When Love and Scandal Collide

Alice must find a wealthy man to marry. Running into William at Hyde Park might have been destiny.

William is a duke troubled by rowdy brothers. He must marry, but he cannot be connected to any scandal. Surely, the woman who captured his attention has none in her past.

Two people find themselves falling in love, but secrets, scandal, and blackmail might get in the way. Did love stand a chance? I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to those who like historical romance with secrets and scandal. Our duke and his lady have a rocky path ahead.

This was a fantastic read. Hearts, love, tension. . I . Right away, I was hooked with how odd this situation was, and things only increased, which had me on the edge of my seat.

This book introduces the Chance family ( the original four, turns out the next generation have their own books as well). The male protagonist is the eldest brother who tries to do the right thing and control the narrative as much as possible. On the other end is a woman who is at her wits end to figure out how to marry into money. She manages to capture the other’s interest and that’s where the story begins.

It’s a quick point from meeting to falling but there are secrets that are just waiting to cause problems. There are a few explicit scenes which can be skipped without losing the plot.

I liked the overall approach but it seemed like the level of secrecy was probably not required since the readers also can jump to the wrong conclusions. I found it hard to understand what drew them to each other because it was extremely superficial, but the rest of the connection was well developed.

I think fans of the author and the genre who love long series’ will really be able to appreciate this.
I received both books of the series as ARCs thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

This book kicks off a brand new, captivating series, The Chances. I've just recently finished Ms. Murdoch's Dukes in Danger series and absolutely loved it, so I was excited to have the opportunity to read this new series and I tell you I was not disappointed! William Chance is the Duke of Cothrom and is the only responsible one of the family. He is constantly trying to save the family's reputation from scandal and frankly he's had enough. He just wants a peaceful, stable life. That's not exactly what he gets when Alice comes into his life. Alice herself has survived a scandal and now she's being blackmailed. She needs to find someone wealthy who will be able to protect her. She doesn't give William much choice in the matter when she demands he marry her. As their marriage begins with lies, they are off to a bit of a rocky start, but in the end, love will inevitably prevail!
I didn't really like the way Alice lied all the time. I think she should've had more trust in her husband early on. Nevertheless, the story itself was well-written and highly entertaining and I had a lovely time reading it. I am very much looking forward to continuing this series!
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing and am voluntarily leaving my review.

William Chance, Duke of Cothrom, is a stickler for keeping his reputation unblemished. He's assaulted by a young woman in Hyde Park begging him to marry her. At a masquerade ball, he's infatuated with a masked young lady. It's the young lady from the park. Alice Fox-Edwards needs to marry. Her daughter's protection depends on it. She doesn't care if William is a duke as long as they marry. Unexpected is the way they feel about each other, but the truth will test William's resolve. Is it worth fighting for a happy ending? A very interesting first book in the series. I can tell the two younger brothers are going to have even more problems in the following books.
Descriptive sex. I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Emily EK Murdoch is a great author. In this new series, she gets it off to a great start. I love her writing style and the emotion she brings to the story. Plus, marriage of convenience hits for me almost every time. I highly recommend this book.

4 stars

It's the start of a series of 20 books!! I didn't really gel with the hero. The heroine was quirky and in parts desperate. She's had a bad season previously and is desperate to get married. I wondered why she wasn't honest about her status. She throws herself at the hero and he is gullible enough not to ask too many questions but to take her at face value. The author writes well but I doubt I'm enamoured enough with the family to continue and as there were only a couple of the duke's relatives she must be going to add in a whole load of hangers on!

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

I enjoy reading Emily E K Murdoch's series, especially Never the Bride, Governess Bureau, etc.
This love story is the first in a new series about the Chance Family.
This story is about William Chance and Alice Fox-Edwards. Alice needs a husband quickly and is desperate to find one, no matter what.
William is extremely protective of his family and is very controlling. I liked the chemistry between William and Alice, and found ther interactions between the brothers to be amusing. This is a great start to the series!

Thank you NetGalley. Alice has to find a husband and soon. She is about out of options. She sees the Chance men and follows one until he is alone. She runs into the Duke and asks him to marry her. He gets away and next she follows him to a masquerade ball. William is taken with her and asks her to marry him before she takes the mask off. His brothers have tried to get him to not be so rigid. His position means everything to him. They fall in love and marry. Then he finds out her secret and sends her away. But he misses her and realizes he has not given her a chance to explain herself. Can two people who meet the way they did find happiness? Members of Ton have done it with a lot less.

We meet Alice Fox-Edwards an exceptionally beautiful woman who is in a crisis and desperately seeking a husband. She travels to London and while strolling in the park and comes upon the Chance brothers having an argument. Once the brothers break apart, she hurries after the man who walks off on his own and plans to bump into him in the hope, he would offer to marry her and give her the protection she so desperately requires. The man she bumps into is none other than William Chance, Duke of Cothram and there is a spark of chemistry that flows between them. They meet once again at a masquerade ball, only this time, William is a little less concerned with propriety and flirts with her. They have a dance together and he ends up proposing marriage to her!

Alice was desperate to seek a husband ASAP as she is being blackmailed over her daughter and the secret she is trying to keep hidden from the ton. Alice is such a sweet person and so compassionate in all her dealings with anyone she encounters.

Initially, the couple is blissfully married and enjoying each other's company until Alice sends for her daughter, Maude. It is then that William realises Maude is not her ward but her daughter and before Alice can clarify details with him, William banishes them to the dower house at his country estate.

When he finally comes to his senses, after speaking with his brothers, William decides to hear Alice her out and try to give their marriage another chance. All in, a sweet story that moved along at a good pace. I enjoyed it and would recommend it. I received an ARC from the publishers and NetGalley and submit my review voluntarily.

The romance in this book was a bit different than I expected. First off Alice pretty much throws herself at William because she needs to find a husband. We don't find out the whole reason completely until much later in the book. William has 3 crazy brothers that he us constantly keeping in line, but he isn't usually the impulsive one, well, until now.

I think there could have been a bit more fire and angst between the characters, since disagreements really felt like sad moping moments. I did like the silly brotherly aspects to this book, since that lightened the plot a bit. Hopefully that continues in future books.

Overall I enjoyed this book and hope the next brother's story is a bit more wild and crazy.

Thank you to Dragonblade and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

Love, love, loved it! William is so stiff and proper. Alice is so scandalous and impulsive. Through trickery, impulsiveness and attraction, they find themselves married. Until secrets come crashing down, casting suspicion and mistrust upon the marriage.
Thank you Emily EK Murdoch, Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

Alice Edward-Fox needs a husband, now. William Chance, Duke of Cothrom needs stability and a woman beyond reproach since his three younger brothers are always stirring up trouble and and consequently gossip. Alice is perfect for he duke, except that she nearly escaped a scandal four years ago and has a blackmailer demanding money. This was a fun historical romance, with very mild spice. I really enjoyed getting to see Alice and William grow to care for each other and learn to be a better version of themselves of their family. William's brothers were quite outrageous, constantly ribbing him and getting themselves into trouble, but you could tell they all truly cared about each other when it counted. I'm very curious to read the next Chance brothers book.

The writing is easy to follow and enjoyable but I couldn’t get into the characters. The hero is an absolute dim wit with very little masculine traits and who is easily turned around finger, while a heroine will justify any means to the end. I cannot imagine any marriage succeeding based on such lies and deception. Such lies would be unforgivable especially if anyone who is so honorable as William. On the other hand Alice shows very little regrets.

The character development is very lacking. I wish there was more story telling on what had happened to Alice. Instead too much focus is on the brothers (which is odd as this book is not about them) and about lust which is confused with love.

A secret to a good book is developing characters by their actions rather than words, by building the tension and chemistry between them and allowing the readers to watch them fall in deep love. It’s so repetitive and dull to have to read how one wants to shag another from the moment they lay eyes on each other. Also the beauty is defined by the person’s character, not by their physical appearances.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange of an honest review.

This enjoyable romantic romp is the first story in what promises to be a fun series. The Chance brothers have already made an interesting and entertaining introduction. The first story features William Chance, Duke of Cothram, and Alice Fox-Edwards. Alice is desperate to find a husband, even if she has to trick someone into marrying her. William is over-controlling and overprotective. These two have great chemistry. The first weeks of marriage are wonderful. Then a secret revealed makes William believe she has lied to and betrayed him. For once, the brothers advise him, and he listens. Is it possible to repair their relationship? Fast-paced, emotional, and full of wit and surprises, this is an excellent start to the series. I look forward to the brothers’ stories.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

This is the start of a lovely new historical romance series. Our hero is the head of the family and is taking his responsibilities very seriously. Always trying to keep his brothers in line and the family name without blemish.
Our heroine has a scandal behind her and is desperately in need of a husband, anyone will do.
There are a few giggles, lots of secrets ,and towards the end a few tears. I loved meeting this family and really look forward to reading the rest of the series. The men in the Chance family are loving and friendly but also mischievous and complicated.
I loved it.

Married By Deceit

A wonderful start to the Chance series that features the stories of four brothers who couldn’t be more different from each other.

The first book is about the oldest, William Chance, the Duke of Cothrom, an endearing, if somewhat akward character who leads a respectable life, avoiding scandal and following the rules. He tries his best to keep control over his wayward brothers who like to rebel against society rules.

Alice Fox-Edwards is a determined, almost aggressive heroine who, due to a scandal years ago, was shunned by polite society and left London. When she is blackmailed, Alice returns to London to find a wealthy husband who might save her. The only possible way is to entrap a gentleman into marriage and she sets her cap on William who is instantly taken by her.

William does not realise that he has fallen into her trap, he is too blinded by his desires, which he had restrained for years, that he cannot recognise that Alice is not the perfect, respectable woman he thought she was and offers marriage.
Alice, on the other hand, did not expect to fall in love with him. But her lies, secrets and deceptions put a strain on their fresh marriage....

It took me a while to warm to Alice's character. I found her deceptions off-putting, even though I could understand her reasons as the book progressed.

Apart from that I really enjoyed the book, like all the author's other books, it is a wonderfully and humorously written opposites attract love story with lots of puns, banter, warmth and spice. The chemistry between the characters was great from the start and I really liked how their characters and William‘s relationship with his brothers developed throughout the book.
I immediately fell in love with the other brothers too and can't wait for their stories to come.

Overall, an enjoyable read that I am happy to recommend!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

I will admit, I had a difficult time liking our Heroine, Alice. She seemed to be such a conniving little witch and it took quite a while to warm up to her. William’s attitude of being a control freak wasn’t much better. But watching the 2 of them grow into the wonderful people they became was so very endearing. This author has a way of bringing out all of your emotions. The brothers’ interactions were all very amusing and I can’t wait to read their stories as well. Would have loved to have seen something done to the blackmailer by the Duke though….being as protective as he is!

I received this story for free and these are my own opinions.

William is a stick in the mud and stodgy. He's a duke on a mission to retain his reputation due to his brothers antics. Alice is a fun loving spark of exhuberance. Together it's a combustible reaction and so much fun. A new series guaranteed to have each reader begging for more and waiting with anticipation. Excellent story with well defined characters that are truly relatable. Fasted paced and engaging.