I kinda loved this book. I could not put it down. I loved having both of Jemma & Ashford’s chapters back to back. I enjoyed seeing both sides. Really enjoyed this book!

Another one of my favorite tropes really poorly executed. The couple has to marry; she must wed a titled lord so she can inherit billions (with a B) from her grandmother's estate. The hero has a huge amount of debt that the heroine's money will wipe out. Instead of living separate lives, they're forced to live together so as to not be accused of fraud. Sounds good, right?

It's not. Overall I didn't much enjoy the characters or the plot and I got very caught up in small but important details.

Like by marrying the duke, Jemma became a duchess. Which means her servants would only ever refer to her as Your Grace or madam. Ever. But she is repeatedly called Lady Jemma, which is so,so wrong. Never, ever. She's not Lady Jemma. Her servants would know that. And her mother-in-law is the dowager duchess, not the widowed duchess. For a book that focused so heavily on British titles it should have been accurate.

I also had an issue with that fact that Jemma inherits a ridiculous fortune and then never spends it or does anything with it. What is the point of inheriting that much money and then ignoring it for the entire book???

I'd pass on this one.

❤️❤️❤️ out of 5
Not sure you are ready for this.... this book is a modern day marriage of convenience with enemies to lovers set amongst the English Aristocracy boom boom boom.
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The heroine’s grandmother leaves her entire fortune to her (worth billions) providing that she marries a man with a title. The hero is a Duke who realises he now owes a lot of money to the bank- their lawyer sets up a meeting for the two to solve each other’s problems. What starts off as a secret marriage however turns quite public when they are outed in the news, so are forced to live together and pretend to be a couple.
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First off I was intrigued to see how I would like this book considering I hated both characters. The hero is an arrogant snob and the heroine is childish and immature. They absolutely loathed each other so more than 70% of the book was enemies with 30% lovers. However, in the end they grew on my and the book had me laughing out loud! The secondary characters were all hoots- from the hero’s crazily uptight mother to the heroine’s hippy nudist parents. The one thing that really ticked me off was the heroine needing to change herself physically (I mean I get that she couldn’t walk around with over the top makeup and pink hair but still). Also the fact that the hero would degrade her all the time and refer to her as a “bitch” even in his own mind.

Jemma Pears works as a make-up artist for actors in a low-budget play. She has been summoned by a solicitor, Derek, to inform her that her recently deceased grandmother, Catriona, has left everythng to Jemma. Her grandmother bypassed Jemma’s mother because she married a man she didn't approve of. In addition, the couple lived at a nudist camp. But Jemma soon learns that there is one stipulation that she must meet before receiving this large inheritance. She must marry a man who is part of the aristocracy and who has a title.

Ashford Parker lives at Darby Hall with his widowed mother. When his father died, Ashford became the twelfth Duke of Burlingham. He has not been keeping up with his finances like he should, but depends upon his solicitor, Derek, to do so. He has just learned from Derek that his investments are not doing well and his accounts are overdrawn. Now, he must inform his mother of this change as well as find a way to make up for the lost funds. The woman is a very controlling person who loves her title of Duchess.

Derek invites Jemma and Ashford to meet at a restaurant to discuss a solution to their dilemmas. He suggests that Jemma and Ashford marry for a year. In exchange, Jemma gains the title she needs to access her inheritance and Ashford will receive some funds to get him out of debt. While it is not what they want, they agree to a marriage of convenience for at least one year.

Jemma is a young woman who has pink hair and wears whatever outlandish outfits she desires. Ashford always dresses nicely and has grown up with the manners of the aristocracy. So, when Jemma arrives at Darby Hall, Ashford’s mother calls for her smelling salts.

We see how Jemma interacts with Ashford’s friends and their reactions to her. Can these two manage to stay together for their required time period and not have them both give up?

There are such truly hilarious times in this book and some that are just silly. However, I enjoyed the story and the characters of Jemma and Ashford. My favorite character is Harring. Come and learn about him too. I think readers will enjoy this book!

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

Didn’t have to think too hard reading this but overall it was enjoyable and made me want to come back to finish it.

How (Not) to Marry a Duke by Felicia Kingsley is a contemporary fairytale at its best.
Jemma is supposed to inherit a fortune but in order to do so she must marry a nobleman. Ashford is an ompovrished duke who needs money to save his estates. Match made in heaven? Not. They can't stand each other. Jemma is stuborn, opinionated, free spirited and unconventional. She was raised by 70's hippies. Ashford is uptight, conceited, standoffish. Will they manage to make this marriage work so they can both get what they want.
Light, charming read with many humurous moments. Absolutely delightful cast of characters. Each of them unique in their own way and fabulously funny. Fresh take on a classic story. I enjoyed it so.much and was rooting for Jemma and Ashford's love to overcome all obstacles.
One of the best love storiws I have read.

Fun romantic comedy! This book is a little predictable as it does follow the normal rom-com format, but it is a super funny story and enjoyable to read!

What can I say? I loved this book! If you love rom coms, then this is the book for you.

Jemma Pears has just inherited her grandmother's estate, but there is a catch, she has to marry someone with a title. Ashford Parker, the Duke of Burlingham, has just found out that his father's investments have left him broke. To solve their problems, their attorney comes up with the idea to marry them off. This wedding was supposed to be a secret, but of course, the media catches wind, and now Jemma and Ashford have to fake being a happily married couple for a year.

This book is somewhat predictable as it does follow your typical rom-com romance however that does not take away from the hilarity and brilliance of this novel.

Jemma and Ashford begin this journey hating each other and not understanding the other's perspective but as time passes they start to fall for one another.

I loved that their journey wasn't rushed and that you could see them falling before they knew they were falling.

I would 100% recommend this book. You will laugh out loud so be prepared!

I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher for a fair and honest review.

This was just a very average read for me. I’m not sure if it was just me or the way I read the book. It unfortunately just didn’t stick with me

Jemma Pears is just your normal girl in London, making a poor living doing theatrical makeup and living in the basement of her hippie parent's building while avoiding her mom's peyote laced baked goods. As one does. But everything changed when her snobby grandmother died and made her a billionaire. The only catch is that she has to marry a man with a royal title to cash the check.

Meanwhile, uptight Ashford, Duke of Burlingham is in financial trouble and in desperate need of a miracle. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for him he's single and his attorney also happens to represent Jemma Pears. What comes next is a marriage of convenience and hilarity.

How (Not) to Marry a Duke has a shrew of a Mother-in-Law, football hooligans, the Heimlich maneuver, mean girls, enemies, lovers, enemies again, and then the happily ever after we deserve. I loved every page.

This book was hilarious. Jemma is to inherit a fortune after her grandmother passes. However, there is a catch. She had to marry someone with a title. Ashford has a title, but is facing bankruptcy after some bad investments are made by his father before his death. They both need each other and neither one wants anything to do with the other.

There were some twists in this story. As soon as you think they are going to have a happy ending the story twists again and again.

Jemma and Ashford are in really outdated positions- she must marry a ma with a title in order to inherit and he needs someone with money to pay off debt. Kingsley has done her best to update this scenario but it just didn't gel for me. It does have the classic hate to love scenario and some good scenes with the various relatives. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

A fun chick-lit style romp on the old marriage of convenience trope. This book was quirky and fun and kept my interest.


Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

How (Not) to Marry a Duke was written by Felicia Kingsley. I love historical romance novels set during the Regency era, and “forced marriage” is a common trope. The inclusion of the word “force” is a bit of a misnomer; it’s more like circumstances compel two people to marry for a variety of reasons. Anyway, when I saw that this contemporary novel featured the same trope, I was intrigued.

Jemma inherits a fortune from her grandma, but she only gets the money if she marries a titled gentleman. Ashford is a penniless duke whose estate will be foreclosed if he doesn’t get a cash infusion ASAP. They just happen to share a lawyer, who suggests that they marry, and then divorce after a year.

The premise is cute enough, so what went wrong?

To begin with, what really soured me on this book was the inclusion of the word “retard”. Twice. Jemma accuses Ashford of treating her like a “retard” and Ashford says that he’s not treating her like a “retard”. It’s 2018, and there’s no reason to be using this pejorative at all.

As if that were not enough, the novel was translated from Italian, and there are many instances in which the prose is stilted. There are some translation errors- Jemma says that her parents preferred public school. She’s clearly talking about state-run institutions, but in England, public school refers to exclusive schools like “Eton”. I also saw several nouns referred to by different names in the same scene- “cotton sugar” vs. “cotton candy” and “Ferris wheel” vs. “big wheel”.

There are also some odd grammatical quirks as well, and that distracted me from the story, most notably countless instances of “Blah blah blah.” Says character.

The narrative is a bit of a mess. This is far from a conventional romance novel, and fits better into the chick lit category. The characters are all over the place; Jemma and Ashford are both immature in their own way.

I would not recommend this book at all.




I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

How (Not) to Marry a Duke is an easy and quick read. The characters were not very likable but that may be a matter of personal taste. The story was a cute idea for a rom-com type book but it was not seamless and felt a little pieced together. I would read another book by Felicia Kingsley because I liked her writing style but this book was just ok for me.

I did not like this book. The 2 main characters, Jemma and Ashford (and most of the side charcaters as well) were unlikable, stereotypical and cliched (Ashford came across as a major snob and he didn't manage to redeem himself by the end of the book and Jemma was overreacting about every single thing which quickly got annoying - I don't care for drama queens). The story was dragging until the last 20 percent of the book when it finally picked up a little but for me too little and too late. I was bored and annoyed at the same time most of the time while reading the book. I think the idea behind this story was great, that's why I requested this book, but the execution was sadly lacking.

I wanted to love this book. I love the idea behind it. I love the cover. I love the characters. But the story.......not so much....
Jemma, named after Jimi Hendrix (?) inherits a lot of money but must marry a titles aristocrat to access it.......
Ashford is a Duke who had money but mysteriously looses it alll in six months, although he seems to just accept this rather than try to get it back, he needs money to prevent the family seat from being repossessed?????
So they both marry for money??? And that’s despite the fact they blatantly don’t like or respect each other. And again there is no explanation. It just jumps to the wedding day. It’s like there are chunks missing. It’s too difficult to explain away so I will just leap to the next part of the story......

No, not for me.

How (Not) to Marry a Duke was a cute book. I struggled with Ashford in the beginning, he was kind of pompous jerk, but he did come around about the middle of the book. I enjoyed Jemma's uniqueness and how she struggled with how people wanted her to change and finally found a true friend. I didn't like that she kept that big secret from Ashford, and still even at the end originally didn't want him to know. I thought that was very selfish given the circumstances. No matter what your feelings are that is NOT the right call (unless there is some kind of abusive situation, but that was not the case here).

***I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley.***

4.5 stars

How (Not) to Marry a Duke, by Felicia Kingsley, really took me by surprise. I say this because, as I made my way through this book, I truly couldn't see how our 2 MCs would ever even like one another, let alone fall in love, but they did, and it was lovely.

Jemma, a theater makeup artist, has been willed her grandmother’s money with a single stipulation: she has to marry a man of title in order to inherit it. Ashford, the Duke of Burlingham, has just learned his family is in serious money trouble. They both use the same lawyer, and it’s his idea for the 2 to marry. Ashford can exchange his title for some of Jemma’s inheritance—a drop in the bucket of the fortune available—and Jemma can finally gain financial freedom. It’s hate at first sight for the pair but the arrangement is the only way either can see out of their current predicaments. When news of their marriage is leaked to the press, they are forced to pretend to be happy newlyweds at the season’s high society events.

This is definitely a story of opposites, and you know what they say about opposites. Ashford is prim and proper, everything you’d think a man of his title would be. To be candid, he’s hard to like at first. He’s not only arrogant, he’s judgmental, opinionated, holier than thou, and quite buttoned up. Jemma is his opposite, unafraid to be who she is, even if that means she’s a bit of a hot mess. The 2 clashed from the get go.

It was hard to see Jemma treated poorly by Ashford. I expected it from his mother to a certain degree, and certainly from the society singletons who saw him as a potential husband, but not from Ashford. I thought he’d have a little more respect for her given the large sum of money she’d given him. Not that I didn’t understand and believe that he was embarrassed by her behvaviour in public, it was the way he treated her inside the house that bothered me. I was honestly relieved when the 2 started softening toward one another, resisting their feelings because of the irrationality and unexpectedness of them. The reader truly does get to watch these 2 fall in love. Once they finally came together, it was lovely.

I liked the Willoughby twist as well as the Portia twist. Both of them were slimeballs that played their parts to a tee and added lots of interest to the plot and insight into Ashford’s and Jemma’s characters. I was constantly irritated by Delphina, Ashford’s mother. She only seemed to care about how things looked, not about people, not even her son and certainly not Jemma whom she criticized and rebuked at practically every turn. In contrast, Jemma’s parents were great, as was Cécile, and I adored Lance, the butler.

The inevitable breakup made sense. I only wish it didn’t make Jemma seem so impetuous. I believed in their love and wanted to see them talk. The months of inaction frustrated me, and while I liked the ending, I objected to the decisions Jemma made that got them there.

If you can be patient and hang on past their initial treatment of one another, I think you’ll come to love Ashford and Jemma the same way I did. I would definitely read another book by this author.

My review has been posted to Goodreads.

Review has also been tweeted as usual.

Thank you! :c)