When The Marquess Met His Match (American Heiress in London #1) by Laura Lee Guhrke

Description...

What happens when a carefree, disreputable, stone-broke bachelor is forced to find a wife in a hurry? He hires a matchmaker, of course. What happens when the matchmaker doesn’t want to help him? Well, that’s when the fun begins…

Nicholas Stirling, Marquess of Trubridge, loves his life just as it is: dissolute, scandalous, and deuced good fun. His father, the Duke of Landsdowne is not amused, and when he cuts off Nicholas’ trust fund, the fun-loving marquess is forced to find an alternate source of income—in other words, he has to marry an heiress.

Every new-money American heiress knows Lady Belinda Featherstone is the key to social acceptance. Once a new-money nobody herself, Belinda discovered first-hand how heartbreaking the game of love and matrimony could be after a reprobate British earl married her for her money. Now a respectable widow, Belinda has become England’s most successful matchmaker, guiding young American heiresses through the hazards of the London season and helping them to find husbands worthy of them. To her mind, the Marquess of Trubridge is nothing but a fortune-hunting scoundrel and she has no intention of allowing him to charm his way into any American girl’s heart, including her own.

*****

My thoughts...

When the Marquess Met His Match is the first story in Laura Lee Guhrke's An American Heiress in London series. It's fun, romantic, steamy, and a unique spin on historical romance's often told tales of the London marriage-mart.

I'm going to keep this review short: The Historical Romance genre is saturated with stories of the ton, seasons, debuts, dowries, and the quest to marry well, and this story is more of the same...but completely different! Despite some slow spots, not only did I enjoy the idea of the story, I enjoyed the way it was told. Ms. Guhrke has created a wonderful world and has given us characters to connect with and cheer for. When the Marquess Met His Match sets the stage for what I'm sure will be an entertaining series!

An eARC of this story was provided by Avon Books via Edelweiss, and in return I'm giving them an honest review.

The Silver Chain by Primula Bond

Bound by passion, she was powerless to resist.

One dark evening in London, photographer Serena Folkes is indulging her impulsive side with a night-time shoot. But someone is watching her – mysterious entrepreneur Gustav Levi. Serena doesn’t know it yet, but this handsome stranger will change her life forever…

Serena is fascinated by Gustav, the enigmatic owner of the Levi Gallery, and she soon feels an irresistible pull of attraction. The interest is mutual, and Gustav promises to launch Serena’s photographic career at his gallery, but only if Serena agrees to become his exclusive companion.

To mark their agreement, Gustav gives Serena a bracelet to wear at all times. Attached to it is a silver chain of which he is the keeper. With the chain Gustav controls Serena physically and symbolically – a sign that she is under his power.

As their passionate relationship intensifies, Gustav’s hold on the silver chain grows stronger. But will Gustav’s dark past tear them apart?

**** 

The Silver Chain is the first book in Primula Bond’s The Unbreakable Trilogy and not a bad start to this semi-open ended happily ever after. I say semi-open ended because it is a trilogy and we know going in that the relationship will not be fully developed in the first - or likely – second book. And I’m hoping Ms. Bond doesn’t pull a last minute need to extend the trilogy beyond just that – a trilogy.

I wish I could be more excited about this trilogy but honestly, it just seems like more of what the market is being inundated with. There were times I thought I’d DNF it and other times I thought I’d love it. In the end, it took me a couple months of picking it up and putting it down before I finished. The thing is, to really “wow” me these days, a story has to be compelling, exciting, and gripping, but most of all fresh and unique. And sadly, this story, in my opinion, was not.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. There was, and is, a lot of potential here. Ms. Bond is talented and able to write engaging, complex characters, but with The Silver Chain I just wasn’t left dying to know what might happen next. That’s not to say I won’t read more, should the mood strike me.

My thanks to HarperCollins UK for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.