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The Marquis Who Mustn't by Courtney Milan
Miss Naomi Kwan has spent years wanting to take ambulance classes so that she can save lives. But when she tries to register, she’s told she needs permission from the man in charge of her. It would be incredibly wrong to claim that the tall, taciturn Chinese nobleman she just met is her fiancé, but Naomi is desperate, and desperate times call for fake engagements. To her unending surprise, Liu Ji Kai goes along with her ruse.
It’s not that Kai is nice. He’s in Wedgeford to practice his family business, and there’s no room for “nice” when you’re out to steal a fortune. It’s not that the engagement is convenient; a fake fiancée winding herself into his life and his heart is suboptimal when he plans to commit fraud and flee the country.
His reason is simple: Kai and Naomi were betrothed as children. He may have disappeared for twenty years, but their engagement isn’t actually fake. It’s the only truth he’s telling.
Why you should read it: I adored this book. The main characters are carrying such complicated and not always compatible baggage, and the ways in which they both grow and change and learn through the book feel SO SATISFYING. The fact that their respective histories of hurt actually help them truly see and resonate with each other is just... I'm not sure I have words for how perfect it felt. Gorgeous and vindicating and completely lovely. (The third book in this series just came out and words cannot convey how excited I am for it.)
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The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by K.J. Charles
Robin Loxleigh and his sister Marianne are the hit of the Season, so attractive and delightful that nobody looks behind their pretty faces.
Until Robin sets his sights on Sir John Hartlebury’s heiress niece. The notoriously graceless baronet isn’t impressed by good looks, or fooled by false charm. He’s sure Robin is a liar—a fortune hunter, a card sharp, and a heartless, greedy fraud—and he’ll protect his niece, whatever it takes.
Then, just when Hart thinks he has Robin at his mercy, things take a sharp left turn. And as the grumpy baronet and the glib fortune hunter start to understand each other, they also find themselves starting to care—more than either of them thought possible.
But Robin’s cheated and lied and let people down for money. Can a professional rogue earn an honest happy ever after?
Why you should read it: Delightful. DELIGHTFUL. Oh my god, I loved this book even more than I expected to (and my expectations were high.) The chemistry! The characters at odds in so many ways, doing their best to do right by each other! The mutual protectiveness! The scorching hot sex scenes! I've enjoyed every book I have read to date by K.J. Charles, but this one is definitely in the running for reigning favorite. I cried a bit at the end, when a very good and satisfying and cathartic thing happened. A truly excellent book.
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Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban
It’s 1857, and anxious debutante Beth has just one season to snag a wealthy husband, or she and her mother will be out on the street.
Gwen, on the other hand, is on her fourth season and counting, with absolutely no intention of finding a husband, possibly ever. She has plenty of security as the only daughter of a rakish earl, from whom she’s inherited her penchant for drinking too much and dancing ‘til dawn.
Beth and Gwen are enchanted with each other on sight. And it doesn’t take long for Gwen to hatch her latest scheme: rather than join the husband hunt, they should set up Gwen’s father and Beth’s newly-widowed mother.
They had a fling years ago, after all...
Why you should read it: This book blew my expectations completely out of the water (and my expectations were pretty high to start with, since it came recommended by some very trusted sources). I loved these characters. I loved the way the author used the complicated and sometimes convoluted world of the historical setting to navigate such a satisfying story of hope and expectations and heartbreak and love. I loved how you could see from the start what shape this happily-ever-after was going to take, and the whole journey is riveting while you wait to find out just how they'll get there. I need book two of this series in my brain immediately.
The Marquis Who Mustn't by Courtney Milan
Miss Naomi Kwan has spent years wanting to take ambulance classes so that she can save lives. But when she tries to register, she’s told she needs permission from the man in charge of her. It would be incredibly wrong to claim that the tall, taciturn Chinese nobleman she just met is her fiancé, but Naomi is desperate, and desperate times call for fake engagements. To her unending surprise, Liu Ji Kai goes along with her ruse.
It’s not that Kai is nice. He’s in Wedgeford to practice his family business, and there’s no room for “nice” when you’re out to steal a fortune. It’s not that the engagement is convenient; a fake fiancée winding herself into his life and his heart is suboptimal when he plans to commit fraud and flee the country.
His reason is simple: Kai and Naomi were betrothed as children. He may have disappeared for twenty years, but their engagement isn’t actually fake. It’s the only truth he’s telling.
Why you should read it: I adored this book. The main characters are carrying such complicated and not always compatible baggage, and the ways in which they both grow and change and learn through the book feel SO SATISFYING. The fact that their respective histories of hurt actually help them truly see and resonate with each other is just... I'm not sure I have words for how perfect it felt. Gorgeous and vindicating and completely lovely. (The third book in this series just came out and words cannot convey how excited I am for it.)
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The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by K.J. Charles
Robin Loxleigh and his sister Marianne are the hit of the Season, so attractive and delightful that nobody looks behind their pretty faces.
Until Robin sets his sights on Sir John Hartlebury’s heiress niece. The notoriously graceless baronet isn’t impressed by good looks, or fooled by false charm. He’s sure Robin is a liar—a fortune hunter, a card sharp, and a heartless, greedy fraud—and he’ll protect his niece, whatever it takes.
Then, just when Hart thinks he has Robin at his mercy, things take a sharp left turn. And as the grumpy baronet and the glib fortune hunter start to understand each other, they also find themselves starting to care—more than either of them thought possible.
But Robin’s cheated and lied and let people down for money. Can a professional rogue earn an honest happy ever after?
Why you should read it: Delightful. DELIGHTFUL. Oh my god, I loved this book even more than I expected to (and my expectations were high.) The chemistry! The characters at odds in so many ways, doing their best to do right by each other! The mutual protectiveness! The scorching hot sex scenes! I've enjoyed every book I have read to date by K.J. Charles, but this one is definitely in the running for reigning favorite. I cried a bit at the end, when a very good and satisfying and cathartic thing happened. A truly excellent book.
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Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban
It’s 1857, and anxious debutante Beth has just one season to snag a wealthy husband, or she and her mother will be out on the street.
Gwen, on the other hand, is on her fourth season and counting, with absolutely no intention of finding a husband, possibly ever. She has plenty of security as the only daughter of a rakish earl, from whom she’s inherited her penchant for drinking too much and dancing ‘til dawn.
Beth and Gwen are enchanted with each other on sight. And it doesn’t take long for Gwen to hatch her latest scheme: rather than join the husband hunt, they should set up Gwen’s father and Beth’s newly-widowed mother.
They had a fling years ago, after all...
Why you should read it: This book blew my expectations completely out of the water (and my expectations were pretty high to start with, since it came recommended by some very trusted sources). I loved these characters. I loved the way the author used the complicated and sometimes convoluted world of the historical setting to navigate such a satisfying story of hope and expectations and heartbreak and love. I loved how you could see from the start what shape this happily-ever-after was going to take, and the whole journey is riveting while you wait to find out just how they'll get there. I need book two of this series in my brain immediately.
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