Say You’ll Be My Lady by Kate Pembrooke

Tracy’s rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: The Unconventional Ladies of Mayfair, #2

Release Date: February 22, 2022

Lady Serena Wynter never plans to marry, she has focused her attention on her charitable causes and the ladies club she started – the Ladies Wednesday Afternoon Social Club. When she courts a bit of trouble while working on one of her causes, her friend Charles Townshend steps in to keep her safe. While she doesn’t want to marry, she doesn’t deny her attraction to Charles and in true Serena fashion, she sets out to explore that attraction but Charles is not willing to entertain a closer connection.

Charles loves Serena, but he doesn’t feel worthy of her and feels he has nothing to offer and harbors a secret that could be ruinous if the truth gets out. But as much as he knows he should stay away from her and knows nothing can come of his feelings, he just can’t deny her and when she puts herself in harm’s way, nothing will stop him from protecting her. He spends more time with her and his feelings deepen, but he still plans to keep her at arm’s length – too bad Serena doesn’t agree with that plan!

This was my first book by this author and I have mixed feelings, I thought the idea of the story was fun, I love a good friends-to-lovers trope, but the story lacked consistency and a steady pace. I also felt like I was missing something, I didn’t read the first book in the series and wonder if that would have given me a different perspective of the existing relationship between Serena and Charles. The book was OK, I don’t regret reading it, but it did have a lot of dropped plotlines, virtually no heat, and several story points that felt a bit clichéd, but on the other hand, it had wonderful characters and a great supporting cast. Overall, while this book was not a hit for me, you might want to give this book a try if you like a slow-burn, low-heat, friends-to-lovers romance.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*