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whiskeyinthejar's review
2.0
****Full Review****
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Mary is in hiding from her cousin who wants to marry her and steal her large dowry. It will still be a year before Mary can turn old enough to control her future and after a slim escape from the cousin, a new plan besides just town hopping is needed. Her wily grandmother convinces her to hide out at a remote town living in a house pretending to be the owner's wife. When Christopher "Kit" Featherton gets word that his "wife" is occupying a remote estate of his, he decides to pay a little visit.
I thought this started off incredibly slow, it takes a while for our couple to get together, and unfortunately, the slow pace persisted throughout the rest of the book. This is very much a "true" regency; Mary and Kit are a product of their times. Mary likes to go on walks and wander around bemoaning having to hide away from her cousin and missing another season in London to find a husband before she reaches the abominable age of twenty-five. Kit is a perfect gentleman who dances with every lady asked of him at balls and uses a quizzing glass in a non-ironical way. Years ago they had met each other and developed a fondness but as their grandmothers connive to set them up, the bulk of their story is Kit trying to get Mary to want to marry him for real without doing anything so she doesn't feel pressured and Mary thinking there could be no way Kit would want to marry her and silently begging him to kiss her. Our couple is not falling in love but working to be married, it felt forced in a long meandering way and lacked anticipation and excitement.
This is sixth in the series and past couples make long extended appearances, I haven't read any of the previous books but others who have would probably enjoy revisiting them and their growing families. Two side romances are also included in the story, Mary's aunt Eunice and the town rector and a woman they meet in Edinburgh named Morna and Simon. The aunt's romance starts rather abruptly and ends the same way but they managed to have more going on in their couple pages of relationship than Mary and Kit did with a whole book dedicated to them. I don't know if Morna and Simon were featured in previous books but their story, which lasted for a couple chapters, felt like it came out of nowhere (seriously who were these people?) and felt very out of place in the book. Their story seemed interesting, star crossed lovers, lies, deceit, hidden marriage, and years of heartbreak but ended up mostly glossed over; they needed their own novella.
As I mentioned, this is true regency, down to the character's speech and mannerisms. This was overall a pretty clean story with the first sex scene between Mary and Kit being their wedding night and her not knowing how they fit together. Everything in the story is very easy and gentle and I found myself missing some adventure. The writing is technically sound and if you want a slower moving, wanders off target occasionally, clean, and regency time period story this would fit the bill. For me, however, this felt like drinking watered down scotch, it's didn’t cut it.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Mary is in hiding from her cousin who wants to marry her and steal her large dowry. It will still be a year before Mary can turn old enough to control her future and after a slim escape from the cousin, a new plan besides just town hopping is needed. Her wily grandmother convinces her to hide out at a remote town living in a house pretending to be the owner's wife. When Christopher "Kit" Featherton gets word that his "wife" is occupying a remote estate of his, he decides to pay a little visit.
I thought this started off incredibly slow, it takes a while for our couple to get together, and unfortunately, the slow pace persisted throughout the rest of the book. This is very much a "true" regency; Mary and Kit are a product of their times. Mary likes to go on walks and wander around bemoaning having to hide away from her cousin and missing another season in London to find a husband before she reaches the abominable age of twenty-five. Kit is a perfect gentleman who dances with every lady asked of him at balls and uses a quizzing glass in a non-ironical way. Years ago they had met each other and developed a fondness but as their grandmothers connive to set them up, the bulk of their story is Kit trying to get Mary to want to marry him for real without doing anything so she doesn't feel pressured and Mary thinking there could be no way Kit would want to marry her and silently begging him to kiss her. Our couple is not falling in love but working to be married, it felt forced in a long meandering way and lacked anticipation and excitement.
This is sixth in the series and past couples make long extended appearances, I haven't read any of the previous books but others who have would probably enjoy revisiting them and their growing families. Two side romances are also included in the story, Mary's aunt Eunice and the town rector and a woman they meet in Edinburgh named Morna and Simon. The aunt's romance starts rather abruptly and ends the same way but they managed to have more going on in their couple pages of relationship than Mary and Kit did with a whole book dedicated to them. I don't know if Morna and Simon were featured in previous books but their story, which lasted for a couple chapters, felt like it came out of nowhere (seriously who were these people?) and felt very out of place in the book. Their story seemed interesting, star crossed lovers, lies, deceit, hidden marriage, and years of heartbreak but ended up mostly glossed over; they needed their own novella.
As I mentioned, this is true regency, down to the character's speech and mannerisms. This was overall a pretty clean story with the first sex scene between Mary and Kit being their wedding night and her not knowing how they fit together. Everything in the story is very easy and gentle and I found myself missing some adventure. The writing is technically sound and if you want a slower moving, wanders off target occasionally, clean, and regency time period story this would fit the bill. For me, however, this felt like drinking watered down scotch, it's didn’t cut it.
excel_spreadsheet_book_nerd's review
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jlee76's review against another edition
5.0
I have just now discovered this series in 2020. I love this series. This installment did not disappoint. The plot was engaging, the characters loveable. The love story was romantic and passionate. Another great addition.
hjmo's review against another edition
2.0
This book couldn't decide what it was going to be and who it wanted to focus on. I found myself skimming and skipping over the side characters in order to get to the main plot. The hero and heroine were forgettable and underdeveloped. The story itself kind of meandered and it felt like it was trying to tick off certain tropes but none of them with much success. Basically I didn't enjoy it.
abdem3's review
4.0
*Arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
When I found out there was another book in the Ella Quinn's Marriage Game series I was excited to get my hands on it. I love the previous books in the series that I have read and knew this one would be great also. I was not disappointed. The great thing about this book is that it is no simple romance. There are lots of moving parts and characters that it hard to figure out what will happen next.
Lady Mary is being chased by her cousin who hopes to force her into marriage. His only reason for wanting to marry her is that she has money and he feels as though he does not have enough. Lady Mary does not plan to go down without a fight though. She wants a season and to be able to find love.
Kit Featheron has finally decided that he is ready to settle down but the one women who caught his eye in the past has not been seen in town. With some help from their grandmothers Kit and Lady Mary find themselves together and again only this time everybody thinks Lady Mary is already Kit's wife.
How will they get out of the predicament that that has been forced on them? Will Lady Mary be able to have a season and fall in love and can Kit convince her they only man for her is him?
When I found out there was another book in the Ella Quinn's Marriage Game series I was excited to get my hands on it. I love the previous books in the series that I have read and knew this one would be great also. I was not disappointed. The great thing about this book is that it is no simple romance. There are lots of moving parts and characters that it hard to figure out what will happen next.
Lady Mary is being chased by her cousin who hopes to force her into marriage. His only reason for wanting to marry her is that she has money and he feels as though he does not have enough. Lady Mary does not plan to go down without a fight though. She wants a season and to be able to find love.
Kit Featheron has finally decided that he is ready to settle down but the one women who caught his eye in the past has not been seen in town. With some help from their grandmothers Kit and Lady Mary find themselves together and again only this time everybody thinks Lady Mary is already Kit's wife.
How will they get out of the predicament that that has been forced on them? Will Lady Mary be able to have a season and fall in love and can Kit convince her they only man for her is him?
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