I just love an Eloisa James Historical Romance! She writes with a light humorous touch, yet tackles tough issues head on. This time the issue is dyslexia. She battles against the prevailing customs of the day and has a hero who is entrenched in them. We also get to see Stella and Sylvester Parnell, the Duke and Dutchess of Huntington and their wonderful steam engine. This plot was great until it turned a tad maudlin.

Our heroine, Victoria Sutton, is whip smart, but because she can't read or write she is not considered very bright. But that's okay because she is beautiful. It takes two really smart kids to show their elders that Torie is very smart and astute too, except when it comes to her own heart.

Viscount Dominic Kelbourne is betrothed to a woman he considers to be perfect for him. But since he has spent all of an hour in her presence how can he be sure? It appears that after being engaged for two years and no wedding date that his betrothed, Leonora, is just stringing him along. When Dominic's sister and her husband die, Dominic becomes the guardian for two very smart and precocious 11-year-old twins, Valentine and his sister Florence. The meeting between Leonora and the twins sent Leonora packing and that was a good thing. Now Dominic is in desperate need of another bride and one that will tolerate the willful twins. Lucky for him he knows just the woman.

Lady Victoria Sutton has already been spending time with the twins and she seems to actually like them. Just one little problem, her sister was his fiancée who eloped with someone else. But he likes her well enough, and she is quite pretty. But there is a Duke already courting her. When Dominic presses his suit, Torie wonders if he wants a wife or a nanny. She wants a husband that will value her for who she is. But there is just something about this handsome, brooding man that Torie can't resist, and his kiss is pure fire.

My thanks to the Publisher and Author for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.

Dominic is engaged to Torie's sister, who seems very prim and proper. At least until Dominic ends up with custody of his sister's children after she and her husband pass away this sets of a chain of events that I think we can all say after reading this were absolutely for the best. I

Val and Florence are brilliant yet strange children. It's very easy to see why Torie would fall in love with them, and in every scene they were in they stole the show. They constantly had me laughing out loud, especially regarding the list of things they aren't allowed to talk about! When we first met Dom, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about him being our MMC. But once he got custody of the kids I started to see what he could become.

I loved Torie and Dom's romance and relationship/ While some parts had Dom acting like a tool, and being a bit of an arse with his wife, in the end, I did root for their relationship to work out. His groveling definitely helped!
This was a fun and steamy historical romance with characters that jumped off the page! I can't wait to see who the next couple in the Accidental Brides series is going to be!!

Grumpy versus sunshine is a tough recipe to nail, as different readers expect different things. My own preference is for banter rather than bickering, and for the grumpy guy to respect the heroine beneath all the grump, as well as slow burn. Unfortunately the hero was a complete douchebag for most of the book.

Otherwise it's a sprightly Regency firmly in the Heyer tradition, its chief attractions for me, the children. I would have cheerfully read a book entirely about them!

You can’t beat an Eloisa book! Every book is a unique experience. I rarely read historical romance anymore, because the older I get, the less I can relate to the characters. But Eloisa’s stories are always so fun and original. She writes heart stopping and flawed heroes that you just want to hug! Heroines that you root for and villains you want to punch! Definitely give this one a whirl … you won’t regret it! Long live the bunnies!!

Like most of you, the first thing I noticed about this book was its cover. I think I could write a whole discourse on the female gaze and was so curious to see how this obvious thirst trap would translate into a romance (spoiler—I was very satisfied!). Dominic, Viscount Kelbourne has very exacting ideas on what a wife should and should not be and makes the mistake of proposing to the wrong sister, seeing only what he wants to when looking for a bride. But lucky for him, it is the inherited custody of his sister’s two precocious children, Valentine and Florence that help showcase the gem he missed, right under his nose.

I absolutely loved Val and Florence. Kids in historical romance can make or break a book and they were comedic gold and so refreshing from their Prohibited List (of items that must never be mentioned in polite company) to Val’s seriousness with drawing a perfect circle and Florence’s attention to rabbit defecation. Children can be truth serum to a novel and they definitely had this effect on the adults in this story.

There was a long moment when I was angry at Dominic and didn’t know if I’d be able to see him as a worthy hero again. Yet Eloisa James makes him work for his redemption, apologizing profusely to our heroine Torie, and the grovel is so necessary for the start of their relationship. This book will make you consider the words you use in everyday conversation and how they may carelessly hurt the ones you love. An FMC who merely paints kittens, roses, and rabbits could be so easily overlooked and yet Torie rarely apologizes for her academic shortcomings being perfectly aware of her strengths and weaknesses. I loved that Torie accepted her disability even if it made her uncomfortable at times, but she presented as such a strong heroine despite others reactions to her.

Torie and Dom’s relationship started as a bit of a compromise on Dominic’s part (or so he thinks) and as a straight refusal to be second choice for Torie. I love it when a hero takes it as a challenge to win over a heroine and boy does Torie make him work. Back to the discussion of the cover, we DO get a very tempting Dom shirtless in a chair, trying to seduce Torie. And when the chemistry hits between these two, it’s so so good. Romance should be about two people falling in love, sometimes despite of being side of their circumstances and once Dom and Torie open themselves up to love, they find they are just what the other needs.

Things I loved:
🐇 Clothespins (IYKYK) 🍆
🐇 Dom getting put in his place
🐇 All the painting references
🐇 ⬅️
🐇 Val and Florence’s morbid obsession with severed heads
🐇 A growly alpha hero who is laid low by his desire for the heroine.

A big thank you to Avon Books for my early copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Steam: 🪭🪭🪭
Number of times Dom’s tool is referred to as a clothespin: 6️⃣
Numbers of times rabbits are mentioned: 1️⃣1️⃣7️⃣!!

Victoria Sutton is the second daughter watching on as her old sister, Leonora is betrothed to a man who she is sure she doesn't love and who doesn't love her. Torie knows Leonora and Dominic, Viscount Kelbourne are only betrothed because they make a good match according to the ton. After Dominic's sister and brother in law are tragically killed, he is awarded guardianship of his niece and nephew- twins, Florence and Valentine. Torie knows Leonora will have a hard time accepting the twins and wanting to be a parent to them. After putting Dominic off for 2 years, Leonora finally runs off with a Lord older than her father and Dominic is left with having to find another bride. He decides to ask Torie and she initially rebuffs him. Dominic is however unwilling to give up on having Torie for his wife and she has already formed a bond with Flo and Val. Despite the fact that she cannot read of write, Torie finally gives in and marries Dominic and after some mistakes made by both of them, they both realize that they love each other and that is all that matters. A very steamy love affair with flawed individuals who have secrets that are revealed only after they realize that they are better together than then are apart.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Eloisa James rarely misses and Viscount in Love is no exception! I adored Tori and Dom's grumpy sunshine dynamic and the twins had me cracking up. I also really enjoyed how this book explored different kinds of intelligence and how we tend to underestimate creative gifts.

I loved Tori's character. She was so warm and caring and I admired how she knew what made her happy even if other people looked down on her for it. Dom balances her out well and their chemistry is electric! I also really enjoyed watching Dom bond with the twins.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this book was when it was set. We see so many books in the Regency but I have read very few that take place around 1800. It was fun to read about the slightly different fashions of the time and get to know more about what lead to the regency era.

If you like historical romance, a grumpy peer, or opposites attract I definitely recommend this one! Eloisa James is one of my favorite historical romance writers and I can already tell this new series is a winner!

3.5/5 stars

Eloisa James is a wonderful writer.

I have not read any of her recent books (before this one), but I was a diehard fan of her earlier efforts. So it was with great anticipation that I began reading this latest book which is the beginning of a new series from her.

My favorite thing about this book was its character portrayal, mostly the heroine Torie and the young twins Val and Florence. Torie is a heroine who has been overlooked, ridiculed (because of her illiteracy) and just plain treated shabbily both by society and her own family. She has valiantly waded through the veiled insults to her intelligence and worth and risen above it by being unapologetically herself...a sunny, sometimes irreverent, fun-loving young woman. Her character is one to root for, one to rage for in her unfair treatment and one to simply want to hug and love. Val and Florence, who grew up in the midst of often absent parents, a philandering mother and a domineering nanny, are a breath of fresh air. As twins, they are fiercely in each other's corner and are originals in their thinking and intelligence. While others may see them as "odd" or "not normal" in their interests, Torie sees them as loyal, creative and immediately falls in love upon meeting them at their parents' funerals. Some of my favorite scenes from the book revolve around Torie and the twins' interactions. Unfortunately, however, I was not as enamored of our hero Dom. While I understood his abrasive, argumentative, often temper-driven personality had a lot to do with his father's ridicule growing up, he never really endeared himself to me as I felt he didn't (at least a good bit of the time) fully appreciate and cherish the treasure he found in Torie and even at times treated her somewhat as harshly as society did.

One more mention, while maybe I'm becoming more of a "prude" as I age, but there was quite a bit of explicit spiciness to the intimate scenes here. Don't get me wrong, I understand that James is an historical romance author which genre (almost by its definition) usually means some heat between the romantic leads, but I was a bit taken aback by some of Dom's actions and at times, I felt they didn't match what I had come to believe was his character's personality. Just a personal aside.

All in all, I enjoyed this but maybe not as much as I had hoped to coming from my fondly remembered author's backlist of books.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Avon for providing the free early arc of Viscount in Love for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Torie is considered by polite society to be the stupid younger sister. She has made her peace with that label and has decided to live her life by her own rules. Dominic is engaged to marry Torie’s older sister. He has just inherited his niece and nephew after the death of their parents. This changes everything in his life. Society will frown on these two people ending up in a relationship but sometimes fate has it’s own plans.

The author does a good job creating two characters that have some depth. Torie knows Dominic for years but never sees him as more than a future brother-in-law. She loves her sister but also understands that her sister isn’t always the nicest or most honest person. As Torie gets to know Dominic she discovers that he is a complex man who is passionate about many aspects of his life. Torie has a learning disability that causes people to think she is stupid and the author uses that to give a counterpoint to the ways in which Torie is brilliant. I am not going to give it away but the author introduces all of the bits and pieces the reader needs to understand Torie’s actions so that when Torie verbalizes her reasons for some of her actions, they make perfect sense. I understand why Dominic would fall in love with her. Dominic has a fairly average background for a Viscount in a romance novel with the exception that he wasn’t horribly mistreated by his father. Dominic takes his role in the House of Lords very seriously as well as overseeing his vast holdings. He has to learn to trust his instincts to love because society has a negative opinion of his niece and nephew and society will not be kind if he marries Torie. While his journey isn’t big it is well done. I can see why Torie would fall in love with him. The addition of the niece and nephew added a nice element to the story. They are not annoying kids added just to be annoying. There is no “bad guy” but there are many people putting pressure on the couple.

This story takes place in London the early 1800s. This is a story of social expectations and people breaking away from the norms. If you are looking for a sweet love story between two adults who talk to each other and work out their issues, give this a try. I will definitely read more from this author in the future.

This one reminded me of the older EJ books that I had fallen in love with and had all of the humor, wit and romance that I enjoy finding in her books! It had a sweet grumpy sunshine pairing with two idiots in love(fondly)😂

Viscount Dominic Kelbourne is engaged to Victoria Sutton's sister, Leonora and outwardly they seem like the ideal match - both prim and proper. But when Dominic becomes the guardian to his nephew and niece after his sister's death, Leonora doesn't seem interested in having these two hellions around and elopes with an elderly baron - leaving everyone surprised. Contrary to her sister's dislike, Torie seems to genuinely like these twins, despite how odd they might be, and loves spending time with them. And now Dom is determined to marry her though Torie isn't too keen on becoming a nanny for the kids as she's holding out for a love match 😂

Though this sounds simple enough at first, I felt like the story was also a bit different from what I'd been expecting it to be - mainly because of the characters! Torie is vivacious and talented but that's mostly overlooked because of the fact that she is 'illiterate'(what we'd consider dyslexia now). But that doesn't stop her from doing the things that she wants to do or voicing her opinions. Dom is her opposite with his rules and arrogance but it doesn't stop him from falling hard for her(though he doesn't realize that😂). Like he tries his best to convince her to marry him - even strips to show off his abs! This is the kind of marriage proposal I'd want 🤣
I loved the banter between them along with the romance - and how it had its ups and downs as they're both quite flawed but willing to make up for their missteps. There was a point at 50% or so when I was like 'whaat noo!' and almost wanted to stop reading, but I persisted and I'm glad I did. It's nice to see imperfect characters like these fall in love too! Their relationship with the twins was also very sweet - and one of the few instances where I didn't find kids in books annoying!

Overall, this was a solid start to a new series and I can't wait to read the upcoming ones(I hope these will be just as good as the Wildes or the Fairytale ones)!❣️✨

Despite their differences, I loved how Torrie and Dom fit together. They became friends as much as fell in love. I really liked this. The children Val and Florence were a fun addition to the story. Their antics were great and made me laugh. I took away a couple of messages from the story. First, words can have a strong impact on others so first off be kind. Second, don't judge as you don't know the journey they have traveled. While a romance, there was a lot more to the story and I enjoyed it a lot. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was charming, fun, sweet, steamy and I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next book in the Accidental Brides series as well as other books by this author.

This is the first book in the Accidental Bride series. I enjoyed the Dominic and Torie's characters. I especially enjoyed Dom's nephew and niece. Dominic was engaged to Torie's sister, Lenora, for two years. She kept putting off setting a wedding date. Dominic's sister and her husband die unexpectedly and he becomes the guardian for their 11 year old twins ~ Flo and Val. Lenora didn't care for the children or the idea of them living with them. She elopes with another man. He needs to find another woman to be his wife. Torie adores the twins and is afraid that her visits with them will be discontinued now that her sister is no longer engaged to Dominic. Dominic is attracted to Torie and knows she loves the twins. He asks her to be his wife. This is a story of two people falling in love and becoming a family with a few stumbling blocks along the way.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Honestly, just magnificent. 10/10. Five stars.

Dominic starts off engaged to Torie's sister, Leanora, who frankly is THE WORST. Torie can't read and is ridiculed for it by society and her own family. When Dominic's sister and brother-in-law die in a carriage accident, he takes on his precocious twin niece and nephew as his wards. Leanora has no interested in mothering the twins, while Torie immediately is fond of the children and spends time with them and they grow to adore her. When Leanora elopes with another man the day before her wedding to Dominic, Dominic demands that Sir William, Leanora & Torie's father, repay the 10,000 pounds he demanded from Dominic to secure an engagement with Leanora - knowing the venerate gambler doesn't have it. Then suggests, if he marries Torie, he'll consider them even. The father declines, stating that he has already lined up a marriage for Torie with a duke and Torie declines because she thinks that she'll just gain more scorn from society by marrying her sister's ex-fiance.
Which basically begins the great seduction. Just perfection. Listen, he takes his shirt off to distract her because he realizes that she totally thinks he's hot. WHAT? I LOVE IT.

Dom does some dumb dumb stuff. Torie tears him UP about it (totally into it). They get married. Dom talks about his childhood and his verbally abusive father. Their not-so-sweet parental-installed neuroses hit in all the wrong places. Dom tries to grand gesture and fails so adorably.

Go read it. If you love hunky heroes with thick thighs and heroines that take no sh*t - this is perfect.

I received an eARC of this book for free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Big thank you to NetGalley, Avon/ Harper Voyager and Ms. James for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. Honest review requested but not required.
To be completely honest this read like vintage Eloisa James. I absolutely love the Georgian period for romance and Ms. James does it SO well. Torie, Victoria Sutton, starts off the book as the younger sister of the woman betrothed to Viscount Kelbourne. Leonora, her elder sister, is put off by Kelbourne’s inheriting his sister’s two children (of dubious parentage and of definitely dubious upbringing) upon his sister’s untimely death. I’m not usually a big fan of children in romance novels but Valentine and Florence were hilarious and endearing.
This book was so much fun. I found myself giggling as I tore through it at record speed. If Eloisa James is writing characters like this again then I’ll be back to auto-buying the books. There’s some good groveling, some EXCELLENT grumping, and some gratuitous shirt removal (for the record, count me amongst the camp of those who enjoy the men with capital-M muscles, mmmkay?). I also enjoyed that Torie wasn’t “taught” to read; she was perfect as is.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 stars, happily rounded up for GR.

Torie's sister, Leonora, is engaged to Dominic, Viscount Kelbourne. They seem like the perfect couple, but when his sister leaves her twins in Dominic's care, the real Lenora comes out. She breaks their engagement by secretly marrying a duke. Torie is often criticized because she cannot read or write, but she has an excellent memory and loves to paint. Always happy and compassionate, she bonds with the twins. Dominic is attracted to Torie and decides he wants Torie for his wife. He just has to convince Torie. He's not above using the twins in his favor. A dominant male, he always has to have his way, but his whole world is turned upside down when Torie opens his heart.
Love this book!
Very explicit sex.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

I'm a fan of Ms. James and this book was just so good.

Dominic is engaged to Leonora and has been for the better part of two years. Leonora only lets Dominic see her light and happy side, and although they've been betrothed for such a long time, have never kissed. This should be a clue.

Victoria, can't read and has been thrown on the trash heap of unmarriageable young women. How can she be the head of a household without being able to read? Well, she's capable, just doesn't read. She is taking care of the household for her father!

When Dominic gets custody of his sister's children, Leonora wants Victoria/Torie to take them to the country and out of sight of London's elite. Dominic is not amused.

Now the book really gets going! An elopement, a thrown together wedding, two children hurting and wanting love and attention, a brilliant woman finally allowed to get acknowledgement for her passion, and a man falling so deeply in love he will do anything for his wife.

I can't wait to read more in the Accidental Brides series!

The Viscount needs a wife now. He had a fiancé but she eloped with someone else. Enter her slightly unconventional sister. She’s not perfect but will have to do because he has suddenly become the guardian of twins. Torie really wants to marry for love but the twins need her desperately so she agrees to marry Dominic. This book has interesting characters and is entertaining. Great job Ms James!

Let me just say, this was the best, funny, entertaining, brilliant and cute book by one of my favorite authors. Ms James writes the most compelling story about two people who found love when they weren't looking. You have a haughty viscount who wants to marry the perfect woman but then Lenora elopes with another man. What else can go wrong? His niece and nephew are his wards since his sister passed away and were living with their grandparents.
Viscount Dominic Kelbourne is in a pickle since his ex fiancee got married. He needs a nanny to help with the kids. He knows the person to help in his time of need. Torie is the younger sister of Lenora whom loves kids. She knows how to help her charges with love and kindness.
Then you see Dom become enamored by his nanny who changes him too. They become closer and then he asks Torie to marry. She wants love and he needs a mother for his children.
Can these two see what they have a soul mate in each other and the power of love to sustain them?
I appreciate Net Galley for this ARC title in which I gave an honest review.

A Regency romance about the Viscount Dominic , Torie the sister of the bride to be and the two orphans
niece and nephew.
A great heartwarming fun romance story
Torie cannot read but is very knowledgeable about everything and a painter.
Love the twins and their no list of things to say or ask
Really enjoy the story and characters.
Voluntarily reviewed.