Historical romance is not always one of my go to comfort genres and I feel this book is a great example of why. The main couple lacked chemistry. If there was any swooning happening, it was over the maid and the stable fella. That couple got "the" kiss of the book.

I knew what I was getting with this book but it still felt even more exploitative than I thought it would be. They were still trying to find a home for these kids way past when it would have been ok to claim them for themselves. The kids were a mess and I got a kick out of them. Stealing nearly everything in the house and hiding it from the butler was making me laugh. They were exactly what this couple needed.

I don't want to knock closed door romances because some people are really into them but this couple could have used the added emotional umph by adding physical intimacy to their story at all.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

I LOVED this book!!! I am not sure why but if any of you have read the original Amelia Bedelia books as a kid, this will give you major nostalgic feelings. I couldn't stop thinking about those books as I was reading it. I laughed SO much. I also loved the romance of it! and the kids! what a SWEET story, that literally made me cry at the end. I can't recommend this book enough, it was amazing!

This is billed as a historical romantic comedy, and for the most part that's accurate! However, more than anything this book is about found family.

Told through not just the eyes of Emmeline and William Pershing (a couple who begin the story in a marriage of convenience), but George and Rose Fletcher (the delightful unruly orphans of the description) and members of the household staff, you know things are going to be fun for everyone involved from the moment one of the nuns laughs after sending the Fletchers away with the Pershings.

Chaos ensues. Lives are changed. Plans are created. Truths are revealed.

If you like the family moments from the Bridgerton books or show, odds are that you'll find this enjoyable! For the most part the romance is secondary to the family being built, but you do get nice hints of it. This book might have ranked a bit higher for me had Emmeline had a different approach to acquiring the children earlier on - I had to just keep on reading with the hope that there would be development for her on that front (there was, though some acknowledgment in retrospect of how odd the first attempts were could have been nice too).

'Something in the Heir,' by Suzanne Enoch is an adorable historical romance. It pulls at all the right heart strings and is fun and light-hearted.

This was such a witty book. The premise in itself was hilarious, and I could not stop laughing throughout the novel. Emmeline needs to get married s soon as possible, so she proposes marriage to her childhood friend Will...Fast forward they are childless and need children asap as they have been lying. They get two orphans, and we see the couple (specifically Emmeline) grow as parents.
This was unique, fresh, and could have been shorter, but I loved this nonetheless.

How far will you go to keep the life you have? How many lies will you tell? And what about those 2 children? I thought this story was cute and it made me smile. How long they practiced on telling the lies then to see how it turned out. Loved it!!!

I don't know who needs to hear this, but public disclaimer guys - Something in the Heir by Suzanne Enoch is NOT a traditional romance. When I looked at the cover I thought romance, hopefully romcom, but I have been trying my best not to let covers influence me in that way since my debacle with A Perfect Marriage. Thankfully it worked this time since the amount of actual romance in here is very minimal. The story is also told from multiple viewpoints including the children's which is probably another reason it doesn't scream romance when you read it. That being said, there is still SOMETHING going on between Emmeline and William, and it was super sweet. They also had some great banter at times which I can never get enough of. I was thoroughly entertained by the storyline and having George and Rose as viewpoints was a brilliant decision by Enoch.

I have no idea how other people will feel, but I think the audiobook is the way to go and I am incredibly happy I decided to listen to it. Sarah Nichols in truth probably sounded a little too old to voice Emmeline, but her voices for the children and the other characters cannot be beaten, and I thought her narration was ace. I really enjoyed the Regency setting and the hilarity that ensues from a couple deciding to 'borrow' children to keep an estate. From the reviews I've seen, it would appear that I enjoyed this a lot more than most and I really do think it has to do with the lack of romance with a cover like it has. I honestly don't even know what genre to categorize it, but if you are a fan of silly shenanigans, laughing, and quirky characters I highly recommend giving Something in the Heir a shot. I'm so happy I bought a physical copy, and I will most certainly be doing a reread at some point. Helloooo new comfort read!

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

Unfortunately this wasn’t for me. I wasn’t able to keep the fact aside that right at the beginning the female MC was treating the children as commodities. I understand that it could be taken in a humorous way but for me that was an instant let down and no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t continue reading. The relationship between the main characters, I couldn’t connect with those and it somehow felt stranded that the story starts eight years later with barely any context between it.

This book is perfect for fans of Julia Quinn. Suzanne Enoch's "Something in the Heir" is a Regency romance. Emmeline and William are childhood friends who in attendance at the same ball agree to a marriage of convenience so that Emmeline can continue to live in her childhood home, one of the ancestral seats of the Duke's, her grandfather, per his conditions. Per the Duke's conditions, the first of his grandchildren to be married would get to live in the house and in addition must produce heirs within 5 years of the marriage to keep living in the house. Eight years after their marriage, Emmeline and William are invited to the Duke's 70th birthday party but the childless couple have a problem. Emmeline, in order to avoid being kicked out, has claimed that she had two children, Malcolm and Flora. William was kept in the dark of these plans and now the two plan to scheme together to avoid being kicked out. They find a pair that fits their description in an orphanage in London. Eventually, the children bring Emmeline and William closer together and they begin acting more like a married couple. At the same time, the couple begins to fall in love with the children despite their desire to escape and their thievery. Eventually, the children make a mess and Emmeline comes clean to her grandfather. Eventually the Duke thinks it over and respects Emmeline for being true to her love for her adopted children instead of just sucking up to him. With that he allows them to stay in their home and the children get to remain with the Pershings. Enoch injects humor and makes light of such serious topics while delicately handling abusive families, adoption and societal issues of the Regency era. This was a great read!

This book has: logical gaps in the plot, adults who think “adopting” orphans just for eight weeks to fool your family is rather gross, a repeated slur for the Romani people, and almost no romance whatsoever in a book marketed as one. But it’s a cute concept with a fun, farcical plot, so maybe you’re the type of reader who can put its issues on the back burner and enjoy this book.

The base of this book is a fun idea — two people enter into a fake marriage and are brought together by crazy circumstances — and Suzanne Enoch makes the very trope-y concept feel fresh. The writing is cute and quirky, and she captures tons of different perspectives (eight, I think?) cleverly and gives each character a distinct voice. There are enough screwball-ish happenings to make my “Bringing Up Baby”–loving heart happy, and the relationship between the two main characters and the children they “adopt” are occasionally heartwarming. (The kids consistently steal the show within these pages.)

But like I said, there are issues. I think the biggest problem with this book is the treatment of the children. Renting orphans — while telling them they’ll eventually be discarded (but don’t worry, they won’t have to go back to the orphanage) felt icky. And no “oh, think of this as a fun holiday!” or “we’re helping educate them so they can have a better future” can get around that. The kids have no agency and are treated as cute little props to further the adults’ agenda. I mean, they literally decide to go to an orphanage after thinking “if only there was a shop for children,” which… yuck. In this book, the main character, Emmie, has told her family she has two kids, and everyone believes her. (She tells her family the kids are sickly, so no one has ever seen them.) Yet all of Emmie’s friends and neighbors know she doesn’t have kids. I know that some families aren’t close and that she meticulously crafted fake stories and milestones about “her” kids (you’ll never convince me she isn’t a Virgo), but c’mon. In the Regency era, there wasn’t a whole heck of a lot to do other than gossip about people!

This book is promoted as a romance — but there’s really no chemistry between Emmie and her husband, Will, and there’s little development in their relationship other than a “I had no idea you felt this way!” I have more chemistry with the bag of Takis sitting next to me as I’m writing this review than those two do. (Those spicy, tempting red snacks have my number, OK?) I never got those butterflies in my stomach or ever felt there was anything particularly adorable about the couple. It’s fine to write a Regency screwball comedy — actually I’d encourage it and would preorder it ASAP — but you have to commit. And this one teetered on the edge but never tipped all the way over. The book came across almost like Enoch didn’t know how to balance the romance with the chaotic happenings. You can have romance in screwballs, but you need there to be tension between the two romantic leads (*cough* Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn *cough*).

Everything in this book felt like too much of a mishmash to really hold together. The pacing felt off, the romance felt off, the main plot point felt off… you get the picture. Go watch “Philadelphia Story” and imagine them in Empire waistlines and coats with tails, instead.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This one was fun, but somehow I kept thinking I was expecting more. This was very much a screwball comedy, but i also kept thinking WHY?!?!?! The kids were cute though.

This is a very different story than I thought I'd get: a fun story with amusing antics, but this was definitely not that. I enjoyed a story by Enoch in the past but this one isn't for me.

Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin for inviting me to read the story.

Emmeline and William Pershing have enjoyed a perfect marriage of convenience. They’ve settled into separate, well-ordered lives beneath the same roof, and are content to stay that way. Although William has secretly longed for more from the woman he adores. When Emmeline’s grandfather, the Duke of Welshire, summons them both for his birthday celebration and demands they bring their two little children, William is stunned to discover that his wife invented two heirs to fulfill the agreement for living at Winnover. But surely if they 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 surprising turns. Perhaps it takes a bit of madness to create the perfect happily ever after.
When I first read the summary for this historical romance, I was intrigued. The concept for this novel seemed interesting and fairly original. Sadly, though, I wasn’t impressed. I didn’t like Emmeline at all, she seemed selfish, conniving, irresponsible, and naïve. She manipulated the whole situation. William seemed very submissive, and I felt he didn’t have a backbone. I honestly was not interested in what happened, and just read it to finish it for this review. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced reader’s copy. This review is my unbiased opinion.

I really enjoyed Emmeline and William's story! I had so much fun watching these two navigate their pretend family. Those kids...OMG!! What fun!

I loved Virginia Heath's Never Fall for Your Fiance, which I have seen this book being compared to, and so i LOVED this book too!! the comedy the romance GAH i had such a fun time really!

This book was unexpected, hilarious, and charming. It has a very unique, chaotic plot and I enjoyed every bit of it! I was hesitant at first about the multiple POVs, however, once I got used to it I loved how it gave us a "true" view of their world. I'm normally not a fan of a "married" romance, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I will continue to read whatever Suzanne Enoch writes!

POV: Multiple
Spice: none

This is a different kind of marriage of convenience story and I actually really did enjoy it but found myself disappointed as it was advertised as a romance, when in fact there is very little romance. What little romance there is is really between two background characters and not the married main characters. If this book had been advertised as historical fiction, I probably would e been able to rate it higher.

We get a POV from almost everyone in this book, even the children, and I thought that was different and interesting, but also made it to where I didn’t feel that I got to know the main characters very well. There was some moments that really made me laugh as well as some emotional ones, and the book was well written, so as long as you go in not expecting a romance, this could be one you end up enjoying as well.

This was an easy and cozy regency novel that was very sweet and wholesome. I liked the characters, even if at times they seemed a little surface level. I would have wanted to see the romance between Emmeline and William develop a little deeper, but overall they were good leads. The children stole the story for me, and I loved their banter and cheekiness. The plot was simple but enjoyable. Overall a nice, comforting, and relaxing read.

The premise of this book sounded like it was going to be funny but when they started trying to borrow other peoples children it just felt really skeevy. The cringe factor was just too much for me.

There were also two instances of completely unnecessary fat shaming of secondary characters in chapters 6 and 7 that left a bad taste in my mouth so I DNF’ed at the end of chapter 7.

Ohh, I loved this. It had so many fun things I love reading about. Landed aristocracy hijinks. Adorable children. A marriage of convenience.

I was pleasantly surprised at how this managed to be equal parts funny and heartwarming. There is a bit of romance, but it's mostly in the background to Emmie and Will's relationship with the children.

I do wish there'd been a bit more interaction with the Duke. It felt like the whole book was building up to a confrontation with him, but when it finally happened, it was all over in a handful of pages.

Overall, a very sweet and amusing story. Enoch is a new author to me, but I'll definitely be reading more of her books in the future.

Content: mostly clean, some language & maybe could be considered very, very closed-door