away. He grew up thinking himself not worthy because of her and that seemed to colour his expectations and many of his relationships throughout this book.

In general, I enjoyed this book and give it a firm 3.5 stars out of 5. There was adventure, sweetness, some interesting dialogue, passion, conflict, and a happily ever after. What I am looking for in a fun, escapist read. Ravenna was a likeable character and I liked how she was fleshed out as a character - she seemed like a squealing deb in the first novel. I liked revisiting with Sarani and Rhystan from the first novel, and even how much more human the Dowager Duchess seemed in this novel; she seemed more of a cold hearted bitch in the first novel - but it does seem that she does care about her children; and may have a bit of a sense of humour herself.

However, there was a lot of suspension of belief to get through some of this story, especially regarding Courtland and his history. For one thing, his father loved his mother and I presume must have loved Courtland or wanted to care for him, to take him away from his maternal family, back to England, and to want to give him a new maternal figure. There was no real mention of his father beyond that, the Marquess of Borne, other than that he died, after marrying the stepmother, and fathering three other children - the stepbrother Stinson and two other daughters. Since the older daughter is about 7-8 years younger than Courtland, and Stinson was born less than two years after Courtland's mother passed away, it was presumed that the father was around at least a few years. If the stepmother and stepbrother were so abusive to him that there were situations such as manure being smeared on his clothes in his wardrobe, worms in the bed, etc, then where was the Marquess as a father figure? Even if he was an aloof father figure and left everything to the stepmother, then what about the Grandfather, the Duke? It sounds like stepmom literally kicked Courtland to the turf when the dad died, giving him money and sending him away when he was in his teens, and trying to make it seem that he was unwanted for his mixed background and was a bastard. But if Granddad knew he was the heir and cared enough to keep track of him and send him letters, etc, then it would be presumed that he knew that stepmom kicked him out, and knew enough that she was lying about his bastardy, and that the second son was fashioning himself as the heir and the Marquess - why did the Duke not step in and either take Courtland in, or at least acknowledge him publicly as his legitimate heir to begin with and provide his support of him?

Also, that bitch of a stepmom needed to have been seriously smacked down, and I was left feeling disappointed by the fact that this did not appear to happen. Well, other than by the fact that all her mechanisms to get her son declared the heir and ultimately the Duke failed. But it would have been so satisfying to see her get some other form of comeuppance - being an abusive mother to an orphaned child and kicking him out of his own home and family? Talk about evil stepmother who needs to be punished!

Regardless, I still enjoyed this story, and wonder if there will be third novel along this theme, involving some of the characters we have seen introduced in the two books already; I really liked the introduction of Courtland's eldest stepsister sister - she seems to be a force to be reckoned with and a potential heroine of a future story.

This book has got to be one of the best historical romance novel I have read. It was such a good read and I implore anyone who’s a fan of the historical romance genre to read this book. It was fantastic

It's a wonder to me how many books center around somebody's childhood wrongs. Do that many people actually dwell on that kind of stuff?
Ravenna is a little Hellion. She doesn't need anybody to protect and save her she can do it all on her own. Courtland doesn't realize what he has when he marries her. I felt sorry for her over and over again when Cortland cat thinking and saying that it's only a short matter of time before he divorces her and then she'll be free of him. Men! The ending was my favorite in this book. It true the stories together nicely.

Rules for the Heiresses was a angsty read. I enjoyed the premise of childhood friends to nemesis to lovers. Ravenna and Cortland were childhood friends that were separated by fear and jealousy. Fate intervened years later and were reunited. I enjoyed the story though at times I was not too comfortable with the way that the hero was push and pull with heroine. They were able to come together and become a union. I thought that they story was rich with family support and it was nice to revisit with old characters. On the second book of the series, Amalie Howard wrote full of angst and love.

A Steamy & Satisfying Escapade

Rules for Heiresses opens with an explosion of romance tropes all smashed together into one big messy but delightful chapter: heroine in disguise, compromising situation, heroine on the run, marriage of convenience, childhood friends turned enemies to lovers, and then toss in an initially dislikeable alpha hero who is rather a Cinderella in his own right.

As the story continues, some of these tropes are put on the shelf as the marriage of convenience plays itself out. From the island setting of Antigua, West Indies where Lady Ravenna Huntley, sister to a duke, is "forced" into marriage to Courtland "Cordy" Chase who has just inherited a dukedom, we travel to the backdrop of ton London during the season, where the pair must put on a united front no matter how much angsty pining and fighting are going on in the background.

We all enjoy seeing mean and nasty characters get their comeuppance and this book delivers on that front. In this case, the hero is our both privileged yet despised underdog and his family is so very delightfully easy to detest.

Ravenna is a fantastic heroine. Her encounter with the Green Fairy was a hoot. It took me a while to realize just how much I was enjoying her. She is anachronistically feminist and defiant, bold and beautiful, but it is her witty and unstoppable tongue which made me really love her. The scenes in which she takes on her husband's family, even when she is furious with him, are immensely satisfying.

There is a little bit of choppiness in the sequence of events, especially at the very beginning, as another reviewer has already pointed out, but most avid readers will easily get past this. The book really begins to shine about 1/3 of the way in, so it is worth the wait.

And the steam! The steam is worth an extra star in itself. Amalie Howard knows how to write beautiful, sizzling scenes.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy!

Rules for Heiresses was a fantastic read! I honestly loved Ravenna from the first book, The Princess Stakes, and had an inkling her story might be tied with the mysterious Chase. Courtland and Ravenna had so much chemistry. I enjoyed watching them fumble through their love story and look out for one another. The intrigue beyond the island was also really fascinating. Many points were made beautifully. I definitely recommend this book and this author! Amalie Howard is an instant buy for me! Every book I have of hers has been *chefs kiss* I can’t wait to read more from her!

“How had he kept himself away from such gratification? Kissing Ravenna was like diving from the highest of cliffs and soaring for an eternity before plunging into the balmy depths of a tropical ocean. All consuming, intense, and shattering.”

Lady Ravenna Huntley knew what she was getting into when she refused multiple suitors, disguised herself as a man and sailed half way across the world to avoid an unwanted marriage. What she didn’t count on was running into Lord Cortland Chase, the exiled heir apparent to the Duke of Ashton, long presumed dead.

Stunned by the news that he is now Duke of Ashton and his enthusiastic reaction to the arrival of the rebellious Ravenna, Cortland must marry her to avoid a massive scandal. But what starts out as a marriage of convenience quickly turns into something more when they are unable to deny their mutual attraction for one another.

No one does fiery heroine and wounded Duke quite like Amalie Howard. I fell in love with her writing earlier this year when I read The Beast of Beswick and her latest novel, Rules for Heiresses has me back in her clutches once again. The push and pull between these two characters is intoxicating to and the fire between them sizzles with every scene.

Thank you to @AmalieHoward @SourceBooks and @NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own. Pub date for Rules for Heiresses is October 26th, 2021 and is available for pre-order now!

the sparks:
✨childhood friends/enemies to lovers
✨marriage of convenience

Steam Level: ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥/5

“He was starting to see why she’d be bored sitting in a drawing room with nothing but an embroidery hoop for entertainment. A woman of her fiery spirit and fierce temperament would be better suited to leading a revolution than practising dull needlepoint.”

This is my first book by Amalie Howard, but wow, it will not be my last! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC copy.

This book starts off with a bang in Antigua. Side note: I loved reading a historical romance set somewhere other than London - that was fun! Ravenna is in disguise as a man playing cards as a means of making money while she's off on her adventure. Her family is under the impression that she's in Scotland with a friend, meanwhile, she's sneaking on her brother's ship in this disguise. I found this whole beginning very humorous and was SO EXCITED when some steamy action and compromising business happens quickly between Ravenna and Courtland Chase, who she beat in a game of cards. He says she cheated, she says she didn't, but this gets us to the good stuff with them duking it out which turns passionate quickly. I really love the "we got busted so now we have to get married" trope. I may have been clapping to myself while reading this scene!

Courtland Chase has some serious family drama with his dukedom. There's the added layer that he is of mixed race and looked down upon by the ton in London. Drama ensues once Ravenna and Courtland return to London not only with family but also between them. Courtland is reluctant to fully give himself to Ravenna for fear of ruining her life. Ravenna gets some awesome tips from her SIL who tells her not to give up. I didn't read the first book in this series so I missed her brother and SIL's story, but I think I'll go back and read that soon.

The issue of racism within the ton towards those from the West Indies is of note here. I like how the author made reference to Jane Eyre and depictions of the character Bertha. The author's note provides more insight on this and is a must read.

The steam is wonderful, and we get a bathtub scene. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Lady Ravenna Huntley has no desire for a loveless marriage, so to secure her independence, she runs away on one of her brother's ships disguised as a boy. She does not expect to find her long thought dead childhood friend, Lord Courtland Chase in Antigua. When she must reveal herself to him to avoid jail, it's at the worst possible moment - right when he finds out he's the new Duke of Ashton. With Lady Ravenna now compromised, they have no choice but to marry and return to England to face down the Duke's family and save his rightful inheritance from his weasely stepbrother Stinson.

This book was engaging from the start. The characters are well formed - Ravenna is strong and independent, and must break through Courtland's walls and insecurities. They had great banter and chemistry. It includes a voyage on a steamship liner, a sting operation and a conservatory tryst, which are all great fun. I fully enjoyed it and I look forward to Howard's next book!

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rules for Heiresses is the next book after The Princess Stakes by Amalie Howard. I have read both books and love the diversity of the characters. Our hero is biracial and he believes he is undeserving of the ducal responsibility he was born into.

After almost being compromised by a man she can't stand, Lady Ravenna Huntley snuck aboard one of her brother’s ships and had been in Antigua where she had disguised herself as a man The story opens with her being confronted by the hotel owner, Courtland Chase, claiming she’s been cheating playing cards . He threatens to lock her up in jail for the night, her identity as a woman and as Lady Ravenna is revealed, just as she realizes he is her childhood betrothed who was long thought dead.

Courtland Chase, is a delicious hero. He moved to Antigua years back to find his maternal relatives and escape an evil stepmother and half-brother who hated his “mixed blood”. I loved Courtland & Ravenna and hearing their reminiscing moments about one another growing up was so sweet. This book also gives up a glimpse at our hero and heroine from The Princess Stakes and what they have been up to.

Ravenna is a strong female lead and definitely a woman before her time. She isn't afraid to fight for her man, which I loved seeing. This is definitely a fun read and I would recommend.

Mini Review: This was a good historical romance, with a unique beginning! I liked the book, and I would definitely recommend trying it!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher

I love a good woman in disguise story line. Add in the fact that Ravenna and Courtland were engaged as children and you end up with a full story line that begins before the story.

Ravenna's disguise as Raven Hunt in an Antigua gambling table is revealed by Courtland just as his grandfather's solicitor finds him to declare him the new Duke of Ashland. Chaos ensues, of course. Considered compromised, Ravenna and Courtland marry and return to England. Courtland tells himself its only to see Ravenna safely home.

Ravenna and Courtland both chafe at their restrained societal expectations and limitations, and Courtland's are even more challenging considering he is biracial and his step mother considers that well beneath her and her own son Stinson.

Courtland and Ravenna reconnect and learn to live and love despite neither particularly wanting the marriage and what it means. Courtland in particular feels like he's not good enough for Ravenna in part because he's biracial. Given Ravenna's SIL is Indian she's not inclined to accept that difference as a reason to part ways.

Watching them fall in love and thwart nasty relations is satisfying, to say the least. The inclusion of persons of color in the Victorian world makes it so much more representative and feels more real than if everyone is white, as most historical romances are, especially when set in England.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Oh how I adore Amalie Howard's books. I fell in love with her writing once I read Beast of Beswick and I haven't stopped reading her work since.

Once again she does not disappoint.
No one writes surly alpha heroes and strong heroines like Amalie .I just adored Ravenna.Alaways on point with her strong plot, her unique and smart writing,witty dialogue,the banter and a touch of angst.Oh and the tension! The chemistry!!
I always look forward to reading her new work .Would definitely recommend!

This was a start to a new series for me from Amalie Howard. I have to say this is definitely a long read. I enjoyed the beginning but I wish the main guy character would have fought for himself more at times. Other than that a fairly enjoyable read.

This is my first Amalie Howard book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The pages were flying and I could not wait to finish it.

This has the elements I look for in a HR novel : compelling main characters, strong and sympathetic hero, strong and courageous heroine, lots of emotional tension that ultimately leads to an emotionally satisfying ending.

This different from typical HR in that our hero, Courtland, is biracial… with dark hair, lean muscles, full lips and golden tan skin… *fans self* For this reason, one is required to suspend disbelief. A biracial DUKE! Perhaps in another dimension. There were also some anachronistic language —my pet peeve — but it wasn’t so much that I had to stop reading.

Courtland’s father is an heir to a dukedom and his mother is an island girl he meets in the island whom he marries and falls in love with but unfortunately she died in childbirth. His father took Courtland back to England, and eventually he remarries. Unfortunately, the stepmother is an evil witch. Courtland grows up essentially unloved and unwanted, as the duke was busy doing ducal things. Evil stepmom eventually bore a son, Stinson, whom she felt should be the true heir, being pure-blooded and all. She poisons Stinson’s mind and he bullies Courtland in school. She also had two daughters. The duke dies and the stepmom immediately plots to have Courtland sent away and fake his death. Feeling worthless and not knowing any better, he goes away, works different jobs and eventually settles in Antigua, meets his grandmother and cousins, and proceeds to become very wealthy and even owning luxury steam yachts that could transport people from Antigua to London in 6 days… all before he turns 30. Somewhat unrealistic but maybe it was easier back in the day.

Our heroine, Ravenna, ran away from home after refusing multiple marriage offers as she did not want to become someone’s property, and she secretly wants to marry for love. The closest thing she’s been to being inlove was when she was bethrothed to Courtland (whom she called Cordy) when they were children, however he “died.” She stows away is his brother’s boat and pretends to be a boy to avoid being raped. She eventually reaches the islands and pretends to be a gentleman, so that she can play cards and make money. She eventually ends up in Antigua, in Cordy’s club. She wins too much and Cordy suspects she is cheating. He also thinks she looks familiar. A confrontation results and he threatens to send her to jail (thinking she’s a man). She begs, he doesn’t listen, eventually a solicitor from London arrives and drops the bombshell that the grandpa duke has died, and that he is now His Grace. Ravenna realizes he is Cordy, and calls him so, and he is instantly suspicious that he knows her, she makes up an excuse. she threatens to shoot him to get away, he somehow gets on top of her, and he realizes who she really is. They almost have sex — with witnesses!!! — and the scandal threatens to ruin her and her family’s reputation. So naturally, they marry. How can she refuse, they pretty much sizzle when they are together.

The only problem is, he doesn’t think he is good enough for her and he plans to eventually grant her a divorce on whatever grounds she wants, set her free to do whatever she wants, while he goes back to Antigua.

He goes back to London not wanting to be a duke AT ALL, and only came back to support the coming out if his two stepsisters. He was prepared to give up the title to Stinson. However, he soon must fight for his honor, as his ruin will also ruin Ravenna.

He holds back from consummating their marriage to make divorce easier… much to Ravenna’s frustration. This leads to an emotional roller coaster for poor Ravenna. He has deep seated insecurities and feelings of unworthiness that stems from being raised as an inferior due to his roots. He works through this together with the heroine, and eventually — after a kerfuffle with a slimy confederate American villain whose evil plot enlisted an impressionable and jealous Stinson— discovers that he was loved after all by his grandfather, and stepsister.

Some people might say, “why is he so insecure? Why does he have so much self-loathing?” Which the author answers in the author’s note section, and I partially quote below:

“That said, colonialism was a very fraught period in history, and many terrible and unforgivable atrocities were committed during this time. Having been born in a colonial country and having grown up on an island where old plantations were taken over and farmed by locals and descendants of former indentured laborers, I have an intimate idea of the harm that was caused by colonization. However, living on a West Indian island is part of my history and my own experience. Trinidad and Tobago gained its independence from Britain in 1962, but I decided to set this novel in Antigua, a smaller colonial port, though I used references from my own travels to other West Indian islands to deepen the narrative.

In this novel, the hero is the one of mixed race. In my previous book The Princess Stakes where the heroine was biracial, I wanted to emphasize that feelings of unworthiness or displacement because of race aren’t limited to gender. Living and thriving as a person of color has its unique challenges, even if one is a duke and in possession of all the power and influence that comes with such a title. While my hero pretends to be impervious, he is still deeply vulnerable, and I loved being able to craft these different layers into his personality.

Lastly, I’d like to point out that there are so many facets to a diaspora. One POC’s experience will not reflect another’s. My experience as a woman of West Indian descent will not be the same as someone who was born or raised in the United States, England, India, the wider Caribbean, or elsewhere. This means that as a writer, I might not be the perfect representation for members of another diasporic community. I can only write from my own mixed-race, Caribbean-born experience and through the knowledge of my own sphere of existence. I do hope that more diverse voices will be called to the publishing table to represent the amazingly rich narratives in the world.”

4/5

I am very thankful to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review of this book.

I went back and forth on how I felt about this book. I really liked the beginning, how these two childhood friends met again years later. I liked the events leading up to their marriage. After they were married, it was very slow. I had a hard time keeping interest until the last 20% or so. The ending was nice.

Ravenna was very much a modern day woman. A bit too reckless for me but I liked her. Courtland has a pretty crappy family so he spends time far away from England. Courtland and Ravenna had good chemistry and the heat was up for sure. I wish Courtland figured out his feelings sooner. He just closed himself up because his brother and step-mother. They were horrible really so I understand he is the way he is because of them. He finally made a good life away from them but because of his marriage he is thrown back into society. I felt so bad for him because his family is just awful.

Overall this book was fine but I kept losing interest on and off. I haven’t read any of the author’s prior books but there are some characters I believe have their own books. I was able to follow along and get the gist of the characters without reading the prior books. Maybe I will try them one day.

*Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I received "Rules for Heiresses" from Netgalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Amalie Howard is one of my favorite authors whose ability to tell stories is mesmerizing. Lady Ravenna Huntley and Courtland, the Duke of Ashvale, are caught in a compromising position where Ravenna is pretending to be Mr. Raven Hunt at a gambling establishment in Antigua, possibly thought to be cheating, and then is found kissing Courtland on his office floor. What ensues is a story of determination, trials, self-restraint to protect the other, and of course,  love and romance. If I could give this book 7 stars out of 5, I definitely would. What a heartwarming love story of 2 people meant to be with each other but numerous obstacles preventing them from achieving a HEA.

I loved this romance, and once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down. Ravenna is a forward-thinking heroine whose charm and intelligence won over almost everyone around her. Courtland is a wounded hero who has to overcome his hurt before he can welcome Ravenna’s love and strength. The story of their love is very romantic and filled with witty dialog as well as some drama and action.

This marriage of convenience romance had adventure, romance, heat, family intrigue and a unique setting in Antigua.

She’s an independent minded heiress, he’s a newfound duke with something to prove.

An enjoyable book.