I would like to thank netgalley and Entangled Publishing for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Theo and how she deals with all the idiots she has to contend with. The storyline was a little backwards and forwards at times, but I love seeing more diverse stories in historical fiction.

I read this book awhile back and it's fair to say that I found it highly forgettable ( I actually forgot to review it when I got around to finishing it). Unfortunately, It was a book that I couldn't finish in one, two, or even three attempts because it was so very unbelievable to me. I find that I am very critical of historical interracial romance and that I need them to make me believe. This didn't and as I result I can't recommend it. This is the first book by Vanessa Riley that I have read and I give it 1 star.

Overall, it's a well-written love story with an interesting premise, even though I've found the hero quite annoying. Most of his time on the pages was spent blaming the heroine for things she didn't do (relying on lies the hero's father told him - even though the hero knows he can't be trusted!), or for doing what she had to do to survive when he basically left her at the mercy of his family who hated her. It definitely didn't work for me, but it is really a matter of taste. The rest of the story was otherwise quite compelling - if sometimes a bit repetitive - and I'm interested enough in the secondary characters to want to pick up the following books.

I was so excited to read this book because not always do we get historical romances that feature people of color. I'm glad Entangled changed the cover because the other one was a mess and Vanessa Riley deserves the world!

I adored the premise and how everything developed from there. Theo was so fun to read about and I imagine meeting your former lover again when you thought he was dead it's definitely life-changing. I love mail-order brides so much yall. It's one of my favorite tropes mainly because it means marriage of convenience and not always do they start by liking each other so it usually develops into love with time!!! It's so soft and pure.

I started to read this one but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for. I am curious to read the rest of the series when it comes out, however.

This was a refreshing read for me. I have not read too many mixed race story and I was so excited to get a chance to read this one. I though Ewan was more concerned about his family than his love for Theo. I was upset that he could not see their lies but was harsh to Theo the one person that understood him and loved him. I would have linked a peak into their future. Did they have more children? Did Ewan every publicly claim Phillip? Did Phillip lose his hearing? Did Ewan family ever accept Theo and Phillip? Did Jasper and the Duke's daughter fall for each other? Oh I want to know

Stevie‘s review of The Bittersweet Bride (Advertisements for Love, Book 1) by Vanessa Riley
Historical Romance published by Entangled: Amara 29 Jan 18

I’m always pleased to see new historical romance series featuring heroes and/or heroines of colour, especially those that acknowledge that Britain has always been less exclusively white than the standard textbooks would have us believe. Fiction and non-fiction have come a long way the past few years when it comes to representation, of course, which also makes it easier for reviewers to judge books purely on their own merits and not give them an automatic pass just because they feature a previously ignored facet of life’s rich tapestry. That being said, this book had a bunch of other features to recommend it to me, beyond those of the heroine: scenes set in an historic shopping arcade that I know well, a romance carried out partially by post, and a group of female friends who support each other’s ambitions and ventures by means of their various talents. So how did it measure up to my expectations?


Wealthy widow Theodosia Cecil has come a long way from the London flower seller who fell in love with the son of one of her suppliers. When his father caught the pair together, they were forced to part: Ewan left to go to war and Theo found herself alone and pregnant after her business ran into difficulties. After Ewan was falsely reported to have been killed, Theo threw herself on mercies of the new owner of an estate adjoining that of Ewan’s family – the estate Ewan had been expected to inherit – and later married him to give her child a name and security. Now Theo is running the estate, but is in dispute with both Ewan’s father, the Earl of Crisdon, and her late husband’s steward – guardian to Theo’s son. Once again, her only chance of security seems to be an advantageous marriage, although this time she has both money and land and so only needs a man to give his name to her enterprises. A newspaper advertisement seems the ideal way to find a husband.

Visiting London – and the Burlington Arcade – to collect replies to her ad and see how her estate’s flowers are being used, Theo is astonished to bump into Ewan: fully recovered from injuries sustained early in his army career and now living back in town while he makes a second attempt to earn a living as a playwright; the sale of his first play had been sabotaged by his father. Unbeknown to Theo, Ewan has also penned replies to her ad, on behalf of his widowed brother, and using one of their father’s minor titles.

Theo and Ewan’s reunion does not go well. Frankly he’s a complete arse and failed to gain my sympathy at any point in the story. However, he sets out to woo her all over again, while she continues to search for any husband who fits her needs and isn’t Ewan. I wasn’t best pleased at how Theo kept her son a secret from Ewan, although I was even more aggravated at him for consistently failing to consider that Theo might have become pregnant as a result of their one night together. Equally cross-making were the various plot threads relating to the feud between the two estates, when no one seemed to realise that messages getting passed between two obnoxious men (Theo’s steward and Ewan’s father) might not be quite what Theo was hearing in the reports of their dealings she received from her steward.

Sadly, while I quite liked what little we saw of Theo’s two friends, also women of colour, this story had too many issues, including a number of clichés in Theo’s backstory (particularly annoying since the author has obviously done some research into the lives of black and mixed-race Londoners in Regency times), on top of all the highly unlikable men, for me to want to continue with the series.

Grade: D

I didn't finish this book. I couldn't get into the plot or the main characters. Definitely a miss for me.

*I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher in return for an unbiased review.

I really wanted to love this book, and parts of it I definitely adored. It hurt me though. One of the attitudes the author must hold, because it came through in her character, Theodosia, hurt me so much.

First. The things I loved.

This is a very well written book, the pacing, plot, twists, the turning points and the romance are all exactly where they should be. There isn’t any sex in this book, so it’s a safe read for ace readers trying to find romance without sex. There’s a bit of teasing (nipping fingers) and some kisses, but that’s it.

I loved the characters and really felt their conflict, most of their motivations and the history is almost spot on.

The description is lovely, but could be deepened a bit so that I felt the emotions more.

I loved the historical accuracy depicted. The types we so rarely see in historical novels of how prevalent black and mixed-race people were in the UK in the 1800s. That alone makes it worth reading if you can overlook its flaws.

I liked the interesting uniqueness to the premise of a newspaper bride in the UK. Usually we read stories like those set out west in America. The star-crossed romance, second chance romance and enemies to lovers tropes were carried out flawlessly, those aspects I really enjoyed.

It was definitely a good enough book to keep me up long past my bedtime.

Now, on to the content warnings and what I absolutely hated.

I needed content warnings on the language. Theodosia is mixed-race, and it would’ve been REALLY nice, as I’m also mixed-race, to have a heads up on slur words that have been thrown at me all my life.

Content warning on the early and frequent usage of mixed-race slur words in a way that was intentional, to make the reader feel the pain Theodosia feels about them.

Content warning on disability as a plot device, disability porn.

The slurs stung. They were meant to, so the words did their job, but I really needed a content warning on that. I still would’ve read the book, but it would’ve prepared me and they wouldn’t have hurt so much.

I didn’t like how Theo’s eyes were described, ‘almond-eyed’ gods I get so sick of that term. Really, there are so many ways to describe eye shape that that phrase is just over-used and needs to be shoved down the coal-chute of writers everywhere.

It’s also massively inaccurate as a method of describing East Asian eyes, which is usually what people are trying to do by using it.

Here… you can read more on the subject here. Writing With Color-Describing Asian Eyes

But the thing that I hated about this book was how Theo thought about her son.

SPOILERS

Phillip, Theo’s son, is going deaf. There is SO MUCH guilt, shame, and wanting to fix her kid that I don’t know how Theo can even be believed as loving her kid.

I hated this so much. I’m physically disabled and it absolutely hurt me to read that.

I guess, maybe for people who don’t have a close and personal experience of physical disability it wouldn’t bother them? There wasn’t a miracle cure, so at least the author avoided that, but gahhhh.

Sign-language is officially credited as being invented in 1620. But we have written records referring to it dating back to the fifth century BC. History of sign language.

By 1720, the British manual alphabet had found close to its modern form, so I find it close to inexcusable that someone who obviously did their research with regards to history didn’t mention Theo trying to have someone teach her son, who is depicted as going deaf quite rapidly, some form of sign language.

She has a doctor come in twice over the course of the book and doctors of the time period CERTAINLY would’ve known about sign language.

Instead, the focus is all on how Theo is going to ‘fix’ her kid. How she blames herself for what caused his injury (which wasn’t even her fault? It was the actions of someone else? So just, editorially, that motivation makes absolutely no sense. It’s much more believable that she’d be furious and out for revenge on the people who ACTUALLY hurt her kid.)

That hurt and took what could have been an absolutely amazing book down several notches. It also hurt to read.

I and my kids are autistic and I have never wanted to fix them. We live with the constant knowledge that society wants to ‘fix’ we autistics out of existence, and often? It’s the ‘autism mommies’ who want to erase us.

Moms like Theo, who blames herself and vows to fix her kid. IE: (quoted from the book) “She’d never give up on trying to make her son whole.”

Instead of giving him the tools he needed to get by in the world?

That’s the worst sort of disability porn there is. It’s a plot device.

Disability. Is. Not. A. Plot. Device.

I can’t repeat how much I hated that part of the book.

It really could have been as close to perfect as a sex-free romance could ever be for me.

I do hope if the author chooses to depict disabled characters again that she takes a hard look at that ingrained issue that so badly exposed itself in this book.

Being disabled isn’t a tragedy. We can and do live happy, fulfilling, wonderful lives.

Being born different also isn’t a tragedy, I don’t know of many adult autistics who would want to be ‘fixed’.

And yes, absolutely, I’m very sensitive about this issue, but that’s why we need to work so hard as authors to not do things like this that will hurt our readers.

With that all said, am I glad I read the book? Yes. It was more enjoyable than it was painful. It could’ve been a LOT better if being disabled hadn’t been used as a plot device and a great woe-is-me fest, but yes, it’s a good book.

It could’ve been a GREAT one, and I think it’s almost more painful when something that could have been phenomenal has such a massive case of the OMG whuts?

I’ll be looking for more books by the author, I have a feeling the side characters in this one will be the heroines in the next two books, so I’ll pick them up when I see them available.

The author is good at the storytelling peeps, she writes well and has a fascinating way of twisting the tropes in new and inventive ways that I don’t see a lot of in historical romance.

So, do read it, just be aware that this is not what we should be doing with our disabled characters.

Received in exchange for a honest review.

this was a good book. I enjoyed seeing the sassiness in Theodosia. She was independent and loving but also smart and understanding. She knew that in her situation and where she was she needed to protect her son at all costs. She went through a lot to get where she was and now she is looking for a husband.

So she puts an ad in the paper and hopes she can find someone to help her and one she can get along with. Never did she expect to see a ghost. Or who she thinks is a ghost. Once she gets over the shock she is angry. that is the one thing I didn’t quite get. She is a smart women, why not think things through once you got home and see the bigger picture?

Ewan was a strong kind guy. He has a family life that is stressful to say the least. But he is also trying to make it on his own. He just got back and boy is he a little angry. He does seem to have a right but the whole picture again isn’t being seen. He knows what his family is like and what Theodosia is like as well but time and hurt has blinded him as it did Theodosia. He though tries to get to know Theodosia. That starts as wanting to make peace between the families but ends because he loves her. there is also a secret that Theodosia has been keeping that affects him too. I loved how he didn’t go nuts when he discovered it but accepts it and is decent about it.

These two are firecrackers apart but together they are fireworks. The banter is awesome. She keeps him in check and he pushes her buttons. The love and respect is there though. And as they figure out what exactly happened in the past we see Ewan morph into more of what Theodosia needs. He proves over and over how understanding and smart he is. Theodosia proves her pride and independence but also her capacity to love.

their journey to one another is strife with emotion and misunderstandings. As the make their way through all the anger, pain and deceit they emerge stronger and as a family. A good story that has you smile and laugh and hope they figure it all out and come together. It is great to see such sassiness and banter in a historical romance.

I am greatly conflicted about this book. I adore Theodosia and her friends. Phillip is such a sweet child and the writing in this book is solid and well paced.

Unfortunately hero and love interest is an absuive gaslighter who kept needling Theodisia and threatening her. Between Lester and Ewan I rather wish she had gone with Ewans brother Jasper or hell the butler or one of her lady friends. Anyone besides Ewan. He spent the entire book threatneing her gaslighting her and his thoughts about and women who move up in life were disgusting. I do not recommend this book at all

Theodosia 'Theo' Cecil will do anything to protect her son from those that wish to take him away from her. But the only way she knows she can protect him is to find a man to marry that can stand up for her rights. However, when Ewan Fitzwilliam, a man she thought was dead re-enters her life, Theo finds it hard not to think about the past and how good Ewan made her. Will Theo and Ewan get a second chance at happy ever after, or will the vengeful actions of people they thought they could trust keep them apart again?

What a fascinating read Ms. Riley has delivered in this first story of her Advertisements of Love series where the main characters had me loving their back stories and had me hoping that Theo would give Ewan another chance; the dialogue was riveting, as most of Ewan's family are a piece of work and I could understand why he doesn't want anything to do with them; and the obstacles these two face on their journey to happy ever after had me hoping that Ewan would win Theo over because he still loves her.

Both the main characters were riveting due to their past, their back stories and their growing relationship, as Theo does her best to resist Ewan, but it seems she can't because he's always been 'The One'. Moreover, the heroine is strong and brave in dealing with everything she has including the horribleness of Ewan's family and how they treated her in the past. I also liked how determined she was to do anything she can to protect her son, which is proven by her need to marry someone that can help her. Will Ewan be the man she needs or will she end up marrying someone else? Will Theo be able to protect her son without immediately marrying? Yet, what I liked most of all about the heroine is the tight bond she shares with her son. He's her whole world and there's nothing she won't do to protect him, even if it means sacrificing her own happiness.

While Ewan, he's a wonderful hero and I couldn't help but sympathize with him when it comes to his family. He has a father that doesn't respect him and a mother that will do anything to make sure he doesn't end up with what she belongs is the wrong woman, even though Theo is the woman he loves and wants forever. I also liked the decisions he ended up making because there's nothing more important than love, family and happiness and Theo will always be home for him. Yet, what I liked most of all about the hero was how protective he was of the heroine and how determined he was to right the wrongs he made with the heroine in the past, which is proven by the huge choice he makes towards the end.

Overall, Ms. Riley has delivered a splendid read in this book where the chemistry between this couple was strong; the romance was sweet and heart-warming and showed how these two have never gotten over each other; and the ending left me completely satisfied by what the hero does to show the heroine that she means everything to him. I would recommend The Bittersweet Bride by Vanessa Riley, if you enjoy historical romances, the second chance romance trope, or books by authors Rose Lerner, Alyssa Cole, Beverly Jenkins and Cat Sebastian.

This is such a sweet and tender story of not just love at first sight but second chances, I haven’t read any of Ms Riley’s work before, but I very enjoyed this new romance and she is definitely an author who I would read again.
It is so lovely watching as Ewan and Theo start to get reacquainted again their old passion for each other reignites. These are such a cute couple, as individuals and as a couple they have gone through a lot and they have many obstacles to get past before they can get their Happy Ever After.

It is such an interesting take on the Historical Romance genre, putting an ad in the paper to find a husband is such a modern concept and yet I do like how Riley has turned it and made it apart of the era. This book to me feels very modern and new, it has everything that your wanting in a historical romance but with freshness. It’s a classy and enjoyable and it shows off the author’s stylish writing and her love for this era.

It’s a charming and well written book that takes you on an emotional journey, one that you are clinging to the hope that this journey will end in a very happy ending.

Widow Theodosia Cecil is so desperate to find a new husband, she is advertising for one in the paper. The reason is to protect her young son, and her home from her son's guardian. The man only wants control of her fortune and business. Because of her appearance and history, the man could easily take it all.

Ewan Fitzwilliam has returned home after his time in the army. He was once believed to have been killed and carries the scars.

The past has not been kind to our protagonists. Our hero made bad decisions and his family we're incredibly cruel. Our heroine loved her husband and felt safe with him. She needs to feel that again.

This is a historical romance with a big twist. The prejudice our heroine and her friends face must have been very difficult in those days, even in England.

An emotional and intense story that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I struggled reading the first half of the book, but the second half redeemed it. When questioning my struggles, I believe it was because the only character I liked was the Butler! Theo was scared and indecisive, even though the author said she was not. Evan was a sly smart alec. I’m glad I stuck with it.

Quite an unusual story as it involves an aristocrat and a woman of mixed race. Ewan, the second son of an earl comes across Theodosia when she is gathering flowers in his family’s flower fields. Although they are promised to each other, Ewan leaves for the army. There follows quite a gap of 6 years and numerous secrets. Even though she experiences a lot of racial abuse, Theodosia has developed a strong inner core, in order to protect those she holds dear. Ewan has to show himself to be stronger than the will of his father. There are some interesting secondary characters including Ewan’s older brother, Jasper and the two friends of Theodosia. This was an interesting read although the pace slowed at times. I received a copy from Netgalley and have voluntarily reviewed it. This is my honest review.

Theo is between a rock and a hard place. With her beloved husband dead, and her mourning period nearly at an end, she knows she must marry again to protect her young son. The last thing she needs is for a ghost from her past to appear and bring back all her carefully buried regrets. Ewan – once believed dead due to an army mixup – is finally back in England, and is shocked to discover his first love is now his cousin’s widow. Can they both let go of their feelings about the past and make a new future together?

“We said, ‘Respectable young widow of means looking for honorable family man of good character for matrimony.’”
The grimace on Frederica’s supple features was comical. Her nose wriggled as if she smelled dead fish. “Oh. I forgot we went the mind-numbing route. We should write back with more color. Something clever.”
Trying not to turn back to the patio, Theodosia crossed her arms. “What should I have said? Blackamoor beauty with babe and loads of baubles, needs beau?”


Theo’s life is hemmed in by her “Rs” – what she calls regrets – and those Rs are in some ways more harmful to her than all the racism she faces for being black and the circumstances of her low birth. The root of all her regrets – though perhaps not the most painful one – is that she trusted Ewan enough once by agreeing to elope with him. Theo still loves Ewan, but he’s failed her before by not being strong enough to stand up to his father. Theo has had to make some hard choices, but she owns them. Ewan, on the other hand, at times seems years younger than Theo, despite having been away in the army for more than half a decade. Ewan’s constant jumping to conclusions and willingness to believe the worst of Theo got old. Ewan believes she’s prideful and would never admit she’s wrong, and constantly accuses her of lying, gold-digging, etc. At heart, I think, he’s a good person, but it’s obvious that, had they eloped as intended, their marriage would never have lasted. As he spends more time with Theo, Ewan realizes the story he’s constructed about what happened – the story that his family has encouraged – is missing some major pieces.

“Resigned, she smoothed her thick cuffs and steeled her spirit with Mathew’s words.
Theodosia, you are a light rising from obscurity. When you focus on helping others, the darkness you think you have will be like the noon sun.”


There is a lot of conflict and angst: Theo and Ewan’s unresolved romance, Theo’s guilt over Phillip’s illness, Ewan’s conflict with his family, Lester’s scheming to win control of the Cecil estate, plus, of course, their difference in race and class. It was, at times, an exhausting read, because at one point it was very hard to imagine how they were going to end up together given everything stacked against them. Regardless, I think, it is a hopeful book, as Theo is strong, determined, and willing to do what needs to be done. There are some Christian themes running through it, as well as some Bible quotes, which works well with the themes of redemption, though I don’t think it would be overly noticeable to a secular reader. Theo’s friends were lovely, and I’m hoping that they are supposed to be the heroines of the next few books. I also loved Pickens, the butler!

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I’m very much looking forward to the next in the series! Recommended for anyone who loves second chance romances, with a well-drawn back story, and lots of conflict!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Bittersweet Bride is an apt title for this new historical romance by Vanessa Riley set in London that follows widow Theodosia Cecil and her one time love, Ewan Fitzwilliam.

Theo is recently widowed and needs a husband to not only protect her son but her fortune. She places an ad in the paper in hopes of finding a worthy candidate. Imagine her surprise when she walks out of a store after gathering her latest correspondence from potential husbands and sees her presumed dead lover, Ewan.

Theo and Ewan were together six years prior to the events in this book. Ewan thought Theo to be a golddigger after listening to his vengeful father. Theo thought he was dead and is shocked to see him after all these years.

These two obviously had a lot of love for each other despite all the lies and past hurt they both endured. They were very stubborn though and admittedly, I wasn’t very fond of Ewan. He constantly put Theo down and never seemed to be able to fully forgive her. Many times throughout the book, I wanted to scream at him: “Either you forgive her or you don’t, make up your mind!”

Theo was definitely the shining star in this novel and showed herself to be a strong and capable woman regardless of prior circumstances, hence why I thought the title was so fitting.

This was my first read by Vanessa Riley and I enjoyed her writing style and was interested in the plot with these solid characters. However, I thought it was a rather slow build up and became quite repetitive in the beginning.  It wasn’t until I got about halfway through the book that I felt the storyline really start to move.


Overall, The Bittersweet Bride was an engaging novel with characters you either love or love to hate.

This as a lovely and sweet historical interracial romance, its writing was fresh and addicting!

The Bittersweet Bride is aptly name. There is a lot of bitterness in Theodosia’s life and I can’t say I blame her. The struggles she went through broke my heart and endeared me to her. I wanted nothing but happiness for her, but I wasn’t quite sure if Ewan was the answer.

Until I kept reading.

Poor Ewan! He went through just as much as Theodosia, although none of it was race centered. No, he had a father that wrecked havoc with his life. I felt sorry for him and eventually decided he was good enough for Theo. 😉

If you enjoy historical romances, then you’ll love this read. If historicals aren’t your thing, please take a chance. You’ll enjoy it.