4.5 stars, rounding up because I love Finn too much to not give this five stars for him. I’m conflicted because I love how cute and sweet and supportive Finn and Tabitha are of each other, but the third act conflict did bother me.

I understood why Tabitha was upset, given her past experience and also as a woman trying to forge a path in a male-dominated society, but I also found her reaction to be extreme in that Finn had no malicious intent in his words and made an honest mistake; she’d also never shared her past that would’ve allowed Finn to know why that particular phrase would’ve been a trigger for her. Finn’s gesture, like everything he does in the book, to make up for it was positively swoon-worthy, though, and she honestly should’ve had more faith in his intentions, given that he’d always been the most supportive sweetheart of a husband.

Prior to that, I loved getting to see Finn and Tabitha get to know each other organically. While they were attracted to each other from the outset (a fact they both were in denial about, to my amusement), I loved that we got to see them understand each other’s personalities and minds. They did become friends of sorts in order to enter that marriage of convenience, and I loved that for them.

Finn’s struggle with his learning disability and the verbal abuse he suffered at the hands of his parents, teachers, and ass of an older brother broke my heart; the beliefs he had ingrained about himself and his intelligence made me want to weep for the precious boy he was and the outwardly cool man who adapted to survive by hiding his emotions after a lifetime of learning that those would only get him punished further. His fear of disappointing the people he cares about most was so raw and believable, and I just wanted to give him a hug and reassure him. When Tabitha learned early on just how keen his mind was, just by the things he said and understood and observed, I cheered. When she learned just how deep his belief that he was stupid ran and confidently countered it, helping to show him how capable he was, I was thankful Finn had found her.

Tabitha’s own struggle as a woman who wanted to be taken seriously in a world ruled by men made me root for her, too. I was so glad to see Finn be the supportive sweetheart he is, placing full confidence in Tabitha and respecting and admiring her for her intelligence and determination. They complement each other so well, and I loved that she recognized what a quick mind Finn had as well. I felt for her after learning her own past hurt, and I understood that she reacted poorly to Finn’s remark because of it, in addition to her lack of experience with fighting and showing her emotions and being vulnerable, but it was still very frustrating. I did think she should’ve apologized in a bigger way, just as Finn did, since her hurtful remark delivered in response to his words was for sure intentional. I’ll give them some leeway for it being their first fight, though, and trust that they’ll know how to communicate better in the future.

Also, Finn is too precious for this world. He’s so kind and thoughtful and sweet, sensitive and caring and lovable. I loved Kieran in the first book but honestly I loved Finn even more. And Finn’s dirty talk was a pleasant surprise (made him even hotter than he already was haha). He and Tabitha have explosive chemistry, phew.

Other than that, I actually really liked the direction of the plot, with Tabitha working towards a more representative and equal society, and Finn’s wholehearted devotion to supporting and helping in any way he could. I loved the mutual respect and admiration between them, with Finn being turned on by Tabitha’s intelligence, and Tabitha being turned on by Finn’s unwavering support. I was curious as to what kind of storyline they’d get, and I was pleased to see the ambition and direction of it. It also complements Celeste’s goal in book one well, too, which was lovely. I was hoping they would’ve interacted a bit more with Celeste and Kieran, but it was so fun to get to see them in this book, too. Finn’s bond with Kieran made me emotional, too, and I loved that Finn at least got reassurance from Kieran and Willa in them insisting he’s intelligent. And Dom, too. Dom’s comment in his heart to heart chat with Finn that meant a lot to Finn without Dom even realizing it, oh my heart. Poor Dom’s been so miserable since book one, though; I’m eager to see him get his second chance with Willa and finally get his HEA because he’s such a tortured soul who clearly thinks he’s not worthy, which makes me really curious about his own dark past.

I’ll be so sad for this series to end, but in the meantime I might finally get to catching up on some of Eva Leigh’s backlist (thank goodness for that).

Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for the ARC!

*swoon* Eva Leigh is one of my auto-buys, so I'll do my utmost to be as unbiased as possible in this review.

I'm complete trash for the marriage of convenience trope because, by its nature, you'll also get forced proximity, another favorite trope of mine. Even better when you add in a bit of opposites attract, MC-defends-MC-from-mean-parents, and the unraveling of emotional defenses. Leigh handles one character's dyslexia with a gentle, deft hand and the resolution of this romance is particularly beautiful and nearly tear-jerking. Fans of Regency romance will not want to skip this book.

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager via NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 stars

Finn Ransome is one of three men, who must marry in order to get their inheritance, after convincing his friend Dom not to marry his sister Willa. He has struggled with reading in the past and now spends his time gambling. After Kieran gets engaged, he suggests setting Dom up with Tabitha Seaton so he doesn’t have to begin his own search for a wife. After Dom makes it clear that he isn’t interested in anyone but Willa, Finn and Tabitha decide to have a marriage of convenience to benefit both of them.

The writing in this book was incredible. I connected so strongly with each of the characters and Finn was perfection. He was so supportive, caring, selfless, and utterly besotted with Tabitha. Tabitha’s love of reading and learning was so relatable to me.

I will say that the third act conflict could have been skipped. That’s the only reason why I can’t give this book a full five stars.

I was so immersed into the story and the characters and would definitely recommend picking it up! I can’t wait for the third book to come out next year!

How the Wallflower was Won continues the Last Chance Scoundrels series. Essentially two brothers and their best friend wear out their families patience and are threatened to but cut off if all three are not wed in a years time. This is the second in the series and Finn Ransome decides to find a respectable wife for friend Dom. A nice wallflower Tabitha Seaton, the daughter of a viscount, is his target. He approaches her about the possibility of courting his friend. She is an avid reader and scholar and her biggest goal is to join the Sterling Society. It is a group of brilliant minds who are influential in society. She would be their first woman but they wont consider her unless she is married. When Dom shows no interest in the pairing Finn suggests himself. They both have something to gain by this marriage of convenience.

Both MCs are great. Tabitha’s love of books and study is delightful in the hands of Eva Leigh. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t appreciate Finn’s smarts that don’t come from a book. And I like that she is aware of his difficulty in reading and understanding of how poorly his father and others have treated him because of it. They are wonderfully supportive of each other. They are also sizzling hot together. Eva Leigh includes a lot of passion as they learn to care for each other. I think I enjoyed this more than the first story but it is storyline preference, both are good. I can’t wait for Rogue’s Rules for Seducing next year when the series continues.

This story was spectacular. Tabitha is such a strong female. She knows her mind and acts on her beliefs. And then she meets Finn who wants her to marry his friend Dom. Seems like a good match. What could possibly go wrong? Dom is to stubborn to make it an easy marriage. Finn tries to help them out but gets caught in the middle.

I can't wait for the next book!

Opposites attract in the wonderful romance. Finn makes his money by using logic and reason in the gambling halls, but has never been one for academics. Tabitha prefers focusing on her studies to socializing with the ton. But both need to be married as quickly as possible and agree to have a marriage of convenience. I really enjoyed all the characters and can't wait for the final book in the series.

3.5 Stars :)

After reading the first book in this series, I was so excited to read “How the Wallflower Was Won”. Finn and Tabitha were great! I wish we had more interaction between them in terms of feelings–it just really felt that towards the end, neither of them had sat down with each other and just been open and honest of past trauma. Conflict could definitely have been avoided in some instances. I don’t think the third act break-up was needed in this book. Overall though, I love a marriage of convenience.

And on a side note, I LOVE that there was a Jewish side character who was not just a caricature! So many times when Jewish characters are included in historical/regency romance, they are based on current stereotypes that are an inaccurate portrayal of Jewish life in England during this time. It was a small part, but made a huge difference to me.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

He’s a gambler scared he’ll lose his heart if he lays all his cards on the table. He likes risks he can calculate, and the brilliant woman who captures his attention is the most reckless choice of all because she’ll be able to see what he strives to hide from most of the world.

She’s determined to make a place for herself in a world determined to keep women in silent corners. He’s the last man she’d expect to help her accomplish that.

They should be opposites, but they recognize they are the missing piece of each other’s soul.

I absolutely adored the second book in the Last Chance Scoundrels series by Eva Leigh. It’s tender, steamy, provocative and thought provoking.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and I knew I had to read this once I saw it was available.

And I was not disappointed, although there were some parts I didn’t agree with, I enjoyed this book.

Lets start with Finn, he's so use to people putting him down especially his own parents. So he's not expecting much from anyone else. My heart hurt for him.

I really loved Finn and how sweet and considerate he was. He was always trying to make Tabitha happy.

“I trust your wisdom,” he said, holding her gaze with his, “but, more than that, you’ve no obligation to listen, to care. And yet you do. I’m not used to that,” he admitted quietly. “Not from anyone.”

Now Tabitha on the other hand was a bit selfish. She kept pushing Finn away all the time. And at first I understood but after a while it just seemed mean. And then she never fully opened up to him. Which to me didn’t make sense later on.

But Finn opened up with her and she couldn’t give him that back in return, she was always trying to guard herself.

Her redeeming quality was that she saw something in him that everyone seemed to overlook.

Finn was longing for someone to care about him and didn’t even realize it. Didn’t even realize that he wanted to be seen and noticed for the things he could do instead of the things he couldn't.

"He’d never wanted to be seen as much as he did at that moment, while at the same time, he feared what might happen if she could see down into the soul of him, who he truly was. A restless, trembling yearning ached in his heart, wanting so much from her, but afraid of the thing he most desired."

This was a slow burn, but I enjoyed every moment of it.

But let's get to what were some of the cons for me. In the big moment when things were said I felt like the wrong person was profusely apologizing. And the person being apologized to was mean and didn’t take responsibility for their part, they were also extremely slow to forgive.

Overall I really enjoyed this book except for a few parts here and there. I definitely want to read the next book in this series. I've been waiting for Dom's story since book one.

DNF at 22%

I love Eva Leigh, so it pains me to say this, but the basic premise of this book just doesn’t work. I have absolutely no clue why Finn keeps trying to set Tabitha up with Dom, despite his complete disinterest and incompatibility. Especially when it is so painfully clear that Finn and Tabitha are both interested and compatible with each other. Each passing page made me more and more frustrated with them, and I couldn’t even make it a quarter of the way in.

I’ll definitely give the next book in the series a shot, but this one was a big miss for me.

I really enjoyed this book! Finn and Tabitha were great characters separately and together. As annoyed as I got with them sometimes. their actions always felt true to their characters. The pacing was great and I loved the ending. Can’t wait for Dom’s story next!

This book was enjoyable I loved our main characters Tabitha and Fin. They chemistry was so hot I and it made the book that much more enjoyable. I loved how supportive Fin was towards Tabitha he always encouraged he to pursue her scholarly dreams. Tabitha was the same in her support towards Fin she never doubted his capability for a second. Fin was so sweet the entire book I felt so sad that he thought he wasn't deserving of Tabitha, luckily he realizes in the end that he and Tabitha are perfect for each other. I thoroughly enjoyed the book I always like marriages of convenience. I do wish Fin opened up a bit earlier and both Tabitha and Fin were really bad a communicating, I didn't like that they were both fighting their feelings towards each other. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This is a charming marriage of convenience romance about a gentleman gambler who must marry for family inheritance and a lady scientist who must marry in order to be admitted to an intellectual society dominated by men. Although still somewhat formulaic, the story was refreshing in that it was the male protagonist who struggled to feel worthy of the female protagonist, as Finn worries he wasn’t smart enough to entice and partner Tabitha. I enjoyed witnessing their chemistry and mutual respect grow as they gave into the benefits and bonds of marriage and learned to see each other as more than just convenient attachments. Their shy getting-to-know you banter was especially fun, and a near match to a different gentleman earlier on provides an interesting plot device to force them both to act on their budding connection.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Once again, the third act break up proves itself to be unnecessary. I'll die on this hill: not every book needs one.

To begin with the good, I loved Finn so much. It always breaks my heart when a character in historical romance has learning difficulties or other conditions that couldn't be diagnosed because no one knew about them yet. Finn was so lovable (and a total malewife). I hated how his father and tutor made him feel worthless when he was a kid, and still happens now that he's an adult. I loved that Tabitha noticed and never pressured him to tell her, helping him to read instead. He was always scared of being vulnerable with her because of his fear of rejection, but she always understood and comforted him. This book is also way steamier than the first (but less steamy than the third if my predictions are correct), and their chemistry was off the charts. Eva Leigh writes awesome steam.

As for the bad, I gotta say Finn and Tabitha are idiots to lovers, but in a bad sense. The miscommunication is normal at first since it's a marriage of convenience and they don't plan on becoming each other's confidants, but once they actually become lovers and start falling for each other, it started to irk me. This leads to the third act break up, that comes, in my opinion, out of nowhere, and it's completely Tabitha's fault. How is Finn supposed to know something she hasn't told him? I get that Tabitha has been hurt in the past, but she cannot expect Finn to know it hurts her if someone tells her to calm down before acting, which is a normal reaction when you see someone very angry. And the worst part for me is that HE was the one who had to apologize and grovel, when she's the one who caused everything for not trusting him. She should be the one doing the groveling in this case.

The bad doesn't outweight the good, because I really loved the good, and I love that in this series, the women are the true leads and the men are the cheerleaders, but that really soured my experience a bit.

I can't wait for Dom and Willa's book! That book is going to be so epic. Willa is going to be so powerful and I'll love to watch it.

Rating: 3/5
Steam level: 3.5/5

Thanks to Avon and Negalley for my ARC. Opinions are my own!

How the Wallflower Was Won by Eva Leigh

The Last Chance Scoundrels are back on September 27, 2022!

This time it’s Finn’s turn, though he starts Eva Leigh’s latest thinking he’s found Dom a bride.

Ms. Tabitha Seaton is a blue stocking, an intellectual, a wallflower. Because of the always oppressing patriarchy she must marry asap.

Finn and Dom must marry to claim their respective inheritances. When Dom backs out, Finn steps in.

Finn, a successful gambler who would certainly have no need of his inheritance, will marry because if he doesn’t his brother (book 1) and Dom will lose theirs.

A marriage of convenience turns into a deeply honest and romantic (Leigh’s most romantic yet if you ask me) love story. Finn, long treated as a dunce by his parents finds unconditional support and kindness in his new wife. Tabitha, misunderstood by her own family, finds a fierce teammate in her new husband. Together they make a new family, beat back their fiercest critics, and of course have great sex.

You’ll love Tabitha’s friends and the Scoundrels’ banter!

Can’t wait for Dom’s book!

Overall, a decent historical romance, more idealistic than some but that’s okay, it made it entertaining.

Positives:

• I liked the casual FF relationship between side characters.
• Lots of diversity rep just casually dropped in.
• Anachronistic but idgaf.
• The beginning was a really fun read - both of them being in denial, Finn trying to set up Tabitha and • Dom despite the obvious chemistry between Finn and Tabitha…a lot of good moments.
• There were also excellent sex scenes throughout the book.

Criticisms:

The biggest criticism that I have is how unbalanced this is between the leads, emotionally speaking. Finn does so much for Tabitha - libraries, going to the Sterling Society, bringing her books, helping build the Platinum Collective, and then the big thing he does at the end despite their estrangement…! He does so much. Emotionally devoted, so much emotional labor. What does she do?

…not much. Says nice things a little, encouraged him to follow his already planned out dream - which he then shifted to fit into hers, for decent reasons but still - >:(

The third act breakup! What was this. What.

It was unnecessary for them, in a relationship plot line. It was also, once again, severely unbalanced. Finn accidentally says something that hits a sore spot with Tabitha, who then deliberately says extremely cruel things and runs away. Finn then does all of the legwork to fix their relationship. All of it. What the heck. He said something clumsily, with no intent to hurt, and honestly something pretty much anyone would have said in that moment. Ugh. Drove me mad seeing him acting and believing and the other characters believing he did the most wrong when he didn’t do anything terrible.

This whole thing really lowered my enjoyment and kind of soured me on the ending. Not only was it an unnecessary plot device, it continued the imbalance in their relationship.

Other thoughts:

I think I would have liked it if there was more focus on relationship obstacles like their light-speed marriage maybe? The build up to that was excellent, but then it was all taken care of very speedily. Which ok, guess that wasn’t the focus…but I would have liked that more than all the society details ultimately. It felt a little too heavy on debate and society at the end.

I love the trope of nighttime intimacy and hiding emotions in the daytime like dingdongs, which was used pretty well here.

The reveal of his dyslexia was very anticlimactic. I guess I kind of wish a little more time had been spent on it, since it was such a big deal for Finn and his whole life. It felt like another way that he got sidelined in the story relative to Tabitha and her interests.

Overall, this was a generally enjoyable historical romance, with some nice little modern social mores added in. The imbalance on treatment of the leads made it a little less fun for me unfortunately. It’s still a pleasant read overall, and I find myself pretty curious about Dom and his (hopefully) intense groveling coming up. Hope Willa is as much as a badass as she sounds in this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon for this arc. The Last Chance Scoundrels series by Eva Leigh is quickly becoming one of my favorite historical romance series I read. How the Wallflower was Won the second book in this series didn’t disappoint. I gave it 4.25 starts (4 stars on this scale).

Tabitha Seaton, 26 years old, bluestocking, intellectual, wallflower, can be found at balls in the library with her head in a book. Wants to join the Sterling Society., hurt in her passed when it came to matters of the heart. Finn Ransome, 29,, gambles for his fortune, has trouble reading. abandonment issues especially from parents, looking wife for best friend Dom so he can get out of a dark place and so he doesn’t lost his inheritance. Finn thinks Tabitha is the prefect women to help Dom after Don’s wedding fail (to Finn’s sister mind you). When Dom is clearly not interested and Finn learns Tabitha actually would like to marry to be able to make a difference in some education laws and funding, Finn offers her a marriage of convenience. Together the embark on this relationship that quickly becomes something more. But will past hurt ruin what they are building together?

This marriage of convince historical romance between Finn Ransome and Tabitha Seaton was a hit for me. A caring and full of chemistry romance that was a great second book in this series. First the chemistry of the couple was great. Even when Finn was trying to set up the bluestocking with his friend they had an ease and natural convo to them. It was great to see that ease blossom to a very good love story. The chemistry they built was the highlight of the book for me. Tabitha and Finn trying to let go of past hurts and abandonment issues to be together came off well on page. The love scenes in this were hot. I loved Tabitha’s smarts and intellect in this. I love how she wanted to make a difference and was just trying to get herself and her diverse group of friends heard. Also loved how she never saw Finn how his parents made him believed everyone saw him. She saw someone that could do anything and was smart and not reading difficulty made her feel any differently. Finn caring nature not just with Tabitha but with Dom and Kieran was so great to read about. He often times didn’t need to ask what’s wrong or what he could do. He just tried to make the important people in his life happy. He often did that with Tabitha and the story was better for it. I actually liked the setting of intellectual groups that influence laws and funding. It was different from a typical romance. The side characters where also a treat. Can’t wait for Dom and Willa’s book.

This historical romance had many of the things I like about the genre. This particular book was just more clumsy in its style and execution. It was hard to get in to at first, but did pick up towards the last 1/3rd of the book. Overall I did enjoy the romance.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an early copy of this book to review.

This is my first Eva Leigh and I'm glad this was it. It takes a lot to make me fall in love with someone named FINN yet here we are. It helps that this is my favorite trop (marraige of convenience). What I particularly loved about Finn and Tabitha is that they supported each other, their strengths and weaknesses complementing each other. It also shows the differing types of intelligence and appreciated that Finn's learning disability didn't magically disappear.

I look forward to the third book and am already going back to read the first book.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and my opinions are my own.

This book was exactly the kind of book I needed to get out of a reading slump. Fast-paced but engaging and still nuanced. Tabitha is my favorite kind of heroine because she is real. She has wants and desires and is a fully developed character, flaws and all. And Finn!!!!! There is nothing I love more than an mmc that is a romantic. He is the period drama man of my dreams. My only complaint is that it felt like an unbalanced relationship, Finn had to sacrifice much more than Tabitha.

Think you to Net Galley and Avon for providing me a copy of this book and exchange for my honest review!