Trope Round Up: Marriage of Convenience Historical Romance Books (Volume 3)

Slightly Married by Mary Balogh (2003)

Book 1 of Bedwyn Series. Aidan Bedwyn makes a promise to a dying soldier on the battlefield to notify the man’s sister of his demise and protect her no matter what. He finds Eve at her home and tells her the bad news; she informs Aidan that she does not need anything from him and he can consider his promise fulfilled. However, Aidan learns that Eve is in danger of losing her home and inheritance to another relative now that her brother is dead. He proposes that they marry so she can keep her home (and all the occupants she’s acquired) and then go their separate ways. Of course, they keep getting thrown back together, especially after Aidan’s older brother (the Duke of Bewcastle) learns of their marriage. We start to see the family dynamics here of all those interfering Bedwyns. They need to present Eve to society even when she resists due to being in mourning for her brother. And as Eve starts to integrate more with the Bedwyn family, we slowly see Aidan soften towards Eve and her adoptive children and want to make their marriage real.

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The Earl Was Wrong by Britt Belle (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Greydon series. Sebastian is trying his best to be the stuffiest earl in town, since his debaucherous parents were embarrassing and his father was incapable of being financially responsible. When he finds that his younger sister is skirting ruin, his friend advises that he take a wife. Sebastian asks his aunt for a recommendation and she points out Emmaline, the sister of a viscount who appears to be practical and responsible. Emmaline is surprised to find the handsome earl asking her to dance and then asking to court her, but she believes that he would be her only chance at marriage and children and agrees to marry him. While Emmaline tries her best to be a good wife and member of her new family, Sebastian is cold and distant. He has an underlying fear of love and passion, believing that he will turn into his flighty and irresponsible father if he gives into such emotions. Basically, Emmaline is awesome throughout this book and Sebastian is the one who needs to grow and realize the woman and family he has in front of him. This was an entertaining debut from Britt Belle and I’m looking forward to reading more about the Greydons.

Advance ebook provided by Britt Belle.

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A Deal with the Earl by Sadie Bosque (2021)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Necessary Arrangements series. Julie is the daughter of a cruel and oppressive marquess and avoiding marriage during her Seasons while she waits for her childhood sweetheart to return home from war. Unfortunately, her father has set up a match with Robert, an earl and heir to a duke, and she can’t get out of it. Despite starting off angry at being managed and betrothed without her knowledge, Julie soon makes a deal with Robert that she will go through with the marriage if he helps get her sister out of an asylum and bring her home to live with them; in exchange, she will provide the heirs that Robert needs. While these two don’t trust each other at first, once we see how kind Robert is towards Julie’s sister, even Julie accepts that he is a good person and that their marriage is the only way to have rescued her sister. The romance here is incredibly slow-burn, but satisfying to read.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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The Taming of a Highlander by Elisa Braden (2020)

Historical romance. Regency-era Scotland. Book 2 of the Midnight in Scotland series. Kate Huxley is in Scotland visiting her brother and trying to finish writing her novel (or play) so that she can be financially independent and never need to get married. Except that she may or may not have witnessed a man committing murder and is now in some sort of legal entanglement with a sergeant who wants to know what she saw. Broderick had been wrongfully imprisoned, beaten to near death, and scarred last year and after his recovery, seeks revenge on the man who orchestrated his downfall. Unfortunately, Kate’s disruption in the woods has caused his quarry to escape, plus the unwanted attention of the law. Kate and Broderick end up in a marriage of convenience to prevent the law from compelling her to testify against her husband. They fall in love in pretty short order and Broderick’s protective instincts flare when Kate becomes a target for the madman.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Cinderella and the Duke by Lydia Drake (2022)

Historical romance, Regency-ish era England. Julia is the Cinderella in the story, escorting her younger stepsister to a ball while her stepmother is ill. This is Julia’s one chance to find a husband, since her stepmother refuses to let Julia go to any balls. While protecting a rake from being compromised by a lady and called out in a duel by her husband, she kisses him and then runs away, thinking that she’s ruined. When the rake, our duke Gregory, comes to call the next day with her lost slipper, she proposes a marriage of convenience to him: He helps her get out from under her stepmother’s control and she helps him avoid the lecherous women of the ton. Both of these people are deeply insecure and play an emotionally detached role to protect themselves from being hurt. However, they have great chemistry together and enjoy each other’s company. I really enjoyed this debut novel from this author and am looking forward to reading more.

Advance ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.

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Yours Truly, The Duke by Amelia Grey (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Say I Do series. We start here with one of the silliest reasons for a marriage of convenience, which is an inheritance-related reason. Our duke Wyatt has just been informed that he needs to marry within 7 days to keep the property that his grandmother left for him. Not to worry though, his solicitor has already found him a bride: Fredericka is in a custody battle with her cousin over the guardianship of her sister’s orphaned children and needs a husband to bolster her cause. When the duke shows up at her house to offer marriage, she’s stunned and would rather have had more time to consider the proposal, but they’re on a time crunch, so she accepts. Along the way, we find that Fredericka is the strict caregiver and expecting proper behavior from the children (but mostly so she doesn’t get the kids taken away from her) and Wyatt is the one who wants to see the kids rambunctiously playing. These two are constantly bickering from their opposing views on childrearing, plus misinterpreting each other’s words anytime they’re speaking. It was a fun book to read and I’ll definitely be reading more from this author.

Advance ebook provided by St Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

Never Marry a Cowboy by Lorraine Heath (2001)

Historical romance. Post-Civil War Texas. Book 3 of the Rogues in Texas series. We start with a tragic prologue here which explains how Kit was in love with his twin brother’s wife who passes away from cancer. We jump back into the town of Fortune, Texas, where Kit has been living for the past few years and even elected as the town marshal. An old friend comes to visit to ask him to grant his sister the dying wish of being a bride. Despite refusing at first, Kit ends up spending the day with Ashton and decides to bring her some joy with a wedding. While their relationship starts as a temporary bargain, the more time Kit spends with Ashton, the more he wants to provide for her and give her experiences to remember. We also get to see Kit’s brother come to town bearing secrets to be revealed and then developing a quick romance with one of the widows in town.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Scoundrel Falls Hard by Sophie Jordan (2022)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Duke Hunt series. Kellan and his father have been swindling a country village by posting as the new duke and heir. The village people are out for blood and have chased after Kellan and plan to hang him. The local blacksmith Gwen believes this to be cruel and unjust so she tries to save Kellan by declaring that she’s in love with him, despite not knowing him at all. To prove that they’re actually in love, the banns are called for a wedding between the two. In the three weeks of their engagement, Gwen and Kellan come to an agreement for a marriage of convenience where Kellan will assist Gwen around the house and smithy. While Gwen insists on keeping the marriage platonic, we’ll see how long that lasts with the ever-charming and protective Kellan.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas (2006)

Book 3 of Wallflowers Series. Evie Jenner is desperate to escape her overbearing guardians. She knows the only way to do that and to see her father before he dies is to wed. Evie proposes a marriage of convenience to an equally desperate gentleman: Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent. After their elopement, they return to Evie’s father’s gambling club, where he is on his deathbed. Evie has assumed that she and Sebastian would lead separate lives after he collects her dowry, so she is surprised to find him integrating himself into running the club. As Evie finds herself in peril from others, Sebastian is compelled to protect her. Their marriage may turn out to be more emotionally entangled than initially intended. This one gets a lot of positive reviews for the reformed rake trope here. St. Vincent is essentially a villain towards Evie’s friend Lillian in the previous book, and Evie totally takes advantage of that desperation for her own purposes. It’s crazy to see the amount of turnaround that St. Vincent goes through over the course of the book when you see him slowly fall in love with his own wife.

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A Bride for His Convenience by Edith Layton (2008)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone romance. Impoverished marquis Ian needs to marry a wealthy woman to restore his estates and pay for his ailing brother’s medical care. He’s pretty upset at having to sell himself into matrimony but finds Hannah to be a quiet biddable woman to marry. Hannah has only agreed to have her father buy her a husband after her heart was broken by a neighbor who left her for another woman. Though Hannah agrees to keep things practical in her marriage to Ian, she is very much attracted to him and finds that she likes him the more she gets to know him. Of course, Ian is determined to keep his distance and avoid getting emotionally entangled, especially as his pride is wounded by having to marry for money. These two toggle between direct communication and walking on eggshells around each other, wanting not to offend or demand too much of each other. However, this makes for a delightful slow-burn when they slowly become allies, then friends, and then more.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Blame It on Bath by Caroline Linden (2012)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of The Truth About the Duke series. This book follows the youngest son of the duke Gerard who was an army officer on leave from his duties after his father’s death. With the rumors surrounding his father’s secret wife, Gerard is contemplating marrying an heiress to secure his finances. Luckily for him, he has been proposed to by a quiet and unassuming widow, Katherine, who seeks to free herself from marrying her late husband’s nephew. Gerard agrees to the proposal and also tries to gain Katherine’s affections in the process. After a hasty wedding, they’re off to Bath where Gerard attempts to find the person who was blackmailing his father with knowledge of the long-ago secret marriage. While Gerard is good-natured and easy-going with his new wife, she is insecure and wary of his motives. She’s had a history of being brow-beaten by her social climbing mother and poor treatment by her late husband. It takes quite a bit of effort on both Gerard and Katherine’s parts for her to trust him.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas (2012)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Fitzhugh Trilogy series. Millie and Fitz have been married platonically for eight years and soon to embark on their agreement to try to have children. Except that Fitz is distracted and excited by the fact that his first love is recently widowed and on her way back to England. This book is told over two timelines, showing the progress through Millie and Fitz’ eight year marriage and showing their present day friendship. Fitz had inherited an impoverished earldom, necessitating his marriage to a wealthy heiress even though he had hopes of marrying someone else. Millie has been in love with Fitz for all this time, but she has not given him any clues about her feelings and maintained quiet dignity and strength while he has been heartbroken over his lost love. However, over the years, we get to see Fitz become a strong and steady presence in Millie’s life and ever-so-slowly becoming her closest friend. This whole book is the slowest of slow burns and heartbreaking in all the best ways.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.