Great character development is evident In Falling for His Practical Wife, a charming and engaging historical romance. As timid Annabelle blossoms into a bewitching woman, Leo learns to trust again in love. Laura Martin is now a must buy!

Good book about two lonely people whose past hurts hold them back from living full lives. As a young child, Annabelle was badly scarred on one cheek. Since that time, Annabelle's mother told her over and over that she must stay at home to spare others the sight of her scars. After years of this treatment, Annabelle believes that her scars are who she is and that no one would see past them. On those rare occasions Annabelle left the property, she always wore a veil to hide her face. If it hadn't been for her sister, Beth, her life would have been miserable indeed. Then Beth married and left for India with her husband, leaving Annabelle with only her selfish, shrewish mother.

Leo, the heir to a viscount, needs a wife. The current (dying) viscount insists that Leo marry if he wants to inherit the funds necessary to maintain all of the properties. Leo is a very private man who keeps everyone at a distance. After the deaths of his parents when he was a child, he and his brother were separated. Josh went to India with his guardian, while Leo lived with a different guardian. She was a cold, unfeeling woman who made sure he was cared for but showed no affection. His one attempt at a loving relationship ended in disaster. He hides behind a mask of aloofness, certain that if he comes to care for someone, sooner or later, that person will be taken from him.

I liked watching the relationship develop between Leo and Annabelle. With her sister married to his brother, they know each other a little bit. When Leo needs to find a wife, he knows what he needs - a woman who accepts that he cannot offer love. Annabelle seems to be a perfect choice - a woman uninterested in Society, content to stay at home. When he lays his proposal in front of her, Leo is honest about his expectations. While Annabelle longs for a marriage like her sister's, she knows it is unlikely. Marrying Leo provides a way to escape from under her mother's thumb and have a home of her own.

Neither Annabelle nor Leo expected the attraction or the feelings that grew between them. Leo planned that he would spend most of his time in London while Annabelle lived in the country, rarely spending time together. But when he became ill right after their wedding, Annabelle cared for him. The more time they spent together, the more they discovered they liked each other. Though wary, Leo agreed with Annabelle that friendship and companionship were possible. Unfortunately for his plans, Leo found the walls around his heart crumbling.

I liked how Leo saw past Annabelle's scars to the fascinating woman she was. Disgusted by how her mother treated her, Leo showed Annabelle that she was more than her scars. I liked how he encouraged her to leave off her veil and face people head-on. I liked seeing the changes in Annabelle as her confidence grew. For Annabelle, the more time she spent with Leo, the more she wanted their marriage to be real. When they were together, she watched him begin to relax and enjoy their time together. I liked how she encouraged him to talk about his good memories and his relationship with his brother. But letting go of their fears isn't easy, and both Leo and Anabelle have moments of backsliding. When one of those moments sends Annabelle running back to safety, both of them must face their fears and their feelings and decide which is more important. I loved the ending and seeing them both choose love over fear. The epilogue was fantastic, with a peek into the lives of both Ashburton couples a few years into the future.

Lady Annabelle has lived a reclusive life since a childhood accident scarred her face. Leo Ashburton proposes a marriage of convenience to satisfy the terms of his inheritance as the next Viscount Abbingdon. Leo sees the quiet Annabelle as the perfect wife who will make no demands. Annabelle sees a chance to get out from under her mother's thumb. Will these two introverts be able to say yes to love?

This is the sequel to Flirting With His Forbidden Lady, featuring Leo's brother and Annabelle's sister but can be read as a standalone. Annabelle and Leo are a good couple. Both are dealing with hurt and loss in their past. I enjoyed seeing them take two steps forward, one step back in order to finally make the life they wanted. I liked seeing the snippets of letters each of them wrote to their siblings as it showed more of their inner feelings.

In addition to a marriage of convenience, this book has forced proximity and is very light on steam. There is an epilogue that gives readers a nice glimpse of the future. If you're looking for a sweet Regency romance, add this to your TBR. Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for my advanced ecopy of this book.

This is a sweet story of two people, who have past hardships, entering into a marriage of convenience which blossoms into something so much more. Laura Martin has a very soft and accessible writing style that immediately drew me into the story. Martin's story is very character driven as these two people learn to start a marriage together, slowly open up to the other, and learn what they really want out of life. This novel is well paced and an easy read that left me with a smile on my face.

The heroine-Annabelle is the daughter of an impoverished earl who has been dead for years, so she and her mother are downsizing their living arrangement. Annabelle also has some facial scarring for an accident in her youth, because of this her mother has criticized Annabelle and made her very self conscious over the years, which has resulted in Annabelle being a bit of a recluse. The hero, Leo, is the heir to his great uncle's estate and is feeling pressured to wed to secure this inheritance. Leo has lost both his parents in his youth, been separated from his brother for many years, as well as suffered the loss of the woman he believed is his one true love. Leo has strong hesitations to creating any type of relationship that might open his heart and cause him sadness. So he believes having an arranged marriage with Annabelle with terms specifically laid out, will solve all his problems and keep his heart safe.

Both Annabelle and Leo have learned to be strong in unpleasant situations and make the best of what they have. I really enjoyed watching these two slowly open themselves up and learn that they are stronger together. Annabelle and Leo are able to build a friendship by learning to trust each other with feelings and secrets that they have held with in themselves. Their love story is a softly growing one that blooms out of attraction for the other, learning to understand each other, being honest even when it is hard, and being willing to trust in their own instincts.

I would definitely recommend if you love a sweet, well paced, character driven romance, between two people that learn their own worth as well as how two people can grow together and support and bring out the best in each other.

Her scarred face has turned Annabelle into a recluse. Yet she yearns for a home of her own, where she can escape her domineering mother.

The heir to a peerage, Leo has no desire to marry. Yet his uncle requires it if he hopes to inherit the funds to keep the earldom solvent.

Leo views sweet, retiring Annabelle to be the perfect choice for his bride. Theirs will be a marriage in name only: after an accident tore his family apart, he has no desire to let anyone close again. But once he gets to know Annabelle, will he be able to keep love at bay?

This is a charming, well-written book. With both main characters being so introverted, it's a rather quiet, contemplative novel, with a love story that unfurls slowly.

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