Always the chaperone and never the bride – until she catches the eye of the very man whose courtship she’s supposed to be helping… as match after match is made – with her help. But a lady over thirty, no matter the title, doesn’t find true love.
William Lennox, Duke of Mercia, never expected to come to fame and fortune, and never thought anything could be more tiring than soldiering – except the marriage market. He needs to make a good match, but no matter how many young chits he’s introduced to, it’s always the chaperone who catches his eye.
He’s determined to convince her. She finds the idea of anyone courting her laughable. This soldier has never been defeated, and he won’t now. A seduction is the only recourse.
Can Charlotte allow herself to be loved or will the Duke of Lennox be tempted away by a bright young thing?
This full length novel is a steamy Regency romance with a happily ever after, no cliffhangers, and is part of a series that can be read in any order.
Never the Bride Series
Always the Bridesmaid
Always the Chaperone
Always the Courtesan
Always the Best Friend
Always the Wallflower
Always the Bluestocking
more
Soldiering Major William Lennox never expected to come to fame and fortune and now he’s the Duke of Mercia looking for a bride to ensure his inheritance. Spinster Lady Charlotte St Maur is the chaperone who catches his eye, she’s beautiful poised and more mature than theses young inexperienced debutantes. He purses Charlotte, but she refuses all advances because of her age and position as a chaperone. She feels he deserves better, a younger woman that her time for happiness is gone and life is set as a spinster. William feels he’s a soldier and he’ll always be set apart for the ton and society rules. She can’t help falling in love with William and enjoys spending time with him. A captivating story of two souls who have so much in common, but so much that separates them as well. An excellent story I loved and I voluntarily wrote a review.
Always the Chaperone
Never the Bride Series #2
Emily EK Murdoch
https://www.facebook.com/theemilyekmurdoch/
Release date 04/03/2020
Publisher Dragonblade Publishing
Blurb :
Always the chaperone and never the bride – until she catches the eye of the very man whose courtship she’s supposed to be helping…
Book 2 in the Never the Bride series is now available! Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited!
Lady Charlotte St Maur is a spinster. Invited to dances as a chaperone rather than a dance partner, it’s all she can do to keep back tears as match after match is made – with her help. But a lady over thirty, no matter the title, doesn’t find true love.
William Lennox, Duke of Mercia, never expected to come to fame and fortune, and never thought anything could be more tiring than soldiering – except the marriage market. He needs to make a good match, but no matter how many young chits he’s introduced to, it’s always the chaperone who catches his eye.
He’s determined to convince her. She finds the idea of anyone courting her laughable. This soldier has never been defeated, and he won’t now. A seduction is the only recourse.
Can Charlotte allow herself to be loved or will the Duke of Lennox be tempted away by a bright young thing?
My review :
Will she be able to let her past grief go to open herself to a better future…
I have been a while I wanted to read a book by Mrs Emily EK Murdoch, so this new release popped up in my list of interest, I decided to give it a try. And I so love story of older persons, a change from the usual debutantes.
Just, while I am not an historian, I do wonder how the brother of a duke could be a marquess , I thought it was the courtesy title for the future heir, so his brother would only be a lord, even if he was the potential heir, it was only until the duke might sire a son.
After, it was fun to see both brothers navigate the intricate and deceit full web of the marriage mart, making errors after mistakes, being louder, less quiet, speaking their mind …
William has known battlefields and loss, and he also lived the full life of a man without a care for his reputation, he was at that time only Major Lennox, now as a duke, he is assaulted by the mamas throwing their daughters at his feet in hope they might become the future duchess of Mercia. So when his eyes caught those of a woman so very different from the debutantes trying to ensnare him. He is set on pursuing her.
He has no interest in fresh of the schoolroom, he wants a true woman, and Lady Charlotte is perfect for him, if only she would believe he is truly wooing her.
Charlotte is so settled in her position as a Thank chaperone, she is unable to understand nor accept a man would be interest in her.
And while she falls for William and his charms, she has difficulties to comprehend it is not a jest, he walks the ballroom with an air of amusement as he sees society with the eyes of someone who did not grew up in.
It was fun to see them interact, he is very determined to make her his wife, but his way of gliding through his peers, he might make it seems like everything amuses him.
I just thought Charlotte was a bit too stubborn, blind and deaf to not realize how much William cared for her. Sure he is not the usual duke but he is true about his feelings, and thus from the very beginning of their relationship.
4 stars for this fun read.
Lady Charlotte St. Maur has resigned herself to being a spinster. She’s thirty-five years old and only ever asked to be the chaperone for courting couples. Until her brother’s recent marriage it didn’t seem so bad. But nobody wants to be the third wheel to newlyweds.
William Lennox, the Duke of Mercia can’t move through society without marriage minded mothers throwing their insipid daughters at him. None of them have anything to interest him. He’s quite happy to let his brother be his heir. Until the one of the young ladies and her chaperone join him.
This is an emotional story where our heroine has given up on herself. Our hero grew up never knowing he was in line to be a Duke and some if society look down on him for his behavior.
I fell in love with all the characters from the first page.
I loved it.
Always the Chaperone by Emily E K Murdoch is the second in her Never the Bride series. This is a very cute book. He tells her multiple times he’s going to marry her. She never believes him, maybe because he never actually asks her. Lady Charlotte is older than the typical debutante. She really doesn’t intend to ever marry but that doesn’t mean she enjoys knowing no one would want her. People now see her as a spinster, a safe chaperone for themselves or their daughters as they pursue eligible men. Miss Darby is the newest one to request her assistance. She wants to attend a performance of The Magic Flute in the company of William Lennox, the Duke of Mercia. She does indeed accompany them and finds herself on the receiving end of the Duke’s attentions; Miss Darby appears to be enthralled by his younger brother, John. Charlotte finds herself extremely attracted to Mercia, but continues to tell herself it is ridiculous: she is too old.
The story unfolds as do all romances but it is fun. It is fun to hear her responses to William. It is interesting to hear her excuses to herself, even after they have been intimate. It is a nicely executed plot. The characters, Charlotte and William are well-rounded and interesting characters, as are Miss Darby and John Lennox, for all that their relationship is a subplot. It is both romantic and sexy. Always the Chaperone highlights some of the expectations of this period, of both ladies and gentlemen. It also stresses the importance of an heir, which is an all-consuming desire for most noblemen. I enjoyed this, the second in the series, as much as I did the first. I heartily recommend it to readers of the genre.
I received a free ARC of Always the Chaperone from Dragonblade in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own.
A lovely story that definately tugged at my heart. Lady Charlotte St Maur is always on the sidelines at balls and parties. You see, she chaperones young ladies and helps them make a nice match for their future. It gets harder and harder because she would love to find a love of her own. But is seems it will never happen….
An ex soldier, William, Duke of Mercia, only did his duty and never thought it would lead him to his present circumstances. Especially trying to navigate the Ton and find a lady to marry which seemed almost impossible with all the young, oh yes, they acted so young too. Until he see’s their chaperone. He cannot look anywhere else when he sees her.
No to campaign and win her favor!
Truly a wonderful journey to a happy ending that both deserved with a steamy attraction that warms the pages!!
I enjoy this series and am reading all of the books. Entertaining, enjoyable stories. Also it is nice to have a more mature female lead character winning her HEA.
I enjoyed the characters and how they developed. The overall plot was predictable because I have read many books of this genre in this time period, but the journey it took to get to the resolution was enjoyable.
I found this story just ok. It’s a cute premise. But I didn’t find that I liked her much after time and again she turned him away. I also couldn’t tell if he was serious. It ends well and happily.
A little too repetitive. If you are going to go naughty then by all means make it as sexy as you can think of. If you are going to do sweet Regency then put some heart and soul in it. Half way doing both is a service to neither. And the repeat of the title got annoying by number twenty six.
I have a hard time with historical romances that include present day cursing, so could not finish this book.
2.25 STARS
Well, I finished it! The h was someone I had a very hard time liking. She just goes to all these events because the young ladies need a chaperone. Couldn’t they find an elderly widow, etc? It was just hard to fathom why she allowed everyone to treat her the way they did. SHE IS THE DAUGHTER OF A DUKE and now SISTER TO A DUKE! Plus the way they talked to her was hard to swallow.
The H didn’t grow up in Society, but was a military man who inherited his title from an Uncle. He just practically worships the h. No idea why, because she treats him beyond awful. I had little respect for either of them.
One part of the story is a cliffhanger, not for the H/h, but the H’s sister.
There is lovemaking, outside of marriage, heat level 3.5 out of 5. For me this story wasn’t one of romance because how the h treated the H. Story was repetitive too.
No cheating, HEA, no romance and steam. Lord’s name used in vain once. I wanted a different epilogue so we see if she became pregnant. (ljb)
Lady Charlotte St Maur has endured a lot of setbacks in her life. She has realized that she will never marry and has found a place in society as a chaperone. Whether she likes it or not. After all, her dowry when into the family coffers after the death of her father. He had managed to dispose of most of their wealth and her brother managed to redeem their status, but it took time. She was a chaperone of most of the young society ladies and managed to serve them well. However, at one society event, she finds the new Duke of Mercia most appealing. How could she, after all she was chaperoning the young lady that was interested in him. This is a wonderful read and a steamy Regency romance that keeps you turning the pages. Thank you, Emily.