Trope Round Up: Marriage of Convenience Historical Romance Books

Someone to Wed by Mary Balogh (2017)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Westcott series. The ever dutiful and honorable Alexander Westcott is not happy with becoming the earl. Just when he has recently made his own estate profitable and considered finally looking for a wife, he inherits a run-down estate with the earldom and none of the money. He now has to change course and seek a wealthy wife to support his new estate. Wren is out of mourning for her aunt and uncle who raised her, has been a recluse all her life, and is now looking for a husband. She thinks that the birthmark on her face will prevent any eligible gentleman from marrying her, so she approaches her offer as a business proposal, offering Alex the money to fix his estate in exchange for marriage. Alex is much too noble to just take the money and he tries to get to know Wren and determine if they’ll suit. Her demeanor is guarded and severe and Alex does not think it’ll work; she’s also a recluse and has difficulty meeting people in social settings. It seems to be a total mismatch from the get-go. However, Alex cannot seem to stop thinking about her and she somehow feels challenged by him (and his family) to confront her fears and slowly venture into society. It’s a delightful slow burn and amazing to see how the Westcotts welcome Wren into their fold and rally around her. Another great story in this series.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Tall, Duke, and Scandalous by Amy Rose Bennett (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Byronic Book Club series. Jane gets caught trying to steal a rare book from a duke’s library but instead of getting into trouble, he proposes marriage to her instead. Christopher is the newly inherited duke with a reputation for throwing debaucherous parties, but really, he’s hiding the fact that an assassination attempt has left him unable to recognize or remember faces of the people around him. He needs help navigating the people around him as well as find his killer. Jane has her own burdens, with a scarred face after an accident with her ex-fiancee ten years ago, a gambling mother, and a sudden blackmailer. She takes Christopher up on his offer, mostly because she needs the money, but also because she’s very much attracted to him. Both are slow to trust the other person due to each of their past hurts, but the physical affection starts early and often. Loved seeing them team up against his mystery murderer.

Advance ebook provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley.

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How To Love A Duke in Ten Days by Kerrigan Byrne (2019)

Historical romance, Victorian England. Book 1 of the Devil You Know series. As expected, there was a huge amount of drama and emotional turmoil in this book. We start with a tragic prologue where Alexandra is attacked by her school headmaster, defends herself, and then needs her friends to assist her in covering things up. To help her feel better, her two best friends reveal their own tragic secrets. As expected, the two friends will make up the main characters of the other two books in this series. Chapter one starts ten years later when she’s on her way to a duke’s masquerade ball where her friend is supposed to be announced as his fiancee. What follows is a series of near-death experiences, blackmail, family destitution, and a fearful pull that Alexandra has towards her friend’s intended, Piers. Don’t worry though, her friend is not in love with him at all and it was a marriage contract from many years past. When she finds out about the allowance the future duchess will receive, she proposes that the duke marry her instead of her friend. And then we have even more drama with Piers’ backstory with his family history, being attacked and scarred, being ditched by his fiancee for his cousin, and mistrust of women. These two people have their own reasons for not trusting one another but somehow feel safe and protected when they’re together. Loved seeing them start to slowly melt towards each other.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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One Season with the Duke by Addy DuLac (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Standalone novel. Hettie is the niece of a marquess and suddenly being blackmailed by her slimy cousin (who I didn’t catch or remember how he’s related to her) into marriage. She doesn’t like him at all, but seems to go along with it because she doesn’t want to jeopardize her family’s reputation. Meanwhile, her childhood friend Finn is finally back in London having been away for many years taking care of his estates in Scotland. He’s disappointed to learn that Hettie is already engaged, but offers to rescue her from her dire circumstances. These two elope pretty early on in the book and I was really expecting a road trip romance with a big chase from the blackmailer, but we ended up with an overbearing mother-in-law story instead. Plus Hettie’s still keeping the secrets of what she was being blackmailed with, Finn is both arrogant and self-doubting and insecure, and really, the villain took way too long to catch up with them. The childhood friends to lovers romance was nice and I liked how Hettie stood up to her mother-in-law, but overall, this book was just ok. If you like stories where someone swoops in to save a lady from an unwanted marriage to a villain, I also recommend The Work of Art by Mimi Matthews.

Advance ebook provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.

To Marry an Heiress by Lorraine Heath (2002)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Daughters of Fortune series. We’re in England for this story, with Georgina visiting her friend Lauren (stepdaughter to the Earl of Ravenleigh) for the Season and her wealthy father setting up a match for her with Devon, another earl and cousin to Ravenleigh. Devon’s impoverished estate needs the cash and he agrees to Georgina’s father’s terms for courtship and the appearance of a love match. Upon meeting Georgina at a ball, she sees through him immediately and insists that he not lie to her if they are to marry. We see a quick wedding very early on in the book, followed by a surprising tragedy that sets off resentment and animosity between Devon and Georgina through the rest of the book. It was most interesting to see how Georgina could be sweet and accommodating, but also have strength in her convictions throughout the book. Devon thought he would be getting himself a demure and grateful wife, but instead finds a strong courageous partner worth falling in love with.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

A Lady’s Disgrace by Callie Hutton (2014)

Historical romance, Regency England. Book 3 of the Marriage Mart Mayhem series. Duke’s sister Abigail has just been jilted by her fiancee, who eloped with another woman. With her reputation in peril, her brother arranges for a family friend, country rector Joseph, to marry her. Abigail and Joseph agree to a marriage of convenience and friendly partnership because Abigail is unwilling to put her emotions at risk again. Joseph has admired Abigail for years, but didn’t think he had a chance with her due to the differences in social standing; he hesitantly agrees to the arrangement but plans to slowly woo her into a true marriage. But if general angst isn’t enough for you, there’s also a conniving widow in the village who is dismayed that Joseph has come home with a wife (we get a few passages here and there for her point of view) and then a bunch of random life-threatening accidents that Abigail keeps having. This poor woman nearly dies so many times in this book. I’m pretty sure the audience is meant to know who the villain is here, but it takes a bit longer for Abigail and Joseph to figure it all out.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

The Surprise Heir by Merry Farmer (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Secrets of Nedworth Hall series. Frank is a mere valet to an earl (who happens to be his cousin) and at the house party at Nedworth Hall. As someone born illegitimate and without knowing who his father is, he is relegated to being a servant and certainly not a prospect for any of the matchmaking that is happening at the party. Meanwhile, Melanie is an American heiress who isn’t interested in marrying into the aristocracy and would prefer to use her dowry money to start her own department store in London. When she and Frank run into each other, she decides that marrying Frank would help release her funds and she would have a built-in business partner in her new husband. Luckily, these two are very much attracted to each other and the marriage will definitely be physical in addition to being convenient.

Advance ebook provided by Merry Farmer via BookSprout.

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In Scandal They Wed by Sophie Jordan (2010)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Penwich School for Virtuous Girls series. The prologue starts with Evie’s younger sister Linnie giving birth to an illegitimate child and Evie’s stepmother wants to send the baby away; Evie convinces her father to let her raise the baby as her own to save her sister’s reputation. We time-jump a few years later, and find out that Linnie’s suitor was a soldier and was sent to war before they could marry. As he’s dying in battle, he asks his cousin Spencer to take care of Linnie and the child. When we catch up to Evie in her impoverished living situation, the reader finds out that her sister had married and passed away in the intervening years. Spencer does eventually show up at Evie’s cottage and believes her to be the Linnie that his cousin had pined over all these years. Since Evie doesn’t want to lose custody of her son, she lies and says that she is Linnie. It’s a tangled mess and everyone feels guilty for being attracted to someone they shouldn’t, eventually ending up with a marriage between Evie and Spencer for the benefit of the child (and so that Spencer can fulfill his duties to his new title). There’s lots of potential for betrayal here with Evie lying about being a mother and Spencer not being forthcoming about him being a viscount. This book keeps the pages turning just so you’ll find out what calamity happens next.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Duke’s Daring Bride by Caroline Lee (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 4 of the Surprise! Dukes series. Alistair is a reclusive duke who does not speak but makes his case in the House of Lords through letters and support documents; at night, he stalks the streets fighting crime as the Dark Knight. One night, he saves Olivia from ruin while she’s out there looking for a story that might save her newspaper. One of her investors just happens to be Alistair and she shows up at his house the next day to ask for him to reinstate his financial support, not knowing he was the one who saved her. He decides to propose to her in exchange for the newspaper support, mostly because he needs a wife, but doesn’t want to go out into society to acquire one. These two enter into a marriage of convenience, but have an instant attraction for each other. It’s fun to read about Olivia integrating into Alistair’s boisterous family: a meddling mother and two quirky younger sisters. Of course we also get a slow progression of Alistair and Olivia learning to trust each other and fall in love. This one was another great book in the series and I love how everything ties back to the overarching villain of the series.

Advance ebook provided by Caroline Lee.

How the Wallflower Was Won by Eva Leigh (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Last Chance Scoundrels series. At the start of this book, Finn is trying to set up Dom with bluestocking Tabitha, thinking that they would make for an easy marriage-of-convenience. However, Dom is not interested in courting or marrying and Tabitha is completely intimidated by Dom anyway. Plus Finn and Tabitha are clearly drawn to each other. The problem is that Tabitha is a well-read intellectual lady trying to gain entry into a prestigious academic society, while Finn has always been berated and thought to be an imbecile. He’s not, he just has trouble reading, but he’s clever and observant. Finn thinks that he’s no match for Tabitha and is afraid that she will despise him once she finds out the truth about his intellect (or lacktherof). Tabitha is also wary of emotional entanglements because of a hurtful experience in her past, but is slowly opening up to Finn. These two are deeply guarded with their feelings and with each other, but it’s plain to everyone else that they adore each other. I loved how supportive Finn was of Tabitha and that he respected her opinion and knowledge.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Work of Art by Mimi Matthews (2019)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Somerset Stories series. We’ve got a strikingly beautiful and kind young lady, Phyllida, living with her uncle and cousins after her grandfather has passed away and now she’s being prepared for her debut and season. However, her uncle has almost sold her to a much older and cruel duke who is known for collecting rare and beautiful things. She finds kindness and connection with another man, Arthur, who is an injured war veteran. When it seems that her marriage to the duke is imminent, she enters into a marriage of convenience with Arthur, and he takes her away to his estate for protection. In reading this book, I appreciated the slow build of trust and companionship between Phyllida and Arthur and that they were able to talk through their issues for the most part. Even with the external drama of meddlesome family members, the romance here was solid and heartwarming.

Ebook purchased via Amazon.

To Marry and to Meddle by Martha Waters (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Regency Vows series. We finally get to see the romance between Emily and Julian here in a marriage of convenience story. We start at the end of the house party from Book 2, where Julian has been sort of courting Emily and hinting to her that he would be able to save her family’s debt as her husband. We start right with a proposal in Chapter 1 and learn Julian’s motivations for marrying (he wants to improve the reputation of his scandalous theater to gain the approval of his estranged father). Emily is finally enjoying a bit of freedom away from her overbearing parents and learning to express her own opinions, instead of always being so prim and proper. The romance between these two was easy and fun to read, with an interfering kitten adding to the comedy-factor of the story. Loved this book and probably my favorite of the series so far.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.