How to Best a Marquess is the third and final book in the Widow Rules series by author Janna MacGregor. In this book, mysteries woven throughout the series are finally solved.

The pacing of this story was a bit slow for me. Though I liked both of the lead characters, the relationship between them wasn’t quite compelling enough to keep me engaged.

However, I stuck with it because of the Meriwether mystery. The author planted seeds throughout the first two books that gave readers little indicators that Meri may not have been the complete and utter rogue that his family and friends believed him to be. It was fun to read that mystery play out.

Miss Beth Howell is the third wife of the now dead bigamist Lord Meriwether Vareck. He left something for the other two wives, but not for her. What did he do with her dowry? Following a paper trail of receipts, she asks the man she thought she would marry eight years ago to help her find it. Julian Raleah, Marquess of Grayson, is on the verge of financial ruin. He needs cash to get his steam engine in production. Beth's offer of half her missing dowry will give him the ability to make it happen. A pig, a tin mine, a horse, a game of cards, a broken carriage wheel, a highway robber, a puzzle box and a key are all clues that lead to the final answer of what Meri did with the money. Add to the turmoil are two people who love each other, but continue to struggle for a happy ending. This has been an interesting series with a very different trope. It brought three wives together to be close friends. Heat to steam!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

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How To Best A Marquess is the third book in The Widow Rules trilogy by Janna MacGregor. I have enjoyed the journey of these three women, and this book was such a marvelous way to conclude it. This book focuses on Beth Howell, the third wife of the deceased Meri, who is trying to find her dowery so she can live independently. To achieve this, Beth enlists Julian Raleah, the Marquess Of Grayson, and her first love. The appeal of splitting Beth’s missing dowery convinces Grayson to go on this adventure with the only woman he’s ever loved.

Grayson gave up his pursuit of Beth at a young age and broke her heart. Grayson is broke, can’t keep up his estate, and needs money to build his steam engines. I had trouble liking Grayson initially due to how easily he gave up his pursuit of Beth. I thought Grayson should have fought harder. However, as the book progresses, I fell for Grayson. His insecurities, love, and respect for Beth stole my heart.

Beth has been disappointed and ruined by every man she trusts. This missing dowery is everything to Beth. Again, it took me a minute to warm to the prickly, defensive Beth, but her vulnerability and pain shone through, and she used these to discover what was truly important.

The passionate connection between Grayson and Beth was perfectly woven into a story of lost love and second chances. The final few chapters and the epilogue catapulted this book into excellence. This was one of the best endings to a series I’ve read. The portrait! I also am crossing my fingers that the secondary character, the Duke of Pelham, gets his own story. Pelham stole every scene. Janna MacGregor has created a series about sisterhood, perseverance, and soul mates. I adored this enchanting series, and this final book was a perfect way to complete it!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book through Netgalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

How to Best a Marquess is the third book in Jana MacGregor's Widow Rule's series. I absolutely loved the second book in the series and the unique plotline bringing the series together. In the previous books: Katherine, Constance and Beth all learn that they were all tricked into a polygamous marriage with their late husband, Merriwell. The third book follows Beth. Once the bell of the ball, she has been since shunned from society when her sham of a marriage comes to light. Her wastrel of a brother is trying to marry her off to a seventy year old man in order to save himself from financial ruin. Beth decides that she must find a way to get her missing dowry given to Meri. She enlists her old flame, Julian even though their courtship was short lived years ago. They embark on a wild goose chase road trip following the clues that Meri left behind.

Despite being a premise that I love, I wasn't grabbed by this one. It was fine but nothing memorable. I liked how Julian dealt with the third act breakup. He was the one that was adamant that if she refused him then all contact needed to cease. I appreciate the boundaries that he put in place. I'm glad that Beth was strong against her terrible brother. I thought at one point she would be "noble" and just go along with her brother's plan and I'm glad that she didn't. The epilogue felt like it came out of no where and unnecessarily tacked on. I could have done without. I've liked MacGregor's books in the past and will continue to pick up her books in the future but this one wasn't a favorite.

Thank you to Jana MacGregor, NetGalley, and St Martin's Press for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

#netgalley #HowToBestAMarquess #stmartinspress

How to Best a Marquess is the third book in Janna MacGregor's delightful series The Widow Rules. And sadly, it's the last; I don't want it to end! But alas, dearly departed Meriwether was a trigamist and all three of his widows have found their Happily Ever Afters, so it was the logical place to end the series. If you haven't read the previous books you can enjoy this story just fine; however, there will be added enjoyment if you read the books in order, as the widows became friends and all three were in each book.

Beth Howell is in a bit of a mess. Her illegitimate deceased husband took off shortly after they married, and he took her dowry with him. She's got to find those funds! She was financially ruined and has to live with her pathetic brother who cares more about his horses than his own flesh and blood. And her brother has now decided she needs to marry a rich man, and he has one picked out for her: A man 50 years older than she and missing half his teeth. Um, no thank you. But what can Beth do? She has an idea... Julian Raleah, Marquess of Grayson, was briefly engaged to Beth years ago. When her brother would not allow her to marry Grayson, they were forced to part, then Beth married the trigamist Meri. Julian has problems of his own. His estates are almost penniless, and he needs funds for his steam engine project in order to get back on track. Suddenly who appears on his doorstep but Beth! She wants to borrow his carriage and for him to accompany her in her search for her missing dowry. By helping her out she can help him. Is it possible to rekindle their love story of long ago?

I really love this series, but I must admit that I thought this book was the weakest of the three. I couldn't put the first two down, but I could walk away from this one with no problems. I loved both Beth and Grayson, but the story seemed to drag on a bit. Beth was broken-hearted when her engagement to Grayson was broken off. Her brother talked her into marrying Meriwether, who unknown to all had two other wives! That was it...Beth swore off marriage. When her brother insisted she marry the old man he picked out for her, she knew she just HAD to do something. She figured if she could trace Meri's trail perhaps she could discover what he did with her dowry. Not only was she hurt and embarrassed over what happened to her with Meri, but she was also hurt that he left something valuable to each of his other two widows, but nothing to her. She approached Julian for help, as she didn't even have a carriage any more. Julian was having money issues of his own, since his deceased father badly ran his estates and the coffers were basically empty now. Beth was the love of his life, and he didn't think it was wise to risk being hurt again. But he badly needed capital for his steam engine designs that a consortium was interested in investing in. Julian decided the road trip would be the perfect opportunity to woo his Beth and win her back. Beth was stubborn, and Julian protective and sweet. The chemistry between them was smoking hot, and love scenes caused steam to rise from my Kindle. What I found lovely was the playfulness they exhibited during there lovemaking. The road trip was fun, especially the robbery at the scene of their carriage accident. Besides the main couples from the previous books making an appearance, there were two outstanding characters to show up here that I enjoyed greatly. Irishman Cillian Patrick was Julian's coachman, butler and whatever else Julian needed him to be. He was charming, witty and irreverent to his employer, and would do anything for Julian. I also adored the nutty Duke of Pelham, a former fellow student and now the owner of the Jolly Rooster Inn and gaming establishment. I enjoyed every appearance of Cillian and Pelham. It was a lovely story, except for the odd epilogue that just seemed rather silly to me. All-in-all, however, it was a lovely book and I'm going to miss this series. I can't wait until I see a new work by Janna MacGregor!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

In the third book in The Widow Rules series, Beth, the third widow must turn to Julian, the man she wanted but was not allowed to marry in order to track down the inheritance her deceased husband left her. The two travel up and down England following leads and having misadventures while growing close again. We of course see the couples and other characters from the first two books again and ultimately this book ties up the whole series nicely.

I really liked both Beth and Julian. From how the beginning of the book was written, I was expecting this to be more of a Persuasion retelling but it wasn’t that. I love a road trip romance involving sharing rooms at inns so this book was right up my alley. I absolutely love the cover of this book. I have read the first two books in this series, but it’s been a while and if I were reading this book again, I would reread the first two so I could have a better feel for who is who. I am excited to see where Janna goes from here as I think this was the last book in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an intriguing story line. Three women meet at a solicitor's office for the reading of their late husband's will. They of course had no idea and clearly none of them knew if any of them or which one of them was legally Meri's widow, The silver lining on this misfortune however started a beautiful friendship and two of the three have now found their HEA.
Beth finds herself once again at her brother's tender mercies as he desires to wed her to one of his rich cronies since he is always in need of money. Of course, thanks to her non marriage she's a bit of a scandal in the ton now. Determined to live her own life on her own terms, she decides to go search out her dowry.
She ends up at the doorstep of her erstwhile suitor, Julian to seek his help. Herein begins a delightful romp as they follow clues and travel around the countryside accompanied by Julian's valet. All sorts of adventures await them as they face and conquer different challenges including being robbed by a highwayman.
Does their romance have a chance? Will Julian be able to explain to Beth why he walked away from her so many years ago and can she forgive him so they can have their own HEA.
Delightful story and conclusion. A wonderful ending to a great series.

This was a really enjoyable read. The story offers plenty of ups, downs and twists. Beth and Julian get their second shot at a HEA and along the way take of an adventure filled with drama, emotion, angst, humor, action, heat and mystery.

Beth Howell was one of three women who married a rogue who took their money and gambled it away before dying. I enjoyed the stories of the first two women finding a future for themselves after a scandal. Unfortunately, this book didn’t measure up. Beth and Julian have been neighbors and friends for years. She asks for his help to try to find her missing dowry by retracing the steps of her late husband. Julian has been pining for Beth for years and she likes him too. But after her experience, she does not want to ever marry again, and Julian wants marriage and a family. As you would expect, there is a happily ever after, but I found it frustrating to get there. Beth was annoying and it was hard to root for her as I did the other women in the previous books.

How to Best a Marquess is the final installment in The Widow Rules trilogy. Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this eARC-out now!

In summary, this series includes one man, Meri, marrying three separate woman (the scandalous trigamist!) and quickly dying of an unfortunate accident. The three women learned of each other’s existence at the reading of his will in the first book. In their attempt to overcome these difficult circumstances where the rest of society looks down their noses at them, the women become the very best of friends.

Beth Howell was the “wife” with the greatest reputation of the trio, and therefore fell the hardest when it comes to reputation. This book follows her journey towards finally solving the mystery of Meri’s secret dealings with all three of the women’s dowries. She also has to deal with her slimey brother while finding love with her first suitor, Julian Raleah-the Marquess of Grayson, whom her brother rudely and unceremoniously rejected for being penniless.

I feel like Beth’s story is the most satisfying because we finally got to discover what became of the three widow’s dowries! Plus, it’s always nice to wrap up a series and see everyone happy and content. For a romance series, I’ll admit this one had the most unique premise (trigamy widows) and I liked how the stories progressed and wrapped up. If you are looking for a good historical romance trilogy I definitely recommend this one, with this final book being my favorite of the three.

Beth Howell married a man who her brother, St. John arranged for her to marry. She was expectinh to marry Julian Raleagh, heir to the Marquess Grayson. She didn't know that her brother refused the match because Julian and his family had no fortune. However the man she married was also married to 2 other women, only 1 marriage was legal and it wasn't hers.. After her "husband" dies, leaving her ruined, she approaches Julian, now the Marquess of Grayson requesting he accompany her out of town to discover if she can recover any of her dowry that Meriweather, the dead spouse left behind. As they go from town to town, they realize their feelings for each other are still as vibrant now as they were when Julian initially proposed they marry. Beth however, has decided that she will never marry again and vows to live her life as she wants now that she is of age and is not beholden to any man to make decisions for her. Julian, though still debt ridden, hopes to marry and have children. I really enjoyed the story it was well written with romance, steam and a happy ever after. A marvelous ending to the Meriweather marriage saga and I appreciate how the author made the villain of the series seem more human and caring at the end.

I received this story as an ARC from Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

London - 1816

It was eight years ago when Miss Beth Howell agreed to a marriage proposal from Julian Raleah, the heir to the Marquess of Grayson. However, her hateful older brother and guardian denied their marriage and Julian left.

Today, Beth is the widow of Lord Meriwether Varek. Or, let’s just say the third widow of this despicable man who married all of the women at the same time. Now, there is only one legal widow and two ruined young women. When Beth’s brother married her off to Meriwether, he also gave the man her dowry of 20 thousand pounds. He spent one night with her and disappeared in two weeks taking her money with her. He died penniless and now Beth is determined to trace where the man went and where he squandered her dowry. She hopes to get it back.

Enter Julian Raleah now the Marquess of Grayson and nearly penniless himself as he is trying hard to resolve the debts his father left him. He is an intelligent man working with creating steam engine ideas he hopes to sell. So, he is taken aback when Beth asks him to accompany her on her quest to find her dowry. If she finds it, she will give him half. At first reluctant to do so, he finally agrees.

The search they took was rather convoluted and left me a bit confused at times. Although I read the first two books in this series, they didn’t help me to understand the search for a pig and Beth’s dowry. But I persevered and the book turned out to be quite good. It’s nice to see good things happen to good people. The ending is lovely.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Beth was the third unknowing wife of a trigamist husband, and the third book that wraps up this trilogy following each wife as she takes her life and her reputation back. Beth was the one whose reputation suffered most – shunned by the Ton, her dowry missing, she’s struggling to right the wrongs that were done to her. Understandably, she finds it hard to trust anyone.

Julian is the one person who can help her track down her missing dowry. He’s also the man who proposed and disappeared from her life years ago. The reveal of why he left her without a word is somewhat predictable, but makes sense in the context of the story. Their journey across the English countryside to recover her money is clever and entertaining and full of interesting side characters. It’s a fun ride.

It’s obvious from the jump they’re both still in love with each other, though the book is a slow burn because they won’t admit it. However, they do admit very early on to finding each other attractive and they flirt constantly. I love a slow burn, but that detail actually made this one drag a little, knowing they both knew the other cared about them but just simply refusing to do anything about it. A little more uncertainty about each other’s feelings might have served the narrative well.

This is a fitting ending to the series, and my only other quibble is that the epilogue takes a brief turn for the fantastical that was so completely unexpected, it actually left a bad impression on me. It wasn’t the final image I wanted for these lovely characters and the journey they’d taken.

First of all, Thank yo to Netgalley for the E-galley of this book and thank you to the Author and the Publishers!
I really enjoyed this book. I usually stay away from second chance romances, but I liked this one. Our main character is Beth and her love interest is Julian. These two were excellent together. I enjoyed their HEA very much. I would def recommend you pick this up if you like second chance romances.

A truly fantastic conclusion to the mysteries surrounding Lord Meriwether Vareck. Beth Howell, third and last woman Meriwether married might just be the most exciting story yet. Left with nothing except a ruined reputation by her late husband, she suffers from an extreme lack of self-esteem. Every man in her life has failed her, even Julian, Lord Grayson, when he failed to fight for her. The quest to find her lost dowry was entertaining, surprising and beautifully passionate. The fact that even in some of their most passionate scenes there was levity and laughter, shows what makes these two special. They embrace the humor in life, even in the face of despair. They are a true partnership, building each other up and lifting the other when they fall. Janna MacGregor masterfully combines love & laughter to create a beautiful story. This story hit all the emotions and i loved it!

I thought Beth was a pushover who let her brother dictate her every move. Then she comes up with this mad scheme to hie all over England looking for her lost dowry and practically forces her former intended to go with her. I think other road trip books did it better.

The saga continues with the third not legally married wife of Lord Meriwether. The first two wives founded their HEA and Meri had left them something, but Beth has become an outcast of polite society. Not even a shilling was left to her! Her brother is also in a financial upheaval and is planning to marry her off to someone that could be her grandfather. Her only option is to follow the trail of receipts that Meri had left behind at his untimely death and hopefully find her dowry. With really no choice to save the little reputation she has left, she pleads with her former boyfriend, the man she hoped to marry to escort her.
Julian is barely making ends meet. As an inventor of a steam engine any extra shillings go into his steam engine, knowing one day it will pay off. When the first and only women he had loved asks him for an escort to find her missing dowry he can’t say no. Even though he doubts that there be any funds left and he is sure he will be tempted by Beth and hoping for a second chance to win her love back.
A well pace written story, determined strongly opinionated women and a man who is honored bond to the love of his life. Easy on the the steamy side, nice twist in finding their HEA. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #HowToBestAMarquess

This is the third book in the Widow Rules series. I was more than ready to see Beth find her happily ever after. She, along with her three friends, were victims of a scoundrel who married all of them and then promptly left them all and died unexpectedly. Beth was left at the mercy of her irresponsible brother who was trying to marry her off to another man simply to rescue himself from his own debts without a care for Beth's wishes. She was determined to search for her missing dowry but needed help so she enlisted the assistance of a former suitor who she also knew was in need of money, Julian. Julian is a Marquess but is also a businessman who designs special engines and motors and is trying to obtain funding to further his business endeavors.

Julian has never stopped loving Beth, but he still doesn't have money and knows he can't ask for her hand with nothing to offer. She is still hurt that he didn't fight harder for her years before when her brother turned down his request to marry her. But they still venture off together in search of her missing dowry which they hope could give them both the independence they desperately need. Along the way, they discover more than Beth's dowry.

This was a good storyline although there were times that I became frustrated with both of the main characters. They each let their insecurities get the best of them and it kept them apart for longer than they should have been. But it did have a nice twist in the end that I greatly enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

How to Best a Marquess is book 3 in the Widow series, but I read it as a standalone and didn't have any trouble. This is a bit of a second chance romance since Beth and Julian wanted to marry before, but her hideous brother wouldn't approve it.

So, Beth married a con man who absconded with her dowry and then died. She is now living with her brother who is ready to ship her off to marry an elderly man, and Beth is desperate to find her dowry. I wanted to like Beth-she was in this impossible position. But she was seriously annoying at times and it was just frustrating. But, she is related to her brother who I wanted to throat punch every time he was in the scene.

I liked Julian. He was a good hero, but his heart was a bit bruised. He was gruff and surly, but you get it. He only agrees to help Beth because he needs the money. He might have a title, but he is broke. This is his chance to win Beth again, and he takes it. The book is full to steamy times, and I loved that in a historical romance! Sometimes, I wanted Julian to find someone better than Beth, but overall, I did enjoy their love story!

Janna MacGregor wraps up her The Widow Rules series with HOW TO BEST A MARQUESS. This slow-burn (but steamy), second-chance, road romance pairs third wife Beth with the man who captured - then broke - her young heart years earlier, before her disastrous non-marriage to a deceitful man with multiple wives. There's humor, poignant moments, angst, steam, family betrayals, a prize pig (or two), and an unexpected grand gesture that brought it all to a satisfying conclusion. You could read this as a standalone but I think you'll enjoy it much more by reading the three series books in order.

*ARC received from publisher. Fair and unbiased review.