How much would you gamble for love? Rufus Lovell has been thrust unexpectedly into riches, and gained a new set of friends who delight in wagers and bets, with nothing too small or too big to gamble on – even marriage. So when a tipsy party joke becomes a wager on Rufus’ marriage, he knows he should said no.But Juliana Honeyfield, the unwitting and unknowing focus of the gamble, is not the simple … gamble, is not the simple and malleable young woman that Rufus’ friends take her for.
She demands a lot more from her acquaintances, and the challenge of understanding this intriguing woman and keeping the truth of the wager from her starts to wear thin on Rufus.
Especially when his belief in marriage has already been so greatly rocked, and his family history is sunk in crime, alcoholism, and prison.
Will it be possible for Rufus to charm the winning Juliana?
Does he owe her the truth about his initial interest in her?
And who will eventually win the Michaelmas wager?
A Michaelmas Wager is a charming Regency romance novella about the unlikely consequences of spur of the moment decisions.
Over 100 reviews across Amazon!
“Thus begins a wonderful romance that, at times, reminded me of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”.” — Amazon reviewer.
“Read this beautifully written book to see what kind of happy ever after comes of this bet!” — Amazon reviewer.
“Interesting story, enjoyable characters. Enjoyed it very much. This was the first book by Emily Murdoch that I’ve read, but it won’t be the last!” — Amazon reviewer.
“I didn’t have too high expectations since it was a free short story. But I was pleasantly surprised by this one . . .” — Amazon reviewer.
“Fantastic short story with a great ending! This wager is the first of its kind for me and I’m so delighted to have read this! This story had a great plot twist that I never saw coming and even had me gasping! Wonderful read, can’t wait to see what’s next!!!” — Amazon reviewer.
“The development of their relationship is sweet and sincere but unfortunately based on a wager which when revealed causes troubles between the couple. I really enjoy this time period, perfect for Jane Austen fans and I think the author did a good job capturing the societal dictates of the time period. I definitely would read more of her work.” — Amazon reviewer.
“More please, Emily Murdoch!” — Amazon reviewer.
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Loved the story and the characters and worried how they would make it to the end. Sweet and old fashion romance. I am hoping to read more books by Emily Murdoch and will tell everyone how great this story was.
A Michaelmas Wager is the second book in Emily Murdoch’s A Regency Romance Series. Just like the first book I enjoyed this quick, fast paced novella. I do not believe this is very accurate regarding the Regency Era but it was a delightful read that ended too quickly for me. I would have liked a little more background on Michaelmas Day and some more background on the characters. I will definitely read more books written by this author.
Cute quick story.
I don’t normally listen to audio books, but I thought I would give this book a try. It is narrated by Virginia Ferguson and she does a fabulous job. I found that several of the sentences were not in the ebook, as I followed alone, that Ms. Ferguson spoke. It didn’t detract from the story, though.
Juliana Honeyfield is the h in this story of her seeking a husband and meeting the H, Rufus Lovell. Rufus made a wager with his friends that he could get any woman to marry him by Michaelmas. Rufus saw Juliana from across the room and set his sights on her.
He begins courting her and Juliana can feel herself falling in love with Rufus. On the day Rufus is to come and propose marriage, Juliana has two visitors that make her change her mind and heart about Rufus and she refuses him. What will become of this couple? Will Rufus be able to get Juliana to believe him or will she freeze him out of her life and her heart? If you enjoy clean, historical romance, you will love this book. Get the audio book if you can. Enjoy!
I received a review copy of this book from Emily Murdoch; all opinions in my review are my own.
How can a man get himself into a wager to marry someone by Michaelmas? When you are newly wealthy and anything goes, it can get you into trouble. Thus Rufus Lovell is such a man and Juliana Honeyfield is the woman of his wager. With a terrible family history and not believing too much in marriage, he meets Juliana and is really drawn to her. A vicar’s daughter, Juliana does not know about the wager and Rufus has a hard time trying to keep it from her. A sweet novella that will keep you turning the page to see if these two can manage to have a happy ever after!
This lighthearted Regency romance is well written with an easy to read flow of language. Rufus Lovell is trying to find his feet in the wake of a family scandal, and as so often happens, he takes the line of least resistance and falls in with a group of men with less than honourable intentions and who would gladly make a fool of him. In forcing a wager on him, Rufus is steered in the direction of Juliana Honeyfield, but to his surprise Rufus finds that Juliana has depth and personality, ultimately taking hold of his heart. One of the dichotomies of the Regency era is that while men were fighting the battle of their lives in France, there were men and women of the tonne in England engaged in frivolous and shallow behaviour and Rufus falls into that trap. Fortunately he comes to his senses but it would appear to be too late to win his lady’s heart. A sweet romance but one that left me feeling uncomfortable because life experiences have led me to a personal dislike of being manipulated.
I love this author’s style. The theme was very clever and would either make you love or hate the hero, Rufus. Juliana is the heroine. She comes from a religious and modest background is isn’t sure what to make of Rufus’ advances. In fact, he sends her flowers every day until she agrees to meet with him and that is when the story takes off.
This is a novella and there is a lot fitted into this short story.
Rufus’ friends seem to be drunks who spend their time wagering on the most crazy situations and he just doesn’t appear to fit in with this group but he still sticks around taking what is really their abuse.
Juliana shows strength in various situations that occur. She also seems to be quite level headed.
The only real failing in this relationship is believing what others say to be true without finding out what the truth really is.
This was a very easy and quick read which I enjoyed immensely and I will definitely be seeking out more from this author.