This one will be good for those Bridgerton fans! The Regency romance and historical romance fans will be enthralled with the characters, drama, fake dating, and secrets.

So Vanessa Riley is known for her historical fiction so I didn't go into this completely blind. The romance part of this book fell a bit flat to me. It was neat how she exposed the reader to Blacks in Russia because honestly I have never read that before. I can definitely see this on screen, however as a romance this was not the book for me.

DNF'ed at 54%

I really could not get into this story. The pacing felt off from the beginning and I really didn’t care for the main couple. I was way more interested in the older sister and her past drama. This is also an interracial relationship between a black woman and a white guy. When the town drew a cartoon of her saying Massa to the male love interest while he’s playing the piano, I knew this story would not be for me. I’m usually fine with interracial relationships in contemporary books, but this is historical and while I appreciate the accuracy of pushback, I don't want to read about the racist challenges they will have to go through in order to be together.

This started out slow for me but I kept reading and was pleasantly surprised. I felt like I should have read another story before this at times. Georgie and Mark relationship was a bit weird. I felt Mark had a weird obsession with the photo of Dido and substituted Georgie for her. I want to know if Lydia is Jahleel and Katherine's child.

At first, I struggled to get into the story. Mark Sebastian didn’t really give main character/ leading man energy to me. And sometimes he seemed a little whiny and passive towards his interest or even love for Georgina. However, once I hit the 50% mark, the story really picked up. I enjoyed Jahleel way more personally. I really hope him and Katherine get their own book, because their tension and overall story is pretty juicy. I felt also that the overall story progression was a little lost. I understood the bet in a sense, but I was confused about Georgina’s motive. One minute she wants to be her own person and the next she wants to sacrifice for her family. I often felt her motive changed through circumstance rather than character growth. Same for Mark Sebastian; he was ready to give her up and never really fought for her in my opinion. He stood up for himself which I loved, but I wish it meant more for their relationship if that makes sense. Like, he knows that he needs to get money and yet does nothing to actually gain money. So basically, he’s all talk and no action. Then I felt the ending was lackluster. Their agreement is that he’s not stable but all of a sudden that doesn’t matter anymore. It cheapens the story a little in my opinion. I would have rather they wait and made it work when he won. Idk, overall I felt the whole story was a little silly. But I did feel his confessions towards her were beautiful and story flowed. I’m definitely interested in Scarlett’s arc and I hope she’s next in the series. Id recommend if you like historical romance and silly cozy stories with little stakes.

Riley and I don’t mesh well. I was hoping to thoroughly enjoy this but I just couldn’t get into it. I believe I will revisit i, though.

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

A Gamble at Sunset is the start of a new series about the daughters of a coal entrepreneur, the Wilcoxes, whose options have been limited by their financial ruin after the eldest daughter’s failed marriage to a gambling wastrel. When they are befriended by the powerful Duke of Torrance, they have the ability to improve their situation, including making favorable marriages. The situation is complicated by Georgina getting caught in a compromising position, a passionate kiss in the garden, with the third son of a marquess, Lord Mark Sebastian, a dreamy music composer with aspirations to write an award winning arrangement. The Duke hatches a scheme for a fake engagement, although Lord Mark is already very smitten with Georgina. Georgina understands the gamble they would be undertaking together, as she is black and many in the ton fail to hide their prejudice against her race and her origins as a tradesman’s daughter. However, can she ignore what her heart is telling her?

A Gamble at Sunset is refreshing with its distinctive writing, characters and storyline. It examines the lives of black Britons and the impact of racism and classism on relationships. Although there are plenty of witty, lighter moments, there is also a lot of pathos and angst in this novel, as the sisters have faced their share of troubles. Georgina is a strong-minded person, very loving and devoted to her family, and extremely practical. She rightly has reservations about a relationship with Mark, but some readers may not like how much she fights her feelings for him. Mark is a gentle hero with an artistic heart. He falls deeply for Georgina, but also has to acknowledge that their world would not be as kind and accepting of their match. He is forced to realize that if he wants Georgina, he has to be willing to fight society and his family for her. He evolves over the book more so than Georgina as he has to move forward in his inner maturity if he wants a life with her. The writing did feel disjointed at times, and it took a while to get into the feel of the prose, but the unique feel really makes an impact. The characters are well-developed, and feel like real people with all their flaws and beauty, and the family focused storyline is so heart-warming. A very nuanced and complex romance that gives readers so much to ponder and experience, A Gamble at Sunset is a promising start to a new series worth following.

I normally love Vanessa Riley. Her titles have been witty, serious and well researched. Unfortunately I just didn’t relate that well to the main characters here. The chemistry wasn’t there for me and the storyline became confusing.

A Kensington Books ARC via NetGalley

I liked the story between Georgina and Mark, but there was so much other stuff going on it was sometimes hard to keep track of everything. Each chapter also changed who's perspective the story was from and I was often confused as to who was telling it...There was potential, but this one fell flat for me.

Vanessa Riley does. not. miss. If you want swoony, diverse storytelling like Bridgerton with a closed-door approach, I point readers to Riley. I point readers to Riley even if they don't mind spice, because Riley's a legend. Her historical easter eggs are awesome. If you sit down with a book of hers, you're pretty much guaranteed a good time. And this new series is no exception. <3

Complicated and steeped in art, research, and historical figures from the regency period, Vanessa Riley’s newest read explores a diverse cast of sisters and their machinations to rebuild their family’s wealth and manage to rehabilitate Georgie (FMC)’s reputation after she shares an impulsive kiss with Lord Mark Sebastian.

At first, the love story here struck me as a bit one dimensional. Boy sees girl who looks like his favorite painting. Boy forms obsession. I think that's perhaps why I had such a rough time with the first half--I found the side characters far more interesting.

But then Riley pulled me in the rest of the way.

The narrative is complicated, and the dynamics of power, racism, prejudice, and wealth are thoroughly explored. It’s both escapist and swoony, and I adored how the flimsy backdrop of insta-love is drowned out by something deeper and more grounded. Across a tapestry of pride, shame, and music, we see these two evolve into smarter, more mature people. In many places, it reminded me more than a bit of Austen's social critiques. Absolutely brilliant. Love, love, love.

I look forward to seeing how more of this series unfolds!!

While A Gamble at Sunset sets the stage, it leaves us yearning for more. In this first book I had a bit of a challenge following the storyline. The emotional depth and historical richness are just the beginning. As we eagerly await Books 2 and 3, we can only hope that they will bring even more of a connection to the character's journey, delving deeper into the lives and loves of the Wilcox sisters.

The Duke of Torrance is back in town and gambles to get someone’s trust back through family in “A Gamble at Sunset” by Vanessa Riley, first in her newest series Betting Against the Duke!

If you enjoy fake engagements, then you’ll enjoy the push and pull between one couple. I loved the external influence that the couple needed for their realization. Plus, there was exterior conflict that added to the love-conquers-all concept.

If you enjoy lovers to enemies in denial, then you’ll absolutely enjoy this read. The story was driven forward by the secondary couple and their individual secrets. There was a lot of pushing away that built the anticipation for their book.

This was a well-paced historical fiction and romance. I enjoy Riley’s books for the historical aspects woven into her stories and the author’s notes that add to our learning of what’s not mainstream until discovered. Women of color dared to be in places they shouldn’t be during Regency era and I loved that!

Thank you to Net Galley, Kensington Publishing, and Zebra for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Going with the Bridgerton theme we are dealing with people of colour. A family business thriving and a rich family driven into the ground by a son in laws gambling, and the attempts of the eldest daughter to turn it around. Opening the story with the death bed scene of said son in law, we have his friend, also of mixed ancestry come to the family’s aid.

Taking the Wilcox sisters under his wing, the Duke of Torrance did not know what he was getting into.four ladies all determined, independent and knowing what they want. Katherine the eldest hating the Dukes help, at the same time the feelings she has for him, not diminished but she suppressing them. Then Georgina pushed into a farcical engagement having been caught in a kiss and Lydia the baby of the group, having caught the heart of the Duke who sees in the little girl the sister he lost.

The story revolves around Georgina and Katherine mainly, how they navigate British society with their background of being people of colour, the prejudices they face and how they overcome them. Very brave women here.

Interesting take from a very different angle of a romance of the times.

Historical romance is one of my favorite genres, and I know Vanessa Riley can write it well, but "A Gamble at Sunset" never really clicked for me. I didn't believe in the central romance, between the strange Mark, and the rather uninteresting Georgia. The occasional anachronisms in the historically rather formal language were jarring.

I'll read more from Riley, but will probably avoid any more in this particular series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I usually shy away from historical romance unless it is Ms. Bev but this was a really good story.

Georgina and Mark had an interesting tale. He thought she was a courtesan. She thought he was just a means to irritate her sister. One kiss changed everything.

The side story in this book also had me going and I can’t wait for the next book that I hope is coming. This family has me intrigued.

Zero pepper
3.75 ⭐️/5
0.00 🌶️/5

As entertaining as this book was, I struggled to connect fully with Mark and Georgie fully. Not sure if it was because they almost became side characters of their own story: much of the book was devoted to developing Katherine and Jahleel’s storyline (which is the more emotional compelling story to me, setup for their book a 2nd chance romance big on heartbreak and angst). Or if it was because I felt at times there was too much internal dialogue of our lead characters where there was a disconnect between their thoughts and their behavior.

We get:
Dual pov - 1st person
Duke chapters 3rd person
Race and discrimination
Mistaken situation at a chance encounter
Fake public engagement
Racist cartoon
Composer and his muse
Realities of love vs cause & effect
Chronic illness sickle cell anemia
Zero on the spice meter (maybe 2 kisses)
TW: pregnancy loss

I loved all the characters but felt the story was weighed down with so much telling about bets and jumping between Jahleel and Katherine’s history to the actual love story between Mark and Georgina.

I wanted to love this book and I was so excited to get my hands on it. However, it didn’t give what I thought it would give. The romance was lacking. Mark and Georgia didn’t have any sparks between them. Also, it was like reading 2 stories are once. You have Mark and Georgia story happening as well as Jahleel’s and Katherine story. To be honest I was more interested and Katherine and Jahleels story than Mark and Georgias.
I think the writing was write well and so on. I just didn’t love all the characters.

This is the first story in what promises to be a wonderful series about four captivating sisters who inherited their father’s coal business, have many talents, and strive to find a cure for their sister’s disease. Georgina Wilcox is a wallflower who is musically gifted. She meets Lord Mark Sebastian who is a composer. They are caught in an embrace and enter into what is at first a fake betrothal. They have much in common and care about each other as friends, but soon they feel more. There are problems, but things have a way coming out right, and for this couple they do. This is a very well-written story with an interesting plot and complex characters. The research included at the end of the story is fascinating.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

I found that this book tried to do a bit too much to be truly successful at any of its storylines. I did also feel a bit thrown for the first several chapters of the book while I tried to keep track of the various characters as they were introduced. Even once I felt confident in knowing who everyone was, I still found it difficult to immerse myself in this book. While I understand that the Duke and Katherine's story will likely come to a conclusion near or at the end of this series, this first book focused on them quite a bit, to the detriment of Georgina and Mark. There are a lot of elements of this book that could work to create a truly enjoyable title, but something about the way it was presented didn't work for me. I am not sure that I will be picking up the next book in the series, though I think I will still try another of Riley's books.