Sweet story about a widow, Elizabeth, and Jacob her short time lover. Elizabeth was lonely in her marriage and unhappy and finally found some happiness with Jacob. But he left her pregnant. Now she is raising the child as her late husband's but Jacob wants to know the truth.

I was a bit sad for Elizabeth. Jacob didn't give her a chance and he should have stuck by her instead of looking for another woman. Glad it ended happily but not sure I would forgive.

A historical romance set in England during the 1800's that is fairly melodramatic in style. The hero (Jacob) is 25 and the heroine (Elizabeth) is 34 and a widow. They have a one night stand not long before her horrible husband's death, which naturally results in a pregnancy. Meanwhile, Jacob has had to get engaged to secure his inheritance. Later the same day he discovers he's (possibly) going to be a father. There's plenty of internal narration and pining for each other - even though the H/h had barely a few hours of interaction in the first place. I'm not sure why they had such a deep connection and in-depth character development was lacking.

This book was an okay, uncomplicated read that was easy to put down. My thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in return for my opinion. It's part of an ongoing series, but I had no problem reading it as a stand alone.

A second chance at real love and an unexpected encounter that will end in love.. What more can you ask for?

In this next story in this amazing series, Elizabeth had been married to with a terrible man and she endured it all. That is until her encounter with Jacob, Lord Westray, who had come to collect money for funds her husband owed him. But that one encounter was to be memorable and have a lasing effect.

When her husband dies soon after and leaves her a widow, she finds she is with child. She knows it is Jacob's from that one night. Everyone things it is her late husband's but then Jacob finds out.

A whirlwind of romance and desire that seems will never come to fruition But a determined man who hopefully make the right choice could bring them together forever!

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as to how this would play out when one of the characters is already engaged and is not quick to break it off. But, in a slower burn than some of the previous in the series, the couple finally finds each other.

Sophia was a lovely evil villain but I think the surprise was lady Romeril- she was scary ans intimidating to Elizabeth even though she truly cared for her in the end. I liked that this was as much of a family love story as it was the romance- her mother in law scared her, but ultimately surprised her by loving her even when she cheated on her soon to be dead, philandering husband. There’s a little tension regarding the legitimacy issue of the child, but she shockingly isn’t cruel, she’s just a mother who only ever saw the best in her sone and not his flaws.
I was very unhappy that he dithered so much with his issues over breaking his engagement, but this is a romance- no tension equals boring. Even though I really like this series, this was not one of my favorites.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange of an honest review.
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I loved this one.
The chemistry and tension between Jacob and Elizabeth was so powerful, and very much delicious.
I liked the conflict of every step Jacob went through to arrive at the point in which he knew his love is stronger than any other thing in his life.
At the beginning, i thought he was a coward, but then i kind of understood where he came from, the things he had to have in mind while treading the way with Sophia.
I really liked the prose, the author was really with her words, i just loved it.

A Scandalous Affair

Elizabeth was married to a cruel man, so when Jacob made her a scandalous proposal, she accepted. She had no idea that a baby and love everlasting would be the result. Elizabeth was widows not too long after the one-night affair, so it should have been easy for her to marry the man who stole her heart. Unfortunately, things got quite complicated, and Jacob and Elizabeth would face challenges, some of them of their own making. The story kept me turning the pages, hoping that Jacob and Elizabeth would overcome their difficulties and find a way to be together. I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to those who like Regency romance, where the protagonists must fight to gain their happiness.

Jacob Beauvale thought nothing of his romantic entanglement he unexpectedly had while he was collecting on a debt by her husband. She offers him jewels and he gets more than he bargained for in a night of passion. But when he finds out the widow is pregnant there’s a good chance the child is his. But what to do he’s engaged and she’s quite happy as a widow, but neither can forget their one night of passion. A captivation story of a young woman who’s had a horrible marriage, who only wanted a family now finds herself expecting a baby and new hope and a new man in her life who’s convinced the child is his and he decides he wants the mother too. I have voluntarily read and reviewed these excellent story

Elizabeth has endured a miserable marriage for five years. She isn’t surprised when Jacob comes to her door to collect a debt from her husband. They are drawn to each other and have a brief affair. Shortly after, two things happen. Elizabeth’s husband dies and Jacob becomes engaged. From here the plot gets complicated, more so when Jacob realizes Elizabeth carries his child. How on earth can the two of them unravel this mess?

Jacob and Elizabeth are an unusual couple, but it seems Fate has brought them together. Their path to happily ever isn’t smooth, but they will work it out. I enjoyed the story, and I really liked the characters, old and new, in this one. I recommend it and the series.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Not her best. Everything (the attraction, falling in love, intimacy) all happened too fast. There seemed to be no real character development in either lead, but mostly the male lead. It seemed really short, too. It wasn't badly written in terms of grammar (though there were a couple of mistakes) and well enough edited (no typos I can recall right now), but it seemed to be a "crank out another one" book. This author is capable of a better effort.. #AlwaystheWidow #NetGalley

Elizabeth Howard though she married for love but her love turned to hate as her husband abused her. He held that he was sleeping around on her. He also gambled every thing he could and she was left to pay his bills with her jewels. Jacob Beauvale was one of the guys who her husband owed. He left with more than just payment and he gave Elizabeth a dream come true. This is a great book

Title: Always the Widow
Author: Emily Murdoch
WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
Overview: Elizabeth Howard is married to the worst of men, Elmore Howard. He locks her away from Society, emotionally abuses her, and cheats on her weekly. Well, he is also a gambler, a bad one at that, and ends up owing £50 to the hero of this story, Jacob Beauvale.
Jacob storms to Elmore’s house to demand payment, but find’s Elmore’s hot wife instead. She gives him a necklace as payment for her husband’s debt and sends him on his way. He returns a few days later offering to sleep with her as he assumes her husband does not show her any true intimacy.
To summarize, they sleep together and she ends up pregnant (she thought she was barren as her husband was not able to get her with child, so they do not take any precautions). Of course, by the time Jacob learns that she is pregnant, he has (literally) just proposed to another woman. In the middle of this, her husband overdoses on opium and she is free, but pregnant.
This was my first novel by this author, so I went into this book with an open mind. I thought the plot had promise (although why the title as she was only a widow once, and for approximately a year?), but was disappointed in how it was developed. It felt like it was written like a soap opera with too many story lines, dumb reasons why the hero and heroine could not be together, and at times found myself shaking my head at what was or was not happening.
Also, I enjoy Regency romances for the love story, the steam, and the trip back in time. I did not understand how the hero and heroine came to be in love, it felt fake honestly. The sex scenes were blah (they kissed, then she was naked and coming, and then he was gone?!). The story was set in Bath mostly which was okay, but it was not my cup of tea with little of the Regency feel to it.
Lastly, the writing style was not what I prefer. It felt like dialogue was sparse with too much description or internal character thought. Some of the conversations were hard to follow as it felt like there were gaps in the conversation. The whole work felt more like a draft than a final novel.
This story had a promising plot, but I found it unnecessarily overly complicated and the chemistry between our leads underwhelming. I do not recommend this book.
Rating: 2-stars (for the plot)
I received a free advance reader copy of this story in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is my second Emily EK Murdoch book from this series.

Always the Widow fell a bit short of how I loved the last book (Theodosia and Abermarle).

This one is about Elizabeth Howard, Abermarle Earl of Lenskeyn’s sister-in-law, who’s husband Elmore had just died. The marriage wasn’t a happy one and she had felt trapped for 5 years.
The night before her husband dies she receives a visit from Jacob, Lord Westray because her husband Elmore owes him money.

After this night it all changes for Elizabeth.

It was a bit dramatic and took long for the one thing standing in their way of happiness to be handled.

I received this ebook arc from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you are looking for a couple with chemistry, then Elizabeth and Jacob's story is the one to read.
If you want a story with romance and passion, then Elizabeth and Jacob will make your heart sing.
Emily E.K. Murdoch has written a gem of story that will keep you guessing on how it will end. She provides some wonderful twists and turns to keep you engaged throughout. Don't miss this one!

Elizabeth Howard, at the age of thirty-four, found herself a widow, and because she had no children, thought herself barren. Her marriage was horrendous; but the thought of having children had saved her. However, now she felt that she would never remarry and have children. In her mind, all she could think was that she would always be a widow. What horrible feelings, however she was strong and decided that she could handle her life by herself. But then her husband left her with gambling debts and Lord Jacob Beauvale decided to collect the monies owed himself. Little did he know that this act would not only change his life, but that of Elizabeth’s too. Nine months later a wonderful surprise came to be, and she was bound to keep her secret; claiming the child is the son of her late husband. Now the gossip starts, and a reading adventure begins as this problem is sorted out.

I thought this story was particularly sad for the main female character and really felt for all she endured from an emotionally abusive husband who openly cheated and gambled them into deep debt. The male lead was such a bright spot but rather clueless of the real world. Their journey to happily ever after was emotional, bumpy, and beautiful. I loved how it all turned out. #alwaysthewidow #netgalley

OMG I loved this book soooo much!
The first thing I have to say though, is that the blurb is quite different from the actual book.
Elizabeth Howard is married to an abuser husband who keeps her isolated from society. When Jacob Beauvale comes looking for her husband about a gambling debt, the attraction between them is strong and immediate. But a couple of weeks later, her husband suddenly dies, leaving her a widow.
After the best night of his life, Jacob received a letter from Elizabeth asking him to let her go as she is a married lady. At the same time, he learns from his godmother that in order to inherit a fortune he has to marry a lady of her choosing, so he accepts his faith and got engage.
But as days go by, Elizabeth realizes she is expecting Jacob’s child. When he learns the truth he can´t stay away from her. Gossip starts to fly as Jacob ignores his intended to pursue a woman with child. She has to pretend for the rest of the family and the ton that it’s her late husband's child.
But as Elizabeth and Jacob spend time together, they are going to discover that in order to do “the right thing” they need to give up their love. Is Jacob going to be able to marry someone else and be apart from his love and his child?
This is a steamy Regency romance with a happily ever after, no cliffhangers, and is part of a series that can be read in any order. I read all the books in the series, and liked most of them, but this one touched my heart in a special place.
This author writes stories that are controversial in an amazing way. The heroes and the heroines are quite different from most HR books. They have flaws and are weak and do all the wrong things. But you love them all the same because, at least in my case, you can see yourself in them. They are SO human that you feel like reaching for them for advice, or just for a cup of tea.
These two are great together. There are kisses, steamy sex, great chemistry and sweet moments. Elizabeth is a beautiful person and Jacob loves her to no end and cherish her. There’s a scene when the baby comes that absolutely broke my heart for its perfection.

Elizabeth has been married to Elmore for years. Long enough for everyone to declare her barren and for her husband to disregard her. A knock on the door changes everything in her life. Jacob, Lord Westray, is on a mission to receive payment for a debt owed to him by Elmore, Lord Howard. When he meets the Lady Howard, his thoughts turn to another way of payment. That one night proves very fruitful for the two of them. Jacob does have a betrothed, but he cannot stay away from the now Widow Howard. Somehow, the two do finally admit their feelings and vow to be faithful to each other.

Always the Widow by Emily EK Murdoch is the newest entry into the popular Never the Bride series. This story features Elizabeth Howard who is sister-in-law-to the newly married Albermarle, Earl of Lenskeyne. She had been married to his brother, Elmore, who had not been the good man the earl was, although that was a well-kept secret. She had handed the last of the family jewels to the new countess, the former Theodosia Ashbrooke, and prayed she never had them appraised, as they were paste. She had sold or given the real jewels away to many men as they came to her door to settle Elmore's gambling debts. The last necklace had gone to Jacob Beauvale, Lord Westray, who had fallen in lust with her immediately, despite the fact she was married. She was now carrying his child, but that was her secret. To the world the child would belong to Elmore Howard, her now deceased husband.

Jacob discovered she was carrying his child moments after he had proposed to Sophia Worsley. He did not love her; she did not love him. He needed to marry to satisfy the codicil in his father's will. She needed to marry someone. He would work. In the following months he came to realize that he loved Elizabeth, and later, their child. It was fun watching him twitch his way through his engagement, never strong enough to break it. His reasoning was flawed and he knew it and yet he persisted. Elizabeth was happy just to be ride of Elmore and to have the child she had always wanted. She had no designs on Jacob, at first, but as her persisted... This is a unique and wonderful plot contained some exquisite writing. The characters are good, if hampered by the expectations of society. It was fun to read. It was fun to watch Jacob squirm. Every time I read one of this series, I declare it to be the best one yet. This truly is the best one yet!

I was invited to read a free ARC of Always the Widow by Dragonblade, through Netgalley. All opinions contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #alwaysthewidow

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
💋💋

Another great book in this series.
Passion, romance and chemistry in buckets full.

Jacob and Elizabeth are great together, as they search their hearts and uncover the secrets held in the past, ones that will allow them to finally explore their love .

It has a few tense moments, steamy scenes and a wonderful storyline that will keep you hooked.

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review

This is part of the series, but can be read as standalone. She is introduced in previous book, which I haven't read but I didn't have problems with following the story.

I liked authours writting style, it was interesting read and had lots of witty dialogs between main characters.

I was happy that Elizabeth ended her miserable marriage when she became widow, I felt sorry for her while reading, so I was relieved when she found out that she's pregnant.

Jacob was at first pretty bad as character, but he develops through the story.

It was a nice and steamy read.