This one seemed like it was going to be so cute! And I really did find it enjoyable for the most part. 

There were just a few things about this story that made it unrealistic for me--and, therefore, took me out of the story. But I was able to kind of get out of those situations and enjoy this story for what it was. 

It was a quick, easy read that served to entertain and gave me an afternoon of romance. The main characters were enjoyable and not annoying and I enjoyed their journey to their happy-ever-after. 

All-in-all a great escape, but not sure I'll take up the rest of the series.

This is book 12 in the Never the Bride series.

Olivia Lymington is the twin sister to Isabella...who she does not like, even though everyone expects them to be close. Her sister is engaged to marry Colin Vaughn, Duke of Larnwick. Olivia has been forced to be their chaperone until the big day, but then Isabella goes missing and the entire family thinks it is Olivia's job to find her sister.

Colin is miffed to say the least. He has been waiting for Isabella and now she has disappeared. His plan is to track her down and make her marry him (though I personally, have no idea why, he would want to. I am will Olivia...not a fan of Isabella.) As they travel together they encounter many entertaining and unexpected surprises.

This was an interesting and entertaining read but not an overwhelmingly good book. I am not sure it ever really lived up to the premise.

I was provided a copy by NetGalley for a honest review.

Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Looks like they saved the best story for last with this story of a twin who is trying to avoid marrying a duke and her twin falling in love with him. Olivia knows that she is always the second choice but when it comes to letting her selfish sister deny the man she loves for the sixth time, she is determined to ensure he gets his first choice. But does he still want it - or does he truly love Olivia?

Well, we all know the answer to that question but it’s fun getting there anyway. A great conclusion to a fun series..

I love the cover of this book!

Twins Isabella and Olivia have ups and downs in their sister bonding, and Olivia is the quiet one. When Isabella supposed to marry Larnwick, she escaped and parents offer Olivia as second choice. She's secretly in love with him, but she doesn't want to be substitute for her sister anymore.
Olivia and Larnwick set a search trip to find Isabella and while searching the duke gets to know new feelings and falls in love with Olivia. But, will they have their happy end?


I loved the plot and Olivia has lots of my favourite things to search in story- wallflower, hidden desires and quite girl. I loved their conversations, and falling in love.

I like reading this author, she has a great writting style.

This is an amazing series and Emily E.K . Murdoch has delivered with each and every book.
It was hard for me to picture identical twins and yet the one born second was considered not as beautiful as the one born first. Family dynamics I guess.
I felt that Olivia was the better sister. I enjoyed how the romance developed between Olivia and Colin.
I would highly recommend this book.

Is She the Second Choice, Or Could She Be the Best One?

Olivia has quite the family. Her sister, Is obviously the favored daughter. What happens when she disappears without marrying her groom of two years? The burden of finding her falls on Olivia’s shoulder. She must travel, alone with her sister’s groom, to where she thinks her twin sister disappeared. Olivia has a secret. She might be in love with her sister’s groom. What happens when the two embark on a journey to find Isabella? Olivia’s twin might have a secret of her own.

Olivia’s family has always treated her as second choice. There are secrets and lies, a stubborn duke, and an unkind family with which Olivia must contend. Where did Isabella go, and can Olivia win the heart of a stubborn duke, intent on marrying the wrong sister? I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to those who enjoy lighthearted historical romance. There are heartbreaking moments because no one should be treated by her family as Olivia is treated.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

After getting glimpses of Colin and the Lymington sisters in the last several books, I was glad to finally read this story. Despite being identical twins, Olivia has always felt like the invisible sister while Isabella happily took the spotlight. Colin has been waiting for over 2 long years to wed Isabella, only to have her disappear before they reach the alter. He employs Olivia, to help him find his bride and realizes as he gets to know Olivia, that he might have made a horrible mistake. Still, his pride demands that he marry Isabella, despite what his heart is telling him. That is fine with Olivia, despite the fact that she has loved Colin all along, she does not want a man who only sees her as a stand in for her more flamboyant sister. Can Colin convince her he loves Olivia for herself, and can she convince him she is the more worthy sister?

Always the Second Choice by Emily E K Murdoch
Rating: 2-stars
Summary: Twin sisters are in love with each other’s fiancée. The “evil” twin, Isabella, steals her sister’s fiancée and marries him, only to end up engaged to a Duke who her sister falls in love with. Isabella runs away the day of her wedding, after having already put it off numerous times (a 2+ year engagement), and her sister, Olivia, runs off to find her along with her furious fiancée, the Duke of Larnwick.
Overall opinion: This was not my cup of tea. The premise was so-so for the tropes I typically enjoy, but having found several great authors on Netgalley, I tried this book. There was nothing wrong with the writing as far as grammar, etc. but the storyline just did not do it for me. We are expected to believe Olivia is in love with Colin (Larnwick) based on her interactions with him over the past two years while her sister was engaged to him. During their journey to locate Isabella, somewhere Colin discovers he actually loves Olivia. I have no idea where this supposedly happens, it just magically happens and we are expected to follow along I suppose. It is also quite odd how everyone talks about how the sisters are identical, where the parents even try to convince Colin to marry Olivia when Isabella is discovered to have run away. Most of the time you see Colin nursing his bruised ego and trying to remember that he is with Olivia, not Isabella. Then, magically, he loves Olivia until they actually find Isabella and he feels like he has been fooled since Isabella has been married for nearly two years and how did she not know her twin sister was married? Then he comes groveling back. I feel that this could have been a 3 to 4 star read had the author shown us how Olivia and Colin fell in love. This just felt like a random week of traipsing across the countryside and everything neatly falling into place without informing the reader of how. I would not recommend this book.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

You know these books that leave you with warmth all over your heart? That book was one of them.
The book was engaging from the first chapter, it was fast-paced and straight to the point with just the perfect amount of fluff.
The heroine was a strong woman, who knew what she wanted and knew her worth, i loved how she insisted that she is her own woman and have her thoughts and beliefs, even so she was considered the second twin.
The lead male was actually written so well, i quite fell in love with him, and he's got a good character development through the book, which i salute the author for because it's not easy to pull it off in a small book.
I immensely enjoyed it.
*Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review*

This was a fun and fast read. Sure the leading man could be a bit annoying. If a woman is putting off your wedding for 2 years, it's probably a sign to break it off. But for some reason he just muddles through. The leading lady was interesting and the whole idea of twins being super close is blown up, but come back together in the end. Overall, an enjoyable read with some of the usual tropes, but still light and fun.

Always the Second Choice by Emily EK Murdoch is the newest entry in her Never the Bride... series. This is an endearing series although sometimes a little "out there." This time it revolves around twins, Isabella and Olivia Lymington. Today is supposed to be Isabella's wedding day, but when she goes to retrieve her earbobs, she never comes back. The engagement has lasted two years, and the wedding postponed numerous times. But, this is too much. The groom is beyond angry. Her parents don't want to miss having a duke in the family. Olivia is anxious for it to be over so she can begin living out from the shadow of her moments older, more beautiful sister. Her mother suggests he just marry Olivia. They look the same. She is outraged. She has loved the duke for a while now, but she will not be second choice. That had happened once before and it would never happen again. After reading the note, Olivia thinks she knows where to find her sister so she and the duke take off together to search (would never happen). It doesn't take long for Larnwick to discover the difference between sisters and how much more appealing this one is. One thing leads to another... but he is a man of honor. He must marry his betrothed no matter how he feels about her sister.

This is a contrived but satisfying romance, which appears to grow slowly but in reality it is only 4-5 days. Larnwick is amazed at his stupidity, not seeing what was right before him. Olivia was amazed at her stupidity for agreeing to come on this journey at all. Everywhere people recognized her as Isabella. Could she never be herself? The journey was a good one. The differences between the two contrived, and for a good reason. The pacing and setting were good. This really is a delightful series and this is a wonderful addition.

I was invited to read a free ARC of Always the Second Choice by Dragonblade, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #netgalley #alwaysthesecondchoice

Colin Vaugh is the Duke of Larnwick.He is due to marry Isabella Lymington, but she has run away after postponed their wedding dates two times before.

Olivia Lymington is her twin sister, And she will do anything to help Colin.

First we do not know how they look and worst they do not have any personality. All the dialogues and scenes seems from others books that I have read before.

Olivia is the docile and the ugly one-how could you be ugly and your TWIN sister be beautiful its a mystery to me. She always has been the second choice and we know for all the book because she repeat this every page. This character has no spine or fight for what she wants. She is not smart and nothing stands out.

Colin is worst, the male protagonist does not know what he wants The man cannot decide who he wants to marry or where to live. In a moment the man is charming, the next he is stone. What did he saw in Isabella?

And how on earth her parents let her travel ALONE with a man?? And every little manager or waiter in this book is putting their business in the fake couple.

And could have a worse ending? Only Olivia ask forgiveness to her sister, she discovers that her so not dumb sis has been married for two years!!!!

Miss Olivia Lymington loves her twin sister, but doesn't like her very much at the moment. Just over two years ago her sister seemed to change and it can't be just because she became engaged to a Duke. After years of always being seen as "the other twin" Olivia has hopes that after her sister's wedding she will become someone in her own right. Until her sister once again , upsets everyone.
Colin Vaughan, Duke of Larnwick left his beloved Scotland over two years ago to find a bride in London. That was the easy part, getting her to finally marry him seems more difficult. Her final blow to his pride will have long lasting consequences and chase across the country.
This is very much an emotional rollercoaster coaster, especially for our heroine. Our hero has to keep a strong grip on his temper. Scandal is going to be unavoidable.
We have great characters in this exciting historical romance. You will have met some of them in previous books in the series, but each book can be read on it's own.
Really good fun.

This story is part of a series, but it doesn't rely on any of the previous stories. This is a story about a heroine who is a twin, the lesser twin according to her family and acquaintances. Even when she is introduced and dances with a gentleman, they still thank her using her sister's name instead of her own. Her twin is engaged to the hero who is a duke. Her twin has postponed the wedding 6 times in a 2 year engagement. On the day of the wedding, her twin disappears. So, she has no choice but to go with the hero to fetch her back so the hero can marry her twin. So many secrets are finally exposed.
I enjoyed this story very much. The twin sister sent out so many signals that the heroine didn't pick up on. And the twist of the story was and 'I knew it!' moment. I enjoyed the setting of this story and the daily interaction with the working class and travellers. The hero, whose age is unknown, seems to be a little slow, or his ducal ego just got in the way of his thinking. This is a big wake-up call for him. He is not able to get what he wants and he realizes that he is a human being first and a duke second. It is earth shaking for him. The heroine is smart and doesn't pull her punches when dealing with the hero..
I enjoy this author very much. She normally produces a complete story and it is a seperate story from the previous. This story is no exception. I like that the characters are not carbon copies of each other and there is always development of the character and the romance. I give this book 5 stars and a recommendation to read.

I truly enjoyed this story, though there were moments when I wanted to slap the Duke. Colin was so wrapped up in his own misery he was very mean sometimes! Olivia certainly got the short stick in her family. Being the "younger" twin, she was relegated to being a shadow. I never write a spoiler review, but I will say that it was enjoyable to see the Duke discover what a good woman Olivia really was. The characters are well developed and the ending was well done!

Identical twins usually have a closeness that others can't seem to intervene. However, Olivia & Isabella do not and that could be because it was fostered by the parents. Isabella as the oldest by minutes was always given the new clothes and Olivia had to wear the old ones again. When it was time for the come out Isabella was the one who got the queen bee treatment and Olivia was not even noticed.
Then once again Isabella got the perfect man, a Duke. Colin Vaughn was the one that Olivia dreamed about and knew she would never be able to let on that she had feelings.
Then just before her wedding, Isabella disappeared and all eyes to Olivia and expected her to help fix it by finding her sister. The Duke wanted her to assist him by traveling with him and then things erupted.
This is a entertaining book if you are looking for a lighthearted read for an evening or afternoon!

I received a free advanced copy from Netgalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

Another great addition to the Never the Bride series. I am so happy that the book turned out the way that I hoped it would for Olivia. If anyone deserved a HEA, it was her.
I definitely recommend this as well as the others in the series. Although each book can be read as a
stand-alone, the reading experience is more enjoyable if read in order. Favorite characters from previous books make appearances in the subsequent books. It helps to know their stories.
Thank you Emily E K Murdoch, Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

I loved this book an adventure romance along the way , they fell in love while searching for her twin. Great characters dialogue the story was fun to read.

You just never know what mischief twins can get up to, but in this case, one goes missing from her bridegroom! Runaway bride or has something happened?

It seem Olivia was always second choice to her twin Isabella. Of course that makes sense since she was born second, but will it never end? When Isabella disappears from her wedding with Colin, Duke of Linwick, he and Olivia set out to find her.

But what happens when these two become attracted? Can they have a happy ending?

This is a fun series that always keeps me smiling!

Colin Vaughn, Duke of Larnwick’s bride has gone missing. Olivia Lymington has been her sister Isabella’s chaperone until she marries. Colin is tired of waiting to wed Isabella she has put off the wedding far too long, now this she’s disappeared! Colin and Olivia hurry off to find his wayward bride, but he finds himself attracted to Olivia. Poor Olivia has always been the second to her sister in everything, oh how she can she help her feeling for Colin. Her sister is spoiled and unreasonable and now she’s run away she can’t she keep treating Colin this way. What will Colin do when he finds out she knew her sisters plans. A fun story as the bride runs away on her wedding day, the groom and her twin in pursuit of her. His book has a few twist and turns to bring the reader a great story to enjoy as Colin and Olivia fall in love on their adventurous journey. I have voluntarily read and reviewed the excellent story.