I am of course truly grateful to be able read and review ARCs, but this was just not IT for me.

I found the characters flat and unlikeable, the mystery and love story wasn't gripping in the slightest. 😪
The language used in the book was also a bit clunky, as it seemed like the author had sought to use regency timed language and wordings, but at times in the text it just felt like it was done without thought, as it became unreadable in some sections. This might just be me, but I do not find text like that enjoyable.

I enjoy Emma Orchard's books, and have read all of them. I quite enjoyed this - though I think it lacked a bit of the sparkle of some of the previous books she's released. The story feels somewhat familiar. There are slight Heyer vibes but without some of the wit that makes her books so fun. Our hero is a slightly jaded, fastidious, weary nonpareil who gets engaged for... no real reason, to a woman he has no opinion on. He then meets her twin sister - disguised as the fiance - and can't quite work out what's changed.

Worth a read, but I would go for other Emma Orchard books first, if you haven't read any of hers! The second Lady Silverwood or A Duke of One's Own.

Received an ARC from Netgalley / Boldwood Books in return for an unbiased review!

Emma Orchard’s A Gentleman’s Offer delivers an intriguing premise filled with mistaken identities, societal expectations, and an arranged engagement that takes an unexpected turn. Sir Dominic De Lacy, a respectable and eligible bachelor, finds himself engaged to Miss Maria Nightingale—until she confesses that she’s actually her twin sister, Margaret. With Maria missing, Dominic and Margaret must work together to find her before the truth is exposed and a scandal erupts.

The novel shines in its playful, fast-paced moments, particularly as Dominic and Margaret navigate their reluctant partnership. Their dynamic is enjoyable, with sparks of wit and slow-burning attraction developing as they investigate Maria’s disappearance. The tension between duty and desire adds an interesting layer to the story.

However, the execution falls a bit flat in places. The chemistry between Dominic and Margaret, while present, doesn’t always feel fully realized, making their emotional connection less compelling than it could be. Additionally, some parts of the plot feel rushed, especially in the resolution, which ties things up too neatly after a rather drawn-out setup.

Despite these shortcomings, A Gentleman’s Offer is a pleasant Regency romance with an engaging premise and charming moments. While it doesn’t entirely stand out in the genre, it’s an enjoyable read for those who love mistaken identity tropes and slow-burn historical romances.

I got this book from Boldwood books. They contacted me, because this is right my cup of tea reading taste speaking.

I started this book on monday, and put it down because I felt the language was a bit unsuaual and it took some getting used to.
On friday I picked it up again, and read half of it, and finished it on saturday.
This book is original, funny, steamy, unpredictable, romantic, it has queer aspect to it, a fast read,and honestly(?) a pefect book in my opinion.

Well, there were a few scenes with long descrriptions of clothes that felt out of place, and at the end it seemed like there would be a big conflict and then it was quikly resolved. But mainly this book NEEDS to be read by every hist rromance, reade out there.

I will defentky be eading more, Emma Orcard books.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for granting my request to read this e-ARC and provide my honest opinions.

This book is marketed as a historical romance with a bit of mystery in it, and I was so excited to read it, but unfortunately I couldn't connect to the story and the characters. The writing style was so bad that I kept reading a line over and over, and that led to me being bored with the story and even the characters 😩.

While the plot was really good—a perfect gentleman being betrothed to Miss Nightingale; really, it is a perfect match—but there are secrets lurking that even the gentleman does not know, so you see that whilst the plot was good, the execution and the writing style just made it so difficult for me to truly connect with the characters and the story.

Overall, I really wanted to like this one, but I just couldn't; it was so overly descriptive and boring that I couldn't care for even the love interest. Thank you once again for the e-ARC.

This story is a lot of fun. It's got a twin switch, unusual characters, and very dry humor. It is not a quick read, but it is certainly amusing.

Fun characters, spicy moments and great plot

I am really enjoying Emma Orchard's books and A Gentleman's Offer has got to be my favorite so far! It is full of mystery, fun characters, spicy moments, a great plot, and somewhat exposes how things were really done in the early 1800's. I read it in about 24 hours, it was so engaging! Highly recommended!

Thank you to the publisher who lent me a time-constrained e-arc via Netgalley with no obligation. This review is optional and my own opinion.

📖 Title: A Gentleman's Offer-a standalone

✍🏾 Author: Emma Orchard- I read The Viscount and the Thief and gave it 5⭐

📅Publication date: 3/22/25 | Read: 3/21/25

📃 Format: eBook 318 pgs.

Genre:
*Historical Fic
*Regency Romance

Tropes:
*arranged marriage
*age gap- 29/18
*family drama
*friends to lovers
*journey companions
*sapphic romance
*secret identity
*slow burn romance
*Shakespeare re-imagining-Twelfth Night

👆🏾POV: 3rd person

⚠️TW: prostitution-mentioned, homophobia

🌎 Setting: London 1817

Summary: Dominic has come to claim his betrothed- Marie Nightingale. He discovers that Marie has run away, and her identical sister Meg has assumed her identity. Meg wants Dom to help her find Marie and spend their time falling in love.


👩🏾 Heroine: Margaret "Meg" Nightingale

👨🏾 Hero: Dominic De Lacy

🎭 Other Characters:

* Marie-Meg's twin sister
*Hannah-Meg's maid
*Francis-Meg and Marie's half brother
*Lord Nightingale/Augustus-Meg's father
*Lady Nightingale/Hermione-Meg's mother
*Aunt Greystone-Lord Nightingale's sister


🤔 My Thoughts: I loved the secret identity/hidden truths that came with Meg and Dominic. Francis was the MVP taking over and elevating their families.

Rating: 4/5 ✨
Spice level 2/5 🌶️kissing, off page

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and Emma Orchard for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

Spicy, male female, 3rd person dual point of view, regency romance. I enjoyed the chemistry and humor a great deal. There was a bit of mystery and a bit of spice. This was a perfect length cozy read and I recommend it.

I really enjoyed this lighthearted romance. It's very well written and full of humor, unexpected twists and turns, very likable main and secondary characters, a touch of intrigue, deceit, a villain and some steam. Dominic and Meg are a perfect match and their chemistry sizzles from the start.

Sir Dominic De Lacy
Leads a peaceful and ordered life. To fulfill his fathers wish, he becomes engaged to Maria Nightingale, his father‘s friend‘s daughter. At their engagement party, however, he learns that his fiancée has apparently eloped and that her twin sister Margaret "Meg" Nightingale has taken her place to protect Maria from scandal.
Since her parents' separation, Meg has lived with her mother in the country, where she has led a carefree, if modest, life, while Maria has had to stay with her indifferent, ruthless father as a wealthy heiress.
Meg asks Dominic to help her find her sister and he agrees, but he has no idea that the lively young lady is about to shake up his predictable life...

All in all, a fun read that I‘m happy to recommend!

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

I enjoyed this spicy Regency romantic tale, which engages you in the action from the beginning and has many twists to accompany the couple's romantic journey. I worked out some twists, immersing me in the story. It's a tale of romantic entanglements despite beginning with a proposed marriage of convenience. It has a good mix of action, introspection, mystery, and romance, and it has a likeable cast of characters except for the antagonist, who is suitably dire. The attraction between Dominic and Meg is compelling and has obvious emotional intent. I enjoyed the storytelling, the romance and the satisfying ending.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

This Historical Romance was good, a little bland and repetitive at times. There was nothing egregious or offensive in the book but likewise there was no spark to lift it beyond being fine.

I did find this book to be an entertaining read. I did like the main characters of Meg and Dominic. Meg had a very different upbringing from her sister Maria. Meg was quite bold and determined. Dominic helps Meg to look for her sister. As they spend more time with each other, so their feelings develop but Dominic is betrothed to her sister. I liked the connection between the two. There are a few surprises and the villain of the story gets a just comeuppance, which always pleases me! The story moved along at a good pace. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Honestly, where was the romance? I'm still looking for it. Can't find it. No romance to be found.

I love period romances and I love marriage of convenience plot, but oh boy, that was a miss.

Unfortunately, I can't find anything to rate it higher.

The characters were bland, the paragraphs were huge, the dialogue was bad, if the characters didn't repeat themselves over and over again it would've been three times shorter, there was no chemisty, sapphic rep was ehh at best, the mystery wasn't engaging and it was resolved by 50% mark, and then there was loophole and blackmail plot that I wasn't a fan of.

If it wasn't for the fact that I requested an ARC for an honest review, I'd have DNF'd it.

Sorry, but it was a big miss for me.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this arc copy.

I'm reviewing this via NetGalley, as part of a tour with Rachel's Random Resources.

I've read a couple of other Regency romances by this author, and they were delightful, so I was excited to read this one as well.

At the start of the book, we meet Sir Dominic, who is engaged to Maria. They don't know each other too well, but he hopes they can be happy together. Then Maria drops a bombshell; she isn't actually Maria, but Maria's twin sister, Meg. They don't know where Maria is, but Meg secretly takes her place in the meantime. Even if they find her, will she still marry Dominic?

I found that both Dominic and Meg were characters who came to life easily for me. They made me smile, and I enjoyed their chemistry. I found this a very easy and pleasant read; it was lighthearted and romantic with a lovely dash of spice, and it warmed my heart.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel's Random Resources, Boldwood Books, and to the author, for the opportunity to read and review this.

This was fab! Lots of regency novels have very similar plot lines but this perfectly combined those threads of the novel that we all enjoy with enough variety to make it really interesting. Dominic, Meg and Maria were all great characters, as were so many of the more minor figures and side story lines. The writing was detailed and immersive and I felt totally absorbed in the nightingale dramas. I really enjoyed the story and was sad when it was over, though of course relieved that everything came to a very satisfactory conclusion!!

I liked this book, it was an easy and fun read! My favorite part was that it had a historically accurate age gap where the FMC called the MMC old hehe

Thank you Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. I picked this book because historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. The synopsis for this book made it sound so interesting, but unfortunately, that's where it ended for me. I tried for the longest time to get hooked on the story, but it just didn't grab me. I enjoyed aspects of the book, like the parent trap style switching of twin sisters, and the fact that Maria and Meg were given their personalities. I give this book a 2.5 stars out of five.

First of all, I would like to thank Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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The first book I’ve ever read by Emma Orchard was “The Viscount and the Thief” and I enjoyed it a great deal, so I was really excited to read her newest book. The synopsis was something that also caught my attention: arranged marriage? twin sisters switching identities? bachelor who’s getting married just for the sake of it but ends up falling in love with his fake switched bride to be? Oh I was sat to read it.
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Emma Orchard’s writing styles never seems to miss, with the formal language, the details and historical accuracy being on point. As I’ve mentioned in my previous review too, the size of the paragraphs and the chapters really help immerse the reader in the book, not being overly long that makes the scenes drag on or too short that appears to have scenes half written.
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I really liked how the plot reaffirmed how difficult it was for a woman to live in that time period in regards of independence (needing a male relative to support and protect them) and also how hard it was for them to make a living (although Mrs. Nightingale was a published author, her earnings were small, and Maria could not access her own inheritance). Although the first half of the book passed by very vast, the second half fell a little flat in my opinion, and had me wondering what more could happen because by then I had guessed the most important plot points (why Maria had ran away and why Mr. Nightingale was doing what he was towards the De Lacy’s specifically).
But that didn’t make the book less enjoyable, even if it was a little bit predictable.
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The relationship between Dominic and Meg was the most delicious of the slow burns, in true regency fashion with lots of pinning and repressed sexual desire. It was nice to see them becoming friends first before finally giving in and admitting that they liked each other, with no insta love whatsoever. I found it specially hilarious how Meg would tease Dominic because of their age gap and how he was very worried about his style (my girl Meg knows what’s up, a well dressed person really raises their appeal). They’re your typical “quiet boy x energetic girl” and Dominic was down bad for her.
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The spice was a lot less in “A Gentleman’s Offer” when compared to “The Viscount and the Thief” (if I recall correctly there were only two scenes at the end of the book, and much more “censored”) but that did not bother me at all. In fact, Dominic and Meg’s flirting was much more enjoyable and I wouldn’t even have minded if there was not spice at all.
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Overall, this is a fun cozy read for those who like regency books and enjoy slow burn. The mystery is also nice, even if a little bit predictable, which made me set on giving it 3.5 (three and a half) stars out of 5 (five).

Satirical...

This story is told in a third person satirical voice. Dominic is a perfectly bored man who is so filled with ennui, that he proposes to someone he barely knows. When Meg, her twin sister announces to him she's there to take her twin sister Maria's place until Maria can be located. They are thrown together and what do you know? He notices Meg.