Jennifer Monroe

Summary
Matthew Colburn, the Duke of Elmhurst will never marry for fear his wife will go through the agony his mother did watching his father become mad and then die. Until he bumps into Julia and he can’t stop thinking about her. Fate intervenes when he accuses her of stealing his pocket watch and through some meddling by her teacher, she agrees to provide the Duke with some luck with his business dealings. But spending time together brings them closer and feelings of attraction start to develop. While Julia embraces the love, Matthew keeps holding back because of his fears, fears his awful uncle is fanning the flames of! They must overcome his uncles meddling, Julia’s jealousy and her parents wishes to make it work!

Tropes: Virgin Heroine, Titled hero, Tortured character, Friends to lovers, Blackmail, Opposites attract

The Plot : The plot was very well executed and a creative way to bring to opposite people together. The story held my interest with the uncle and Lady Dyer’s trying to dominate Matthew, but it was also very frustrating to see Matthew just believe everything everyone told him and also for Julia to see it, but not speak up! But I still was hooked, finished the book, and am looking forward to the nest in the series!

The Heroine : Julia is a leader for many of girls at her school. She is a smart, no nonsense girl, who looks after the others. She underestimates her worth because her father verbally abuses her and her mother. She is very afraid that she will end up in a marriage like her parents where she becomes meek and fearful. Through Matthew, she realizes there is hope for love and respect in a marriage.

The Hero : Matthew is a troubled man after having watched his father become mad before he died. He is certain that is his fate as well. His horrible uncle made sure of that! At first it bothered me that he had no backbone as I don’t care for meek men, but I see the value in the changes he went through to be the man Julia deserved, to stand up for himself.

The Steam : This was a clean, non-steamy book.

Stand Out Moment : Ugh, I hate to say it, but when he broke off the engagement with Julia. I will admit I cried, ugly cried. But I also cried when he came after her…

Who Would Like This : Anyone looking for a clean, sweet romance between two unlikely people.

Final Thoughts : I did enjoy this book; it was well written and defining hit the sweet romance mark for me, but I usually like more passion, even if it’s not physically displayed, between my hero & heroine.… (more)

Summary
Andrew St John is in big trouble; he has lost all his family fortune in gambling and is desperate to get it back. He has been talking young girls out of their money by having them invest in his various schemes. When he over hears Emma Hunter telling a tale about her rich father, he thinks he has found a way out of debt: Emma is beautiful and wealthy, so he sets about wooing her for a bride. Emma is infatuated with Andrew and reluctantly plays along with the lie so he will stay interested in her. While spending time together, Andrew realizes that he is falling for Emma, with or without her money, and that she sees him for himself, not a Baron with holdings. Emma gains confidence to stand up for herself and go after what she wants. Between Emma’s betrothal to a mean, old man and Andrews financial woes, they find that love is stronger than money and find their happy ever after.

Tropes: Blackmail, Country life, Secret Identity, Titled hero, Tortured hero, Virgin heroine, Steam clean, Unworthy hero, Forune hunter hero, Betrayal, Redemption

The Plot : I enjoyed the storyline, even if all the lies were incredibly frustrating at times. I also am loving the way Ms. Monroe uses each book as a way to reveal how Mrs, Rutley sneakily helped each of the girls find their happy ever after. Very creative! Emma was wonderful, short of the lying, she was a well developed character and I enjoyed reading her story. Andrew, however, drove me nuts with his lying and wafting between being a drunk, gambling scoundrel and his redemption. I just wished I felt more of a strong pull toward his redemption, instead it felt anticlimactic when he finally figured it out. The story of the prince and princess was a definite highlight for me and made the end that much sweeter!

The Heroine : Emma Hunter is a sweet, shy girl who is picked on at school and embarrassed by her short stature and lack of wealth. She is destined to marry an older man per her parent wishes, but she is infatuated with Andrew, Baron St John. She is desperate to spend time with him, so she carries on with the lie that her father is wealthy. Through the book she grows as a character to a mature young woman who is confident in herself and her choices.

The Hero : Andrew St Johns is a young, naive man who was thrust into being Baron too soon when his father died. Overwhelmed by the responsibilities, he turns to drinking and gambling, bankrupting his estate, Desperate to fix the mess, he swindles people to invest in various schemes. He doesn’t like it, but believes it’s necessary to recoup his loses. Through getting to know Emma, he realizes that she is truly interested in him, not his title, not his holdings, but she found HIM interesting and believes he is a good, honorable man. He finds himself wanting to be that man, for Emma.

The Steam : this was a clean romance, but there was definitely some romantic words exchanged.

Stand Out Moment : When she goes to say good bye and he asks her to run away with him; she wants her prince to face the storm with her!

Who Would Like This : Anyone looking for a clean, sweet happily-ever-after romance.

Final Thoughts : This was a good read, not a favorite but I enjoyed the story.… (more)

The Review
I keep hoping that this series will get better because I will enjoy the connection and weaving together of the characters happy ever afters...but I just don't. Maybe it is that they are clean romances, but I also just don't feel the passion or love between Nicholas and Jenny. And some of the plot is just silly to me. Nicholas is avenging the death of his sister, a sister he didn't know and had never met. I can get behind a good revenge plot, but this felt flaky and then he wouldn't contemplate a relationship with Jenny due to said revenge. It may also be that they both just seemed so immature even though they were supposed to be portrayed as just having become a woman and graduating from the finishing school.

I did finish the book as I hate to DNF a book, let alone an ARC. But I just didn't enjoy it very much.

Tropes
Historical Romance, Georgian Romance, Country Life, Gamma Hero, Titled Hero, Dresses as Male, Virgin Heroine, Clean Romance, Fake Relationship, Revenge Trope… (more)