The Derrings Series by Sophie Jordan / Historical Romance Book Series

Once Upon a Wedding Night by Sophie Jordan (2006)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Derrings series. Meredith is a widow to an earl and she’s worried that the new earl is coming to take over the estate and kick her and her aunt and father out. She and her aunt come up with a plan to make it seem like she is pregnant with the next heir so that she can stay on the estate. Nick is the younger half brother of the previous earl who has been found out his gambling hell and told that he is the new earl. Nick wants nothing to do with being a titled gentleman and wants to pass it on to someone else. He’s somewhat relieved to find that he might not be the next earl after all if Meredith delivers a son. Meredith and Nick are terribly attracted to each other, but he goes back to London to avoid her; when he learns that she has deceived him, he is brutally vindictive and insists that she marry someone else to become someone else’s responsibility. Except that he gets jealous and desires her for himself. Both characters are extremely stubborn and do not want to fall in love at all and both have seen pitfalls of falling in love.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Too Wicked to Tame by Sophie Jordan (2007)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Derrings series. After five unsuccessful seasons, Portia is sent off to the country to make a match with Heath, a bachelor earl. That earl has no interest in marriage whatsoever because he believes that madness runs in his family and he will not subject the next generation to that sort of madness. Even though Portia is not interested in marriage, he thinks that she is trying to trap him and he tries very hard to resist her until one day he can’t. I’m not sure if this counts as enemies to lovers or not, but there’s definitely animosity and him being stubborn and not believing her when she says that she’s not interested in marriage. I did enjoy reading about Heath’s conniving grandmother and seeing her throw these two together as often as possible.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

One Night With You by Sophie Jordan (2007)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Derrings series. Oppressed widow Jane accidentally sees her childhood friend Seth at a scandalous masked party that her friends dragged her to attend. Seth had previously been in love with Jane’s sister and was humiliated by her family before going away to war; upon his return to the country, he finds that his father and older brother had died, leaving him the earl and responsible for his blind younger sister. Although Seth is interested in a tryst with the masked lady he met one night, he is looking for a respectable wife that can cause no heartbreak to help protect his sister. When meeting Jane again in the daylight, he’s attracted to her but refuses to become entangled with her. It was interesting to see how Jane steps away from her terrible circumstances through the support of her friends. I also liked reading more about Seth’s sister and her secondary romance within the book, even though Seth was a stubborn idiot for most of the book.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Surrender to Me by Sophie Jordan (2008)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Derrings series. Lady Astrid’s fugitive of a husband left his family years ago but has been spotted in Scotland under an assumed name and ready to marry an heiress. Astrid feels responsible somehow and hies off to Scotland to confront the man. Along the way, she meets Griffin, who rescues her from highwaymen. For the most part, Astrid is trying to cling to propriety and avoid any physical or emotional entanglement with Griffin. She’s got a tragic backstory of a mother who left her family for an unsuitable man and a father who was rigid and forced her to be proper and unfeeling. Astrid believes that following any emotions will lead to ruin and scandal, so she always does what she is supposed to. Meanwhile Griffin is dealing with his own issues, but his need to protect Astrid becomes his priority. This story has Griffin being the one to pursue a physical relationship with Astrid, despite her protests and comes across as lacking in full consent, reading it now in 2023. It was still an interesting story, especially as we find out more about Griffin’s family and the shady dealings of Astrid’s husband.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.