A Bet on Love

In this entertaining Regency romance, a mistress makes a bet with her protector that she could make him fall in love with her. He was certain he would never do such a thing, but she was determined it would happen. Which one would win the bet? Catherine had secrets; could they get in the way? Micah had family issues, and he was of a different class from Catherine. Men did not marry their mistresses, or did they? I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to lovers of steamy Regency romance.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

Micah de Petras is in the unusual situation of being usurped by his older sister as heir to the de Petras fortune. When his peers are all lauded as heirs, he is ridiculed, and finds spending time with his family a chore. Instead, he gambles, and drinks, and drowns his sorrows in the arms of his mistresses. However, his favourite mistress, Catherine, has had enough of only one night a week. Having to support her young siblings, Catherine wants more, and she is determined that Micah is the way to get it. But as the two seem to fall for each other, will they overcome the odds?

This book was my least favourite so far. Every time we've met Micah in the past, he's been so whiny and whingy that I wasn't really looking forward to his book, and though this wasn't as bad as I expected, he didn't really grow on me. I liked Catherine, and the way she was somewhat up front with her reasons for being a mistress, and why she was wanting more from Micah. The main thing I liked from this book was that the family seemed to grow more tighter, and I'm really looking forward to Sapphy's book, because her and Maltravers are definitely made for each other!

Micah De Petras, the oldest male child of his family, and not the heir. That is the unique De Petras way, the women are the head of the house, making his sister the head of the family. This has caused a great deal of rebellion in Micah, doing things like juggling multiple mistresses at a time. But there is only one very Determined Mistress who might just find her way into his heart. The love affair of Micah and Catherine is a definite whirlwind. The boldness Catherine uses to help him realize that she already owns his heart is quite a rush. Ladies are not supposed to be forward or pushy, so seeing this side in a period story is quite refreshing. The family dynamic of the DePetras’ is always loud and boisterous, but is bound in love behind all the bluster. This story shares love, passion and a light humour that sneaks up on you. A delightful read!

The fourth installment of The De Petras Saga brings us Micah's story, the only son of the family. Not happy with the fact that his sister Coral will inherit all and not him, he decides to live in his own lodgings and carry on with multiple mistresses. One particular mistress, the longest one he's been with and his favorite, Catherine, has had enough and wants more than to be just his mistress. She wants to marry Micah, and to achieve her goal she presents him with a wager. Micah has always vowed never to lose his heart, but Catherine has challenged him to do just that with her. She has taken the role of mistress solely to care for her younger siblings after the death of their parents. In all the time they have been together, Micah has not noticed how poorly she is living. At first, I didn't really warm up to Micah with his resentful, bitter attitude, already knowing since a young age that he would not inherit and resenting his sister and family for it. And the way he simply wasted away his life with gambling and engaging with the several mistresses, definitely did not warm my heart towards him. However, the redemption that came after, once he realized that he loved Catherine and wanted a life with her, was wonderful to see. Catherine was a good woman and her determination served her well. Micah certainly had a lot of maturing to do, and Catherine's determination helped him find his path to becoming a better person. An entertaining and enjoyable read and a great addition to the series.
I received a complimentary copy from Dragonblade Publishing via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and this is my freely given opinion.

This is the fourth book of the series and the story of Micah De Petras, the only son of Jasper and Opal. He is in the unenviable position of being the only son in a wealthy and prominent family in London during this period of time, but not the heir and future head of the De Petras family, due to the unusual culture of their family, which is established as a matriarchy. Coral has been groomed to be the future head and the heiress, and this has stuck in Micah's craw in all previous books, and caused a great deal of friction between him and his family. Instead, he is given an allowance by his mother and a dowry of his own. He acts out frequently against his family, and over time has moved out into his own lodgings, and when he engages with is family it usually ends up with his acting out as he feels they are trying to control him, especially Coral and Opal, or do not support or understand him. Sometimes his outbursts are quite immature and childish to get a rise out of his family, such as his bringing his mistress to his sister, Emerald's, aborted wedding. His behaviours as a young adult male reminds me of being a petulant teenager pushing boundaries.

He sounds to me like a man who has no purpose or definitive goals in life, and as such fills the emptiness with sex and gambling. As such he sometimes has multiple mistresses, and sets aside days of the week with them. His current longest term mistress, Catherine Tetlow, is his standing Thursday night appointment and he has been with her for over 2 years.

In those two years, he visits her for his Thursday night sex, and leaves her with ten pounds, and has never stayed the night. It is an agreeable and enjoyable arrangement for the both of them. But in that time, he has failed to notice how poorly Catherine lives. It turns out that she is the eldest of three, and after the death of her parents, she was forced to take a protector, Micah, and uses the money he gives her to primarily fund a home, food, and care for her two younger siblings. Things are coming to a head for her though, as she has come to want more from Micah, and does not want to be merely one of many women, and wants to have more security for herself and her siblings, so she wagers Micah that she could make him fall in love with her.

I have to admit, that I did not really like probably the first half of the story. Micah came across quite like a petulant man fighting against the women in his family, and then not appreciating women in general, seeing them as merely vessels for his own penis pride as he swings it all about town. I could not understand why, if Jasper heads his own shipping company, that, even if Opal is the head and Coral will inherit the De Petras wealth and be the de facto head of the family, they could not direct Micah's energies to learning to manage the business with Jasper. That would give him some purpose, pride, and develop his self-worth, as well as earning an income, and cementing positive relationships with his father and perhaps other members of his family, rather than feeling like he is beaten down by the women in the family and laughed at by men in society. Catherine, until I learned more about her back story, initially was not a character that earned my empathy either, because she initially just came across as a stalker mistress trying to get more of Micah's attention. But then I would also wonder, why would she want more of him? In the two years of him screwing her every Thursday night, he did not bother to actually find out more about her. It did not sound like he bothered taking her out, or doing anything other than expect her to be waiting and ready for his penis in her "boudoir". After over two years of a pretty much one dimensional relationship, where there was sex, complaining about his family, and some other facile conversations where he even talked about his other mistresses, but did not even find out that she had siblings - that does not scream, "I want to have more of *that*" to me.

But then, in the latter half of the story, there was redemption. Catherine set out the wager and then forced Micah's hand a bit, and he started to realize that there was more to her, that he did want to know more and care about her... and that perhaps he could lose her if he did not try more. Then Micah started to grow up.

So initially, since I wanted to kick Micah in the pants so very much for being such a selfish dick-swinging prick, I wanted to toss this story aside. But then when he actually started to grow up and realize that he can be more than a selfish walking penis, I actually became interested in where he would go in his story.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

While I did enjoy the story, I can't say Michah is a believable hero. He's a jealous, petulant narcissist that needs to grow up and accept life as it is!! That being said, I applaud Catherine for going after what she wants even if I question her sanity. As an added bonus though, some of my favorite characters from previous installments made cameo appearances throughout the story.
Thank you Emily EK Murdoch, Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

While I applaud the author for having the heroine as a sex worker á la Pretty Woman, I could not get into the story. I did enjoy Catherine’s character. The biggest drawback for me was Micah. To me, he came across as petulant, entitled and immature. Quite honestly, I couldn’t see the attraction other than surface looks! I got to about half way before losing interest.

She is determined to get him to notice her in a different light. One where he might keep her forever. He likes his life the way it is but its changing without his permission. Not only that he is not the heir apparent like other first born boys of England. His mistress makes a bet he can't refuse.
Wonderfully engaging and not as steamy as I'd thought it might have been with a title like this. You don't need to read the previous books to know whats going on but it might help with understanding the family dynamics.
I recieved a free copy so that I might tell you what I honestly think. Hope you enjoyed my review. Now go enjoy the book

Micah de Petras is the only son of the family. Unfortunately his mother and not his father is the heiress and controls the finances. His oldest sister Coral is next in line to inherit, not him. Bitter that he lives on a small allowance and will not inherit the title, his consolation is having his own lodging and more than one mistress After two years of falling in love with Micah, Catherine Tetlow doesn't want to be his mistress anymore, she wants to be his wife. She make him a wager he will fall in love with her. Being his mistress is an advantage. She can only hope she will win his heart. One stubborn man afraid to fall in love and one determined mistress. He doesn't have a chance.
Heat level 3
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

Micah de Petras finds solace in the arms of his mistress Catherine Tetlow, knowing that he will not be the de Petras heir. However, Catherine has a different plan and that is to win his heart as she is tired of only being loved for her body. So she wagers that Micah will fall in love with her, he’s confident he'll win as he doesn't believe in love. Not having read other books in the series, I wasn’t able to make a comparison, but I did find this book quite entertaining. Yet Micah was quite a bit self-centred for my liking. Cat is a formidable woman, as she knew just how to make him jealous and to have him do exactly as she had planned.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was so wholesome and yet the smut was incredible? I'm not sure how it meshed so well but I LOVED it. Catherine was fantastic, Micah was intriguing, if a little bit of a dumb boy but also.....SAPPHIRE?!?!?!?! SO STOKED FOR HER BOOK

Micah de Petras finds solace in one place: the arms of his mistress. That should be mistresses – after all, why limit yourself to one? Micah never saw the point in settling for anything less, considering it’s his sister and not himself who is the de Petras heir. Micah returns again and again to the only woman who wants nothing more from him than his weekly allowance. The trouble is, Catherine Tetlow has had enough of only being Micah’s Thursday evening. She has a plan, and Catherine is determined to win not just the body, but the heart of Micah de Petras. So she wagers that Micah will fall in love with her, he’s confident he'll win as he doesn't believe in love
Micah is the fourth de Petras sibling to find love & my favourite of the series so far. It was different, I must admit I didn’t particularly like Micah as I found him self centred & bitter, he knew from an early age that he wasn't the heir but resented his sister Coral & became a bit of a wastrel. He wasn’t content with just one mistress but had several at the same time, he gambled & basically was wasting his life. Then he found his relationship with Cat changed. I did like Cat who was striving to make a life for her two siblings but she fell for Micah. I loved how she made him jealous & wormed her way into his heart. I only hope the love of a good woman makes a decent man of him
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

A funny and entertaining read. The hero is amusing and endearing while on the road to self discovery and the heroine is patient and loving to the expletive she loves. Heartwarming tale all around.

I received an ARC of this book and leaving my review voluntarily.

Catherine Tetlow has made the mistake of falling in love with a man who only wants her body. She needs more from him for financial and emotional reasons. It's time to make a move.

Micah de Petras has a difficult relationship with his family, especially his eldest sister. He is the only son in a wealthy family but is not the heir and never will be. He might as well just enjoy the charms of his mistresses and ignore the pressure to marry from his parents. After all what has he got to offer a wife.

We have a historical romance series where the heroines hold most of the power.

This is the latest in the series about this very unusual family. It really is best to read this series in order to truely understand our hero's frustration. Every character has a strong personality and they are not shy about sharing their opinions.

Really good fun.

Another fantastic romance, I’ve been looking forward to Micah’s story and found it didn’t disappoint.

Micah has a lot of issues about not being the head of the family and he did have a chip on his shoulder. He’d moved out of the family home years ago to live his own life. He lived off his income from his family and kept numerous mistresses, he didn’t want to commit himself to one woman and after being brought up as the only son in a family of strong females definitely did not want to marry.

Catherine was his favourite mistress who he visited every Thursday. She had fallen love with Micah and decided she was going to make him fall in love with her. Micah looked forward to his Thursdays with her, she was different from his other mistresses and before he had realised it, some of them had moved on and there was only Catherine and for the moment one other.

Catherine had decided she’d had enough of being his Thursday evening mistress and had told him that she would make him fall in love with her and they set a wager between themselves. Although Micah had a passionate relationship with Catherine he was adamant that he wouldn’t fall in love with her.

But things are not always what they seem and sometimes you cannot help but fall for someone you cannot live without.

Micah had a lot of growing up to do and I loved his journey into becoming a better person to find his HEA. I love the way Emily includes the family within each story which I find very special and keeps you updated on their relationships.

Another amazing read from Emily about the De Petras family. Romance, love, some steam and a HEA, what more can you ask for! I cannot wait for Sapphire’s story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy and all thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you Netgalley and Dragonblade publishing for giving me the opportunity to read and review this amazing authors work.

Reviews left on Goodreads and Bookbub. Will review on Amazon once released.

After two years of being one of Micah’s mistresses, Catherine has decided to persuade him to marry her. I found Micah was a hard character to like. He is angry his sister is the heir in his family. He swears to never marry and enjoys having many mistresses. Considering he comes from a family of independent and strong woman, Micah treats Catherine as a thing. It takes a long process for him to realize that Catherine is the one for him. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.

Micah is the only son of a matriarchal family where his mother calls the shots and his older sister is set to inherit. Tired of being nagged to death by his family to marry, he spends his time with various mistresses. One mistress in particular is besotted with Micah and determined to make him fall in love with her. Micah is generally clueless for most of the book, but turns sweet when he realizes he loves Catherine. Though he still manages to bungle it up through the end.

I would like to thank netgalley and Dragonblade Publishing for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I love that the main female character is a sex worker, but there are still instances of negative opinions of sex work.

This book added some variety compared to the rest of the books in the series so far. Micah was known to have had several mistresses from previous books and was always off doing his own thing.

I really liked Catherine's character in this book, because we got to see why she was allowing herself to be a mistress.. Her intentions were noble in the fact that she was using the money from the arrangement to support her you ger siblings. Micah of course was just being Micah until he let Catherine into his heart.

Definitely a lot less balls and typical fare which added some spice.

I can't wait for Sapphires story, since I am already guessing on how it will go!

Thank you to Dragonblade and Netgalley for providing a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

Outstanding! This book rocked my world and I loved every minute of it! This is book 4, but it was very easy for me to jump into the story without reading the previous books. But after reading Determined Mistress? I bought all the others in the series.