Bookish Wallflower + misunderstood gambler = swoony, steam filled romance (and I am here for it!)

I devoured this book during a rainy day with a bookish friend and loved every minute. This second installment in Eva Leigh's Last Chance Scoundrel series brings us the story of Tabitha and Finn. Finn is a gambler who thinks that his future is unlikely to hold a wife or family or really, much of anything. He works to set Tabitha up with his friend an in the meantime, falls for her himself. Their marriage of convenience is sweet and pulls at your heart while you are rooting so hard for both of their success.

Leigh writes women with strong opinions, great determination and the motivation to do unheard of things in a time when they shouldn't. I appreciate her thoughtfulness in sharing what strong women look like and the men who support and love them along the way. If I have pressed Sarah Maclean, Tessa Dare, or Bethany Bennett into your hands, grab this, too.

Let me start by saying, I absolutely adored Celeste and Keiran's story in the first book of this series, so I couldn't want to read Finn's story. And, although it was a good book, it just fell short of the mark I had set for it. And maybe that was my fault with too high expectations. I didn't swoon at the steamy parts. I didn't fully believe Tabitha, especially compared to the way Finn felt about her. Her dramatic exit when he tried to take reason into her reaction made me so frustrated. I have a Dyslexic son so I loved the way they handled Finn's disability and, overall, Tabitha's reaction to it. I just wanted her to fall madly in love with Finn after all the sweet things he was doing for her and for his honesty and love, but she just didn't. It was still a sweet story and deserving of four stars, but I just wanted what I felt while reading Celeste and Keiran's love story.

The Heroine
Tabitha Seaton is a very intelligent woman which, of course, is not a valued asset in Regency England. She has been teased and criticized for her love of books and knowledge her whole life. She wants to have a voice in policies that are being decided and desperately wants to join the Sterling Society so she can help influence decisions. But they won't let her in the society unless she is married, so she decides to get married but not to allow feelings in her marriage. Tabitha once thought she was in love, but the man, her brothers tutor, told her she was unintelligent to have such feelings and it was silly to allow her to sit in on the lessons. I had a hard time with Tabitha...I loved that she was so sweet to Finn and saw past the shield he put up. She didn't call him out for his reading troubles, but read to him and helped him with his confidence. On the other hand, she drove me crazy with her issues in her past and not wanting to love Finn. He gave her no reason to worry about the feelings being reciprocated and I feel like she tried to find the worst in him and, when she did, it was a stretch. And, when she reveals that she knew about his reading trouble all along, I was mad that she wouldn't have understood him more.

The Hero
Finn Ransome has Dyslexia and has spent his whole life being told he is stupid and belittled by his family, teachers and friends. But he excels at gambling and secretly wishes to open his own gaming hell. I adored Finn; he is the sweetest and just dotes on Tabitha. He did everything he could to make her happy and, when she kept leaving their bed during the night, I wanted to cry for him!

Tropes
Regency Era, Warm Steam, Carriage Steam, Beta Hero, Damaged Hero, Historical Romance, Titled Hero, Unworthy Hero, Spinster Heroine, Wallflower Heroine, Bluestocking Heroine, Marriage of Convenience, Disability, Dyslexia

How the Wallflower Was Won seems to suffer from my usual experience with second books in a series of three. I like the first book, the second book is okay, and I end up loving the third book.

I liked the first book. I liked the concept of three men whose families have had enough of their shenanigans so an ultimatum is set forth that they will marry in one year’s time to a respectable woman or lose all financial backing.

With this second book. I liked the characters of Finn and Tabitha. I thought how the author handled Finn’s learning disability was well done. Tabitha is proud of her scholarly ways and wants to use her intelligence to help those less fortunate have a voice in their future. The drama/conflict/fight near the end just seemed unnecessary. His groveling seemed unwarranted. And Tabitha never shared with Finn about the one who hurt her which played into the distance she wanted to put between herself and Finn. The “I can’t let him in because it’s not safe” thing lasted too long.

Here’s hoping the third book follows my pattern so when Dominic and Willa’s story comes to pass, that one will be the best in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Steamy; love how they support each other, but some of the motivating factors were flimsy, and the third act breakup felt very forced/contrived.

Honestly, I think this series isn't for me. I don't love a series where all the men are forced into marriage of convenience situations and are set up to resent women and marriage. In this book, we have Tabitha, who is an incredibly well-educated woman who wants to join an Antiquarian society. So she also needs a marriage of convenience a la One Week of Scandal. I love an archaeologist/antiquarian heroine, but I didn't feel like there was any nuance here. I was bored with the set up. I would recommend to an early romance reader, but this felt very repetitive to me, a veteran romance reader.

I adored this book! It was very steamy and yet very sweet and romantic. I’m definitely in love with Finn. I’m a sucker for a marriage of convenience trope and this book did not disappoint. I highly recommend this gem! Can’t wait for the third book if this series!!!

The second book in the series and it's still a fun ride!

This is the second book in the series, and I have to say that I love Finn! Love love love Finn, and how amazing he is. I loved Tabitha too, and really enjoyed that she never judged Finn on his education or lack of it, even though education is so important for her. I have to say that the late in the story situation almost did me in with the story. I am not a fan of third act situations anyways they almost always fall flat for me. I am looking forward to Dom's story in the next book.

4.5/5 stars
I loved this historical romance so much!

Finn Ransome has eight months to find a respectable wife before he, his brother, and their best friend are financially cut off by their parents as punishment for their past behavior. Now that his brother Kieran is engaged, the spotlight is on Finn and his best friend, Dom.

Finn makes a living gambling, so he wants to focus on setting up Dom. He recently met an intelligent wallflower named Tabitha Seaton, and thinks she could make a great match for Dom. Finn encourages the pair, but Dom still isn’t over his last relationship. Both Tabitha and Finn have reasons to want a spouse, so they decide to enter into a marriage of convenience.

I absolutely loved Finn. He is darling, considerate, and thoughtful. My heart absolutely breaks for him when he discusses his intelligence. He is clearly brilliant, and I am as enraged as Tabitha by all of the people who made him feel unintelligent and unworthy.

Tabitha is my kind of heroine. She is the girl you find hiding in the library to avoid the dance floor. Given the time period, her intelligence is underestimated and underrated because she has lady parts. She wants to enact real change. However, she has been hurt before. She suffers a different type of self doubt than Finn. She fell for the wrong person and was hurt badly. Now, she is extremely guarded.

The thing that I love most about this couple is that both Tabitha and Finn champion and advocate for each other. They support each other even though neither of them thinks they deserve it. Finn and Tabitha may need to work on the emotional aspect of their relationship, but their physical relationship is hot! This book was also really spicy. These two are getting it on everywhere including a super steamy scene on their dining room table.

How the Wallflower was Won by Eva Leigh is the second book in her Last Chance Scoundrels series. I have loved this series so much and I absolutely can not wait for Dom’s book to come out.

That third act conflict really ruined this for me! I’m so upset. I saw it coming from a mile away and it was just.. SO DUMB! There was absolutely no point to that fight and whatever love I was feeling for these characters just went right out the window.

A thoroughly wonderful romance that is perfect for any adult collection. I was completely invested in it from start to finish, and can see it circulating well!

Hello! I quite enjoyed How the Wallflower Was Won, and I really appreciate that NetGalley granted me an advance reader copy for my honest opinions. I think that Finn and Tabitha make a perfect, symbiotic couple, and the steam is more like fire. The chemistry between the two main characters is off the charts. Eva Leigh definitely knows how to write romantic and sensual scenes. It is really amazing how well hero and heroine compliment and understand each other despite a marriage of convenience. And so great that Finn endeavors to overcome his disabilities by not letting these define the man he has become. I also love the road Tabitha and Finn took together and how he supported her desire to be part of the Sterling Society. Very brave of her in that time period! Wonderful balance of scholarship; a smart, sexy partnership, an admirable heroine and an amazing, wonderful hero! Thank you! :)

I am really impressed with this series by Eva Leigh. I gave 4 stars to book 1, The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes, and I’m giving 3.75 stars (so basically 4) to How the Wallflower Was Won, which is book 2. I love that Tabitha is a bluestocking but that she does not, at any point in the story, judge Finn for his lack of education. I also love that Finn’s ability with numbers and gambling compliment Tabitha’s bookishness. And the steaminess cannot be denied. My watch tracked my heart rate at more than 20 BPM faster than normal during one scene. A great read that left me highly anticipating book 3. Dom’s story can’t get here fast enough.

For the most noble of reasons Tabitha Seaton needs to marry quickly. The clock is ticking for Finn Ransome as well. They strike an agreement: A marriage of convenience without the messy complications of emotional attachment. Will their secrets and growing attraction for each other interfere with their perfect plan?

There is so much I love about this book. I never tire of the marriage of convenience trope. Then, there's the MC's  yummy angst. It simmers throughout the book, especially Finn's. His hard shell of stoicism hides a chocolatey center on the brink of melting if his secret should be discovered. There is courtship, spicy scenes, and glorious, swoon worthy sentiments. In all honesty, I was in heaven until the third act when the plot wobbled a bit. While sweet moments still threaded throughout the final chapters, the plot went in an odd direction that was more wishful thinking on the part of the author than any resemblance to reality. 

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Was this the worst third act break up ever?🙃

Finn needs a wife in order to gain his inheritance, Tabitha needs a husband to get into a scholarly club. Boom. Marriage of convenience. Enter lots of love making and two people not communicating their feelings and running away for some flimsy reasons. But, I can get down with the “I have to protect myself from being hurt because of this stupid reason” trope. I read a lot of books of people being emotionally constipated and I can force myself to understand the hesitancy to not stay in bed and cuddle with your spouse to protect your heart. I love this series! I was fully committed to seeing past this!!

BUT!

The problem with this book is it just wasn’t compelling enough. The beginning has a fun quick pace, but after the wedding it’s a snooze fest. I really didn’t care about the big plot of changing society with new ideas and new intellectual clubs. Bored. I was more interested in Finn opening a gaming hell tbh and just found myself glazing over…well basically everything. But! I’m still in it, still thinking I’ll give it four stars cause I like this series a lot.

Enter the third act.

I knew it was freaking coming because we have our happy ending right on the cusp and there’s like six chapters left. I was already frustrated at this point because I knew a fight was going to come out of left field and be completely ridiculous and ding ding ding! I was right! And my prize is the most immature fight I’ve ever read. Yay for me.

There’s absolutely no basis for Tabitha’s reaction and the fall out…Good Lord. I couldn’t believe how dramatic it was over something so small. And listen, I’m a staunch hater of third act break ups that are just a plot device and offer no support to the overall story. Sometimes it’s good for the break up to happen. Truths revealed! Groveling! We need time apart so I can figure out my crap! A fight just to have a fight because it’s 80% and we have to have one, though? I hate it. I hate it with all my heart. This fight was completely pointless. If you love and trust someone, you hear them out. If anything, the entire fight just made me think they didn’t love each other as much as I thought. At least on Tabitha’s side anyway.

The break up at the end just annoyed me to the point that I glared my way through the HEA.

Isn’t that just the best way to end a romance book? 😒

Another fantastic Historical Romance from Eva Leigh.

5 stars. I absolutely love her books. Hot and empowering with strong female leads Eva writes a Historical Romance that you will obsess over.

This was good, hot and empowering. Eva Leigh’s dirty talk is fantastic in this one, it’s what she’s known for. Two things I didn’t like, first is the 3rd act break up seemed… tacked on and rushed. Their fight was over too fast and she never discussed the real reasons she was so upset, namely the man in her past, with her husband. That didn’t ring true. From the small fight that was barely a paragraph both of them also massively overreacted. The other thing I didn’t love was that this book in some ways just seemed like a place holder to get to the 3rd book in the series. There was a little too much focus on Dom and his broken heart.

There is a reason that Eva Leigh’s sits on my “always read” pile. Fans of historical romance will immediately see that this is a classic execution of the genre. Featuring one of my favorite tropes, the “marriage of convenience,” this book also features the smart female protagonist, a classic soft top male protagonist and a supporting cast that ties in with the previous book in the series (while also promising more to come!). Most importantly, the conflict is realistic and resolves equally so. The point of romances should be the romance, not super complicated lovers quarrels that would never happen. Here the characters learn, grow and love each other for who they truly are. What more could one desire from a HEA?

It was refreshing to read about a man who wasn't exactly a rake!

I really loved how Finn admired and encouraged Tabitha in her scholarly pursuits just as I loved how Tabitha admired Finn for who he was. Seeing these two marry but secretly pinning and suppressing their love for each other hit the right amount of angst. The steamy scenes were satisfactory, and while I found this slow-paced and less engaging at the beginning, I still enjoyed this book. Towards the end I really wanted to reach out to these two idiots, though, and yell: TELL HIM/HER HOW YOU FEEL, ALREADY!!!

Bring on Dom's Story next!

I absolutely LOVED this book! It kept me up way past my bedtime because I couldn’t put it down! I loved the romance and the storyline was very compelling!

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This novel was surprisingly interesting with a strong, smart heroine and a gambling hero who underestimates his intelligence. I liked that the heroine pursued her dream of joining a gentleman's society and the hero supported her her endeavors. It was also surprisingly more erotic than expected with ranchy sex scenes. Overall an entertaining read if you prefer your heroines smart and your heroes supportive.