I really enjoyed Almost A Scoundrel last year and I was expecting the same experience with By No Means A Gentleman. I was disappointed by the heroine and her horrid actions towards the hero throughout the novel. Having protagonists kicking and screaming their way to the altar makes me so sad. How can you expect me to root for a romance when the character wants nothing to do with it? I can expect hesitancy when the love interest is a monster, not when he is a waving green flag of the deepest verdant. William was a soft, sensitive marquess who was deeply infatuated with Harriet and was too self-conscious over his stutter to ever talk to her. He didn't deserve the awful way she treated him in this book. She tore up multiple marriage contracts, made him jump into the Thames after her, and got drunk on her wedding night to protest her nuptials. This guy can't catch a break!

Frustrating heroines aside, I did read this book in one sitting. I was desperate to know the ending and see if Harriet ever got over her misguided prejudice. William was so sweet and willing to withstand her poor treatment because he was so dedicated to her. I liked the way he called her "love" the first few times, but it became repetitive as it occurred in every other sentence he spoke. I won't continue with this series or this author, but it was nice while it lasted. Harriet's nasty interactions with the darling marquess really turned me off and I felt awful for him. It may have been called By No Means A Gentleman, but Harriet didn't act like a lady either!

William Fitzgerald Hamilton, Marquess of Leeds, has made up his mind to marry the lady of his dreams and protect her from fortune hunters. Thinking the fiasco of the betting book from Whites would help his cause, it doesn't seem to make a difference to Harriet. What betting book? Lady Harriet Hillstow doesn't even know Leeds and has no intention of marrying him. It's a mad chase for Will to woo the lady to be his wife and court her to win her heart. He won't give up! What about that betting book?
Open bedroom door.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Harriet is shocked to learn from her father that she is to be married to a man she never met on the very next day! She decides to run away to America. Will who has loved Harriet from afar stops her from running and convinces her to marry him. They both have insecurities and think they are not worthy of each other. Can they find happiness? I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.