Lord of Dread: An Arranged Marriage Historical Romance

by Invi Wright

Rebecca doesn't have many demands for life. She wants a good husband, a neverending supply of chocolate cake, and a house full of children.

She's polite and well-mannered, but despite her attempts to secure a love match with a man of her choosing, she finds herself in an unwanted marriage with the elusive Lord Elijah.

Forced into a marriage she does not want with a man she does not know, Rebecca is determined to make his life just as miserable as he's made hers.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance

347 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2024

About the author

Invi Wright is the author of several romance novels, including The Female series, Aine, and The Professor. She had just begun her career in marketing when she decided to start a new hobby— writing. After many tears and more anger walks than is probably healthy, she decided to pursue writing full-time and began the journey of becoming a self-published author.

Reviews

[cc · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute story

2.5 ⭐️

I really enjoy Invi’s books, however this one wasn’t my favorite of hers! I specifically didn’t like how it felt like he was buying her love with trinkets and treats.

It feels unfinished in my opinion, I felt like she was setting up more of a confrontation with the previous friends, Will, and Louise & Jack situations without ever actually flushing them out fully.

[sav · Rating 4 out of 5]

this author is making book rec videos sneaking her own books in the rec lists. she did trick me into reading one before i realized it was the author recommending her own books lol. had to read another i respect a hustler 💰

[Claire Gaudsmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rebecca would've loved Taylor Swift

[Tahnee Judd · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, cute read. Was it historically accurate? Not at all. But it was entertaining. I always enjoy Invi’s writing—her books are easy to get into, her worlds are engaging, and I tend to fly through them.

That said, I did find this one a bit slower and more repetitive compared to her other books. It’s definitely a slow burn. But I stayed entertained, and honestly, who doesn’t love a man who yearns 🥵

[Myrna Aminadab · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enamoraaada! Ya se me antojo leer más historias de esa época, de que, uy enseñaste el tobillo? You wh*re.. jijiji love it. ALSO, THE YEARNING OF THIS ONCE MANWH*RE??? LOOOOOVE IT.

[Maggie Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is adorable. It was the perfect pallet cleanser from all the darker romances I’ve read. It’s extremely low stakes and very little story to be honest BUT it was entertaining and made me giggle.

[Whitney Frost · Rating 1 out of 5]

How does this book have so many good reviews?? Anyone who has read an ACTUAL historical romance would see that this book is flawed beyond belief. The dialogue would be used today, not hundreds of years ago. And the things Rebecca does, would NEVER be accepted by the ton. She’d be completely ostracized! And her relationship with her lady’s maid is cute, but extremely unrealistic. It’s an ok story line, but the timeline just doesn’t match. The author needs to do more research on historical London, the customs, societal norms, clothing and general relationships between husbands and wives from that period. Maybe historical romance isn’t the right subject to be writing about? It would have been a very charming story otherwise.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.25 stars! This book helped get me out of a bad reading slump. I read this book in one sitting and was sad when it was finally over. The ending was kind of abrupt and left questions unanswered about other characters, but I’m hoping that means she’s planning on writing a separate book for those characters. If you like Pride and Prejudice, Bridgerton, and slow burn enemies to lovers—this book is definitely for you!

[Ophelia · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book was absolutely ridiculous. I really like the author's tiktoks so I thought I would give her books a try, but I wanted to start with soleth8ng easy, startibg with the Female seemed not to be giving her a fair chance.

anyway, this is a contemporary romance in historical clothing, none of the language or traditions are correct (I know, crazy to think corsets weren't a object of torture like media and this book wants you to think)

i guess my biggest issue though, is the MMC. Spoilers : he has sex with a maid AFTER MARRYING THE FMC (?!?). After being an absolute dick to her. For half the book. and is attitude seemingly only switches after the fmv fires his mistress. Like he couldn't have sex anymore so he needed a new object of desire. idk, I was furious. And he never made enough amends imo, like he really asks her a few days after she fires the maid " when are you going to get over this?" LIKE???? NEVER???

Just totally disappointed, and it made it take the female off of my TBR

[Janessa Bothwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am going to be totally honest and say that I wouldn’t classify this as a regency romance. The writing is a loose interpretation on the regency time period. That’s not to say that the book is bad or anything like that. I just think the author used creative liberties while depicting the regency era that aren’t consistent with that time period. For those of you that know me I dislike a stand-alone that is not tied in a perfect bow at the end. I just can’t give a book five stars without getting a epilogue or bonus chapter to wrap it all up. This books leaves several unanswered questions and loose ends that bummed me out. Overall, I was entertained and it’s a pretty fast read.

[hollyreadsbookss · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

Honestly I adore every book Invi Wright makes! And this was no different. I love a historical romance and this was extremely cute and heartwarming.

This gave me Bridgerton vibes with the added spicy scenes and I loved every minute of it! I do wish we could’ve had a little bit more as I feel like the ending was quite abrupt and I wanted to know if they were gonna have babies 🥹🥹

Rebecca also was frustrating me with her hot and coldness towards Elijah at times. I wanted to grab her and shout love him!!! But I’m glad that it worked out in the end.

I’d love another book in this series about Will & Ophelia or even Jack and Louise. I hope there is potential for this in the future?? 🙏🙏

[Erica Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think invi wright does such a good job with jealousy in this book and still keeping the FMC a strong confident person. It was inspiring to me after reading another book with jealousy and becoming irrationally rageful in my personal life. I read it in a day and got giddy so many times I loved when she would feel confident enough to speak out against him and how he learned to love it. I was hoping from the book description that she be awful to him at every moment for a good amount of time which I feel she could have been since the beginning did jump time a lot

[Julie Quintero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Takes me back…

I really enjoyed Invi’s The Female series so thought I’d give another one of her books a try. Lord of Dread was decent. Takes me back to my early 20s when I was in love with bodice ripper regency romance books. It’s like Bridgerton but less. Our FMC is kind of a handful and what she sees as petty comes off as petulant. Our MMC is kind of one note but he’s endearing in the end. Overall it was an enjoyable quick read. Not as spicy and with a lot less heart than The Female series.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

SPOILERS




I enjoyed this, read it on Kindle and I'm glad I did. The storyline was good, kept you wanting to read by giving just enough in certain times for you to go wtf? The porcelain 🤭 My biggest complaint is it wasn't long enough. Did she end up being pregnant? What else happened? I was not fond of the ending.. but that's okay. I still think it was a four star book. I'll likely be reading more from Invi. The Lord of Dread won my heart in the end.

[Katilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! I couldn't put it down. I read all of it in one sitting. Rebecca is hilarious and I found myself laughing all through the book at her inner thoughts and the Lord of Dread, Lord Elijah was so much fun to get to know. I would've loved to learn more about his upbringing and why he was so dreadful, but overall I loved both characters. I hope in the future we get to read more about Louise, Jack, Ophelia and Will!

[Shannon Perry-Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something different about this author’s writing. Her characters are a bit quirky and the writing grabs you and takes you to the end. I liked the prickly nature of the FMC and Lord Dread’s turn around to win her over. I enjoyed her Female series as well and thought this historical might be fun. It was. The writing is light, easily finished in a few sittings. I look forward to more of her content.

[Poppy · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was all vibes, no plot and honestly i didn't mind one bit. was there a point to it? no but i enjoyed the baselessness. the back and forth, that lasted the entire book. it was messy, unruly, jealousy-ridden, a little silly, ultimately fun. i mean, rebecca and elijah are unserious names for a victorian romance. you could say rebecca was annoying and insecure but thats applied to any girl ever. she was fine to me. elijah was kinda autistic. will is gay, he has to be.

[Alana Bowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so sad...

This was the last book left to read, and now it's done. I have to wait until 2026 to get another Invi Wright book, and that makes me sad. I love her writing so much! She has a great imagination, and I enjoy her dialogs between characters.

I held off reading this book because historical romance is not my favorite. I read too many of them in my twenties. However, I really enjoyed this one.

I can't wait to read her new books.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, but it's written like it was supposed to be a series. No epilogue, several storylines unanswered, I would love to see what happens with the rest of the characters but I guess we'll never know. I would have loved to see this turned into a full series covering each different character!

[Clarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Rebecca! She was so confident and petty. My true soul sister. Of course with her bouts of insecurity like almost all of us. This whole book had me giggling and kicking my feet. The way she made Elijah grovel all the way til the end is truly the art in this book. Invi Wright is starting to become one of my favorites!
My only problem with this book is that it’s a standalone :,(

[Melissa Rohland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not sure this was my most favorite Invi book. It was good. Took a long time to get there. A very slow burn. I enjoyed the way Elijah progressed. Watching him fall in love was the best. And the way he cared for Rebecca and her family was amazing. Rebecca was a brat. I am glad she finally let go of her resentment.

[Nai · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars, was cute but nth was really special and it's a good book to get u out of a reading slump.
I kept expecting smth more to happen, a twist or a different kind of climax but nth happened. I have mixed feelings but for now, I'm going to admit I enjoyed it.

[Michelle Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall this book was a very fun read. Is it historically accurate not so much but was the main FMC fun to read about? Absolutely. This was a quick read for me. The only thing I was sad about was the unfinished ending. Was Rebecca pregnant? That's all I really want to know. I feel unresolved.

[Beautifull Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good read. It was so cute. I love the historical touch and enemies to lover was well done. I have decided to read all her books after reading the female series and I am glad I was not disappointed!

[Billie Barrett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okayyyy. So I read the second half in a day and lowkey fucked this book up. Ngl the writing was trashhh and the characters were a little confusing, but something in this kept me reading. Idk I wouldn’t recommend but I don’t regret reading

[Kimberlee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ended up liking the overall story, but kept feeling like I was waiting on some demon twist to it. Or something. The first half is incredibly boring. Definitely gives pride and prejudice vibes. Definitely a dry read.

[SubPar Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.25

[Grace Corey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5✨

[lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a cute and spicy quick read

[Sherri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give this a 4.4 stars. I flew through it. It was such a good enemies to lovers, and the writing was cute and captivating. Def recommend if you want a quick read.