It was refreshing to read an independent heroine who's occupation was being a blacksmith, it's not too common in historical romances and it was a nice change.

Add in a scoundrel and a marriage of convenience and it turned this into an enjoyable read.

Hopefully there is a story in the works for the Duke.

I have been eagerly awaiting for this book!

Female Blacksmith ✅
Thief Hero ✅
Heroines saves the day ✅

I love an excellent redemption of characters, especially the heroes. Add in a strong self sufficient blacksmith heroine and I am utterly smitten.

There is so much chemistry between Gwen and Kellan, and I love that they kind of switched the traditional roles of the relationship in this book.

I am crossing my fingers that we’ll finally see the Duke’s HEA in the next book, I have a slight suspicion we now know who his heroine is.

This is book three in the series, but could definitely be read as a standalone.

4 stars - It was really good

When Gwen Gully finds a criminal hiding in her smithy she knows she should just let the mob have him and forget about him. But instead she fights to save him and finds herself pledged into a marriage of convenience.

I picked this book up because of its beautiful cover and then the blurb sold me. One of my favorite tropes is marriage of convenience and this one also had two other favorites: forced proximity, and one bed. So as you can imagine, this book was very enjoyable for me. I really enjoyed Gwen and Kellan’s relationship.

Gwen Cully is an independent, hard working, and kind woman. She has been keeping her family's blacksmithing business going for years, while also taking care of her sick uncle and father. She is struggling to keep her business, which she loves, alive and figure out her future. I really loved Gwen. She was a strong independent woman who wanted both a business and a family. I really enjoyed watching her fight her feelings for Kellan.

Kellan Fox is a rogue and has spent his life deceiving others with his father. After being saved by Gwen he finds himself longing for a normal life, and he finds that with Gwen, even if he does fight it at first. I really enjoyed seeing Kellan grow as a character and break away from his toxic father. He fell surprisingly quickly for Gwen, which I wasn’t expecting, but I did really enjoy watching him try to seduce her with his charms.

Gwen and Kellan’s relationship was surprisingly steamy with lots of heavy petting, steamy looks, and even some voyeurism. Like I said, I enjoyed their relationship a lot. This was my first Sophie Jordan book and I quite enjoyed it. I am now thinking about reading the previous books in this series to see how Gwen’s friends fell in love.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable marriage of convenience historical romance. If these tropes that I have mentioned are some of your favorites, then I suggest giving this book a try.

Trigger Warnings: death of family members, attempted hanging, neglectful father,

This book was different. Never have I read a book where the main heroine was a blacksmith. In dire situations like Gwen's authors usually write their female characters to be a governesses, lady's maid, companion or something to that sort. So for historical romance this was new and refreshing.

This book was low on angst making it a very comfortable read. Steam was okay too. 4 total love scenes although 2 were short.

Kellan's a villain/con artist, Gwen is the local blacksmith. They both help eachother to achieve goals they both want and fall in love. The ending happened abruptly but i did enjoy this book. The author did a great job bring Gwen and Kellan together with their HEA.

Sophie Jordan stole my heart with The Scoundrel Falls Hard because this book really took me out from my HR slump. I didn't expect to love it so much and yet I did. It really got me hooked from the beginning till the end. I really love the characters and the romance is just *chef kiss*. Highly recommend!

Is there anything hotter than a marriage of convenience? The way Sophie Jordan writes her heroines is a work of art. Independent and full of fire, Gwen is no exception. I picked up this book because the premise of a female blacksmith was one I hadn't read before and it did not disappoint. While the ending was a bit abrupt and I was begging for more blacksmithing lessons, the romance was sweeping and full of splendor.

Marriage of convenience between a fiercely independent lady blacksmith and a known scoundrel on the lam? This book was perfection.

There were many things I enjoyed about this book but overall it fell a little flat for me, but I struggle to pinpoint exactly what didn't work for me. I do think the ending was a bit fast, and the steamy scenes here didn't quite click as I wanted them to. But as always, I never regret reading a Sophie Jordan book, and this was no exception - reading this book was a quick, fun way to spend the afternoon.

Thank you to the published for an advanced copy!

The Scoundrel Falls Hard features Gwen Cully, a female blacksmith, and Kellan Fox, a swindler. The couple meet when Gwen claims to love Kellan in other to save him from a crowd-instigated hanging. The couple strike a bargain to stay married for one year in other to save his life and save her and her business from reputation blunders. While getting to know each other, the couple fall in lust and love.

Likes:
--I was so glad to read historical about "common" people (those outside of the nobility). I can think of very few novels where the MCs have blue collar jobs and/or aren't extremely rich. Thank you, Sophie, for featuring "normal" folks.
--One of my two favorite tropes of all time is represented in this book, which is being saved at the absolutely last second from the gallows.
--Gwen was an independent woman who owned her own business and could take care of herself without a man.
--The book was an easy and quick read.


Dislikes:
--The first meeting day takes more than 35% of the book (it was approximately 33% of the totality of the pages, but less than 90% of the totality of the pages were this story. More than 10% were chapters from the previous two books). It's hard to cram a successfully built and believable love story in such a short amount of time.
--I didn't buy the love story. Too much time was spent in the MCs thoughts (often while they were apart) or with other people. There was not enough time spent on conversation between the MCs.
--The MCs never actually talked about the big conflict that occurred. It felt unresolved.

Overall, not my favorite read, but there were some bright spots.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. This did not affect my opinions in any way.

Just as my review on the previous book in this series, this book was also just fine! It was entertaining and it kept me busy and it was fun, but it fell a little flat for me. Was this book my favorite ever? No, but did I have fun? Yes.

The same issues I had with the last book, I had with this book: the romance was underdeveloped, the plot was a little boring and repetitive, and the book started off strong with an enticing premise, but ultimately fell flat. A female blacksmith and a runaway scoundrel having a marriage of convenience sounds like everything I would love in a historical romance novel, but unfortunately the story and the tropes did not come together very well.

It was a fun and flirty novel, but not my favorite.

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager and Netgalley for providing me with an Advanced reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review.

Gwen Cully is the village blacksmith. Kellan Fox is a con who has been impersonating the son of a local duke. When the town discovers his ruse, they attempt to hang him, but Gwen steps in to save his life by claiming they are in love. The town people call her bluff and demand marriage between the two to prove their love. Gwen and Kellan continue the ploy and agree to marry in three weeks time. Over the course of twenty one days, Gwen and Kellan develop a growing attraction for each other and must contend with misogynistic rival blacksmiths as well as Kellan’s swindling father.

The premise was awesome and I loved reading about Gwen in the previous book. It’s not very often you come across a female blacksmith in historical romance. Unfortunately, the novel didn’t really live up to my expectations. I didn’t feel much chemistry between Gwen and Kellan. I also felt like some storylines were left unfinished. The gross men of the Meyer family were degrading and sexually harassed Gwen, but they never got their comeuppance. I also felt like the conclusion of Kellan’s thief father storyline was hastily solved. It was just kind of an unmemorable novel. I am interested to see if the real Duke of Penning gets a novel though.

Gwen and Kellan. The blacksmith and the scoundrel.

To save his life , Gwen says she loves Kellan, and they are betrothed. He slowly proves to her that she is worthy of love. This was a sweet story with the exception of the very abrupt ending, I love when I can get committed to a couple’s HEA.

I received an ARC of "The Scoundrel Falls Hard" by Sophie Jordan from Netgalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Kellan Fox, a con man is about to be hung for impersonating a Duke's son when Gwen, a blacksmith, and a stranger saves him by proclaiming her love for him to spare him the noose. The two characters then agree to a paper marriage for the duration of one year. Their mutual attraction seems to bring out their natural romantic hearts. This is a beautifully set story of how some coincidences are just meant to be, and how no matter how hard we resist fate and temptation, if something is meant to be, it will be. A riveting fast paced coming together story.

This was a quick enjoyable read. It did exactly what it set out to do. I would definitely read another by her. It was funny, steamy and nicely paced. 3.5 stars

I am absolutely loving this book. I read the first in the series but sort of lost track. I'm so glad I found my way back. We have another fraud duke, this time on the run. Kellan hides in Gwen's blacksmith shop before being dragged out to be hanged by embarrassed villagers. Gwen doesn't really have a stake in the fight except she doesn't want to see a man hanged. So, she declares she loves him and he's sent home with her as a sort of test. I love Gwen and I think her blacksmithing is so cool. I really like Kellan and how honest he is about growing up as a thief-fraud-person. This book is very romantic, with a lot of chemistry and stolen kisses and banter. I sort of wish there was more black-smithing instruction, but I really loved how much this swept me up in the plot. I love it. A+

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher of this novel for the E-Arc copy. I am rating this book based on my own personal opinion and was not given anything in return. I am not leaving a entire review because I read so many at a time that I physically cannot right now.
#TheScoundrelFallsHard #NetGalley.

The best thing about this book is the cover. Which, to be fair, is absolutely magnificent. I just keep trying to read Sophie Jordan's books and keep being left feeling unsatisfied. I loved the "tomboy" heroine and the right true scoundrel of a hero, I just didn't feel like the book showed me their relationship or any sort of plot in a way that felt full and satisfying. It just felt like a collection of scenes that somehow wrap up with a perfect bow.

I enjoyed parts of it but on the whole, this one just didn't work for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for this ARC,

This is more of a 3.5 than a solid 3 for me, mostly due to the fact that the ending feels very abrupt.

I really enjoy Sophie Jordan books as a general rule and this was not an exception by any means. I especially loved that neither of the main characters in this book were nobility, and instead they both came from working class backgrounds. Gwen is a blacksmith, running her own smithy by herself, and Kellan is a thief and a conman, though he does have a set of morals that he tries to stick by in his cons. Through Gwen's act of kindness, they get roped into an engagement to save Kellan's life and Gwen's smithy.

The chemistry really works here, and both characters are not used to being taken care of or having a solid foundation of support between them. Gradually you understand why they are drawn to each other and how their respective protectiveness serves their love story. The only problem is that the ending is just so abrupt that it feels like you're missing a third of the book. There's no real resolution until the epilogue of the major issue the couple face in the climax nor is there really a resolution to Gwen's financial issues or her competition with the other blacksmith family in the area. I liked these characters so much, I wish that I had been able to spend more time with them and to also see more of Kellan's relationship with his father.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Such a fantastic historical romance! This book can be read as a stand alone and I can't wait to read more!

Gwen was used to being the only blacksmith in her small town until the Meyers moved in and started stealing her business and making veiled threats and offering to merge their businesses contingent upon Gwen marrying one of Mr. Meyer's sons.
Kellan is a first-class swindler, most recently playing the role of the ducal heir. His father of course played the role of the duke, and upon discovery flees, leaving Kellan to face the music--the music, in this case, being an angry mob seeking to hang Kellan. Kellan is rescued by Gwen after hiding in her smithy, by revealing to the crowd they are in love and exchanging an impassioned kiss. This is, of course, their first meeting. Kellan and Gwen make a deal to remain married for one year for both their sakes, but with no physical benefits.
I think part of the reason this one wasn't my favorite in the series is that Gwen was built up over the first two books, and when the audience gets excited about a specific story, it is always difficult to live up to. With historical romances, you always know how it will ultimately end up, but for some reason, this one felt a little too expected, a little too contrived. The conflict was sort of a rehashing of their first fight, and the spice was scant and often unfulfilling. I found myself checking how far I was in the book far more than I do with a historical romance I love and lose myself in, so this was disappointing. This book had a lot of my favorite tropes, and the story sort of just stumbled along, without much design or chemistry between the Hero and heroine.
I'm giving this two stars, but will continue to read and enjoy the series/author as I did love the previous two!
Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager via Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.