DNF — I just didn’t get to this one in time. And by time I mean the three years since publication day. I hope to give it another try someday, since the premise was delightful!

For a woman who years ago defied her father to marry the man she loved, Georgie, now a widow, is such a wimp. Her father had disowned her and wouldn't allow her to see her family but now he's renegotiated the marriage contract with the odious man he wanted her to marry in the first place. Georgie's fine with this if it means her father will speak to her again. What? The fiancé attempts to have her kidnapped whereby she escapes and runs into her brother's friend Lord St. Just. (I can't even remember why the man tried to kidnap her since she was willing to marry him. Something about that she wouldn't be able to change her mind.) St. Just locks her on his ship while he finds her belongings. Georgie thinks she must ask her father's forgiveness for being kidnapped???! The ship takes off with Georgie puking from seasickness as St. Just smiles. The story is told from different characters point of view taking the reader away from the main couple. I found it hard to stay interested.

I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I wanted to like this book but it was a miss for me.
Georgie is being married off to the marry she was supposed marry before she ran off with the vicar's son now that she is widowed.
When she is kidnapped, she manages to escape and be rescued by her brother's friend St. Just.
I really didn't like Georgie, she was irritating, immature, and dull.
St. Just was slightly better but overall the book was ridiculous and I didn't care about anyone involved.
And the dog overboard scene was so stupid, it made me dislike Georgie more and made Rob seem stupider not heroic.
I think I am giving up on this writer for the foreseeable future.

I had hoped this would be one of Jenna;s books I would enjoy but as I read I kept feeling I was in an old fashioned movie with everything just a bit too much. I also felt that the main characters were younger than their years (immature) and acting in ways that their years and experience were not equivalent to. Anyway, I read and skimmed and just could not buy the story whether taking place in the past or in the present so...finally gave up even skimming 100 pages from the end. I did check to make sure the two ended up happily ever after and they probably do deserve each other though I would have no desire to revisit them. Sorry...that is the truth and though I know others will love the book...it was not for me. Thank you, though, for the opportunity to read this author's work.

Much Ado About a Widow (The Widows’ Club # 4). By Jenna Jaxon. 2019. Zebra (ARC eBook).

Lady Georgina Kirkpatrick once followed her heart and married the man she loved But doing so saw her father cutting her off from her siblings and the family’s assets. Now she is widowed and back under her father’s control. Not wishing to be separated from her siblings again, Georgie is resigned to marrying the man of her father’s choosing. But on her way to her fiance’s estate she, her maid and her dog are waylaid by kidnappers. Able to escape and flee to a seaside town she runs into her brother’s friend, Lord St. Just. Sweeping her aboard his ship St. Just whisks Georgie away from her father’s clutches, but he very well may make off with her heart as well.

A charming romance with meddling families, scheming fiends and a lively dog. I would have liked seeing more of St. Just’s seafaring ways though, and Georgie’s father was such an insufferable character. This is the first time reading Jaxon and I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up another of her books.

A widow, kidnappers, back to the same situation.

I was looking forward with anticipation to reading.
I was however, a bit ambivalent about the book over all.
We have a widow, back in the same situation before she was married, facing a marriage forced on her by her parents.

We have a guy with a hero complex in St. Just.
He wants to reduce the widow in distress.
But then it gets a bit convoluted with the 'nappers and her parents (even though she's a widow).
Ambivalent.

Georgie was a determined young woman. She married her love but lost him. To appease her father, she agreed to marry a man she did not like. When Robin protected her, she found another solution to her situation. Robin was sweet and protective of Georgie. They journey together was full of surprises, steam, and danger. I recommend this story.

I received a copy of this story through Netgalley and Goddess Fish Promotions, and this is my unsolicited review.

Typically I’m not one for widow romances it this book intrigued me from the moment I read the blurb and kept me entranced to the last page. Janna Jaxon wove a wonderful story and I’m so thrilled to have had the chance to read it. I will now be eagerly searching for more by this talented author,

Much Ado About A Widow ⭐️

Lady Georgina Kirkpatrick defied her family, jilted her fiancé, and married the man she loved. But when her husband died at Waterloo, she was delivered right back into her father’s power . . .
 
Victory is sweet—but England’s triumph was Georgie’s rout. Now that she’s widowed, the loathsome marriage her father first arranged has simply been renegotiated. With neither money nor rights, and nowhere to flee, all she can do is cherish her last weeks of freedom. . . . Until a band of ruffians overtake her carriage and kidnap her. When she escapes in seaside Brighton and encounters her brother’s rather wild friend, Lord St. Just—whom she suspects aspires to be a pirate—she’s prepared to entertain more of his adventurous suggestions than usual . . .
 
St. Just knows his mind and his duty, and he loves a challenge. Helping a fair lady make her farewells to hoodlums suits his talents well. Within the hour he has Georgie, her lady’s maid—and her little dog
too—sailing for his castle in Cornwall. Meanwhile, the lady’s entire family, her kidnappers, and her scheming intended are in pursuit. But as he and the indomitable Georgie grow closer, he begins to suspect that together they will prove a match for them all . . .

So wow, where to begin. Much Ado About A Widow is supposedly the 4th book in the series The Widows' Club. Not having read the 3 previous books I can’t say that any of the characters intertwine so I would consider this a stand alone book. If this had been written as the first book I doubt I’d be interested in reading any of the others. As it is being the 4th again I have no interest in reading more so unfortunately this is a one and done book for me.

Written as a Historical Romance, I found it to be so stretched that it became more a farce than a romance. I actually made it thru about 28% of the book before I started skimming thru and was was ready to “cast up my accounts”. Since this review was already late I really wanted to get it finished rather than a DNF

Lady Georgina’s character comes across with about as much intelligence as her irritating dog, and I like dogs! Our hero Lord St. Just barely squeezed beyond being a boor, but just barely. Throw in as many evil villains and their henchmen as your imagination can conjure, including but not limited to Georgina’s father, the drunk fiancée and at times her protective brother all bumbling in and out of the story much like an episode of “keystone cops”.

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

Great read. Good characters, nice to revisit characters from previous book in series. Georgina and Rob had good chemistry.
There was kidnapping, ship ride, attempted forced marriage.

January 1817

Lady Georgina (Georgie) Krikpatrick, 24, is a widow and is traveling to her family’s home, Blackham Castle, accompanied by her maid, Clara, and her dog, Lulu. Upon arrival, she is to marry Lord Travers. She is being made to marry this odious man because her first marriage had been to the son of a vicar and now her father wants her marry this man that he had chosen in the first place. He has threatened to take away her inheritance unless she complies.

After a quick stop at an inn, Georgie soon realizes that they and their carriage have been kidnapped and she thinks that Lord Travers is the kidnapper. When the carriage stops, Georgie, Clara, and Lulu escape and run toward the port. There she sees St. Just.

Robin (Rob) Kerr, Marquess of St. Just, and his family own a tin mining business and he takes frequent sailing trips to purchase supplies for the business. Rob is also a friend of Georgie’s brother. Rob agrees to hide them and take them to his family’s castle where her brother can come and get her.

Thus begins a journey that encompasses all kinds of action and intrigue. We meet black hearts like Lord Travers and Lord Blackham, Georgie’s father. Anyone with a father that evil should have the right to shoot him.

Quite frankly, I found this book to be exhausting. There was just too much intrigue and too many roadblocks that Georgie and Rob faced to find their happily ever after. But if you like an action filled story, you have come to the right place.

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

From the start I had mixed feelings for Georgie. She alternates moments where she seemed likeable and others where she was annoying. For example during her kidnapping she doesn’t wallow on self-pity but she tries – and succeeds – in saving herself, but as soon as she meets the hero who offers to take her to safety she wants to go to her father by the road without listening to caution. And as the hero takes her more or less by force on his boat she gets angry at him and calls him a kidnapper – fortunately sea sickness shuts her up…. A few days later she doesn’t hesitate to raid the boat’s larder because she supposes nobody will bring her food, when in fact it’s just too early for a meal.

Rob, the hero, left me less perplexed, even if I thought he changed his mind a bit fast about the heroine. He doesn’t always behave like a gentleman, especially during a scene that had me laughing because highly unlikely, when he decides to put into practice his grand-father’s remedy against sea sickness :<spoiler> hold her nose to force her to drink tea in order to calm her nausea. </spoiler> Besides he doesn’t hesitate to jump from the boat in winter to save her dog who very predictably went overboard (because dog on deck + big swell don’t go well together).

The relationship begins badly. In fact, for a reason we don’t understand if we only read this volume but is – I suppose – explained in the volume about the heroine’s brother (who’s friend with Rob), there’s a certain animosity between our two heroes from the beginning of the novel. In spite of it they go quickly from that to attraction then love, and I didn’t really understood why, especially on the heroine’s part as she repeats herself several times one happy marriage is enough in one’s life and she doesn’t need to feel anything for the hero.

As for the secondary characters, we have Georgie’s servant, who doesn’t hesitate to make reproaches or give advices with too much liberty for her position. There is also Georgie’s family, in which no one believes her kidnapping story (nice for her), the hero’s mother, and the fiancé who’s presented under the most negative light throughout the novel. And of course the dog.

As for the plot, there are some moments that are more about bad comedy. For example the fiancé succeeds in entering the castle and finding the heroine’s room to try and rape her during the night to force the wedding (the hero supposes later that he interrogated someone in the village to learn about the secret tunnels and the emplacement of the heroine’s room), but that doesn’t shock the father who estimate he has every right to it because they’re almost wed – but he’s going to take offense when he learns <spoiler> he’s behind the kidnapping and why.</spoiler> There’s also the moment about fifty servants sent by Georgie’s father storm the castle to pick her up and fight against the hero’s servants (sigh). And to end it all, the ending is settled in a ridiculous way through a big discussion, and the fiancé who has duel pistols in hand let everyone go without try anything except say to the hero “and our duel?”

You’ll have understood I totally missed out on this novel, and if at first I wanted to give it 2 stars, just writing my review has me lowering my rating.

Georgina defied her father once to follow her heart, but now a widow, she’s financially dependent on him and has little choice but to agree to the marriage he dictates. On her way home to marry the detestable Lord Travers, she’s kidnapped and taken to Portsmouth, where she escapes and runs into Lord Robin St. Just, a friend of her brother. Rob agrees to help her out, but the only help he can give is passage on his ship to Cornwall. Georgie has no real choice but to agree.

I’ve previously enjoyed quite a few of Jenna Jaxon’s books, but this one really didn’t cut it for me. Georgie goes from distrust of Rob to wanting to marry him in the space of literally three days. He’s utterly juvenile; everything is ‘a lark’ as far as he’s concerned, and about the only decent thing he did in the entire book was rescue Georgie’s dog from drowning. The plot grew increasingly far-fetched towards the end, with Georgie’s father threatening her for absolutely no good reason and apparently having enough pull with the British Navy to require them to board the ship of a nobleman of higher rank than himself? I don’t think so. The Navy aren’t going to involve themselves in that kind of nonsense. Raising his own militia to literally attack the estate of another lord was a step too far, and frankly I wanted to see Georgie’s father arrested for that alone.

The increasing drama in the plot felt forced, as though the author wasn’t quite sure what to do with the characters once she’d managed to get them together, and resorted to manufacturing external conflict instead of actually delving into her characters and letting them get to know each other. Since the entire book takes place in the space of about a week, I wanted less insta-love and more character development, and got contrived drama instead. Two stars.

I received an advanced readers edition and I am so glad I did. This story had everything that made it a great read. Lady Georgina defied her father and married a man she loved rather than the man he chose for her. When her husband dies and she has nowhere to go, she returns home and her father coerces her to sign a contract to marry an odious and depraved man. 
After attending a friends wedding Georgina and her maid are headed back to her father's home resigned to her fate.
She doesn't count on getting kidnapped and being saved by her brother's friend Rob St. Just a marquess. Sort of. She expects him to return her to her home but instead he whisked her away on her boat and takes her to his castle. Georgina is livid but Rob, who she calls a pirate, surprises her again and again and they fall in love. 
But with her father insisting she hold up her end of the bargain and her betrothed setting up roadblocks she despair she will never be able to marry Rob. But he has tricks up his sleeve. After all he is her pirate and he will fight for her.

A young widow is kidnapped by an unknown to her villain only to end up in the arms of another “kidnapper”. Georgie had been on her way to to marry a man she didn’t love. She had married for love once... what are odds she would find love for a second time?

I found Much About A Widow to be a cute quick read. I loved Georgie’s little dog LuLu. While being good, the characters were missing a little bit of depth. Overall though, it was a fun filled, fast paced adventure.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book seemed to have all the elements of good story...kidnapping, pirates, and duels. However, the book at times seemed a bit dragged out and over the top. I liked the characters but found some story elements unbelievable.
I received an ARC for my honest review.

Lady Georgina Kirkpatrick defied her family, jilted her fiancé', and married the man she loved. But her beloved husband died at Waterloo so she was delivered right back into her father's power. Now he has chosen another unwanted and unsuitable suitor.
So Georgina once more flees and this time into the arms of a band of ruffians who overtakes her carriage and kidnap her. When she escapes in seaside of Brighton she encounters her brother’s rather wild friend, Lord St.Just.
St. Just knows his mind and his duty, and he loves a challenge. Helping a fair lady make her farewells to hoodlums suits his talents well. Within the hour he has Georgie, her lady’s maid and her little dog too sailing for his castle in Cornwall.
This story now turns into a whirlwind of a tale with kidnappers, the lady's family and possible pirates all rolled into one delightful and adventurous book. So far this to me is the best of this series.
I gave this book 4.45 of 5.0 stars for story line, plot and characterization.
I received a complimentary copy of this book to read. This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

Lady Georgina Kirkpatrick defied her family and married the man she loved who has died at Waterloo. Now a widow she’s to marry the man she jilted after her father renegotiated a marriage contract for her. As luck would have it a band of ruffians overtake her carriage and kidnap her. She encounters one of her brother’s wild friends Lord St. Just comes to her rescue and see his family estate in Cornwall while everyone is in pursuit of her. I loved Rob and Georgia they really developed a friendship and had the chemistry to keep the book interesting. An excellent story and one I voluntarily wrote a review.

More like much ado about nothing, really.

Lady Georgiana Kirkpatrick is on her way to an unwanted second marriage when she is kidnapped, along with her maid Clara and cocker spaniel Lulu. She finds rescue in the person of Robin, Lord St Just, a friend of her brother who whisks her away to his estate on board his ship. From there, her brother, father, and betrothed converge on Cornwell to create a lot of conflict and get in the way of their undying love.

I'm not a fan of insta-lust, especially when it is consummated in such a short space of time and accompanied by a lot of hand-wringing about her reputation. Georgie is deathly precious about her reputation (which as a widow who eloped with a vicar's son years before, probably isn't in the best of shape already) right until twu wuv with a man she despised about a week ago for reasons not well articulated. If Rob was any sort of gentleman, he'd keep his hands off , but no.

I found the characterisation sloppy - I couldn't get a handle on Georgie despite her being main POV, I found Rob ignoble and juvenile, Clara showed incredible loyalty for a maid of two months who barely knew Georgie at the start of the book. I couldn't even enjoy Lulu the dog as she seemed more a plot device and a relationship barometer than a character.

Also, the side-effect of the insta-love was that more and more ridiculous complications had to become involved to keep the two apart. Potential treason, attempted sexual assault, and an honest to goodness duel crop up, none of which make sense or are brought to a satisfying conclusion.

I was glad to be done with this book.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley; all opinions are my own.

Much Ado about a Widow by Jenna Jaxon is book 4 in The Widow's Club Series. This is the story of Robin Kerr, Marquess of St. Just and Georgina 'Georgie' Kirkpatrick. I have read the previous books but feel you can make this a standalone book if you wish to do so. Georgie has escaped her father's marriage agreement once when she left and married the man she loved. But now she is a widower being forced back into her father life and to his awful plans. But she ends up getting away again and saved by St. Just. St. Just agrees to take her with him and of course some adventures start.