*sᴛᴇғᴀɴ ᴠᴏɪᴄᴇ*
This book has it all!
✔️ cute kids
✔️ meddling servants
✔️ relatives chasing an inheritance
✔️ crime
✔️ A character who needs to fuck a meat grinder

This is perfect for fans of Virginia Heath and silly regency romances.
This does NOT bang. I'm honestly not sure the main couple ever successfully had sex before just assuming she's infertile. There's almost no chemistry between them.
The plot felt a little needlessly complicated. It was never quite clear why they couldn't just tell the neighbors they adopted two kids. And we're really supposed to believe they managed to avoid her family for SEVEN YEARS???
I gave it 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. It's hard to suspend the disbelief but seeing Will and Emmeline fall for the kids was an enjoyable ride.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love books set in the Regency Era in England. I thought the concept of this book was unique and a nice change from the typical regency romance. I enjoyed the many characters throughout the story and thought the addition of the children's characters added some humor and sweetness into the story.

I did find the story to lack romance between the two main characters. I thought the story was a little to slow paced for me at times and would have liked their relationship to progress a little quicker. I also found the story to be too unrealistic.

Overall, I thought the story was sweet and appreciated the unique spin the author took on a romance during this time period.

I would give this book 3.5 stars

Thoroughly delightful romance featuring great characters. Excellent pacing and plot lines. I loved the twisty unexpected path the novel took to the happily ever after! Will definitely read other books by this author.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with an eARC through NetGalley!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Something in the Heir by Suzanne Enoch is an absolutely adorable historical rom-com. The story revolves around Emmeline, whose grandfather, the Duke of Welshire, is giving away her family home to the cousin who marries first. Emmeline quickly convinces one of her suitors, Will, to get married so that they can get the house. Then, when her grandfather stipulates that the pair must have children, she invents some. But now, her grandfather wants to see them in person. Where can Emmeline and Will find children to play the parts?

Here is a captivating excerpt from the Prologue:

"He turned her about the dance floor in silence. Was he looking for a way to turn her down without hurting her feelings? Or had he not yet caught on? She took another breath. Subtlety was for people with time. “We should get married, Will. You and I. Winnover Hall would be ours. It’s only a day from London, much more practical than your Arriss House in Yorkshire for a man who means to work for the government.”
His face paled, and she felt his shoulder stiffen beneath her hand. “I—”
“And I would be the perfect partner for you,” she pressed."

Overall, Something in the Heir is a historical rom-com that will appeal to fans of Bridgerton or Nanny McPhee. One highlight of this book is the hilarious premise. It's funny to see the lengths that Emmeline and Will will go to in order to keep Winnover Hall. I did take off 1 star, because I didn't enjoy the parts from the children's perspectives, and I preferred the parts from the adults' perspectives. Instead of a rom-com, the book turned into a family comedy. I'm sure many readers will still enjoy it though. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of historical novels, I recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in September!

Emmeline has done a lot to fulfill the requirements to keep her family home, including marrying William. What even William doesn’t know though is that she has also lied about having children and the truth is about to come out as a family gathering looms. Not ones to admit defeat, Emmeline and William adopt two children to continue the masquerade. But have they taken on more than they can handle?

I didn’t find this to really be a historical romance as the romance was quite minimal in my opinion. I really enjoyed the secondary romance but would have liked to see more between the main characters.

I did find parts of this to be quite funny and enjoyed the characters of the children quite a lot. Overall, I wish this had been a bit faster paced.

I give this three and a half stars rounded up to four stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review!

Honestly, this book was difficult to get into - the MCs we’re not very likable as the FMC got married and lied to be able to keep a family estate. They used two orphans, whom Emmeline and William repeatedly tell that they’re going to send them back to the orphanage, and wonder why the children don’t trust them. The humor saves it from being a 2 star, I can’t give it any more than a 3.

Something in the Heir
by Suzanne Enoch
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Series: None
Rated: 3
Obtain: Borrow
Back of the Book: “Smart, capable heiress Emmeline Pershing will do anything to keep her beloved home; and all it takes is an arranged marriage and a teeny white lie to fulfill her family’s silly inheritance rules. But now her little fib means that she and her completely unsuspecting husband are going to inherit big — and very messy! —trouble.
Emmeline and William Pershing have enjoyed a perfectly convenient marriage for eight years. Their relationship is a seamless blend of their talents and goals. They’ve settled into separate, well-ordered lives beneath the same roof, and are content to stay that way—or so Emmeline thinks. And if William has secretly longed for a bit more from the woman he adores, he’s managed to be content with her supreme skills as a hostess and planner, which has helped him advance his career.
Then when Emmeline’s grandfather, the reclusive Duke of Welshire, summons them both for his birthday celebration and demands they bring their two little angelic children, William is stunned to discover that his very proper wife invented not one, but two heirs to fulfill the agreement for living at Winnover. But surely if Emmeline and William team up and borrow two cherubs to call their own, what could go wrong? Enter George, age 8, and Rose, 5—the two most unruly orphans in Britain.
As the insanity unfolds, their careful, professional arrangement takes some surprisingly intimate turns as well. Perhaps it takes a bit of madness to create the perfect happily ever after.”
Impressions: This was a cute story with a predictable but sweet ending. Although I generally read clean romance this does not qualify as there was a racy scene at the beginning. The remainder of the story was built up tension between the couple as they fell in love. Falling in love with your spouse sounds strange but it is entirely necessary; marriage, relationships can be challenging. This story was looking at falling in love with your spouse from a different perspective however. The characters were fun but the story was unlikely in nature. Still, it was enjoyable to read.
I received an ARC of this book via the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review shared here. For more book reviews go to: https://simplyannehere.wordpress.com

I don’t think this book was really for me, but there were some sweet and funny parts.

Emmeline and William Pershing were friends for years and now have been in a marriage of convenience for years to support their end goals…Emmeline getting Winnover, a family estate, and William having a successful career with the help of Emmeline’s wonderful hosting skills and connections.

The couple live separate lives under one roof all while William harbors wants for more. Then Emmeline’s grandfather, the reclusive Duke of Welshire, summons them for his birthday and demands they bring their children, which is when William is shocked to discover that the woman, he wants more from has invented two heirs to fulfill the agreement for living at Winnover. So, together they go about seeking 2 children to help with their ruse and all chaos and shenanigans ensue from there.

I gave this book 2.5 stars rounding up to 3 because of the humor, but I couldn’t believe William and Emmeline’s lack of empathy in going to their peers, a farmer, and finally, the orphanage to get children to masquerade as their own. They never once stopped to reflect or had an internal conflict about it. Then they lament about the lack of trust the children have in them, without considering what it would be like for these kids and still fully intending of sending them back to the orphanage throughout most of the book…this selfishness is what really lost me. I realize it helped to build tension to make the reader not believe the book was headed in the direction it most definitely was, but it just made me unable to fall in love with the main characters.

Lastly, I want to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin for this ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review.

This was a bonkers story, and I kept reading to see how it would turn out, so in that sense it really succeeded. I hated that it was completeLy closed door. Hated. There was very little heat btn the 2 main characters, and ultimately thus felt more like woman’s fiction than romance, because there wasn’t really romance, it was a fun romp, and watching 5e family come together was delightful, but it wasn’t romance.

Something in the Heir Review Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

1/5

My first issue, not plot related, is that there are several typos and mistakes within the book. Misplaced “” and incorrect grammar. This makes me question if it has been thoroughly proofread as I haven’t received any other books with this many mistakes.

ex. page 312 “there’s shouldn’t”.

Now, onto the actual plot itself:

Wow. When I tell you that this book sounded like such a cute and fun read, I wouldn’t be lying. I would be lying if I said it met my expectations and I actually enjoyed reading it.

This book was pitched as a “Historical Romance”, now typically I don’t go for Historical books but I was wanting to expand my reading. Clearly, I should have chosen a different book to get me into the genre.

This book, disappointingly, was not really a romance. I was excited to read about a convince marriage where they guy actually loved the girl and watch her fall in love with him too. That was not this book.

This book is where they barely talk for 8 1/2 years of their marriage, the entire marriage basically. Then it comes to light that the wife lied to her Grandfather about having 2 children with her husband to keep the house, since she was infertile and the condition for keeping the home was to have a kid.

Invited to her grandfather’s birthday, Emmie now has to face her lie.

So then she goes on to ask neighbors to, get this, BORROW their kids. It might have been okay if she had looked after them before, the parents and kids were okay it, and she told them why or gave more of an explanation.

But, alas, she comes off creepy so, of course, the parents say no.

That's when the genius, hint at my sarcasm, idea comes up. It goes something like this:

“If only there was a shop so we could buy a kid :(“

“Oh! There is! The orphanage!! :D”

… no one else see the issue with this??

They end up “borrowing” two kids for 8 weeks and train them to be all proper for their little lie.

Then they threw in the childrens’ older brother, an unnecessary and irritating “plot twist”. Maybe I would have given the book 2 or 3 stars if not for this.

But, we will never know.

At the end, the kids mess up, the lie is discovered and the husband loses his job.

The end.

Throughout the entire book I could never tell right away whose perspective it was in. The chapters are unnamed and don’t disclose whose pov it’s in. The perspective would change during the chapters as well, which only made me more confused.

This book felt like a dumpster fire of a story, for me, it lacked any real organization and the ending was rushed. So much “build up” for a let down of a resolution.

The beginning was promising! Unfortunately, 20% in I realized the book had already peaked.

Overall, this book was repetitive and irritating. “A struggle to push through, and you will wish you hadn’t picked it up” is how I would pitch it. Honestly, I don’t get why people liked it. I came for the romance, but got characters I could not care less and a disappointment of an ending, the servants were the only characters I liked.

4.25/5⭐️

This one was such fun…unbelievable, but wonderful just the same. This is my third from this author, and I’m definitely looking for more.

Emmeline, a young woman of 18, hurriedly weds her childhood friend William (20) in order to retain her beloved country home. Her grandfather (a duke) has stipulated that the couple must have a child within 5 years to keep it.

After 8 childless years, in a desperate effort to save their home, Emmie “invents” 2 children (on paper). When she and William are summoned for the duke’s birthday celebration, they “borrow” George & Rose, siblings from an orphanage. Then things get interesting and even wackier. And you can probably guess where it leads.

Yes, even though the premise is over-the-top, it’s also heart tugging and amusing. And the focus (other than on the kids), is the slow build to love for a more mature couple than they were as very young adults (and surprise, there are no intimate scenes…and even more surprising, I didn’t miss them). Even though it did drag a bit in places, the outstanding characters (leads, children and household staff) were worth the leisurely pace. Totally enjoyed.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing the free early arc of Something in the Heir for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

This is a closed door historical romance with a funny twist. Emmeline and William Pershing have had a marriage of convenience for 8 years - a marriage that Emmeline proposed to her friend William just so that she could keep her childhood home. Her grandfather, a duke, has developed a strange set of rules for inheriting one of his properties, Winnover. To inhabit it, you must be one his descendants, marry soon after you come of age, and then you have five years to produce an heir, which then allows you to keep the house. Emmeline, desperate to keep Winnover, secretly lies to her grandfather and the rest of her family, claiming that she and William, who are actually childless, have a 7 year old boy and a 5 year old girl. When the duke insists that the whole family, including children, be invited to his birthday party, Emmeline has to come clean with William, who had no idea she'd invented these children, and the two of them work together to figure something out. Instead of telling the truth, they basically rent some orphans to pretend to be their kids. It all works out the way you would expect, with many hijinks along the way, including a lot of petty theft, dancing and fencing lessons, a dastardly older brother, and some ponies. This is extremely light on the romance (though that element is there) and more about what it means to be a family. It got a little slow for me in parts, but I found the kids really charming.

dnf @ 52%

Usually I'd finish the book if I got this far into it, but sadly I don't think I can stand sitting through every single etiquette lesson the kids have to do and how the adults have to cajole them into doing them. I got halfway through the book yet barely anything had happened.

I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ugh, I had hopes that this would be interesting and different from others in the historical fiction genre. And it was certainly different but not in a good way.

This is not a well-executed story. A marriage of convenience where someone is secretly in love with their partner is a common trope and they all have their unique elements. This one was unique in almost entirely ignoring the romance, treating it more as an afterthought. The stipulation that they have children to remain in the house, and Emmie's lie to save them, is something I haven't seen before. But it got boring fast. This story is way longer than it needs to be.

The point of view that the story is being told from flip/flops more than necessary. Sometimes it changes in the middle of a chapter, apropos of nothing! It seems like a bit of lazy storytelling and put me off.

The characters are hit or miss. Emmie and Will are pretty forgettable. George and Rose are more developed and nuanced and make for more interesting reading. Even Powell, Hannah, Billet and the rest of the staff are more compelling!

I've read better historical fiction stories that tackle similar themes. I wouldn't recommend this one.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Something in the Heir seemed like it would be a cute little historical romance. Have no fear, it completely was. It just took me a while to get into everything. Don't get me wrong, I liked Emmeline and William as friends. Especially in the beginning because of them dancing and talking about marriage. Yet, I kept thinking it was going to blossom into something way more romantic right after that.

Unfortunately, the marriage seemed to be built on convenience and nothing else. Sure, they were friends and all, but it didn't seem like love was in the picture. Which hurt my heart a bit because we all knew what these two needed in order to keep the house: heirs.

Eventually the romance came but the stars of the show were George and Rose. Now these two were such a delight. Of course, once they were "rented" by Emmeline and William, I had a feeling that they were going to work their way into their hearts. It was bound to happen and I'm so glad that these two decided to make them apart of the family. Permanently.

In the end, the drama surely came to shake things up. Even though I wished for things to get better romantically, I am happy that they have George and Rose in their lives. Definitely happy that I got the chance to jump into this and look forward to Suzanne's next book!

Not what I was expecting at all. Overall, the premise was intriguing - Will and Emmie got married so she could stay in the family home. When they didn't have kids in time, another condition to live there, she lied and made up two kids. Then, the duke wants to meet them so what will they do?

Enter George and Rose - two orphans they "borrow" to fill the role. What ensues is hijinks between everyone as they prepare for the duke's house party. What doesn't ensue - any kind of real romance between Will and Em! The romance is ice cold and practically nonexistent which was disappointing to me. I expected more. The issues with the lying and the children was very repetitive and could have been condensed to allow for more romance. Will and Em have been married for 8 years and it's been a lot of not communicating about anything. The fact they decide they love each other almost happens outside of the story.

Overall, not one of my favorites from Enoch.

Thanks to the publisher for review copy via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a lovely mix of both a friends-to-lovers and instant-family tropes. A great blend of silly and sentimental all mixed in an historical-fiction world.
If any of those things are your jam, and you're looking for a light read, give this one a go.

Overall a solid 3.5/4 but rounding up to 4.

I was given a free copy of this book from netgalley, but my review was not influenced in any way.

What a fun read! I like Historic Romances, so I knew that I wouldn't have any trouble reading this one, the premise sounded different enough to not be the same book I've read countless times, and this book did not disappoint! I didn't want to stop reading, it was so enjoyable. Imagine making a deal with a friend, to get married, which will benefit you both. This is what Emmaline does, in order to keep her home, and proceeds to send letters to her grandfather, keeping up an allusion of a perfect marriage (and family)! And it works perfectly, until Emmaline's grandfather invites the family to celebrate his 70th birthday. Now Emmaline needs to find 2 children to pretend to be part of her perfect family.

3.5 Stars This book was not at all what I was expecting, but was an unexpected delight, nonetheless! It was listed as a romantic comedy, but I would say that it leans much closer to the comedy side of that than the romance side. In order to keep their home, Emmeline and Will Pershing take in two precocious orphans, George and Rose, to fulfil the stipulation from Emmeline's grandfather that they have children in order to stay in Winnover Hall. Since Emmeline couldn't have children, she lied to her grandfather and made up two children. When the Pershings receive an invite to her grandfather's birthday party, they need two children to play the part.

This book was much funnier than I expected it to be and I absolutely loved George and Rose. They were adorable and hilarious (especially George's go-to insult of calling someone a "fart catcher"). The story is told in the third person, but the POV alternates between most of the characters, including Emmeline, Will, George, Rose, Hannah the lady's maid, Billet the groom, Powell the butler, and George and Rose's older brother James. I didn't think I would like how the POV jumped around, but it gave great insight into what each of the characters saw and felt, especially George and Rose.

Since this was characterized as a romcom, it could've done with some more romance. The author built up Emmie and Will each wanting more than a partnership and to be in a real marriage, but we clearly missed the conversations and reunion that led up to them deciding to live as a real couple. They went from both wanting each other to Rose remarking that they were sharing the same bed, which they hadn't before. I wish we had gotten more about Emmie and Will's rekindling of their relationship. This was still a great read and I really enjoyed it!

This is a well written historical romance with likable characters and some "wise" young orphans that are "old" before their time. I enjoyed this story about Emmie and Will and how their lives transitioned from family friends to spouses to "partners" and then finally to the realization that their lives could be so much more. Two little scamps, Rose (5) and George (8); are orphans that Emmie and Will "borrow" from a London orphanage to help Emmie and Will keep their home.

I found this story to be engaging and delightful as well as suspenseful at times. I think the characters have depth as the story unfolds and some of the secondary characters are very well explored too. The premise of the book was interesting; that a Duke would allow certain members of the family to live in a specific place as long as they fulfilled the requirements of an agreement. If not, it would go to the next offspring that could.