Well we have a bit of a unique plot this time with a "bluestocking" being almost gambled away to a lecherous old man then being saved by a rake. The love story is a very slow burn and it takes several side trips since both of our couple have personal issues to deal with and we get to see the workings and while that may sound boring it was not but what really starts out in a vein of a 5 Star story kind of loses steam before the end and was in danger of dropping into 3 Star territory but it was a warm ending but a few things were just just not that original (how many female archeologists were there in old England, seems to be a recurring occupation in historical fiction). Don't let me talk you out of this story it was entertaining but I was hoping for a really good 5 Star story and it fell short of that lofty goal. I can assure you I will be getting the next one but she really did not show exactly who the next couple might be but for a solid 4 Star story this was a good one.

It's a beautiful romance between two people who have yet to discover their true strengths. Lady Victoria and the Duke of Chase are two of the most interesting fictional characters I have ever come across. Their story isn't the one to be missed by any historical romance fan. I found the way they interact with each other to be very amusing. Honestly, they kept me entertained and it was so hard to put this book down once I started reading.

This story of a woman being given away as a bride based on a wager, is given a bit of a twist as the woman in question is a scientist of independent viewpoint who doesn't want to marry anyone. I liked the idea but not the execution. While the story takes place in 19th century England, the language used and attitudes shown by several characters are more appropriate to the 21st century. As an example, we are asked to believe that the hero got his reputation for being a rake by getting caught with married women, which he did in order to have their abusive husbands grant them divorces. .Aside from the weirdness of a man being the lover in several divorce cases, divorces were rare then. An abusive husband was more likely to either beat his adulterous wife to death or have her committed to an insane asylum than sue for divorce .The hero just wasn't generally believable.. I did like the heroine and the general plot but spent a lot of time rolling my eyes.

"The Wedding Wager" by Eva Devon
A Winning Read
There are no two ways about it… I LOVED this story. I fear that all the ways I want to share with you of the whys I loved this story will only spoil your adventure and reason to read this story. But I will give it a go. There is sweet romance, admitting fears, facing fears, and becoming stronger through love. Can weakness give birth to new and stronger strength? I say, Yes, what do you say? Happy Reading !!

It was super cute! I just wished there would be more developing of the romance. It all seemed to go by so fast. It was slow in the middle, some parts seemed incomplete, like they were cut off. I liked that he got closure and gave himself the chance to be happy.

I’ve got mixed feelings about this book I loved the blurb but the actual book wasn’t really for me. The writing felt cold and not quite right, it was impossible for me to connect to these characters they felt like they were supposed to be neurodivergent but at the same time they didn’t really feel like they were real people in the story.

Sadly, this was not my favorite. The premise was fun but the writing distracted me- I think it just wasnt my personal taste. I felt there was a lot of telling and I struggled to really relate to the characters. Some parts(like internal monologue) was really repetitive

I didn't love or hate this book. I felt like there were too many secrets and it took forever for all to be revealed. I enjoyed the epilogue.

I would be interested in a story about Brookhaven.

Oh the Duke of Chase, what a champion for other's causes (especially for the causes of women), but not a champion for yourself. He was so right that Victoria (or Victory as he called her- how cute!) would be a perfect match for him, but he was oh so wrong in the ways that match would play out. It was so lovely to watch them banter, for Victoria to discover her strength as a woman and as an individual and for Chase to meet his match when he when that wedding wager for Victoria's hand.

One of the hardest parts of historical romances for me is the treatment of women in them, even when so many of them feature strong, resilient women who are able to rise above their station, or in despite of their womanhood. This is the first one I've read though where the man really champions not only his woman, but all the women he's able to help who are downtrodden oden because of their place in society. Victoria doesn't fail to put him in his place when his good intentions go astray, and he really grows in his methods and ventures to help women attain freedom, and it was just a lovely vein to this story.

I loved the chemistry between Victoria and Chase, they really were the perfect match. The 🔥 scenes in this one were fairly tame, but not completely closed door, and I was here for it- it earns a mild-to-moderate rating for me.

I'm hopeful this is the beginning of a new series, I would love to read a story about Lord Brookhaven meeting his perfect match. This one earns ⭐⭐⭐⭐ from me.

Four stars go entirely to the amazing Lady Victoria Kirby. The one true star of this book. Her wit, her strenght, her ambition and perseverance were inspiring to read.
Now, arranged marriage is one of my favorite tropes and it serves for amazing slow burn and great banter. While the second is a constant in the story, I fear that the first is severly lacking. That is my main complaint about the whole story.
It's true that there's no animosity between them when the whole affair is arranged but still. From going to "we're marrying but we'll have our separate lives" to "I want her, I need her" in the span of few pages, woo. Almost gave me whiplash.
Another thing that bothered me was the anachronism of Derek's character. I'm not saying that every men in the past mistreated and hated women but you cannot tell me that in the XIX century there were feminist men. No way.
He's simply too modern. It is surreal.
Now, again, there were men such as Mr Darcy who respected women but Darcy was still a man of his time while Derek even uses modern slang. "come on, man" was not something a XIX man would say.
Other than that, I thought the love story was very sweet, Victoria is a girl boss and their banter is top notch.

We can't all love a book and that's something that makes me sad.

I loved the blurb for this one but I honestly knew in the first chapter, this wouldn't be a book for me.
The writing and I did not mesh well and I found the characters flat and one dimensional.
There was no chemistry between Chase and Victoria and there were times I wondered if there would ever be a connection for me with the romance and there wasn't.
I honestly thought at one point Chase's secret would be that he was gay and Victoria would serve as his beard throughout their marriage.
I also had thoughts that Victoria might be Neurodivergent given the way she talks and acts but again, it was never confirmed so that's just me guessing.
The attraction Chase suddenly feels was a quick and odd turn around that I never felt.
From the beginning we're told how unattractive Victoria is and no one would want to marry her and Chase marries her because he knows he'll never be attracted to her. It's such an odd thing to repeatedly put in a book, how unattractive the heroine is and how even the man she marries thinks or thought that. He seriously thought she'd be too ugly to tempt him and he didn't want an heir. It's just so odd.
The sex was so awkward.
A lot of this was awkward.
I wish this could have been a book I loved.
I do appreciate the chance to read this as an advanced copy.

I enjoy reading a book with this type of story. The only problem I have yet to find an author who can make it convincing and not cringing. This story is about a hero who overhears something at a gambling club, then when he goes to confirm it, he has to step in and change the odds. The hero finds a lord, who up to then had been a scholarly man who studied antiquities. This lord has a good reputation if cataloguing and discerning the shards of pottery, jewelry pieces and other items that had day-to-day use in ancient times. The hero was told that the lord had given his daughter as a bride as a stake in a gambling game. The daughter had a horrible reputation as being a shrew. The hero, who was known as a rake who dallied with married women to the point they were divorced, was not happy and had to argue with himself before joining the game. He won, as expected. The hero hurries to warn the heroine of what her father did, even though it was early in the morning. They argue and the heroine doesn't believe him and is shocked when she confronts her father.
I have seen this plot used over the years with mediocre results. In this case, the book is so vague, there is zero character development and it is not a logical story. SPOILER ALERT. The readers are never told the age of the main characters. The heroine was presented at age 19 and has been out "for a long time". The heroine had her first season "years ago". Her younger sisiter is 17 and the father wants her married also, for no valid reason. The hero, who has appeared as an illicit partner in many divorce cases, is actually a man who is helping these woman get out of unhappy, or abusive relationships and even supports some of them after the divorce. But to the rest of the world, he is seen as a horribly, unrepentant rake. But the heroine's father "knew" that the hero would join the bidding, and even cheated to make sure he won. The settings are more detailed that the description of the main characters. And even then, they can be vague or unnecessary, also. The supporting characters are there with a small plot, then dropped and the reader doesn't hear of them again. The heroine is supposed to be a "difficult, unpleasant and unattractive woman", but she has a large dowry. Then she changes into a gorgeous woman, when she changes her clothes. This author tried to mix "Taming of the Shrew", together with "Good Samaritan Woman Right's Advocate" with a little 'Pygmalian" thrown in. In addition to, the heroine had been doing all of the antique work her father has listed as his own. This book was all over the place. I rate this book 1 star.

I would describe this as a very modern, feminist take on the regency romance genre. The heroine is plain, academic and uninterested in the traditional feminine values of the time. The hero is not an alpha type, but instead is an avowed celibate, supports his wife’s endeavors and is something of a feminist. I enjoyed the story but to be honest, I found all the references to the heroine being unattractive rather off putting.

When the Duke of Chase sees Victoria's father offering her hand in marriage as a wager, he has to step in. He can't let her be given away to an old lecher. She's got a reputation for her acerbic tongue, but that doesn't bother Chase. He's happy to live separate lives. Producing an heir isn't a goal for him.

Victoria has no desire to marry. She wants to catalogue antiquities, traveling about Britain and the Continent on archeologic digs. But her father has given her little choice, and Chase has vowed to support her projects.

They aren't counting on the attraction that develops between them after the wedding. Will marriage turn all their plans upside-down?

I love the concept behind this story. The hero and heroine are well developed and have a lot of chemistry together. They're well matched in terms of intelligence, which drives a lot of the interactions between them. It's a fun, entertaining, heartfelt story.

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

The Wedding Wager was a bit different from most of the historical romance novels.
So many questions went on in my head while reading this.

Though the exact time period of this novel isn't clearly mentioned anywhere, the divorces part has been nagging me. In a period where divorces were not considered normal, and more difficult to be granted (statistics says so and in most novels, we read about separation or estrangement), the ease with which divorces seemed to be granted confused me. Moreover, married women taking lovers on the side have been seen in several other historical romance novels - so why has this been taken as one of the key aspects of the story is not made clear.

The idea about having several layers to the hero's character is appreciated but something did not work out. We don't get to see the full potential.
In fact, both the MCs had potential to be portrayed better but probably did not come out the way it was intended.

In several instances the story seemed to be all over the place.

Overall - an ok read.

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for a copy of The Wedding Wager. I don’t really too many historical romances and enjoyed that Victoria was so progress and independent. I like that Chase and Victoria was so agreeable to each other from day 1 and formed a friendship. I felt bad for Chase as his reason for not wanting an heir and his journey to forgive and move on.

Derek, The Duke of Chase, is not what he seems. To the world he is nothing more than a rake who has seen more married women’s bedrooms than their husbands have. In reality, he helps women out of terrible marriages or situations, sometimes even testifying in divorce trials. A man such as he has also made one vow, never to sire a child. When confronted with a father gambling away his daughter, Derek can’t look away. He never vowed not to take a wife.

Lady Victoria Kirby was raised to appreciate the artifacts of the past. She only wants to dig to her heart’s content for the rest of her days and thinks as the daughter of a wealthy marquess she will be able to do just that. That all comes crashing down when she meets The Duke of Chase when he crashes into her bedroom to tell her he has just won her from her father.

On the surface, Derek and Victoria believe they will have the best marriage of convenience, friends but never lovers. Of course, noting goes to plan.

Devon brings the romance, the mystery, and the fun with The Wedding Wager. She brings us two dynamic characters who the world would never think of pairing together who turn out to be the perfect match. While she gives us several twists and turns as we try to figure out why Derek made the vow he did, she gives us a steamy romance to give all our hearts a flutter. If you’ve never read an Eva Devon novel, this is an amazing book to start on!

I received The Wedding Wager for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I finished this in a day or two. I needed to know what was gonna happen next. I have to say thou the number of times Victoria was described As plain or ugly was a bit too much. Even chase says it a bunch of times. I just wish at some point or another he started to realize her beauty rather than just her personality. Not that they weren't a match personality wise, it just at no point did Chase say she was beautiful at the very least in his eyes... I think that it was a shame that the author didn't use the opportunities given praise Victoria good looks instead of only put downs.

The concept and storyline was excellent

When Lady Victoria's father wagers her to the Duke of Chase, he's honor-bound to save her and believes her unlikability within the ton will make him the perfect marriage of convenience. However, upon first meeting, he falls head over heels in love with her, and his fake rakish days in the ton are numbered.

I loved the Duke of Chase. This book was a little bit different than your usual forced into a marriage trope. Chase pretends to be a bumbling rake in order to save the wives of the ton from bad marriages. When he falls in love with his own wife, he realizes he needs to find another way to help. I loved how quickly he recognized Lady Victoria's worth and how hard it was for him to stay away from her. She's sort of initially described as plain which I hate. That sort of generalization means nothing and it's been used a lot lately as a plot device among other authors.

I loved how strong of a character Victoria is and what's she's had to overcome. She doesn't compromise herself for Chase and he's forced to confront his own backstory. I really loved this book, it was such a pleasant surprise and very different from how this trope usually plays out. At no point is Victoria a victim and I loved that.

A very enjoyable read, and a well written story. A couple comes together under odd circumstances caused by her father's gambling. The Duke of Chase is insistent that he'll never wed nor have children. Victoria Kirby hurt by the treatment she's gotten from the ton is more than happy to immerse herself in her passion for history and historical objects. Their meeting and subsequent marriage changes both of their lives.