Pamela Labud

Initially, I was very excited for this book. It starts off setting up Caroline "Caro" Hawkins as a strong heroine with a burden of taking care of the family as best as she could despite her mother having suffered a head injury and a relative squandering all of their money in gambling debt. Her character seemed to be a hybrid of Cinderella (if you know anything about me, you know that I am rather fond of Cinderella) and Elizabeth Bennet. She is a bold feminist who fights for her family and I show more was completely on board. "Unfortunately", a phrase repeated so often in this book, the initial strength of her character dissolves into an insecure, hypocritical, and even violent woman. She repeatedly states how she is not attractive and will not marry because "no man would take on the burden of caring for her mother and sister". Yet she fights for her sister "Bea" to be married to an eligible (rich) bachelor because she is "too beautiful" for employment. She is a feminist yet believes that her sister cannot work due to her beauty. This and several other hypocrisies were even pointed out in character dialogue which added to my annoyance while reading.

Ashton Blakely is the Duke of Summerton who went from being an orphan to the richest bachelor in the land. He loves his Aunt Amelia who desperately wants him to be married and have a family, especially since a tragedy took her own family. He was a soldier (which is often mentioned throughout the book) and now is stuck between choosing a carefree, traveling, bachelor life and marriage. He thinks he is making the best of the situation by having a ball and inviting every maiden to attend (another point where I was very excited for a Cinderella-themed reference), however, he ends up falling for Caroline. A maiden that no one expected him to fall for, especially Caroline, as she is pushing for him to fall for her sister.

Another annoyance that I had while reading was how much inaction took place in some chapters. There was dialogue that filled up a chapter, yet the only action that happened was that Caro and Ash (the other main character and Caro's love interest) were traveling in a carriage. Other examples are the ample dialogue between Caro and her maid Meggie and Ash and his friend Duncan.

2 stars because I did initially love the first couple of chapters and because there were some scenes that were pretty funny (and metaphorical) throughout the book. Other than that, the overuse of ellipses, the tear down of character rather than buildup, the vague villain, and the boring fillers just did not make the book as riveting as it could have been.

For those who may be sensitive, there is foul language as well as themes of violence and sex.

Please note: an advanced reader copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

The story was more melodramatic than I prefer. It was also full of themes that I have often encountered in other books, which prevented me from becoming immersed from the very start. Yes, romance tropes are shared and repeated, but usually there is a fresh take on the idea, or other features to make the book stand apart. Location, characters, gorgeous writing, witty banter or humorous situations, for example. While reading this book, I spent more time connecting themes and passages to show more previously read books than connecting to and caring for the characters.

The pacing was frantic-cake, with miscommunication icing. Characters behaving cruelly and inconsistently, yet somehow always earning affection from friends and families. Often, characteristics are blatantly told to the reader rather than exhibited, with no support from character's actions. That is one of my deal-breakers in storytelling, when lesser characters straightforwardly remark on the traits of the major characters as the main method of conveying the personalities of those major characters.

I felt the intensity of the author's passion, and I wanted the author to have more confidence in writing about something to which they truly were connected. Can troubled, inconsiderate traumatized people really turn everything around in the space of a few pages for a believable HEA? Up to you, reader, to decide.

**eARC netgalley** show less

... a wife made to order--or not!

Ashton Blakely, the Duke of Summerton, decides to forestall his aunt's importuning, hold a ball and take to wife the young woman who meets his list of the 'ideal' wife.
Gagh! Really, Ashton (Ash) Blakely is an idiot!
Caroline Hawkins chaperones her young sister to the ball with the hopes that she will make an exceptional match. Caroline has her own life plotted out--marriage is not part of it.
But then the two meet and it's fireworks in more ways than show more one.
Caroline has a lot to put up with in terms of Ash's immaturity. I know, I know he was emotionally damaged as a child--and it shows!
Really this read like a penny dreadful, and yet for some reason I had to see how it ended. So obviously something drew me in. For that reason alone I upped my star rating from 2 to 2 1/2.

A NetGalley ARC show less

To say I’m not a hunter would be an understatement. Even though I grew up in the South, my father, grandfathers, and brothers did not hunt or fish, so I was never introduced to that culture. I met my husband, and he doesn’t hunt either, and we went on our merry way not hunting. At some point, my father-in-law and brother-in-law (both very enthusiastic hunters), introduced our oldest son to hunting and fishing. He loves the outdoors and he fell in love with hunting and fishing. I have to show more admit, I’m not entirely comfortable with hunting, but I do understand the appeal. Being out in the woods or on the lake is calming, relaxing, and renewing all at the same time. And I also love the camaraderie and bonding they experience spending that time together.

This new historical romance series by Pamela Labud centers around the romantic adventures of a group of confirmed bachelors belonging to a hunting club in the forest south of London. To Catch a Lady is the first book in the series, and it has lots of details that sparked my interest. The female protagonist, Caro, is intelligent, concerned with female rights, and a follower of Mary Wollstonecraft. Her love interest, while very oblivious to female concerns, is good at heart. Both have secrets in their past that define who they are today. The plot promises hilarious hijinks and misunderstandings. The Duke must find a wife before his aunt goes into overdrive with the match-making, so he takes matters into his own hands. He hosts a ball and lottery to choose his wife, and then writes a contract outlining the terms of the marriage. Caro unwillingly attends the ball in order to sponsor her beautiful younger sisters as a potential wife for the Duke. Events conspire to cause Caro and the Duke to marry that night.

I really wanted to like this book. All the ingredients were there, but unfortunately, I just couldn’t fall in love with it. A lot of the dialogue fell flat for me. I like my historical romance filled with witty banter. I just didn’t find it here. And, the stop and start of the relationship got exasperating after a while. I found myself rolling my eyes and sighing when the one of the lovebirds would get mad (yet again) and storm off. The skeletons in both their closets definitely explained their behavior, to a certain extent, but it felt like the book just kept repeating itself with the “will they or won’t they” stuff.

However, it isn’t all irritating, the love scenes are well written, and definitely not cheesy. One in particular was very creative and well written. I also really enjoyed some of the side characters, especially the Duke’s aunt and Caro’s sister.

So for me, this book is a mixed bag. It’s definitely not bad, but for me, there are just some things I couldn’t get past (too much on again and off again, not enough witty banter). However, if those are not deal breakers for you, then you may want to give it a try! show less