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A rugged and ruined naval officer comes to claim his bride in an unforgettable tale of love, revenge, and redemption from the nationally bestselling author of Marry in Scandal. Lady Rose Rutherford-rebel, heiress, and exasperated target of the town's hungry bachelors-has a plan to gain the freedom she so desperately desires: she will enter into a marriage of convenience with the biggest prize on the London marriage mart. There's just one problem: the fierce-looking man who crashes her show more wedding to the Duke of Everingham-Thomas Beresford, the young naval officer she fell in love with and secretly married when she was still a schoolgirl. Thought to have died four years ago he's returned, a cold, hard stranger with one driving purpose-revenge. Embittered by betrayal and hungry for vengeance, Thomas will stop at nothing to reclaim his rightful place, even if that means using Rose-and her fortune-to do it. But Rose never did follow the rules, and as she takes matters into her own unpredictable hands, Thomas finds himself in an unexpected and infuriating predicament: he's falling in love with his wife . . . Contains mature themes. show lessTags
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Since Rose has always been my least favorite of the Rutherford women, my hopes for her story weren't all that high, even given the mystique of a secret marriage. I didn't expect to find this so utterly disappointing, though. Other reviewers are correct when they mention how thinly drawn the women are in this book, and the plot requires epic levels of willful blindness and stupidity on the hero's part, but the final straw, for me, was the confrontation between Thomas and the villain.
I certainly understand that Thomas' situation has taught him how powerless other people can feel, but in no way has the villain experienced anything approaching slavery. Almost all people from this time and place in history had very few choices in their show more lives. Even the very wealthy, if they cared at all about the people on their land, weren't free to leave the country to do whatever they wanted. But they still weren't slaves.
They weren't bought and sold. They weren't forbidden from leaving a patch of land or whipped if they tried. They didn't have masters. Or shackles. Or the daily awareness that no one thought of them as anything more than useful animals. Did they live in an inequitable society? Yes. Was changing their lot or improving the lives of their family extremely difficult? Yes. But they were not slaves.
And this villain? This privileged person who had more choices than 90% of the people of the time, even if those choices weren't perfect? This person is absolutely not a slave. And furthermore, clearly doesn't care about all the less fortunate people they trampled on the way to achieving their goals.
Thomas isn't portrayed as any kind of intellectual giant, but the allowance he makes for the villain because he sees his own experience as a slave inside them is patently absurd. Perhaps you should think of all the women in your life, Thomas, who have no legal standing. Or your fellow sailors, impressed and then enslaved alongside you because the villain spurned your request for aid. Or the boy supporting his family, whose proximity to you put him in danger. These people deserve your consideration, and instead you're offering clemency to someone who will go on to hurt more people whenever it's convenient for them.
Had Thomas seen beyond his own experiences into the wider world, beyond his surface similarities with the villain to the deeper ones in every other person around him, the book could've redeemed at least some of the bad characterization and lazy plotting. Obviously, it did not. I may have found Rose tiresome and frequently selfish in the previous books, but she deserved a better story than this. show less
I certainly understand that Thomas' situation has taught him how powerless other people can feel, but in no way has the villain experienced anything approaching slavery. Almost all people from this time and place in history had very few choices in their show more lives. Even the very wealthy, if they cared at all about the people on their land, weren't free to leave the country to do whatever they wanted. But they still weren't slaves.
They weren't bought and sold. They weren't forbidden from leaving a patch of land or whipped if they tried. They didn't have masters. Or shackles. Or the daily awareness that no one thought of them as anything more than useful animals. Did they live in an inequitable society? Yes. Was changing their lot or improving the lives of their family extremely difficult? Yes. But they were not slaves.
And this villain? This privileged person who had more choices than 90% of the people of the time, even if those choices weren't perfect? This person is absolutely not a slave. And furthermore, clearly doesn't care about all the less fortunate people they trampled on the way to achieving their goals.
Thomas isn't portrayed as any kind of intellectual giant, but the allowance he makes for the villain because he sees his own experience as a slave inside them is patently absurd. Perhaps you should think of all the women in your life, Thomas, who have no legal standing. Or your fellow sailors, impressed and then enslaved alongside you because the villain spurned your request for aid. Or the boy supporting his family, whose proximity to you put him in danger. These people deserve your consideration, and instead you're offering clemency to someone who will go on to hurt more people whenever it's convenient for them.
Had Thomas seen beyond his own experiences into the wider world, beyond his surface similarities with the villain to the deeper ones in every other person around him, the book could've redeemed at least some of the bad characterization and lazy plotting. Obviously, it did not. I may have found Rose tiresome and frequently selfish in the previous books, but she deserved a better story than this. show less
Never have I been so happy to have a back cover blurb that was so laughably wrong about the story contained between the covers. If you read the blurb, you'll come into this book thinking that it's going to be a marriage-as-revenge story, but it is very emphatically NOT that. If you're looking for that, look elsewhere - this is a rather extraordinary second chance romance, as our hero comes back from the dead to reclaim not only his wife, but his place among the living.
Thomas Beresford and Rose Rutherford were secretly married when he was 23 and she was 16. They got married so they could have sex, but they only had 2 weeks together before naval officer Thomas boarded his ship again, and then he was shipwrecked and declared dead, which show more devastated our heroine, Rose. Knowing what it is to love and lose, she's determined to never put her heart on the line again, so she knowingly walks into a marriage of convenience with *the* Catch of the Season. In the middle of the Wedding of the Season, Thomas suddenly appears again, looking like a madman, and stops the ceremony.
Both Rose and Thomas are torn - they loved each other four years ago when they married, and both thought the relationship was lost (Rose because she thought Thomas was dead; Thomas because he wasn't dead but was living in horrific circumstances). The Rutherford family had no notion of this secret marriage and are all up in arms. Rose, the daughter of an earl, is a very wealthy heiress, and nothing less than a social equal will be tolerated (by her social climbing Aunt Agatha, at least). Everyone is 1000% suspicious of Thomas's motives and his ability to oh-so-conveniently reappear during the wedding ceremony.
Everyone, that is, except Rose. Once she gets over the shock of her beloved being alive, she is determined to make their marriage work. She is very stubborn, and tips into TSTL territory as the story goes on, which was irritating.
Thomas, on the other hand, is a lot more than the vengeful fortune hunter he's portrayed as in the blurb. He was shipwrecked, yes, but he and five of his crew managed to swim to shore, only to be captured on the Barbary coast, held for ransom, and then sold into captivity when the ransom fell through. His time in captivity has changed him through and through, and he has a lot to work through when he returns to England. First and foremost on his list is trying to bring those five crewmates back; second is trying to figure out why his uncle and cousin refused to pay the ransom for him.
I suppose its not enough these days to just have a book about putting a marriage back together after the miraculous reappearance of one of the spouses; there has to be a mystery tacked on, too. Unfortunately, the mystery felt very tacked on: the moment the villain was mentioned in an afterthought, I knew exactly who was responsible for Thomas's misery. (To give this author credit, at least he had a more interesting reason than just being an evil personage, and the way Thomas ultimately dealt with him was also rather interesting.)
So the mystery plot was "meh" (and Rose was being stupid with her insistence on accompanying Thomas on his journey to rescue his crewmates, because WTF Rose, it's the goddamned Barbary coast and you've heard your husband's horror stories so why in the hell do you think it'd be safe for you to go traipsing around there?), but the romance was tender and sweet, which is what I was looking for. I enjoyed Thomas and Rose coming together for a second time after life-altering events, and there wasn't too much "woe is me/I'm not good enough for him/her anymore" angsting.
Thomas's captivity was based on a true story, and there's a great author's note at the end with mentions of her research and where to learn more about it. I certainly appreciated that =) So while this book wasn't quite as good as the first two in the series, I'll definitely be adding it to my collection.
I've been most curious about George's story (she'll be the final heroine in the series), but the hints that she's going to be paired up with this cold and indifferent duke that Rose almost married has not exactly set my heart aflutter. show less
Thomas Beresford and Rose Rutherford were secretly married when he was 23 and she was 16. They got married so they could have sex, but they only had 2 weeks together before naval officer Thomas boarded his ship again, and then he was shipwrecked and declared dead, which show more devastated our heroine, Rose. Knowing what it is to love and lose, she's determined to never put her heart on the line again, so she knowingly walks into a marriage of convenience with *the* Catch of the Season. In the middle of the Wedding of the Season, Thomas suddenly appears again, looking like a madman, and stops the ceremony.
Both Rose and Thomas are torn - they loved each other four years ago when they married, and both thought the relationship was lost (Rose because she thought Thomas was dead; Thomas because he wasn't dead but was living in horrific circumstances). The Rutherford family had no notion of this secret marriage and are all up in arms. Rose, the daughter of an earl, is a very wealthy heiress, and nothing less than a social equal will be tolerated (by her social climbing Aunt Agatha, at least). Everyone is 1000% suspicious of Thomas's motives and his ability to oh-so-conveniently reappear during the wedding ceremony.
Everyone, that is, except Rose. Once she gets over the shock of her beloved being alive, she is determined to make their marriage work. She is very stubborn, and tips into TSTL territory as the story goes on, which was irritating.
Thomas, on the other hand, is a lot more than the vengeful fortune hunter he's portrayed as in the blurb. He was shipwrecked, yes, but he and five of his crew managed to swim to shore, only to be captured on the Barbary coast, held for ransom, and then sold into captivity when the ransom fell through. His time in captivity has changed him through and through, and he has a lot to work through when he returns to England. First and foremost on his list is trying to bring those five crewmates back; second is trying to figure out why his uncle and cousin refused to pay the ransom for him.
I suppose its not enough these days to just have a book about putting a marriage back together after the miraculous reappearance of one of the spouses; there has to be a mystery tacked on, too. Unfortunately, the mystery felt very tacked on: the moment the villain was mentioned in an afterthought, I knew exactly who was responsible for Thomas's misery. (To give this author credit, at least he had a more interesting reason than just being an evil personage, and the way Thomas ultimately dealt with him was also rather interesting.)
So the mystery plot was "meh" (and Rose was being stupid with her insistence on accompanying Thomas on his journey to rescue his crewmates, because WTF Rose, it's the goddamned Barbary coast and you've heard your husband's horror stories so why in the hell do you think it'd be safe for you to go traipsing around there?), but the romance was tender and sweet, which is what I was looking for. I enjoyed Thomas and Rose coming together for a second time after life-altering events, and there wasn't too much "woe is me/I'm not good enough for him/her anymore" angsting.
Thomas's captivity was based on a true story, and there's a great author's note at the end with mentions of her research and where to learn more about it. I certainly appreciated that =) So while this book wasn't quite as good as the first two in the series, I'll definitely be adding it to my collection.
I've been most curious about George's story (she'll be the final heroine in the series), but the hints that she's going to be paired up with this cold and indifferent duke that Rose almost married has not exactly set my heart aflutter. show less
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
Lady Rose Rutherford is a rebel. She has seen her brother and sister find love, and now it seems that she is next on the marriage market. Having turned down an inordinate number of proposals, Rose decides to forge her own path by entering a marriage of convenience. She has given up of finding love, but she does want children of her own, so she agrees to marry the Duke of Everingham.
However, right in the middle of the ceremony, everyone is shocked to hear: STOP THE WEDDING. Who is the man suddenly standing before her? Unkempt and unclean, yet he bears an unsettling resemblance. The man proves to be Thomas Beresford, a naval officer who Rose secretly married four years previously. How can this be? He was said to have show more died.
Not only is Rose forced to end her almost-wedding, Thomas immediately has plans of his own. These plans include a path towards vengeance. He lost everything when he almost died and has suffered a terrible fate. Now he is back and will stop at nothing, including using Rose and he fortune to get back everything he lost.
Rose is baffled. She never stopped loving Thomas, but she was sure he was lost to her forever. Who is this man before her now? He is not the gentle and passionate man she fell in love with. Instead, he is cold, hard and angry.
Rose and Thomas are about to have a second chance in life. Things will not come easy, especially when considering the horrid things that Thomas experienced. I was so very sad for Thomas and felt for him. It was heartwarming to see Rose's compassion and love shine through, while watching Thomas begin to heal.
Marriage in Secret is the third book in the Marriage of Convenience series. We have had Emm and Lily's stories, and they were a delight. Rose's story is my favorite. In part, because she is so young, just twenty years old, but her capacity for love is incredibly overwhelming. As this is her story, it could serve as a standalone. But the family ties are powerful, so reading this series in order just might be very enjoyable for lovers of this genre. I do look forward to Georgiana's story next. show less
Lady Rose Rutherford is a rebel. She has seen her brother and sister find love, and now it seems that she is next on the marriage market. Having turned down an inordinate number of proposals, Rose decides to forge her own path by entering a marriage of convenience. She has given up of finding love, but she does want children of her own, so she agrees to marry the Duke of Everingham.
However, right in the middle of the ceremony, everyone is shocked to hear: STOP THE WEDDING. Who is the man suddenly standing before her? Unkempt and unclean, yet he bears an unsettling resemblance. The man proves to be Thomas Beresford, a naval officer who Rose secretly married four years previously. How can this be? He was said to have show more died.
Not only is Rose forced to end her almost-wedding, Thomas immediately has plans of his own. These plans include a path towards vengeance. He lost everything when he almost died and has suffered a terrible fate. Now he is back and will stop at nothing, including using Rose and he fortune to get back everything he lost.
Rose is baffled. She never stopped loving Thomas, but she was sure he was lost to her forever. Who is this man before her now? He is not the gentle and passionate man she fell in love with. Instead, he is cold, hard and angry.
Rose and Thomas are about to have a second chance in life. Things will not come easy, especially when considering the horrid things that Thomas experienced. I was so very sad for Thomas and felt for him. It was heartwarming to see Rose's compassion and love shine through, while watching Thomas begin to heal.
Marriage in Secret is the third book in the Marriage of Convenience series. We have had Emm and Lily's stories, and they were a delight. Rose's story is my favorite. In part, because she is so young, just twenty years old, but her capacity for love is incredibly overwhelming. As this is her story, it could serve as a standalone. But the family ties are powerful, so reading this series in order just might be very enjoyable for lovers of this genre. I do look forward to Georgiana's story next. show less
Series: Marriage of Convenience #3
Publication Date: 7/30/2019
Number of Pages: 336
I absolutely loved this book! There was no “Oh, woe is me”. No navel-gazing. No page-after-page of angst - even though both of these characters had every reason to do those things. I know – it is odd to love a book for what it doesn’t have, but I do get so tired of books where the main focus is nothing but those things. This one was refreshing, romantic, steamy and just a lovely read.
There are some heartbreaking subjects in this novel, particularly that of the slave trade on the Barbary Coast. It doesn’t touch on or deal with the African slave trade (to the Americas), only that of the Ottoman Empire.
Lady Rose Rutherford is one of the best show more heroines I’ve read in a long time. She’s smart, steadfast, loyal, faithful and loving. She fell head-over-heels in love at sixteen and never doubted, never faltered, never stopped – even in the face of some of the worst heartache you’ll ever see.
Thomas Beresford followed in his father’s footsteps and purchased a commission in the Navy when he was sixteen. He loved the navy and rose through the ranks over the next seven years to the rank of Commander. Then, at the age of twenty-three, he met, fell in love, and married Rose Rutherford. They married in secret and then he sailed away. His ship sank with all hands reported lost – and his four-year nightmare began.
Thomas was a wonderful hero. After all that had happened to him, he was still the most honorable and caring of men. He was truly a hero in every sense of the word. He was totally unselfish and bent on rescuing the other members of his crew who were enslaved.
I loved the opening scene. Rose had finally agreed to marry because it would, with agreement from the groom, be a totally loveless marriage based solely on procreation. Rose would never love again, but she did want children, so a marriage of convenience would suit her fine. At the wedding ceremony, during that tensest of statements “If anyone has a reason this marriage cannot take place” – there is a shout from the back of the church. The man is unkempt – with long hair, beard, ragged clothing, and a stench – and he had just claimed that Rose was his wife.
After Rose’s initial shock – and wouldn’t that be a shock – she embraced her marriage to Thomas and her love for him. She never, ever wavered even when he tried to dissuade her. Her initial reaction might not have been everything he had hoped for, even he recognized that his appearance and his return from the dead was enough to shock her for a while. But boy, once that shock wore off, she was a very determined lady.
I highly recommend this book and hope you love it as much as I did.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. show less
Publication Date: 7/30/2019
Number of Pages: 336
I absolutely loved this book! There was no “Oh, woe is me”. No navel-gazing. No page-after-page of angst - even though both of these characters had every reason to do those things. I know – it is odd to love a book for what it doesn’t have, but I do get so tired of books where the main focus is nothing but those things. This one was refreshing, romantic, steamy and just a lovely read.
There are some heartbreaking subjects in this novel, particularly that of the slave trade on the Barbary Coast. It doesn’t touch on or deal with the African slave trade (to the Americas), only that of the Ottoman Empire.
Lady Rose Rutherford is one of the best show more heroines I’ve read in a long time. She’s smart, steadfast, loyal, faithful and loving. She fell head-over-heels in love at sixteen and never doubted, never faltered, never stopped – even in the face of some of the worst heartache you’ll ever see.
Thomas Beresford followed in his father’s footsteps and purchased a commission in the Navy when he was sixteen. He loved the navy and rose through the ranks over the next seven years to the rank of Commander. Then, at the age of twenty-three, he met, fell in love, and married Rose Rutherford. They married in secret and then he sailed away. His ship sank with all hands reported lost – and his four-year nightmare began.
Thomas was a wonderful hero. After all that had happened to him, he was still the most honorable and caring of men. He was truly a hero in every sense of the word. He was totally unselfish and bent on rescuing the other members of his crew who were enslaved.
I loved the opening scene. Rose had finally agreed to marry because it would, with agreement from the groom, be a totally loveless marriage based solely on procreation. Rose would never love again, but she did want children, so a marriage of convenience would suit her fine. At the wedding ceremony, during that tensest of statements “If anyone has a reason this marriage cannot take place” – there is a shout from the back of the church. The man is unkempt – with long hair, beard, ragged clothing, and a stench – and he had just claimed that Rose was his wife.
After Rose’s initial shock – and wouldn’t that be a shock – she embraced her marriage to Thomas and her love for him. She never, ever wavered even when he tried to dissuade her. Her initial reaction might not have been everything he had hoped for, even he recognized that his appearance and his return from the dead was enough to shock her for a while. But boy, once that shock wore off, she was a very determined lady.
I highly recommend this book and hope you love it as much as I did.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. show less
Lady Rose Rutherford's comfortable marriage ceremony is interrupted by a disreputable scruffy man who claims to be her husband. A husband who no-one else knows about, he was lost at sea and declared dead shortly after the marriage and she didn't think it was important.to let any one know.
Thomas Beresford survived his ship sinking and was sold into slavery where he eventually escaped just in time to interrupt the wedding. He has to cope with coming back to life and the fact that his family left him to be a slave. He's also not sure he wants to, or will be able to have a relationship with her.
The struggle was real and I enjoyed the story and I also liked how things weren't easily resolved. She was determined to be his partner even if it show more was going to be a lot of work. show less
Thomas Beresford survived his ship sinking and was sold into slavery where he eventually escaped just in time to interrupt the wedding. He has to cope with coming back to life and the fact that his family left him to be a slave. He's also not sure he wants to, or will be able to have a relationship with her.
The struggle was real and I enjoyed the story and I also liked how things weren't easily resolved. She was determined to be his partner even if it show more was going to be a lot of work. show less
Rose Rutherford is about to marry a Duke when the wedding is interrupted by - her husband she thought was dead. Thomas Beresford, a naval officer, was shipwrecked for the last four years but has finally made his way back to Rose.
I didn't read the first two books in the series, not that I thought it was a problem as the story is fine as a stand-alone. Rose and Thomas are a good couple as they find their way back to each other. The later part of the book with the somewhat predictable mystery wasn't as interesting.
I didn't read the first two books in the series, not that I thought it was a problem as the story is fine as a stand-alone. Rose and Thomas are a good couple as they find their way back to each other. The later part of the book with the somewhat predictable mystery wasn't as interesting.
Enjoyable regency. I read the next book in the series which I liked even more. The books felt like they could be in the Regency with no glaring errors but the plots seemed pretty far-fetched. For example, in this one a naval officer comes back from being imprisoned by pirates, etc., in the nick of time to prevent the marriage of his secret wife (who thought he was dead after the Navy said he was dead) to a Duke. It was a fun read but the plot wasn't meant to be taken seriously.
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48+ Works 4,771 Members
Anne Gracie is an Australian author and teacher. She grew up in many places including Scotland, Malaysia, and Greece. She always loved reading. When her parents finally settled down, she attended university to become a teacher. She taught English and worked as a counsellor, but also put on plays and concerts, supervised camps, and encouraged other show more people to write. Her desire to write blossomed during a year-long backpacking trip around the world. Her first series was the Merridew Sisters which included The Perfect Rake, The Perfect Waltz, The Perfect, Stranger, and The Perfect Kiss. Her other series include Devils Riders, Chance Sisters, and Marriage of Convenience. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Series
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Marry in Secret
- Original publication date
- 2019-08
- People/Characters
- Rose Rutherford; Thomas Beresford; Cal Rutherford (Earl of Avendon); Emmaline Westwood (now Rutherford, Countess of Avendon); Lily Rutherford; Edwardd Galbraith (show all 18); George "Georgiana" Rutherford; Lady Dorothy Rutherford; Agatha, Lady Salter, nee Rutherford; Oliver Yelland; Kirk, Scottish groom; Finn, the Irish wolfhound; Sultan, the stallion; Cornelius Rutherford; Ambrose Rutherford; Gil Radcliffe; Wilmott; Duke of Everingham
- Important places
- London, England, UK; Brierdon Court, England, UK; Essauoira, Morocco (Mogador)
- Dedication
- For Janga
You wrote to me about my very first book. Your words were warm, encouraging, wise. You've written about everyone of my books since. And you always see more in them than I do. I can't tell you what that me... (show all)ans to an author, especially one on the other side of the world. So this book is for you, with my very sincere gratitude and love. I hope it measures up.
Anne
xx - First words
- Lady Rose Rutherford was not a young lady who dithered, and having made up her mind, she generally stuck to it.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)All he could do was show her how he felt in the best way he knew. By loving her.
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- Reviews
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- Rating
- (3.75)
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- ISBNs
- 8
- ASINs
- 3
