While the cover of this book sucked me in right away the contents didn't. I found this book to be perfectly fine and not all that memorable. Historical romance is my absolute favorite and I just wanted something more from this. Still a good book and a good way to spend a Sunday.

Having read all of the other books to catch up to this one, it's my favorite. There's really no reason to read them all, but this one is the best.
What kept this from being a great book for me was honestly that you would read something from Jane's perspective, and then read the exact same thing from Thomas's perspective. I get that the author was trying to show how lined up they were, but it just felt redundant. Also it was just very obvious. Thomas obviously wasn't going to marry someone else, so the conflict did feel very forced. And all the focus was on that, aside from one confrontation with her mother, nothing really happened to Jane on her own, her whole story was focused on Thomas's.

I really enjoyed their story and the character development throughout. The main conflict keeping them apart wasn't my favorite, but the romance and love between them kept me reading! It was a solid read, but I'm not sure it was my favorite historical romance.

I enjoyed Gentleman Seeks Bride by Megan Frampton, even if the pace was a bit off for me and the middle/end was a slog.

I've read a few books from Megan Frampton, so I had high hopes for this one, but when you read hundreds of historical romances, it's hard to make books feel unique. I don't think Megan Frampton accomplished anything new with this book, which made it feel slightly bland.

The main couple had good chemistry, even if their relationship was a bit insta-lust for my taste. I enjoyed their scenes together. I think the beginning of the story was more exciting, but the middle and end was just drawing out their inevitable relationship. I also knew what was going to happen well ahead of time (resolution to the main source of tension), so it wasn't terribly exciting for me.

A decent read, but won't be anything revolutionary for seasoned historical romance lovers.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

This is the best one yet of this series! It will make you laugh and cry! A welcome twist on how a hero or heroine can be more than just another pretty face. I highly recommend this romance!

With a sister to take care of, and a father who has spent their fortune, it's Thomas Sharps responsibility to save his family, so he goes in search of an heiress. Sharp comes across Lady Jane whose heart is still feeling a bit bruised after being abandoned by her fiancé two years before. Thomas and Jane make a mutual deal that she will help him find an heiress, and in turn, he will teach her about pleasure. While I loved the premise of this, it was done better in another book I recently read, and I couldn't help but compare the two. The first half of the book was pretty good, and kept me engaged, but it became a tad boring in the second half. Lots of great steamy scenes, just wanted more.

I was provided an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I…didn’t think I would like this book as much as I did. Don’t get me wrong, I love a Megan Frampton book as much as the next person, but Jane??? As a heroine??? Who barely could speak to anyone outside the family in Wicked Bargain for a Duke?????

I didn’t think I would like her at all but she charmed the heck out of me. Her love lessons with Thomas Sharpe were so adorable and sensual at the same time, and I just adored watching them fall in love and figure out how to be together.

I admit it, this is the first book I've read by Megan Frampton but it definitely won't be the last!

I loved this one and while this is a fourth book in the series, I don't feel like I missed anything and after reading some of the reviews, it might be a good thing I didn't because it seems like most people felt that Jane's character drastically changed from the last book to this one so with that said, YAY for me!

I thought both Jane and Thomas were great characters. Thomas is doing everything he can to help his family even if that means marrying an heiress he doesn't love. Ultimately he and Jane strike a deal to help each other out - he will show her more of the world (and intimacy) and she will help him find a bride. You can guess what happens here...they start to have feelings for each other and have to figure out what is most important to them - Independence (Jane), financial security (Thomas), or LOVE.

I will definitely be picking up more books from Frampton in the future!

Gentleman Seeks Bride by Meg Frampton, book four in her Hazards of Dukes series, is about choices; choices made for you, choices you’ve made, good or bad. Sometimes, you have no choice and do things because it’s expected of you; other times, you choose to do what’s best for you. You might even choose a path different than that expected of you. That is what happens to James and Jane, and the cast of supporting characters in this lovely, unexpected romance.

Thomas Sharpe is as handsome as he is broke, which is extremely, and needs to marry an heiress in order to save his family from poverty. He also happens to be best friends with Lady Jane Capel's brother, so when he sees her at a gaming club, he vows to protect her. Lady Jane was jilted two years ago and has been on the outskirts of society ever since; but no more. She wants to experience all the fun that her independence can offer, so she makes a deal with Thomas; she will help him secure a wealthy bride by the end of the season in exchange that he escort her to all the interesting places a single lady shouldn't go alone, and teaches her a bit about real intimacy between a man and woman. Thomas is determined not to truly corrupt his best friend’s sister, nor fall in love with her, but as Jane and Thomas spend more time together, they both come to realize that the heart wants what the heart wants, even when it shouldn’t.

Ms. Frampton wrote a entertaining and amusing story that is not to be missed. She provided a tale rich with humorous escapades, clever banter, chemistry and endearing characters giving Thomas and Jane a chance to fall in love. I recommend Gentleman Seeks Bride to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Gentleman Seeks Bride - Megan Frampton
If you’ve listened to the podcast, you’ll know that high drama is not my forte. In fact, I’ve referred to a number of books we’ve read as “car crash angst”. I don’t enjoy that twist in your stomach and the emotional turmoil. I’m not too big into soapy shows for this same reason. Which is extremely funny seeing as I’m listening to “When Love is Gone” as I write this, the one song cut from The Muppet Christmas Carol, for being ‘too sad’. FYI, it’s my favorite from the entire soundtrack. Needless to say, I tend to steer clear of books that state quite clearly in the description that a good deal of angst would be found within. I rolled the dice with Megan Frampton’s Gentleman Seeks Bride as it also contains one of the tropes in historical romance that I detest, the hero/heroine playing matchmaker, but end up falling in love with the person in the end. The only time I have enjoyed this trope previously is Hello Dolly, and I just love it because I eventually want to play Dolly Levi when I grow up. Also, she falls for a guy named Horace, come on, who wouldn’t love a dude with a name that sounds like a large four legged mammal?

A little bit of the plot:
Mr. Thomas Sharpe finds himself in need of a wife, and not just any wife, an heiress. Lady Jane finds herself in need of education, the kind that comes with visits to bars, gaming hells, and dance halls. In exchange for her matchmaking skills, Thomas proposes to introduce Jane to all scandalous activity shunned by polite society. Both make promises to not fall in love with one another, as regrettably, Lady Jane will never be considered a suitable marriageable miss. Having being thrown over by a former suitor, Lady Jane has been disinherited due to her refusal to consider subsequent fortune hunters. As the pair share more exceedingly steamy experiences, who will surrender their heart first?

The Compliment Sandwich
The Top Bun (Pro)
Role Reversal
As this is a romance novel, I’m not really spoiling anything by saying there is a HEA. Why this book gets bonus points with me is that Thomas falls head over heels quickly and before Jane even realizes that's she in love. We luckily get dual perspectives in this novel, therefore, we are privy to the exact moment where Thomas realizes that his heart is no longer his own.

The image of it was so palpable he nearly stumbled, making her widen her eyes and give him a questioning look. He shook his head as though it were nothing.
It wasn’t nothing.
It was want, and desire, and a yearning in his soul he hadn’t felt since before that moment when his whole world shattered.

The downside to this dual perspective is that we feel his utter desolation in discovering he’s finally found the one person who understands and sees him, and he can’t have her. To save his family and keep them in a moderate income he must find a wealthy woman. He just hopes to find one that he can like and live companionably, as he knows he will never love another woman as he loves Jane.
We also have a bit of role reversal with Thomas, as he is the fortune hunter that we’re actually rooting for - unlike so many other Historical Romances of this ilk. Most often, the wallflower must marry the scandalous rake in order to save her 12 brothers and sister from the workhouse or some other Dickensian tripe. We now have a hero that is sacrificing his own happiness to ensure his family can benefit from his moderate income. The parallel between Thomas’s actions and Lady Jane’s is referenced a number of times.

You and I, we are seen as having only one redeeming quality. Because nobody has bothered to look past that quality to find the person within. You should take that advantage and leverage it to find yourself someone who is willing to pay for that quality.” She met his gaze. “It’s what ladies do all the time.”
“So with me doing it it’s a balancing of the sexes?” he replied with an amused smile.

The more you know of Thomas, the more likable he becomes. When he does meet the ‘perfect heiress’, the reader can’t help but find her likable too. Especially as her future trajectory is influenced by Jane's self-sacrifice in order to 'find' herself and a real purpose as opposed to being just a 'wife' and 'mother'. This novel overall is very female positive and extols the virtues of self discovery.

The Con
I know one must suspend disbelief when reading historical romance. I understand this, but it does make me give the ‘Scully Eyebrow’ when I come across something quite hard to swallow. For instance, this disinherited lady has moved in with her illegitimate half brother and comes and goes as she pleases with no chaperone. Still receiving invitations to high society events, her status has not diminished in the slightest. Additionally, I don’t want to spoil anything, but we find out something about Percy, Jane’s brother, that is handled deftly, however, I can’t imagine it would be overlooked at the time. That being said, disbelief suspended. Just enjoy.

The Bottom Bun (The Pro)
STEAM
This book is hot, y’all. Like four alarm fire, hot. Now, I’ve read actual historical erotica, so it’s not that detailed, however, it’s steamy sexy. We have a number of oral/hand jobs before they even have sex. We have the first masturbation scene (one of two) at about 20%.

“Stroke it, Jane”, he said, closing his eyes as he imagine her hand on him - her fingers just barely able to wrap around his thickness, her palm sliding on his flesh, gripping the top of his cock before going back down again. “Just like that.” He twisted his grip and shuddered, the sweet ache of it growing as he held back, imagining her touching him, her hair unbound and falling down her back, her face flushed, her eyes sparkling with interest and desire”

What did I tell you? F&^%ing hot. FYI, if you were wondering, he finishes thinking of her, NBD.

At one point in the novel, Thomas and Jane visit a brothel, where in which they act out a voyeurism kink by watching another couple have sex and then they themselves do the deed. Plus, Thomas loves Jane’s downtown area. If he’s not touching it, he’s doing other things to it.

He wondered what she would do if he bit her there. Right on her sweet arse as his fingers played with her soft, wet warmth. Savoring - anticipating - putting his mouth on her, tasting her, bringing her to climax.

Another positive about the sex scenes is that Jane is a very active participant. While understandably not experienced, she makes up for in courage and self-confidence. By making the decision to walk away from her fortune and find herself, the journey Jane embarks on is completely admirable - especially of the time. While again, you need to suspend your disbelief, you can’t help but feel a bit of ‘girl power’ when she demands to take pleasure wherever she can find it and not deprive herself.

"I don't know yet if I like it when you touch me, " she replied. Her voice didn't sound like hers - it was huskier, as though she was having difficulty catching her breath and the words were getting caught in her throat.
Which was true, she realized.
She inhaled deeply as she strengthened her resolve. "I don't know if I like it when you touch me," she repeated, then added, "so you'll have to do it more for me to reach a conclusion."
And then she froze, worried he would think her too forward, too fast, too strong.
"Oh, my lady," he replied in a warm, sensual tone that relieved all her concerns, "I already know I will like that."

Overall, I very much enjoyed this novel. The angst wasn’t as overwhelming as I imagined. Frampton is an exceptional writer, and I found her prose to have a nice balance of sophistication and wit. While dealing with possible anachronistic situations for Regency england, they were deftly handled and never felt like a modern sensibility was shoe-horned to make it fit.

This book is so good! It is engaging, romantic, quite steamy at times, and so much more! Whenever I picked up "Gentleman Seeks Bride", I was whisked back in time, and went on quite an emotional journey with this story.

This is the fourth book in Megan Frampton's "Hazards of Dukes" series! Ms. Frampton pulls the reader in from the very first page to the last, and her storytelling is spectacular. She truly knows how to bring a story to life before the reader's eyes, and I found this book extremely difficult to put down.

After his father lost the family's money, Thomas Sharpe believes he must marry a wealthy woman in order to save and protect his family. Lady Jane, a few years before, was abandoned by her fiancé, and is now unfortunately considered by many to be the cause of scandal. She was cut off from her family's money, and lives with her half-brother, Percy, who is best friends with Thomas.

Jane agrees that she will Thomas him find someone to marry, and Thomas, in return, will teach her about certain aspects of intimacy. Never could Thomas or Jane have imagined that the more time they are in one another's company, that they will begin to fall deeper and deeper in love.

(Possible Spoilers!)
Thomas and Jane bring out the best in each other, and they challenge one another too. They both teach and learn from each other, and their chemistry is extremely palpable. Love is such a powerful thing, and watching these two fall and realize that they are in love kept me turning the pages chapter after chapter.

If you enjoy historical romance, I highly recommend this book! I found myself reading into the early hours of the morning to see what would happen next, and I look forward to reading what Ms. Frampton writes next!

Thank you so much to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC of this book ,it is incredible! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Gentleman Seeks Bride by Megan Framptom is one steamy historical romance that you will not want to miss out on! Wow, did I love this book! Thomas is in dire straights and he needs to take care of his sister, so he's off to London in search of a wealthy heir to wed. He at first seeks the help of Lady Jane who wants to know all about the sensual side of love, so they strike up a deal. He'll show her all about passion and sensuality and she'll help him find a wealthy lady to marry. However, he soon finds himself very drawn to the beautiful and sensual Lady Jane, but could or would she return his burning desire and allow her heart to open and trust again?

Frampton is I feel the queen of steamy romance, she gives nibbles of sensuality along the way but then lets the readers' imagination take over! Truly a masterful storyteller! I most highly recommend this book! So well deserving of 5 stars!

Enjoyed this one. Not extremely memorable but fun while I was reading. I loved the spicy scenes, very well written. Love the cover! Also appreciate a hero who isn't rich. (They're so rare in HR especially so I like to see them.)

I had a hard time getting a real grasp on Jane’s character. She just never fully formed for me, even though she kept repeating what she wanted and why. (Maybe that’s why? It’s like she had to say it so often so the reader would believe her?) I just didn’t buy her motivations.

Did not like the crossed out text on the letters. That was weird.

Thomas Sharpe needs to marry an heiress. With a sister who needs looking after and a father who spent their fortune it's Thomas's responsibility to save his family.

Lady Jane's heart is still feeling a bit bruised two years later from her fiance abandoning her.

Thomas and Jane make a deal that if he teaches her the mysteries of pleasure she will help him find an heiress.

I loved the premise of this, it was a fun switch to a classic historical romance trope. I was also really looking forward to Jane's story after book 3.

And while the first half of this was really engaging, the second half was a bit boring. There was nothing moving the story and romance forward. It was very repetitive and I lost interest.

However this book has some great steam, and plenty of it. But everything else felt a bit lacking.

I was provided an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m normally a fan of Megan Frampton but I’ve read this trope numerous times and I had trouble getting into it. That Ana the insta-lust between Thomas and Jane kept me from loving it.

Innocent Jane and fortune hunter Thomas make a deal: she'll find him a wealthy bride if he squires her about town and teaches her about intimacy. Thomas has no intention of taking advantage of his best friend's sister, but he agrees to help her learn about the world. The more time they spend together, the more their flirtation turns real. But he needs to marry money to save his family from ruin, and she's been disinherited. Can they find a way to be together?

This book has the spirited characters, sparkling dialogue, and spicy love scenes that the author is known for. Fun and flirty, it's a treat for readers of steamy Regency romance.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I've been enjoying this series, so there was no way I was going to miss this story...even if I don't really remember Jane.

I really liked these two MCs. There are several mentions of Jane being meek in the previous story and this takes place two years later, so she's starting to make moves in the direction she wants. Thomas has been told he's charming and handsome his entire life, so that's all he believes he is. Together these two have chemistry for days and even better, each find something in the other that they didn't know they needed.

Plot wise, it's good. They're together for a lot of the story and that's always a favorite for me. The conflict is minimal and I really loved the way it was resolved. Oh, and I could do with a million pages of Percy and Daffy together.

Overall, this was a fun story with characters who were easy to root for. I hope there's more in this series.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing an arc free of charge**

Maybe 3.5 stars

Two years ago Lady Jane Chapel’s life took a nose-dive when she refused to marry the man her parents choose and then the man she was secretly betrothed to dumped her. She left her parent's home and moved in with her illegitimate half-brother Percy, hoping that she will figure out what she will do with her life, starting by standing up for herself and no longer playing the meek and mild lady.

Likewise, Thomas Sharpe’s life also took a turn for the worse when his father lost the family’s fortune in a bad investment. Thomas decides that he will save his family by marrying an heiress, but after two years of trying to find a rich bride, he is no closer to the altar than he was when he started. Too bad his best friend, Percy’s sister is not rich, because he is more than a little attracted to her.

Jane might not be rich, but she offers to help Thomas find a bride if he will help her learn about intimacy. They strike a bargain they will help each other, and they most definitely won’t fall in love!

This was a well-written, well-paced friends-to-lovers story, but it fell a bit flat for me. The trope is not new, but there was a twist of Thomas having to save his family rather than that role falling to the heroine, but the fact that he had to marry for money was repeated way too much, I understood that from the start, I don’t need to be reminded over and over and over again. On the upside, Thomas and Jane give the book plenty of sizzle and really are perfect for each other. This book is the fourth book in the series, and since Jane’s backstory is not really covered in detail, I would recommend reading at least the previous book before starting this one. Overall, this was a decent read that I enjoyed, but wouldn’t consider re-reading it.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

Thomas Sharpe needs a wealthy bride. He’s handsome and charismatic, but his father lost their family wealth on a bad investment. Lady Jane Capel was jilted by a no-good-ex-fiancé and her parents cut her off financially. She’s living with her half-brother and trying to figure out what she wants from her life. Jane offers to help her brother’s friend, Thomas, make a match, in exchange for showing her all the things in life that men get to enjoy but young ladies are sheltered from…including intimacy!

This is the fourth book in the Hazards of Dukes series. Jane is the sister of book three heroine, Lavinia. Jane’s backstory is largely left out of this novel, so readers may want to read the previous story, A Wicked Bargain for the Duke, to find out about Jane’s failed betrothal.

I thought Thomas was the better developed character here. Often in romance novels, the female lead needs to marry to save the family but this time it was our hero. His parents are aging, he has a frightfully shy sister, and he needs to step up to the marriage plate in order to take care of everyone. He thought marrying for a dowry would be easy but, two years later, he’s no closer to finding a wife. Thomas has a pretty face but is deemed too flirtatious and not serious enough to settle down with. Enter Jane, his best friend’s sister, who would be an excellent choice…if only she hadn’t been disowned.

This book is not for the pearl-clutchers! Jane and Thomas have a strong physical connection and they make use of it…repeatedly. From hot air balloon caresses to visiting a voyeur club, this book is definitely high steam. Give this one a shot if you like sexy stories that put a different spin on a popular trope.

~ Leslie

Definitely the best in the series so far.
Everything here just worked for me.
The characters, the plot & the steam.
Jane is a modern woman in a regency period, a Lizzie Bennet if you will. Thomas is a poor Mr. Darcy. I loved the role reversal and how the romance blossoms between them.
Also love the cover!
Very well written and I imagine many romance readers enjoying this immensely!