The Gentleman's Gambit by Evie Dunmore didn't disappoint. I loved everything about it. Thank to you NetGalley for the ARC!

A fitting conclusion to Dunmore's series of romances about 19th century British suffragists. This book felt half romance, half historical fiction — perhaps because it's the last in the series and therefore had to conclude the overarching suffragist narrative that had spanned all four books. I appreciate Dunmore's clear attention to historical detail throughout the books. I'll be interested to read Peregrine's story, which she's mentioned will be a companion story / novella in response to reader inquiries about whether he would be Catriona's love interest.

3.5/5 stars

Female protagonist is coded as autistic, but it feels like a very shallow understanding of autism (I am autistic). I did very much enjoy Elias’s background and the thievery of artifacts.

I’ve been waiting so long for Catriona’s book and I really enjoyed it! She’s neurodivergent-coded and I loved how both the conflict as well as the romance played out as a result of her being true to herself. Elias as a romance hero meets her where she is, and admires the things that make her different instead of trying to change her. She fascinates him and he can’t get enough. Love that for them! The way chess and their cultures were implemented to bring them together, along with her own academic pursuits was so satisfying and clever. In lieu of banter, we get so many heart-melting lines!

A few other subplots are going on- he’s on a secret mission and she’s working with the suffragists to amend the restitution of Conjugal Rights Act, all while the Women’s Property Act is being voted on in Parliament (a major plot in books 1 and 2). It turns out that all 4 books in the series occur within just a few months of one another, and this is touched on several times to help center the reader in the timeline. This was so helpful! However, the subplots took up a lot of the character’s time and it was difficult to feel they connected deeply with one another, except for one quite spicy trip to London.

I really enjoyed the glimpses of what the other friends in this group are up to now as this helped extend their happily ever afters. But, I was kind of let down by Catriona’s own ending- it was still an HEA, but I needed more closure! And the epilogue was just…dry? Sigh.

Historical fiction lovers will enjoy this one as there is a lot of historical context to go with the romance plot. Additionally, Dunmore touches on colonialism within the context of the time- especially around art and artifacts- and the issues this brings up for our characters. These are definitely strong points in the book that I ate up!

So in short, this book has a lot going for it. Swoonworth moments, interesting and flawed characters, as well as robust historical context that adds nuance to their story.

Star: I really liked it!
Spice: open door, a few scenes

Thanks to the publisher for the complimentary copy! All opinions are my own.

As a big fan of historical romances and as someone with an educational background in history, I appreciated a lot of this book. With that being said, I don't know how much it would land with someone not as invested in some of the facts as me. I feel like heist plots are a little overdone at this point. That book definitely felt longer than it needed to be. I enjoyed some of the representation, especially in an era where it is little attempted. I wasn't buying the main characters romance though; it just wasn't convincing to me.

Hands down one of the best historical romance writers has done it again! Gentleman's Gambit is a perfect romance novel. Highly recommend.

A great ending to the League of Extraordinary Women series! After reading all the prior books in the series I was really excited to see how Catriona's story played out and I was not disappointed in the least. I feel like this book was the definition of she fell first but he fell harder, and I love that Elias is a true hero who supported her from the moment he met her. Also, the epilogue absolutely had me balling because it jumped fifty years.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

one of my favorite historical romantic comedy series, where two equally-adroit people end up unexpectedly tangled only to eventually realize that they're meant for each other.

I absolutely loved this one. I think it is my favorite in the series. I was feeling a bit unsure going into this book because I didn’t enjoy the previous one as I thought I would. For me, it was our main protagonist, Catriona, that made me fall in love with this story. I related to her social anxiety a lot. The author captured that intense suffocating feeling being surrounded by people and noises. One thing I particularly appreciated was how Dunmore shows Catriona feeling overwhelmed when she is surrounded by only her dearest friends. Just because you know that these people love you and are your people, you still can’t help feeling like running away just to breathe.

I loved the romance between Catriona and Elias. The chemistry between these two both intimate and cerebral was seriously jumping off the pages at me. One thing I thought could have used it more fleshing out is the difference in religions with Catriona being Catholic and Elias being from a Maronite community in Lebanon. In the end though, these two were so crazy for each other, I don’t think anything would have separated them.

The Gentleman’s Gambit had a steamy romance with just enough spice while exploring themes of intersectionality of race, imperialism, repatriation of stolen artifacts, and women’s rights. There is a lot going on in this book. And at times, it can make the story feel jumbled, but I think the themes were balanced well. The plot lines were nicely wrapped up by the end of the book too. It’s a 5/5 for me!

The 4th installment of the "A League of Extraordinary Women" series was cute, but not my favorite of the series. The book itself started off slow but I loved the way the two MC's met for the first time - very funny! I do wish the book had focused a little more on the romance and less of the background stories but if you liked the first 3 books of the series, you'll like this one as well!

I was really looking forward to Catriona's story, but was sadly disappointed with the balance of this book. I really liked how Elias and Catriona's relationship developed and the scenes that they had together were very cute, but the sections where the narrative cut to different suffragettes who had previously been main characters felt clunky, unnecessary and like fan service. I also wasn't a fan of how the writ was incorporated in this book, even though I enjoyed the political and activist sections in the previous books. All in all, I was a bit let down by this conclusion to the series because of how the author and editors chose to compile it.

Really, there is nothing wrong with this book. I appreciated and enjoyed the love story. I liked the mix between the two backgrounds of our MCs.

I think honestly I'm just not in a romance spot in my reading right now. I gave this book 4 stars bc it was a good story and I did enjoy it, but something just was missing for me. Probably a robot.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for the ARC!

evie dunmore is so good at doing historical romance.like how is she so good at crafting these stories that feel so realistic?! i love her books, i love her, i love historical romance books and this is definitely a must read for anyone else who feels the same.

This book was so dang cute it was so easy to finish it in two sittings! It hooked me from the very first page and kept me hooked.

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

A great story and a lovely installment in this series. I will definitely recommend to others who are looking for regency romances and historical romances

Very informative historically and a slow burn, forced proximity romance. It wasn't my favorite but I liked it, it felt long winded and almost too informative. I love the cover!

if you’re looking for something similar to Bridgerton, but with less in your face spice, a thieving aspect, fights for feminism in the regency area and lots of tension, then this is the book for you. in this book, we follow Catriona who is a sometimes author and part of the suffragette movement with some close friends, she’s a rebel with a cause. we also follow Elias, a thieving (but is it actually thieving if he’s taking back his country’s artifice’s from the British museum??) business man who also loves bird watching (hehe). there is a lot of tension from the very beginning and it just grows exponentially as the book continues on. i truly loved all the side characters, as well as the fact that there were 2 main parts to the plot, the suffragette movement as well as the plotting to steal the artifacts. i don’t think one component was more important than the other, and though they weren’t really tied together in any way, i still feel as though it flowed pretty seamlessly and worked very well together. there was a third act breakup, but the resolution happened very very quickly, which i loved because there’s nothing more infuriating than someone dragging it out for no really good reason. i really enjoyed this book, especially since it was my first regency-ish read!

Evie Dunmore's latest, "The Gentleman's Gambit" is another swoonworthy romance which turns typical historical romance tropes on their head. Filled with chess games, quick banter, and intelligent, empowered women, this novel is sure to please fans new to Dunmore and old.

I loved the first in this series, but I struggled to get into this one. I thought the writing was very strong and detailed—the world felt genuinely textured in its historical context—but the main characters didn’t pull me in/the opening felt too slow for my tastes. I wanted to love it, but I ended up putting it down due to this pacing issue. However, for other readers, it might really work!