This was the first book I read in the series and it can be read as a stand alone. It had an intriguing beginning. Poor Merry had to leave the only home she ever knew and move to London--not only move to a strange city and culture, but pretend to be an heiress as well. What a secret for a young woman to keep. I thought Philip was immature for 24 and wasn't a fan how he treated Merry. This was a quick pleasant read.

I would like to read Meredith's novel. Sounds like a great book. Phillip changes so fast that his reaction to finding out the truth about Merry and her family wasn't a surprise. He still had some growing to do. I really enjoyed reading, The Unexpected Heiress.

What a fun story! I love historical romances and this one did not disappoint. I found myself rooting for Meredith and Philip, and wanted to reach into the book to sometimes to grab them and shake them!

3.5 Stars!! This is the 3rd book in the ‘Hamilton Cousins’ series but it’s the first book I’ve read in the series! Can be read as a standalone and has a HEA ending. It’s a good book! I really did like it! I like the main characters, Meredith/Merry and Philip, most of the time! In a few instances I was annoyed with them. (This book shows how important it is to COMMUNICATE in a relationship!) He was just too immature and whiney most of the time! And who breaks up over something soooo stupid?! If you REALLY love someone, you need to LISTEN to why they did what they did and if you’re still mad, THAN you can break up! Merry forgave him WAAAAY too easily too! Make him WORK FOR IT!! This was a typical historical romance with the usual happenings and break ups and make ups! There was one or two little surprises that I didn’t see coming!
Also, I LOVED Simon, Philips little brother! I’d love for Simon and Philips ex-mistress, Lady Katherine Vickers, to have their own HEA stories too!
All in all, it’s a good book.
*I received this book at no charge from the publisher and I voluntarily left a review.*

I wanted to love this book; it had everything going for it. But I just wasn't a fan of the hero; he was immature and stayed with his mistress past when he "loved" Miss Meredith Rose Remington. Then when there was a misunderstanding he ran right back to the mistress instead of working things out with Merry. This book just wasn't for me; with some changes it would be a great book but not as it is.

The author is great; this book just wasn't for me. I will continue to read other work of hers. I am just not a fan of where the hero is with the heroine but still visits the bed of his mistress.

This book had potential but it was ruined by a very immature hero that spends most of the book acting like a spoiled child. I usually love a reformed rake as a hero, but for most of the story he had no intention of reforming and instead gloried in all of the debaurchery of his wasteful life. I also did not like that the hero's mistress had a large part in this story. Luckily she wasn't a horrible person, but I'm just not interested in books where a hero has a kept mistress. Lastly, I also found the heroine to be a bit of a Mary Sue, and the whole mistaken identity plot was a little silly. That being said I think the author was a good writer I just didn't respond to the characters, but others may enjoy it.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the fantastic family relationships (and this won't be my last book by this author because there are several series about the Hamilton family).

This book had heart and humor.

I loved Phillip and Meredith together. Their interactions were totally swoon worthy, especially since they didn't like each other at first. Meredith was a sweet, driven, breezy character. Phillip was charming in how he really wanted to take care of Merry.


And Phillip's brother, Simon -- I need more of his story!!

What didn't work for me was how long Phillip spent with his mistress. Even when the "typical" misunderstanding occurs between the H/h, Phillip runs to his mistress (who actually ended up being a breath of fresh air, and I hope she gets her HEA too). Also, Phillip came across as very young and immature in pretty much the entire novel.

But overall, a very good read from a new to me author. I'm excited about delving into other books by Kaitlin O'Riley. Oh, and this is such a beautiful and sweet cover!

Thanks NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Miss Meredith Rose Remington, her father, and her uncle owned Remington Oil until the day that there was an awful explosion and they were killed. Then they were told by the lawyers that they had nothing to live on. Her Aunt Delilah also had two children to worry about. Her aunt booked passage on a boat to go to England where she had relatives. They sold their brownstone and off they went. Aunt Delilah's sister, Lavinia welcomed them into her home.
Lord Phillip Sinclair, the Earl of Waverly and heir to the Marquis, Was coming into his parent's house well after sun up. Since he had finished with college he had been spending a lot of time gambling,
drinking, and time with the ladies. At twenty-five, he did not want to settle down just yet. He had been seeing Lady Katherine Vickers. She was not a proper lady.
A very interesting story. It lives because of a lie. There are some surprises just to keep it interesting. It
is also entertaining. The characters are marvelous. Even though Lord Waverly acts a bit juvenile from time to time. I am so glad to be given a chance to read this ARC. The author did a wonderful job. I highly recommend this insightful book.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

I wasn't a fan of the hero, he was too immature and irresponsible so it was hard for me to like him. I understand that he was still young and he was the typical rake living a dissolute life until he settles down but he wasn't the kind of hero I tend to love. What a shame! I really wanted to love this book.

I just reviewed The Unexpected Heiress by Kaitlin O'Riley. #TheUnexpectedHeiress #NetGalley

Despite reading the last family member first, the story got me dreaming of London. Love the story! It makes me wonder how will these two lovebirds got together. And the story was written in a nice, sweet way.

Left destitute by the death of her father and uncle, Meredith, her aunt and small cousins must leave New York and travel to London to live with her aunt's sister. Her aunt has a plan. In 1895, many rich young ladies leave America to find husbands in England, only her aunt wants the ton to believe they are still rich. Meredith doesn't want to live a lie, but she promised her aunt to go along with her plan. She didn't know she would fall in love with a man who encouraged her passion for writing.
What will happen when he finds out about the lie? Love this story. It had me on pins and needles, with a few tears. A romance book well worth reading. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

This is a review of The Unexpected Heiress, by Kaitlin O’Riley. This is the first book I have read by this author. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
***Spoilers are contained below. You have been warned.***
This is the story of Meredith and Phillip, an American heiress (or not?) and an English Earl. Meredith is the daughter of an oil tycoon who dies tragically in an oil rig accident, leaving her in the care of her aunt. Both her father and uncle are killed in this accident. While raised in a wealthy home, she and her aunt discover they are near penniless after the accident. They flee to London to stay with her aunt’s sister and to find wealthy husbands and secure their futures. Since a wealthy heiress is more attractive than a penniless one (even though Meredith is described to be quite beautiful), her aunt convinces her to lie to everyone and pretend she has millions from her father’s business. Uninterested in lying or securing a husband, Meredith just wants to finish writing her novel, not husband hunt, but she goes along with her aunt, because what else is she to do?
Phillip is a bored aristocrat and is quickly spiraling out of control with excessive drinking, gambling, and pursuit of the fairer sex. He is lacking a purpose and his boredom is doing no one any favors. His family is worried about him, but all he feels is their censure and disapproval, which makes him act even worse.
I enjoyed the characters, especially Meredith. She loves to write and is not apologetic about it. In some books, you find yourself urging the characters to do or say what they are feeling and this author wrote her leads to do that, to say what they are feeling and thinking, which I found refreshing. While I liked Phillip, I found he was over the top in his exuberance at times and I did not care for it personally. Also, he claims to be desperately in love with Meredith, but upon learning her secret he has an immense overreaction and refuses to listen to any reason, from Meredith or others. Not that this could not happen in real life, but it is a pet peeve of mine when characters are SO in love and then immediately refuse to listen to the other person in a conflict like this.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and the characters. The story was confusing at times when the author was trying to show multiple scenes at one point in time. It was not clear to me when she was doing this and was very confused, especially since she did this in the middle of the first sex scene. The writing style was not something I am accustomed to and was not my favorite. Again, lots of enthusiasm from Phillip especially, but it felt overdone in several places. Lastly, the sex scenes felt undeveloped; I personally prefer a steamy scene, and this felt rather bland and glossed over (personal preference).
Rating: 3 stars

When her father and uncle die in an oil drilling accident, Meredith Remington’s life is upended. Her aunt convinces her that they need to move to London and find husbands before news gets out that their fortunes have been lost. Philip Sinclair, the Earl of Waverly, isn’t ready to settle down. But after a chance encounter in his family’s bookshop, he’s eager to find out more about the newest American heiress.

This book is a winner! It was extremely captivating, and I read late into the night to finish it. Meredith wants to be a published author. She has little interest in a husband and doesn’t want to participate in deception, but she’s come to realize what a privileged life she’s led. Despite a title, wealth, and a loving family, Philip is aimless and doesn’t know what he wants. He’s struggling between being a reckless rogue with an infamous widow-mistress and his budding attraction to Meredith.

I really appreciated how the main story of Meredith and Philip was supported by secondary storylines that felt purposeful. Lady Katherine Vickers, Philip’s mistress, isn’t painted with a one-dimensional brushstroke. The falsehood of Meredith’s inheritance sparks interesting conversations about freedom and who really has it, and that dialog continues with the poignant story about Philip’s brother, Simon.

* I received an ARC and this is my honest review. #TheUnexpectedHeiress #NetGalley

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thia historical romance had great potential. The heroine is smart, pretty and willing to do what it took to get her life back after she learns that her father left her with no inheritance. Unfortunately the hero lacks the things the heroine embodies. He's lazy, uninspiring and acts like a teenager around the heroine. Neither character pursuaded me that they truly wanted each other. A disappointment.

The romance between Meredith and Phillip is pretty much what you would expect from a story like this. But that did not interfere with my enjoyment of the book. Meredith and Phillip are perfectly matched for one another - they each want to be more than just a spouse or what others think they should be and will also encourage one another to explore and discover what it is they want to do with their lives. I'm not a huge fan of the whole "breakup to get back together at the end" trope and wished this had gone in a slightly different direction - it would have worked just as well to have Phillip let Meredith explain what happened and then have them work through it together.

One of my favorite aspects of this novel was the character of Lady Katherine. Most historical romances would paint her as vapid and conceited and have you root against her, but here she is so much more than the typical mistress. A young woman shunned by society and wanting so badly to fit in would be the heroine in most novels, and I would happily read a story with her as the main character. It spoke highly of Phillip that he understood that Katherine was more than what she appeared and didn't deserve to be treated so poorly by others. I also liked that Meredith's dislike of her wasn't because she thought poorly of her, they were just rivals for the same man. Katherine being able to give up Phillip and push him back to Meredith showed that she was not the awful woman everyone thought she was. Again, hopefully she'll get her own book and her own happy ending some day.

I also felt that Simon's story was more interesting than Meredith's and Phillip's. I would have loved to have had more scenes between him and Meredith to better establish the great friendship between them that is mentioned later. The part with him talking with his mother was probably the sweetest in the entire book. Another scene between him and Robert would have been nice as well. Much as with Katherine, I would love to read a novel/novella dedicated to this couple.

Meredith is an independent woman who must marry. She falls in love with Phillip, a bachelor who is still enjoying his bachelor days. Phillip overcomes his snobbish vanity to fall in love with her. I did feel the story was a little over sappy at the end. I received this ARC from NetGalley and Kensington Books for my honest review.

Not going to lie, at the beginning I did not like Philip. He came across as lazy, snobby, and boring but as the story progressed and he redeemed himself. Meredith, an aspiring author, seems to bring out the best in people, and it is no different with Philip. They fight their attraction at the beginning but as they get to know each other they genuinely seem to like the other for who they are and not what they have. Of course it wouldn’t be a good story with out a few bumps here and there to make things difficult for the duo but they come through it in the end. They make a great couple, supporting each other’s dreams and build each other up. Lovely story.

This book was such a good story. It was filled with love, laughter and good people who could always see what was going on. The heroine was a young lady whose father and uncle had died while trying to find oil at their Texas oil field. Her aunt, who had raised her since age 10, just broke the news that they were paupers because the money they had was sunk into the company that ran the oil field. So the aunt decided to sell the New York City mansion and go home to England with her 2 children and the heroine and pass the heroine off as an heiress prior to finding her a husband and then announcing all the money was gone. Shaky plan, but when the heroine met the hero, they touched each others souls. The heroine was a budding author who was trying to get her book published. I don't want to keep writing you a synopsis of spoilers, but one of the best parts of the book were the supporting players. They were not mean and evil. They did not waste their time pursuing evil. There were a couple of villains, but no excessive. This was a story of emotions and hopes and dreams and realizing what it means to be mature. The feeling that this book left in me was happiness and a warm heart. There are good people in the world and sometimes they show up in a historical novel. The characters were all so engaging and believable. There were a couple parts that needed an open mind, but it was all part of the joy of the book. It was a quick smooth read, with every scene melding seamlessly into the next. The spelling and grammar were accurate and helped guide the reader along. This was a book about a girl who located a family that would encompass her. I definitely recommend reading this book and soon and then keeping in your library. 5 stars

**Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this as an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.**

When American oil heiress Meredith Remington thinks about her happily ever after, it's being a published author free to write when she pleases for as long as she pleases. But when her father passes away suddenly in an accident that wipes out their fortunes, she's suddenly left with only one option: to marry rich...and to marry quickly. To avoid suitors learning of her altered circumstances, Meredith's aunt insists that they relocate to her native London to snag wealthy husbands from the unsuspecting ton.

Meredith would rather write than husband hunt, but one chance encounter in Hamilton’s Book Shoppe leaves her unwillingly fascinated with the handsome, if outrageously flirtatious, Phillip Sinclair, the Earl of Waverly.

Ever the rogue, Meredith's reluctant attraction to him has Phillip reconsidering much of what he thought he knew about himself and about the world around him.

As these two orbit around each other, the chemistry between the two main characters is palpable. One of the things that I loved about this story was how involved they were in various aspects of each others lives. Phillip is genuinely interested in Meredith's writing and encourages her to pursue her craft by word and by deed. Meredith encourages Phillip to investigate and interrogate both his privilege as an earl and future marquess as well as his responsibilities as a peer of the realm. They better one another and that's something that I will always enjoy seeing in a romance novel.

Something else that really stuck out to me about this book is the question of what it means to be privileged and how one can be simultaneously trapped and freed by the responsibilities we owe to one another. I don't want to say too much, but there's a subplot involving Phillip's brother that really investigates the feelings of one who was born to be the spare, but does not feel that he can rise to the expectations.

All in all, this was a solid read that really had me thinking about it long after I turned the last page. I will more than likely return to this and expound with some spoilers after it's been officially published. I look forward to reading more from this author and in this series (and will backtrack to read the ones I've apparently been missing out on)!

You get pulled in right away with this book. Merry is a very likable lady. Phillip was described as a rake but still a down to earth guy. You can't help but like him. All of the characters were well written. I did feel during parts of the book that a few scenes were drawn out. But overall a good book!