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!

This one was not my favourite trope ( I don’t even know what the trope is called mind you ) but I did enjoy the book and Alice was a spunky and fun character and there was good chemistry between her and William
I’m looking forward to the rest of the series and reading more about the other Chance brothers.

William Chance, the Duke in every way, has to be proper because his brothers are not. When he sees Alice Fox-Edwards its love at first site. And theyare married rather quickly. When all is revealed then all love is lost or is it?
I was enchanted and enthralled by this book. I look forward to reading about the next brothers. I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with guidelines.

I love a good period drama, and this book was enjoyable to read. It had some banter, some spice and a good amount of drama. I did find that the plot was predictable, however this book still held my interest until the end and I found it was an easy read and a good choice if you’re having Bridgerton withdrawals! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical romance books, it’s definitely worth a read!

A fighting Chance is the first book in a new series The Chances.

William Chance, Duke of Cothrom, made a promise to take care of his younger brothers, three to be exact. William the new duke goes out of his way to quelch any hint of gossip or ruination to the Chance family name. His brothers are enjoying causing as much havoc as they can knowing William will handle everything.

William does his best to bring honor to his position, so much so, that he forgets to enjoy himself. that is until he meets Alice Fox-Edwards. She sees him as a solution to her problems and falls into him claiming he must marry her. but in his very dignified and stuffy manor, says absolutely not.

Alice is more determined than ever and arrives at a masquerade ball. With her identity hidden, she sees William and he is instantly charmed by Alice. Unknown to him Alice is weathering the gossip of a scandal four years ago.

William makes a lot of assumptions which Alice does not correct. William has been fighting his feelings for so long, that he is determined to marry Alice a paragon of virtue completely understanding how important it is to protect the Chance name at costs.

But when William finds out part of the truth, will he be willing to throw it all away or will he listen, really listen to Alice in order to find a love he never thought possible.

This is a fun beginning for a new series. William is a bit stodgy from all the responsibility he puts on himself. It takes Alice to help him see that there is much more to life than being worried about everything all the time. I live the entertaining relationship between the brothers. The teasing and bantering back and forth makes me long to read the next one.

4.5*
If this first book is any indication then this is going to be an interesting series. Four brothers, three legitimate, the first being a duke, the other three with honorary titles. This book is the duke’s romance - William spends every waking moment following Society’s rules, being careful, upright, strait-laced and trying (rather unsuccessfully to keep his scandalous younger brothers out of trouble). When he meets Alice he is deceived into believing she is as truthful and trustworthy as himself, not knowing that she will scheme and lie to marry any wealthy man. As Alice begins to fall for him she begins to feel guilty, but not guilty enough to risk all by telling him the truth. Unfortunately for Alice, her house of cards comes tumbling down shortly after her marriage - is there any chance of a future happy relationship?
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I recently finished Murdoch's Dukes in Danger collection and I jumped at the chance when I saw that she had started a new series. I love her writing and try to read them at every opportunity. Her chemistry, sweetness, and great characters always keep me coming back for more. A Fighting Chance was the first book premiering the brand spanking new Chance empire. My jaw hit the floor when I saw that it contained 20 books featuring the Chance family. The titles are going to be rife with puns and I'm living for it. William and Alice were so well suited and I noticed their chemistry as soon as she pounced on him at the park seeking a marriage proposal. I really admired the shakeup of the traditional personalities where Alice was more aggressive and William was a cautious gentleman who constantly blushed. That is until he got all hot and bothered to do some pouncing of his own.

As much as I adored this darling couple, Alice had red flags the size of Hyde Park. She withheld vital information from her groom and lied more than she told the truth. I can somehow rationalize her actions because she was being blackmailed, but it gave me the ick regarding the constant deceit towards her husband. This book was an endless parade of deception and I was only somewhat mollified due to the couple's tender relationship. Alice was a sweet girl, but oof I swear she was allergic to the truth.

This was a great start to the Chance Family series, even if I was less than pleased with the nonstop lying. William was a very responsible man and I hope he can knock some sense into his knucklehead brothers. I'm really looking forward to their stories, especially if they can mature enough to stop wasting their family's money and philandering with debutantes. You can count on me to pick up a Murdoch romance from the catalog with nary A Fighting Chance.

This book was a real treat, and a very pleasant read, I would recommend this book to anybody looking for a good regency romance.

As the start of a new series, I found this novel a little difficult to get into because of my own issues with having the wool pulled over my eyes. Alice is in a desperate situation and like most mothers, she will do whatever it takes to protect her child. It seemed the best idea to crash into the Duke of Cothrom and demand marriage when he holds her steady but it, unfortunately, backfired on her when the truth of the matter was revealed. Fortunately, despite Williams's judgmental stance towards Alice, his brothers voice their own views on the matter, making William rethink his decision. The novel is a standalone and comes to a lovely conclusion. I received a copy of this romance as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

William the Duke is the eldest of four brothers and he takes full responsibility for all their actions.
Alice is desperate for a husband with a title or money or both.
They meet more than once in unusual circumstances.
Their relationship grows but deception and lies pulls them apart.
The brothers and their banter is amusing and each should have their own story.
Easy enjoyable read.

Deception, Blackmail, Finding Love:
This story is a thought-provoking romance story of two very interesting people with very different personalities.
William the ever-cautious disciplined duke in charge of protecting his family from any scandals. Naive for sure but when smitten with desire what can you expect?
Alice a vivacious quirky character that literally jumps right in due to her desperate situation that is hidden until later in the story.
The plot follows the two through the usual getting to know each other with many complications due to Alice and her past which she must keep hidden to land the duke.
I especially like how the brothers came together to help William through his meltdown which brought this story to a happy ending with no cliffhangers.
I do look forward to more of the brothers and their own romance story in this new series The Chances,
📚Story Rating 4.4 out of 5.
💖Pretty Cover

Destitute and being blackmailed, Alice risks going back to London. She is determined to find a husband who can pay her debts. She finds William who has no intention to marry but is drawn to the beautiful Alice. Can a marriage last that is based on lies? This is the first of a twenty book series involving the Chance family. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.

This was my first Emily Murdoch book and it did not disappoint.

The story revolves around William who is like any other protective older brother and also happens to be a duke. His younger brothers are always landing themselves in trouble and William has to bail them out. For this reason, William is very much concerned with his family reputation and tries his hardest to maintain his polished persona outside.

Alice, our FMC has re-entered society after her disappearance due to a scandal. She needs to find a stable man to marry since she is in dire need of money to save herself and her loved ones. William also happens to consider marriage in order to have his brothers in line. Their first meet cute is a disaster but William is smitten by her beauty. However, he wants a polite, acceptable, and graceful wife which was not the first impression Alice had on him. The second meet up is where all the bells start to ring and they get engaged to be married rather quickly. However, Alice is hiding a big secret since William is unaware of her past. Moreover, William has always worked hard to avoid scandal, so what are the chances of him actually getting married and falling for a woman who has been the victim of the ton!!!

I genuinely enjoyed the book throughout. It was very easy to follow and characters were well written. I especially loved the other Chance brothers and cannot wait to read more about them. Furthermore, I enjoyed how William lost his “famous” self control around Alice and let go of his “perfect gentleman” attitude and instead act on his desires and emotions. I also liked how double standards of women vs men virginity were discussed. Given this was a norm back then, it was refreshing to read that people still objected to it even back then.

William’s character growth was well done. I could feel myself getting pissed at him presumptuous self in the beginning but he overtime realises that he has always been privileged enough to not encounter a situation where rules were needed to be broken. I also liked how his relationship with his brothers got better over time.

I was however anticipating more on Alice’s background. I wanted more growth for her character. I felt like I could not connect with her at some points. Her secret was also revealed in a haste. Lastly, the ending was a bit rushed and a tad bit anti-climactic. I would’ve loved more communication between the couple, more tension, and more growth.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to the next one.

Review posted on Goodreads on June 21, 2024