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It’s not that I’ve been looking for them intentionally, but you know how the Universe has a way of bringing exactly the kind of books you enjoy right to your doorstep.
That’s exactly what I’ve experienced over the past few weeks.
The biggest proof? I picked up this one book that’s been sitting on my shelf for a good while – without even checking the blurb – and it turns out to be a marriage of inconvenience book.
I love fake relationship stories a whole lot, and if you’ve been following my reviews on the blog, you know this is the second one I’ve read this week. No regrets, though.
My most recent one was The Earl’s Countess of Convenience by Marguerite Kaye, which I read and reviewed on the blog.
In this book, Adelia, the female lead, is a cash-strapped belle of the season who simply wants to make a good match so she can secure her home before it’s taken away after her father’s not-so-tragic death.
She soon finds out that they might actually lose their house because of his gambling. There’s also a little something about her father’s death that you need to read to fully understand the kind of relationship they had, but regardless, it wasn’t a good one.
All she really cares about is making sure her sister and their very feeble-minded mother aren’t displaced from the only home they’ve ever known.
Her first course of action is to woo someone on the marriage mart, but after interacting with several men, she decides they simply aren’t up to snuff. So she goes directly to the source of her fears – Simeon, the male lead – and propositions him. She basically tells him she’s willing to be his fake bride and help him get situated in society. In return, all she wants is her home.
If you read historical romance novels, you know that the subject of the peerage being condescending toward men with actual careers is a common theme and that’s exactly what Simeon deals with.
He needs more investors, but somehow, he’s always being kept on the edge of discussions. Most people don’t know what to make of him.
We’re told that he’s very virile, very handsome, very composed, and a man who has managed to make a fortune in half the time it would take an ordinary person. So society doesn’t quite know where to place him.
He turns her down flat. But after a series of events (engineered by her, of course), they end up in a fake relationship. That’s when their dynamic really starts to build.
His first impression is that she’s a spoiled miss who just wants to play games, while she thinks he’s a ruthless brute, but one she must get close to if she wants to succeed.
The author doesn’t try to make our female lead overly likable. She’s a very selfish person who’s willing to do whatever it takes – lie or step on others – to get what she wants. And that includes manipulating the hero.
Naturally, that antagonism defines their early interactions. But slowly, she begins to learn more about herself and starts to question her past decisions. It’s not easy, even for her. Watching her grow and have a come to Jesus moment with herself was really lovely to see and something I appreciated in this book.
Her character arc is a big part of why I stuck with this book. That’s not to say it’s bad, but it’s quite light on plot, to be very honest.
One book that comes to mind with a similar plot – the female protagonist lying about the nature of her relationship to the male protagonist – is My Darling Duke by Stacy Reid, which I absolutely loved, because the romance and the actual plot went hand in hand in this perfect way.
I love it when a romance novel has some meat to the plot, which is unfortunately scarce in this one. Still, that doesn’t make it any less interesting – you just need to go in with the right expectations.
There’s no overarching plot here, and the few attempts at one are dropped halfway through, which I didn’t love – especially because that was the reason I started reading in the first place.
And maybe now that I’ve said that, I shouldn’t be so critical, because it doesn’t actually start off as a mutually beneficial relationship, so, theoretically, I should ve satisfied with the crumbs. But, it’s clear the advantages are stacked in her favor, while he has to wrestle with his tenuous status in society. So removing the mutual benefit thread didn’t sit well with me, honestly.
Also, don’t be surprised by how quickly they fall in love when you get to reading this book. We don’t get much time of them dancing around each other, so even though this book is just over 400 pages, it feels very compact. The story doesn’t meander into unnecessary plot lines, which I appreciated.
One tiff I had was how the book briefly teases several societal issues – like the exoticism of poverty, the Catholic-Protestant divide, and pre-Victorian social norms – but doesn’t really explore them deeply. It’s a bit sad to see the potential for more philosophical depth wasted, but again, it didn’t ruin the book. I just felt it could have been stronger in that aspect.
Simeon is perhaps one of the most honorable male leads I’ve come across in a while. Though I couldn’t help but feel his tone toward her in the beginning was more aggressive than I’m used to – but then again, that’s understandable.
She’d essentially backed him into a corner, giving him no choice but to lash out. He eventually realizes he may have misjudged her, just as society has misjudged him.
But this isn’t presented as a moral failing – it’s shown as a natural reaction from someone in his position. And she, in turn, is irritated by his indifference. She’s not exactly angry, but more stung by his lack of care, even though she knows he isn’t in the wrong.
I probably wouldn’t have handled the situation any better if I were her. But we do see him take on the responsibility that’s been forced on him very nobly. And maybe it’s this instinctual drive to do what’s right that makes Adelia feel more regret for her selfishness, and eventually becomes the catalyst in their relationship.
All in all, this was a solid historical romance novel, and I enjoyed every bit of it. If I were to rate it on a scale of 0 to 10, I’d give it a solid 7.5.
On the steaminess scale – well, parental guidance might be advised if that’s something you care about.
But just know you’re in for a very spicy, very sweet, and very lighthearted romance about two very unlikely people finding out that love – unexpected and real – is actually possible.
