I am a big fan of Romance books and I found this one to be a very enjoyable read. I will be looking for more books from this author. Beautiful Cover too.

The Wedding Wager is an adorable marriage of connivence romance that involves a misfit and a rake. I loved the couple in this book because they weren’t who the rumors made them out to be and over time they learned that about each other. Also, I thought the two main characters were so sweet and I loved the process of how they fell in love.

I enjoyed Victoria and Derek’s (the Duke) forced marriageable/ unlikely courtship. Victoria was determined to retain her independence so she could continue her scholarly pursuits. She was furious when her father (a marquess) gambled her hand away. The Duke who won her has quite a notorious reputation, but is better than any of her other options. And the better she gets to know him, the more curious she is about who he is. I enjoyed the growing relationship and liked both of the main characters. There was a theme of outer and inner beauty that was interesting and an added benefit to the story. The ending surprised me.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! Set in a time when women are very limited in career ambitions and have a profound pressure to marry, Victoria stand out. She has a passion for archaeology, which was a field limited to men, and is often disregarded but she sticks to her guns and refuses to give up her passions. I really enjoyed her character and how strong & independent she was.

Chase is as a great example of judging a book by its cover. He’s developed quite the reputation but there’s more to him than that. Like an onion, his many layers are revealed throughout the book, especially why he’s so determined to help women in need. I really enjoyed the relationship between Chase & Victoria that watching it develop. They had a good connection and Chase is so supportive of Victoria.

This book was a good reminder that I really enjoy historical romance, especially strong women breaking the mold. I really loved reading about her passion for archaeology, especially since I studied archaeology in college.

It is the middle of the night, a Duke No less, has stormed your bed chamber and declares “YOU ARE TO BE MY WIFE!” That is exactly what happens to Victoria (Victory) after he father gambles her away in a game of dice. This rake, the savior of women, finds himself to be married in a fortnight after years of declaring he’d be forever single and with out a heir.

The Duke of Chase and Victory are formidable and widely independent in their life endeavors. Together, they come to a mutual agreement about how their marriage will play out in the Ton and at home. We learn both of their backstories, and the constraints each harbor that are prevents them from a properly being man and wife.

The Wedding Wager is a fun, loving story with the best “Grand Gesture” I’ve read in a romance.
And, don’t skip over the epilogue.

Thank you @entangled_publishing @evadevonauthor @tlcbooktours for the complimentary copy of this regency romance.

I almost gave up reading this book, as the opening was very choppy and frustrating, but I kept giving it more time.

The heroine is interested in archeology, and the hero is a fake rake with a dark secret (which is so obvious as to be ridiculous). I like the couple when they are together, but a lot of the book just did not work for me. Every time I started to enjoy it, I would remember part of the plot and be turned off again.

I did really enjoy the heroine and how she handled the challenges the men in her life kept throwing her way. But the emphasis on how unattractive she is was off putting.

Moreover, the book made it seem like it was easy for a couple to get divorced in the time period, which was ridiculous. It felt like we were just to accept a lot of things that did not really make sense.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

This is a new to me author & I adorned this book! I can’t wait to go back and read the first to this series! I can say it can be read as a standalone. This book starts out with our hero Derek, Duke of Chase at his club. He sees Lady Victoria’s father gambling away her hand in marriage. Derek can’t stand what’s happening so he throws his name into the bet….and wins! Derek has a fake reputation and doesn’t seek love. He’s emotionally wounded and a protector for women. I loved him! Lady Victoria is an archeologist. She’s strong, witty, though not very pretty. She doesn’t want a husband, only her work. So when Derek comes to tell her of what her father is done, she has a hard time believing him. So they form an agreement & friendship. They have great chemistry though it is slow burnish. This book had some steam as well. I enjoyed the dynamic of them both having complicated parent relationships to work on. All in all a wonderful historical read!

I love historical romance and when the main character is a plain bluestocking who's father has wagered her away in a bet I'm intrigued.
The Duke of Chase who has many secrets of his own saves this damsel in distress from her father only to realize she doesn't want his assistance but ends up taking it to save her sister as well.
Perfect for him since he needs a wife but not one he wants to bed. Well .... things don't go as planned.

Thank you entangled_publishing, evadevonauthor and tlcbooktours for the gifted e-ARC and including me on this tour.

I enjoyed this book and reading the characters' love story. something that I loved seeing was that there wasn't an issue or secret or miscommunication that caused the couple to have a falling out. They were both honest and open with each other and that was refreshing to read. The only issue that I had with their story was that their falling out towards the end of the book didn't make such sense to me. We were reminded constantly that no one really thought that the heroine was beautiful, even her thinking it herself, but when she finds out that was a driving force for him marrying her, her hurt by it didn't make much sense to me. Other than that I loved this book and their story.

This was requested on a whim and I’m so glad I grabbed it.

I really enjoyed Victoria and Derek. They’re both really good people in odd situations that get thrown together and figure out how to make the best of it. If only they hadn’t kissed… They had some great, open conversations and I love how they were accepting of each other.

Plot wise, it was mostly good. There were a few moving pieces in the background and I wish we would have gotten more information about them. At times it felt like I should have already known what was going on. However, the grand gesture was fabulous and I couldn’t have asked for a better epilogue.

Overall, it was a fun and quick read and I look forward to reading more from this author.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

My reading mood has mostly been holiday books and historical romances so The Wedding Wager had me captivated recently!

The Wedding Wager is a sweet marriage of convenience and friends-to-lovers historical romance and it had me hooked from the very first chapter! I will always love an independent and intelligent heroine, but the gallant Duke of Chase stole the spotlight for me. I got some Bridgerton vibes as the Duke of Chase and the Duke of Hastings from Bridgerton have some similarities. I did have one minor issue with the fact that it was stated multiple times that Victoria was plain and unattractive. I understand what the author was trying to do, but it just bothered me because it was focused on ad nauseam, but that is just me being nit-picky and it didn’t affect my enjoyment overall.

Overall, the story was endearing, delightfully steamy (but not too much) and I just couldn’t stop reading! This is definitely one of my favorite historical romances to date!

Thank you so much to TLC Book Tours and Entangled Publishing for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

The Marquess of Halford has decided that he needs to get his eldest bluestocking daughter, Victoria, wedded by wagering her hand in marriage at the gaming table. Derek Kent, the Duke of Chase is horrified when he sees a notorious lecher winning this bet and takes over to win it for himself. He needs a wife to stop society mothers from chasing him to marry their daughters. Why not Victoria who is the daughter of a Marquess, but is known as unattractive with a sharp mind of her own?

Victoria loves archaeology, but she feels awkward at the social settings that the ton requires. She doesn’t want to be married and would love a career in archaeology. She has helped her father with archaeology in the past and is shocked when he suddenly wants her married off. When she meets Derek, the Duke of Chase, she realizes that she might be able to get the independent life she has always craved by becoming his wife. But will she be able to live in a marriage without love? Why has her father suddenly decides to marry her and her sister off?

I loved this novel. The Wedding Wager definitely had hints of Bridgerton: The Duke and I. I really wanted to know why Derek did not want to marry and have any children. I loved Victoria. She was very matter of fact about everything and just wanted to be able to pursue her own passions. She could care less about balls and things that society wanted her to care about. She loved history and wanted to travel the world looking for new archaeological treasures. Derek was a great guy as well, posing as a rake in order to help out women in impossible situations in Regency London.

Both characters had troubled relationships with their fathers and dealt with them in completely opposite ways. I loved that in this book, it’s the female lead, Victoria, who remains level headed and provides the logic and calm. Derek has much more angst and reacts in not always the most rational way.

This was a book I couldn’t put down and found myself enjoying when I needed an escape read. This was a marriage of convenience trope book. I love that trope. There are a couple of steamy scenes in this book.

Favorite Quotes:

“The laws of England are barely coherent, and they make it very clear that ladies are indeed chattel.”

The truth was, he liked her confidence, her self-assurance, and her clear sense of capability. Few people had that in his experience.”

“As society will one day find, often the work of women is behind what men believe to be the greatness of other men.”

“What is the point of living this life if we do not attempt to improve ourselves.”

Book Source: Review Copy from Netgalley and Entangled Publishing as part of the TLC Book Tour.

When I first read the premise of the book, I was excited. A hero with a secret, an independent, feisty heroine, and a marriage of convenience - all of my favorite things. Still, somehow, the story could not elicit the kind of reaction I was hoping for. It started out great and the characters were interesting. However, the chemistry between the leads was significantly lacking, which made most of their interactions dull. All in all, this was a really slow read for me.

The Wedding Wager
•
Today is my stop on the tour for The Wedding Wager by Eva Devon. This regency romance uses the “won a wife while gambling trope” that always makes me wonder if this ever truly happened. I need to do some research. This quick read brings all the historical romance themes to the party including, blue stocking heroine who just wants to do archeologist stuff, Duke with a fake reputation who is actually the most perfect of heroes, a father who sees his daughters as property instead of people, and a sympathetic sister, who becomes a wise sage for a couple who can’t figure out what feelings are.
•
A lot of weight was placed on physical appearance in this story; the amount of times it was stated that the heroine was plain and that the hero thought she was the perfect wife because she wasn’t attractive was excessive and instead of being a story about appearances not mattering in love, I felt the opposite was true. In my experience, love causes you to be attracted to the physical aspects of someone as well as their inner beauty. I understand what Devon was trying to do here, I only wish the hero had realized he thought the heroine beautiful in all ways. I did appreciate the character growth for our love interests and the humorous moments and banter between the two. I’m interested to see if we get a book about the sister next. The Wedding Wager published last month and is available in ebook or paperback.
•

Dark & Twisty Hero Turns to Sweet, Sweet Cinnamon Roll

I thought this book was perfection and had trouble putting it down. I absolutely loved Victoria as a heroine. She reminded me a bit of Lady Isabel Townsend from Sarah MacLean's Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord, in that they're both very invested in antiquities. However, I found Victoria's circumstances initially even easier to sympathize with due to the way the book sets her up to be in such a desperate predicament with her father acting so rashly and cruelly.

Anytime a historical romance hero steps into the aid of a woman in distress without expecting anything in return, I'm already fairly hooked, but in this case, the hero got even better and better because of the wonderful twist Eva Devon gave to the stereotypical rake.

Chase and Victoria were the perfect match. Because of the circumstances of Chase's life, the way his love grew for his new bride was fully believable. I really enjoyed how he was the first to fall hard and Victoria kind of hung on for a while, refusing to give in and to acknowledge her love until quite later on because of her understandable desire to protect herself.

Victoria is described as plain and unattractive, physically strong with red hair. Other than that, we don't get a lot of emphasis on her appearance which is so refreshing! Chase is described in rich, handsome detail but Victoria is left more to our imaginations and we get to fill her in which I quite enjoyed.

External forces are less of a threat to our couple than internal emotional ones, and so there are not a lot of major plot events. But the way Eva Devon writes emotional scenes is so fantastic that this is still a wonderful page-turner. This was my first by Devon but will not be the last. She's now a must-read and I hope to see Catharine's story!

Games of chance may earn you more than you bargained for…


When the Duke of Chase sees Lord Kirby gambling his daughter’s hand in marriage to a most disreputable sort of aristocrat, Derek finds it a great opportunity to honor a long held vow, while saving the woman from a cruel fate. Rumored among the Ton to be lacking the desired beauty and social graces expected of a high born lady, Victoria Kirby seems to be the perfect wife for him; he won’t find her attractive, therefore he will have no desire to produce offspring by her. Victory has no desire to play the social games of the Ton or enter into a marriage that would expect her to give up her passion for archaeology and intellectual pursuits in order to produce heirs. Up to this point she believes her father is content to let her continue as his spinster assistant and she is shocked at his betrayal when she learns she will be the Duchess of Chase. As their marriage begins, neither is prepared for the fact that the other is so much more than they bargained for.


I would have liked to give The Wedding Wager a higher rating but there were a few things that disconnected me from a full immersion into the story. Derek and Victoria’s initial reaction to each other, which is excessively replayed in the first few chapters, is written as a love at first sight encounter. This seems unrealistic given that they both are entrenched in their position of remaining unattached. It also seem unlikely given that you subsequently see how the love that they develop for each other comes as a result of discovering the character and intelligence of the other, not because of their looks, wealth, or position in society. My other stumbling point was how the Duke of Chase is referred to through out the story. While it seemed appropriate for others and even Victoria initially to refer to him as Chase it seemed weird that after they become close and she refers to him as Derek, she and the narrator almost exclusively refer to him as Chase for the rest of the story. To be honest, when writing this review I had to go back and look for his first name, it had been used so infrequently, because in my mind he was named Chase after reading it so much.


I did honestly enjoy The Wedding Wager, especially the relationship development and romance between Derek and Victoria. Their verbal interactions were witty and their physical encounters captured the awe at finding someone so alluring and fulfilling, specifically Victoria’s POV since she had absolutely no personal experience with men in a amorous sense. Her honest assessment of their initial romantic interludes was quite entertaining. I also like how they developed a solid relationship based on appreciation and admiration. They shared a similar view on social issues that was ahead of their time and found common ground in working to make things better for those around them who were not in a position to brake free of those norms and bonds. I think I might have actually like Derek’s relationship with his best friend, Brookhaven, the best.

Chase snorted. “Dead indeed. Let’s do this dance, and the we’ll see who’s dead.’ Brookhaven laughed again. “Word’s are a fool’s weapon! Use the one in your hand.”


The Wedding Wager by Eva Devon is a solid regency romance with a good cast of characters and fulfilling ending. It may take a little to get invested but once you do you will enjoy the progression to its happily ever after conclusion.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and Entangled Publishing for the gifted copy of this book.

When the Marquess of Halford tries to gamble away his difficult daughter Victoria, the Duke of Chase steps in to save her from being married off to a truly horrible man. The Duke never has plans to marry or to produce an heir, but Victoria might just be the key to allowing him to go about his rakish ways. He can provide her freedom and she can provide a front for his true ambitions in life. But when both can no longer deny their temptation for each other, will they give into their desires for a true marriage or continue to live separate lives?

It's very rare for me to read a historical fiction romance where I love the hero and the heroine equally. Both Chase and Victoria multi-dimensional characters, determined to use their money and power for the common good. Despite their high financial and social standing, they were down to earth and didn't get swept up in society's norms.

Victoria was a woman after my history loving heart. There's nothing I love more that an bad ass, rebellious heroine who refuses to conform to society's expectations of a woman. I loved her passion for archaeology and her thirst for knowledge and discovery.

Chase was the perfect match for Victoria. Loving a challenging woman, he allowed Victoria to just be her authentic self. His heart was so nobel, not only wanting to protect her, but also her younger sister. A man of his word, he'd do anything to make Victoria happy. I loved the way the pair sparred back and forth, exchanging witty banter with sarcastic undertones.

I'm really hoping this is the first in a series, because I can definitely see something brewing between Victoria's sister and Chase's best friend. There some interesting plot twists along the way and I enjoyed that as secrets were revealed, no one was who they outwardly seemed. This was the perfect book to wet my historical romance appetite right now and I cannot recommend it enough.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were a bit annoying at times because it was so clear they were just being stubborn for no reason. But overall, it was really well done and fun to read.

What would you do if a Duke you'd never met before turned up in your bedroom at midnight telling you that you were going to be married?

That's exactly what happens to Victoria after her dad gambles away her hand in a dice game! Derek Marcus Andrew Kent, the Duke of Chase, has carefully cultivated his reputation as a rake and never planned to marry, but he couldn't let the cad Lord Craven win the poor girl's hand, so he intervened.

Lady Victoria is an archeologist and anthropologist and has all but abandoned polite society in favor of her work. She had no plans to marry either, and The Duke's appearance on her doorstep is less than welcome.

The two of them appear so very different, but each of them wants independence so perhaps this arrangement might actually be beneficial to them both.

I really enjoyed the story and found it fun but also sweet and moving at times too. It's the perfect book to cozy up with on a rainy fall day.

I was tempted by the premise of this book, however it didn’t quite live up to the hype. Victoria is a force of nature and her Duke a multilayered character with hidden depths. The dialogue and the author’s narration of each and every nuanced thought bogged the story down. The story was entertaining, but I was looking for just that bit more.