THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD. This is a first for me by this author and this year I am really re-entering my historical romance era and I am so glad I read this. This is a marriage of convenience, out of necessity for the FMC Cora to access her inheritance and for the MMC Leo who holds a prestigious title but with none of the money behind it. They start off with so much chemistry and it was so endearing when they eventually try to call it friendship and me as a reader was just smirking at these two adorable fools. Leo is definitely demi coded which I loved seeing. There is definitely conversations on consent and explanation (some of it eventual cause angst has to come from somewhere) of his feelings on the topic of intimacy after love/emotions.

I guess this is a slow burn but it didn't bother me. There is so much development and time together. That is a big thing for me with romance especially historical, the perception of those lonely repressed times, how people have to withhold even giving each other a platonic hug, I want that mutual pining and it is absolutely there. Leo becomes such a simp for Cora and I absolutely here for it. It is giving Darcy when he overthinks when she puts her arm through his to enter an event or when he just simply can't stop thinking about her or looks forward to their times together.

This is also a "modern" feeling historical in that Cora and to an extent even Leo are feminists. And it isn't written in an overbearing or preachy way. There are side plots that involved women's rights and I felt it realistically fit in with their high society constraints.

Thank you to Berkley for the free book! Again, I loved this so much.

The Stranger I Wed begins a new series by Harper St. George. The Dove sisters find themselves in the predicament of needing to marry in order to receive their inheritance. However, due to their father’s demands, they end up in England looking for titled marriageable men. This book focuses on Cora, the eldest Dove sister, as she begins her marriage of convenience to Leo, Earl of Devonworth. Cora and Leo decide a business arrangement is the best course of action and set about to protect their best interests. But, as happens, living together and getting to know one another begins to change their view on marriage… and each other. I really enjoyed this story! St. George’s characters always have great depth and her dialogue is wonderful. She created quite the scenario with the Dove family and it was fun to watch how London society reacts to them. I am looking forward to more of this series!

Harper St. George has been knocking it out of the park with this series! (Technically this is the first in a new series, but it's connected with her previous Gilded Age Heiresses series and what can I say, it feels like a continuation in the best way.) In this one, we get (surprise surprise) an American heiress determined to marry an impoverished lord ... but wait, there's more! They both have (not very awful) secrets in their pasts that may or may not come out; they are both well-spoken political progressives; and they both agree not to consummate the marriage, and that they will separate/divorce after 2 years of putting a good face on it.

This does mean that it's a pretty slow burn. Also an element of the slow burn? The MMC is demi (not described using that terminology in the book); and because of that, he really doesn't feel much of a need (or desire) to bed "the stranger [he] wed." But as all romance readers know, close proximity leads to friendship leads to "oh no, is this LOVE?"

Another element that makes this one a little different from her previous books is that neither the MMC nor the FMC come from affluent backgrounds. Yes, they both come from privileged backgrounds, but we're not talking about Gilded Age industrial giants or society debutantes.

And yeah, it's a slow burn, but when they get there? They GET THERE.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

This was my first book by this author. I’d heard a lot about her previous series and after hearing the premise & seeing the cover I wanted to give this one a try.

I would say it was an okay read for me. I enjoyed the plot and the marriage of convenience storyline but the pacing felt off. The story moved very slowly and even dragged at times. Perhaps it would be better to listen to this as an audiobook.

Read this if you like:
•historical romances
•marriage of convenience
•slow burn
•womens rights

I am not a huge historical romance reader but wow did I really enjoy this one! I adored the pining. I adored them getting to know each other. I adored their feral attraction for each other! And add in some steam on top of it and this book was so delightful!

Thank you PRH audio & NetGalley for the advanced copies!

Illegitimate miss Cora Dove receives a windfall: the promise of a dowry from her dying grandmother. But her father will only release the funds if Cora and her sisters can find suitable husbands far, far from his family in New York. Earl of Devonworth, Leopold Brendon, needs the backing of a wealthy wife to advance his plans in Parliament. But Cora and Leo’s “loveless arrangement” isn’t what either expected.

This is the first book in the Doves of New York series, featuring Cora and her sisters: unlikely American heiresses seeking marriages in London. Cora begins her husband hunt with the assistance of Camille, Dowager Duchess of Hereford, from the book The Duchess Takes a Husband. I liked how the story began, with Cora scoping out potential grooms before a planned house party. She and Leo share a bit of a meet cute which sparks an attraction and convinces him to attend Camille's gathering.

This is a slow burn and, in my opinion, it had a bit of a pacing problem. While the pining and hot-cold emotions from the characters usually work in a marriage of convenience story, it just fell a little flat for me personally. I liked Cora and Leo's chemistry but I thought his commitment issues were a bit of a cop-out and detracted from the relationship rather than add a layer. Their common goals with Parliment and the Suffragette movement could have been a bigger unifier, but by the end I thought it just lost the momentum. I hope the next one brings back the spark I'm used to from St George's books.
 
Tropes: Class Differences, Marriage of Convenience, Delayed Consummation, Women’s Suffrage

Steam: 3

I really enjoyed this historical romance by Harper St. George.
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Cora and her sisters, America heiresses, can only claim their dowery if they find suitable husbands. With their legitimacy in question, they must leave New York and their reputation behind. They set off to England in pursuit of finally securing and claiming what is rightfully theirs.
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⚜️marriage of convenience
⚜️slow burn romance
⚜️women’s suffrage
⚜️first book in a new series
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I especially enjoyed the storyline around women’s suffrage, and the characters and their relationship was refreshing. I loved how the mmc PINED for Cora. It was sweet.
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Looking forward to continuing this series.
Thank you netgalley and Berkeley for the opportunity to read this book!

A delightful historical romance! This used to be one of my favorite genres to read, but I have fallen off of it lately. Luckily, St. George was able to get me back on!

Illegitimate Cora and her 2 sisters have come into a windfall - an incredibly large dowry for each of them. The catch? They have to be married away from their father’s real family in New York. Thus the Dove sisters head to England to find a husband. It is there that she meets the handsome, and incredibly penniless, Leopold, Earl of Devonworth.

Filled with steamy scenes between Cora and the Earl, a great cast of characters and nods to the women’s rights movement, this was a quick and lovely read!

Ahhhh this was so good. There's nothing like a love story between 2 highly intelligent idiots. I love a good marriage of convenience, and this one takes place pretty early on in the book. Then the rest of the story is a slooooooooow burn of Leo and Cora realizing the other is their completely perfect match and falling in love, while also being dumb about moving past their "brief marriage on paper" deal.
The story is relatively low angst with pretty decent communication, except for the part where they keep lying to themselves. It moves quickly too. I think I would have actually preferred a little longer book to go more into detail with their developing relationship or get some more scenes with them working together.
Either way, this was really great and I really enjoyed it. I would recommend for fans of Evie Dunmore or Courtney Milan.
While this was the first book I've read by Harper St. George, I definitely want to go back and read her previous series now!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkely for the preview. All opinions are my own.

Harper St. George has become one of my favourite historical romance authors so I was very pleased to see this spin off series from her previous books! Lots of interesting historical details, well rounded out characters, and lots and lots of pinning and longing looks; The Stranger I Wed was highly enjoyable.

<i>ARC Provided by NetGalley<i>

3.5 stars


Fans of Evie Dunmore and Sophie Irwin should check out this Victorian era novel about an American woman forced by circumstances to seek a marriage of convenience among the ton of England.

Cora Dove is the love child of one of the most wealthy men in New York. Along with her mother and two sisters, she is kept hidden away from the upper crust of society as to not any inconveniences for her father. They have not seen him in year, and he provides very little for their welfare. When Cora’s grandmother passes, she leaves a large inheritance for each of the girls. However, they will be forced to marry titled English aristocrats in order to have access to their funds.

Once traveled to England, on the last of their money, Cora is able to meet Lord Devonworth, an earl in desperate need of funds. A marriage or of convenience ensues, but is soon develops into more.

I very much enjoyed Cora’s work with the suffrage movement and discussion of Lord Devonworth’s work in parliament for the betterment of society and how much the two main characters learned they have in common. It was one of the highlights for me. I also loved how they learned to trust each other and share their past.

I loved how we got a small glimpse into the politics and societal issues of the day without it becoming a full on history lesson. I thought it was balanced very well and was used to move along the plot in an effective way.

Unfortunately, some parts felt a little rushed to me, but it did not take away the enjoyment I had while reading. St. George is a new author to me, and I will be checking out more of her books for sure.

Of note, the spice level was a bit much for me. I quickly flipped through those parts, but sensitive readers should beware.


Highlights:

-Marriage of convenience
-Victorian era politics
-Women’s suffrage
-Honorable, trustworthy MMC

Harper St. George is back with a new series! Imagine HBO’s 'The Gilded Age', AppleTV’s 'The Buccaneers' and throw in Netflix’s 'The English Game'. Fused together, you get ‘The Stranger I Wed’. The Doves of New York are here to shake up London Society. In ‘The Stranger I Wed’ we follow Cora Dove an illegitimate daughter of a wealthy founding family of New York. Along with her mother and two sisters, Cora travels to London ready with a plan to marry a man with a title in exchange, she’ll be able to access a large inheritance.

Cora has no illusions about love, but alas enter Leopold Brendon, Earl of Devonworth champion of a stirring social justice campaign in Parliament. From there, we follow two characters that explore feminism, classism, and poverty. While they discuss these social causes, they also reveal long held secrets and grow to have respect and love for one another. Characters, Cora and Leo slowly melded together and I found it to be well thought out. I also appreciated the appearance of past characters, it's always nice to have continuity and check in with previous characters/series.

The teaser for the next book was also very intriguing!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts and review.

THE STRANGER I WED was an engaging historical romance. Cora Dove and her sisters Jenny and Eliza are illegitimate and existing on the edges of society. When their father's mother dies and leaves them generous dowries, Cora thinks things will be better for them. However, her father, who controls the money, has put strings on it. He wants the girls to marry before they can inherit. He also wants them to live far away from New York so as not to embarrass his wife and legitimate children.

Inspired by the many American heiress who have married into the peerage, Cora, her sisters, and mother travel to England to look for husbands. One of the earlier American brides is willing to help them find men who meet the qualifications they have outlined for a husband.

Leopold Brendon, Earl of Devonworth, is on the list. He needs money to repair his home and get his younger brother clear of his gambling deaths before he can go back to what he really loves: serving in the House of Lords and passing a Water Quality Bill. The fact that he is handsome is actually a strike against him on the girls' list.

After some negotiations, Cora and Devonworth marry expecting a relatively short term marriage in name only. Cora eventually wants some of her inheritance and her freedom. However, she finds herself falling in love and realizes that they have a lot in common including women's rights. He falls for her too despite having had a bad experience with love in a past romance.

But the two have to face his political rivals and her many secrets before they can have their own 'happily ever after.'

As illegitimate daughters of a wealthy American businessman, Cora decides to take her mother and sisters to England to exchange big dowries for men with titles. Leo is attracted to Cora and needs the heiress’ money to save his crumbling estate. As long as neither falls in love with each other, they should be safe. They must overcome their fears in order to have a real marriage. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Berkley for my honest review.

The Stranger I Wed is a captivating blend of Gilded Age New York and Victorian London. This novel is a powerful and feminist take on a historical marriage-of-convenience romance, making it a must-read for fans of the genre. St. George's writing is engaging and compelling, keeping me hooked from beginning to end. I found myself unable to put it down.

I love this series, so I was really disappointed in how much of a slow burn/basically no burn this was. The premise was great, but it fizzled sooooo many times. Too many times. It lost its effect after a while.

<i>3.5 stars </i>
I love Harper St George's writing. This new series starts out well, with American heiress Cora hunting for a titled husband in order to access her dowry.
I loved every bit of interaction between Cora and Leo. So much that I felt there needed to be more of that. Indeed, the romance kind of takes a bit of a backseat, as Leo is concerned with Parliament, and Cora with the suffrage society. Their interests find common ground, which gives both of them opportunities to spend time together.
I love a good marriage of convenience. However, I felt that the romance between Leo and Cora lost some of its sparks as the story grew along, and picked back up at the end.

As usual, the author and her team has done an excellent work with the cover!

Thank you to the author and PRH for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I’ve loved Harper St. George’s books, but it’s hard to live up to The Heiress Gets a Duke, for me. I wanted to like this story more and while I enjoyed it fine, it felt a bit rushed and like it could have used more fleshing out and character development. The timeline was fairly short and the conflicts seemed to resolve pretty quickly and not turn into higher stakes. I’ll definitely keep reading this author, but I’m hoping the others in the series are a bit stronger.

Thank you Berkley Romance and PRH Audio for my gifted copies. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored every book of Harper St, George’s Guilded Age Heiresses and I was so thrilled to have a brand new series!

First of all, how gorgeous is this cover? The covers are what originally drew me to St. George’s books but the stories are what kept me coming back for more.

Cora Dove receives a letter from her late estranged grandmother notifying her and her sisters of an inheritance. Unfortunately they are illegitimate and their father who controls the funds stipulates they must find suitable marriages outside of the East Coast to inherit the funds. Cora decided to seek out a peer and takes her mother and sister abroad to England in search of one. Thanks to an acquaintance with Duchess Camille, a party with introductions is held and Cora quickly finds herself wed to the Earl of Wentworth.

This seemed a little slower in parts than the previous series, but I enjoyed the marriage of convenience between Leopold (Wentworth) and Cora. There is lots of will they/won’t they including some not so friendly gossip columns. I liked how he valued her and encouraged her to help him write and to support the causes she believed in. I loved seeing Camille and other characters from the previous series. I can’t wait ti see what will happen with the rest of the Dove sisters.

The Stranger I Wed is a fabulous start to a new series by one of my favourite historical romance writers.

I love Harper St. George for her witty banter, swoon worthy romances and fantastic main heroines. The Stranger I Wed exceeded all my expectations and is my new favourite by her. We’ve got Cora Dove, a bastard to a wealthy man who needs to marry in order to come into her inheritance and save her family from destitution, and the noble and stoic Leo, who needs money to help save his estate and his family. Cora sets out to marry an englishman with the help of some familiar faces from past series. Leo is on her list, and when she runs into him (literally) she is very interested in getting to know him better, if you know what I mean. Eventually their needs (both financial and physical) lead them to a marriage of convenience. And then the fun really begins.

Cora and Leo may be my favourite couple of 2024 so far. There’s angst, and longing. There’s shades of Pride and Prejudice, with some misunderstandings, Leo’s stoic nature and well-to-do and judgy mother and Cora’s wild family, led by an impish mother who likes her drink and has been an actress during her spotty past. Cora and Leo are a fantastic pairing. I just kept wanting to see them on the page. They are two smart characters, and support each other. Their agreement to keep the marriage superficial until Cora can leave him and be her own woman rachets up the tension as they dance around getting to know each other and resist each other. They both have secrets that they try to keep from each other, which leads to some mystery and intrigue and to an exciting climax of the story. There is no third act break up here, but you still get some excellent declarations of love.

Harper mixes fact and fiction in her series and explores women’s rights of the time of the Victorian age and the conflict between the nobility and trade, old money and new money and the role of women in a rapidly changing society. Led by Cora, this is going to be an excellent series and I can’t wait to spend more time with the Dove sisters and the men who fall for them.