Our heroine, Victoria, finds out that she is betrothed when she is woken up in the middle of the night by a Duke. He has won her hand in marriage during a card game. The premise of the book was so interesting to me. I really liked that idea of a Duke proposing marriage to save a heroine that he didn't even know. I like the hero and heroine separately but not really together romantically.

Unfortunately, this book fell a little flat for me. There were times that I really enjoyed it but it was hard for me to get past the author constantly reminding the reader how "unattractive" the heroine is. The hero and heroine both harp on the fact that she is soooo much "plainer" than he is. How dare anyone be interested in her. Her attractiveness becomes a major conflict in their relationship. It's utterly ridiculous and made me uncomfortable as a reader.

I loved that Victoria had a real passion for archeology. Chase was so supportive of her from the very beginning. The book really showed their relationship growing into a great friendship throughout the book. That's kinda where the chemistry ended for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for giving me an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Victoria is a bluestocking who catalogs artifacts for her father and dislikes society while Chase is a fake-rake with a secret hiding behind the confident persona he shows the ton. Chase sees Victoria's father gambling away her hand to the revolting Lord Craven and steps in, winning the hand of cards and a bride.

This starts as a marriage of convenience and didn't draw me right in. There was something with how the characters were presented that prevented me from becoming invested in their love story initially. They are both very cold, calculating and analytical. They did develop a friendship which moved the story along.

The tropes are gambled/sold, fake rake bluestocking and marriage of convenience. This was a light, easy read with no great mystery to solve.

Sir Galahad meets the Archaeologist.
Unexpectedly betrayed/gambled away by her father, the independent Lady Victoria is suddenly reliant on a Duke with a far from pristine reputation. If she doesn’t want to be married to a lecher with an even worse reputation, her choice is clear but it turns out that marriage and her new husband are not at all what she expected. Interesting characters, tortured hero, sweet epilogue. Recommended read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lady Victory Kirby is more interested in archeology and history than society and suitors. She is happy to stay a spinster, but her father has other plans…willing to gamble her hand in marriage over a game of dice. Derek Kent, Duke of Chase, may be known as a rake, but he has a noble streak and finds himself stepping in and wagering over Victoria’s hand himself.

The blurb for this book drew me in right away, but sadly it was not for me. I had extremely mixed feelings about this book and was ready to give up a few chapters in. There was something cold and choppy in the writing and I couldn’t connect to the characters. They had quirks and mercurial, analytical nature. This is not the first book where I’ve wondered: is a character meant to be neurodivergent or is this just Devon’s writing style? While it wouldn’t have changed anything in the story, it might have helped me relate to the characters.

Victoria is a bluestocking who catalogs artifacts, and Chase is a fake-rake with a secret hiding behind the confident persona he shows the ton. Finding out about Chase’s secret was what kept me reading. One thing I did like, though, was that both characters were very accepting. They developed a friendship and didn’t want to change each other.

Tropes: auctioned/gambled/sold, marriage of convenience, bluestocking

* I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

There are so many fun parts of The Wedding Wager! First and foremost, the heroine Victoria is an early archaeologist! And unlike many of the archaeologists of the day with hammers and pickaxes, she values care with the handling of artifacts. There were some aspects that seemed off, but would only really stand out to someone training in the field today. I also love how the hero was determined from the beginning to protect Victoria and her sister from the machinations of her father. He cares deeply, even if he tries to hide it.

It's clear from the beginning that the main characters have crazy chemistry for each other, but our hero is adamant about not having an heir for reasons at first unclear to the reader. Those reasons are kinda stupid, but he hasn't realized it yet. I loved how Victoria helped guide him to realizing the error of his ways, but he still had to do the work himself.

The Wedding Wager is a fun, fast read and I highly recommend picking it up!