Tag: Cathy Maxwell

The Duke That I Marry by Cathy Maxwell

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Regency Era (1811-1820)4 Comments

The Duke That I Marry (The Spinster Heiresses, #3)The Duke That I Marry by Cathy Maxwell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Spinster Heiresses #3
Publication Date: 11/27/18

Willa Reverly is one of the wealthiest heiresses on the marriage mart and she is the last unmarried Spinster Heiress. At the beginning of the season, in order to make standing around at balls more tolerable, the heiresses came up with a game. They chose the most eligible bachelor of the season and then devised a point system for interactions with him. They ALL wanted to win the game and to win the Duke of Camberly – but – Willa won both the game and the man.

Willa hasn’t seen her betrothed since the night of their betrothal party – quite some time ago. He left London without a word to her. She hardly knows the man since they’ve only spoken two or three times. She’d hoped for a kiss (at least) at the betrothal party, but that didn’t happen either. She knows they aren’t a love match, but she’d at least like to know that he has some respect and regard for her since they’d be spending their lives together. She definitely doesn’t want a marriage like her parents have. Since she is tired of stewing at home by herself, she sends Camberly a note to tell him that she is releasing him from their betrothal because they just will not suit.

Matthew Addision, Duke of Camberly, did NOT want to be the duke. Matt’s father had defied his parents and married the woman he loved – an actress. He was quickly disowned, but he didn’t let that stop him from having several children and raising them in a family filled with love and happiness. When both of Matt’s parents died, his older sisters approached their grandparents and begged them to at least give Matt the education he should have as the grandson of a duke. They did that but totally ignored him personally. Now, he is the duke and is responsible for his grandmother and an impoverished dukedom. Matt always wanted to marry for love just as his parents did, but it appears that he is going to have to sell his title on the marriage mart in order to salvage the dukedom. He’d managed to obtain a betrothal to one of the richest heiresses on the Mart and now all he has to do is sit back and wait for his wedding day. Just imagine his shock when he receives a missive from his betrothed who is releasing him from their betrothal. WHAT!

Matt has discovered that there are some very strange transactions in the estate ledgers. The money came in, but it never went to pay off creditors, repair cottages, purchase seed, etc. Where did it all go? After a confrontation with his grandmother, he learns that the old duke was being blackmailed and the demands had gotten greater and greater until the dukedom was bankrupt.

As soon as Matt gets the letter from Willa he sets out to convince her to change her mind and to give him another chance. He manages to secure her hand and things proceed. Willa wants love and Matt wants love – but can they love each other? The path won’t be smooth or easy if they do manage to fall in love. Their path will include betrayal, kidnapping, and murder.

The entirety of Chapter 8 could have been left out of this book and I would have been much happier. I really bothers me when someone uses the excuse of ‘losing control’ to excuse despicable behavior. The entire consummation scene was just too ‘over the top’ and not well done.

One thing that bothered me in this book was the use of American terms rather than British. I could see one slip-up with something that wasn’t particularly obvious, but when you use the American term ‘feet’ for height measurement rather than the British metric term that is very obvious. An even greater offense is using the term ‘lawyer’ throughout the book. In England, you either have a solicitor or a barrister, depending on your legal needs, but you don’t have a lawyer. Another term is when the author refers to him putting on his socks and boots – in that time period both men and women wore ‘stockings’.

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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

A Match Made in Bed by Cathy Maxwell

On By TracyIn Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

A Match Made in Bed (Spinster Heiresses, #2)A Match Made in Bed by Cathy Maxwell
Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Spinster Heiresses, #2

Release Date: April 17, 2018

When this book starts Cassandra Holwell, one of the Spinster Heiresses, is still intent on marrying the Duke of Camberly, but Soren York, the Earl of Dewberry has other ideas and with the help of the Duke and his grandmother, he sets out to win his heiress.

Cass has known Soren for years, they grew up together in Cornwall and their families are well known enemies. She has her own reasons for avoiding Soren, she knows he needs money, but she is not going to be the one who gives it to him! When he finally corners her and they talk, she begins to rethink her reasons for avoiding him, she likes Soren, but she can’t marry him, her father would never allow it and she is still sure the duke is “the one”. But later when she catches the duke in a compromising situation, she radically revises her opinion of him and isn’t sure what she will do. But fate has decided for her, when while trying to evade other houseguests on the way back to her room, she enters Soren’s room and is caught with a very naked Soren. He proposes and her father has a fit, threatening to disown her. She tells Soren she can’t decide now and runs after her father.

Her father tells her she did the right thing by refusing Soren, she is ruined, but her family will not desert her, she can go back to Cornwall and live a quiet life of a spinster. Cass is not happy with this option, she wants to stay in London and hopes to never return to Cornwall. So when she learns that Soren is fighting a duel to preserve her honor, she decides he is the lesser of two evils and agrees to marry him, much to her father’s disgust.

They marry and she is sure she has made the right choice, she begins to envision her future and the fruition of all her dreams coming true. But the road to HEA seems impassable for them when some startling truths are revealed and the detour leads them to Cornwall.

I really liked this book, but there were a few things that just didn’t sit right with me, I couldn’t believe that her father was the only one with a copy of her grandfather’s will and I think Soren should have been upfront with her about his first marriage before he married her. I did enjoy seeing Cass transform from pampered princess to a true helpmate, I also commiserated with her feelings about his first wife and I didn’t feel like Soren did anything to dispel her insecurities – (But, Ms. Maxwell’s author note at the end made me feel a lot better and is the reason I decided on a four star rating vs a three star rating). I loved Soren, he was an almost perfect hero and I love how he treated Cass, his patience, understanding and positive attitude were a refreshing change from the typical HR hero. I loved that these two actually TALKED! I am not sure how I feel about Camberly, I liked him in the first book, but thought he was a bit of twit in this one and I feel sorry for Willa! I also felt like the ending of this story was just a little too quick and tied up a bit too neatly. But the book was well written, flowed nicely, had a lot of twists and turns, steamy love scenes, some shocking secrets and a villain that got off way to easy.

This is the second book in the series, but it could easily be read as a stand alone title. I am happy to recommend the book and am very interested in finding out if Ms. Maxwell can change my opinion of Camberly yet again.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected eARC that was provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher*