Eleanor is a opinionated woman in search for a husband. Right from the beginning of the book you are overwhelmed with an seemingly endless list of relatives and references to previous stories which are undoubtedly summarized in the previous books. I found it a bit difficult to imagine the family dynamic, but anyway, they are a close-knit family. Eleanor wants to find the perfect husband who will let her keep a measure of independence, so she makes a marriage list.

John, the marquess of Montagu, needs to find a wife himself and decides a docile wife is a good option, but then Eleanor catches his eye and he decides to pursue her. A lot of time and pages are filled with the rules of courtship in that age, almost a summary, and the many details make it a bit of a boring read. John doesn’t come cross as a strong man who knows what he wants and takes initiatives, but a man who is puzzled and caught off guard by all the procedures of courting a lady. The topics of conversations, the number of dances, the introduction to the other person, vouchers to Almacks and the permission of certain ladies to even ask Eleanor to dance - it is all written down inthe book. All of that, together with the endless family members you don’t know when you haven’t read the previous books, makes it a bit of a tedious read. I missed the chemistry.

The whole mining plot, which started on page one, is kind of picked up in chapter 33, and doesn’t add much to the book. Too bad because I had high expectations of this book. Maybe you need to red the previous books in this series, but this book didn’t really succeeded in capturing my attention.

I kindly want to thank NetGalley for supplying me with a copy. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The highlight of this book for me was the familiarity and comfort of the Worthington family. I love a good historical romance series (and spinoff) about various members of a large family and often their close friends. It makes the character cameos enjoyable and exciting to see your favorites return and add to additional stories, and diving into characters in their own novels becomes a comforting pastime.

The Marriage List, while exciting and letting me dive back into one of my favorite historical romance families.... was not the best Ella Quinn nor Worthington family book I've read. It's a low-angst romance, so there wasn't a lot of conflict, which was fine! Low-angst stories can be amazing. But usually what I'm looking for in a slow-angst is some real deep dives into the characters and lots of development or just stellar story-telling.

John got a lot of growth and development in this which I LOVED. Eleanor on the other hand... didn't change much. She was still a strong heroine, and their story was very cute, but her character did remain largely the same.

Overall, this wasn't a bad start to a new series, and I think if you love the Worthington's and are familiar with the family and characters, you will enjoy returning to their world and stories. :)

The Marriage List is set to be published on January 3, 2023. Thank you to Kensington Books, Zebra, NetGalley and the author for the Advanced Reader's Copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved how family oriented, The Marriage List, is. Eleanor's whole family is and anyone even considering joining the family better be too. John comes from a small family but can't get enough of Eleanors.
I enjoyed reading this book. One of the chapters seems out of place but didn't take away from the enjoyment.

Three sisters, about to have their first Season, make a list of all the traits their would-be husbands should possess. Eleanor and John are attracted to each other at first sight. Eleanor is not sure he is the one and puts him through some tests before she decides. John thought he wanted a docile wife and discovers that, while he likes and admires Eleanor, she is certainly not docile. I know Eleanor has a lot of family who are close to her (people featured in previous books). I found the amount of secondary relatives to be excessive to try to keep track of. Surely some of them could have been out of town! A family tree or who’s who in the front of the book would have been helpful. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Kensington Books for my honest review.

2.5 of 5 stars

I was looking forward to reading this book as Ms. Quinn is one of my favorite authors. Unfortunately, this book was a mess. Instead of focusing on Lady Eleanor and Lord Montagu, there was chapter after chapter about many others of the Worthington clan. It's a huge family and too much of the book kept focusing on a brother or a cousin or a sister. It was so distracting. I just wanted to read about Eleanor and John, but I found myself skipping pages just to get back to their story. I hope the next book which will probably be about Eleanor's twin sister will be more succinct and focus on the love story.

"By popular demand, USA Today bestselling author Ella Quinn returns Regency England's beloved extended family, The Worthingtons, for the first in a sparkling new spin-off series! Determined to tame the marriage market on their own terms and make advantageous love matches, three confident sisters draw up a list of qualities they expect their new beaus to meet. But as they are about to discover, people are hardly ever perfect and the road to love is far more thrilling and interesting than they could ever have imagined...

As part of a large, rambunctious family, Lady Eleanor Carpenter has gained some knowledge of what makes a successful marriage. She's even compiled a list of essential qualifications in a potential husband. John, the Marquis of Montagu, seems of good character (check), with money enough to support a family (check). But what of the many other requirements on her list?

Montagu, meanwhile, believes the key to a comfortable life lies in marrying someone quiet and docile. Yet the one lady who captivates him could hardly be more different to what he envisioned. Lady Eleanor is as opinionated as she is lovely, determined to improve working conditions for coal miners, even at risk to her own safety.

From evenings at Almack's to carriage rides in Hyde Park, this Season will contain many pleasures - and a few surprises that compel both John and Eleanor to rethink their expectations. For one thing is certain: love will not be defined by any list..."

This last Tuesday Tomorrow for the year kind of sums up my reading for the year, something witchy, a lot of Regency romance and Truly Devious.

This was my first book from this author, and I was also very excited since I love historical romances. However, this book felt extremely long and uneventful. There were too many characters to keep track of and the storyline was hard to follow. There was just a lot of content that wasn't necessary to the plot and I really had to dig through a lot of dialogue/descriptions to get to anything that really pertained to the two main characters and their relationship.

This had a lot of potential and I know the author's previous work is very popular, but this book needed some more time in edits.

I’m a fan of Ella Quinn’s light regencies, and while The Marriage List is no exception to that rule, it doesn’t rise to the level of the earlier books in the series. The latest part of her long-running Worthington series (and book two of the Worthington Brides spin-off) it doesn’t stand alone but adds in a complimentary manner to the rest of the series. It’s still a pleasant and enjoyable read.

Lady Eleanor Carpenter has watched her sister Grace fall in love and marry, which has put her in an excellent position to intelligently procure husbands for Eleanor and her sisters. During a début season shared with her twin, Alice, and her sister-in-law Madeline, Eleanor vows to pick a man who matches the credentials written down on her titular marriage list. She’s looking for someone intelligent, kind and charitable – able to keep up with the Carpenter family in all respects
Enter John, the Marquis of Montagu. He’s wealthy, has recently taken his seat in the House of Lords, and is hunting for a wife, a sweet, passive sort of girl – and Eleanor is anything but sweet and passive. She’s intensely involved in helping out miners affected by the Cinderloo Uprising, for one. And her pro-labor efforts – undertaken between carriage rides and playing with puppies - might just get her in trouble, Can the two of them set aside their beliefs and expectations to build something real?

The Marriage List is slightly compromised by some plot fat. There are some obvious threads leading into the next book (clearly set to be Alice’s) that distract from the romance in this one. But there’s something charming about a romance where the hero and heroine inspire change in one another. Eleanor and John are fine sorts, even if he’s a little autocratic and she’s a little bit high-handed.

Eleanor ultimately realizes that life can’t be managed by lists, while the reserved John embraces Eleanor’s huge and gregarious family. In between there are charming dates and a good sense of lively, well-actualized personalities developing. It’s all pleasant, but there’s no banter, spark or heat, and with all Quinn romances the conflict is very low-level and comes from an obvious outside source, which is once again disappointing.

The worldbuilding is charming but this is not the place for newbies to jump in owing to the sheer number of connections and interconnections – you can even expect to get an update about the family greyhounds! But the research is terrific. I have to give Quinn credit for bringing up the Cinderloo Uprising, which I had no idea about until she used it as a plot point.

The Marriage List is a pleasant little diversion, but resounds as a just-okay experience.

Buy it at: Amazon, Audible or your local bookshop
Visit our Amazon Storefront

I really wanted to like this book but found it to be very jumbled. I don't know if it was the excess of characters or the layout but I just could not get into the story. There were also sections that switched POV to a side character without warning. I don't think I will be reading the rest of the series.

This book was very hard to follow. Contains spoilers. The heroine is one if 13 extended family members who are very close. So the reader has to remember the names of about 35 different people who pop up through out the book. And that is just the heroine's family. Then the reader has to remember the names of the hero's family and friends. I found it hard to follow. It also must be part if a series because there are always references to previous courtship or relationship problems. There are also many referrals to the different estates that the heroine has lived in, but this book is set in the London house. The females have an obligatory charity to support, but the focus of the story is parties and balls and the courtship and the family. In one part, the heroine saved the life of a woman and her 3 children from the manager of a mine that she owned. Since she was getting married, she was given full authority of the mine, where previously it had been held in trust for her. Wouldn't you know the woman she saved was targeted by the manager of her mine and had caused many problems. The heroine made sure that he was fired and all of his belongings packed up while he was at work, so he couldn't even return to his home. He was already sending people after her for revenge of taking away the woman he wanted and now he is over the edge and going after her.
The heroine and her sister and cousin were having their first Season. They all created a list of attributes they wanted in a future spouse. The hero also made a list. He wanted a wife who would not argue ir defy him like his twin sister did. He wanted a lady who did not dabble in politics snd devoted herself to feminine arts. He decided he would "dumb down" his speech and subject matter, so the woman he picked wouldn't think he was too worldly. But what he did was sound like a simple, colossal idiot. His friend, mother and sister tried to tell him, but not until he realized he fell in love with an intelligent, vibrant lady who had superb horse riding skills, amongst others. And when he realized he might lose her, he apologized to her and showed her he was worthy of her.
I found this story had too much basis on the other characters from the series. It was too many people referenced too many times. I felt like I was digging through words and paragraphs to find the actual story. It was time consuming and took longer to read because I kept asking myself, was it really worth the bother? And it wasn't. It was a good story, but not for all the excess that I had to remember and I remember asking myself if the story really needed it. And it didn't. I would give this book 2 stars and not a recommendation to read. If the story wasn't so mired in the other stories and a lot of the verbage cut out and more focus on the main story and not trying to tie this book into the series, it would have been much better.

Gorgeous cover an a book blurb that totally drew me in. Unfortunately the pretty packaging didn't live up to my expectations. I found The Marriage List a bit of a tedious read. Lady Eleanor Carpenter comes from a huge family, The Worthingtons, and it seemed like they were all introduced or mentioned, which took away from the central characters of this book and made for, at times, a confusing read. I didn't feel the chemistry between Eleanor and John and need more than boring conversations from romantics leads. The mining subplot and s0-called villain didn't really add anything.


Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own and freely given.

Awkward pacing and a lot of characters made this a difficult read for me.

This book was not one of my favorites, to the point where I couldn't even find a favorite quote! Although I liked the main couple, they did not have a lot of chemistry between them. The conflicts seemed out of place. The writing and pacing felt very disjointed. I do wonder if some of this is because I jumped into this series toward the end; maybe if I had known the side characters and been attached to them I would have enjoyed it more.

Star Rating: 1.75/2
Tropes: Enemies to lovers
CW: Violence, gun

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This historical romance by Ella Quinn takes you on a wonderful adventure. Eleanor and John had to overcome some troubles but through it all John showed Eleanor that he was willing to fight for her. He has loved her for a very long time and refuses to take no for an answer.

The book opens with a scene of Eleanor helping a family that's fallen on hard times. Strong-willed and generous to a fault Eleanor and her large and wealthy family have many criterias for her future husband. John, for his part, is looking for a meek wife with no social conscience. And yet.

My favourite part of this book was Eleanor, who's wonderful, and the family scenes. It's honestly such a treat to read scenes between sisters, I hadn't found that in fiction in a while. The romance was fine and I would be willing to try out other books in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book.

Lady Eleanor is working to make the mines safer for the workers. In doing so, she has made an enemy. She knows she needs to marry, so she has made a list of requirements for a husband. She meets The Marquis of Montagu who wants a compliant wife. He is attracted to Eleanor and tries to make himself appear dim witted until he falls for her. Her family has some forward-thinking ideas for her dowry. The chemistry between the two was okay.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I love the large family in the book. This is part of a series, so I suggest reading the others first.

The book started off well. I was getting into the story and characters. It was great to see the family, friends, and Danes back in their world. It sets up nicely for Alice and Madeline’s story and I am looking forward to their books. But, this book got super boring. It took around 25 chapters before they stopped tiptoeing around each other. The relationship progress very realistically, but that made for a slow boring book. Even the extra trials put in were resolved really easily. Like I said, I look forward to the next books, but wouldn’t read this one again.

This book can be read as a stand-alone. There is enough explanation that you aren’t completely lost with the side characters. But, it is better read in order. I would say it’s Worthingtons #8, but some characters from The Marriage Game are side characters too.

Thank you to Ella Quinn and the publisher for the arc via Netgalley. (Side note: In the advanced copy I received, chapter 10 and 11 are out of order. Hopefully you catch this and fix it before printing.)

This is book eight (plus two novellas) in The Worthingtons series. I found this a thoroughly enjoyable addition
to The Worthingtons and it's connected series. Not every book needs to be riddled with angst and conflict and
this is a good example of low-ish angst.


In the Historical Romance genre Ella Quinn is one of my favorites... I find her books are charming, funny, emotional, loving and well written, with witty heroines, amusing children and impressive heroes.

I read this book pretty much straight through and would definitely recommend it!


I received this ARC from Kensington Books, Zebra & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you.

#TheMarriageList #NetGalley #The Worthingtons

This book was good. It was a no-angst historical romance will a dash of chemistry,

Eleanor and John have lists of requirements for their spouse. When they meet and feel instant chemistry, she wants to prove he checks hers, but he learns his list wasn't what he truly wanted.

I'd call this an easy read for the low angst, very few page external conflict (barely any conflict of any sort really), and effortless character development but for the times it was hard to follow what was going on. Not in the overall plot, but much of the dialogue as this is the eighth book in the series (of a larger universe it seems), and you are thrown into the world. Sometimes the writing felt all over the place and the timeline was not understandable or off. A family tree would do wonders for the readibility, because even though a reader can infer and just ignore a lot of the callbacks and looks into the background character's lives, it was a large enough part of the story you felt more confused than excited to read Quinn's other books.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed the focus on the main character's relationship and how minimal the external, predictable, conflict had in the story. Seeing Eleanor and John navigate their lists was enjoyable and you rooted for them both to show their true selves and see they were perfect for one another.

I loved how much John developed. Eleanor didn't change as much, and it was more a story about John's evolution, so I enjoyed the fact Eleanor was no young, naive miss, but it was more John who needed to learn the realities of the world and what people were capable of. But he did with little fuss when in other stories the hero would put up more of a fight, so I'm glad he didn't.

Overall, a light, low-drama historical romance with a lot of courting.

Read for: low-angst, low-drama, courting-focused historical romance, strong female heroine, and love at first sight

Thank you to netgalley and Kensington books for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars
1 spice

I really enjoyed this story. The love story between Eleanor and John was really sweet. It made you really root for them. Eleanor compiled a list of essential qualifications in a potential husband. John, the Marquis of Montagu, seems of good character (check), with money enough to support a family (check). But what of the many other requirements on her list?

Montagu, meanwhile, believes the key to a comfortable life lies in marrying someone quiet and docile. Yet the one lady who captivates him could hardly be more different to what he envisioned. Lady Eleanor is as opinionated as she is lovely, determined to improve working conditions for coal miners, even at risk to her own safety.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and this is my freely given opinion.

The Worthingtons series has become very comfortable for me, like slipping on a comfy well worn sweater. The characters are warm, familiar, and comforting. But the series does not pack the same heat, passion, and and zest that the first book(s) did. Because there are so many familiar characters interspersed in this story, it probably would be helpful to have read the other stories.

This is a few years down the road from Book 1 (Three Weeks to Wed) and is the story of Eleanor Carpenter, the sister of Grace Carpenter (from book 1). She and her twin, Alice, and their sort of adopted sister, Madeline (Matt's younger half sister), are now debutante aged and making their come out together. They have grown up in a large, extended family that values the intelligence, strength, input, and management of women, and with men and women who are very socially and politically involved, and quite forward thinking. As such, Eleanor and her sisters are very involved in charities and actions that are invested in social reform and aid. A pivotal event that is of great concern to Eleanor is the Cinderloo uprising that occurred recently and how minors and their families are affected.

John, the Marquis of Montagu, has recently come to London in search of a wife and to take up his political duties in the House of Lords. He is a bit socially awkward and out of his element, as he has spent a number of years in the country caring for his ill father, and then seemed a bit lost after his father's death, preventing him from fully taking the reins. He has a strong minded mother and twin sister, and initially thinks that he wants a wife who will be the opposite of them, to give him a bit more peace. But when he sees Eleanor, he is quite attracted to her and thinks she would be a good potential bride. They begin a bit of awkward dance of attraction and miscommunication, through the Season, which becomes a bigger dance involving the members of their various families and close friends... and a couple of Great Danes.

It is a sweet story. But what I liked about it was the comfort factor as I have read the Worthingtons from the beginning. Otherwise, I would have to say that it is bogged down by too much detail and slow story telling, and perhaps too many characters as familiar characters from the past (and for that matter another parallel series) jog for space in the story telling.

The tangential story of St. Albans and the sister Alice was an obvious ploy to build a bit of interest and back story to their future and separate story in the future, and I just found it a bit distracting and not adding to this story overall. I thought it was interesting that there were two sets of twins here, as John and his sister were twins, but had grown apart, and then there is Eleanor and her sister, and their incredible closeness with the entire extended family. An interesting contrast in families, and ultimately John regrets the loss of his connection with his twin and embraces the unconventional closeness and traditions of the Worthington/Carpenter clan.

But this definitely does not have the impact of the start of the series. However, I am still interested in what happens to other members of the Worthington/Carpenter dynasty - but there are so many of them still - the three Carpenter brothers, Madeline, Alice, Mary....

I am sad that there was no dog wedding in this one, since it was alluded to, and to hear that Duke and Daisy (the original wedded Danes) were no more...

3.25 stars out of 5

The extra quarter star was for the Great Danes and that part of the Marriage list from the girls involved having to like animals, in the house.