I enjoyed this book so much! I loved the Bridgerton vibes from the beginning. An overbearing mother, a forced engagement, and some twists along the way! I thought it was so fun and charming.

DNF@ chapter 9

The synopsis sounded good but the book was a disappointment. The dialogue was boring and so was Dominic. He was nice but didn't have a personality.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

When I read the synopsis for this book It peaked my interest based on sister swapping places and bit of mystery just three weeks before maria and Dominic are set to be married.

If you are a fan of LGB representation, arranged marriage, regency romance, mistaken identity this could be the book for you.

In just over a weeks time Margaret and Dominic realize they are attracted to each other. These moments had me looking forward to a budding romance building while they look for maria. I struggled with the internal dialogue as it changed the vibe of the story as well as being completely unprepared for unnecessary open door scenes that came out of left field and felt out of place.

I felt this story has a lot of potential It's not a good fit for me

Sir Dominic De Lacy va a casarse con alguien que solo conoce de vista, ya que su fallecido padre quería que se llevara a cabo esa unión. Para honrar su voluntad, decide pedirle matrimonio a Maria Nightingale. Sin embargo, cuando va a pedir su mano, se da cuenta de que sus observaciones sobre ella eran equivocadas y que tal vez podrían lograr una buena unión. La sorpresa llega cuando descubre que Maria es en realidad Margaret, la hermana gemela, quien se está haciendo pasar por su hermana desaparecida.
Margaret está muy preocupada por su hermana y piensa que Dominic es el culpable de su desaparición, pero después de una pequeña confrontación, se da cuenta de que él no está implicado y decide pedirle ayuda.

Ambos tendrán que ser muy cuidadosos para evitar un escándalo y que los demás descubran la verdad sobre Maria, ya que esto podría manchar su reputación. Así que deben hacer sus averiguaciones en secreto, mientras que en público deben mostrarse como una pareja amorosa. El problema surge cuando ambos comienzan a gustarse, pues el compromiso con Maria ya ha sido anunciado.



~

Aunque tiene mucho potencial, el desarrollo de la historia queda algo flojo. Hay demasiados pensamientos internos y poco diálogo, lo que provoca que la narrativa se sienta apresurada, como si me estuvieran persiguiendo todo el tiempo.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars*

this book had so much potential. the whole twin swap/mistaken identity thing? loved it. it had “the princess switch” vibes but make it regency. the cover? adorable. short chapters? an absolute dream. and sir dominic? had his moments where i was like mhmm yes, but unfortunately, most of the time, he (and the rest of the characters) were just… kinda there.

tropes:
✔️ arranged marriage
✔️ twin swap/mistaken identity
✔️ regency romance
✔️ slow burn
✔️ forced proximity

my biggest issue? confusion. like, who was who? which sister was actually supposed to be with dominic? which one was missing? who was in an arranged marriage? i felt like i needed a diagram to keep up. and for a romance, there was surprisingly little… romance. lots of telling me they were in love but not much showing. i wanted angst, tension, emotions, and instead, it was mostly just talk, talk, talk.

then the smut towards the end?? was a surprise because their relationship up until that point was giving nothing. no buildup, no chemistry, just i don’t know... and instead of making their romance feel deeper, it just made it seem like their whole connection was purely physical.

still, thank you to netgalley, the author, and the publishing team for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I've read a few other books by this author and they've been between a mid-hit and a miss for me. But this premise sounded ok, so I tried it and it is slooooow. Not even a slowburn, just slow. It sapped my energy.

A cute Regency romance that feels more Heyer-esque in writing style and general family-focused vibe than the current crop of modern Regencies. I love that it's modern in its scope in terms of diversity among side characters, but has that more gentle, less intentionally madcap feel - it's a nice change of pace for a new release! However, talking about pace, I will say that this book does not have the best pacing in the world - the big stuff happens too early and then the plot wraps up at around 87%, leaving really quite a lot of chapters that are just incredibly similar conversations about where to go from here. You could skip from Chapter 37 to the epilogue quite handily. That being said, this is still a very enjoyable read, and I'd happily read another from the author!

Thank you so much to @netgalley , @emmaorchardbooks and @theboldbookclub for allowing me to read this book! I had so much fun reading and getting to meet all of these characters!!

Meg? Such a strong and confident main character. I loved how much she cared about her sister, how adventurous she was and how she went after what she wanted!

Sir Dominic!!! Ugh this man!! LOVED

I’m a sucker for a historical theme book and this is definitely up there in my favourites!

Honestly went into this book expecting a romance and boy did I underestimate this book!!!!

The plot twists, the mystery, the big discoveries!!!!

Ugh such a good, funny and clever book.

I enjoyed it so so much, watching the relationships develop and trying to guess where the mystery will end! Would 100% recommend to anyone who loves a regency era book with mystery and romance!

This was a cute romance about an eligible bachelor and a young woman thrust into each other's company by the disappearance of his fiancé/her sister. I appreciated that the story moved quickly and there wasn't alot of dithering around and hand wringing when it came to finding Maria. They proceeded to lay out and execute plans with rather speedy efficiency and not leave the reader hanging. I did, however, really want to get to the "why" of Maria's disappearance and I was pleasantly surprised that we got there sooner than I expected, which then introduced a new series of obstacles to overcome. I also particularly enjoyed the more inclusive nature of the relationships in this book - it was delightful to see that kind of representation!

This book has an excellent premise, and great representation throughout. Having one twin sister switch with the other mid engagement? So much fun! Historical romance is one of my favorite genres and I do think this successfully differentiates itself from other books I’ve read in the genre. I enjoyed Meg as a main female character. She’s singular and I understood her motivations and conflict. Unfortunately, as a whole, this fell a little short of the mark. Much of the issue I had with this was the prose: it’s just slightly too formal to sink into, and I wish there had been more showing than telling as far as the narrative went. I found myself wanting to get to the dialogue and skimming through the lengthy descriptive bits. The big reveal felt too soon to keep the stakes high, and in turn the last 40% or so of the book lacked urgency. I think this could be great for some readers—it really does have such potential, especially if you prefer a more heightened writing style—but I don’t think it was for me.

Thank you to NetGalley & Emma Orchard for providing me with this advanced copy!

3.75⭐️
historical romcom girlies — this is for us. 💝
i can’t say that this book amazed me, but it was such an enjoyable read.

• we have the main male character, Dominic who is 29 and is persuaded by his mom to marry this woman — Maria which his father basically chose for him. and he’s like “ok, why not?”. however, right before the engagement celebration his fiancée tells him she’s actually not Maria but her twin sister Margaret. Maria has disappeared and Meg need’s Dominic’s help to find her.

as i said, this story won’t blow your mind. but it might warm your heart.
the writing style hooked me in, because the language that the author uses is very reminiscent of Austen’s (which is obvious with the beginning). it allows you to fully emerge into 1817’s London.
💝 the characters are quite fun. i love how Dominic is basically goes with everything Meg wants to do. him and Meg are so “hyper gf and calm bf”coded.

the tension building in the first half of the book was so good. it was lost a bit later, but instead we got sweet moments from our main couple. the “mystery” part of the plot was just fine, it wasn’t shocking but it played nice into the story as a whole.

⭐️ overall, it’s a great book to warm your heart and get some comfort

Lots of telling and introspection and I struggled with the beginning. As it was, I skimmed until I got to the point where Dominic learned who he was really engaged to. And then I kept skimming.

I was disconnected from the characters because I was told so much about what they were doing and didn’t know what they felt. I don’t need the deepest pov but this was all dry narration. It felt long.

The Bridgerton comparisons in the description does this book a disservice. Readers will be disappointed if they expect the books or the show. It’s more Heyer-like with its emotional distance and didn’t have the deeper pov more popular in modern historical romance. The plot points are here for a fun romantic romp, but it fell flat for me.

When I read the synopsis for this book, I was intrigued: one sister swapping places with the other? It felt very ‘parent trap.’ Add to that a thriller/mystery of not knowing what happened to the other sister and I was sold.

The book begins grabbing my attention. Maria is running off into the night, the reader is wondering who is this fugitive what is she planning? Why is she running?

Then we are introduced to Dominic De Lacy, a well known bachelor who at the age of 29 remains unwed. It was a wish of his late father that Dominic wed the eldest Nightingale daughter. After meeting her in person at a ball and finding her suitable enough, they are engaged. But his betrothed disappears and in pops Meg, his betrothed’s twin sister who is masquerading as her sister Maria to avoid scandal.

Dominic as a character just felt very stiff, and at times gave me the ick. He was one dimensional and there was seemingly nothing to his character other than him being nice!? I think I prefer rakes. Especially because I didn’t find him the least bit interesting until he started flirting with Meg. Everything else that comes out of his mouth went in one ear and out the other. Very often he feels like two separate characters, particularly after meeting Meg, but maybe thats by design?

Dominic wasn’t the only thing that felt disconnected, the writing itself did as well. There were times where it felt like this book had two different authors. Particularly in the beginning when the writing was overly pompous and sentences too verbose. The language was too stuffy and formal for my tastes. Don’t get me wrong, I ADORE a period piece, but the way this was written felt like it was trying too hard to read as a dated regency era romance.

Again, not my style but if it’s yours it may be worth giving it a try. I will credit the author this: she describes the female anatomy in quite a unique way. I mean referring to a clitoris as “a swollen pearl of venus…” That’s new.

The plot just fell short for me and felt overly predictable. Marias reveal ended up being anticlimactic, and the antagonist was also one dimensional and cliche.

For some context on the sisters, they were raised seperately by either parent, Maria with their stuffy father and Meg with her mother who is an author and does not enjoy london society. This is why ‘meg’ is so unique, because she’s strong willed like her mother. To me, that was a lame background. There’s no depth and Meg comes across as a pick me girl.

I hate being brutal, but if this wasn’t an ARC I would have DNF’d by page 30.

The most disappointing thing is that the bare bones are here. The wiley heroine: check, the mystery of searching for a twin sister: check, the growing frustration of a gentleman: also check. But the writing is just so not my tastes and in my opinion, utterly predictable.

Tropes:

Xarranged marraige

Xfake dating

Xforced proximity

Xregency romance

Xage gap

Xlgbtq+ rep

The perfect book for between heavy reads. A more modern historical romance with a little mystery to it to be solved. I quite enjoyed and hope to read more from this author!

Okay this was a really cute read - admittedly the first half of the book fell a bit flat for me, but after that point it picked up, and picked up quickly! Similar to Bridgerton in the sense that it is a historical romance, very different, but still so cute! You definitely root for the two leads, however there wasn't much of a build-up with them. I saw other reviews say there was spice, though I found there hardly was UP until the end which made no difference to me then.
It was a cute read that I'd recommend if you want to continue a historical romance train.

2.5⭐️
This one didn't work for me. It was cute and fun but unfortunately fell kind of flat. And yes this is similar to Bridgerton in that they are both historical romances- and that is all.

Dominic De Lacy is told by his mother that his father made a verbal agreement before he died, for Dominic to marry Lady Marie Nightingale. He has never met her, but agrees to do his mother's bidding and becomes engaged after meeting the young woman twice. He barely knows her and has zero attraction to her, but figures it will be a marriage of convenience like so many of the Ton. Then he shows up to his engagement party and *gasp* is so attracted to her! Instantly thinks she's beautiful and is daydreaming about kissing her. Then he finds out that Marie is secretly Margaret, her identical twin sister. Marie has disappeared and Margaret is covering for her, but needs Dominic's help to locate her.

Like...come on. He meets her IDENTICAL twin sister and is attracted to her all of a sudden? And the whole plot of Dominic being the only person who can help Margaret find Marie... he has literally met her twice and doesn't know a single thing about either of them or their family. When he starts to ask Margaret questions she's basically like "these questions are irrelevant. It doesn't matter. You have to help me find Marie!" Like how is this man supposed to find her with no context?! It just doesn't make sense. Surely a discreet lady's maid would be more helpful

I also found the writing style tough to get through. Sometimes a single conversation would take pages to get through, it was so full of exposition.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick and spicy read! I love historical romances and this fit the bill. I enjoyed the characters even tho I feel like the main issues could’ve been resolved easier.

ᯓ★ˎˊ˗ net galley review
Thank you so much to Boldwood Books for providing me with the ARC of this book.

I went into this book thinking it would be similar to Bridgerton and hold me over until the next season. However, the only thing they had in common was the romance, which was great, and the regency aspect. Honestly, regency is always going to do it for me, no matter what, so I am very biased. I will say that at times the book was slow but it does pick up and could just be my short attention span. This book was really funny and I found myself giggling often. I loved the main girl Margaret she was too smart for her own good. I think if you are looking for a fun, short, and sweet time then this is absolutely the book for you!

Enjoyable read without the needed charme to make it memorable - the resolution seemed incredibly easy (why this family had to suffer so long eludes me), and one of the sisters (look out for the twist!) is be the worst person alive.

I devoured this one in a day, so suffice it to say that it's an enjoyable read. The spice is well-dispensed and doesn't overtake (or become) the entire plot.