Another marriage of convenience snafu.

I found this Regency romance bland. I don't know why. It had all the right ingredients but the chemistry just didn't happen. Grace Ellis, companion to Lady Florence, has been left a legacy upon her mistress's death. A legacy tied up with conditions.
Grace's first meetings with Dominique LeSayres just didn't ring true and as far as I'm concerned things went downhill from there. I struggled to finish. The marriage of convenience trope has so much to play with but the playing here just didn't live up to its full potential. It's pricing is definitely a snafu.

A NetGalley ARC

I found this an intensely frustrating read. At times it was wonderful; Grace and Dominic’s first interactions were both charming and hilarious, with Grace’s sass endearing herself to both Dominic and the reader. The reasons for the two of them to have a marriage of convenience were both sensible and pressing.

However, there were also several occasions when the plot became horribly muddled. My suspension of belief failed when the reader was asked to believe that Grace, a well-educated doctor’s daughter and a regular churchgoer, wouldn’t know a marriage would not be legal unless either a special license was procured or the banns were called for three weeks prior to the marriage. Even if she somehow forgot in the heat of the moment, she had several days to think on it and realise something wasn’t quite right before Dominic confessed. Instead, she was genuinely shocked, and I was genuinely rolling my eyes.

In addition, once she suspected he might be married, why not just ask him? Or ask his stepmother and sister-in-law? It wasn’t as though she didn’t have the opportunity, or the strength of character. It irritates me when a character suddenly seems to lose all their intelligence to serve a plot point.

As I said, the book had its good points, but for me they were outweighed by the frustrating ones. Two stars.

(and then I looked at the Amazon page to grab a copy of the book cover for the review and almost died… $25.99 for the Kindle edition? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?)

Hampshire England - 1815

Lady Florence Digby has just passed away. Her legal representative, James Archibald, has gathered the Lady’s six servants together to tell them of the bequests she has left them. The have all been given a month’s notice to find another job. They have to work the full month before they can leave. If they leave before the month is up, they will forfeit their bequest.

Grace Ellis, age 20, has been Lady Florence’s companion. After the accountant left his job with the Lady, Grace took over management of the books and household. She also treated the Lady’s ailments because she has a great knowledge of herbal remedies as her father had been a respected doctor.

Just before the funeral, Dominic LeSayres arrives. He is a family friend of Lady Florence. He is impressed with how well Grace has managed things in the household while also helping the servants with their duties. Now, he asks her to help him prepare the house for sale.

Dominic shows her the gold and jewelry that Lady Florence had left her with the wish that she use it as a dowry to marry her nephew, Brigadier Maximilian Crouch. If she refuses, the money will go to charity. Grace refuses to marry the repulsive Brigadier. Dominic then offers her a job as an accountant with him as her mathematical skills are good. He is also quite taken with her and wants to keep her near him.

Grace is left to see that the servants get the house packed up and ready for sale as Dominic must take care of business with his brother. While he is gone, Grace finds herself in jeopardy with two servants who think she was given money. They beat her and leave her locked in her room in the empty house. Will anyone find and rescue her?

This story goes back and forth where Grace is safe then she’s not. I had a difficult time liking Grace or Dominic. Too much drama for the plot. I was glad when this book was over.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

3.25 Stars
1815. Having fallen on hard times, doctor’s daughter Grace Ellis serves as a lady’s companion for Lady Florence, when Lady Florence dies, Grace discovers that she’s been left an unexpected legacy. There’s just one catch. In order to claim her inheritance, Grace must wed Lady Florence’s disreputable nephew, a gruff army brigadier more than three times her age. She is offered a way out by Dominic LeSayres, who determines to marry Grace himself.
I had mixed feelings about this book. It’s well written the characters are well fleshed & the story is interesting. However it felt like I was treading water at times but I was compelled to finish the book. Some secondary characters were horrid & one in particular didn’t deserve the salvation that was hinted at. I had to suspend belief about Grace’s behaviour at one point, why would she do that! I also didn’t feel any spark between Dominic & Grace, there were no longing looks etc & I think that was the route of my mediocre feelings for the book, I didn’t become involved in the story nor felt any emotions about the characters.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Left with the inheritance of money and a marriage will Grace choose another man?

This was a sweet romance novel. I enjoyed it very much!

A Historical romance with drama,angst,slight humor,romance and passion.
Love Grace and Dominic a great couple.
Enjoyed reading.

A simply marvelous historical romance. I found myself captivated by Marriage of Convenience
by Janet Woods. The main characters did have issues but were so perfect for each other. Loved it!

This was a well written story with the characters having plenty of depth.
I found it an entertaining easy read.

The story is well written and entertaining but at times feels long and slow. Characters are interesting but some times boring. Though the main story revolves around the terms of a will there are a few other things going on with secondary as well as main characters. All in all the story is a good one. It has adventure, love at first sight, crazy thieves, soldiers, and several other delightful secrets.

This is Grace and Dominic’s story. She was a companion to an elderly lady. When she dies she leaves a fortune to grace as long as she marries his nephew. Dominic was always her friend. He wants to marry her. There are many twists and turns in their relationship. True loves conquers all. You are kept on the edge of your seat until the end.

This book was little on the slower side for me but was written quite well. The characters developed well. I must admit I disliked Jessie and Brian they are just down right mean and dirty. The ending was a little abrupt for my taste and was fairly predictable. I would still recommend this book for a read.