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.

How to Marry a Highlander by Katharine Ashe

Sexy, charming, and swoon-worthy!!!

The Story -

Teresa doesn't want to marry the vicar, so she takes husband hunting into her own hands. Her sight is set on Duncan, Earl of Eads, a man she only saw once from across a ballroom eighteen months earlier. Even though he's practically penniless, there's something about him compels her to seek him out and make him an offer of marriage he can't refuse. Except, much to Teresa's dismay,  refuse is exactly what he does! Not easily dissuaded, Teresa proposes a wager; she'll find husbands for five of the Earl's step-sisters within a month's time, with a token to be paid upon each successful betrothal - a kiss for one, an inappropriate grope for another, and so on until marriage, or at the very least, bedding, will be her reward!

My Review -

This is such a fun story, and fans of historical romances starring swoon-worthy Scots will love How to Marry a Highlander! Witty, romantic, sexy, and clever, it's one of the few novellas that is so good, has such great characters and plot, that the only way to make it better would have been to make it longer.

For those wondering, yes, this works very well as a standalone, though Duncan and Teresa were first introduced in How a Lady Weds a Rogue, book three in this series. Katharine Ashe is a talented writer and I'm excited to read more of the Falcon Club.

My thanks to Avon books and Edelweiss for providing a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure!

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