Three new Regency romance novellas:A WAGER FOR LOVE by Donna Hatch:For once, Phillip would like to be seen as more than the younger brother of a duke. When he unexpectedly meets the one girl in all London who doesn’t give two figs for his rank in society, she won’t give him the time of day. Determined to gain her attention, he accidentally tips over her boat and dumps her into a river. Not the … river. Not the best way to convince a lady of worth that he is a gentleman of promise. Frustrated, Phillip makes a rash wager with a friend: he vows he’ll not only gain her forgiveness, but her hand in marriage by the end of the Season. The stakes are high in this romantic Regency romp!
THE FINAL WAGER by Heather B. Moore:
When Victor Roland, Earl of Locken, enters into a game of twenty-one with Lord Southill, the stakes get quickly out of control. Before Victor knows it, Southill is betting the dowry of his sister. While completely illegal, Victor is mostly insulted, so he does what any gentleman of the ton should do. He punches Southill out. Problem is, Southill is in so much debt that he’d been kicked out of his townhouse earlier that day. So Victor is forced to deliver Southill at his estate outside of London . . . only to meet Southill’s sister, Lady Juliet, a woman who Victor now wishes he’d bet on.
AN IMPROBABLE WAGER by Michele Paige Holmes:
Sherborne Alexander Rowley III has come home to marry his neighbor—and solve his financial problems in one fell swoop. Love doesn’t figure into the equation, only the need to save his family’s estate. The reserved Miss Emily Montgomery seems willing enough, leaving the only possible obstacle to Sherborne’s success his childhood friend, Eli Linfield, and the wager they made long ago that Eli would be the one to marry Emily. When the timely birth of a colt, Emily’s mischievous sister Sophia, and Emily herself all conspire to ruin Sherborne’s plans, one night of mayhem unravels far more than their betrothal. Emily is not as demure as he believed, nor is Eli what he has pretended these many years. Yet the future for all may yet be bright. Sherborne might even wager on it.
Other books in the Timeless Regency Collections:
AUTUMN MASQUERADE
A MIDWINTER BALL
SPRING IN HYDE PARK
SUMMER HOUSE PARTY
A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
A HOLIDAY IN BATH
FALLING FOR A DUKE
A NIGHT IN GROSVENOR SQUARE
ROAD TO GRETNA GREEN
WEDDING WAGERS
more
Wedding Wagers by Donna Hatch, Heather B. Moore, Michele Paige Holmes
Three men. Three wagers. Three fun stories about the misunderstandings that resulted.
Three men. Three wagers. Three fun stories about the misunderstandings that resulted. The authors of the Timeless Romance books write consistently good stories. With the right mix of humor and romance, these books always please.
I hadn’t read the synopsis before reading, so other than wagers about weddings, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Having read a number of books from the Regency period, I know that the types of wagers that were made were pretty crazy, so I was prepared for just about anything.
Author Donna Hatch, in A Wager on Love, told of Phillip, the younger brother of a Duke. Poor Phillip had pretty much always been sought out for his family and status for so long, he almost gave up on finding a woman who would love him for himself. The way that Phillip fell for Meredith so quickly and completely was very sweet. Her skepticism and previous hurts kept her from trusting him and made for an interesting story. I enjoyed the witty writing.
The Final Wager had me surprised at the wager and who was involved in it. Victor was very noble and kind. His determination to always do the right thing was admirable and led him to make a very difficult decision that put his heart in peril.
In An Improbable Wager, the wager is made by two boys, one a nobleman’s son, the other a nobody. The very fact that Eli fell in love as a youngster was so very sweet. The direction the story went was not expected and made it quite enjoyable.
Read the full review of Wedding Wagers by Donna Hatch, Heather B. Moore, Michele Paige Holmes with a Preview at AmongTheReads.net
I would like to thank Heather B. Moore for giving me a copy of this book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.
Wedding Wagers
A Wager on Love by Donna Hatch (3.5 stars)
A sweet story with likable main characters who were developed as much as possible given the shorter format of a novelette.
Only a couple of modern phrases to pop the reader out of the book, as well as some modern attitudes, but it was easy to lose oneself in the story and to cheer for the H and h.
The Final Wager by Heather B. Moore (3 stars)
A well-thought-out story with interesting characters. I liked the H and the h, their personalities are well-fleshed-out, especially given the fact that it’s a novella.
Two things bugged me, though. Spoiler alert:
1. The wager wasn’t complete. We know what he loses if she wins, but not what he wins if she loses…
2. There were more modern words, phrases and grammar than I care for. I’m normally pretty easy-going about such things as long as I can get lost in the characters. But I kept getting sucked back into reality by the sheer amount of them. A couple of examples: the h says, “…but perhaps you aren’t too picky?” Later, our hero says, “I did travel quite a way to crash your wedding”. It was a shame because it would be such an easy fix.
Ms. Moore is one of my favorite authors and she’s usually a stickler for a well-edited story. This wasn’t poorly edited, it just didn’t feel up to her usual excellent standard.
That said, it really was a very good story line and, as mentioned above, I really liked the characters she created.
An Improbable Wager by Michelle Paige Holmes (3.5 stars)
Unique story with very modern attitudes for the time period, but believable in spite of that.
Interesting main characters, especially Eli. The whole plot and POV revolves around him and that fact adds uniqueness to the story.
I didn’t catch any modern words or phrases that popped me out of the story and enjoyed the romance.
Michelle Paige Holmes is one of my favorite authors. You can’t go wrong choosing to read her stories.
The whole trilogy was enjoyable, light read
Narrator: 4 stars
Ms. Bretton has a good accent, does well with male voices and doesn’t read too slowly. A well-acted book!
*poor, **ok, ***good, ****very good, *****something special
I always look forward to reading these collections and this one did not disappoint. Each story drew me in and held my attention. I found well developed characters, despite the novella length. I also found plenty of emotions from laughter to sorrow. But, most of all, I found romance! None of them are completely realistic, but I was enjoying myself enough that I didn’t care. They were believable enough.
Romance – PG – plenty of kisses.
Language – PG / clean, at worst is referenced cursing
Violence – A Final Wager has a brief fistfight, An Improbable Wager has a couple of confrontations
My rating – 5 stars
I loved this collection! That’s not a surprise since I love all three of these authors. Each novella captured my attention and had me rooting for the characters, and smiling and sighing along the way. The stories were unique and the wagers added a fun element. I loved all three!
I received a complimentary copy of the book, which I voluntarily reviewed. I have given my honest opinion.
What a great collection of novellas that read like full-length novels! All three authors in this collection are great writers who know how to weave captivating stories in Regency England. The stories are loosely tied together by the thread of either wagers being placed on marriage proposals or circumstances surrounding marriage. It’s a fun and sweet read that you’ll gobble up in one sitting.
A Wager on Love by Donna Hatch puts together Philip, the dashing younger brother of a duke, with Meredith who is lovely but has been previously hurt. Twists and turns in the plot make the story fast-paced and fun.
The Final Wager by Heather B Moore brings Juliet, the kind, thoughtful, self-sacrificing young lady, and Victor, an earl trapped within a hateful family. Their worlds collide due to her brother’s gambling habits as they each struggle with family obligations and their unexpected attraction. Both Juliet and Victor are deeply layered and complex characters who are lovable.
An Improbably Wager by Michele Paige Holmes is the classic baron’s daughter and lowly born head groomsman/stable master story. Emily is shy and introverted, having failed during her first and only Season. Yet she’s kind, tender-hearted, compassionate and loyal. Eli is strong, wholly devoted to Emily since the age of 13, extremely thoughtful and patient. The plot does have some interesting curveballs and there is a nice build up to those moments. There is great dialogue between Eli and Emily and his love for her is so tender and sweet.
If you enjoy Regency stories that are sweet and clean, this collection is definitely for you.
I received a copy of the book via I Am A Reader and was under no obligation to post a review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
There is plenty of humor and wit in these three Regency stories (by three of my favorite must-read authors!) that have some kind of wager about a wedding as the premise. They are longer than novella length, and each have fully developed characters and plots. I appreciated that I felt like I could connect to each of the couples and their dilemmas, and was invested in the outcome of their happily-ever-afters. I definitely enjoyed all three, but my favorite was An Improbable Wager by Michele Paige Holmes, because I’m a sucker for the unrequited love/childhood crush trope! Eli was such an admirable and unassuming hero, working his way up in the world with moderate success so that even though he never expected to have his romantic dreams fulfilled, he was prepared when the opportunity arose. Lots of romance and navigating of Regency society made this collection one I’ll definitely re-read in the future!
(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)