A traditional romcom where 2 unlikely people fall in love. It wasn't especially well written, but the story keeps you going, including misunderstandings, outrageous parties, and some chemistry.

Jemma goes to inherit her grandmother's fortune but she must marry a duke. Enter Ashford, a titled man about to lose everything if he doesn't repay loans. They make a marriage of convenience that becomes more along the way. I thought it was a little bit sexist the way some of the women were portrayed. I'm reviewing this almost 5 years after it has come out and to me good romance novels have evolved during this time.

I wouldn't particularly recommend this title unless you enjoy this genre. Giving it a generous 3 stars.

A wonderful read with charming characters and an engaging plot!! I look forward to reading more by this author.

This is an enjoyable and light read which is perfect for this current climate! Bit predictable but this genre tends to be however sometimes we like a big of predictability.

This is my first time reading a novel by Felicia Kingsley. I found that this story was an okay read. The main characters Jenna and Ashford marry to receive a financial arrangement. Unfortunately, I wasn't particularly invested in the characters, there didn't seem to be much chemistry between the two, so it was hard to get too excited about this book.

I hate leaving negative reviews as I can only imagine the hard work that the author has poured into the book but unfortunately on this occasion I have to.

I’m sorry but this didn’t work for me at all. I disliked all the characters and thought they deserved one another. The plot didn’t entertain me either, basically I didn’t enjoy anything about this book.

I’m sure that this book will thoroughly entertain a lot of people but unfortunately I’m not one of them.
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher*

2.5/5 I thought at first I would adore this novel, and while it was fun it was definitely not amazing. It followed the trope of a woman being left an inheritance from some unknown grandma, and her having to marry someone to inherit it. Her grandmother says though that she has to marry someone with a title and we follow Jemma navigating a relationship with someone she doesn’t get along with and such like that. The two main characters werent characters I cared about much so it was a bit weird not being invested in them, and more invested in other characters in the novel. I think also that since it was a translated work, the wording wasn’t always flowing so it felt a bit disjointed. Overall this was just not the best, but it was entertaining.

This book and I did not really hit it off.

My major grievances were that the 2 main characters were very unlikeable and secondary characters were clichéd. It also did not help that the story tropes the author used were both boring and annoying at the same time.

I am always highly suspicious of heroines that need to be surrounded by totally nasty characters in order to become amiable in the slightest. Because, let's face it, Gemma -all by herself- IS very unappealing, or rather, off-putting. She is petty, childish and judgmental. Her strong point should be that she is "ONE OF US" or comes from a working-class background. But being from any kind of background is neither a sin, nor a virtue: it's a state and it depends on you what you do with it. Gemma behaves the same way the Toffs, she so much seems to dislike, do: she thinks she is better because of her background.

This book in my opinion would be the perfect beach read! I loved how the characters view points switched back and forth. It gave me a great insight into what each character was thinking and feeling. Many parts of this story made me laugh out loud. This was a pretty typical romantic comedy in my experience. I feel like I’ve seen this story play out in different ways before but it was enjoyable none the less!

Oh my goodness!!!
I absolutely fell head over heels for this book.

Felicia is a new to me author. But one I will come back to again for sure.

I loved her saucy characters and fun and fast paced story telling.

I honestly found myself not able to put this one down, finding any spare time I had during class or work to get in even just a few more pages.

The story was just written so well, and the characters were dynamic and relatable. Ones you could picture being friends with in real life.

Plus, I'm totally a sucker for a good enemy's to lovers story. Although I guess this one was technically.... strongly disliked acquaintances to lovers haha.

Definitely a 5 star read for me!

One minute, Jemma Pears is a struggling theatrical make-up artist in London. The next, she's been left a vast fortune by her estranged grandmother. The catch: she must marry a man with a title to inherit. Jemma thinks this is truly impossible: she's a romantic, searching for true love, not just a convenient marriage... and besides, where would she even find a titled guy?
This was an ok read. The plot is one I’ve read a lot in historical romances. The characters were stereotypical and the opposites attract trope is standard but wasn’t that bad in this one.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

I wanted to like this, I really did. Unfortunately it was a boring argument from the beginning. Ashford and Jemma both marry to get something out of the arrangement- money. Of course since they start out as strangers they don’t always see eye to eye. A lot of books with this premise the couple gets to know each other and in general at least tries to be civil to one other. I gave up around 50% through this one and that had still yet to happen. I had to force myself to get that far and just didn’t care what happened to Ashford, Jemma, or anyone else. This book was not worth my time at all!

I had a hard time feeling the chemistry between the two characters. The writing was fine, but the relationship development was lacking. I liked to be sucked into the relationship from the beginning - otherwise I find myself disinterested.

I was looking forward to reading How (Not) to Marry A Duke as it looked like it would be a light-hearted, opposites attract, type novel.  Thankfully I was not wrong!  This is a novel about two people from two very different worlds, who find themselves married; Jemma in order to inherit a life changing sum of money from her grandmother, and Ashford to pay off the debts left behind by his dead father.

There are no surprises here - Ashford and Jemma could not be more different, and being forced into such a stressful situation only accentuates their differences.  You know what they say though, opposites attract!  I really enjoyed this novel, it was lighthearted and fun, following these characters as they essentially torment each other!  If I was to have one criticism though, it would be that the ending felt quite rushed.  A few months of events are crammed into a few short chapters before we finally reach our happy ending.  Jemma's stubbornness was also a little too far-fetched for my liking.  However, these things did not detract from my enjoyment of the novel.  I am therefore more than happy to recommend it for a chilled out Sunday afternoon reading!

Gah, this was so cute! I love hate-to-love romances and romances by design. It was such a sweet but angsty read. It is very enjoyable.

Eine altbekannte Geschichte in einem nicht so neuen Gewand, aber dafür mit Leichtigkeit und seichtem Humor erzählt. Muss man nicht lesen, kann man aber. Nette Unterhaltung, schöner Schreibstil - wird aber nicht im Gedächtnis bleiben.

This book had a cute premise, but it just didn't grab me! I do enjoy relationships of convenience, but this one just was missing something and I can't put my finger on it. That said, it was a funny romp!

I must admit, I wasn't the biggest fan of the book.  It was by no means terrible, but seemed a little outdated and predictable at times.  I enjoy reading a fun, frothy chick lit/romance every now and again, but this one just did not grab me.  There were some funny moments and the interactions with other characters were good, but the two main characters were quite unlikable.  Jemma is a Cinderella/Eliza Doolittle type character but as I never really connected with her as a main character, I was never really on her side. I didn't like Ashford from the start and he never really managed to redeem himself.

As I said, I do not think this is terrible, just not for me.  Anyone who really enjoys this genre will like this, but for the occasional reader, I would choose something else.

I absolutely loved this book! It was cute and funny!

The ending was kind of predictable because of the storyline. Jemma needs to marry a man with a title to receive her inheritance from her grandmother and Ashford is a Duke who requires a lot of money for him to save his properties. By coincidence, they have the same lawyer who sets them up to solve both of their problems! Of course, at first they hate each other because Jemma is not part of the aristocracy that Ashford usually associates with. But after living together for a while, things change.

There were a number of times that I laughed out loud. Ashford’s mother reminded me of Jane Fonda’s character in the movie Monster-In-Law. Jemma could not please her no matter what she did. They were completely different, so many of the scenes reminded me of that movie.

Though I could see where the story was heading, I loved the ending. I really enjoyed the whole story, and I fell in love with the characters. This is a great romantic comedy!

Ashford and Jemma may have lived near London most of their lives but come from two completely different worlds.

Ashford is a thirty year old 8th Generation Duke who has grown up being very privileged, handsome, popular and is one of the most eligible bachelors who recently became an official Duke when his Dad passed but Ashford is about to get a rude awakening that just may be the thing he needs.

Jemma is a twenty six year old woman who has made somewhat of a living as a makeup artist for a local theater, lived with her hippy parents who have raised their daughter to be fairly open-minded, self-disciplined but also free to pretty much do as she pleases. Then she gets a call that will change her life forever.

Ashford soon learns that his Dad didn’t invest so wisely in some areas before his death and unless he finds someone rich to marry, he may be forced to sell off most of his houses and become a disgray to society.

Jemma learns that her grandmother left her a very sizeable inheritance that would allow her to not have to work for the foreseeable future but there’s a catch. She has to marry someone with a title and stay married for at least a year. At first she’s ready to reject it but after being let go of her job and finding out that her boyfriend is married, Jemma realizes that the money could be a blessing in disguise.

Jemma and Ashford just happen to have the same lawyer who proposes proposed that they marry each other to solve the issue of money and a title respectively. Both are reluctant but realize it’s the most likely situation and marry at the courthouse, believing they cabarry quiet and live separate lives until the year is up. Then their marriage leaks out to the papers and a seemingly easy partnership becomes much more complicated.

Jemma finds herself dragged into Ashford’s priviledged world where she has to contend with a moody Mother-in-law, snooty people and trying to adjust to being a Duchess. It’s a lot for one gal to have to get used to in a short amount of time. Luckily she gets help from kindly servants, lots of reading, pointers from unlikely friends and putting her own unique spin on things.

Her relationship with Ashford starts out very rocky and then as the days blend into months, both realize that maybe it’s not so bad to be married to each other and that the old adage of opposites attract could very well be the case for these two

Full of humor, interesting in-laws, front row seats to see what it’s like to be part of the Nobility and adventure, this book was quite the whirlwind.


If you enjoy books set in England, rags to riches, and a healthy dash of talk about Jane Austen, then you’ll enjoy this book as much as I have.

This was fun - a great weekend read full of crazy people and situations. I enjoyed the escapism of the story, but it was still plausible enough to be relatable and the characters were easy to imagine.