This book was just ok. It started out strong but the second half just meandered. I had a difficult time warming up to Spencer and even by the end I still didn't like him.

I continue to believe Bliss Bennet was sent to me by the historical romance gods. I don't know what it is about her stories and her writing but they hit me differently, and fulfill some untapped niche (for me) in the historical romance subgenre. This one was no different. I'm not one for second-chance, but it was a great take on twist on the trope. The premise was super well grouned in the period, as always, and nicely researched. Loved it!

VERALL RATING –5 stars
RECOMMENDED FOR: those that like historical second chance

First my usual points:
- I do not do spoilers unless warned.
- Read the summary above; it will tell you what the book is about. I will not reiterate.
- This is a standalone but appears to be the first in a series
- No errors that I caught as far as editing.
- The author was new to me

BOOK:
- Contemporary romance
- 3rd person POV

Star Ratings - 1 (poor) - 5(READ THIS BOOK)
· Writing Quality: 5 stars
· Story ingredient: 5 stars
· Ease of reading/Pace: 5 stars
· Plot strength: 5 stars
· Steam Level: 3.5 stars (open door scenes, high on the romance but not graphic)

Notes/Opinion (personal):
I was drawn to the story by the cover - it's beautiful. Then I was drawn by the storyline - second chance historical romance between characters that are already married. It was a beautiful story of humility, hope and forgiveness and I highly recommend it.

A forced marriage at a young age is never the best, especially with a dominating father and a tragedy that soon occurs. He runs by enlisting and is gone for five years.

She has endured so much and with an absent husband, has tried to secure a place for her and others.
Luckily an estate is left to her husband and she is in charge. So she is determined to hold her place.

Having matured through his years in service, he is ready to come back to his wife and be responsible. But will she have him?

A second chance romance with a long journey to a happy ever after.

This is the first installment of the new The Audacious Ladies of Audley series. It is also the first for me reading something by Ms. Bennet. I found it to be a charming and sweet story about redemption and second chance at love. Spencer is forced by his father into a marriage that he does not want. He ends up leaving England and abandoning his wife, Delphie. When he returns five years later, he sees his wife in a new light and realizes he wants his marriage to work, but winning Delphie's forgiveness and trust will not be easy. But he is not going to give up and is ready to fight for her. Delphie has already lost so much, and is not willing to lose her heart to the husband that abandoned her. The couple must face the challenges of the past and present before they can move forward together. This was a well-written story that pulled me in from the beginning and kept my attention all the through. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Philadelphia's husband left her after the death of her child for five years. She had loved him, but when he comes back she is not sure she wants him back in her life when she had been making other plans, and they did not include her husband. Her husband has decided he would like to make amends to his wife and wants her forgiveness. Read this book and see what happens between these two characters.

I loved this book! Philadelphia had to do some inward searching to determine what she wanted out of her life. A book worth reading!

Abandoned by her husband at the worst time of her life she never expected him to return six years later. He is trying to make amends for his abandonment. A forced marriage at a tender age made him rebel. But Philadelphia is not ready to give Spencer a chance since she is in a place where she is in command of her life. He convinces her to give him two months to prove himself. While he does so she is not sure she is ready to give up her freedom even though they love each other

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is a first in a new series by an new author to me. In this we have two people that are married young and go through a terrible tragedy. After several years they decide to give the marriage a shot. I did like the premise it was pretty good I just really did not like the lead female Delphie was just annoying and I was not a fan. Overall good story just annoying characters.

Can estrangement be reconciled when there is so much unresolved tension between two people who barely know one another? But mutual attraction might make reconciliation that much easier...

Spencer Burnett, Viscount Stiles, once swore he’d left England for good. Yet after five years of self-imposed exile in West Africa, he’s no longer the same spoiled, selfish boy who ran away from a domineering father, a disappointed grandmother, and a decidedly unwanted wife. Proving himself to the family he abandoned will be no easy task, but Spencer no longer shies away from a good fight. He hardly expects his formerly docile wife will be the hardest to convince. When Philadelphia refuses to accept his apologies—or to allow him back into her bed—Spencer finds himself tempting her into a bargain he cannot afford to lose.
Philadelphia Burnett’s desires were once as vast as the sky. But now, after suffering one devastating loss after another, the only thing she allows herself to want is a home. So when her estranged rake of a husband returns from a five-years’ absence to claim the estate promised to her, Delphie resolves to fight him every step of the way. Beechcombe Park will be a sanctuary for her, and for the wayward Audley cousins she’d promised her sister she’d always protect. She cannot, will not, suffer even one more loss.
Especially not the loss of her heart...
Spencer and Delphia are meant to be together. A controlling father is almost the test of them. It could mean the end of their happily ever after.
Bliss Bennet has written a compelling story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author.
This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

Spencer returns to England after five years in the foreign service in Africa. His wife, Delphie, wants nothing to do with him—not after the way he abandoned her when she needed him most. Can he prove to her he's a better man?

Delphie is complex, outwardly docile but inwardly planning ways to take charge of her life. Spencer has been raised not to show or trust emotion, but he's learning he needs to be more open and expressive with his wife. The book deals with serious subjects but has a happy ending.

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

A read that starts out with estranged spouses. Our heroine Delphie, struggles with forgiveness, Our hero Spencer, with penance, and the father who loves to come between them even after years of their separation. An interesting read. I finished it rather quickly. The pluses: I like that the book deals with reconciliation, especially within a marriage, and that the characters had so many layers. The minus: At times, I wanted to beat the heroine upside her head. She made the hero grovel a little bit too much for my taste. All in all, I was still able to finish and still enjoy the book. I would say this book is for readers 18+. Happy reading!

A sweet, well-developed twist on a second chance romance. Both Spencer and Delphie were pushed by circumstance and domineering relatives into a marriage neither wanted or was prepared for. When tragedy struck, Spencer abandoned his wife without a word. Time and distance change both of them. When the loss of the family matriarch forces them back together, Spencer is determined to do better, but Delphie is committed to guarding her heart.

Spencer is an appealing hero and the chemistry with Delphie, when she lets down her guard, is quite enjoyable. It is easy to root for both characters and their happiness. There is an elaborate side plot about abolitionism in England which may be interesting to readers who like a little more than just straight romance. The story also deals quite explicitly with the death of a baby and this is not clearly warned in the blurb, so FYI to those for whom that might be distressing.

This book is about redemption. A young man is dominated by his father, Lord Morse, and acts out in a rebellious way. He marries a young woman and has a child that dies shortly after birth. Lord Morse dominates and controls all around him. Living with him is to have your whole life controlled. Spencer Burnett ran off to Sierra Leone at the age of 23 and left his wife alone for 5 years. In that time, he has grown up and wants a second chance and this is his story. The book is also about the conditions in Sierra Leone and how the abolitionists were working in England. There is sex in marriage that is a bit racy. I enjoyed the love story more than the historical parts. The writing reminds me a bit of Evie Dunmore.
This is the first in a series and I plan to read the next.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book for my honest review.

5 stars

A second chance story that I really liked. Philadelpia has been married to Spencer for 5 years but he left soon after the death of their son. His father is a bully and eventually his oppression got too much for the rebellious Spencer and he left, unfortunately leaving Delphia, a not very assertive girl, under his corrosive influence. Delpia is hoping that Spencer's grandmother would leave her the house allowing her to invite her cousins who also would benefit from some independance. Much to the Earl's annoyance the house is left to Spencer with Delpia as the executor whilst Spencer is away. At the same time Spencer is on the way back from Sierra Leone hoping to see his grandmother one last time. Bathsheba, Delpia's cousin looks like the next book in the series. She is a quaker who is very much into the abolitionist cause. Lots of good history as well as interesting characterisation.
There is well writing scenes of passion and we find out what prevented Spencer's marriage being a success.

I think you'll love this book and heartily recommend it.

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

Not Quite a Marriage is my second book by Bliss Bennet, and it left me with a similar experience. In this historical romance, the Viscount Stiles has returned from five years in Sierra Leone, having fled his past rebelling under his father's thumb, an unwanted marriage, and grief over the loss of his baby. His wife has also not recovered from the death of their son, and has been suffering from receiving the wish she'd made to marry Stiles when very young, despite his being affianced to her older sister. While well-written, I never connected to the protagonists or their romance. Stiles tries mightily to reconcile with Philadelphia (Delphie) but her character is so weighted down by negative emotions, that while understandable, did not make for particularly enjoyable reading. Adding to it the topics of slavery and an overbearing, manipulative father, it simply was not my cup of tea, though it might very well be someone else's.

Three stars for the quality of writing.

An ARC was generously provided by Netgalley for an unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

Not Quite a Marriage is all about the longing.  Two estranged spouses try to work their way back to one another under a rain of misunderstandings and Bennet’s plumy prose ably guides the way, moving this reader utterly in the process.

Philadelphia  - Delphie - Burnett has one sanctuary to her name – Beechcombe Park, her absentee husband’s family seat.  Within it she plans to house her eccentric and scandalous cadre of female British cousins and continue living her life.  Delphie has lost much since she abandoned her family nest for a marriage that did not work, and Beechcombe Park is her last hope of stability. Then her long-since disappeared husband decides to reassert himself in her life, and she immediately decides to go to war for what matters to her.

Spencer Burnett, Viscount Stiles, has made many a mistake in his young life.  Chief among them was marrying Delphie at his controlling father’s demand and then storming off to West Africa to give the man the metaphorical bird, abandoning the marriage and disappointing his beloved grandmother with his cavalier behavior.  But Spencer’s done a lot of growing up in the five years that have passed, and he decides to return to Beechcombe Park and try to make things right with both Delphie and his family. His bride, toughened by life without him, is no longer the sweet, docile girl he remembers – she will not accept him back into her life or bed, and refuses to believe his excuses. Can they have a real marriage after so much water has passed under their mutual bridge?

Good Lord, is this a fine romance. Not Quite a Marriage is romantic, funny, touching, and extremely well-researched, Spencer and Delphie have a lot of mountains of mistrust to climb.

Bliss Bennet has a wonderfully period-accurate prose style; there’s something almost Austenian about it, and it’s very mature and measured.  The research steams up off of every page.  Her characters are growing, reasoned adults who are trying to make up for their lousy mistakes and be better people.

Yearning is the name of the game, at least until we get midway through the book. Delphie understandably does not trust Spencer and is furious that he wishes to occupy the home she’s promised her cousins, but cannot ignore the electric chemistry between them.  Spencer, meanwhile, has to Grovel Big Time after fucking off to North Africa because he was mad about his father trying to control his life.  He’s learned a lot, grown a lot, and now he’s going to have to prove it.  Eventually the UST is resolved and they figure out how to love each other, but it’s an absorbing trip getting there.

The supporting characters are fun.  I loved the set of Audley cousins we meet in the book – all clearly future heroines.  And I can’t give higher marks for Bennet’s research.  It’s towering, nigh on astoundingly done.

Not Quite a Marriage is a perfect romance, and comes with a high recommendation.

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Lord Morse dominates his son's life forcing him into a marriage he does not want. After the death of his young son, he abandons his wife and ends up in Sierra Leone, Africa. Over five years later, Spencer returns to England on the death of his grandmother. The wife he knew has grown up into a woman he desires. Delphi does not trust him after the pain of his desertion. Spencer has two months to prove himself for a marriage he really wants. Delphi has her own guilt to overcome. Actions speak louder than words. A lot of pain and angst with some steamy sex. The first book I've read by this author is on my wishlist for the next book in the series. Recommended read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.