Publication Date: 04/03/2018
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Imprint: Berkley
Genre: Historical Romance
Pages: 336
ISBN-13: 978-0425283820
(Received for an honest review from Berkley via Netgalley)
Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, itunes
Anne Gracie on the WEB: Website, Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
Books in the series:
1. Marry in Haste
2. Marry in Scandal
Coverart: Click the image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.
Excerpt from Marry in Scandal, courtesy of Amazon's Look Inside feature
Synopsis:
A shy heiress and a well-known rake face a scandal-forced marriage that might be true love in the latest irresistible romance from the national bestselling author of Marry in Haste.
Shy young heiress, Lady Lily Rutherford, is in no hurry to marry. She dreams of true love and a real courtship. But when disaster strikes, she finds herself facing a scandal-forced marriage to her rescuer, Edward Galbraith, a well known rake.
Despite his reputation Lily is drawn to the handsome Galbraith. In the gamble of her life, she agrees to marry him, hoping to turn a convenient marriage into a love match.
As heir to a title, Galbraith knows he must wed, so a convenient marriage suits him perfectly. But there is a darkness in his past, and secrets he refuses to share with his tender-hearted young bride. All Lily's efforts to get close to him fall on stony ground, and in desperation she retreats to his childhood home--the place he's avoided for nearly a decade.
Must Lily reconcile herself to a marriage without love? Or will Galbraith realize that this warm-hearted, loving girl is the key to healing the wounds of his past--and his heart?
Thoughts:
Author Anne Gracie is known for her quick wit and in depth character development. Her latest book, Marry in Scandal is the second book in her Marriage of Convenience series. Gracie takes a sweet, naive, young heroine and puts her with a notorious rake. Rescue turns to scandal and Lily's reputation is about to go up in flames when she marries her rescuer, Edward. But this is no blessed union as Edward has plenty of secrets and even more walls around his heart. Gracie gives a readers a very good Regency period romp, that is both a quick read and a satisfying respite from a spring that hasn't sprung...
What I liked:
Anne Gracie is one of those authors that always pique's my interest. She has a wonderful knowledge of the Regency period. Her books ring true and have an authentic feel to them. The customs ands rules of Ton are many and varied and Gracie obviously knows them all. Readers enjoy an author who does her homework and Gracie certainly does. It is easy to be transported right into Lily and Edward's lives and the roles they are meant to play. What's even more interesting is when they deviate from the plan.
One of the things I found interesting about this book was that Gracie gives readers a heroine they might not be expecting. Lily is a young heroine, only 18. She is very sweet and gentle and doesn't come across like most female leads. She is almost timid. She also has a problem with reading and writing. It will probably be clear to reader that Lily is dyslexic, but in the Regency time period she was probably just thought to be slow. She is actually quite smart and engaging. She's also not a string bean. She's a little chubby or curvy as I like to say. I liked that she was flawed and real. It made her character easier to relate to and I applaud Gracie for going there with a heroine that's not societies idea of perfect.
Edward wasn't what one would call a "tortured" hero but he definitely wasn't a jubilant or happy character in the beginning. He understands that he needs to marry and that his rescue of Lily has put her in a precarious position. Reputation, reputation, reputation. That's everything in the Ton and Lily's is now ruined. He doesn't marry her for love. It's all convenience. I liked that he was not a man who wore his emotions on his sleeve. He was very introspective and he had some serious secrets. He wasn't just pining away over something silly. Gracie could have developed this character a little more, but I think she did enough to get the reader interested in finding out more.
Gracie does an amazing job of incorporating characters from the previous book and giving readers something to look forward to with some eclectic and interesting secondary characters. I loved Lily's sister Rose with her sharp tongue and wit. And her cousin Georgie was a real hoot. I hope we see more of her in this series. Gracie always makes me feel like her characters are genuine and full of surprises. I like the fact that she isn't afraid to give the secondary characters some time in each book without taking away from the main couple.
What I didn't like:
This one was pretty short and sweet. The plot was a little lacking. The marriage of convenience trope is a common one and often an author needs some kind of hook to get the reader engaged. I felt like there were good moments in this story and the I enjoyed the characters but the overall plot was a bit lowkey. Once the initial scandal is averted there isn't much to propel the story to the next level. It is a good book by Gracie but probably not my favorite.
Bottom Line:
This one can be read as a standalone and readers who have read Marry in Haste the first book in the series will enjoy catching up with old favorites. I thought Gracie did an great job with the secondary characters and the chemistry from the main couple was excellent. Lily is flawed and simply a joy to read. She wasn't a cookie cutter heroine and I liked that. Edward is a bit grumpy but not without redemption. The plot is a bit lowkey overall but it is still a very good read.
Marry in Scandal is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.
I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!
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