The Heiress Swap by Maddison Michaels

Evie and Alex are my absolute two favorite characters ever! If you're a fan of Eloisa Jame's - My American Duchess, this is definitely going to be your go-to book! I love it from the first chapter to the end. Though I had moments when I wanted Evie to be stronger, I get it ... (Not spoiling the entire book).

I just reviewed The Heiress Swap by Maddison Michaels. #TheHeiressSwap #NetGalley
[https://www.netgalley.com/member/book/289326/review]

This book has a fun premise - two young women come to the UK from America. One is an heiress, the other is her companion/ illegitimate poor cousin. The heiress wants to prove herself in the family business, the poor cousin agrees to swap places with her. Somewhat inexplicably the poor cousin is also a dinosaur expert.

Unfortunately the writing lets down the premise, which does have the potential to be fun. There's a lot of heavy explanation at the beginning, very little writing which shows us the character of the protagonists - it's all just explained. Which as a narrative device is weak, and rather irritating.

The "hero" is a bit of a nuisance. He met a woman 15 years ago who betrayed him and now all women are after his money and not to be trusted. Zzzzzzzzzzz.

Anyway. It's a quick read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

A wonderfully captivating book which keeps you engaged til the end.

Evie, the illegitimate cousin, is convinced by her cousin to trade places with her so they can each achieve their own dreams.

I loved this story, it's not a new premise, it's been done and done well before. But Madison Michael's also does it justice. I like both characters, one so cynical and the other so sweet and honest (other than the biggest lie of all). Like most of these stories I always wish the truth was revealed sooner and more time spent in the aftermath but I enjoyed it all the same.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes Identity swap stories.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel. All opnions are my own.

Librarian Review: I would not recommend this book in reader's advisory

Reader Review:

I was genuinely excited about this book based on the description--but the general premise of the story was really all it had going for it. The first issue was the baffling anachronisms. Several time throughout the story I kept thinking, "there is no way that phrase would have been used then" or "that behavior would never have been considered acceptable." But I kind of kept gaslighting myself that I must be wrong, because there's no way all of these issues would make it past editing and into publication. And then I got to the end, when her uncle mentions he didn't take a phone call from her father. The story takes place in 1890, and Evie is presumably more than 14 years old and the phone call supposedly took place when she was a newborn. But the first phone call ever happened in 1876.

A lot of the conversations and thinking in this book was cyclical. The same stuff was said over and over again, despite being disproven, and motivations didn't change despite new information becoming known. Why did Alex keep thinking George was the culprit, when clearly he wasn't? And why was he so convinced he needed to get rid of Evie when he seemed to recognize everything pointed to the contrary?

Also, I don't at all buy that she wouldn't have told Alex when she snuck into his house the first time. It wouldn't have derailed her plans at all--frankly, it probably would have helped.

The resolutions were so unsatisfactory and too tell-don't-show. I mean, come on! Nobody knew her parents were married? They all just assumed they weren't and her last name was Jenkins? Her birth records at a church or something didn't have her real last name and parentage anywhere? And they only figured it out because her mom mailed a photograph of their wedding (which I don't think would have been likely until well into the 1880s)? And her aunt never contacted her wealthy relatives until she was dying? And they loved her, but wouldn't really provide for her at the level of her cousin just because she was believed to be illegitimate, even when they treated her in every other way like any other member of the family? And oh, her uncle rejected that one phone call, and oh, her mother was actually the countess's maid? And oh, there was actually a huge court case and stacks of letters by Alex's mother, but for some reason his aunt never told him until now? It was so contrived and frustrating. It felt like lazy writing.

This is a cute Historical Romance with quirky and slightly prejudice characters.

Our girl, Evie, swaps places with her wealthy cousin, and is tricking all of England into thinking that she is a dollar princess.

Alex is a duke who has been burned by Americans before and when his cousin tells him that he is in love with one, he makes it his duty to prove to his cousin that she’s just a title chasing American like all the others before her. But the plan kind of backfires on him.

I loved that these two shared a passion for history and fossils. I liked that there was an undeniable attraction for both of them. Even though they both had their reasons for not wanting to be together, this attraction brings them together again and again.

But can all of this survive al the lies, a murder plot, and a whole lot of family secrets.

I read a lot of this genre and sometimes they all seem similar, but this one had unique characters and an interesting plot. Throughly enjoyed reading this one.

This book has everything I was looking for in a romance. Secret identities, enemies to lovers, danger, fake engagement and a lovely romance between lovely characters. I loved Evie and Alex. They were great together. With Evie pretending to be her cousin, she needs to deceive London Society and a certain duke. She has no intention to marry but finds herself attracting the attention of Duke of Hargrave. Of course this Duke has a lot of trust issues (reasonable so). There is a lot going on in this book from beginning to end and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

This is my first book from this author but I definitely plan to look into her other books. I’m assuming there will be a story for Aimee and Harrison and I can’t wait!

*Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

The Heiress Swap is my first Maddison Michaels book, and I enjoyed it immensely! The writing is great-- there were so many sections that were so enjoyable I had to read twice, and so many highlightable sections!
Evie is a half-English, half-American woman, who is persuaded into swapping places with her American cousin, when they go to England. Evie is supposed to be doing a company training program of her uncles's, and her cousin is supposed to be having a British season. While she's pretending to be her cousin, she meets Alex, a duke who is trying to show his cousin that she's just chasing a title. They are instantly drawn and repelled towards one another, and hijinks and a pretend engagement ensue.
Evie and Alex have great chemistry together, whether arguing, bantering, have deep conversations, or protecting one another. I loved them together! They have a reckoning with each other that had just the perfect amount of angst (low and the perfect amount of time!) for me.
If I had one small quibble, it was how close Evie and her cousin's names were to each other. I made it through about 40% of the book before I got Evie's name straight. Small thing which did not take away from my enjoyment of the book!
The writing is sweet, descriptive, wonderful and entertaining. I had tears in some spots! I can't wait for the next in this series, and in the meantime I'll be finding more Maddison Michaels to read. I highly recommend this for Victorian historical romance or fiction fans!
I received The Heiress Swap as an ARC for my honest opinion of the book.

For those who are fans of Lisa Kleypas, Tessa Dare and Julia Quinn books, you will love this one!
Simply wonderful reading! Alex typical alpha hero and Evie the perfect heroine who rocks our hero's world!
I confess that the little mystery in the book took me by surprise because it didn't cross my mind who would be behind the attacks. I liked!
Extra points for "the Gallop waltz" I laughed so hard at that part!
Oh and the epilogue....(sighs here)....it was so cute and sweet.
I totally recommend this read.
Super Anxious for Aimee and Sam books.

If you’re looking for a historical romance this is the one to grab! I loved the relatable characters and focus on Dollar Princesses! A unique tale that makes you want to stay up too late and finish rather than put it down! Thank you #netgalley for the #ARC!

Another brilliant story from this author. I loved this book, the plot, the characters, everything about it was perfect.

loved this book. the characters were great. I can't wait for Sam's book. These characters suck you right in.

this book has a captivating and engaging storyline to the end, with two protagonists with explosive chemistry.

Summary:
Evie, a poor English relation of her American cousin Aimee has been persuaded to switch places with her for her London debut. There, she catches the eye of an earl, but his cousin Alexander, Duke of Hargrave, disapproves and views Evie as an American title hunter. He decides the only way to stop his cousin from falling prey to an Dollar Princess is to seduce Evie himself.

My review:
This book is fairly classic enemies (of the mild variety)-to-lovers. Evie is a plucky "American" gal who isn't afraid to call it like it is while also distinguishing herself with her paleontology fascination (which Alex shares). Alexander is your typical stuffy, repressed aristocrat.

I will say, the enemies portion of Evie and Alexander's acquaintance was a bit over the top. For example, I recall Evie saying something to the effect of her having read Debrett's, and Alexander is like "AHA this proves you're a TITLE HUNTING JEZEBEL". Or like, Evie calls him a "rotten swine" in response to him calling her unsuitable exactly ten seconds before they kiss. We're supposed to believe the reason for Alex's prejudice is because not only was his ex-fiancée who cheated on him on the eve of their wedding an American, but his mother ran away with an American when he was a boy, but it is.... a bit much, in terms of how he expresses his distaste.

The plot picks up midway with a fake engagement (fake, because Aimee instructed Evie to refuse all proposals) and a kidnapping plot that evolves into something more dangerous. It made for a quicker-paced second act and also moved the big revelation about Evie's identity to the tail-end of the story. Alex did end up groveling (and coming across the pond to do it) but I do think he could have groveled a bit more before she agreed to marry him.

The sex:
The sex scenes were pretty standard for historical romances. I wouldn't say they were "low" on steam, but they were limited. The first was a carriage scene, during which Alex's fear of premature ejaculation is how Evie comes to learn about what an orgasm is lol. The second was set in a cave on his estate while they're fossil hunting.

Overall:
I'd say this book wasn't for me, but I would recommend this book for anyone looking to get out of their Regency era comfort zone (this is set in the 1890s) or enjoys a classic enemies-to-lovers moment.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Entangled Publishing for this ARC.