When Lord Charnwood’s dependents shows up on his wedding day to Elizabeth Chavers, he must find a way to salvage his marriage and turn an impossible situation into a perfect match.
All he wanted was a good, biddable wife. But the Duke (yep, its got one of those!) quickly realizes his bride has quite a temper. The Duchess, meanwhile, is trying to behave Duchess-like, but fates are conspiring against her.
This was a longer, comedically toned Regency romance that starts right after the wedding. The H/h marry with little interaction, and Elizabeth under the pressure of her mother (who seems like a nasty piece of work). The hero is older, and described at one point as a “bit of a cold fish” while the heroine is young, and ready to rebel after living under the thumb of her oppressive mama. Coupled with the unexpected arrival of not one, but two women from her husband’s past who will not stop offering her advice, Elizabeth is ready to show everyone who is in charge. Overall, there is much familiar in the H/h and will remind readers of a Smith or Heyer in those respects.
There are some very funny parts, and excellent tension with the characters. Many of the situations she sets up are outrageous, and perfect for comedy, if not totally believable slices of reality. The scenes largely occur in Bath, although much happens at the home. I think Mackeever’s strength is in her ensemble’s, and funny details like the naughty macaw or tutelage of a rakehell.
Mackeever does have the tendency to prose on a bit, but I found skimming these bits (particularly when she muddles into the Franco-political landscape) didn’t hurt, and perhaps aided my enjoyment.
Generally, this plays to the marriage of convenience trope.
Mackeever delivers a great ending, wrapping up many of the loose ends, and giving us a titillating glimpse into the bedroom. Although this is a fairly clean Reg Rom, there are a lot of sexual situations or references including several of the scenes that happen in the Duchess’s bedroom as they, night after night, flirt with consummating the marriage. Readers who want strictly clean/kiss only, or who are younger, probably should avoid this one.
Overall an enjoyable read that makes me want to read more Mackeever, although I probably won’t reread this one. Recommended for readers looking for a new, mostly clean Reg author.
4 out of 6 Marriage of convenience that has some inconvenient relatives
| Content Rating/Heat Index | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Affairs, mistresses, and other suggestive content | |
| Intimacy | |
| Kisses and some other hints of activity, albeit fairly vanilla | |
| Violence | |
| Not really | |
| Overall |  |
|---|---|
| Some themes may be too mature for younger readers. No sex scenes, but plenty of innuendo and suggestive content. | |
