What do you think?
Rate this book
Accidental Brides #2
Hardly a Gentleman
Desperate after her Season comes to a spectacularly disastrous end, the Honorable Miss Clara Vetry jumps into a carriage hired to take a housekeeper to Scotland.
The laird of Castle CaerLaven has no interest in a wife, especially a love match-but when Caelan sees his new housekeeper, he changes his mind. Marriage to a delectable bookworm strikes him as a perfect arrangement.
To his surprise, Clara refuses his proposal once...and again...yet again.
When her true identity is revealed, and they're forced to marry, Caelan realizes he has a far more crucial challenge.
He finally has Clara's hand-but how will he ever win her heart?
.......................
Praise for Eloisa
'Eloisa James writes with a captivating blend of charm, style, and grace that never fails to leave the reader sighing and smiling and falling in love. Her style is exquisite, her prose pure magic' Julia Quinn
'The romance galaxy is filled with luminous stars, but few twinkle as brightly as James, who . . . once again dazzles readers with superbly conceived characters, a sublimely sensual love story, and sparkling wit' Booklist (starred review)
The laird of Castle CaerLaven has no interest in a wife, especially a love match-but when Caelan sees his new housekeeper, he changes his mind. Marriage to a delectable bookworm strikes him as a perfect arrangement.
To his surprise, Clara refuses his proposal once...and again...yet again.
When her true identity is revealed, and they're forced to marry, Caelan realizes he has a far more crucial challenge.
He finally has Clara's hand-but how will he ever win her heart?
.......................
Praise for Eloisa
'Eloisa James writes with a captivating blend of charm, style, and grace that never fails to leave the reader sighing and smiling and falling in love. Her style is exquisite, her prose pure magic' Julia Quinn
'The romance galaxy is filled with luminous stars, but few twinkle as brightly as James, who . . . once again dazzles readers with superbly conceived characters, a sublimely sensual love story, and sparkling wit' Booklist (starred review)
386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 29, 2025
540 people are currently reading
7289 people want to read
About the author
Eloisa James
123 books9,551 followersNew York Times bestselling author Eloisa James writes historical romances for HarperCollins Publishers. Her novels have been published to great acclaim. A reviewer from USA Today wrote of Eloisa's very first book that she "found herself devouring the book like a dieter with a Hershey bar"; later People Magazine raved that "romance writing does not get much better than this." Her novels have repeatedly received starred reviews from Publishers' Weekly and Library Journal and regularly appear on the best-seller lists.
After graduating from Harvard University, Eloisa got an M.Phil. from Oxford University, a Ph.D. from Yale and eventually became a Shakespeare professor, publishing an academic book with Oxford University Press. Currently she is an associate professor and head of the Creative Writing program at Fordham University in New York City. Her "double life" is a source of fascination to the media and her readers. In her professorial guise, she's written a New York Times op-ed defending romance, as well as articles published everywhere from women's magazines such as More to writers' journals such as the Romance Writers' Report.
Eloisa...on her double life:
When I'm not writing novels, I'm a Shakespeare professor. It's rather like having two lives. The other day I bought a delicious pink suit to tape a television segment on romance; I'll never wear that suit to teach in, nor even to give a paper at the Shakespeare Association of America conference. It's like being Superman, with power suits for both lives. Yet the literature professor in me certainly plays into my romances. The Taming of the Duke (April 2006) has obvious Shakespearean resonances, as do many of my novels. I often weave early modern poetry into my work; the same novel might contain bits of Catullus, Shakespeare and anonymous bawdy ballads from the 16th century.
When I rip off my power suit, whether it's academic or romantic, underneath is the rather tired, chocolate-stained sweatshirt of a mom. Just as I use Shakespeare in my romances, I almost always employ my experiences as a mother. When I wrote about a miscarriage in Midnight Pleasures, I used my own fears of premature birth; when the little girl in Fool For Love threw up and threw up, I described my own daughter, who had that unsavory habit for well over her first year of life.
So I'm a writer, a professor, a mother - and a wife. My husband Alessandro is Italian, born in Florence. We spend the lazy summer months with his mother and sister in Italy. It always strikes me as a huge irony that as a romance writer I find myself married to a knight, a cavaliere, as you say in Italian.
One more thing...I'm a friend. I have girlfriends who are writers and girlfriends who are Shakespeare professors. And I have girlfriends who are romance readers. In fact, we have something of a community going on my website. Please stop by and join the conversation on my readers' pages.
After graduating from Harvard University, Eloisa got an M.Phil. from Oxford University, a Ph.D. from Yale and eventually became a Shakespeare professor, publishing an academic book with Oxford University Press. Currently she is an associate professor and head of the Creative Writing program at Fordham University in New York City. Her "double life" is a source of fascination to the media and her readers. In her professorial guise, she's written a New York Times op-ed defending romance, as well as articles published everywhere from women's magazines such as More to writers' journals such as the Romance Writers' Report.
Eloisa...on her double life:
When I'm not writing novels, I'm a Shakespeare professor. It's rather like having two lives. The other day I bought a delicious pink suit to tape a television segment on romance; I'll never wear that suit to teach in, nor even to give a paper at the Shakespeare Association of America conference. It's like being Superman, with power suits for both lives. Yet the literature professor in me certainly plays into my romances. The Taming of the Duke (April 2006) has obvious Shakespearean resonances, as do many of my novels. I often weave early modern poetry into my work; the same novel might contain bits of Catullus, Shakespeare and anonymous bawdy ballads from the 16th century.
When I rip off my power suit, whether it's academic or romantic, underneath is the rather tired, chocolate-stained sweatshirt of a mom. Just as I use Shakespeare in my romances, I almost always employ my experiences as a mother. When I wrote about a miscarriage in Midnight Pleasures, I used my own fears of premature birth; when the little girl in Fool For Love threw up and threw up, I described my own daughter, who had that unsavory habit for well over her first year of life.
So I'm a writer, a professor, a mother - and a wife. My husband Alessandro is Italian, born in Florence. We spend the lazy summer months with his mother and sister in Italy. It always strikes me as a huge irony that as a romance writer I find myself married to a knight, a cavaliere, as you say in Italian.
One more thing...I'm a friend. I have girlfriends who are writers and girlfriends who are Shakespeare professors. And I have girlfriends who are romance readers. In fact, we have something of a community going on my website. Please stop by and join the conversation on my readers' pages.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 442 reviews
August 16, 2025
Confession: my 5 star rating is a lie. This is actually a 4-star book. I cannot in good conscience, however, give a book with that cover and this opening sentence
Caelan Eneas MacCrae, Laird of CaerLaven, was up to his thighs in freezing water, his bollocks flinching with every splash.
less than 5 stars, especially one I enjoyed this much.
While Caelan is fly fishing in the nude, his castle is moldering in filth and crawling with vermin and his sister is urging him to choose wife number two, or at least get a housekeeper, while every other living soul thinks the laird has never recovered from his first wife’s death two years earlier. Caelan says no to a wife, but yes to a housekeeper, and his sister tells him she’s on it.
Get used to hearing wife number one’s name, Isla, because she hangs over this book like mist over the Highlands.
Meanwhile, back in London, Clara has just been excommunicated by her mother for publicly assaulting Prince George with her reticule for serenading her with a bawdy song and tearing her bodice and fondling her breast under the pretext of wiping pigeon poop off with his hankie. Frankly, that alone deserves my 5-star rating.
Clara’s mother hands her her dowry, banishes her to some great-aunt in Scotland, and washes her hands of her. When Clara discovers en route that a coach has waited an extra day for a housekeeper who never showed, she thinks “Adventure! Just like in all those novels she reads!” and hops aboard.
When Clara, newly minted housekeeper, arrives at her Scottish destination, she finds the enchanted castle of her dreams. As soon as she steps indoors, she finds the gothic horror of her worst nightmares and immediately decides to forego housekeeping and find her own castle to purchase. Encountering absolutely no one to whom to tender her resignation, she skirts the castle and finds a loch…with a naked laird fly-fishing in it. A large, gorgeous naked laird. And she looks.
The laird looks back. Let the fun and games begin.
The writing sparkles with James’s signature irreverent wit. Both main characters are engaging and the heat between them could fry a freshly-caught trout. The side characters are enjoyable. There’s a pet rabbity chicken named Wilhelmina and a litter of puppies.
Unfortunately there’s that dead first wife, and the author twists herself in a knot to keep misunderstandings over the dead wife as an obstacle to an HEA. Caelin wants Clara. Desperately. Clara wants to be loved. Desperately. Love is the one thing Caelan can’t offer.
The stupidity of that idea about falling in love. He’d lain awake half the night weighing the advisability of telling her that he might fall in love. Yet he didn’t believe it, and there was nothing worse than starting a marriage with a lie. Clara knew what she wanted, and it was more than a castle and some books. She wanted a man at her feet, stars in his eyes.
They wrestle with that for too long, Then, finally, the true story of the dead wife comes out, but the reader is left with questions. Why did Caelin say what he did earlier in the book? Why did Caelin think that? Why didn’t Caelan just tell Clara in the beginning or anywhere along the way? Answer: book reasons. Also, not everything that’s said and done earlier in the book is covered by the explanation, leaving a few loose ends.
So let’s just say my rating is 4 stars, rounded up to 5, due to naked fly-fishing laird giddiness.
Caelan Eneas MacCrae, Laird of CaerLaven, was up to his thighs in freezing water, his bollocks flinching with every splash.
less than 5 stars, especially one I enjoyed this much.
While Caelan is fly fishing in the nude, his castle is moldering in filth and crawling with vermin and his sister is urging him to choose wife number two, or at least get a housekeeper, while every other living soul thinks the laird has never recovered from his first wife’s death two years earlier. Caelan says no to a wife, but yes to a housekeeper, and his sister tells him she’s on it.
Get used to hearing wife number one’s name, Isla, because she hangs over this book like mist over the Highlands.
Meanwhile, back in London, Clara has just been excommunicated by her mother for publicly assaulting Prince George with her reticule for serenading her with a bawdy song and tearing her bodice and fondling her breast under the pretext of wiping pigeon poop off with his hankie. Frankly, that alone deserves my 5-star rating.
Clara’s mother hands her her dowry, banishes her to some great-aunt in Scotland, and washes her hands of her. When Clara discovers en route that a coach has waited an extra day for a housekeeper who never showed, she thinks “Adventure! Just like in all those novels she reads!” and hops aboard.
When Clara, newly minted housekeeper, arrives at her Scottish destination, she finds the enchanted castle of her dreams. As soon as she steps indoors, she finds the gothic horror of her worst nightmares and immediately decides to forego housekeeping and find her own castle to purchase. Encountering absolutely no one to whom to tender her resignation, she skirts the castle and finds a loch…with a naked laird fly-fishing in it. A large, gorgeous naked laird. And she looks.
The laird looks back. Let the fun and games begin.
The writing sparkles with James’s signature irreverent wit. Both main characters are engaging and the heat between them could fry a freshly-caught trout. The side characters are enjoyable. There’s a pet rabbity chicken named Wilhelmina and a litter of puppies.
Unfortunately there’s that dead first wife, and the author twists herself in a knot to keep misunderstandings over the dead wife as an obstacle to an HEA. Caelin wants Clara. Desperately. Clara wants to be loved. Desperately. Love is the one thing Caelan can’t offer.
The stupidity of that idea about falling in love. He’d lain awake half the night weighing the advisability of telling her that he might fall in love. Yet he didn’t believe it, and there was nothing worse than starting a marriage with a lie. Clara knew what she wanted, and it was more than a castle and some books. She wanted a man at her feet, stars in his eyes.
They wrestle with that for too long, Then, finally, the true story of the dead wife comes out, but the reader is left with questions. Why did Caelin say what he did earlier in the book? Why did Caelin think that? Why didn’t Caelan just tell Clara in the beginning or anywhere along the way? Answer: book reasons. Also, not everything that’s said and done earlier in the book is covered by the explanation, leaving a few loose ends.
So let’s just say my rating is 4 stars, rounded up to 5, due to naked fly-fishing laird giddiness.
May 8, 2025
She gets royally ruined BUT ends up living her Scottish fantasy with a naked man in a lake & a romantic dilapidated castle 🏰 super SPICY Highlander romance for the ages!!
Clara NEEDS TO ESCAPE! She just flashed an entire ball while being groped & then a pigeon shat on her cleavage….excuse me what?!!! Obviously her terrible mother blamed it on her and sent Clara to Scotland 🏴🤍 Poor girlie just wants to live her Scottish fantasy & read books (relatable!) so she takes a chance boarding a carriage for the Highlands where she finds a dilapidated castle & a naked browny laird fishing in the lake….apparently he needs a housekeeper 👀
🏰☁️💙🏴 HIGHLANDER stories got me into the romance books when I was a teenager & this book embodied everything I love about the genre. I’m so so excited the genre is alive and thriving because this was a romance for the ages:
🏴 rugged mmc that doesn’t own a bathtub & loves his kilt
✨ HILARIOUS side characters & banter *I was choking with laughter*
🏴 definitely one of the SPICIEST historical and I was living for it!! *modern spice language*
✨ adorable bookish fmc that sees the world through her books & fanciful stories ~ girl never lose your Magic!
🏴 the Highlander romance ft hairy thighs & whisky eyes…seriously the rugged romance is unique to the genre!
✨ he follows her everywhere like a lost puppy
I absolutely ADORED both main characters and I wanted to be Clara so bad! Sweet voluptuous Clara was uncompromisingly adventurous & firm in her conviction that her wire-cat purses were fashionable 👜 I just loved how she saw the world! But then she found a Highlander who also appreciated her bookish presence & conveniently romantic castle already filled with books. Match made in heaven!
Highlanders know how to seduce their future wives and Caelen was no different. He is starstruck by Clara’s ass and follows her every order & command! This man helps her clean his castle just so he can flash her under his kilt 🤭 while he is a widower & his ex is brought up a lot I actually didn’t mind it because it is evident he does not really miss her.
This story was EVERYTHING! From the pacing to the hilarious side characters alllll the way to the extra spicy cherry on top 🌶️ if you have a chance to purchase the audiobook I would highly recommend because Mary Jane Well was brilliant!
highlander mmc
young widower
adventurous fmc
he falls first
virgin fmc
teasing & banter
sick bed
found family
HEA
Clara NEEDS TO ESCAPE! She just flashed an entire ball while being groped & then a pigeon shat on her cleavage….excuse me what?!!! Obviously her terrible mother blamed it on her and sent Clara to Scotland 🏴🤍 Poor girlie just wants to live her Scottish fantasy & read books (relatable!) so she takes a chance boarding a carriage for the Highlands where she finds a dilapidated castle & a naked browny laird fishing in the lake….apparently he needs a housekeeper 👀
🏰☁️💙🏴 HIGHLANDER stories got me into the romance books when I was a teenager & this book embodied everything I love about the genre. I’m so so excited the genre is alive and thriving because this was a romance for the ages:
🏴 rugged mmc that doesn’t own a bathtub & loves his kilt
✨ HILARIOUS side characters & banter *I was choking with laughter*
🏴 definitely one of the SPICIEST historical and I was living for it!! *modern spice language*
✨ adorable bookish fmc that sees the world through her books & fanciful stories ~ girl never lose your Magic!
🏴 the Highlander romance ft hairy thighs & whisky eyes…seriously the rugged romance is unique to the genre!
✨ he follows her everywhere like a lost puppy
I absolutely ADORED both main characters and I wanted to be Clara so bad! Sweet voluptuous Clara was uncompromisingly adventurous & firm in her conviction that her wire-cat purses were fashionable 👜 I just loved how she saw the world! But then she found a Highlander who also appreciated her bookish presence & conveniently romantic castle already filled with books. Match made in heaven!
Highlanders know how to seduce their future wives and Caelen was no different. He is starstruck by Clara
This story was EVERYTHING! From the pacing to the hilarious side characters alllll the way to the extra spicy cherry on top 🌶️ if you have a chance to purchase the audiobook I would highly recommend because Mary Jane Well was brilliant!
highlander mmc
young widower
adventurous fmc
he falls first
virgin fmc
teasing & banter
sick bed
found family
HEA
May 12, 2025
Hardly a Gentleman was another wonderful display of Eloisa James’ charm and humor! And of course Mary Jane Wells brought the characters to life in her perfect MJW way. I will say my attention kept slipping throughout the book because there wasn’t much to the plot and the relationship itself was pretty cutesy.
*Spoiler*
It’s happened a few times, and I’ve decided I really like when a widow/widower isn’t like *that sad* to be in their current situation lol. Everyone assumed this dude was just so bereft but that wasn’t the case at all.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶️🌶️.5/5
I received an eARC from the publisher. All opinions are honest and my own.
*Spoiler*
It’s happened a few times, and I’ve decided I really like when a widow/widower isn’t like *that sad* to be in their current situation lol. Everyone assumed this dude was just so bereft but that wasn’t the case at all.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶️🌶️.5/5
I received an eARC from the publisher. All opinions are honest and my own.
April 21, 2025
Any book that starts with a naked Laird fly fishing in a cold Scottish loch has got to be a winner and this one is. Both the hero and the heroine, who starts off being mauled by a drunk prince, are a match made to take a reader far, far away from whatever mundane life they are leading.
Spunky is an adjective I would use to describe the heroine, the Honorable Miss Clara Vetry, who after making the mistake of defending herself against the Prince of Wales is trundled off to Scotland to a distant relative by a mother who cared more for her social standing than her daughter. Clara decides on a whim that she is going to make this an adventure and jumps into a different carriage taking a housekeeper to the Highlands and Castle CaerLaven.
Caelan, Laird of Castle CaerLaven, could care less that his castle is a moldering pile of worm rot and termites. As long as he has his tea in the morning, can fish in his loch and write his books, he's a happy man. The villagers all see him as a heartbroken widower who loved his wife and that is why his castle is falling down around his head. Caelan, he just plain doesn't care. His sister, Fiona, cares and advertises for a Housekeeper and is thrilled with the one who turned up. So is Caelan, even if he won't admit it.
Caelan is toast from his first encounter with Clara and knows it. But when he asks her to marry him, she refuses him. He is secretly delighted when her true identity is uncovered, and they are forced to marry. What he realizes is that while he may have the wife he wants, what he really wants is what everyone thought he had with his first wife.
My thanks to the Publisher and Author for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone.
Spunky is an adjective I would use to describe the heroine, the Honorable Miss Clara Vetry, who after making the mistake of defending herself against the Prince of Wales is trundled off to Scotland to a distant relative by a mother who cared more for her social standing than her daughter. Clara decides on a whim that she is going to make this an adventure and jumps into a different carriage taking a housekeeper to the Highlands and Castle CaerLaven.
Caelan, Laird of Castle CaerLaven, could care less that his castle is a moldering pile of worm rot and termites. As long as he has his tea in the morning, can fish in his loch and write his books, he's a happy man. The villagers all see him as a heartbroken widower who loved his wife and that is why his castle is falling down around his head. Caelan, he just plain doesn't care. His sister, Fiona, cares and advertises for a Housekeeper and is thrilled with the one who turned up. So is Caelan, even if he won't admit it.
Caelan is toast from his first encounter with Clara and knows it. But when he asks her to marry him, she refuses him. He is secretly delighted when her true identity is uncovered, and they are forced to marry. What he realizes is that while he may have the wife he wants, what he really wants is what everyone thought he had with his first wife.
My thanks to the Publisher and Author for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone.
October 7, 2025
The honorable Miss Clara Vetry has been exiled from London by her mother following a scandalous assault from the prince of England. So she decides to take matters into her own hands and leaps into the carriage hired to bring a housekeeper to a castle in Scotland. When she arrives, she discovers the nude Laird Caelan fishing—and she likes what she sees. When Caelan sees Clara, he decides he's going to have her. They proceed to clean his castle and kiss a bunch before Clara's actual identity is revealed and they end up married. Will they ever be able to excise the ghost of Caelan's first wife from their marriage and/or establish feelings to go along with their boners?
1. This was fun, but unfulfilling. I went to the fair for the day and ate nothing but cotton candy and now I have both nausea and hunger. Diabetes and malnutrition. Cavities and vitamin deficiency.
2. I thought the "mystery" of Caelen's first marriage was decently sprinkled into the early chapters of the thing, but by about ~50% of the way through, it had turned. Anyone paying any amount of attention realized that that what the villagers and Clara believed about Caelan's marriage was severely flawed, and letting it drag out nearly the remainder of the book was a pretty significant error. It grew clunky and annoying, and really made the angst and dramatic death-assumptions unnecessary.
3. The prose itself also felt pretty uneven and messy: there were a lot of jumps from assumption to assumption that I didn't necessarily follow, and things said or done that seemed to come out of no where, and certain turns of phrase that literally made me go "Wait, what" and I had to go back and pick through word by word until I understood what James was attempting to say.
4. I did like Caelan and Clara as leads, but I think James herself summed it up best in her little afterwords (where she helpfully tells you what she was attempting to do) which is that they're meant to be antiheroes to those found in novels of the time...i.e., they're pretty one-note and weirdly focused on the elements James felt were missing from those books. Things like Caelen being "a man who sweats and shits and swears every day", and Clara being impetuous and horny and wet.
None of those are bad things, but this book has more mentions of shit and excrement in it than I was expecting??
5. All together, diverting but not something I will likely return to in the future.
6. (POOP)
1. This was fun, but unfulfilling. I went to the fair for the day and ate nothing but cotton candy and now I have both nausea and hunger. Diabetes and malnutrition. Cavities and vitamin deficiency.
2. I thought the "mystery" of Caelen's first marriage was decently sprinkled into the early chapters of the thing, but by about ~50% of the way through, it had turned. Anyone paying any amount of attention realized that that what the villagers and Clara believed about Caelan's marriage was severely flawed, and letting it drag out nearly the remainder of the book was a pretty significant error. It grew clunky and annoying, and really made the angst and dramatic death-assumptions unnecessary.
3. The prose itself also felt pretty uneven and messy: there were a lot of jumps from assumption to assumption that I didn't necessarily follow, and things said or done that seemed to come out of no where, and certain turns of phrase that literally made me go "Wait, what" and I had to go back and pick through word by word until I understood what James was attempting to say.
4. I did like Caelan and Clara as leads, but I think James herself summed it up best in her little afterwords (where she helpfully tells you what she was attempting to do) which is that they're meant to be antiheroes to those found in novels of the time...i.e., they're pretty one-note and weirdly focused on the elements James felt were missing from those books. Things like Caelen being "a man who sweats and shits and swears every day", and Clara being impetuous and horny and wet.
None of those are bad things, but this book has more mentions of shit and excrement in it than I was expecting??
5. All together, diverting but not something I will likely return to in the future.
6. (POOP)
October 23, 2024
Any tiny remnants of self-control I have leave my body when I see a new Eloisa James. 👋
Clara is an well-read, impulsive, unmarried lady whose fourth season ends abruptly when she is accosted and shoves a high-profile man. Her overbearing mother is perpetually disappointed in her and makes a decision to send her off to a distant aunt in Scotland. Instead of getting in the intended carriage, she opts to take a different carriage bound for Scotland that was intended for a no-show housekeeper.
Caelen is the widowed laird of Castle CaerLaven. His meddling sister puts an advertisement for an English housekeeper without his knowledge because his castle is a hot mess and his current housekeeper is terrible. He's writing books on fly fishing and whisky, because why not? And he fly fishes naked, because why wouldn't you?
When Clara arrives at Castle CaerLaven no one believes she is a housekeeper. Every single person clocks her as a lady within minutes, if not seconds of meeting her. But she still gets his home organized, discovering that he hasn't done much to take care of the castle since his wife died two years ago. The whole village is under the impression that Caelen is still grieving his wife, which gives Clara the same impression. They clean the castle and hire staff and Caelen realizes that he does actually want to marry again and he wants to marry Clara.
Hijinks ensue. Each one assumes important and ultimately incorrect things about the other. He keeps proposing, she keeps declining. And since this is the Accidental Brides series, it's not a spoiler that they do get married.
I really enjoyed this story. Clara is a quirky, fun heroine and Caelen is a Scottish laird with two shirts, 200 books and a castle. What else could you want?
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review
Clara is an well-read, impulsive, unmarried lady whose fourth season ends abruptly when she is accosted and shoves a high-profile man. Her overbearing mother is perpetually disappointed in her and makes a decision to send her off to a distant aunt in Scotland. Instead of getting in the intended carriage, she opts to take a different carriage bound for Scotland that was intended for a no-show housekeeper.
Caelen is the widowed laird of Castle CaerLaven. His meddling sister puts an advertisement for an English housekeeper without his knowledge because his castle is a hot mess and his current housekeeper is terrible. He's writing books on fly fishing and whisky, because why not? And he fly fishes naked, because why wouldn't you?
When Clara arrives at Castle CaerLaven no one believes she is a housekeeper. Every single person clocks her as a lady within minutes, if not seconds of meeting her. But she still gets his home organized, discovering that he hasn't done much to take care of the castle since his wife died two years ago. The whole village is under the impression that Caelen is still grieving his wife, which gives Clara the same impression. They clean the castle and hire staff and Caelen realizes that he does actually want to marry again and he wants to marry Clara.
Hijinks ensue. Each one assumes important and ultimately incorrect things about the other. He keeps proposing, she keeps declining. And since this is the Accidental Brides series, it's not a spoiler that they do get married.
I really enjoyed this story. Clara is a quirky, fun heroine and Caelen is a Scottish laird with two shirts, 200 books and a castle. What else could you want?
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review
July 23, 2025
I am so glad I got around to reading this one! It's been far too long since I have enjoyed an Eloisa James. It's my own fault as Historical Romance has gotten a bit pushed to the wayside for me lately. But this was surely worth the listen.
I loved the spunky heroine and I felt for her so much when the disgusting monarch kept putting his slimy hands all over her. Her adventure to the Highlands was much needed.
I also enjoyed our hero and his quiet life so much. He is a good, if absent-minded Laird to his people. When our heroine falls into his path, he knows good fortune when he sees it.
This was clever, funny, and well worth the read or listen.
4 Stars
2 on the spice scale
CW: grief, kind of SA (I know that sounds weird, but you'll know when you see it), horrible parent
*Thank you to the author and the publisher for an ALC and physical copy of this book.*
I loved the spunky heroine and I felt for her so much when the disgusting monarch kept putting his slimy hands all over her. Her adventure to the Highlands was much needed.
I also enjoyed our hero and his quiet life so much. He is a good, if absent-minded Laird to his people. When our heroine falls into his path, he knows good fortune when he sees it.
This was clever, funny, and well worth the read or listen.
4 Stars
2 on the spice scale
CW: grief, kind of SA (I know that sounds weird, but you'll know when you see it), horrible parent
*Thank you to the author and the publisher for an ALC and physical copy of this book.*
March 28, 2025
I had read and enjoyed the previous book in this series and I’m always here for a new Eloisa book, so there was no way I was going to miss this one.
I loved Clara. She’s smart and strong and knows what she wants out of her life. Caelan is gruff and loyal and is (mostly) happy in his life. Together they have a hilarious meet cute, loads of chemistry, and a good amount of open conversation. There are some great secondary characters and yes, I’m looking at the nephew with a chicken for a BFF.
Plot wise, it was (mostly) good. The whole thing with Isla could have been solved if these two would have actually talked about it, instead of the snippets and bits that happened. It was annoying to a point to have this constant obstacle in the way, especially when everyone kept swearing it wasn’t an obstacle. I will say that it made the epilogue sweeter, but seriously.
Overall, this was another great story with characters that I was easily invested in. I can’t wait to see who is next.
**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**
I loved Clara. She’s smart and strong and knows what she wants out of her life. Caelan is gruff and loyal and is (mostly) happy in his life. Together they have a hilarious meet cute, loads of chemistry, and a good amount of open conversation. There are some great secondary characters and yes, I’m looking at the nephew with a chicken for a BFF.
Plot wise, it was (mostly) good. The whole thing with Isla could have been solved if these two would have actually talked about it, instead of the snippets and bits that happened. It was annoying to a point to have this constant obstacle in the way, especially when everyone kept swearing it wasn’t an obstacle. I will say that it made the epilogue sweeter, but seriously.
Overall, this was another great story with characters that I was easily invested in. I can’t wait to see who is next.
**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**
May 20, 2025
This is a well written, entertaining, steamy, historical romance novel. It has a likable and courageous female protagonist, an engaging male protagonist, wit, a touch of humor, an unexpected twist, and a satisfying conclusion. This is the second entry in Ms. James' outstanding Accidental Brides series, and it can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone, but it is even better when read in order. I am looking forward to reading the next installment with great anticipation.
August 7, 2025
I've been meaning to review this for a while, but my free time has, unfortunately, been limited here lately so I'm going to try to drop a few words while I can.
This was good. Not GREAT, but a fairly decent read all the same.
It starts out with our busty-bosomed, book-loving heroine having the nerve to slap Prince George of England when he rips the front of her dress, then fondles her breast under the guise of "wiping" off bird shit in the middle of a garden party.
Her mother is absolutely outraged.
At her. (Yeah, the bitch is kinda crazy, what can I say.)
And insists that the heroine must move and stay away from good society. Perhaps she can "buy" herself a husband once she settles in with their relative in Scotland. So she gives the heroine her dowry and sends her on her merry way. Our heroine then "jumps" carriages in favor of becoming a housekeeper for an unknown laird rather than following through with moving in with a distant relative that she's never met before.
Enter our VERY masculine hero who has a deep Scottish brogue and generally wears very little clothing. Only let down? He's a widower and nobody will shut up about his epic love story with his former wife.
I thoroughly enjoyed the banter between the H and the h. But the constant reference to the dead wife was annoying. Needless to say-- if you don't like the dead wife trope, I'm not sure if you could stomach this. HOWEVER, without trying to give anything away, I will say that this all hinges on certain misunderstandings that could potentially fix that outlook, but you'd have to make it that far in the story to get there and I'm not sure you'd be able to if it really bothers you that much.
Anyway. I enjoyed the story and don't regret reading it. So there's that. So I suppose you can take that as a recommendation in and of itself. Or not. The choice is yours.
This was good. Not GREAT, but a fairly decent read all the same.
It starts out with our busty-bosomed, book-loving heroine having the nerve to slap Prince George of England when he rips the front of her dress, then fondles her breast under the guise of "wiping" off bird shit in the middle of a garden party.
Her mother is absolutely outraged.
At her. (Yeah, the bitch is kinda crazy, what can I say.)
And insists that the heroine must move and stay away from good society. Perhaps she can "buy" herself a husband once she settles in with their relative in Scotland. So she gives the heroine her dowry and sends her on her merry way. Our heroine then "jumps" carriages in favor of becoming a housekeeper for an unknown laird rather than following through with moving in with a distant relative that she's never met before.
Enter our VERY masculine hero who has a deep Scottish brogue and generally wears very little clothing. Only let down? He's a widower and nobody will shut up about his epic love story with his former wife.
I thoroughly enjoyed the banter between the H and the h. But the constant reference to the dead wife was annoying. Needless to say-- if you don't like the dead wife trope, I'm not sure if you could stomach this. HOWEVER, without trying to give anything away, I will say that this all hinges on certain misunderstandings that could potentially fix that outlook, but you'd have to make it that far in the story to get there and I'm not sure you'd be able to if it really bothers you that much.
Anyway. I enjoyed the story and don't regret reading it. So there's that. So I suppose you can take that as a recommendation in and of itself. Or not. The choice is yours.
December 7, 2024
ARC REVIEW! (Thanks NETGALLEY!)
Not gonna lie, the first 50-60% of this book is wacky as hell, I honestly thought I was high trying to figure out what was happening. Clara tells everyone she’s a married house maid and no one believes her but still go on with it? No one would let Caelan talk and tell the truth about how he felt about Isla, we’re thinking this whole time he’s a grieving widower he kind of comes off as a creep to Clara. I wanted more of Clara and Caelan just being cozy and making fishing lures, they were adorable together. I wanted some closure between Clara and her mom. I’m guessing her lady’s maid in the beginning will be the next book?? Epilogue was adorable, Caelan was a dirty boy 😉
Forgot to add there’s a few phrases that seemed not with the times? “Selling like hotcakes” “head over heels”?? Clara also says she had whooping cough when she was young?? But Eloisa James is a literary professor and I’m not so 🤷♀️
Not gonna lie, the first 50-60% of this book is wacky as hell, I honestly thought I was high trying to figure out what was happening. Clara tells everyone she’s a married house maid and no one believes her but still go on with it? No one would let Caelan talk and tell the truth about how he felt about Isla, we’re thinking this whole time he’s a grieving widower he kind of comes off as a creep to Clara. I wanted more of Clara and Caelan just being cozy and making fishing lures, they were adorable together. I wanted some closure between Clara and her mom. I’m guessing her lady’s maid in the beginning will be the next book?? Epilogue was adorable, Caelan was a dirty boy 😉
Forgot to add there’s a few phrases that seemed not with the times? “Selling like hotcakes” “head over heels”?? Clara also says she had whooping cough when she was young?? But Eloisa James is a literary professor and I’m not so 🤷♀️
May 19, 2025
Enjoyed it.
August 21, 2025
3 stars
I might be in the minority here.
I found this book fun and silly, but I wanted more from the relationship between Clara and Caelan!
Eloisa James is hit-or-miss for me, and sadly this one was in the miss camp. I loved the first book in this series though, so I’ll keep trying her other books.
I might be in the minority here.
I found this book fun and silly, but I wanted more from the relationship between Clara and Caelan!
Eloisa James is hit-or-miss for me, and sadly this one was in the miss camp. I loved the first book in this series though, so I’ll keep trying her other books.
July 17, 2025
I LOVED THIS BOOK.
This book was absolutely delightful! It read like a historical romcom with banter and steam.
I loved Clara’s unabashed fascination and determination to make her own way. Despite her reticence about marriage, Caelan’s blunt persistence and dogged pursuit prove irresistible.
The push and pull between the main characters had me squealing and kicking my feet.
A definite re-read!
This book was absolutely delightful! It read like a historical romcom with banter and steam.
I loved Clara’s unabashed fascination and determination to make her own way. Despite her reticence about marriage, Caelan’s blunt persistence and dogged pursuit prove irresistible.
The push and pull between the main characters had me squealing and kicking my feet.
A definite re-read!
July 5, 2025
5 SHINING STARS!
The humour, the romance, the banter all added up to pure joy.😍
The humour, the romance, the banter all added up to pure joy.😍
November 27, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Clara Vetry has to leave London after a scandalous incident with the Crown Prince. Her mother sends her to live with an elderly aunt in Scotland. Clara impulsively gets into a carriage meant for someone else in the hopes of going on an adventure. She pretends to be a housekeeper for the laird of Castle CaerLaven. The laird, Caelan, is a widow and his castle has been in disrepair ever since the death of his wife. Caelan immediately feels an attraction to Clara, but Clara thinks that he is still in love with his first wife so she doesn't want to pursue a serious relationship with him.
This book just wasn't for me. I normally love Eloisa James books, so I was really disappointed that I didn't like this book more. The first 70% of the book was fine, but once things between Caelan and Clara start to get serious, I felt like their personalities drastically changed. Clara becomes this simpering virgin, and Caelan can no longer communicate to share his emotions with Clara. The side characters of the book were a bit cliche and not likable. Also, the book was lacking a resolution to provide closure to the relationship of Clara and her mother. Fans of historical romance can skip this one.
Content: some sex scenes, but I'd say they were pretty tame. Mentions of sexual assault
Clara Vetry has to leave London after a scandalous incident with the Crown Prince. Her mother sends her to live with an elderly aunt in Scotland. Clara impulsively gets into a carriage meant for someone else in the hopes of going on an adventure. She pretends to be a housekeeper for the laird of Castle CaerLaven. The laird, Caelan, is a widow and his castle has been in disrepair ever since the death of his wife. Caelan immediately feels an attraction to Clara, but Clara thinks that he is still in love with his first wife so she doesn't want to pursue a serious relationship with him.
This book just wasn't for me. I normally love Eloisa James books, so I was really disappointed that I didn't like this book more. The first 70% of the book was fine, but once things between Caelan and Clara start to get serious, I felt like their personalities drastically changed. Clara becomes this simpering virgin, and Caelan can no longer communicate to share his emotions with Clara. The side characters of the book were a bit cliche and not likable. Also, the book was lacking a resolution to provide closure to the relationship of Clara and her mother. Fans of historical romance can skip this one.
Content: some sex scenes, but I'd say they were pretty tame. Mentions of sexual assault
June 26, 2025
From the start I liked our Miss Clara Vetry as she finds herself in quite the social scandal. Her mother, desperate to see her wed, arranges for her to stay with an Aunt in Scotland. Clara wants to be in charge of her own destiny, and when an opportunity presents, she gets in a carriage hired to deliver a housekeeper for Castle CaerLaven.
The tale that unfolds was delightful from a handsome Laird to a library. I found myself caught up in Clara’s rouse. Of course, Caelan suspects she is not the housekeeper his sister hired, but a lady. I loved how things unfolded from Caelan, falling to Clara, charting her own destination.
The story was well paced, with back-and-forth banter, sweet moments, connections and a slow-burn romance with character growth. Secondary characters like the carriage driver added to the story. Both Clara and Caelan had depth, and a love of books which always makes me smile.
If you want an escape, I highly recommend a trip to Scotland from the comfort of your favorite chair with Hardly A Gentleman. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
The tale that unfolds was delightful from a handsome Laird to a library. I found myself caught up in Clara’s rouse. Of course, Caelan suspects she is not the housekeeper his sister hired, but a lady. I loved how things unfolded from Caelan, falling to Clara, charting her own destination.
The story was well paced, with back-and-forth banter, sweet moments, connections and a slow-burn romance with character growth. Secondary characters like the carriage driver added to the story. Both Clara and Caelan had depth, and a love of books which always makes me smile.
If you want an escape, I highly recommend a trip to Scotland from the comfort of your favorite chair with Hardly A Gentleman. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
January 19, 2025
Hm. Eloisa. Hm. While I did enjoy this book, EJ holds a very special place in my heart and I really truly enjoy most things she writes, this book was a bit…odd…
So our MMC is a widower. So sad. And he’s a Scottish laird. There’s not a whole lot of Scottish language in here that I missed, I do love a Scottish brogue, and wished that he’d said more Highlander things. But anyway, our Scottish laird just can’t seem to get his village or his MIL to accept that he’s not truly mourning his wife anymore. It’s been two years, he’s not interested in remarrying but he’s also not throwing himself on his wife’s grave (that was an accident and misunderstanding.)
The FMC has been groped and is now fleeing scandal from London and of course she gets on a carriage headed for Scotland to become a maid but also she’s never cleaned anything in her life and we spend a heckuvalot of book space on her developing a friendship with the guy driving her there. Why? Idk. It just happens.
So our laird obvs is fishing naked when they first meet, obvs, and then a lot of cleaning happens. I mean a lot. And there is a lot of conversations about MMC’s dead wife. I mean, dear God. Why. Why is she mentioned so freaking much?
And that’s the book. I mean basically that’s it. It’s a lot of cleaning and a lot of dead wife talk. I could’ve done with substantially less wife talk and cleaning and it would’ve been five stars. But also there is some falling in love that happens added onto the dead wife talk. Which is nice, I did enjoy that. But I mean. STFU about this other lady pluuuhhlleeeeezzz.
I really enjoy Eloisa James. Her heroes are instalove studs. I mean, MMC is like “I’ll never marry,” takes one look at our FMC and is like “Jk, I want that one.” These are the vibes EJ brings to every romance book party and ya know what? I dig it. I love it. Even though Clara (name finally remembered!!) is pretty annoying when she refuses Caelen (MMC). Like, girl, why wouldn’t you want the protection of this dude? Don’t be stupid.
Thanks for the arc, Avon, always appreciate it. And thanks EJ, love you, girl. Even through dead wives and mold clean ups.
So our MMC is a widower. So sad. And he’s a Scottish laird. There’s not a whole lot of Scottish language in here that I missed, I do love a Scottish brogue, and wished that he’d said more Highlander things. But anyway, our Scottish laird just can’t seem to get his village or his MIL to accept that he’s not truly mourning his wife anymore. It’s been two years, he’s not interested in remarrying but he’s also not throwing himself on his wife’s grave (that was an accident and misunderstanding.)
The FMC has been groped and is now fleeing scandal from London and of course she gets on a carriage headed for Scotland to become a maid but also she’s never cleaned anything in her life and we spend a heckuvalot of book space on her developing a friendship with the guy driving her there. Why? Idk. It just happens.
So our laird obvs is fishing naked when they first meet, obvs, and then a lot of cleaning happens. I mean a lot. And there is a lot of conversations about MMC’s dead wife. I mean, dear God. Why. Why is she mentioned so freaking much?
And that’s the book. I mean basically that’s it. It’s a lot of cleaning and a lot of dead wife talk. I could’ve done with substantially less wife talk and cleaning and it would’ve been five stars. But also there is some falling in love that happens added onto the dead wife talk. Which is nice, I did enjoy that. But I mean. STFU about this other lady pluuuhhlleeeeezzz.
I really enjoy Eloisa James. Her heroes are instalove studs. I mean, MMC is like “I’ll never marry,” takes one look at our FMC and is like “Jk, I want that one.” These are the vibes EJ brings to every romance book party and ya know what? I dig it. I love it. Even though Clara (name finally remembered!!) is pretty annoying when she refuses Caelen (MMC). Like, girl, why wouldn’t you want the protection of this dude? Don’t be stupid.
Thanks for the arc, Avon, always appreciate it. And thanks EJ, love you, girl. Even through dead wives and mold clean ups.
December 21, 2024
Eloisa James is either hit or miss for me. Mainly because I think her humor when done well is SO GOOD. But when it’s not done well, it kinda tanks the whole book for me. Case in point: Hardly a Gentleman. The first 70% of this book is so zany and so ridiculous. And usually? I love zany and ridiculous. The more bonkers, the better! But Caelan and Clara had almost no depth to them (or really knew anything about each other) until the last little bit of the book.
I think at a certain point, it went from zany and fun to just kind of silly? The humor was holding up the whole story valiantly but it just wasn’t strong enough on its own to really invest me in either character. They felt extremely shallow and immature and I just wasn’t vibing.
That being said, the last 25% was incredibly good! We finally got more than the surface level silliness between Caelan and Clara and there was some solid heart to heart talk + a sick bed scene which always slaps for me. I just wish we’d gotten a bit more of that emotional depth earlier in the book. There was ample opportunity! Clara is SA’d by Prince George! We see a bit of PTSD from her needing to wash daily to get rid of the feeling of his hands on her. But it tapered off into nonexistence and I was a bit disappointed.
I think at a certain point, it went from zany and fun to just kind of silly? The humor was holding up the whole story valiantly but it just wasn’t strong enough on its own to really invest me in either character. They felt extremely shallow and immature and I just wasn’t vibing.
That being said, the last 25% was incredibly good! We finally got more than the surface level silliness between Caelan and Clara and there was some solid heart to heart talk + a sick bed scene which always slaps for me. I just wish we’d gotten a bit more of that emotional depth earlier in the book. There was ample opportunity! Clara is SA’d by Prince George! We see a bit of PTSD from her needing to wash daily to get rid of the feeling of his hands on her. But it tapered off into nonexistence and I was a bit disappointed.
May 9, 2025
Even with Mary Jane Wells polishing this turd, I couldn't finish it. Eloise James, you can and have done much better.
April 27, 2025
Reviewed for
Wit and Sin
After a scandal erupts when she fends off a lecherous member of the royal family, Clara Vetry is effectively banished from society. With a fair amount of freedom for the first time, what does she do? Run from her mother’s plan for her, take a carriage meant for a housekeeper, and travel to a castle in the Scottish Highlands of course. But neither Castle CaerLaven nor its owner are what Clara expect. The ridiculously handsome laird is a rough-around-the-edges widower and the castle itself is in desperate need of care. Clara isn’t sure what to do, but she’s determined to be adventurous and tackle the challenge in front of her. She’s got books and spirit, so nothing could go wrong. Unless her true identity is revealed, that is…
Hardly a Gentleman is a fun romance with characters who aren’t afraid to be earthy, messy, and honest. Clara and Caelan are delightful and their romance is bright and engaging.
Clara is a bookworm who knows what she wants and takes things in stride when she comes to CaerLaven and things aren’t what she expected. Caelan is the opposite of the refined men she’s been told she should like. He’s kind of a hot mess at first but he’s kind and takes care of his people, which makes him instantly endearing. He and Clara have excellent chemistry, and I liked that this story was different because both of them were kinda messy. Caelan is a widower and though he loved his wife, she wasn’t the match for him. Unfortunately for him, most of the village believes he’s still deeply in mourning. Clara, while attracted to Caelan, doesn’t want to be second to someone whose heart belongs to another. What follows is a love story that is sprightly, fairly low drama, and features a host of delightful secondary characters who help our hero and heroine get where they need to be.
Hardly a Gentleman is the second book in Eloisa James’s Accidental Brides series but you don’t have to have read Viscount in Love in order to enjoy this story. All in all, Caelan and Clara’s story is a delightful romp with zany, bookish characters and a romance that makes the pages of the story fly by.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
After a scandal erupts when she fends off a lecherous member of the royal family, Clara Vetry is effectively banished from society. With a fair amount of freedom for the first time, what does she do? Run from her mother’s plan for her, take a carriage meant for a housekeeper, and travel to a castle in the Scottish Highlands of course. But neither Castle CaerLaven nor its owner are what Clara expect. The ridiculously handsome laird is a rough-around-the-edges widower and the castle itself is in desperate need of care. Clara isn’t sure what to do, but she’s determined to be adventurous and tackle the challenge in front of her. She’s got books and spirit, so nothing could go wrong. Unless her true identity is revealed, that is…
Hardly a Gentleman is a fun romance with characters who aren’t afraid to be earthy, messy, and honest. Clara and Caelan are delightful and their romance is bright and engaging.
Clara is a bookworm who knows what she wants and takes things in stride when she comes to CaerLaven and things aren’t what she expected. Caelan is the opposite of the refined men she’s been told she should like. He’s kind of a hot mess at first but he’s kind and takes care of his people, which makes him instantly endearing. He and Clara have excellent chemistry, and I liked that this story was different because both of them were kinda messy. Caelan is a widower and though he loved his wife, she wasn’t the match for him. Unfortunately for him, most of the village believes he’s still deeply in mourning. Clara, while attracted to Caelan, doesn’t want to be second to someone whose heart belongs to another. What follows is a love story that is sprightly, fairly low drama, and features a host of delightful secondary characters who help our hero and heroine get where they need to be.
Hardly a Gentleman is the second book in Eloisa James’s Accidental Brides series but you don’t have to have read Viscount in Love in order to enjoy this story. All in all, Caelan and Clara’s story is a delightful romp with zany, bookish characters and a romance that makes the pages of the story fly by.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
December 4, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up
December 9, 2024
Omgggg Eloisa has outdone herself. This as an adventure, comedy and romance all rolled into one. I loved our MCs and their hearts and the wonderful Scottish setting.
I wished this never ended!!
I wished this never ended!!
March 30, 2025
I loved Eloisa James’ last series but this one, it’s just spectacular. And this book might be my favorite she has ever written. It was so good, I loved all of the characters and I knew it was going to be fantastic from the first chapter alone.
Clara has left London under a cloud of shame for something that wasn’t her fault. And honestly I’m glad she did it! I’m glad she defended herself. She has now changed the direction of her life and she is on her way to becoming a fake housekeeper for a Laird in the Highlands.
Caelan is that Highland laird who has let his castle become run down since the death of his wife. His sister (whom I love!) hires him a housekeeper from London. Enter Clara! Too bad everyone knows she isn’t a real housekeeper because she doesn’t know the first thing about cleaning.
Clara and Caelan work together to clean, heal and find happiness! I know we have part of Fiona’s story in this book but if she ever gets her own story I’d love to read it!
Clara has left London under a cloud of shame for something that wasn’t her fault. And honestly I’m glad she did it! I’m glad she defended herself. She has now changed the direction of her life and she is on her way to becoming a fake housekeeper for a Laird in the Highlands.
Caelan is that Highland laird who has let his castle become run down since the death of his wife. His sister (whom I love!) hires him a housekeeper from London. Enter Clara! Too bad everyone knows she isn’t a real housekeeper because she doesn’t know the first thing about cleaning.
Clara and Caelan work together to clean, heal and find happiness! I know we have part of Fiona’s story in this book but if she ever gets her own story I’d love to read it!
June 15, 2025
I loved everything about this book. Clara's sass, her ability to charm everyone around her, and her unwavering grit to just jump with both feet. Caelan lived his life exactly the way he wanted, and he didn't care what anybody else thought. He fell first and the ensuing shenanigans and banter were top notch. This was a book that was impossible to put down.
Read
June 26, 2025Look, I’m behind on my year end goal, so I’ve got to start counting my smutty regency romances.
April 30, 2025
two smitten kittens fall in love in a grimy castle! delightful!!
September 1, 2025
Fun book, and I learned what a reticule is - thanks Grace!
October 25, 2024
an eloisa james production, and therefore obviously a delight - witty, charming, swoony. kind of saggy in the middle for a bit, but boy was this a fun time.
thank you avon and edelweiss for the arc!
thank you avon and edelweiss for the arc!
May 5, 2025
Scotland, 1803. Clara Vetry (the Honorable Clara Vetry, in fact) needs to leave London, and badly. Prinny, heir to the throne of England, has marked her as a favorite of his. Clara reacts impulsively to an untoward advance, hitting him, and perhaps making her mother shrink in horror. So, she's off to Scotland to live with an aunt she's never met. But another impulsive moment has her on a different coach instead, heading to a castle where there's a young laird in need of a housekeeper. It's extremely clear to the widower Caelan MacCrae that Clara is a lady and not a housekeeper, but her company delights him and he's in need of delighting, and in more desperate need of a woman in his house again than he knew.
A delight to read, this book had me laughing almost from start to finish. I haven't read as many of Eloisa James's newer books (I've read many of her older books though) and I love seeing how she takes her keen eye to character-building and applies humor that works well for a 2025 reader.
When a book has a widowed main character, I often prefer a book where the deceased spouse was loved. Caelan loved his late wife, though the relationship was far more complex than most people understood. It's very easy for Clara to spend intimate moments wondering about comparison. Additionally, the attention Clara has had from Prinny is understandably woven into her reactions to sex and intimacy, but her resilience and interest in Caelan make her embrace her passions rather than shrink.
I particularly liked the author's note from Eloisa James, who approached this novel through the lens of the literature her main characters may have been reading at the time. She imagines Clara and Isla reading similar books of beleaguered heroines and having the opposite effect on them as women, from climbing trees and being adventurous to the rigidly chaste and prudish. I enjoyed reflecting on that dichotomy.
I did not read the first book in the series - I'm waiting for my library hold months later still - and did not find this romance lacking. You can safely start here.
Thank you to Avon for an eARC. Hardly a Gentleman is out 4/29/25.
A delight to read, this book had me laughing almost from start to finish. I haven't read as many of Eloisa James's newer books (I've read many of her older books though) and I love seeing how she takes her keen eye to character-building and applies humor that works well for a 2025 reader.
When a book has a widowed main character, I often prefer a book where the deceased spouse was loved. Caelan loved his late wife, though the relationship was far more complex than most people understood. It's very easy for Clara to spend intimate moments wondering about comparison. Additionally, the attention Clara has had from Prinny is understandably woven into her reactions to sex and intimacy, but her resilience and interest in Caelan make her embrace her passions rather than shrink.
I particularly liked the author's note from Eloisa James, who approached this novel through the lens of the literature her main characters may have been reading at the time. She imagines Clara and Isla reading similar books of beleaguered heroines and having the opposite effect on them as women, from climbing trees and being adventurous to the rigidly chaste and prudish. I enjoyed reflecting on that dichotomy.
I did not read the first book in the series - I'm waiting for my library hold months later still - and did not find this romance lacking. You can safely start here.
Thank you to Avon for an eARC. Hardly a Gentleman is out 4/29/25.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 442 reviews