I’ve never been one to get hung up on editing, but this book was the worst to try and read due to the poor editing as of yet. I’m really praying that this get fixed before it hits the market because it is a cute story. Clean and sweet and is an adorable story about love and communication. That said it really, really needs editing to take out the issues like appropriate paragraphs and the words, of the title (in italics,) every three pages of the book in the middle of whole sentences. It was very disturbing to the flow.

This book was so fun that I immediately went back to Amazon and searched for more books by Karen Tuft. (And side note: that search led me to two other new-to-me authors whose books I've devoured in the past couple of weeks. So an extra YAY for that!) The humor was witty, the romance was great, and the author delivered on the premise. All around, a super delightful read!

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were likeable and authentic and I enjoyed the storyline. I am a sucker for marriage of convenience and this book did not disappoint. Sweet romance with sweet kisses.

William Barlow's life changed the moment his estranged father died. He has not only inherited his father title, but also all his debt!

William tries to pull Lady Louisa Hargreaves into his world by asking her to marry him and honor a wager his father made with her past grandfather!

Hold on until the final page to see how William handles all these changes in his world!

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love Regency romance novels and while I was excited to come across a clean story, I was disappointed in the story. The characters felt underdeveloped and the overall story poorly done. I never felt any connection to anything presented and ended skimming most of the book.

What a fun book! I so loved it! I especially loved the twist of the "wager."
I cannot even imagine marrying for anything except love.

By of course this is a romance book so love is finally found, but not until secrets are kept, discovered, and resolved in a most wonderful way. Some will even surprise you.

This is truly a book not to be missed!

To start with I was not quite sure I would like this book - but the more I read the more I wanted to keep Reading.

Karen Tuft captures the time period and the characters perfectly! Without her descriptions and creativity this book would not be near as good. I'm glad that I chose this as a book I would like to read on Netgalley and the publisher/author saw fit to let me read it.


I fell in love with Louisa From the beginning - such a chatty girl - something which is felt is outplace in the time period. But she is an amazing character. Full of wit, love, beauty and honour for her family.

In the beginning of this book we also learn about Will Farleigh - Who has just become the viscount of his fathers estate after he had passed away - to find out the estate is not in a good way - they are in debt to multiple mortgages and not doing well.
Will just wants to be able to save the manor from its likely fate of being consumed by debt.


While Will and his lawyer were going over estate documents they found a wager that his grandfather and Louisa's grandfather had made that could save the estate and everyone who lives there.


Louisa is almost officially betrothed to Earl of Kerridge when the wager is brought to her attention. To start with the betrothal to William Farleigh is one she does not want. But unbeknown to her she begins to fall in love with Will.

Will eventually lets Louisa go as he decides that he cannot marry her unless it is on her own terms. He does not expect Louisa to return to him.

However she does, not just for Will but for herself - she finally decides to marry for love and not because someone else will benefit from her marriage.

Such a lovely story - very well written and the story keeps you interested.
This is a story for anyone who loves time period romances.

Charming despite some inaccuracies or inconsistencies or even a far-fetched plot. I have a soft spot for British historical love stories and this fit the bill (without heaving bosoms and all that...) It was a delightful tale of romance, honour, obligations, and good intentions with likeable characters and descriptive settings. Easy to read and not a lot of time invested - a fluff piece perfect for when you want a dash of romantic, historical fiction on cold winter's night.

A complimentary copy of this title was provided to me via NetGalley with thanks to the publisher and/or author. All opinions and thoughts expressed are my own.

4.5*

Marriage of convenience stories are a favorite of mine. Honestly, anything with a happily ever after and characters that have growth, are good and honorable (even if they don't start out completely that way) will always draw me in. This one was no exception for drawing me and holding my attention throughout the book.

Louisa has grown up in a home filled with love. Her brothers might be a little annoying and tease her a lot but she knows it's because of their love and affection for her, and she returns it back to them plenty. She knows her parents love each other deeply. She can't help but desire the same type of love in her marriage. When she finally finds that someone, an old and unknown wager comes calling and messes up all that she saw in her future.

Honor is everything for a gentleman but what about a gentleman's daughter? Louisa must decide what path her future must follow and hope that she can be happy.

There are plenty of misunderstandings and misperceptions throughout this book. All of the misunderstandings helped drive the plot and add tension to the story. But even with the misunderstandings I thought that the characters were really good in how they handled the situations.

The love story in this one is sweet for sure. Even with the characters not completely disclosing everything up front, I liked how they grew to know each other and love each other. The secondary characters were fun to watch. I'm hoping that there might be a couple other stories with those secondary characters. I guess we'll see.

Content: Clean.

I received a copy from the publisher, Covenant Communications, via NetGalley. I also listened to it through my Deseret Bookshelf subscription. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

If you've read other of Karen Tuft's novels, you'll recognize Louisa right away. She's a fun, loveable character. The premise of the story is... less than ideal. The idea that love can form under force or duress is not my favorite. I don't know that it's believable that someone being forced into marriage could learn to love the person forcing them. If you can disregard this fact though, the characters are fun. The original "romance" setting isn't my favorite, but I did appreciate that in the end William did the right thing. All in all, it's well written, enjoyable -- just not my favorite of Karen Tuft's novels.

Wager for a Wife is a well written historical romance. I enjoyed the plot and the author’s writing. I received an arc from Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

William's father was a horrible man who lost his money (and more) in gaming. He also beat it into his son that showing any form of emotion was terrible, leaving William a man who found it difficult to express himself in any way. But among his papers after his death was found a vowel that could be the means of getting the estate back on a firm footing, and providing for those who depended on it for their livelihoods - including the servants who had been William's only friends in his childhood. It seemed that his father had won a wager with the now-deceased grandfather of a young and lovely girl - giving William the right to marry her!

Louisa was all-but engaged to an earl when she heard of this, but would not act dishonourably by refusing to honour the vowel, unless it could be shown that the man's behaviour was such that she shouldn't be marrying him. So she set out to find out all about him that she could. But various things made that difficult, and her wedding day was looming...

The first book I've read by the author, but I hope it won't be the last. I wasn't too sure about the idea of wagering a wife at first, but it was handled well and made into a fascinating way of bringing two people together - to the point where they can decide whether or not to stay together. The gradual growth of their relationship was good to watch, her brothers were great, and my biggest complaint would be that it felt like when William finally really opened up, it was a bit too abrupt. Nevertheless, a great story, and as I say, I hope to read more by the author.

Characters: An interesting mix - all felt realistic and interacted well.
Storyline: Enjoyable, not overly convoluted but far from straightforward.
Content and language: Clean, well written - no issues noted.

Note that I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and this is my considered opinion of the book.

Lady Louisa Hargreave is on the verge of announcing her betrothal to the Earl of Kerridge when her family receives some shocking news: a promissory note written by her grandfather before she was even born makes her contractually obligated to wed another. And William Barlow, the impecunious Viscount Farleigh, has no intention of tearing up that note. He needs Louisa's dowry to rescue his estate. For the sake of the family honor, her own dreams must be sacrificed.

William always thought it a long shot that the Hargreaves would honor the note, but as he begins to understand Louisa's steadfast character, he realizes that she could do nothing else. As they wait for the banns to be published, William has three weeks to get to know his betrothed. But with rumors and secrets about his late father swirling around the ton, William's own retiring nature balks at revealing who he really is. And if he cannot get the lady's goodwill, even her acute sense of family honor may desert her before the wedding day comes around.

The premise of this story was a bit farfetched, but I enjoyed watching how it all played out. Louisa's parents were both affectionate and solicitous, an unusual quality in Regency romances, and her quick-witted and over-protective brothers were a delight. William's reticence was depicted well and the reasons behind it. In the end, I wished for the hero to show a little more pluck, but the happily ever after still came off all right.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I started off this story not liking the ‘hero’ William very much as he uses a wager won by his father to force the heroine into a betrothal against her will. But if you’re looking at the title askance and debating whether you’re going to like a story with this kind of storyline, I’m going to tell you that you should give it a chance, because the author does an excellent job of fleshing out her protagonists from an unpromising start, until we really sympathize with William. Left in an utterly untenable situation by his wasteful excuse for a father, he has too many people relying on him to pass up any chance for redemption, even if the only opportunity he has is one he finds deeply distasteful.

Lady Louisa is the daughter of a marquess, and she’s pampered, adored and somehow not at all spoiled. Getting engaged at the start of the book to a duke’s heir because it’s expected of her, everything is suddenly disordered in her neat world when a penniless viscount appears with a note in her grandfather’s hand… wagering away her hand in marriage.

Louisa’s determination that women can have honour too was utterly endearing, and her parents’ obvious pride in her and support of her was such a contract to William’s troubled upbringing, it was obvious the pair of them would struggle to understand each other at first. Eventually, though, they do come to an understanding, though not without some hiccups along the way.

While I was charmed by the characters, there is one very serious flaw with the premise of the story, and it’s one I couldn’t see a way to resolve. You see, William’s problem was caused by his father, an inveterate gambler, leaving a heavily mortgaged estate. The only thing is that the estate was entailed (otherwise it would long since have been sold)... but you can’t take out a mortgage, and certainly not multiple mortgages, against entails. That’s the entire point of an entail; to guard against one wastrel in the family tree gambling, selling or otherwise losing a family’s ancestral estates.

From Wikipedia’s article on fee tails (entails): “Lending upon security of a mortgage on land in fee tail was risky, since at the death of the tenant-in-possession, his personal estate ceased to have any right to the estate or to the income it generated. The absolute right to the income generated by the estate passed by operation of law to parties who had no legal obligation to the lender, who therefore could not enforce payment of interest on the new tenants-in-possession. The largest estate a possessor in fee tail could convey to someone else was an estate for the term of the grantor's own life. If all went as planned, it was therefore impossible for the succession of patriarchs to lose the land, which was the idea.”

I’d suggest the author needs to familiarize herself with the legalities of entails before making the entire premise of her story so contingent on one. There were one or two other minor continuity issues, like William’s mother changing from being a coal heiress to a governess, which didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the story and wouldn’t have affected my rating, but because of this major issue which completely wrecks the entire premise of the story, I’m afraid I can’t give it any more than three stars.

The Regency Romance genre is a favorite of mine, and while "Wager for a Wife" has an unconventional premise, it portrays the time period fairly accurately. The heroine, Lady Louisa, is a sweet, compassionate and beautiful debutante. I did find her goodness to be a bit over the top at times. There is a monkey wrench thrown in near the end of the book, something I've seen a time or two. However, her reaction is unexpected and surprisingly gutsy. Lord Farleigh's character is multi-layered and complex. The banter between Louisa and her brothers Alex and Anthony is witty and delightful. Anthony is the hero in "The Earl's Betrothal" and he is great in both books. This is not the first in a series but a stand-alone. Tuft's writing is clear and concise. All in all, this is a lovely read.

William Barlow’s life has been forever altered: his estranged father is dead, and William has inherited the title of Viscount Farleigh. Along with the title comes a neglected estate, an enormous amount of gambling debt, and one astounding acquisition that will turn William’s world upside down . . . It is her first London Season, and Lady Louisa Hargreaves could not be more pleased. She has attracted the attention of the Earl of Kerridge, and the two are on the cusp of an official betrothal. That is, until she learns of a generations-old family debt: her grandfather gambled her hand in marriage and lost, and now Louisa must pay the price. She will marry not the earl but a man she just met, who has taken her freedom in one fell swoop. Even as she struggles to understand the handsome and aloof man she is to wed, Louisa is irresistibly drawn to him—and he to her.
The book was well written & the characters interesting but I found the plot to be far too far stretched for me & I’m normally very forgiving as after all it is fiction. My incredulity went when mortgaging entailed property was mentioned, whilst money could be borrowed against the income, the entailed property itself couldn't be it's just that entailed - the present owner being a caretaker of the property which belongs to the title not the individual
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I absolutely loved this book. It was a wonderful story of love and honor.

Louisa Hargreaves was experiencing her first season in London and had already received a proposal to a handsome, wealthy young man who would keep her in the life she was accustomed to. Then, due to a bet made years ago between her grandfather and another man, she was left a pawn and because of her integrity and honor, she broke off her engagement to marry a man she didn't know or trust. In time, she began to see William Fairleigh as a good man and not a man who was the type of man she had originally imagined him to be; cold, heartless and full of secrets.

William Fairleigh had just inherited his father's title of Viscount and his debt ridden estate. He had to save the estate to protect those who had been faithful workers to him and his parents. In order to save his estate, he had to coerce a young woman of means to marry him. That wasn't the type of man he was but he had no choice. He realized the hurt he was causing Louisa but he just didn't see another way. Was it possible for them to find love or would their marriage be one of honor but no love?

This book was a wonderful clean romance that was had no foul language of sex. This is the first book I have read by this author but I look forward to reading more by her. It was a wonderful regency romance. I was given an arc copy of this book and willingly and enthusiastically offer my review.

Lady Louisa Hargreaves' first London season is going well--she has even attracted the attention of the heir to a dukedom, the Earl fo Kerridge. He even proposes, and the details of the marriage agreement just need to be finalized before they can announce their engagement. Before that happens, though, William Barlow, Jr., the new Viscount Farleigh arrives and changes everything. It seems years ago, his father and Louisa's grandfather made a bed, which his father won--and the winnings were the hand of the daughter of the Marquess of Ashworth in marriage to the Viscount Farleigh. Since the vowel didn't state which Marquess of Ashworth or which Viscount Farleigh, William can claim the hand of the current marquess's daughter--meaning Louisa now has to choose whether to uphold her family's honor and pay the debt or to sacrifice the family honor by refusing to wed the viscount.
While Louisa agrees to the marriage, she wants to get to know the character of her betrothed--but he speaks little and shows no emotion, and she fears what marriage to such a man will bring. William needs her to marry him in order to save his estate and provide a home and living for the servants there, who are more like family to him than his father ever was, and he wants to marry her, because he fell for her immediately, but he can't break down the walls he's built up in his life, walls built as a result of an abusive father who drilled in him that he must never show emotions..

I was immediately drawn to honor-bound, reticent Willam and bubbly, vivacious Louisa. William just drew me in with how much he cared about his servants and how he'd been hurt and influenced by his father; I also adored the fact that while he was terrible at expressing himself, he easily appreciated that about Louisa and didn't ever try to stifle her emotions.
I also really liked the supporting characters in the book, Louisa's family and William's servant family. The banter between Louisa and her brothers was a lot of fun, and the love that William's servants had for him was really sweet and tender--and a nice break from the traditional servants in Regency novels; I liked that we got to see their personalities.
I skimmed through other reviews of this book and the biggest complaint seemed to be that people didn't find the vowel and the mortgages that made it necessary for William to call in payment on the debt to be believable. For me, that wasn't a problem. I guess I don't know enough about Regency estate management and entails to be bothered by that plotline. I certainly have read books where I felt like the author made you suspend disbelief to a point that it wasn't enjoyable, but that wasn't my experience with this book. (I did get tired of the word "vowel," however; according to my Kindle search, its' in there 66 times in 256 pages!)
All in all, I loved the romance and was very drawn in by it and found it to be a very enjoyable read.

I read an ARC via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The characters in this book were nice, and I would enjoy reading something else from the pen of this author to see what she could do with a more realistic plot. Unfortunately, I found the plot of "Wager for a Wife" to be so contrived as to be insupportable. It's not just that the grandfather made a ridiculous bet that could maybe, barely, conceivably be stretched to apply to future generations, it's that all the members of the current generation take it so very seriously. I understand the concept of "honor" as it applied in historical times, and that it is very different from what we might consider necessary today, but I think this plot goes beyond even the historical context. It is laughable that anyone even in that society would consider it honorable for someone to jilt her fiance and marry a complete stranger because of a vaguely worded wager made between a couple of rogues decades back. I also thought there was a contradiction between Louisa's feminist beliefs (as in, I should be held to the same standard of honor as the men) with her willingness to accept that the men's definition of honor was infallible.
Furthermore, the man who wants to hold her to it is much too nice to have suggested it; it's not really consistent with the way his character is written.
There were also some jarring anachronisms in dialogue.
However, the book was easy to read and I enjoyed the secondary characters and the general writing style well enough to give it three stars. The trope of a couple falling in love in spite of an arranged marriage can be a fun one, and it worked well enough here, if only the spur to set the relationship going had been slightly easier to swallow.

Thank you to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for providing me a digital review copy.

Despite my low rating this is not a horrible book. The characters are interesting, and the actual writing style (such as grammar and sentence structure) was smooth enough to keep me reading to the end despite its flaws. Now, as to those flaws…
While I am quite forgiving when it comes to the unlikely plots of historical romances, the core premise of ‘Wager for a Wife’ was so far-fetched as to strain even my normally flexible credulity. And yet, I may still have unabashedly enjoyed the silliness of it all if the story hadn’t been needlessly dragged out by drama and uncertainty caused by the hero’s refusal to openly communicate with his fiancée. For example, how could he honestly think that a woman willing to marry a man she barely knows, for sake of ‘family honor’, would be scandalized by his actions to care those he views as family?!? It really felt as if she did all the work in building their relationship, and in the end he just suddenly did a complete 180º from his usual sullen and reticent self. While the starting and ending points of his transformation were believable, it would have been far more enjoyable and realistic to read if it had been gradual and directly connected to his getting to know Louisa and her family better.

All in all, I might consider trying another book by this author if it stuck to a more believable plot line and didn’t rely on lack of communication to prolong the story.