A convenient proposal… Makes a scandalous match! Part of Penniless Brides of Convenience: Knocking on Owen Harrington’s door, impoverished and desperate Miss Phoebe Brannagh wonders if London’s most eligible catch will recognize her. But injured and reclusive, Owen is no longer a carefree man. And he’s in urgent need of a convenient wife! Owen’s shock proposal allows Phoebe to fulfill her … to fulfill her life’s ambition to open a restaurant…but his heated kisses tempt her to hope for a new dream–marriage, for real!
Penniless Brides of Convenient miniseries
Book 1 — The Earl’s Countess of Convenience
Book 2 — A Wife Worth Investing In
Book 3 and 4 — coming soon!
“The book opens up like a succession of Russian dolls, revealing more and more about the protagonists in all guises. And this is Kaye’s strength as a writer: setting up a plot and characters shrouded in mystery, and then revealing them with increasing complexity as the story moves on … A book not to be missed.”
— All About Romance on A Scandalous Winter Wedding
“What a wonderful culmination A Scandalous Winter Wedding is to the Matches Made in Scandal series … Ms. Kaye has fast become one of my favorite authors of historical fiction”
— Romance Junkies on A Scandalous Winter Wedding
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One night in a cafe in Paris, two people both on the cusp of beginning a grand adventure meet by chance. Phoebe is about to leap into her dream of owning her own restaurant, in association with an acclaimed French chef, also her lover. Owen has just left London and is about to commence a grand adventure, trying to work out what he wants from life. They share a few hours of conversation over a jug of wine, each intrigued by the other but two ships passing in the night.
Two years later, when Owen doesn’t come to the meeting they’d scheduled to discuss if they’d achieved their dreams, Phoebe can’t help but want to seek him out. At least one of them might have… because her dreams had turned sour very fast indeed. She finds Owen in London, though, and he’s a far cry from the supremely healthy, energetic young man she met in Paris. Injured in a fire in Marseilles just weeks after their first meeting, he’s now a lonely recluse suffering from a severe case of PTSD.
Distraught to see that Phoebe’s dreams failed just as dismally as his own, Owen determines to offer her a second chance. The only way he can convince her to accept his backing is as a partnership, though – a marriage partnership, because he has a fiancee he needs to let off the hook gracefully.
In 1830, there were no Parisien-style cafes in London, certainly not where men and women could sit down to eat together. Phoebe’s dream of not only opening one, but of being the head chef in an age where it certainly wasn’t a suitable occupation for a woman, makes Owen’s proposal the only chance she has. Owen’s trauma isn’t just physical, though, and Phoebe doesn’t know how to help him get past the demons haunting him, even though they fall quite quickly in love.
There’s so much wonderful historical detail about the restaurant trade in both Paris and London at the time, and the inherent unfairness about the way Phoebe is swindled will have you seeing red. Owen’s situation is very different, and he’s in need of a different kind of aid altogether, that being therapy, both physical and psychological, for what he’s been through. The author treats his PTSD with sympathy and care, showing both how it affects him and how his efforts to work through it turn out. What I particularly liked was there was no magical fix or Love Cures All solution; it takes time, confronting his trauma and learning how to manage his symptoms, and even at the end of the book it’s made clear that the trauma will always be with him even though he’s learned to manage the worst of his symptoms. It’s possibly the best treatment of PTSD I’ve ever seen done in a historical romance, and for this plus the lovely romance between Owen and Phoebe, I’m delighted to give this story five stars.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review from the author.
Good book. This is the second in a series about three sisters and their aunt. We met Phoebe in the first book, The Earl’s Countess ofConvenience, as the younger sister who loves to cook. In this book, Phoebe has gone against the advice and wishes of her sisters and moved to Paris to pursue her dream of becoming a chef. We first see her at a café where she is waiting for that chef, who is also her lover and trying to fend off some unwanted advances. She is rescued by a fellow Englishman, who joins her for a drink and conversation while she waits. Owen is traveling, taking time for himself before honoring a commitment made for him by his late father. He’s a lighthearted and charming young man who looks forward to the adventure ahead of him.
I liked that first meeting between Phoebe and Owen. Both are full of hopes and dreams for their futures, and they share that enthusiasm with each other. Owen is a little envious of Phoebe’s knowledge of what she wants, as he feels he is just drifting through his adventure. Before they part, they make plans to meet again in two years to see how well they have succeeded in their goals.
Oh, the changes that two years can bring. Phoebe discovered that her chef and lover was not the man she thought he was. He used and abused her, crushing her dreams before leaving her destitute. Determined not to return to her sisters as a failure, Phoebe returned to London, showing up at Owen’s townhouse. He hadn’t shown up at their planned two-year meeting, and Phoebe can only hope that he remembers her. But Owen is no longer the carefree young man she met in Paris. A tragic accident has left him with physical and mental scars, barely able to walk and haunted by what he experienced.
Phoebe’s arrival is like a breath of fresh air and hope to the now reclusive Owen. I loved seeing him perk up and make an effort to see her and listen to her story. Owen wants to help her, but Phoebe won’t accept charity. As Owen needs help extricating himself from an awkward situation, he proposes a marriage of convenience with Phoebe. It will be business only, as Owen has no intention of inflicting his broken mind and body on anyone. I loved seeing Owen start to come back to life as he helps Phoebe make and carry out her plans for her restaurant. There are many beautiful scenes of them as they work together to make her dream a reality. The more time they spent together, the closer they became, and feelings began to change. I loved the way that Owen supported Phoebe, listening to her, and taking her seriously. The events in Paris did a number on Phoebe’s confidence in herself, and Owen works hard to rebuild her belief in herself. Meanwhile, Phoebe’s presence and faith in him motivates Owen to take charge of his recovery. I loved seeing the changes in him as his health improves, and his feelings for Phoebe grow stronger. But Owen is still haunted by what happened to him, and the mental anguish causes him to push her away. I ached for Phoebe, whose feelings for Owen ran deep, but she loved him enough to let him heal in his own way. I loved the ending and Owen’s heartfelt exposure of his feelings and fears, and Phoebe’s growth into a woman strong enough to love him as he is.
As reviewed at Roses Are Blue: https://wp.me/p3QRh4-VE
Phoebe Brannagh and Owen Harrington meet under somewhat unusual circumstances in a café in Paris. She is waiting for her lover, and is approached by two men who won’t leave her alone. Owen comes to her rescue, then joins her to share some wine while she waits. They share their stories – Phoebe dreams of being a chef/partner in her own restaurant with her love, while Owen is trying to find himself before he settles down to his arranged marriage. They impulsively agree to meet at the same spot two years from now, to see how their dreams and futures unfolded.
Fate hasn’t been kind to Phoebe and Owen. Phoebe has lost her fortune, her career, and her love, all due to his duplicity. She goes to the café on the appointed date, but Owen doesn’t show. Eager to see him, hoping that he fared much better than she, Phoebe travels to his English home to call on him. Owen had been in a tragic accident shortly after meeting Phoebe two years ago, and it left him injured physically and mentally. The once athletic young man has become a recluse, staying at home, avoiding people, and making money hand over fist – his only pastime. At first he refuses to see Phoebe, but he relents, curious about the woman he never forgot.
Phoebe’s tale of betrayal by her lover touches Owen. He’s sad to see the vibrant woman he remembers now unsure and beaten down – just as she’s shocked to see the young, handsome, charming man she met now looking older, in pain, and distant. Still, Owen wants to help Phoebe achieve her dreams, and wants to finance a restaurant for her here in England. When she refuses his help, Owen proposes a marriage of convenience, telling Phoebe that it will benefit both of them. She’ll get her restaurant along with his financial know-how, and he will be free of his obligations to marry Olivia, the woman his father arranged for him to wed. Owen makes it clear that he has no interest in intimacy since his accident, and that it would be a true marriage in name only.
Phoebe and Owen quietly marry, and Owen finds that he’s feeling more alive than he has since his accident. He begins to exercise vigorously, and soon begins to greatly improve his physical condition. He’s willing and able to escort Phoebe on her excursions to view property and check food suppliers, all the while enjoying every minute. She’s regaining some of her joy in life, and healing from the heartbreak she suffered. Both feel a purpose in life, as well as a deepening affection for each other. Comforting touches become embraces, which lead to kisses, which lead to Owen feeling desire he never thought to feel again. They decide to forego their agreement of a convenient marriage, and indulge in the great physical pull they are experiencing. A beautiful love is developing until a tragic remnant of Owen’s accident resurfaces, causing them to part.
A WIFE WORTH INVESTING IN is Marguerite Kaye’s fiftieth book, and is one hundred percent amazing! Right from the start, I loved the relationship between Phoebe and Owen as they met as strangers. Their first meeting shows them as vibrant and full of life, and their second meeting two years later is heartbreaking. I love how they tried to support each other while dealing with their own pain, and how unselfishly they acted in their willingness to make the other happy, and never passed judgment. The mystery of Owen’s accident is skillfully written, and kept secret until late in the book, building up anticipation to learn what really happened. The romance is the true star of the story, though, with so many poignant and loving scenes to offset the painful and heartbreaking ones. A WIFE WORTH INVESTING IN is a truly captivating and beautifully written romance which has memorable characters and touched all my emotions. I fell in love with Phoebe and Owen, and they will become a definite part of my keeper shelf, as this is a book I will want to read again and again.
A Wife Worth Investing In is the second book in author Marguerite Kaye’s “Penniless Brides of Convenience” series and her 50th book with Harlequin/Mills & Boon. Congratulations to Ms. Kaye on a fabulous accomplishment! This story focuses on Phoebe one of the twin sisters that we met in the first book in this series. Although this is second of a four book series, you could easily read this story as a stand-alone. But I highly recommend you read the previous book! 🙂
Phoebe Brannagh in the last book was known for her love of cooking. In this story, Phoebe has left to Paris to fulfill her dream of being a chef. She spends two long years working hard to move up in a male-dominated world, only to end up working with a chef who takes advantage of her and crushes her dreams.
Owen Harrington is a new character to us. He’s a young man visiting Paris and avoiding the commitment his late father had made on his behalf. Although he plans on honoring it, he plans on taking two years to be alone and do as he pleases, excited by the endless possibilities to explore.
I really liked Phoebe and Owen from their first meeting in a Paris Café. They both are starting on a new chapter in their lives and excited for all the possibilities that await them. Phoebe’s zest for life has Owen captivated and admiring her attitude and both are drawn to each other. But circumstances at the time have them going their separate ways, agreeing to meet up in two years time to compare how far they succeeded in their dreams.
Our story then skips forward to two years later. After losing everything, Phoebe is back in London desperate to stand on her own two feet again. She decides to visit Owen in London since he didn’t show up at the scheduled meeting in Paris, hoping that at least he succeeded where she failed. But Owen is not the man he was in Paris. An accident has left him physically and mentally scarred. When Phoebe ends up on Owen’s doorstep with her broken dreams in tatters, he offers a marriage of convenience, to benefit them both and to help her accomplish her dream.
Oh my, be still my beating heart, Owen was just a fabulous hero! He’s given up on himself and truly is just a shell of a man. Helping Phoebe gives him a purpose in his life again. As these two try to get Phoebe’s business up and running and Owen starts to come back to life, ignoring their feeling towards each other become more and more difficult. Phoebe is a vibrant, funny & determined young woman, but yet there’s also a vulnerable, insecure side she doesn’t show to anyone. I liked these two as a couple and was rooting for them to admit their true feeling for each other. Owen’s health was a major issue to deal with as he recovers mentally and physically. I think Ms. Kaye did a fabulous job of handling Owen’s illness. It’s not an easy subject to tackle, but it was done extremely well and I applaud her for not sugar coating over it and making it just magically disappear. Ms. Kaye took me by surprise with Phoebe & Owen’s story, not what I was expecting at all. Their romance didn’t have a straight and easy path but seeing this couple together, I’m so glad their paths crossed and true love won out! This was such a fabulous story from a wonderful author & I can’t recommend it enough!