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.

William Chance, Duke of Cothrom, is tired of fighting for his family’s reputation. He needs stability. He needs calm. He needs certainty. He doesn’t need a wild young woman launching herself into his arms and demanding that he marry her! But marriage is precisely what Alice Fox-Edwards does need. After surviving a scandal four years ago, the threats of a blackmailer now mean she must find a protector.
The start of a new series & a very well written enjoyable romance. I Really liked William but struggled to like Alice, I know she was being blackmailed but she couldn’t lie straight in bed! I did love the chemistry between the couple & actually became invested in their journey to a HEA. I also loved William’s brothers & look forward to their stories. An interesting series starter
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

I would like to thank netgalley and Dragonblade Publishing for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the starchy duke / ruined woman dynamic.

Fast Paced Romantic Romp!

She tried to ensnare him, he had rules but they ended up married anyway.

Falling in love and being the man he was always meant to be didn’t come easy and when he felt she had betrayed him, then the bubble burst. Could he accept her for who she was or would he lose her forever?

A fast paced emotional love story written Ms Murdoch’s way to give you a fun witty read with characters that shine and a swoon-worthy HEA.

Great storyline to start what look like to be an amazing series!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A double meet-cute, grumpy-sunshine, head-over-heels, lets-get-married-at-first-sight, fast-paced, romantic romp!
A trainwreck waiting to happen, but oh boy, Alice and William sure make it fun to watch!

Vivacious, clever and a little daring, she’s a whirlwind, constantly adapting to her everchanging circumstances. A little scheming, a small lie here, an innocent omission there… and she really has no other choice to keep her most precious possession safe.

Presenting himself to society as a proper upstanding duke, always in control , he’s in truth at the end of his rope. Desperately trying to keep the family reputation intact, all he does is clean up his younger brothers’ messes, leaving him little time for anything else, let alone fun.

She’s hunting for a husband, and she’ll catch him by force if necessary. He hopes a wife might do the trick to keep his family in line. Both looking for that magic trick to solve all their problems, neither of them ever dared to hope love would enter the equation. Alice’s bubbly beauty stirs Williams repressed passionate desires - she basically drives him nuts and he’s absolutely, completely, irrevocably unable to resist… and then the world comes crashing down.

Fun, fast and steamy with a solid plot and quirky characters you can’t help but love - this is exactly why I love Emily Murdoch’s stories, and this new series starter does not disappoint! I’m eagerly looking forward to discover what she has planned for the brothers!