I don’t know if it was intentional or not, Matilda will let us know someday, but the fist half of this book felt a mix between “The Age of Innocence” and “Pride and Prejudice”… with a twist.

Mabel Meadows is a divorced woman whose husband was a French Comte who was cruel and mistreated her. He was after her dowry but never loved her, so Mabel escaped France and went back home in Philadelphia. The scandal was so spectacular that it left a mark in her. Mabel has a younger sister, Leona, who in the beginning of the book is engaged to Alfred, the sweet younger brother of an English Earl. Derek, the Earl loves his family to a fault, and he feels the responsibility of protecting his mother and two younger brothers from all kinds of perils, included scandal. At first he adores Leona as future sister-in-law, but she’s come to England with a guardian dog, her phenomenal and very outspoken sister Mabel.

If you’ve read or seen any adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice” you’ll know that it all begins with a young couple very much in love. And then the friends and family seeing the unbalanced relationship between them. The story is very similar to that of Leona and Alfred, but what if their version of Lizzie and Darcy plotted to separate them? And what if… the partners in crime fell in their own trap?

Of course there’s more to the story and the second half of the book takes a different turn. But, honestly, I did not like Mabel and Derek at first. They were, in my opinion, entitled, arrogant and selfish both of them. Oblivious and borderline cruel, sometimes, to the feelings of Alfred and Leona. Even if they were totally convinced that they were doing it for the greater good. But there’s a reason for them to be like that, the key being in their respective past, so in the end the couple sees reason and the reader (or at least this reader) ended up loving and supporting them, especially Mabel. Matilda Madison touches some subjects that are very relatable, even if we’ve never experience the same troubles and tribulations that either Mabel or Derek did, for we all know people who’ve had those experiences. In the end it is very satisfying to see that everyone in the family find their happy endings and… in Christmas!

Mabel Meadows is an American and divorced. Accompanying her sister to England with her fiance, gives Mabel plenty of time to plan how to break up the engagement. Once she meets Derek, the Earl of Trembley, they eventually decide to work together to separate the couple. But guilt is hard to ignore when they realize her sister and his brother really love each other. You can't help but feel sorry for the couple with their siblings devious plans to break up the engagement. Mabel's disastrous first marriage still makes her leery of marriage. Then disaster strikes again, or has it? To trust the earl completely will take an act of faith.
Very little humor with more nail biting. Descriptive sex.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Mabel’s sister, Leona has recently gotten engaged to Derek the Earl of Trembley's youngest brother, Alfred. Both Mabel & Derek decide that their siblings are not right for each other and try to break them apart, eventually they realize that their siblings were perfect together. I can see why Mabel felt a certain type of way to the upper class with what she went through. But Derek? It felt like his reason for why Leona & Alfred are not good together was because the girls are American, do not have a place in their class, and that Mabel was a divorcee.

I really wanted to love this, unfortunately it fell short from the previous two books in this series. There was something missing, I feel like Derek and Mabel didn’t have the spark or gave me the same angst feeling that the first two couples had in their books.


Thank you to netgalley and Dragonblade Publishing for the ARC.

This third book in the series is prob my least favourite. Whereas I had fun reading the first two this one was just ok and I didn’t really care much for either of the characters tbh. And the third act “break up” was just out of left field and so not needed

This is a GREAT book with two characters who are quite hateful at the beginning and not only to each other… But I really loved how the author followed the development of their feelings and the change in their beliefs and made us root for them at the end. Derek in particular is arrogant and overbearing almost until the very last page, but his love for Mabel is undeniable. I love imperfect characters, so this book was really my jam. Madison is an amazing writer and I loved this entire series very much.

I enjoyed this enemies to allies to lovers romance with its class and cultural disparity, opposites attract tropes that is filled with plenty of banter and bickering, a touch of suspense, danger and a few steamy love scenes.
Mabel and Derek are endearing characters with a great chemistry and humorous interactions. Mabel is bold and straightforward and Derek is prideful and a little haughty. Both believe they know what's best for their loved ones. It was nice to see how they opened up over the course of the story and learnt to appreciate each other's character traits.
I also liked most of the secondary characters, some of whom I already knew from the previous books in the series.

The book can be read as standalone, even though you meet the sympathetic protagonists from the previous books in the series again.

Derek is a responsible man, proud of his family's social standing and doing his best to follow in his father's footsteps. He hates scandal and when his youngest brother Alfred returns from his trip to America with a bride and her scandal-ridden sister in tow, he is anything but enthusiastic and determined to prevent the inappropriate wedding.

After her unhappy marriage to a French comte and the subsequent scandalous divorce, Mabel wants to enjoy her life in Philadelphia. But then her younger sister Leona falls in love with Alfred, a young English aristocrat, and accepts his marriage proposal. Mabel decides to accompany Leona to her wedding in London. She is not happy to have to leave her sister behind in England and in London society, which looks down on her disparagingly. She therefore tries to stop her sister from getting married. From the outset, she detests the rigid rules and morals and her future brother-in-law, the haughty Earl of Trembley, even though she is secretly attracted to him.

When Derek and Mabel realise that they both have the same goal, they decide to work together to drive a wedge between the bride and groom, despite their mutual dislike, kindling attraction and their different outlooks on life...

Overall, an entertaining read with lots of very likable characters that you are sure to enjoy!

I received a free ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and left voluntarily.

An engaging story of Mabel, a divorcee who must deal with Derek, her soon to be brother in law. The two can't stand each other yet they decide a plan to separate their siblings before the wedding. As the two work together, things change yet the banter was the best part of the story. Their personal baggage complicates the relationship but when danger takes place, that baggage disappears to a HEA. The last of a lovely series.

Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2024
This historical romance is part of a series, but because the heroes are only friends, you can read each one individually.

Our hero this time doesn't approve of the American young lady his brother wants to marry. She and her divorced sister have come to stay with his family before the nupciales.

Our heroine is the American divorcee. She is unhappy about the marriage as well. Her ideas about the wedded state are coloured by her own terrible experience.

The sparks fly in this story. Just when you think it is over, more excitement is to come. Great characters and lots of emotion.

Great fun.

Having read the previous novels in this series, I was uncomfortable reading this one as the main characters did not initially display themselves in a favorable light. Although I could understand Mabel's stance in ignoring the disparagement she received at the hands of society, I felt that their treatment of her was prejudiced. The novel does, however, come to a good conclusion as Derek and Mabel chart a new course. I received a copy of this book as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

This was an entertaining and well written love story. There is so much drama, action, emotional issues, and engaging plot twists and turns. It had an alliance to thwart a relationship, divorce, a near drowning, attempted blackmail, kidnapping, and so much more excitement that kept me very interested to see what would happen next. The characters were delightful and complex. I really enjoyed how aromance developed over a misled alliance and became a beautiful love with a happy ending for all. I highly recommend reading!

Although all of the books in this series are very enjoyable the first is by far my favorite - partly because it is the only one that actually involves a bet or wager. Obviously knowing Derek from the previous books I was ready to take his side in the initial battle of wills but then it because pretty clear that both he and Mabel were both a little unreasonable and unfair in their opinions/thoughts of the other. And I was not happy with either of them for setting out to sabotage the relationship between their siblings. Although what brought them together wasn't great, it at least helped push these two along in getting to know one another and spend time together. And Derek's proposal wasn't exactly the thing dreams are made of but again, it pushed them into taking a step they probably would not have otherwise. The events in this story are not anything new really, but the characters are interesting and complicated and the supporting characters are provide some levity and do exactly what they are supposed to - they support the main characters. Mabel's ex-husband raises the stakes and increases the drama level just as things started to slow down and also worked as the catalyst to get our main couple to finally admit (and show) how much they felt for one another. I always like a good epilogue and I thought the one here was the perfect ending to the series - it wasn't all sunshine and lollipops but did offer a glimpse of the ever-after and let you know how everyone was doing.

A timeless love story, well written, strong character with each have a good background story making them who they are.

This book is clearly very influenced by Pride and Prejudice. The female main character catching the male main character badmouthing her behind her back in front of his relatives - the hand scene - anyone familiar with Joe Wright’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice can sense its undertones here. I’m partial to the book but not really how its likeness was rendered here.

Some aspects of this book were enjoyable, like the way that Derek’s perspective towards divorce gradually changes throughout the book. I don’t like how it only changed because people close to him experienced terrible marriages that made divorce necessary, but I feel like this is realistic. Their attraction to each other made no sense to me and I wish they’d carried the whole card playing thing further, I think that would’ve made more thematic sense.

Overall I don’t think this quite suits my taste in terms of historical romance but I thought it was enjoyable.

Co-conspirators to lovers to marriage-by-comprise to kidnapping to happily ever after - yes, theirs is an eventful journey!

~ Mabel & Derek ~
She a wealthy American divorcée and he a reformed rogue turned earl, they join forces to separate their younger siblings - her sister and his brother - before the vows are spoken. They can’t stand each other from the start, but methinks they both doth protest too much...

Both MCs come with a ton of baggage at the beginning of this story, making them rather unlikable at first glance. But, as they start unpacking, their past unfolds and their way of thinking becomes clear, and even though their fire and ice, their chemistry is palpable from the start, clearing the way for some excellent bickering and teasing. Vexing the other is a sport for these two, and it’s a joy to read!
Their common goal eventually brings them together adding a delicious tension to the story. As their ploys fail, their feelings grow and suddenly the desired end result is less than appealing... but before they can set everything to rights, disaster strikes. An intimate moment is witnessed, an accident happens, untoward advances are uttered and a marriage becomes necessary. And just when you think the day is saved, a nasty blast from the past turns up and ruins it all...

Sadly this is already the last book in this very enjoyable series and it was an entertaining, action-packed read - witty, fast, a twisted kind of funny, angsty and delicious with some nice cameos by the MCs from previous books. However, I would have liked a bit more of Mabel & Derek happy together. They’re constantly under pressure, their relationship is tested to its limits, and I think a little more ‘happy’ would have lightened the mood and made them more likable. Still, I was rooting for this couple - they are a perfect fit and their HEA is definitely deserved!

Mabel Meadows, the former Comtesse de Retha, isn’t thrilled about being in London. After her miserable marriage ended in divorce two years ago, she had hoped never to cross the Atlantic Ocean again. But with her sister Leona newly engaged to an English peer, she has no choice. Acting as her sister’s chaperone, Mabel intends to return home straight after the wedding. Derek, the Earl of Trembley, has been having a difficult time taking over the Earldom since his father’s passing. In the blink of an eye, everything has changed, and it seems everyone is moving on besides him. Despite his apparent composure, he’s under immense pressure and is anxious to maintain the status quo. When his brother returns from a visit to America with a fiancée, Derek feels unbalanced, and what’s worse; he meets his brash but beautiful future sister-in-law.
The third book in the series & whilst previous characters do make appearances it can easily be read on its own. A well written enjoyable & entertaining romance which I thoroughly enjoyed. I liked both Derek & Mabel & loved the chemistry between them & also their banter, what I didn’t enjoy was the plot they hatched early in the book. Thank goodness they soon saw the error of their ways & abandoned it. Things are progressing nicely when trouble lands on the doorstep, at first Derek reacts badly but soon realises what is important. An engrossing read which I recommend
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

I greatly enjoyed Derek and Mabel's romance. One of my favorite microtropes is an American and Brit romance. I love how the differing attitudes cause tension and comedy. A wonderful romance filled with passion, resilience, humor, and wonderful characters both leading and supporting. I have loved this entire series, and can't wait for Ms. Madison's highlander series.

The issue is, for the first half of the book, I didn't like the mcs, Mabel and Derek. Her sister Leona is engaged to his brother Alfred, and Mabel and Derek do not approve of this match. So they try to break them up with several schemes. However, Leona and Alfred really are VERY nice people, and our mcs just end up looking like the mean girls. Now, I know that Mabel and Derek are both people that are hurting, and hurt people hurt people. I am all for the barbs and fireworks they throw between each other. But they seemed to be trying to take down everyone with them. I was more sympathetic to the side characters and was viewing the people I'm supposed to be rooting for as the villains.

I was looking forward to their redemption arc and how being together was going to make both of them BETTER people and round out some of the edges. I think some of that got lost by the way their marriage came about and also the plot with her ex husband.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Tropes: enemies to lovers; opposites attract
Steam level: 3
Part of a series, but fine as a standalone.

I enjoyed the first half, as the MC's show off some crackling chemistry and the writing is pretty strong. Then the premise the book starts with, of the MMC and MFC conspiring to break off his brother's and her sister's romance, is discarded, and the plot flounders. Because of this, characterization becomes inconsistent and there are scenes that simply don't make sense based on what has happened or what has been said previously. Even worse, a theme of victim shaming keeps repeating itself. SPOILERS AHEAD.................................................................Readers of HR's know that divorce during this time was rare and ruined the woman socially regardless of what horrors she'd had to endure, but I wanted to see MFC"s sister and husband stand by her through thick and thin. I really didn't like how MMC seemed to be opening up and becoming less judgmental in the first half, and then toward the end he was a TSTL alpha type who just went around yelling and finger-pointing. And MFC became less saucy and independent and more insecure and wrapped up in self-blame.

Bottom line: starts of engaging but ends up disappointing.

Derek the Earl is upset that his younger brother Alfred went to America and fell in love with Leona.
Now he brings her back to England with her older sister Mabel, a divorced woman with a mind of her own.
Derek and Mabel clash at every encounter only they have a common goal of trying to stop this unreasonable marriage of their siblings.
The banter is exciting, watching Derek resist his attraction to Mabel.
Enjoyable family and friends involvement.
Recommend series