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Much Obliged
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Expected 5 Mar 26Breakfast TV producer Petey Boy Topham dreams of producing the reality shows he loves to watch. When he finally lands a job on The Love Manor—a Regency-inspired dating show filmed at an actual country house—it’s his golden ticket to his career ambitions. If he can impress his new boss, she might give him his own show.
William Winters is infamous in the tabloids as the “Bisexual Baron Buckford”. But this rugby-playing, fantasy-novel-obsessed aristocrat never wanted the title or the media attention. After a family tragedy, he’s inherited not only a crumbling manor house, but millions of pounds of debt. To save his estate, he’s let The Love Manor’s cameras in.
Each man would do anything to make the show a success. So when the contestants discover there’s a real-life baron in residence and abandon the dating format to pursue him instead, there’s only one solution: a fake engagement between producer and baron.
Living together in Buckford Hall’s romantic folly, confident Londoner Petey Boy might be up for a no-strings fling with the sexy baron—but bookish William is far from the rake the papers make him out to be. Soon, what started as a desperate lie begins to feel dangerously real.
When news of their “engagement” leaks to the press and the consequences of their deceit spiral out of control, will their fake relationship survive the chaos long enough to become a reality?
William Winters is infamous in the tabloids as the “Bisexual Baron Buckford”. But this rugby-playing, fantasy-novel-obsessed aristocrat never wanted the title or the media attention. After a family tragedy, he’s inherited not only a crumbling manor house, but millions of pounds of debt. To save his estate, he’s let The Love Manor’s cameras in.
Each man would do anything to make the show a success. So when the contestants discover there’s a real-life baron in residence and abandon the dating format to pursue him instead, there’s only one solution: a fake engagement between producer and baron.
Living together in Buckford Hall’s romantic folly, confident Londoner Petey Boy might be up for a no-strings fling with the sexy baron—but bookish William is far from the rake the papers make him out to be. Soon, what started as a desperate lie begins to feel dangerously real.
When news of their “engagement” leaks to the press and the consequences of their deceit spiral out of control, will their fake relationship survive the chaos long enough to become a reality?
391 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication March 5, 2026
1 person is currently reading
91 people want to read
About the author
D.P. Clarence
4 books190 followersI was a journalist for a long, long time before finally deciding to bite the bullet and do the thing I always wanted to do — write books about boys kissing other boys.
My debut novel, gay rom-com The Paper Boys, was released in February 2024.
I am an avid reader of everything from rom-coms to literary fiction — but I especially love LGBTQ+ fiction. You can see what I've been reading lately on Instagram and Goodreads.
Originally from Australia, I now live in London with my husband and our very smiley corgi.
www.dpclarence.com
My debut novel, gay rom-com The Paper Boys, was released in February 2024.
I am an avid reader of everything from rom-coms to literary fiction — but I especially love LGBTQ+ fiction. You can see what I've been reading lately on Instagram and Goodreads.
Originally from Australia, I now live in London with my husband and our very smiley corgi.
www.dpclarence.com
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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February 16, 2026I'd sell one of my kidneys to read this on release day. I can't wait!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Alright historical romance readers, we've got a contemporary romance for you all. William aka Dub Dub aka Lord Buckford was never meant to inherit, but his father and older brother died in a tragic plane accident. Now William is dealing with propping up his failing ancestral estate and his own crushing expectations. What to do except allow a successful reality TV producer, Indira, to film Love Manor on the premises?
Peter Topham aka Petey Boy is a TV producer, and Love Manor is his big chance to prove himself to Indira. After the contestants realize there's an actual IRL lord living at Love Manor, Petey takes one for the reality TV team and agrees to announce his engagement to William. It's a fake engagement, obvs, but Petey moves into William's folly (not a euphemism) and their forced physical proximity brings them closer emotionally.
William tells Petey about his money issues. Petey tells William about his unsupportive family. There are sexy horseback rides and romantic picnics and a suit of armor that fits really, really well. And, while William may have been dubbed the "Bisexual Baron" by the gutter press, he's actually a sweet demisexual virgin himbo who pretty much needed his love interest to move in before he could feel comfortable with ... anything?
DP Clarence is always hilarious, especially if you like your humor a little on the crude side; the romance is SO sweet and the slow burn really pays off. So if you like a good MM contemporary but sometimes think "this could use a little inspiration from Tessa Dare," you'll be wanting to pick this one up.
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel. Full disclosure: we are social media mutuals with the author.
Peter Topham aka Petey Boy is a TV producer, and Love Manor is his big chance to prove himself to Indira. After the contestants realize there's an actual IRL lord living at Love Manor, Petey takes one for the reality TV team and agrees to announce his engagement to William. It's a fake engagement, obvs, but Petey moves into William's folly (not a euphemism) and their forced physical proximity brings them closer emotionally.
William tells Petey about his money issues. Petey tells William about his unsupportive family. There are sexy horseback rides and romantic picnics and a suit of armor that fits really, really well. And, while William may have been dubbed the "Bisexual Baron" by the gutter press, he's actually a sweet demisexual virgin himbo who pretty much needed his love interest to move in before he could feel comfortable with ... anything?
DP Clarence is always hilarious, especially if you like your humor a little on the crude side; the romance is SO sweet and the slow burn really pays off. So if you like a good MM contemporary but sometimes think "this could use a little inspiration from Tessa Dare," you'll be wanting to pick this one up.
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel. Full disclosure: we are social media mutuals with the author.
Review of advance copy received from Author
D.P. Clarence has rapidly been becoming one of my favourite authors and this book perfectly captures why. It was perfectly funny and sweet, wholesome and cheeky, and just full of dry British humour. Such a fun read!
Petey and William are a perfect opposites attract duo in a lot of ways. When they meet, William is a down-on-his-luck Baron, struggling to keep his family’s crumbling manor afloat. Petey is the producer of the regency-themed reality dating show filming at the manor (see: William really needed the money!). Petey is a savvy Londoner, William is a nerdy country boy. Petey is sexually adventurous, and William is a demisexual virgin looking for his true love. But they have great chemistry and their slow burn romance was a delight to read (and I loved the meet cute - could not stop laughing that whole scene).
The secondary characters are also all amazing. The reality show contestants were a lot of fun, but my personal favourite was William’s free spirited mother. You can certainly understand how the manor got into financial trouble with two hippy parents like that! She’s hilarious but also has a total heart of gold.
From start to finish I really enjoyed this book! Read if you like:
💜 Opposites attract
💜 Forced proximity & fake dating
💜 Hilarious secondary characters
💜 Quality banter
💜 Good Demi rep
💜 Runaway ducks
I loved Clarence’s first two books, so was so honoured to receive an ARC of this one - and honestly even more delighted when it lived up to my sky high expectations.
Petey and William are a perfect opposites attract duo in a lot of ways. When they meet, William is a down-on-his-luck Baron, struggling to keep his family’s crumbling manor afloat. Petey is the producer of the regency-themed reality dating show filming at the manor (see: William really needed the money!). Petey is a savvy Londoner, William is a nerdy country boy. Petey is sexually adventurous, and William is a demisexual virgin looking for his true love. But they have great chemistry and their slow burn romance was a delight to read (and I loved the meet cute - could not stop laughing that whole scene).
The secondary characters are also all amazing. The reality show contestants were a lot of fun, but my personal favourite was William’s free spirited mother. You can certainly understand how the manor got into financial trouble with two hippy parents like that! She’s hilarious but also has a total heart of gold.
From start to finish I really enjoyed this book! Read if you like:
💜 Opposites attract
💜 Forced proximity & fake dating
💜 Hilarious secondary characters
💜 Quality banter
💜 Good Demi rep
💜 Runaway ducks
I loved Clarence’s first two books, so was so honoured to receive an ARC of this one - and honestly even more delighted when it lived up to my sky high expectations.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews