I loved this book. The characters and storyline immediately captured my interest and held it until the last page was turned. It is a well-written, light, easy read.

Excellent book with great characters! It had a spunky heroine and a kind and understanding hero. I loved it!

I really enjoyed this story. I liked it being told from her perspective and really getting to feel like I truly knew who she was. I really liked the relationship development shown through the book. It was a fun read. #OtherwiseEngaged #netgalley

It’s clear from page one that the spirited Miss Rowley doesn’t fit into society’s mould. But riding bareback and expertly avoiding gossiping neighbours, are nothing compared to the secret engagement she’s keeping from her family. When Rebecca saves the life a drowning girl, she captures the attention of the child’s handsome brother Lieutenant Nicholas Avery. While the two agree to friendship only, it quickly becomes clear there’s more between them. What will Rebecca do as she realizes that this secret she’s keeping could ruin not only her relationship with Nicholas but also the trust of her family? Confused over the feelings Nicholas inspires when they are together, has Rebecca promised her hand too quickly? When all is brought to light, Rebecca must decide whether she will keep the promise she made or “fight for the future she’s only just begun to imagine.”

This is the second book of Joanna Barker’s that I’ve read and I can’t wait for more! It’s a page turner, that hooks you in from the start; a friendship that weaves its way into love. I also enjoyed the very realistic sibling moments between both Rebecca/William and Nicholas/Olivia. This story will have you laughing, cheering and even wiping away a few tears.

A big thank you to Covenant Communications for providing a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #OtherwiseEngaged #Goodreads #BookBub
** This review can be found on NetGalley, Goodreads, BookBub and Amazon.ca

LOVED this Regency romance! The characters were fun and relatable. The story was interesting and kept me wanting to read. I loved the sweet romance build up. It is a bit of a love triangle, which I know people don't typically love that trope, but since one of the members is not present for most of the book, it makes it better than normal. I loved Lt. Avery. Rebecca is kinda dumb, but what girl isn't on occasion. Good side characters and swoony kisses. Clean, Regency.

An enjoyable book to read. There was a good storyline which kept me interested. The characters were all different from the moody sister to the headstrong heroine. It was unpredictable and had a happy ending so l recommend it to be read.

A compelling read.

Rebecca is headstrong and stubborn, willful and determined. Everything, it seems, that Society does not expect in a woman.
Though, or perhaps because of her flaws, I found her eminently likeable and was rooting for her happiness throughout the story, even when I wanted to shake her to her senses.

I liked how quickly Lieutenant Avery saw through her, and how quick he was to call her out on her ridiculousness.

Though I found the plot predictable, it was refreshing to read a historical romance that doesn't follow ALL the cliches. And despite the predictability of the plot, I still found it difficult to put down!

Extremely well written, and quite touching in parts. I hope to see more of these characters, particularly Olivia.

4 1/2 stars rounded up. Rebecca Rowley has moved home to live with her mother, brother and his family after a whirlwind season in society. While horse-back riding, she stumbles upon a young girl in distress and aids in her rescue. When Lieutenant Avery comes to show his appreciation, Rebecca finds an unexpected confidant and friend. Unfortunately, she is already secretly engaged and her feelings for the LT is making things difficult for her.

With the sweetest of interactions, we fall in love with Lieutenant Avery and feel the struggle in Rebecca to decide her future. I loved this story. It was heartwarming, it was clean, it was just a perfect kind of book. I can't wait to read more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review,.

Rebecca Rowley becomes secretly engaged to Edward Bainbridge on a trip to Brighton. As Edward and Rebecca's parents are known enemies, they must keep their engagement secret. Lieutenant Avery and his half-sister Olivia have moved into the neighborhood and Rebecca first becomes acquainted with them when she saves Olivia from drowning in a lake.. Will a swoony new neighbor prevent Rebecca from being constant to Edward?

Joanna Barker really knows how to write a story that engages the reader. Her main characters were well developed, and I felt invested in their happiness. I really enjoyed Rebecca's personality; she was brave and kind. She taught herself to ride bareback and she learned how to shoot. There was romantic tension, and swoony moments and dialogue, while remaining a clean read, which is very important to me.

I knew how I wanted the story to end, but I did not know until the end whether my wish was granted. For me, it was a very enjoyable read. I loved it that she was able to provide a happy ending for everyone involved. This was a very enjoyable read that kept me reading into the night.

This book is good for someone who is looking for a sweet clean historical romance without a Christian message.
Because I normally read CF I found myself missing that aspect of a story. This book is well written, I just usually don't like it when a triangle aspect is drawn out as long as it was in this case. I felt like there was a lot of deception in the main character's motives.
But it was well paced and did draw me in.
I recieved a complementary copy of this book from the publisher through Netgally, all the opinions in this review are my own.

I love Joanna Barker's writing and this, her newest book does not disappoint. It took me a while to realize that the main female protagonist is the younger sister of William Rowley, one of the main protagonists from The Truth About Miss Ashbourne. I love when timelines and characters appear in multiple books of an author's and this was no different. No prior knowledge is necessary to follow this story, this can definitely be read as a stand alone.

The format of this book starts off quite different than her other stories since the main female protagonist already has found a man to become romantically involved with. Then she meets the new neighbors who've moved into the vacant estate on the neighboring property and life becomes less and less predictable by the moment. I love the development and growth in Rebecca as she discovers the difference between following what's expected of her and following her heart. Some of the themes in this story reminded me of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, a young, care free woman who uses feelings rather than societal expectations to guide her thoughts and actions (most of the time), multiple suitors, a military man, changing expectations, true love, learning to put others first.

From the first sentence, this story had my attention. "Of the many things that could be depended upon to make a young lady swoon, a love letter certainly made the list." I immediately thought of another Jane Austen novel Persuasion, and the book has my full attention. The development of the characters takes some time to fully unravel, but the growth and development of the characters, particularly the main female character, makes it abundantly worth the read. I love the way tha Joanna writes romance! Beautifully done!

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book. If you are a fan of regency romance, Jane Austen, historical romance stories, I highly recommend this book. I look forward to continuing my personal quest of reading all the stories the author has published because I've thoroughly enjoyed every thing I have read of her so far!

Otherwise Engaged is a delightful book about a young lady, Rebecca who finds herself engaged to a young man from a family at odds with her own family. While she believes she is in love with Edward, they can't tell anybody about their engagement. At least not until the family is prepared to accept it. Then she meets Nicholas Avery, her new neighbor. He's a Navy man, and claims he is not interested in getting married to anybody. As he and Rebecca become better friends, will he change his mind? What will she do about Edward? Great clean story I really enjoyed!

Well, that was a bit of a complicated book to rate lol

What I most liked was the relationship between the two main characters. You could see them slowly falling for each other, and the batter between them both was quite nice to watch. Loved the interactions with the family as well, both Rebecca and her family and Nicholas and his sister, Olivia. It was quite sweet seeing them starting to understand each other, and I really felt for the little girl. It was all quite lovely done. I liked both main characters very much. They were flawed, but I quite enjoyed how they resolved their issues and started growing. That's it, until the fiancee arrived and it all went downhill.

I don't mind when the heroine has a love interest before (underline on the before), but the fact that she kept insisting that she still loved him, even while literally admitting that she loved the lieutenant bothered me a lot. The whole thing just made her kind of unfaithful to both of them. She did not think of admitting to Edward about the kiss until the second one, and I was not sold on the fact that since her fiancee was cheating as well she was automatically absolved of any guilt. The whole situation took the enjoyment off the book to the point that I actually rooted her to follow her plan of staying alone, at least for a little while (though I felt bad for Nicholas). The pace that the whole thing was resolved was really not satisfying for me.

Anyway, perhaps I am just too sensitive about the issue. I did enjoy the beginning, but the ending was just too disappointing for me. It was still a pleasant read until then, and seems like most of the people did not seem to mind it. I would still read other books from this author as I quite enjoyed her writing.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This a definite reread for me! I loved everything about this book. And that first kiss was amazing! Rebecca and Nicholas are perfect. I probably could talk about how much I loved this book all day.

This book had excellent story telling & very descriptive as if your witnessing the scenes in 1st person, I loved the opening scene of the meet cute. I thought it had a nice unique spin on & set it apart as not to make it feel formulaic. The exchanges between the H & h were well done. I just wanted the H to get his hea with the h. Adding bits of historical detail added to the story & makes it feel more real. I always appreciate Joanna Barker's attention to detail in keeping things historically accurate and keeping the romance clean. Wonderful romantic tension and anticipation. Definitely some "Aww" moments and the build up towards the end of the story was exquistly executed.

This is my first Joanna Barker story and I can definitely say, it will not be my last. I absolutely loved this story! There’s really nothing I could complain about! The main characters were wonderful, the secondary characters were well developed, and the plot was just different enough to make it fresh and new.

I loved both Rebecca and Nicholas. I normally do not like love triangles, but this one was done so well that it didn’t bother me at all! I loved how Nicholas and Rebecca’s relationship slowly developed, how they became good friends first, and their flirty banter was so much fun! And don’t getting me started on the romance! Perfection!

This is a story that will have a spot on my keeper shelf and one that I will read again! Excellent story!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Otherwise Engaged
by Joanna Barker
Rating: 4.5/5
Release date: October 12, 2020

After reading the synopsis for this story, I knew I had to read it and I was right. It was perfect for me and I enjoyed every word! I do not remember if I've ever read anything by Joanna Barker before but now she is definitely on my radar. Her writing felt so effortless and organic. The characters were so refreshing and relatable that I couldn't put the book down.

While secretly practicing her bareback riding, Rebecca Rowley hears a scream and when she investigates, she must save a young girl from drowning in the water. Upon meeting the girl's older brother and guardian, Lieutenant Nicholas Avery, she is immediately intrigued but also weary since she already has a secret fiancé. Antics ensue and this lovely friendship develops between Rebecca and Nicholas especially after she shares with him of her secret beaux and her fears about her father's past. Can Rebecca discover what's really in her heart before the Lieutenant finds himself back out at sea?

This story was like a Rom-Com but set in regency times. I do love this time period - obviously, I love Jane Austen. The exhilaration and freedom that Rebecca craves is so relatable. That adrenaline rush is addicting, and I can definitely see how all the rules of society would feel so oppressive to her. I loved Nicholas Avery's character because as a Navy man, he also had that wanderlust. He encouraged it in Rebecca instead of stifling her spirit. I like to think the Nicholas knew Rebecca before she even knew herself.

Though the genre is Christian, I did not feel that it was trying to preach at all. I would almost not even classify it as Christian. It is clean, wholesome romance. The characters attend church but Rebecca actually doesn't find it very interesting. The message is somewhat inspirational though and I enjoyed the story.

All in all, I highly recommend this book for fall reading if you enjoy regency romance with lots of humor and a hint of mystery.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

I loved this book!

I found it to be original, which is something, considering how many historical romance I've read so far!
Although I was not drawn into the book from the very beginning, afraid the heroine would be brainless and vapid (she did get engaged secretly with her family's enemy...), I quickly realised she was loyal and brave. She wasn't always conventional and that endeared her to the reader. I enjoyed seeing how Rebecca Rowley wanted to meet challenges head first and did not overthink before acting, she was refreshing and honest. For instance, she thinks: "I would rather apologise and keep Nicholas as a friend than be stubborn and lose him" (which cannot be said of other regency characters in many other novels!). Lieutenant Nicholas Avery was also an interesting character, which I begun by not liking at all, and ended up really enjoying. He has a small "quelque chose" which makes him different from other regency male characters, he is very direct and doesn't beat around the bush - like his younger half-sister Olivia, another interesting character.
I was wondering how the love triangle would unentangle itself, and appreciated the rather straightforward resolution to it.
Overall, it was a very sweet read, and I'm sure I'll read this story again soon!

Oh and also, reading this lovely book (which kept me up at night) makes me want to discover the "The Truth about Miss Ashbourne" to learn more about Juliana and William! I'm going to go read it right now!

This book was amazing! I wish more authors wrote heroines like Rebecca. She's not afraid to be herself or to admit when she makes a mistake. I love how well Nicolas balances her. He accepts her as she is and doesn't try to make her change. It really was so well written and I will definitely be recommending it to everyone.

This was a sweet regency era romance with quite the love triangle. Will Rebecca choose Edward, with whom she had a whirlwind romance during the season, or Lieutenant Nicolas Avery, the boy next door. Romance fans will enjoy the banter between these characters. While the plot was relatively simple, it kept my interest throughout and I had to see how the romance worked out in the end. Nicolas was swoon worthy and it was great to learn more about him as the book progressed. Rebecca had obvious weaknesses that were worked through over the course of the novel. I enjoyed this story and while it was my first Joanna Barker novel, it will not be my last.