There’s nothing like seeing your engagement announced in the newspaper—except when you didn’t know you were engaged! That’s what happens to Lydia and Benedict, who’ve been antagonizing each other for years. Even worse, this engagement news is shared in London’s most notorious gossip column!

Yet Benedict—known for his affairs with married women to avoid the snare of marriage himself—finds himself strangely drawn to the prospect of marriage to Lydia. And he’s willing to use every skill and trick he knows to make this false engagement into a real marriage.

Lydia and Benedict are two fabulous characters. She is strong-willed and naïve all at once, both brave and credulous. Benedict is both the layabout lord and someone deeply caring of those he loves. Lydia and Benedict’s disputes recall the old adage of protesting too much, and you can see, especially on Benedict’s part, that they seek one another out for more than just verbal sparring. Watching them move their unexpected marriage to something real and lasting makes Worth Dying For great fun to read.

But that title is there for a reason: there’s a threat to Lydia when various attempts are made on her life. The villain is abundantly evident in this book; I really wasn’t surprised at the last-quarter actions this villain takes.

I did think there were some lapses in logic in this book. For example, Benedict dislocates his shoulder, but upon his return to his house he not only embraces Lydia but picks her up and carries her! I shudder to think how that felt with his injury. And he’s freely using both hands even though he enters the house in a sling.

There’s great use of secondary characters in Worth Dying For. Lydia’s siblings (the focus of earlier books in this series) play vital roles in helping or thwarting Lydia and Benedict’s relationship. And Benedict’s brother William is someone I hope gets his own story one day.

So if you’re looking for a fine historical romance with a great amount of spice (both verbal and physical!) between its leading characters, give Worth Dying For a chance!

Spark Flew When Every Time They Met!

When Lady Lydia Powell and the Marquis of Quinton, Benedict Davies first set eyes on each other at a ball, they were instantly drawn to each other. Unfortunately Benedict spurned her! He would not accept what he felt for her and was known as one of the biggest rakes around, changing women whilst already with another women. He was also her brother’s best friend.

Three years later, Benedict had been in and out of her life and every time they met, sparks would fly and they ended up arguing. They were sworn enemies to the ton, so it was quite a surprise when an announcement was made in one of the local papers that they were engaged! Lydia for the past three years had struck up a friendship with one of the writers in the papers and quite a few times mad jabs at Benedict. This time when the announcement was made, she was entirely innocent and denied any knowledge of being involved with the latest gossip!

Benedict didn’t believe her and was convinced it was revenge to get back at him but he really wanted her quite madly and after three years of denying himself, decided it was time to claim her and would not retract the engagement. After her brother and Lydia denied the betrothal, Benedict decided to compromise her so they had to get married.

I really enjoyed this story. It was full of repressed passion and steam with the mystery of who was trying to kill Lydia. I loved the way Benedict’s character came over and how he cared for his brother William. Lydia had her own quite spoiled personality and it was great to see how she grew up and acknowledged her feelings for Benedict.

This is the first I have read from this author and will be looking to read more. I love a good enemy to lover romance and this hit all the marks for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this ARC copy and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Reviews left on Bookbub and Goodreads. Will review on Amazon once released.

When I knew of “Worth Dying For” being published soon I thought it would be the last installment of the “Worth” series with the three Powell Siblings (Edward, Catherine and Lydia) as the protagonists, now I’m hoping Lydia’s book is not the last one, for there is a character whom I’d love to know more of, but that’s a story for another day.

Matilda Madison sets the cards for this round in the introduction. This part is set three years prior to the events in the previous book and this book as well. Lydia is the youngest of the Powell siblings who was mostly overlooked by her cruel father who had been a monster to Edward and Catherine. The two had taken charge of her after the man died and they’ve spoiled her a little. Lydia has a strong personality, she’s impulsive, and she’s used to get what she wants, but she’s sweet and lovable and quite generous too. As it happens, Lydia is quite attracted to Benedict Davies, the Marquis of Quinton and her brother’s best friend, so once at a ball she asked him for a kiss… and he refused. They’ve been enemies ever since.

Benedict spends three years constantly in and out of the Powell’s company. The day he refused to kiss Lydia had been one of the most difficult days of his life because he is attracted to her and he’s not the right man for her. He’s a rake with the most notorious fame, but he’s also loyal to a fault and as mischievous as Lydia is. When he reads in the papers of a surprise engagement with himself and Lydia as the protagonists, he decides to make it true by seducing her and trapping her into marriage, anyway no one believes it wasn’t her who published it.

They move to his ancestral home and there they begin their marital life with the sole company of a very grumpy young man, William, Benedict’s brother who, due to a sickness long ago, is in a wheelchair. Miscomunication, lies and misunderstandings added to Benedict’s difficult past and someone threatening Lydia, won’t make life easy for the couple but the chemistry between them is explosive and their love is tattooed in their hearts since the kiss that never was.

I read once that reformed rakes make the best husbands, and in this book that is the case. At the beginning I thought that Lydia was very well portrayed because she’s very straightforwards, she is who she is and that’s clear from the beginning. But with Benedict it was like unwrapping a present. He introduced himself as the kind of rake we read about in every other novel, but then he surprises the reader by showing his feelings and thoughts and how deeply he loves Lydia and has loved her since always. He’s so protective and caring, though sometimes he patronizes her, which is exactly what she needs to grow out of her spoiled personality. He helps Lydia mature but not in an overbearing way, Lydia blooms as a woman, not because of him but with him, because he lets her be herself. The Lydia we see in the second half of the book is slightly different to the Lydia that lived under her brother’s wing. She’s more realistic than the hopeless romantic child she was, she’s more understanding and a little less impulsive.

The writing in this book matches Lydias vibrant personality, that’s how we get to meet her well. The pace changes with her moods and make a perfect picture of what’s happening all the time. Then I think that Matilda Madison writes like magic because she appeals directly to her readers’ hearts with her beautiful writing and the way she delivers her characters feelings of love, doubt, worrying, strength. Her words fly out of the page and takes us into the book making us Benedict’s and Lydia’s secrets keepers. This is exactly the kind of writing that I love the most, the kind that makes you participate of the story and even though she did write her previous book in the same way, she still managed to surprise me. I’m now going to read the first book which is the one I’m missing, while I wait for her to write about… oh, spoilers.