⭐️⭐️.5

This felt like a silly take on Annie meets historical romance and it just wasn’t for me. I thought the writing was good, clear and interesting take on multi-POV, but ultimately throwing the orphan kids in the equation was a poor choice in my opinion. They were so clearly being exploited and then shipped back to their unfortunate lives and that’s just… not what ya do with kids.

Wasn’t for me but I know others will love with good reason!

Something in the Heir is a humorous, historical romance that was quite enjoyable. In order to inherit, Emmeline had to get married and be the first in her generation to provide a male heir for her grandfather. She married William Pershing and for the last eight years have been living happy, although separate lives. William works in London and has a great career, although he wants more out of the relationship with Emmeline, he has not told her that. Unable to have their own children, Emmeline made up two, a boy eight and a girl three years younger. She claimed they were sickly, so no one questioned that they had not met them, not even her parents. Unfortunately, she has not told William about her lies either. But the time comes when Emmeline’s grandfather, the reclusive Duke of Welshire, summons them both for his birthday celebration and demands they bring their two children. William is shocked to discover that Emmeline has invented not one, but two heirs to fulfill the agreement for living at Winnover. They come up with a plan, they will borrow two children from an orphanage and train them to become their own. What they didn't expect was that George and Rose would be so difficult to pass off as their own.

This book was delightful. It was full of humor, but also sad in the respect of what happened to the orphaned children in London. George and Rose were absolutely wonderful. I wanted to reach into the book and bring them home with me. Were they dishonest? Yes. Were they thieves? Yes. Were they scared children who didn't want to end up back in the orphanage of living with their terrible brother? Yes. I loved how Emmeline and William changed around the children and grew in their relationship with each other. They were both caring and wanted what they thought was best for George and Rose, but what they thought was best, really wasn't. It is quite hard to classify this book- there's a lot of humour, but just a little bit of romance as Emmie and Will re-discover the joy of attraction to each other. The romance in this book is absolutely secondary to …everything else that is happening, above all, the children's shenanigans and the Pershings gradually developing a better understanding of what being a parent or a guardian involves. Not having much of a role model, it doesn't surprise me the Emmeline has no idea. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and loved the children and how they wormed their way into everyone's hearts was the best part.

Emmaline and William Pershing, who have a marriage of convenience, are only permitted to live in their home long-term if they produce an heir within a certain amount of time. When they haven't done so, Emmaline invents a couple of children and writes letters about them to her family. Now eight years have passed, and her grandfather, who is responsible for the fate of the Pershings' living situation, wants to see the non-existent children. After coming clean to her husband, Emmaline decides the only thing to do is to borrow some children and pass them off as their own.

This Regency-era story is filled with humor and heart. The orphan children, Rose and George, are wonderfully written and very believable. The situation is far-fetched, but it lends itself to many funny moments, and also to some emotional ones. Though Emmaline and William do have a romantic plotline, the novel overall is about the formation of an unlikely family as the Pershings soften toward the children and the children learn to trust them in return. The supporting cast is a colorful collection of characters, including the Pershings' household help and the orphans' thieving older brother.

It is necessary to suspend one's disbelief a little bit to enjoy this book. Emmaline's lies to her husband and her idea of using vulnerable orphans to serve her own ends are definite strikes against her character that make it difficult to like her. But the tongue-in-cheek tone of the writing softens this quite a bit, and her journey over the course of the novel does help her to see the error of her ways. If you can accept the somewhat goofy and problematic premise as a given, the rest of the novel is excellent.

Beautiful cover, catchy title, and great synopsis, what could go wrong? When I first saw Something in the Heir among the many romance titles in the NetGalley section I was very excited to read it. It’s always a gamble when I don’t know the author, and since Suzanne Enoch is a new-to-me author I was hoping for the best. Usually when I try a new author I go on reading some of the reviews of other books and try to find mutual reviews, but in this case I went in blindly.

I don’t really consider this a romance book because it was more of a comedy with a good plot that can keep the reader entertained. But, don’t go on expecting your usual historical romance that has steamy scenes to go through. I mean come on, there’s even a bed on the cover and NOTHING happens. And okay, I can enjoy books without romance but I feel like this one needed the romance to feel like more. Again, the whole atmosphere of the book is entertaining enough and I would recommend it if you’re looking for something simple.

*ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fantastic. It wasn’t at all what I originally expected, but I found it to be such a sweet story! It’s not exactly a typical Romance story, but wow. It will sit with me for a long time. The characters were deep, and the kids were awesome!! Also, the author’s witty writing style was so hilarious and engaging! I will absolutely be reading more from her in the future!

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the gifted ebook of Something in the Heir! All opinions in this review are my own.

I will be honest, I'm usually not a huge fan of kids in romance novels but George and Rose really stole the show with this one! I listened to the audiobook and Sarah Nichols does an excellent job voicing the two children and all of their schemes.

However, I wish we had a little more interaction between Emmeline and Will to show their relationship strenthening. While they do talk about their relationship at points, most of their conversations revolved around the children. I would have liked to see them opening up to each other more instead of hearing them thinking to themselves about how they are falling for the other one.

Overall, this was a fun marriage of convenience historical romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and to St. Martins Press publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review. I liked reading this book. It's historical period. Is had some romance. I enjoy reading this because it gives me Jane I'll survives even if there wasn't as much romance in it which I'm okay with. Will recommend it.

Emmeline and William Pershing have been married for eight years. Their marriage of convenience is all well and good at least until it comes up that they apparently have two children. William is stunned to find out that Emmeline has crafted two children in hopes of keeping her home. So now, they are determined to find a couple of kids that they can call their own.

This was such a fun premise that sounded like it would be utterly chaotic and a good time. On one hand, it was a good time. It was chaotic and fun and absolutely as wild as it sounds. On the other, there were numerous moments that left me a little disgusted at how everything was being handled.

Emmeline particularly rubbed me wrong a number of times. She is someone who is so determined to keep what she has that she doesn’t realize, or care it’s a little unclear, about who she hurts along the way to keep it. Getting drunk and inappropriately asking society friends and then going to a local farmer because they have a number of kids they can’t feed anyway, so what’s the harm right? Then making a sizeable donation to secure George and Rose from and orphanage, it all felt a little gross. I’m all for characters doing something like this as long as they learn or it’s challenged in some way, but it never felt like Emmeline really learned.

As I stated before, this is a fun premise. I think that it’s something a number of people could enjoy and have fun with. Though, I do think that it didn’t handle the subject matter very well, so it could be an upsetting read to people who are adoptees or were in the foster care system.

If you can overlook how Emmeline, and William, act through the whole process, this might be a book you can enjoy as there is some comedy and a friends to lovers romance.

This book was so refreshingly delightful in every possible way! It was honestly nothing like I was expecting going into it ,and everything I didn't know I needed in a historical romance. I found myself happy and smiling all the way through.

I loved Emmie and Will's relationship, and George and Rose were so endearingly wonderful. The way the family bond formed was sweet, funny, and really very genuine.

This book had zero on page sex and wasn't spicy at all. It was a very sweet and funny read. I truly loved it!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Short answer: 4 stars is generous. more accurately would be around a 3.25. Had so much quirky and interesting potential and then sort of sputtered along until the end.

Emmeline and William are two folks with very little personality or charm, who we are somehow supposed to believe are the center of this "historical romance". They are in a transactional marriage of convenience, wherein Emmeline is touted as a phenomenal hostess - so good, in fact, that it is the direct reason why William is a successful schmoozer of sorts. Neither appear to have many interesting qualities or passions, nor do they have any friendships of substance with anyone at all.

In order to stay living at her childhood home, they were required to have children They did not and instead lied about it. The time has come for them to present their children to the recluse grandfather and the book plot is based on them renting orphans to play the part and having calamity ensue.

I <b>thought</b> more of the story would center around the children's antics once they got to the grandfather's home. However, almost zero of that happened. The entirety of the book was side plots, a "surprise" brother of the orphans whose entire storyline felt like it pulled away from the actual intended plot and did not add anything of value to drive the story.

There was almost no romance in the entire story. I'm not referring to spice, of which there was also none. This should've been set-up as a historical comedy of errs, sans a romance angle, and I think it would've landed with target audiences much better.

The first half starts off fun, their voices are clear and quicker witted, they had funny awkward interactions with their neighbors and their children which had me thinking it was going to be a delightful ruckus of events.

Then it starts to drag on, and on, and on. Additional side plots that weren't relevant and didn't move the story along, James - as a whole - detracted so much from the story it was distracting. Overall, it was a bit disappointing of a read and I now realize why it took me SO long to muddle my way through it.

A quirky and clever read full of fun and thoroughly enjoyable to devour.

Something in the Heir was a really fun romp! I love historical romances that take a unique twist on relationships, and this one definitely had definitive characters and personalities that had me laughing and swooning. What a fun book! Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Rating : 4 out of 5
Blurbs :
New York Times bestseller, Suzanne Enoch takes a delightful new path in her joyful historical romantic comedy, Something in the Heir.

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.

Thoughts :
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. This is a very different type of historical romance. I somehow enjoy this book. I really surprised at first to find that our MCs have married! but it's very funny and light. This is a very likable book. Highly recommended for any romance fans out there!

First off, I absolutely went into this thinking that it was a romance...and it very much is not. Don't get me wrong, while there is a bit of a romance between Emmie and Will, it is in fact not the primary plot and there are many POVs.

The brother, James, really pissed me off SO MUCH. That whole plot point really annoyed me and felt like it wasn't necessary and just made the book longer than necessary.

Honestly the smartest character in this whole book was George. He never trusts an adult, which honestly given the adults he's around, he shouldn't. He protects himself and Rose as best as he can as a small child. Emmie and Will are at best dumb and at worst incredibly problematic. They quite literally go to an orphanage to rent children that they lied about having in order to maintain their comfort in Emmie's childhood home... YIKES. And then once they fell in love with the children and the children with them, the whole reason they said they couldn't keep them was because the village knows they dont have kids? Could they not have just...said that they adopted children? I truly don't understand.

What this had:
- marriage of convenience
- precocious children that actually didn't annoy me for once
- really good writing
- multiple POVs that weren't difficult to keep track of
- a bananaspants plot
- a closed door romance kinda

What this needed:
- literally just one intelligent adult

Ultimately I did enjoy parts of this but I couldn't get past parts of the plot.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really struggled with this book- I didn’t finish it. I wanted to like it because it’s definitely up my alley- I love a good regency romance, but this plot line was just too contrived. It was even more unbelievable than the only-slightly-better-than-Harlequin-Romance novels. I almost never stop reading once I’ve gotten so far along, but it was just too frustrating to keep going.

Typically regency romances are full of spice and sometimes you're just not in the mood for that. Something in the Heir was a clean, closed door regency romance with all that regency romances typically have but with a sense of humor. I loved the main characters and the plot of this book. I'm a big fan of regency romances and I approve this book.

Emmeline and William have had a marriage of convenience for 8yrs and now a lie Emmeline told long ago has caught up to them and in order to remain living in their home they must immediately produce heirs that are of the correct age. Hence the plan to “borrow” two children from an orphanage to pass off as their children for the big party her grandfather insists on having with all his relatives. With more complications than they initially planned for, Emmeline and William must work together to achieve their goal and along the way they learn more about themselves in the process.

I’m not sure regency romances are for me even though there wasn’t a whole lot of romance happening in this book. The romance storyline was a secondary subplot to the children’s antics and the predicament they were in. I don’t think there was a romantic connection between Emmeline and William past fondness and appreciation; almost like they are just good friends. I wish there was more of a connection or desire for them to be together. I did like how the children changed their relationship with each other and I liked their relationship with the kids.

Overall I liked it but I don’t think I’m the right audience for it. Someone who’s a fan of regency romances will definitely enjoy it.


Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I have nothing against closed-door romance but this is very strange that there were no sex scenes since the author does have them in her other books, I think because of this I wasn't able to get into it as much as I would have liked

For the most part, I just can't get myself in to historical books - romance, fiction, non-fiction, doesn't matter the sub genre, I just can't get into it. I found myself struggling to get through this, not because it was bad, but because I just can't say I like historical stories. So in the end, I wasn't thrilled and really had to push myself to get through it. It was an okay story, just not for me. 3 stars, because I can't say it wasn't a good book, I just didn't like it.

Unfortunately I am not finishing this one as I just cannot get past the first 25% without being completely annoyed, angry and disgusted by the main characters. The writing is fine but the premise just makes me so angry. I do not really want to know how it ends

I enjoyed reading Something in the Heir by Suzanne Enoch - Happy Reading!

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**