Data comes up with the idea to have a London season and since Gwendolyn is very good at Faro, she could win the money needed for a season. While playing Dark she meets Beckett Steele. He tells her the dealer is cheating and fronts her money to play in trade for a favor at a future date.

Now in London, they learn the only family is in mourning in the country. So how to get entree into society. It arrives mysteriously, to the first largest ball of the season. While out for a walk in the park, Dara spies a very handsome gentleman, who sees her but the stares at the beautiful sisters. Dara swallows her hurt but allows Elise to fawn over him.

Lady Whitby. Whom they met at the lending library, has intellectual salons, introduces them to the Irish elected MP, Mr Michael Brogan. The man Dara spied.

Who does Brogan choose, how does he end up with her, and who of the sisters is hurt by it? How does he play into the sisters getting notice? How does Steele play into the sisters getting noticed? Who is more shocked by Steele being in London?

Cathy is the master of Regency Romany suspense! she masterfully crafts and blend the marriage mart with a mystery to solve like no others. Her plots give just the right amount of angst with the blending of romance and suspense to solve the mystery. Her characters are bold, strong, and flawed giving a well rounded drama that pulls you along. Her detailed plots keep you trying to guess who the bad guy is and surprise you with the reveal. I love reading read stories! You can't put them down and just want to stay up reading into the night

At the beginning of this, we meet three sisters who are being forced to share their home with their uncle after their father is presumed dead after having been missing for a while. I have to say I was confused for the first 20/25% of this book on who the heroine was going to be. I had to go and read the back of the book to figure out it was actually about Dara.
I really liked how Dara decided that they weren't going to leave their fates to their uncle, who doesn't care about them at all. She makes a plan that will get them all to London, and hopefully lead them to all getting married. She wants them all to have a better life, and she will do whatever is needed to make that happen.

Dara and Michael have a bit of a contemptuous relationship, as Michael first shows interest in the youngest sister Elise and Dara knows he is just attracted to her beauty, so she tries to keep them apart. This leads to them constantly being in each other's company bickering the entire time. Soon both Michael and Dara find themselves looking forward to seeing each other and having actual feelings for each other. If only Elise hadn't decided at their first meeting that Michael was meant for her. This causes a lot of tension between the two sisters and really highlights how young and naive Elise is. She acts like a complete brat and almost comes between our couple. While in the beginning, I didn't feel a whole lot of chemistry between them it really appears later in the story, and I thought they made a great couple.

I'm definitely excited to see whom Elise will get paired with, all we know about him so far is she calls him the ruffian (I'm assuming he's the love interest) and what kind of favor Gwendolyn will have to fulfill for Mr. Steele and how it will lead to their HEA.

The Lanscarr sisters have always relied on each other, especially now that their grandmother has passed away and their father has gone missing and is presumed dead. Living as poor relations in their own home thanks to an overreaching cousin who has claimed the estate as his inheritance. Gwendolyn, Dara, and Elise along with Lady Eleanor their elderly widowed aunt “Tweedie” know that their cousin wants to marry them off and get them out of the house, the girls are not opposed to marriage, but they want more than the rural Irish countryside has to offer. When Dara suggests they try their luck in London, Gwen and Elise are skeptical, but as always, Dara has a plan! Dara convinces them that if they go to London that they will have their choice of husbands since even though they are penniless, Gwen and Elise are gorgeous and will have no trouble attracting eligible suitors. They just need to get enough money to get to London and rent a house for the season and for that she suggests that Gwen go to Dublin and gamble at one of their father’s haunts to make the money. After a bit of misadventure, Gwen does get the money and they set their plan in motion! But things don’t go as planned when they arrive and find the connection they had hoped to use as an entre to society is not in town. But after a couple of weeks of trying to find an “in” the girls are invited to a ball and it is immediately clear that Dara’s prediction was true. The girls are extremely popular, especially the very lovely Elise. So when fellow Irishman, Michael Brogan, an MP, and a mere mister, tries to dance with her, Dara steps in and warns him off. But is she warning him off because he is not appropriate or because she is jealous?

Michael Brogan isn’t looking to marry, but his investigation of a case of embezzlement in the war office that may have ties to a nobleman, so pretending to court Elise Lanscarr will give him a perfect reason to attend events that he usually avoids, plus dancing with the beautiful Elise is no hardship. However, while the lovely Elise may have captured his eye, it is Dara who holds his interest. He isn’t sure if he wants to kiss her or throttle her – but when things get dangerous, he knows that Dara is the sister he wants by his side and the sister he can’t live without. Now he just needs to catch the embezzler and convince Dara she is the only sister he wants.

I was a little confused at the beginning of this book since it wasn’t clear who the heroine was, but once they get to London and enter society it sorts itself out. I really liked Michael and Dara together, the chemistry between them was clear to see and they really complimented each other. This slow-burn romance is filled with intrigue, passionate kisses, wonderful secondary characters, a love triangle (sort of), a lot of emotion, some surprises, witty banter, and a bittersweet ending that includes a cliffhanger-ish epilogue. The story does a nice job of setting up the series and the mystery was intriguing, so for me, it was a very enjoyable read. In my opinion, the beginning could have been a little clearer and I am not a fan of love triangles, but somehow, the story works and I would be happy to recommend this book and am looking forward to the next installment!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

When the presumed death of their gambler father leaves them all but destitute, three sisters launch a desperate plan: use the last of their savings to win enough for a London season. Their bet pays off, and Dara is soon courted by Michael, a rising politician. Will her scandalous past destroy their plans?

This is a romantic story that's full of twists. The initial clash between Dara and Michael is fun to watch. As the story evolves, Michael proves himself a likable hero who's devoted to Dara. Their courtship is sweet, but political intrigue and family dynamics are against them. They both have to make tough choices to find their HEA.

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

A delightful story, full of promise

As the first in what I hope will be three books, this one first focuses on establishing the three sisters - Gwendolyn, Dara, and Elise - and their plan to finagle a season in London in order to find husbands after their mother's property is inherited by a selfish, uncaring cousin. There are a lot of moving parts as we follow these three from Ireland to London, which only adds to the depth of the story and the complexity of the characters.

Once they find their way into Society, they each find a bevy of suitors, none more attractive than the MP Michael Brogan, who appears to have set his sights on Elise. Complicating matters is the fact that he seems to have an antagonistic relationship with Dara, the self-appointed gatekeeper for all three, and to give Dara full credit, she does struggle with her attraction to Michael while she also believes him to be unqualified for any of them to marry.

I loved the way the author used Dara's heroic actions to seal her fate with Michael. Michael is also in the middle of an embezzlement investigation, which takes an unexpectedly dangerous turn, putting both his and Dara's lives at risk. I really loved how Michael was very clear in his intentions, especially as he learned more about Dara's character. Their chemistry was undeniable, as was their future together.

Through it all it was easy to see that Dara's love for her sisters superseded all her other considerations, even if one of her sisters couldn't see that yet. I really enjoyed their Aunt Tweedie's contributions and hope to see more of her in future books.

Justice is served, Michael and Dara have a very charming HEA, and we're left with questions about Gwendolyn's future, Steele's unnamed favor, Elise's impetuous plans, and the Ruffian who, it seems, is not quite dead yet. I can't wait to read more in this fascinating series! I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Sisters Gwendolyn, Dara, and Elise are left in the custody of their cousin when their father disappears. Rather than be subject to their cousin and his plans to marry them off for his own gain, the three travel to London to try and make it on their own with the money earned from a night in the casino. In London they meet Michael Brogan an Irish politician who charms both Dara and Elise but only has eyes for Dara. Dara is torn between her feelings for Michael and her love for her sister.

I really struggled with the pacing of the book. It’s the first book in series, but the first quarter of the book was just setting up the series and the plot of this book didn’t really start until after the 25% mark. The book was a light and easy read, but I felt like it took forever to get to major plot points and then any conflict was resolved extremely quickly because there wasn’t enough time left in the book to let if fester.

As an only child sibling rivalry and jealousies do not compute in my brain as they are a dynamic that I have no experience of or sympathy for. For this reason I find bratty younger siblings to be extremely annoying and love triangles involving siblings to just be absurd and not fun to read. I wish I could have had more empathy for Dara and Elise but I just didn’t and their characters felt very one dimensional. I will continue with this series and see if the next one works better for me as this one has laid the groundwork for the whole series.

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

This was a first rime for me with this author and honestly most likely a last. I did not think the story line was all that interesting, I didn't care for the main female characters, I did like the main male character. I felt there was unfinished parts that were not resolved but possibly the author plans to use them for other stories about the main characters. I would not recommend this book. I finished it only because I agreed to read it for an unbiased review of the ARC for Netgalley.

Another win for Cathy Maxwell! No one writes regency romance quite like her and I’m so excited for another fantastic series. Dara and Michael are everything you could ask for and more.

Cathy Maxwell has been an auto buy for years now! I have always enjoyed her writing, A Kiss in the Moonlight is no different. I loved the fact that it was a bit longer than her normal books. It was great!
The first few chapters I was unsure of who were the main characters of the story? All three sisters had big parts of the story, I actually loved that it was not your regular old story. It was fun. To me characters are what makes a great book an Kiss in the moonlight had it all, sister relationships, romance and an ending leaving you wanting.
Absolute buy! Well worth your time and money.




I have received an advanced reading copy for a honest review.

The beginning of the book was a good introduction to Gwendolyn, Dara, and Elise - the "Gambler's Daughters". I actually thought this book would be about Gwendolyn and Beckett, but I think their book is going to be the third book. Instead this book was about Dara and Michael Brogan and honestly I really enjoyed their romance. I wasn't a fan of Elise in this book, because she gave me Bridgeton Season 2 Edwina vibes and I found her incredibly annoying and self centered. I understand that she's young, but the way that she treated Dara towards the end was just unnecessary and rude even if she is heartbroken. I was just incredulous at how unobservant she was about Dara and Michael's interactions.

Overall this was a very fun book and I can't wait to read Elise's book and see what happens next in the series!

This was a new to me author and I thought this book was enjoyable. It had several POV’s, a group of sisters, and an Irish political hero. Dara is the middle sister. She’s strong, outgoing, opinionated, and bookish. Dara wants her sisters and herself to have a season in hopes of finding wealthy husbands. So needing money to even start their season, Gwyn(oldest sister) gambles for more money for them….except she meets a man whom she has an attraction too. He lends Gwyn the money she needs for gambling and in return will seek a favor. Once in London, Dara meets Michael Brogan, though they don’t start off on the right foot. Dara thinks he is attractive and Michael only sees one of her sisters. So one day Dara saves a child from drowning, causing quite a stir & possible scandal if she doesn’t marry Michael! These two have good chemistry and work well together. There’s also a murder mystery on the side! I just thought this one was kind of all over the place for me. And too many POV ‘s for my personal tastes. Not to say some one else might really like this one!

A new series by Cathy Maxwell, an author I have been reading for years.
Historical romance with a mystery twist as 3 Irish daughters of a missing gambler manage to get to London for a season. I thought the book was going to be about the oldest, Gwendolyn, but ot is actually about the middle daughter, Dara. She is not the beauty her 2 sisters are, but she is smart and fiesty.
On their arrival in London, Dara first sets eyes on a man whose looks almost bowl her over, but she thinks he is courting her younger sister Elise. Michael Brogan is an Irish MP and he is trying to find a traitor. The 2 stories intersect in an interesting way. A.lot.of witty dialogue, some attempted self sacrifice, and a mysterious man named Steele. What part will he play in.the future. Will the father show up. What will happen to the sisters. Will be watching for book #2.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Overall A Kiss in the Moonlight was a great read, especially once I got into it. I think the first several chapters are a little bit confusing, as I couldn't quite put my finger on who was going to be the female lead of the three sisters. I even thought perhaps, that all three would have a moment to shine in one book. However, it gets fleshed out that Dara is in fact our heroine and the previous chapters hints at what's to come in future books. There is some angst, some pining, family drama, and a dose of mystery, making the pages fly by. It's a very easy read and a fun one at that. Michael is very likable as well. The family aspect is quite nice, although I would have preferred a tidier HEA at the end. But I enjoyed this overall! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Dara is a stickler for rules that she makes up. Michael is an MP on the trail of an embezzler who has been stealing from the military. Dara and her sisters need the season to find husbands. They can only afford one season. Dara wants them to marry Dukes. Dara feels Michael is unsuitable. They verbally spar with each other. Dara is forced to marry him because of an unfortunate incident.

The heroine is strong and willing to do anything to protect her sisters. The hero is strong and willing to do the right thing.

The book was excellent. It was fast moving. I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

A delightful debut to a new series, A Kiss in the Moonlight is a must-read for fans of historical romance. Although it is evident that this is the first in a series, it is never overly descriptive or stuffed with unnecessary exposition. The author’s effortless style has each page flying by with a plot that’s both easy to follow and understand. It is the dialogue that truly shines, however. Much of the narrative is carried by conversations between the sisters as well as the main couple, with each character having a distinct personality and voice.

The story immediately grabs the reader's attention, introducing them to the Lanscarr sisters as they expertly outmaneuver their self-serving cousin. While the story initially follows all the sisters, it quickly focuses on Dara who, despite not being the oldest, is the most protective. Dara is a strong female lead, both intelligent and fiercely protective of her sister who she would do anything for. That is why the climax feels so visceral when it hits. That being said, the length at which one sister’s tantrum lasts quickly turns overly dramatic, coming off more as a plot device than anything.

Overall, A Kiss in the Moonlight is a lovely historical read with a more modern voice. In spite of being well fleshed out in story and characters, it is clear that the relationships are the focus of the novel. And although it has a happy ending, it leaves the reader hungry for the remaining sisters' happily ever afters.

Dara and her two sisters are minor Irish gentry. When the book opens, they've been living with their uncle and aunt since their father disappeared. Their relatives are eager to get rid of them by marrying them off to local men. Dara, who may be the middle sister but is definitely the leading personality, convinces her sisters that they should go to London for the Season.

Once they arrive, they make a splash. Dara is convinced that her sisters can catch dukes, so when an Irish MP catches her younger sister's eye, Dara is determined to stop the attachment. It has nothing to do with the fact that she thinks Michael Brogan is the hottest, smartest, sexiest man she's ever laid eyes on. When Dara tries to impose her will on on the would-be lovers, Michael is distracted instead. They spar their way into each other's hearts, and a minor scandal involving an extremely wet dress helps matters along.

This is a nice little low-angst Regency romance, with the major conflict coming from the sisters' rivalry. Dara is used to sacrificing herself for her sisters, so she's ready to give Michael up, regardless of what he wants. Overlaid on this is a political intrigue that Michael is investigating.

The book does start off with some odd pacing - there are a few chapters from older sister Gwen's and a mystery man soon revealed to be Bennet Steele's (if that's not a romance hero name, then we don't read romance!) perspectives. This takes the narrative momentum away from the central romance for a bit - although we're certainly already intrigued by their inevitable coupling!

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

For when you're vibing with: romances centered around family, beta heroes, light romance, sisterly bonding, and light heat.

Dara and her sisters Gwendolyn and Elise are in a tight spot. After the disappearance of their gambler father, the girls are left destitute and in the clutches of their awful cousin. Dara's plan? Gambling what little money they have in order to fund a London season--and advantageous marriages. At first, all appears to be working... Until Dara meets budding politician Michael Brogan, who questions her and tempts her, despite the fact that he's not the duke she intends to marry...

So. I wish that I'd like this one more, I really do--and I do think that a lot of this was a case of me not being the right match for this book. But...

Quick Takes:
--Here's the thing. We begin with the sisters. I love sisterly relationships in romance, whether they're between biological sisters or best friends. I mean, The Wallflowers is one of my all-time favorite series. And the sisterly relationships in the book are really good! But after that first chapter, we then jump into a chapter or two centered on Gwendolyn taking action and meeting a man that I assume will be her hero in the next book, or the one after that. However, this is not their book; this is Dara and Michael's. While I'm all about teasing a future pairing--I love it--I found it really confusing that so much of the early aspects of the book focused on a pairing that wasn't going to be the focus of this one. I want to read Gwendolyn's book. That seems great. Dara's honestly felt much tamer than the story Maxwell is setting up for Gwendolyn, and... it set me up for disappointment.

--Almost a quarter of the book passed before Michael and Dara actually interacted. I'm sorry, but this was too long. I kept thinking "okay, this is it", and nope! Much of that is because of the Gwendolyn setup. Which was good! But I knew from the summary that this wasn't her story, and I kept thinking "where is the hero?" Michael and Dara needed more time to develop their story.

--Once Dara and Michael did have time together (and there was still a lot of focus on the other sisters) I just... wasn't sold. And again, maybe with more page time together, less comparison to Gwendolyn's setup, they would've been better. They just came off as a bit bland. I wish I could say that I was about it, but I found myself thinking about how much easier this story would've been to get into if Maxwell had jumped into Gwendolyn's story.

The Sex Stuff:
There is on-page sex in this book, but it is very mild. Dara is a virgin, Michael is gentle with her. There is very mildly depicted cunnilingus. I found the foreplay pretty underwhelming, especially considering the fact that Dara was a virgin. Like, you have the wherewithal to warn her that it's going to hurt, but not the wherewithal to give her an orgasm before penetration to relax her? Seemed kind of dated for a book released in 2023.

I know this sounds very negative, but I think that traditionalist historical readers (who aren't into alpha males) will probably enjoy this--it's a lot of the marriage mart, a softer hero, and a straightforward love story. I've only read one other Cathy Maxwell (which I preferred) so I'm not sure how similar this is to her other books. Here's the thing--I admire the emphasis on the sisters, and I see what she was going for there. For me, it just didn't give enough to the romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Terrific beginning to an obvious trilogy for these three Irish sisters set out to find a husband in regency London. Dara is the brains behind their schemes and the focus of this story, although her romance comes with a price that she struggles to pay.

This has an interesting addition of a little mysterious suspense that throws Dara and Michael Brogan together on more than one occasion.

I have to admit that the chemistry between Gwendolyn and Steele has me intrigued and the cliffhanger epilogue of Elise has me very interested in reading the next book.

A Kiss in the Moonlight (The Gambler's Daughters #1) by Cathy Maxwell
This is the story of three daughters - Gwendolyn, Dara, and Elise. The story starts off more about Gwendolyn then switches to Dara. There is a bit of a love triangle with Elise thinking she is in love with Michael. Even if Dora and Michael get their HEA there are a lot of questions about Gwendolyn, Elise and Steele.
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Witty Tear-jerker Romantic Unpredictable.

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Gambler’s Daughters series. Three sisters in Ireland are at the mercy of their cousin who wants to marry them off to the most convenient person. Middle sister Dara has a plan though; send the oldest, Gwendolyn, to gamble and win enough money for the three of them (plus their great aunt) to go to London and find titled husbands. Sounds easy enough. Through a couple of chapters told from Gwendolyn and an investigator named Steele’s points of view, we see how the money is won, and the women are on their way. Dara wants the best for her sisters, so sometimes she comes across as managing and stringent, much to her younger sister Elise’s dismay. She tries to warn off Elise’s suitor, Michael since he’s not titled, and she’s agonizingly attracted to him herself. Dara feels less beautiful than her sisters and knows that she doesn’t really have a chance with him. She’s focused on making sure her sisters have good matches and they can escape their terrible cousin. Meanwhile Michael is investigating an embezzlement scheme, but the plot there is only shallowly discussed. At some point, Dara finds herself in a compromising situation and Michael is the one to rescue her, which causes a rift between Dara and Elise. The romance between these two didn’t feel developed enough for them to have fallen in love so quickly, especially after all the bickering and arguing they did from the start. I am curious to see how the stories for the other sisters works out though.