The Stranger I Wed by Harper St. George
Series : The Doves of New York #1
Genre : Historical Romance
Publisher : Berkley
New to wealth and to London high society, American heiress Cora
Dove discovers that with the right man, marriage might not be such
an inconvenience after all. . . .
Cora Dove and her sisters’ questionable legitimacy has been the
lifelong subject of New York’s gossipmongers and a continual stain on
their father’s reputation. So when the girls each receive a generous,
guilt-induced dowry from their dying grandmother, the sly Mr. Hathaway
vows to release their funds only if Cora and her sisters can procure
suitable husbands—far from New York. For Cora, England is a fresh
start. She has no delusions of love, but a husband who will respect
her independence? That’s an earl worth fighting for.
Enter: Leopold Brendon, Earl of Devonworth, a no-nonsense member of
Parliament whose plan to pass a Public Health bill that would provide
clean water to the working class requires the backing of a wealthy
wife. He just never expected to crave Cora’s touch or yearn to hear
her thoughts on his campaign—or to discover that his seemingly perfect
bride protects so many secrets...
But secrets have a way of bubbling to the surface, and Devonworth has
a few of his own. With their pasts laid bare and Cora’s budding
passion for women’s rights taking a dangerous turn, they’ll learn the
true cost of losing their heart to a stranger—and that love is worth
any price.
I loved the author's other series - The Gilded Age Heiresses so I was pretty excited to dive into this new one too! Historical romance books with marriage of convenience are like catnip to me!😍
Cora Dove and her sisters are the illegitimate daughters of a wealthy and powerful man in New York and they've never been acknowledged. When their grandmother gives them all a considerable sum as inheritances, it looks like their situation might turn around, but their father puts forth a condition - to access the inheritance they'll have to be married. So, Cora sets off to London with the hope that she'll be able to find titled husbands for herself and her sisters.
Leopold Brendon, the Earl of Devonworth is in need of funds to save his dwindling estate and pay off his brother's debts. He's also working on a Public Health bill that's facing some opposition. Marrying a wealthy heiress could solve many of his problems, so Leo and Cora decide to enter into a marriage of convenience to solve each other's problems! But, neither of them expected to fall for the other or discover some of the secrets that they've been hiding!
Cora and Leo were both such interesting characters and I loved how their relationship went from strangers to friends to lovers! It's a very slow burn romance as they take their time to get to know each other! And my favorite part was the open communication between them. They discuss everything while ironing out the terms in a very business-like way but they slowly develop feelings for each other 😂 it also had some funny moments like how Cora didn't remember his first name correctly right after their wedding 😂 They were also quite passionate about their respective causes and I loved how they helped each other out!
The supporting cast was quite fun too - especially Cora's mom and her sisters! I'm quite excited to read Jenny and Eliza's stories in the upcoming books!
If you're looking for an enjoyable marriage-of-convenience story, I'd definitely recommend this one!❣️✨
You can also find my review on my bookstagram here
You can also find my reviews of the author's other books here
*I was provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Harper St. George was raised in the rural backwoods of Alabama and
along the tranquil coast of northwest Florida. It was a setting
filled with stories of the old days that instilled in her a love of
history, romance, and adventure. By high school, she had discovered
the historical romance novel which combined all of those elements
into one perfect package. She has been hooked ever since.
She lives in Atlanta area with her husband and two children. When
not writing, she can be found devouring her husband’s amazing
cooking and reading.
Comments
Post a Comment