Frederica Burghley wants to be married by Yuletide. Or else her father will set her up with one of his friends. The bonbon-loving illegitimate daughter of the duke wants to choose her own husband. Advertising in the newspaper seems like the way to go. But a sinister response, with threats against her life, leads her to enlist the help of her very handsome, dear friend Jasper Fitzwilliam, Lord … Hartwell.
A father and widower, Jasper is not only tasked with keeping Frederica safe but also with helping his vibrant friend choose a suitable husband. The more he tries to keep the ever-surprising woman alive and find her a good match, the more Jasper realizes he cares for her. The two friends risk their lives for each other, so they should be able to risk their feelings for a chance at a deep and true love together. But he’s not looking for marriage and she’s not looking for convenience.
Each book in the Advertisements for Love series is STANDALONE:
* The Bittersweet Bride
* The Bashful Bride
* The Butterfly Bride
* The Bewildered Bride
more
I’ve been waiting for this one to come out, and it did not disappoint! What a wonderful love story!
I adore all of Vanessa’s lovely, lingering Advertisements for Love books, and this one is no different. The heroine is on the hunt for a husband and ends up attracting dangerous attention with her advertisement, leaving herself no choice but to turn to her widower friend for help. He agrees, but soon keeping her safe and finding her a suitable husband doesn’t seem as useful as keeping her close and taking on the role of husband himself.
A masterful look at the other side of the regency era and the romances that flourished. The characters are flawlessly developed. They are witty and show a depth and range of emotions and feelings. Frederica and Jasper make a beautiful couple who struggle really hard to grasp the fruits of their happily ever after.
I just could not find the characters believable enough to continue reading this book past the 4th chapter.
The idea is a little more interesting than just a regular historical romance, but the relationship between the main characters was confusing. It was hard to follow and it was hard to get into the plot.
I would not recommend it
Not sure if I would recommend this. I read about a fourth of it and it just didn’t hold my interest.
Just could not relate to characters.
Publisher’s Description:
Frederica Burghley wants to be married by Yuletide. Or else her father will set her up with one of his friends. The bonbon-loving illegitimate daughter of the duke wants to choose her own husband. Advertising in the newspaper seems like the way to go. But a sinister response, with threats against her life, leads her to enlist the help of her very handsome, dear friend Jasper Fitzwilliam, Lord Hartwell.
A father and widower, Jasper is not only tasked with keeping Frederica safe but also with helping his vibrant friend choose a suitable husband. The more he tries to keep the ever-surprising woman alive and find her a good match, the more Jasper realizes he cares for her. The two friends risk their lives for each other, so they should be able to risk their feelings for a chance at a deep and true love together. But he’s not looking for marriage and she’s not looking for convenience.
My Thoughts:
This is the first book I have read by this author. The characters are well thought out and the storyline easy to follow. I was never bored.
This book includes an interesting take on the mulatto people of the recency era without stressing the fact that the heroine was in fact of mixed race.
I enjoyed the read and gave this book 4.25 of 5.0 stars for storyline and characterization and a low sensual rating of 2 of 5 flames. There are only closed door intimate scenes.
I received a complimentary digital ARC of this book to read. This in no way affected my opinion of this title which I read and reviewed voluntarily.
A Yuletide treat!
A story of the difficulties life came bring and the way to happiness. Frederica Burghley is in search of a husband before her father finds one for her. Advertising in the paper seemed the logical place to start. Unfortunately it brought out a scary response with threats to her life. She goes to her friend, Jasper who has two children and is a widower. But he ends up doing more than just protecting her, she wants him to help her find a suitable husband! Whats a man to do?
Keeping her safe from a dangerous man and caring for her more than he wants, he tries to hold back his affections. After all, he has not gotten over the dead of his wife.
This was really a very sweet romance that is part of the Advertisements for Love series. Amusing and heartwarming you will be swept up into the Victoria era and will not want to turn the last page. Although this is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone.
Frederica Burghley is the half caste daughter of a Duke and his coloured mistress. Her father loved her mother desperately, so when she died Frederica moved in to live with her father. No matter how perfectly she behaves everyone still treats her as the daughter of a whore. The only way to be totally respectable is to marry. Unfortunately the adverts she put in the paper have encouraged a dangerous man.
Jasper Fitzwilliam, the Viscount Hartwell is a widower with three young daughters. He is very good friends with Frederica but left his heart firmly in the grave of his wife. However he will protect her from the mysterious villain.
A sweet Victorian historical romance that is part of a series featuring the lives of women of colour in a difficult time. Emotional and amusing with a sprinkling of danger. A very entertaining read.
** spoiler alert **
This is the story of Frederica, the illegitimate, mixed race, daughter of a duke, and Jasper, a viscount and heir to an earldom. Jasper is a widower with three young girls and is very much still in love with his wife and will only consider Frederica as a mistress. Frederica is determined to have a respectable marriage and sets herself a timeline to stick to, thinking that once she is married the mysterious threats against her and her friends will cease. This flawed logic bothered me, as well as the fact that she was supposedly in love with Jasper, but willing to do this anyway. Jasper, of course, did love her, he just wasn’t ready to admit it, then when he finally was she wasn’t ready to hear it and we ended up with a marriage of convenience for awhile. This one just didn’t quite do it for me. I got annoyed with the two main characters constantly dancing around each other and never being on the same page. There was some unbelievable and rather random dialogue that killed the flow and authenticity for me in some parts, and there wasn’t enough steam for me. This is a sweet read with a bit of intrigue that most will probably enjoy, it just wasn’t for me.
ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 Stars
Frederica Burghley wants to be married by Yuletide or risks her father marrying her to one of his friends, however the illegitimate daughter of the duke wants to choose her own husband. Advertising in the newspaper seems like the way to go. But a sinister response, with threats against her life, leads her to enlist the help of her very handsome, dear friend Jasper Fitzwilliam, Lord Hartwell.
A father and widower, Jasper is not only tasked with keeping Frederica safe but also with helping his vibrant friend choose a suitable husband. The more he tries to keep the ever-surprising woman alive and find her a good match, the more Jasper realizes he cares for her.
This is the third book in the series but is easily read ob its own. It’s another well written, well paced story. The characters have plenty of depth but whilst I enjoyed the book I didn’t love it. I liked Jasper & Frederica & liked how they came to care for each other, the path from friends to lovers was well handled. There was intrigue as well as romance, it had everything which I love in a book but for some reason that I can’t put my finger on it didn’t keep me enthralled from cover to cover.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read