This ebook contains bonus content on book research and a Q&A with the author! New York Times bestselling author Betina Krahn’s warmhearted and witty new romance is filled with sparkling surprises . . . When Frances Bumgarten encounters a handsome stranger in her kitchen in the middle of the night, her first impulse is to wallop the scoundrel on the head with a bread paddle. And when … head with a bread paddle. And when Frankie discovers he is “The Fox,” a disarmingly arrogant purveyor of gossip among England’s aristocracy, she’s tempted to take a second swing . . .
Never mind that Reynard Boulton, nephew of the Viscount Tannehill, is returning her inebriated uncle safely home. This chiseled intruder has sparked an infuriating physical sensation unlike anything the feisty Nevada silver heiress has experienced. In fact, the noblemen of London are so dull, Frankie’s sworn off marriage entirely. She will, however, help her younger sister win her own love match—even if it means secretly enlisting Reynard’s enquiring mind . . .
But secrets, as Reynard knows too well, can be costly. For Frankie is yet unaware that a villainous duke is scheming to claim her—and ruin him. Soon they’re racing to uncover the truth—and fueling a passion that won’t stay hidden . . .
Praise for A Good Day to Marry a Duke
“The very essence of romance . . . endlessly entertaining.”
—Booklist (Starred Review)
“Readers will gallop through the lighthearted love story.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Full of wit, deceit, manipulation, and a thoroughly entertaining mix of American and English cultural references, this amusing romance has set the bar high for the sequels.”
—Publishers Weekly
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I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this author. Kept me reading and looking forward to a few minutes to enjoy the characters.
A fun book full of twists and turns that are sometimes hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking. Frankie is in London with her uncle, mother, and sisters. The family made a fortune in silver mining in Nevada, and mom has brought the girls to England looking for improved marital opportunities. In other words, mom wants to snag titled men for her girls. Frankie is the independent sort and has no interest in falling in with her mother’s plans. She has no intention of marrying at all. The fun started one night when Frankie caught a man sneaking into her house and whacked him on the head. It turned out that it was Reynard trying to sneak her Uncle Red into the house after finding him drunk. As Reynard had promised his friend, who is also Frankie’s brother-in-law, that he would watch over the family, Reynard felt he had no choice. Though horrified by the realization that she was dealing with the notorious gossip, it didn’t stop Frankie from demanding his help with her uncle. Previous meetings had been somewhat less than cordial, but both Frankie and Reynard suddenly find themselves taking a deeper notice of each other. That connection increased when Frankie saved Reynard from an attempt to trick him into marriage.
I really liked both Frankie and Reynard. Frankie is plain-spoken, loyal to her family, and a little bit naïve. While she had an enjoyable time in London, she thought the men were boring, until she got to know Reynard. She is a bit impulsive, especially when it comes to taking care of her family, and that gets her into some interesting predicaments. Reynard is terrific. He hasn’t had an easy life, in spite of being the heir to a viscount. His parents died when he was young, leaving him to be raised by his uncle, the viscount. That uncle treated Reynard terribly, insinuating that his parents hadn’t been married, that Reynard wasn’t truly the heir and other things along those lines. There was no love in Reynard’s life. As an adult, Reynard was treated like dirt by his uncle. He isn’t even allowed to live in the house but has quarters above the carriage house. I ached for him and his feelings of not knowing who he really was.
I loved the development of the relationship between Frankie and Reynard. There was a simmering chemistry between them that took them both by surprise. I liked the way that Frankie couldn’t stand by and let Reynard be railroaded into marriage even though she didn’t like him at that point. Things became a little more heated between them when she disguised herself as a boy so she could observe his duel and he caught her at it. Even though they had their differences, Frankie knew she could depend on Reynard when she needed help. He was the one she went to for help finding out about the man her sister Claire was interested in, and again when Claire snuck away to follow the man to France. I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions between them, as Reynard would get frustrated by Frankie’s headstrong stubbornness and her by his unexpected cautiousness. Despite the frustration, they also grew closer, developing a friendship that allowed them to share some of the bad times in their lives. Each of them also realized that their feelings for each other were changing, but there were obstacles to doing anything about it. Reynard knows that he is in no position to marry and he refused to do anything that would harm Frankie. Frankie was frustrated by her inability to get past Reynard’s scruples, but she also respected him for them. I loved seeing them work together to track Claire. There were some terrific twists to their time in Paris that added to both the fun and the heartbreak.
The group’s return to England brought more trouble to both Reynard and Frankie. Her mother pushed hard for Frankie to find a titled gentleman to marry and was ecstatic when the Prussian Duke Ottenberg showed a marked interest in Frankie. Though initially flattered by the attention, Frankie quickly realized that there was something about the duke that made her very uncomfortable. The scenes with him definitely pegged my creep-o-meter, and each encounter made it worse. Besides the duke’s attitude toward Frankie, he also knew that Reynard was a threat to him and took steps to neutralize the threat. No one realized just how big a problem the duke was until it was almost too late. I was on the edge of my seat until that problem was resolved by a truly exciting confrontation between the duke and Reynard. Through it all, I wanted to shake Frankie’s mother, and I loved seeing Frankie tell her mother exactly what was what in an eye-opening conversation.
I liked how Frankie’s love for Reynard gave him the courage to finally confront his uncle, though things did not go quite as he expected. I loved that Frankie was by his side, giving him the support he needed. While I wasn’t completely surprised by the truth Reynard uncovered, there were a couple of unexpected twists. I ached for Reynard and didn’t blame him for his initial reaction. It was interesting to see what happened once he calmed down and had a chance to learn all the details. I loved how he was completely upfront with Frankie about all of it. The scene in the parlor at her house was sweet, funny, and emotional, and showed just how perfect they were for each other.
There were two other romances going on at the same time. The first was the romance between Frankie’s sister, Claire, and the orchestra conductor, Julian. Both Claire and Julian were incredible musicians, which is what brought them together. But Julian came nowhere near what Claire’s mother wanted for her. Though there were times I thought that Claire was naïve in her belief that she would be able to marry him, she turned out to be more determined than expected. She was also incredibly lucky during her trip to Paris. It was great to see how, once again, it was Reynard and his connections that brought a satisfactory conclusion to that romance.
There was also a sweet second-chance romance between Uncle Red and family friend Countess Evelyn. Uncle Red was in a whole heap of trouble because of his drinking and gambling. The countess was asked by the girls’ mother to take them in hand because of their bad attitudes toward her plans. But when the girls didn’t show up at Evelyn’s country home, she and Red teamed up to find them. This gave them the chance to get to know each other again and deal with the mistakes of the past. I loved seeing all three stories converge in Paris and how their teamwork brought about so many happy endings.
I really need to go back and read the first book in the series, A Good Day to Marry a Duke, before the next book comes out.
When Frances Bumgarten encounters a handsome stranger in her kitchen in the middle of the night, her first impulse is to wallop the scoundrel on the head with a bread paddle. And when Frankie discovers he is “The Fox,” a disarmingly arrogant purveyor of gossip among England’s aristocracy, she’s tempted to take a second swing even though he’s very handsome. Never mind that Reynard Boulton, nephew of the Viscount Tannehill, is returning her inebriated uncle safely home. Frankie’s sworn off marriage entirely. She will, however, help her younger sister win her own love match.
Then Frankie catches the eye of the villainous duke of Ottenberg who is scheming to claim her.
This is the second book in the series but could easily be read on its own. However a couple of issues from the first book were resolved in the book, which added to my enjoyment & if I hadn’t read the previous book I’d definitely would have wanted to read it. This book takes place three years after the first. The pace was good & kept my interest all the way through, there was plenty of adventure that added to the story. Reynard & Frankie were very likeable & fought their feelings for quite some time but both did have secrets, which finally came to light. The secondary characters are well drawn & I particularly liked Red
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
An exciting story with compelling characters you cannot help but love and plenty of twist and turns, it is hard to keep up with it all! The second story of the four American Baumgarten sisters and this time with Frankie. She finds the gentlemen in London boring and is not in a hurry to marry, if ever. Of course her mother wants all of her daughters to marry a titled husband if possible.
What starts as an unexpected meeting, brings Raynard, aka the Fox into contact with her. He had been given the duty of watching over the girls by his best friend, although he has kept a distance. But being around Frankie they both started feeling attracted to each other.
Full of suspense, secrets, romance, betrayal and humor this tale had a little of it all. With lovable characters and the chemistry between Frankie and Raynard strong, I could not put it down until the end. I am looking forward to the next story in this series with the another delightful sister!
This is the first book by Ms Krahn that I have read and what a read it was. It was a long read but it kept you turning the page with no boredom in it. The characters were well written and worked well together and although it was long, there was not a lot of filler. There was romance, adventure, suspense, secrets, action and lots of romance. I loved that the fact that there was more than one romance and that you got to see the end in this book instead of having to wait for the next book. Although this is the second in the series it can be read as a standalone book. There was a sex scene and as usual this reviewer skipped it but it didn’t affect my enjoyment of this book. I will be reading many more from this author. I received this book as an ARC.
Rcvd an ARC at no cost to author..(netgalley)This was a new author for me but not anymore, I liked this book., apparently this was a second book so yes I plan to go back and read the first one because I truly did enjoy this one and can’t wait for the next one. So in this one we meet Francis an american heiress and she stumbles upon a secret and discovers she is not crazy about them. She ends up saving Reynard who is known as the Fox and he is also known for knowing and keeping a lot of secrets and using them as needed. These horrible girls were trying to get caught having a liason so that the gentleman was forced into marriage because this one woman the one who set the trap was particularly not pretty, but it wasn’t that she was not pretty she was ugly inside and out so no don’t feel bad for her she was not nice. Anyhoo Francis speaks up, and things are off, duels, lies, betrayals and eventually love…I loved it and can’t wait for the next sister!!!