This is one of those books that when you read the last chapter, you wish there was a little more, because you want to savor it and not say goodbye quite yet. After reading the last pages, my mind jumps back to so many different parts of the book, and I immediately wish I could pick up a sequel. The characters were well-developed, and I enjoyed watching their personal growth. WIthout spoiling anything, I was amazed at the twists and turns that kept happening, which peeled back more and more layers of an intricate story, but then it all tied back up together (but not in a rushed way?). Along with the character development, the author did a great job in weaving in current (1811) issues with good accuracy, to educate the reader on what people were facing during that time (social structures, medical knowledge, political issues, etc). She didn't try to weave current (2023) themes into the book, which gave it a very Regency-authentic feel. She also used vocabulary accurate to that time period, which challenged me sometimes, but I love learning new words.

This is my first from this author, but I look forward to reading more from her.

I just reviewed The Reluctant Baronet by Elizabeth W. Watkins. #TheReluctantBaronet #NetGalley

I loved this book by Elizabeth W. Watkins, such a beautiful story!

I had a really hard time with the style of this story. The pages of dialogue were huge and so boring. I didn’t connect with any of the characters. The mysterious brothers were a dumb addition. There was so much jumping around that I had no idea of time. The climax happens so fast and so neatly that it wasn’t very real.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Elizabeth W. Watkins is a new to me author. I've seen her books previously, but hadn't read any. When I saw this one and read the synopsis, I thought I'd take a chance. At first I thought it was her debut novel since I didn't recognize her name. But when I went searching for more info about her I quickly realized it wasn't her debut novel and that I had indeed seen her previous books but had forgotten.

I really enjoyed the historical aspects that she brought into her story. I've been trying to recall if I've read a Regency novel that addresses some of these issues she did, and I can't remember any. It's always fun to find new tidbits and learn more from authors.

Russell is a Scotsman and has a newly acquired title. he was absolutely delightful! I loved his straightforward manners and gentlemanly ways. He is a chemist and I really learned quite a bit from his character in regards to certain things happening in this time period.

Selina was a sweet character. I loved her strength and compassion. And she's pretty witty. There were several scenes that she had me laughing and cheering her on! Her two dear friends and all of their stories added a great layer to this story and rounded it out. They all made me so happy while reading this book.

Selina is searching for a husband. And finds herself caught in the middle of two men. One she doesn't understand but is trying and the other is someone she has found a friend in. There is a mystery happening behind the scenes and through some unknown point of views we're given a little more information scattered throughout the book. I had fun trying to piece that together and guess who it could be and what the end game was. Boy I had a couple correct guesses but others I didn't. I thought it was great! I loved how it all turned out and brought everything full circle.

There are some upsets and things that happen that thwart both Selina and Russell in their attempts to better themselves and society and their friends. Watching how their characters worked through these upsets and kept trying to move forward and make the best of it all was great. They are both strong characters!

The sweet romance in the story was very rewarding. Hint...there is more than one sweet romance brewing! I loved how it all came together. Very happy and satisfying!!!

Content: Clean. There are some mild moments of peril but nothing overly graphic. Talk of death. No language. Only a few sweet kisses and nothing further.

I received a copy from the publisher, Covenant Communications, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

This book is well researched and I feel like it's true to the time period. The mystery was intriguing and kept my interest. The romance is definitely second here though. All of the sudden they care about each other deeply and the author kinda just paraphrases what has happened between the two in the last little while without any details. I felt the book jumped through time a lot and sometimes I had to wonder how much time had actually passed.

I like the way the author writes, it flowed very well and wasn't hard to follow. I dislike books that take a chapter or two for me to get used to the writing. Yet while I liked the mystery I didn't love the secret of mysterious brothers POV. I feel like we should have just known who they were right at the beginning. Honestly I knew who they were right when it happened, so it just seemed unnecessary.

The climax ends a little too quickly and clean for me. I feel like there should have been a little more build up and **spoiler** not just show up and everything is tied up nicely.

Overall I liked her writing but this story seemed slightly disjointed and could have been fleshed out in areas. I like her style though and will watch for other books from her in the future.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review.

This was a fun read.
This is the author’s debut and she did a good job.

The Reluctant Baronet is a book about not one, but THREE couples. In the beginning

All in all, this book was enjoyable.

Great debut from Watkins. She really did her research and you can tell. The details and history in this novel are fascinating! I enjoyed that part of it a lot.

One thing that really bothered me about the book was that the dialogue was extremely long. And not in the sense where there are a lot of people talking to each other. These dialogue bits were a page long. Or a page and a half. Of one person talking. Just a giant blob of one person complaining about something that didn’t need to be complained about. It was ridiculous.

And another part that was just really dumb to me was the POVs of the mysterious brothers. We later find out who they are but honestly, those parts are so dumb. They add nothing to the book. And it’s annoying when you find out who they are because then you feel like you have to go back and read those chapters again so the rest of the book makes sense.

Also, why is the whole play of A Midsummer Night's Dream recited in this? Word for word. It adds nothing. And it’s boring. And not what I picked up the book for.

The last chapter irked me as well because it was written from a completely different person’s POV. A random person that was talked about like 3 times in the book. Like why.

Overall, I didn’t really like this book at all. The love story was cute though which resulted in me giving it two stars instead of one.

What a nice surprise this book was! From the opening pages I wasn't sure what to expect, but the story quickly went from ominous start to humorous. I loved the romance between Selina and Russell because it came from a place of true friendship first. Even in a book this short you got a lot of moments between these two so that you understood why they fell in love. I also liked the bonus romances for Emma and Vivienne (I would have loved a little more on Emma and Garrett). My only complaint is that I would have liked for the men in the story to have put up a little more of a fight when things with their lady loves started to go sideways. Instead, all the men just kind of accept their situations. One of my favorite scenes was when Selina breaks up the duel - she takes complete charge of the situation and puts all of them in their place. And it's doing that that starts to put the events in motion that would bring everyone to their happy ever after.

The Reluctant Baronet by Elizabeth W. Watkins
I really enjoyed this story. The characters were enjoyable and I loved the mystery weaved through the book
#TheReluctantBaronet #NetGalley

It's always a pleasure to read books that are interesting stories that also educate about a time in history and the advancements in science and medicine and social reform at that time. This is such a book.

#TheReluctantBaronet #NetGalley

Three different love stories, one novel. A little difficult to wade into and be able to see who goes with whom, but worth it if you want a great set of intermingled stories.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a regency era romance that is a clean and quick read. There were three main couples in the book and each had small snippets of delightful banter. I thought the ending a bit transparent but enjoyed it nonetheless. A great read overall.

Interesting history and if one doesn’t mind the romance plot being secondary then it’s great. I don’t mind that personally but I felt the mystery components were not conveyed well to the reader via the cover. Picked up the story expecting a regency romance

Very well researched debut novel with endearing characters and a satisfying ending.

At times the explanation of historical facts felt slightly academic. However, it does help the reader to understand the complexities of the time period, rather than just romanticize it.

The Reluctant Baronet was a well written book, but not what I was expecting. The description led me to think it would be more of a regency romance. I was slightly disappointed there and felt like the story dragged at times. This story had a lot of history in it and I was impressed with the amount of research this must have taken. Overall not my favorite. If you’re looking for a historical romance I probably wouldn’t recommend, but if you’d like more of a historical fiction this would be a great book for you.
Thank you to the publisher and net galley for a ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC!
This book was alright, and fine for a first novel.
It's about a young woman who has survived smallpox (although I don't really understand how she was 'partially vaccinated') and a young man who was knighted (?) for being an inventor - yes, they eventually get together of course. This is a 'clean' romance written by an author who has a declared religious affiliation, which put me off somewhat.
There's much discussion of social problems and issues like mercury poisoning, syphilis (only the evil characters of course) and doctors who don't know as much as our inventor. The main characters and their relationships often take a back seat to this. I also didn't find the book to be very fixed in a time period, aside from a vague reference to 'the Prince of Wales'. I do like a bit of historical context if I am reading a book that wants to discuss historical problems.
I was tempted to put it down in the first 30 pages or so as the character development didn't get going until after about page 50.
The characters didn't really engage me, and the plot was very convoluted - I think the author really wanted to write a mystery...maybe now that the romance is resolved she might use those characters to solve mysteries in a second book?

Elizabeth Watkins does a fantastic job bringing these characters to life, leaving you reading until the wee hours of the morning. I loved her attention to detail and the twists and turns around every corner.

This was a book that impressed me as a debut novel! I always love historical romance but throw in Scottish chemist mixed with aristocracy and reluctance is a perfect combination.

3.5 STARS!!
A well-written book with likeable main characters, kinda loosely based on A Midsummer Night's Dream. This is romance-adjacent rather than pure romance, since there is quite a bit of focus on a secondary mystery-ish plot. An enjoyable read, and the angst was palpable and heart wrenching! I found the medical stuff really interesting, too.
It starts out a bit slow, but picks up pace within the first 20%.
The friendship between Selina, Vivienne and Emma was really nice to read, as was that of Lord Kersey and Sir Russell.

Just one nitpick-y thing, which may or may not be a big issue - as far as I know, baronets are not peers, and do not take up seats in the House of Lords, but the Male MC's entire backstory is based on that. Is this an editing error? Making him a baron rather than a baronet would make more sense.

My thanks to netgalley, the publishers and the author for this book!