<b> Thank you to Evie Dunmore, Berkley Publishing, and Netgalley for the ARC to this book. </b>

This book was nothing short of amazing. Avid readers of A League of Extraordinary Women might be shocked to find that Catriona does not end up with Peregrin, but she is so much more complex of a character/woman than he would be able to handle. Elias is truly her perfect match and counterpart. Catriona a bookish linguist is a brilliant, queer, neurodivergent woman with aspirations of becoming a full Professor at Oxford. Most think of her as shy and reserved but underneath that carefully cultivated facade beats the heart of a rebel and strategist with a stark sense of right and wrong. Elias is a visiting Lebanese "scholar" and businessman who is fiercely protective of the culture and heritage of his people. Any TCK (third-culture kid) will recognize that part of not belonging/belonging even within one's own family that he struggles with. Like every book in this series, The Gentleman's Gambit brings awareness to the plight of women's rights in Britain in the late 1900s however, in this book Dunmore expands the conversation to an international level while also tackling the arguments and morals around patronization of cultural artifacts throughout history (and even into the modern day). <spoiler> With a jump to the general election in 1918 the epilogue of this book neatly ties together any loose ends of the series left by the characters. Introducing us to the families the four central suffragists have created and even in a surprise twist a way in which Montgomery and Ballentine end up grandfathers to the same children! (That's a love story I hope Evie Dunmore writes! </spoiler>

I understand why Evie Dunmore included chapters from the point of view of previous heroines in the series but I think I did find them a little distracting from the emotional build-up of the love story. (Despite some of them being necessary to explain events). Regardless I think this is my favorite of the series! 5/5 Stars 3/5 Spice.

Note: The ARC is filled with interesting cultural references from across Europe, many of which might not be instantly recognizable to all readers - I hope in the final copy there will be footnotes attached or at the very least I'd encourage readers to read this book via a reader with internet access so they can easily look up such mentionings.


NOTE: Instagram story linking to GoodReads was posted today. The Instagram post will be posted closer to the publication date. (@bedsport.books)

While it doesn't reach the heights of the first two entries in this series, Evie Dunmore is still a first rate author in Victorian historical romances. Catriona's characterization does not really track with how she is presented in the other books, but nevertheless she is sensitively and interestingly drawn out. Dunmore takes on a lot of complex and not necessarily well known context in making the hero a Middle Eastern businessman, and I think mostly succeeds in making him a fully realized and somewhat unique to the genre character, though the expository grounding makes the pace drag at times. I enjoyed returning to Dunmore's Oxford and its environs for Catriona's story, and even if it hadn't been as good as it is, the epilogue that ties up the series is incredibly well earned and moving.

It’s bitter sweet when a series finally comes to an end, although Evie Dunmore’s The Genleman’s Gambit feels a bit different from her other three novels in the series. Our main character is rather unique. She’s whip smart, attuned to observing people with a critical eye and might be on the spectrum, though it’s never overtly stated.

Given her circumstances as an Earls daughter, and that her loving father who is in academia, encourages Catriona’s academic achievements and career (as limited as it may be during the time period) you can’t help but want to cheer Catriona on in her success professionally and romantically.

Enter Elias Khoury. (swoon)

And friends how these two meet is chefs kiss.👩🏽‍🍳💋

I’ll of course let you discover it on your own, but it had me smiling from ear-to-ear and it just keeps getting better and better the chapters that follow.

My one hiccup in this book was how Dunmore added a few chapters that featured the other characters from her previous books. It was jarring to be thrown out of the POV’s of Catriona and Elias to all of a sudden be in the home/workplace of one of the other characters: be it Annabelle Archer or Lady Lucie. Even the epilogue was disappointing because it was no longer in Catriona’s point of view.😢

Even though that was the one drawback for me, I truly enjoyed the romance, the fun romance tropes like opposites attract, forced proximity (to name a few) and how two very different people from different backgrounds and means could find a path to their own happiness.

Make sure to grab a copy of this one!

Happy Reading ~ Cece

I liked this installment of this series by Evie Dunmore. However, I didn't find myself as engaged with this one as I did the other books. There was a lot of history in the book and I sometimes found it confusing and hard to follow. I also felt like it it took away from the romance plot and made the pacing slow/awkward. I did like the general plot of the book and I thought that Catriona and Elias had good chemistry. I also enjoyed the snippets throughout the book of the other couples as well as the epilogue. I'm looking forward to whatever Evie Dunmore writes next!

This is the darkest book of the series so far. Catriona is smart and deeply committed to her studies, her causes, her father, and her friends. She's also often uncomfortable in her own skin, bewildered by societal norms and customs, and easily overwhelmed by noise and movement and stimulation. Elias Khoury, a visiting scholar, turns out to be not only young and handsome (so handsome!) but he may be harboring secrets.

Getting to a HEA for these two seemed like an absolute impossibility, but - of course - Love Conquers All.

What I liked:
- the main theme of the story; women fearing marriage and love because they don’t want to lose themselves and their passions. relevant today even in a very different time!
- commentary on relationships across cultures and the beauty and challenges that come with it
- the full circle story of all the extraordinary women

What was missing:
- while I really enjoyed this book, I wasn’t as engaged as I was in her previous books (especially the first two)
- felt like there were a lot plot points and the political plot points were harder for me to follow

4.25/5

A League of Extraordinary Women is the direction I hope historical romance goes in the coming years. Each story combines historical settings, complex characters, sisterhood, modern audience sensibilities, unique characters, and romance wonderfully. Every heroine in this series feels like she could exist in the time the book is set without falling into the trap of being passive and innocent, like so many historical romance heroines. I adore this series, as will any fan of historical romance---or even just romance in general.

The Gentleman's Gambit concludes the quartet and follows bookish Catriona and Elias, a scholar who is more than he seems. I loved that the other characters darted in and out of the plot and that each previous couple got their happy ending. Elias was one of the best love interests so far (though Ballentine will always hold first place), especially because he understood what Catriona needed. I am so glad Dunmore portrayed a historical woman who dealt with neurodivergence and made her the heroine who could have grand accomplishments and sweeping romance. That's exactly the kind of representation that needs to be in more romances going forward.

That being said, this was actually my least favorite book in the series. I felt like the characters spent more time debating artifact policy than they did falling in love, and that the conclusion was a bit rushed. Part of what I adore about the series is that everything doesn't end perfectly, but this novel tied a tight little bow around the conflict. Yet I still enjoyed The Gentleman's Gambit immensely. Evie Dunmore is truly the future of historical romance, and I can't wait to see where she goes next.

I adore Evie Dunmore's books so much so I immediately started this one as soon as I could. The reason I love Evie's books is because she adds so much history and detail and as someone who is currently wearing a shirt that says "history nerd" you can just imagine how much these books hit the right spot for me. there is never any big fudging of historical details and I always, always learn things!

I was very much looking forward to getting Catriona's story and learning more about her and this story did not disappoint. I really enjoyed the diversity of the characters we got to meet here and as per usual, they are so layered and nuanced and just so filled with emotion.

The romance was just so wonderful as well. I expected no less there either.

one question - Peregrine spinoff?

Thank you for the early copy of this title and I can't wait to add this one to my bookshelf and reread it regularly!

The Gentleman's Gambit is the fourth and final book in the League of Extraordinary Women series by Evie Dunmore and I'm a little sad this one is done but Dunmore did a great job wrapping this one up.

This installment follows Catriona, the group's introvert and I was happy to learn more about her character. She's always been in the background or referenced in the earlier books but it was great to see who she is and understand her history and what's made her who she is.

Elias Khoury is our mmc and he's wheedled his way into Oxford and Professor Campbell's circle with ulterior motives. While he tells everyone he's there to classify ancient artefacts, he really wants to take them back to his homeland in the Middle East. When he's introduced to Catriona, he sees an opportunity to use her to get what he wants but he didn't expect to lose himself in his feelings for her and even though he knows it can't really go anywhere, the seduction he planned actually falls to the wayside and they find themselves becoming more.

When Catriona finds out what Elias is up to (and she does pretty quickly), she's determined to help and by pulling in her friends to help, she pulls off something no one would ever have expected of a lady scholar. The one thing she does have to figure out though is how much is she willing to put her heart at risk knowing that in the past she has been burned.

I loved that we got to see more of the prior characters and not just as random snips. They were there for each other even though their lives are all changing. I also loved how patient and observant Elias was with Catriona. She's a private person and she doesn't really speak up for herself so it was important for him to pay attention.

Overall this was a solid ending to the series. Even though the pacing felt a bit slow at times, I found myself pushing on to see how everything ends up for these two. The epilogue was also well done and I look forward to more books from Dunmore in the future.

The Gentleman's Gambit focuses on Catriona and Elias (new character to the series) and the romance that blossoms around the ethics/practicalities of repatriating looted art from colonized countries. An interesting read, that I did find dragged a little in the middle.
Dunmore gave us glimpses into how the past three couples were doing - and while it was nice, I didn't find it wholly necessary to check in with everyone for "bonus scenes". Just a bit of bloat, in my opinion.
I quite liked the time jump in the epilogue.
An overall strong wrapup to the series.
Thank you to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an arc for review.

THE BOOK>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Catriona Campbell, daughter of the Earl of Wester Ross, has returned home to Applecross, Scotland for solitude and a chance to write her book. But her solitary swim in the loch ends with an unexpected and embarrassing encounter with a handsome man who claims to be looking for birds -- and who ends up being her father's guest, Elias Khoury, a scholar to help catalog ancient Phoenician artifacts. What neither Catriona nor her father knows is that Elias is not truly an expert, he's a businessman who wants to repatriate artifacts looted by British tourists. And while both Catriona and Elias feel an instant attraction to each other, neither is willing to give in, either in their ongoing chess game or the game of love -- at least not until they feel less like opponents and more like collaborators.

This fourth book in the League of Extraordinary Women series features two interesting characters: Catriona, a brilliant and scholarly young woman who reads as neurodivergent and who has been burned by love and wants nothing to do with marriage; and Elias, an equally intelligent and cosmopolitan man from Lebanon who wants to reverse the trend of Western countries taking his heritage. While their initial meeting causes them to create distance, their similarly modern ways of thinking bring them closer together and gives them common purpose.

That said, as much as I liked the characters and many of the threads of the plot, the pacing felt uneven, and at times I felt that the various plot threads got muddled or tangled. Somewhere around the middle of the book, things got a little awkward, and it took me a while to get re-engaged with the story. While that could be entirely to where I set down the book and then picked it back up, I generally had a difficult time getting fully immersed in the story throughout, as much as I wanted to love it. (That could be partly due to the action shifting frequently from Scotland to Oxford and London and back.) The epilogue also felt a little heavy handed in wrapping up the series, though I'm sure it will appeal to those who really loved the whole series. For me, this book fell just shy of 3 stars, which I'll round up for the sake of the characters.

Thank you, Berkley Romance and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.