Title: The Duke That I Marry
Author: Cathy Maxwell
Series: Spinster Heiresses #3
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves:  Historical romance, Regency romance
Dates read: 30th January 2020
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Avon
Year: 2018
5th sentence, 74th page: “Did you write down a wager?”

Once upon a time there were threee young ladies who, despite their fortunes, had been on the Marriage Mart a bit too long. They were known as the “Spinster Heiresses”…

Is it wrong for a woman to want more?

Not if she is a Spinster Heiress. They do not settle. Any young miss would be very lucky to find herself promised to a man like the Duke of Camberly. However, Miss Willa Reverly has watched her friends marry for love. Camberly may be the prize of the season, but she will not be “sold” to any man. She wants his devotion or she wants nothing at all.

When is a Marriage of Convenience inconvenient?

Newly named to the ducal title, Matthew Addison is determined to discover the secrets behind Mayfield, the bankrupt estate he has inherited. He doesn’t have time to coddle a headstrong heiress who is determined to ditch him over something as silly as “love”. Little does he know that his questions will place her in jeopardy. Now he will do what he must to save them both.

Could it be that in running from danger they might be racing headlong into a truly unexpected fate: falling in love?

This is a fantastic ending to a beautiful little trilogy. Not only does Willa, the third “Spinster Heiress” find her own happiness, but the final scene involves all three women with their own happily ever afters. I loved that it ended with the girls being together as friends, rather than that feeling I was beginning to get that made you think that once they were married, they travelled off into the sunset and didn’t see each other again. I’m so glad that their bonds are reaffirmed in this.

The beginnings of Willa and Matt’s relationship (and the hurdles they must face) are touched upon in A Match Made in Bed. In fact, on finishing the second book in the series, I was kind of desperate to pick up the final story, because there was a fantastic lead in to it. It meant that unlike the first two book sin the Spinster Heiresses series, it as possible to be thrown into the action immediately. Starting with Willa jilting Matt and making it quite obvious that she wasn’t the kind of woman who could just be walked all over.

There is a lot more hidden drama in this story than the first two books. Mainly because blackmail and bankruptcy lead to a pretty intense storyline. One which had me pulling the pages of the book closer and closer to my face as I was more and more absorbed by the storyline. Although, it was still the romance of the story and the couple who really swept me off my feet. After all, I’m a sucker for a good romance.

What I loved most about this story is that the moment both characters realised that they were in love wasn’t an insane lightbulb moment. There is sexual passion there from the very beginning and a bit of a lustful infatuation on both their parts. But it is that realisation that love doesn’t have to be full of drama and angst. It is about finding that perfect partner in another human being and being able to just work together… that was the part of this story which completely enthralled me.

Image source: Goodreads

Title: A Match Made in Bed
Author: Cathy Maxwell
Series: Spinster Heiresses #2
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves:  Historical romance, Regency romance
Dates read: 21st – 22nd January 2020
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Avon
Year: 2018
5th sentence, 74th page: Cassandra didn’t undestand why someone hadn’t appied a brush and paint to the problem.

Once upon a time there were threee young ladies who, despite their fortunes, had been on the Marriage Mart a bit too long. They were known as the “Spinster Heiresses”…

Is it wrong for a woman to want more?

Miss Cassandra Holwell is too tall, too bookish, and too smart – but she does have money and a father who wants a grand title for her. Cassandra hasn’t felt a desire to marry until she meets the sinfully handsome Duke of Camberly, who captures her imagination… until Soren York, Earl of Dewsberry and her family’s sworn enemy, steps in the way.

The Holwells ruined Soren’s family, and he’s lived on the knige’s edge trying to resurrect their fortunes… until he considers marrying the Holwell Heiress. Not only would her dowry give him the funds he needs, but he has secretly had an eye on the independent-minded bluestocking since they both first realized the differences between men and women.

She likes to read; he has no patience for books. She know little of sex; he is a man of the world and willing to school her. Her family destroyed his; his offer of marriage may be her only salvation

Now Cassandra and Soren must learn to love each other for who they are, not what they are – and the lessons are becoming an exercise in absolute pleasure.

I absolutely adored this book. There was just something about it that was easy, fun and totally impossible to put down. Which I’m starting to find as a bit of a trend in the regency romances I’m obsessing over at the moment. Again, I read this in a ridiculously short amount of time, found it impossible to put down and really wanted to pick up The Duke That I Marry immediately on finishing this. I didn’t, because I have papers to write and an adult life to live… but I might have to do so pretty soon.

After the intensity of Leonie and Roman’s relationship in If Ever I Should Love You, I was completely expecting Cass and Soren to have a major falling out once they’d agreed to marriage. And I completely dreaded it. They had a little more of a battle to actually get to their happy, nuptial state, and I really, really didn’t want to see that suddenly destroyed and having to be fixed in the first moments of their “happily ever after”. It didn’t happen. Which made me ridiculously happy.

I could kind of tell that the father of Cass was kind of horrible. And a dick. But even I was surprised at the depths of the horribleness of her family. After reading two books in this trilogy in which the parents of the bride are completely deplorable… I’m really, really hoping that the third, and final book has parents that are at least abideable. Not holding my breath… but horrible parents somehow tears my heart strings more than anything else. There is just something so drastically sad about such a thing.

As much as I loved this book. There were two themes that I really and truly adored.

The first was the discussion about compromise and finding a way to make everything work. Both Soren and Cass are stubborn and opinionated. But they find a way to work each others’ needs and desires into their actions. Passion and romance is always featured, but compromise in a relationship? That’s something that I think we all need to focus on a little bit more…

And secondly, and finally, this story is really about getting over the past and moving on. About finding a way to move forward and act like an actual human being, rather than holding onto the horrors of the past. There’s even a great example in there which shows you just how much you can be twisted by holding onto the past with such vicious bitterness.

Image source: Goodreads

Title: If Ever I Should Love You
Author: Cathy Maxwell
Series: Spinster Heiresses #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Historical romance, Regency romance
Dates read: 7th January 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Avon
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: She just didn’t want the handsome Lord Dewsberry to be crestfallen on her account.

Once upon a time there were threee young ladies who, despite their fortunes, had been on the Marriage Mart a bit too long. They were known as the “Spinster Heiresses”…

He’s inherited a title, but not a penny to speak of, so the Earl of Rochdale knows he must find a wife – preferably one tolerably pretty and good-tempered, but definitely wealthy, and who will exchange her fortune for his family name.

His choice: Leonie Charnock, one of the season’s “Spinster Heiresses”. Years before, the earl had saved the dark-eyed beauty’s reputation, and she is still breahttakingly lovely, leading Rochdale to hope that their marriage will be more than in name only.

However, Leonie doesn’t want to be anyone’s wife. Nearly destroyed by the secrets in her past, Leonie agrees to their union with one condition: there will be a wedding but no bedding. But it’s a condition the new Countess Rochdale isn’t sure even she can keep…

Late last year, I read a novella by Cathy Maxwell and I loved it. So, the other day when I decided I wanted to buy a random guilty pleasure and saw one of her books on the shelves… I succumbed. And then, I read it very, very quickly in a period of about 24 hours. To the point that I didn’t even spend the last hour with my partner before he went away for a week because I really wanted to finish this amazing novel!

I love the Leonie is incredibly flawed. Unlike most heroines, particularly within Regency romances, she has a pretty big and serious flaw. There is no sweetness of voice of reason to her actions. Instead, she’s a lot more relatable. Actually, since her flaw (alcoholism) is one that my family has… it was a little too easy to relate to this aspect of her character. The fact that Roman then is incapable of dealing with her flaws like a semi-normal person. I love that both of these characters make you want to reach through the pages and smack them around. Normally I kind of feel like that about the men, but the fact that I wanted to do it to the woman as well… it somehow made her that much more real!

I’ve definitely decided in the last month that Regency romances are my new obsession. There is just something about them that captures the imagination and takes you away. An extra level of innocence which make the story so much sweeter and impossible to put down. There is just something that makes it more intense and fun. They’re a little reminiscent of Jane Austen, but the modern day writers add in a lot more sex, and this is something that I thoroughly enjoy in my romances… that turning of innocence.

One of the parts of Leonie that I love is that instead of focusing on becoming a better woman for Roman, she finds a way to just become a better person. A way to love herself again. The use of roses and gardening is a great way to do this. And it acted as a little bit of a reminder that it’s important to love yourself before finding a way to be what your partner needs. Feeling worthy of love is one of the most important things. Which is an amazing message – although this is a romance, Leonie doesn’t rely on a man to make her complete, she finds a way to do it herself.

Image source: Goodreads