Another fantastic read in the Lyon’s Den series! These books are crafted by some of today’s best writers. They’re all so different from each other but for the following theme of a widowed matchmaker. Intriguing plots, interesting characters and 🌶️🌶️🌶️❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 storylines.

A Lyon in Waiting by Abigail Bridges sees Lady Mary Caudale, accompanied by her brother, the Duke of Kirkstone, as they approach Mrs. Dove-Lyon for assistance in obtaining Mary a husband. She had several things working against her: her brother and his family were leaving in a couple of weeks for an extended mission to India so time was not on her side, and rumors abounded about the true parentage of her brother’s daughter, Mina. The rumors being true: Mina was hers. She had been taken advantage of by a vicar, hunting for a title. Lord Thaddeus Ephraim Bolton was second son of the Earl of Crookham. Now that his brother’s son had been born, he was no longer necessary and his family treated him as such. While he was whiling away his rakish hours in the gaming room at the Lyon’s Den, he looked up and saw an angel. Thad owed a lot of money. To Mrs. Dove-Lyon and to others.

Mary wanted a husband who would love her and her daughter. She didn’t want an old man. Her brother, after a discussion with Mrs. Dove-Lyon agreed to pay Thad’s debts. He did not yet know about Mina. There were some surprising revelations throughout the story. It turns out they were a good match. She could empathize with his feelings of hurt that he was overlooked by his family. He still thought she was an angel. It all seemed to be too good to be true. They were both good characters, really just looking for someone to love. Thad was not above defending Mary to the ton gossips when necessary, while turning their own sins back upon them. It was a good story. Very Bessie Dove-Lyon like.

I was invite to read A Lyon in Waiting by Dragonblade All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Dragonblade #AbagailBridges #ALyonInWaiting

Can Two People Find Love Despite Their Secrets?

Both Mary and Thad had secrets. Could Mrs. Dove-Lyon make a match despite what they were hiding? There could be scandal, and there might even be dangerous consequences. In this entertaining tale, Mary and Thad must find a way to share their troubling secrets. It was the only way forward. Would they do it? I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to lovers of historical romance. This entire series has been entertaining.

Aah my favorite series of all time. Mrs. Dove-Lyon is back with a new couple to being together. Lady Mary has a past that causes her family concern and while they are generally supportive, the ton is not forgiving. Thad, a second son, has his own past that doesn't seem to bother him, however his gambling debts have caused great concern. Naturally, Mrs. Dove-Lyon steps is and provides a solution. Well written with great characters who communicate and work on their relationship yet have to overcome their own past is a fun, enjoyable read.

Very good book. Both main characters are likable and realistic, with believable faults and insecurities. Once again, Mrs. Dove-Lyon arranges an excellent match.

Two years earlier, Lady Mary made a mistake that had lasting consequences. Her brother, Kit, Duke of Kirkstone, and his wife Beth helped cover up the scandal, but when Mary went to London for her Season, rumors followed. Society shuns her, making it impossible for her to find a husband. With Kit and Beth about to leave for India, Kit and Mary appeal to Mrs. Dove-Lyon for help finding her a husband.

Thad is the younger son of the Earl of Crookham. As the "spare," he was mostly ignored by his family. He and his father disagreed on his future plans, and the woman he loved married someone else. With no direction, Thad spends his time gambling badly and accumulates more and more debt. Some he owes to a shady character, and some to the Lyon's Den. When Mrs. Dove-Lyon offers to pay his debts if he marries Mary, Thad agrees. He is instantly attracted to her but also wary of the secrets that forced her to take this route.

I liked Mary and Thad and enjoyed following the development of their relationship. I liked how Thad insisted that they take two weeks to "court," giving them a chance to know each other and him a chance to uncover her secrets. One of the things I liked best about Mary is that she stands up for herself despite her family's attempts to mold her into their version of "ladylike." Thad appreciates her fire. I loved his surprise at her vocabulary and how her obvious intelligence made her more appealing to him. I liked his protectiveness, also. There were a couple of terrific scenes in which he faced down a particularly vicious gossiper in her defense. He won my heart with his reaction to her secret.

Thad has a few secrets/issues himself. One was surprising, considering his age and the era in which he lives, but it doesn't seem to have been a problem in the end. However, he is badly injured when one of his mistakes catches up with him. I hurt for him because of his family's reaction and loved how Mrs. Dove-Lyon, Mary, and her family stepped in and made him feel as though he was part of a family.

I loved that Mary and Thad were open and honest with each other about their pasts, feeling that a genuine relationship must be based on trust. I liked the epilogue and seeing how they are doing a few months later. I have great hopes that Thad has finally found something better than gambling to occupy his time.

I really enjoyed this marriage of convenience romance! It‘s very well written and well paced, with an interesting plot, a steamy love scene in marital bed and very likable main and secondary characters. Both Thad and Mary have made mistakes in the past that they hid, but it was nice to see the protagonists become friends despite their original business relationship and meet each other with openness, acceptance and tolerance and eventually fall in love.

Some time ago, in a moment of weakness, Lady Mary Caudale made a mistake that had serious consequences. With the help of her brother Kit, the Duke of Kirkstone, and her sister-in-law, she managed to cover up the scandal. But when she travels to London for her debut, rumours spread about her and Mary is shunned by society. As Kit is transferred to India with his family and Mary has no chance of a conventional marriage, they turn to Mrs Dove-Lyons for help.
Lord Thaddeus „Thad“ Bolton is the younger son of the Earl of Crookham and comes from an indifferent family. He was not interested in his father's career aspirations for him, his own were not accepted, and the woman he loved married someone else. Thad therefore spends his time gambling and betting. In the process, he accumulates more and more debts, including some to the Widow of Whitehall, which he is unable to repay.
When Mrs Dove-Lyon offers to clear his debts if he marries Mary, Thad is immediately attracted to the beautiful, intelligent and spirited young lady, but wants to uncover her secrets before he agrees to the deal…

Overall, an enjoyable addition to the series that I am happy to recommend!

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

Mrs. Dove-Lyon is called on to help Lady Mary find a husband. It's necessary to stop the rumors. With her brother leaving with his family to India, he needs to make sure Mary is settled. Lord Thaddeus Bolton is over his head in debt. Marriage would be the answer to his problem and he wants a real home and a family. Mrs. Dove-Lyon can make it happen. All Mary and Thad have to do is say, "Yes." Mild descriptive sex. A short read with a sweet hero.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book.

Kicking my feet in GLEE. This was so cute. I want more and more and more of Mary and Thad. What a well-written, joyous novella!

Here we've got the 'marriage of convenience' trope, which I actually really enjoyed in this story. I 100% think it's a totally archaic plot to "save a woman's reputation", I do find that it makes for some of my favorite kinds of historical romance stories.
The chemistry between Mary and Thad was to die for - I loved all of their interactions and thoughts about each other. Heart-happy swoon worthy kind of giddy was me the entire time reading.

Something I really love? A book that lets me learn something. And I learned some new vocabulary in this one. It really reminded me of being a young reader and keeping a dictionary handy when I started getting into bigger, wordier books. I had no clue what a ton was and I went down a small rabbit hole upon its first occurrence while I was reading. Some other fun historical words I learned: foolscap, modiste, and a dandy man. Fascinating how our ways of speaking have changed and I am always immersed in a book when it is written SO well that I feel transported to the era of its setting.

A few quotes that made me cackle and added much to my enjoyment of reading:
"Dear father thinks I should learn a trade." "Horrifying." (just two bros, gossiping away the day)
"I caught her staring at my thighs." "Well, that shows promise."
And one that just made me AWWWWW
"I only hope I can be worthy of you." A classic man who bows to his lady. Chef's kiss.

This is one of those rare books that I think may have benefitted from being a little longer. I liked the character of Mary a lot and my heart broke for her every time she had thoughts of being a burden or not being able to raise her own daughter. Considering what all she had gone through prior to the beginning of this story it's pretty impressive how she stands up for herself and takes control. I'm not sure what she had thought was going to happen with Mina when her brother and his family moved to India but obviously she hadn't really thought much about it either. I had thought she was going to tell Thad the truth about Mina and was a little disappointed when all she did was tell him about the rumor. The part that I thought would have benefitted from a longer story had to do with Thad overcoming his gambling addiction. I highly doubt that he immediately stopped gambling the second he got married, considering how deep in debt he was prior to the marriage agreement. I also would have liked to have seen him reconcile with his sister after she left when she saw his injuries. The rest of his family was pretty much a lost cause, but that relationship seemed to be important to him. One aspect that I really appreciated was that the epilogue talked about how everything wasn't immediately perfect for Thad and Mary after their wedding and that they hit a few rough patches on their journey to wedded bliss.

The matches made by Mrs. Dove-Lyon have all ended in love as does this match between Thad and Mary. I love that Mary has a family that accepts and loves her even when she has a major slip. The story is well written and very entertaining. I loved everything about this story and would highly recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and are voluntarily leaving a review.

A lovely romance develops when the two people who stir up gossip are matched by the indomitable Bessie-Dove Lyon. Despite her past indiscretion, Lady Mary's family pulls her close and protects her with their love. The same cannot be said for Lord Thaddeus Bolton. Thad has no purpose in life and makes one mistake after the other, but when presented with a chance to wipe out his debts and gain a fiery bride who intrigues him, he will do anything to protect her and keep her safe. Unfortunately, Thad's mistakes catch up with him when he is left for dead, it is Mrs Dove-Lyon and Mary's family who step in and give him the sense of family that he has always been missing. This novel is part of the Lyon's Den series but is a standalone with Mrs Dove-Lyon once again making a successful match. I received a copy of this book as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

This is the most exciting and emotional love story of any of the Lyons Den books so far. A ruined reputation, debts owed, secrets coming to light, and so many more drama and emotional issues, including a steamy and passionate romance that kept me highly entertained. I enjoyed how beautifully it ended. I highly recommend reading!

A Lyon in Waiting: The Lyon's Den Connected World is the next in Lyon's Den series written by many authors all of which do the series justice. Mrs. Bessie Dove-Lyon, owner of the renowned Lyon’s Den, knows how to match unmarriageable women with the perfect mate. But even she may not be able to help a woman too determined to walk her own path, failures and all.

Lady Mary Caudale visits Mrs. Bessie Dove-Lyon because of a mistake. As all young women dream of their debut season, Mary chances have vanished to find Mary a husband before her reputation is destroyed beyond repair.

Lord Thaddeus Ephraim Bolton, second son, Earl of Crookham, has a gambling habit and owes Mrs. Dove-Lyon money. But Thad has secrets of his own. He will be given the opportunity to satisfy those debts by agreeing to marry.

This is a wonderful addition to the series. Each author adds to the series capturing the essence of Mrs. Dove-Lyons perfectly. I loved the characters of Mary and Thad. Both are flawed and find in each other what they long for most.

This story follows Thad and Mary and explores the marriage of convenience trope. Both have secrets that make them less desireable on the marriage mart, so they enlist the aid of a gambling hell owner to help them solve their problems. The story developed nicely and I appreciated how maturely the characters solved various problems. It is honestly refreshing when there is no miscommunication trope 🥰
I think this is a good book for people who want a low angst, quick read.

After Lady Mary Caudale faced ruin and humiliation because of a mistake, she knew her chances of a debut season had vanished. Then her brother, Kit the Duke of Kirkstone, and his new wife Beth came up with a daring plan to salvage Mary’s future. But as the family returns to London, they discover that Mary’s “secret” is not so secret. So Mary and her brother turn to the owner of the Lyon’s Den, Mrs. Bessie Dove-Lyon herself, to find Mary a husband before her reputation is destroyed beyond repair. Especially as Kit & Beth are soon to travel to India on Government business. Lord Thaddeus Ephraim Bolton, second son, Earl of Crookham, a man with an unfortunate gambling habit who owes Mrs. Dove-Lyon a great deal of money. But Thad, in the way of such gentlemen, has a number of dark secrets of his own.
A quick but delightful novella which I read in a sitting. I loved both Thad & Mary both hadn’t had the best of childhoods especially Thad. They were immediately attracted to each other & they enjoyed spending time together but they both decided they needed to be honest with each other. I loved that they did confide in each other & things were resolved satisfactorily. I thoroughly enjoyed the novella, the characters had depth & the pace was good. I also liked the secondary characters especially George & hope we meet him again.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

Two lonely souls get together in this matchmaking scheme. Thad, is a middle of the brood son of an Earl and has been ignored by his parents and family for years. With noone to help him steer his life, he has accumulated enormous debts and has no vocation. Mary after the death of her parents is left alone and has a baby and is ruined by a local vicar.

Their secrets come out, buy Thad and Mary also develop an affection for each other to give them a hea. I would have liked to see how Thad actually supports himself and his Mary in the end, but otherwise this is a decent book.

Perfect Angel or Magnificent Warrior.:
Two very intriguing characters with horrible childhoods brought me into a wonderful complex heartfelt romance story that had me going through many different emotions throughout. A story where Mary and Thad finally find happiness and love in each other and brought another Lady Dove Lyon story to a happy ever after conclusion.
My first time reading this author and I enjoyed her writing skills that kept this story moving at a really good pace along with several fascinating side characters that added more interest to the plot of the story

Abigail Bridges does a great job in writing this type of book. The characters were everything that I was looking for and enjoyed getting to read this. It had that element that I was hoping for and was invested in what was happening. It continued the Lyon world perfectly and was glad I got to read this.