Wow, this was my first book by this author and I would for sure read one. What a ride! I enjoy the suspense, romance, and the pacing throughout.

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review. I was immediately confused by the writing and just didn't care for it. Thank you for the opportunity and consideration.

The Wilcox sisters and their Duke Torrance return in this sequel to A Gamble at Sunset!

Scarlett wants things a woman cannot have. She needs husband who will let her pursue her passions. So she makes a deal with the Duke. Meanwhile she continues to pose as a man and attend medical lectures. Mr. Carew discovers her secret. Regency shenanigans ensue!

If what you love about Bridgerton is the tidbits of history and the diverse representation, you'll love this series. There are tie-ins to Riley's other regency romances and the Lady Worthington mysteries.

Thank you to Vanessa, Kensington, and Netgalley for sharing the ARC with me for a honest review.

4.5 stars
Totally addicting story. I couldn't put it down. This is the first book I've read by Vanessa Riley and I can't wait to read book #3 in this series o see what happens next with these intriguing characters. Wonderfully diverse regency with lots of interesting historical tidbits.

Family secrets, medicine in 1816 London, an independent woman who dresses as a man to be able to attend a science lecture, a hardworking physician, extended family drama. A little lusty scene, but scruples prevail.

I thoroughly enjoyed this intriguing story by a new-to-me author!

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for allowing me to read an early copy. All opinions are my own.

This book is very fascinating from a medical stand point in how far we've come. Without giving too much spoilers, the scene where the wager is placed was extremely tense and amazing. Sometimes I think we take medical technology and advancement for granted now.
I started this series with this book. I feel that you probably need to read the first book to understand what all is going on with the plot.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

I loved this book.

It is a fantastic story of strait laced Trinidadian physician Stephen Carew and slightly chaotic and brilliant aspiring doctor Scarlett Wilcox.

Vanessa Riley's writing style is wonderful with slow reveals of the secrets surrounding the Wilcox family. This is the second in a series which has an overarching story arc, but can definitely be read as a standalone (as I did).

This closed door romance is highly enjoyable with great banter and fantastic insights into London’s Black community during the Regency period. I also highly recommend the author notes for interesting tidbits.

Thank you Kensington Publishing and Netgalley for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Although I am not necessarily a fan of Regency's, I am whole-heartedly a fan of Vanessa Riley's. This author skillfully creates mesmerizing characters that continue top resonate well after the last page has been turned. I am always in awe of how well she evokes emotion with the simplest of scenes. This was definitely a page turner with a very satisfying happily ever after. Kudos to Dr. Riley for a job well done!

Unfortunately, this was not for me. The writing style is overwrought and chaotic. Riley clearly has a lot of ideas, and crafts intelligent, complex characters with morals and passions you love to root for as a reader. However, from chapter one, the author tries to force so many different elements, feelings, asides, and little quips into single scenes, leaving me frustrated with the frenetic, busy style. It read very much as tell rather than show. I wanted to be able to discover these individualities that made each character tick, rather than having them all jammed into one scene at once.

Once again Vanessa Riley transports readers to another time. I could not put this book down! Vanessa Riley has made me fall in love with another strong, well-written character. Her attention to research and detail made it easy to emerce myself into Scarlett’s world. I quickly became Scarlett's friend talking to her as I swiped the pages. Vanessa Riley skillfully reminds us that we (people of color) were also a part of the splendor of regency.

Thank you, Vanessa Riley, Kensington Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this Advance Reader Copy.

A Wager at Midnight is a sweet, sultry, and sour love story that had me rolling my eyes, feeling butterflies, and smiling extra hard when the Happily Ever After was delivered.

You know how a kiss on the collarbone is not so innocent, but it also isn’t super risqué? That’s the line Scarlett, the second youngest Wilcox sister, tiptoes across in book 2 of the series. A Wager at Midnight is a low heat novel that gave us a few ‘Scarlett is not a little girl’ scenes without going to the steamy side of Romance.

It was sweet and it was raunchy, yet somehow clean. And our main character, the lovely Scarlett Wilcox, was just plain fearless. Her love interest, the physician, drove me nuts. He was one of those intelligent people who was slow in matters of the heart.

Every time I wanted to tell Scarlett to go easy on the tortured man, he made a ridiculous command. Yes—COMMAND. At one point, I was like, look, I want you to get the girl, but you need to get your mind right first. But then there were those tender moments that made my toes curl while reading. And I forgave him for being not so bright.

The physician lived in Cheapside, a Blackamoor community of Caribbean descendants and immigrants that was so much fun to experience. Cheapside was an unexpected treat. Think the Ton with vivid head wraps (or bonnets). And think gossiping Aunties who knew everything about everybody. The fabulous Aunties made me want to spend more time in Cheapside.

When we first met the Aunties, I wanted to go home with them. They were colorful and engaging, and they said wildly inappropriate things with a smile. I am eager to visit Cheapside again. I’d wager (see what I did there? Wager :o) that there are so many stories waiting to be plucked out of that vibrant community. Vanessa Riley, can you hear me? I’d like to preorder a tale or two set in Cheapside and sealed with a Happily Ever After. Pretty please give me more life in Cheapside.

BUT only after book 3 of the Betting Against the Duke series because at the end of A Wager at Midnight, a huge secret that exploded and left me with my mouth hanging open.

I mean, I had a sneaking suspicion, but I wasn’t positive. Then, I was thrown off course by a new development. And when I was least expecting it, the gasp-worthy reveal came and A Wager at Midnight ended with a heartbreaking situation. I just don’t know how I’m going to be able to breathe in book 3. AND so, we wait.

A Wager at Midnight is an entertaining Historical Romance that challenges what we thought about Regency Romance with characters inspired by real people who lived and flourished during that time period.

It’s so refreshing to read novels depicting characters from the African diaspora who were not enslaved. Virtual flowers for the author, Vanessa Riley, for helping us to imagine another side of the story. And for giving us a different type of love story to add to our favorites.

I absolutely enjoyed this free ARC from NetGalley.

I have one word to describe this book. Joy.

Stephen Carew is a man who reads Jane Austen novels to unwind from his stressful work as a physician.
Scarlett Wilcox is a spinster who dresses as her deceased twin brother in order to teach herself to perform cataract surgery.
Scarlett and Stephen are bound together by family secrets and unusual wagers. I love their banter as they learn to work together to build a better community.

I look forward to the next book and find out how Scarlett older sister, Katherine and the Duke of Torrance manage their HEA. They both deserve an HEA.

I also look forward to Scarlett managing to assist Stephen's previous love interest, Eveline. Eveline needs a champion.

Took a little to get into, but once I did I couldn’t put it down. The differing perspectives gave depth and the book seemed well researched.
I’ll definitely be reading more by this author.

A Wager at Midnight by Vanessa Riley leaves the curtains wide open on the hypocrisy of the lure of assimilation in 19th Century London, England for anyone with a tinge of color, and the ambivalence of retaining cultural pride while longing to imitate those who feel they are superior. Riley meticulously excavates the nuances of the people and practices of the Regency period. In A Wager at Midnight, the Wilcox sisters, especially Scarlett, are models of thunderous defiance when women are expected to be demure.

The title itself hints at a mystique that pulsates throughout the novel. Scarlett Wilcox dares to infiltrate medical society meetings dressed as a man. Her family can’t afford another scandal, but her ache to become a physician overrules her senses. The only other ache that compares is her love-hate relationship with their older physician and family friend, Trinidadian-born Stephen Carew. Besides medicine, the only thing Carew appears to be fixated with is Sense and Sensibility, as it is mentioned often like a character begging to be seen. That is, until the scales fall from his eyes regarding Scarlett’s metamorphosis, Nevertheless, she lets her older sister, Katherine, now a widowed viscountess, and the Duke of Torrance, know in no uncertain terms that all bets are off for marriage for her unless any prospect accepts her deception to learn medicine.

Katherine’s late husband’s gambling brings the Wilcox family business to near destitution. The Duke of Torrance intervenes, using his power to give them time to turn things around with creditors. He’s Katherine’s secret. His closely-guarded secret is the sickness in the blood that befalls even the most affluent Blackamoors and those of mixed race. The duke needs more time to win the wager with Katherine. He already has the heart of Lydia, a child and the youngest Wilcox, and the admiration of Scarlett. Katherine needs more time to release the hate she feels toward him. No one wins when lies sit at the table with truth and refuses to move.

A Wager at Midnight is another jewel by historical fiction marvel, Vanessa Riley. Thank you Kensington Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

3.75 stars
A Wager at Midnight is the 2nd book in Vanessa Riley’s Betting Against the Duke series.

Scarlett has a great interest in science and medicine. Since she was young, she was mentored by physician Carew, but lately, the two of them find themselves more often at odds with each other. Both of them are part of London’s Black population, and it was interesting to learn more about that part of history.

This book is written in first person, dual perspective (between the two main characters), and in present tense. Unfortunately, this is probably my least favorite perspective to read and I often struggled to get into the rhythm of the text and story.

While I did enjoy the story and characters, there were times while reading that I felt a bit lost. I’m not sure if this was intentional by the author, or if there were things I was missing, not having read the first book in the series. For example, there was a lot of talk about bets and wagers that left me a bit confused.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for making this book available. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book! I really enjoyed the dual point of views between the main characters. You can tell how well the author researched the time period and what it was actually like around that time to be an immigrant from a country under British occupation/rule (without being depressing or boring).

Thank you Vanessa Riley, Kensington Publishing, and NetGalley for this delightful ARC!

Vanessa Riley is the queen of the Black folsk in regency genre.. This idea of a woman challenging convention to pursue her passion in medicing was good. But of cours,e love throws a monkey wrench in the plans.

Vanessa Riley does it again in this sequel in the Betting Against the Duke series, it had that historical element that I was looking for and enjoyed getting back into this world. I thought the characters were everything that I enjoyed from the previous book. It was everything that I was looking for and was glad I read this.

A beautifully written Regency romance with a brilliant heroine and lots of family shenanigans - Scarlett Wilcox means to live her life on her terms, or as much on her terms as a lady of her station can. She dresses as a man to attend medical lectures so she can continue her research and save lives. She engages in constant battles of wit with Stephen Carew, a physician who also spends much of his time helping people in the community. He also wants to open a hospital that will treat people of color, like him and Scarlett, and those with less means, who are not welcomed at most of the existing hospitals.

Meanwhile, Scarlett's little sister Lydia - who steals many a scene - and the doting Duke who wants the oldest Wilcox sister, a widowed Viscountess, both suffer from what is now known as sickle cell anemia. There is a secret about the Wilcox family, and although I guessed it early on, I was still very invested in knowing how it would resolve.

This is the second book in a series, and I've been hooked by Vanessa Riley's beautiful prose and the characters she has created. I want to know more about the Wilcox sisters and what happens after the cliffhanger at the end of this book.

Lots of good here!
I like that the characters are well developed and have their own minds and passions. I also liked that the book included BIPOC main characters in a historical setting but in a way that was optimistic and joyful rather than sad.

Free ARC from NetGalley. A Wager at Midnight is the second book in the Betting Against the Duke Series. Although this second book did not hold as much appeal as the first, i will continue to look forward to reading the complete series. the Hero and Heroine were both enchanting it just seemed repetitive from the first book at some points.