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Belvedere #2
The Spare
I've spent my entire life engaged to one man. But it's his brother I've always yearned for.
Now, four days before our wedding, Xavier has thrown me over—and Benedict has stepped in instead. The spare. The playboy. The heartbreaker whose reputation stretches across the Mediterranean.
Benedict de Vere is everything his brother isn't: reckless, restless, and seemingly unbothered that this match is a transaction. He's marrying me to save my reputation. My reasons for wedding him are... more complicated.
I'm going to be his duchess.
I'm going to share his life.
His bed.
I should be up to the challenge. After all, they call me the ice queen for a reason. I've had years to perfect my mask.
But I've longed for him since I was eighteen years old. And Benedict doesn't do serious. He doesn't do forever. The trail of broken hearts he's left behind is evidence of that.
Being one of those broken hearts would be devastating enough. Knowing him that intimately, then being cast aside?
Now imagine that happening in our marital bed.
It's a loneliness I wouldn't survive.
Tropes:
👑 Arranged marriage
👑 Modern duke and duchess
👑 Billionaire
👑 Opposites attract
👑 Reformed playboy MMC
👑 Ice queen FMC
👑 She marries her fiancé's brother
Now, four days before our wedding, Xavier has thrown me over—and Benedict has stepped in instead. The spare. The playboy. The heartbreaker whose reputation stretches across the Mediterranean.
Benedict de Vere is everything his brother isn't: reckless, restless, and seemingly unbothered that this match is a transaction. He's marrying me to save my reputation. My reasons for wedding him are... more complicated.
I'm going to be his duchess.
I'm going to share his life.
His bed.
I should be up to the challenge. After all, they call me the ice queen for a reason. I've had years to perfect my mask.
But I've longed for him since I was eighteen years old. And Benedict doesn't do serious. He doesn't do forever. The trail of broken hearts he's left behind is evidence of that.
Being one of those broken hearts would be devastating enough. Knowing him that intimately, then being cast aside?
Now imagine that happening in our marital bed.
It's a loneliness I wouldn't survive.
Tropes:
👑 Arranged marriage
👑 Modern duke and duchess
👑 Billionaire
👑 Opposites attract
👑 Reformed playboy MMC
👑 Ice queen FMC
👑 She marries her fiancé's brother
356 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication June 25, 2026
About the author
Elodie Hart
27 books1,866 followersI write super spicy contemporary romance, usually set in London, my home of twenty-five years. My characters are smart, fabulous, wealthy and competent, their lifestyles disgustingly luxurious. I love, among other things, an age gap, an alpha guy, a hell of a growth arc, and a sprinkling of priest kink (hello convent education). When I'm not happily dissociating on my laptop or dreaming up swoony special editions, I enjoy hanging out in London with my amazing, long-suffering husband and two kids.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 380 reviews
June 15, 2026
2 ⭐
My toxic trait is believing arranged marriage can fix almost anything.
I've seen it cure emotional repression, communication issues, mutual pining and chronic bachelorism with remarkable success.
So imagine my surprise when a premise featuring a reformed playboy, an arranged marriage, secret pining and a modern duke somehow became the first exception.
I fear I may have finally found the limit.
What worked for me
(aka: the reasons this didn't become a full-blown hate read)
Selena deserved so much better
Selena is composed, intelligent, ambitious and painfully insecure in a way that felt incredibly believable. Every interaction is filtered through years of conditioning that have taught her her value lies in what she can provide rather than who she is and watching that manifest through overthinking, people-pleasing and constant self-comparison genuinely hurt.
Some of the quieter conversations around anxiety, intimacy and feeling "not enough" were the strongest parts of the book and I found myself rooting for Selena long before I found myself rooting for the romance.
The female friendships
Ironically, some of the most emotionally satisfying scenes in the book weren't between the romance leads at all.
The women listen to Selena. They validate her. They encourage her. They make space for her feelings without immediately trying to explain them away. Those moments felt warm, supportive and authentic and ended up providing more emotional payoff than much of the central relationship.
The premise sold me a dream
I will never not be sat for an arranged marriage that happens within the first few chapters.
Get these people legally bound. Lock them in a house. Force proximity should solve all problems.
Unfortunately...
Where it lost me
(aka: where my eye started twitching)
The aristocracy felt like an accessory
Selena is an impeccably educated future duchess. Benedict is an Eton-educated aristocrat who's spent his life navigating high society.
Yet both of them often sounded like contemporary billionaires dropped into a title they happened to inherit.
I never fully bought their voices which made it difficult to believe the world they inhabited or connect with their chemistry.
Reformed playboy? I hardly know him
I never doubted that Benedict loved Selena. I constantly doubted that he understood her.
There's a huge difference.
The book keeps insisting he's secretly obsessed while repeatedly showing him behaving in ways that reinforce every single one of Selena's insecurities. Every time I thought we were about to get Husband Benedict, we somehow circled back to Playboy Benedict.
I kept waiting for the Wife Guy update to install.
Character development sponsored by Selena
The emotional growth is astonishingly one-sided.
Selena examines her insecurities. Selena extends grace. Selena gets to know people she initially resents. Selena reflects. Selena forgives. Selena grows.
Meanwhile Benedict mostly discovers that his wife is upset when she's on the verge of leaving him.
That isn't a character arc. That's delayed processing.
Love is not accountability
This is the biggest reason the book fell apart for me.
Every time Selena expresses genuine hurt, the response isn't meaningful accountability or sustained behavioural change. Instead, I felt like the story kept saying "But he LOVES her!"
I know.
That was never the issue.
Love doesn't magically erase humiliation. Love doesn't undo thoughtlessness. Love doesn't replace apology. Love doesn't automatically rebuild trust.
I kept waiting for a grovel and instead got a series of increasingly elaborate explanations for why Benedict's intentions were good. Intentions and impact are not the same thing.
The women did all the emotional heavy lifting
By the end, one thing became impossible to ignore.
Whenever Selena needed emotional support, another woman appeared to provide it. Whenever Benedict needed understanding, another woman explained him. Whenever conflict arose, someone else helped smooth it over.
I wanted the romance to do that work.
Instead I watched Selena process her pain while everyone else assured her everything was fine.
The pacing was fighting for its life
The opening absolutely hooks you.
Then we spend what felt like an entire geological era walking down an aisle. The middle drifts through extended descriptions and internal monologues before finally finding emotional momentum...only for the last twenty percent to completely lose me.
By the end I wasn't waiting for the grand declaration.
I was waiting for accountability.
Final thoughts
This book had every trope I adore and somehow still managed to leave me emotionally disconnected.
Selena is incredibly layered and vulnerable but Benedict never evolved enough for me to believe he'd truly earned her trust. The story kept asking me to accept his love as proof of his growth and for me those are two completely different things.
I wanted a reformed playboy who quietly dismantled his wife's insecurities through consistent actions.
Instead I got a man who loved her deeply but remained astonishingly cavalier while she carried almost all of the emotional labour.
Final verdict
2 ⭐️ - The strongest relationship in this book was between Selena and the women who actually listened to her.
Accountability walked so "I love you" could run.
Fortunately, I refuse to let this book damage my arranged marriage propaganda.
Tropes and Vibes:
• Arranged marriage
• Fiancé's brother
• Modern duke & duchess
• Ice queen FMC with compelling vulnerability
• Reformed playboy MMC (allegedly)
• Secret pining
• Business girlie FMC
• Female friendships > central romance
• Lots of talking about feelings, not enough owning them
• Beautiful premise, frustrating execution
• Wife Guy stocks: permanently suspended from trading
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Pre-read:
My toxic trait is believing every reformed playboy is exactly one arranged wife away from becoming the most devoted man alive....let's test the hypothesis 🤞🏻✨️
My toxic trait is believing arranged marriage can fix almost anything.
I've seen it cure emotional repression, communication issues, mutual pining and chronic bachelorism with remarkable success.
So imagine my surprise when a premise featuring a reformed playboy, an arranged marriage, secret pining and a modern duke somehow became the first exception.
I fear I may have finally found the limit.
What worked for me
(aka: the reasons this didn't become a full-blown hate read)
Selena deserved so much better
Selena is composed, intelligent, ambitious and painfully insecure in a way that felt incredibly believable. Every interaction is filtered through years of conditioning that have taught her her value lies in what she can provide rather than who she is and watching that manifest through overthinking, people-pleasing and constant self-comparison genuinely hurt.
Some of the quieter conversations around anxiety, intimacy and feeling "not enough" were the strongest parts of the book and I found myself rooting for Selena long before I found myself rooting for the romance.
The female friendships
Ironically, some of the most emotionally satisfying scenes in the book weren't between the romance leads at all.
The women listen to Selena. They validate her. They encourage her. They make space for her feelings without immediately trying to explain them away. Those moments felt warm, supportive and authentic and ended up providing more emotional payoff than much of the central relationship.
The premise sold me a dream
I will never not be sat for an arranged marriage that happens within the first few chapters.
Get these people legally bound. Lock them in a house. Force proximity should solve all problems.
Unfortunately...
Where it lost me
(aka: where my eye started twitching)
The aristocracy felt like an accessory
Selena is an impeccably educated future duchess. Benedict is an Eton-educated aristocrat who's spent his life navigating high society.
Yet both of them often sounded like contemporary billionaires dropped into a title they happened to inherit.
I never fully bought their voices which made it difficult to believe the world they inhabited or connect with their chemistry.
Reformed playboy? I hardly know him
I never doubted that Benedict loved Selena. I constantly doubted that he understood her.
There's a huge difference.
The book keeps insisting he's secretly obsessed while repeatedly showing him behaving in ways that reinforce every single one of Selena's insecurities. Every time I thought we were about to get Husband Benedict, we somehow circled back to Playboy Benedict.
I kept waiting for the Wife Guy update to install.
Character development sponsored by Selena
The emotional growth is astonishingly one-sided.
Selena examines her insecurities. Selena extends grace. Selena gets to know people she initially resents. Selena reflects. Selena forgives. Selena grows.
Meanwhile Benedict mostly discovers that his wife is upset when she's on the verge of leaving him.
That isn't a character arc. That's delayed processing.
Love is not accountability
This is the biggest reason the book fell apart for me.
Every time Selena expresses genuine hurt, the response isn't meaningful accountability or sustained behavioural change. Instead, I felt like the story kept saying "But he LOVES her!"
I know.
That was never the issue.
Love doesn't magically erase humiliation. Love doesn't undo thoughtlessness. Love doesn't replace apology. Love doesn't automatically rebuild trust.
I kept waiting for a grovel and instead got a series of increasingly elaborate explanations for why Benedict's intentions were good. Intentions and impact are not the same thing.
The women did all the emotional heavy lifting
By the end, one thing became impossible to ignore.
Whenever Selena needed emotional support, another woman appeared to provide it. Whenever Benedict needed understanding, another woman explained him. Whenever conflict arose, someone else helped smooth it over.
I wanted the romance to do that work.
Instead I watched Selena process her pain while everyone else assured her everything was fine.
The pacing was fighting for its life
The opening absolutely hooks you.
Then we spend what felt like an entire geological era walking down an aisle. The middle drifts through extended descriptions and internal monologues before finally finding emotional momentum...only for the last twenty percent to completely lose me.
By the end I wasn't waiting for the grand declaration.
I was waiting for accountability.
Final thoughts
This book had every trope I adore and somehow still managed to leave me emotionally disconnected.
Selena is incredibly layered and vulnerable but Benedict never evolved enough for me to believe he'd truly earned her trust. The story kept asking me to accept his love as proof of his growth and for me those are two completely different things.
I wanted a reformed playboy who quietly dismantled his wife's insecurities through consistent actions.
Instead I got a man who loved her deeply but remained astonishingly cavalier while she carried almost all of the emotional labour.
Final verdict
2 ⭐️ - The strongest relationship in this book was between Selena and the women who actually listened to her.
Accountability walked so "I love you" could run.
Fortunately, I refuse to let this book damage my arranged marriage propaganda.
Tropes and Vibes:
• Arranged marriage
• Fiancé's brother
• Modern duke & duchess
• Ice queen FMC with compelling vulnerability
• Reformed playboy MMC (allegedly)
• Secret pining
• Business girlie FMC
• Female friendships > central romance
• Lots of talking about feelings, not enough owning them
• Beautiful premise, frustrating execution
• Wife Guy stocks: permanently suspended from trading
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Pre-read:
My toxic trait is believing every reformed playboy is exactly one arranged wife away from becoming the most devoted man alive....let's test the hypothesis 🤞🏻✨️
June 11, 2026
Don't be fooled by all of these 5 star arc reviews. Like honestly...
I liked Selena and I really felt for her. But Ben is a complete ass and I never felt he truly understood her or loved her. Lust? Yes, after all he was a womanizer but his emotional intelligence is equal to zero.
He never understood what his actions meant and bow she felt after the revelations of how he brought Ivy and his brother together.. And the excuse is : "it worked out in the end right?"
I liked Selena and I really felt for her. But Ben is a complete ass and I never felt he truly understood her or loved her. Lust? Yes, after all he was a womanizer but his emotional intelligence is equal to zero.
He never understood what his actions meant and bow she felt after the revelations of how he brought Ivy and his brother together.. And the excuse is : "it worked out in the end right?"
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2026
2 ⭐️”s. I absolutely LOVED The Heir and I was so excited to read about playboy Ben. But, I really didn’t get to know him much at all. I basically read about the FMC over analyzing absolutely everything. I know more about the color of absolutely every setting she was in and what everyone was wearing more than I know of the couple together. I wanted more from Ben. I wanted them together more and her not doubting every single thing. It was very hard to read. I skimmed most of it at about 75%. And the spicy scenes were so blah. Aside from the one where he showed somewhat of his true self, we got hardly anything. I wanted to see what all the hype was about. And I didn’t see it. This is definitely my least favorite of all this authors books and I’ve read just about all of them. I will still read Flora’s story, tho, and I’m looking forward to it.
June 7, 2026
I loved this story of Ben and Slinks…..such a sweet and adorable connection that they kind of built over time….it was there all along, they just had to trust and be vulnerable and find their truth, and I am so glad that they did! There was not a ton of spice, but this book still very much kept my attention with a great set of characters & a good plot! Love that there is always a HEA! Thank you so much Elodie Hart for allowing me on your ARC team….I love your books and always look forward to the next one!
June 12, 2026
I’m a bit disappointed in this. I felt I was skipping so much, especially at the end. It just didn’t flow for me, I feel we never saw their love grow but we saw their lust. I just I’ll forget about this book by tomorrow and I loved the heir.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Wow, what can I say? I thought The Heir was good, but The Spare? Benedict, Benedict, Benedict! How did Elodie manage to take an absolute player and renowned heartbreaker and turn him into such a heart-wrenching hero?
This book was incredible, although I suppose that's no surprise as all of Elodie's books are. What really stood out to me was Selena and the emotional journey she goes on throughout the story. The struggles she faces resonated so deeply. As women, so many of us spend our lives wearing a mask, putting on a brave face and presenting a polished version of ourselves, all while secretly wondering if we're accepted, liked, or enough just as we are.
This story beautifully reinforces the message that we are enough. Watching Benedict help Selena navigate those insecurities and discover her own worth was written so thoughtfully and with such care. Elodie has an amazing ability to make her characters feel real, and if any of Selena's traits hit close to home for you—as they certainly did for me—you can't help but feel completely immersed in her journey.
And once again, the backdrop of Belvedere was beautifully captured. Elodie writes the setting so vividly that you feel as though you're walking the grounds, smelling the rhododendrons and living alongside these characters.
Now, let's talk about Benedict and Slinky together. The chemistry between them was absolutely off the charts. Their relationship was full of tension, longing, vulnerability and passion, making every interaction impossible to put down.
What I also loved was Selena's resilience. The way she ultimately found peace with Ivy and Xavier showed incredible growth and strength of character. It would have been easy for her to remain bitter, but instead she found a way to move forward, and I admired her all the more for it.
For me, one of the strongest themes in this book was the reminder that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. We often look at wealth, status and privilege and assume they bring happiness, but this story shows that everyone carries their own burdens and insecurities, regardless of their title or bank balance.
The message I took away was simple: be yourself and don't spend your life chasing the acceptance of others. Elodie brought that lesson home beautifully through Slinky's story.
A brilliant read, another fantastic addition to the Belvedere series, and I already can't wait for the next book.
This book was incredible, although I suppose that's no surprise as all of Elodie's books are. What really stood out to me was Selena and the emotional journey she goes on throughout the story. The struggles she faces resonated so deeply. As women, so many of us spend our lives wearing a mask, putting on a brave face and presenting a polished version of ourselves, all while secretly wondering if we're accepted, liked, or enough just as we are.
This story beautifully reinforces the message that we are enough. Watching Benedict help Selena navigate those insecurities and discover her own worth was written so thoughtfully and with such care. Elodie has an amazing ability to make her characters feel real, and if any of Selena's traits hit close to home for you—as they certainly did for me—you can't help but feel completely immersed in her journey.
And once again, the backdrop of Belvedere was beautifully captured. Elodie writes the setting so vividly that you feel as though you're walking the grounds, smelling the rhododendrons and living alongside these characters.
Now, let's talk about Benedict and Slinky together. The chemistry between them was absolutely off the charts. Their relationship was full of tension, longing, vulnerability and passion, making every interaction impossible to put down.
What I also loved was Selena's resilience. The way she ultimately found peace with Ivy and Xavier showed incredible growth and strength of character. It would have been easy for her to remain bitter, but instead she found a way to move forward, and I admired her all the more for it.
For me, one of the strongest themes in this book was the reminder that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. We often look at wealth, status and privilege and assume they bring happiness, but this story shows that everyone carries their own burdens and insecurities, regardless of their title or bank balance.
The message I took away was simple: be yourself and don't spend your life chasing the acceptance of others. Elodie brought that lesson home beautifully through Slinky's story.
A brilliant read, another fantastic addition to the Belvedere series, and I already can't wait for the next book.
June 1, 2026
"A real marriage. With Benedict de Vere: breaker of hearts, destroyer of virtue, and patron saint of fuckboys everywhere, his skills between the sheets the stuff of legend. And I’m supposed to decide right now: total social annihilation or the risk of laying bare my every vulnerability to the most dangerous man I know. Oh my fucking God."⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Elodie Hart is a must-read author for me and The Spare was such an anticipated release that delivered in spades! What more could you want the premise of a notorious playboy, spare to a dukedom, that enters into a marriage of convenience with his brother's frosty ex-bethrothed to save their families from societal ruin? I ATE IT UP and left no crumbs! 🙌🏻
After first meeting Benedict in The Heir, I knew I would be WEAK for him. There was just something about his charm and confidence right from the start and all those qualities translated straight into this book! I couldn't wait to see how he would white-knight them out of the precarious position his brother put them in at the end of Book 1 and it did not disappoint.
The bigger surprise was Selena – who completely stole my heart in this book! In The Heir, she came across as rigid, duty-bound, and the complete opposite of carefree, hedonistic Benedict. But this book really peels back her layers, and it quickly becomes clear just how relatable she is. While she's spent much of her life trying to meet the expectations of her family, she's also fiercely ambitious and holds herself to impossibly high standards. I loved how Elodie explored the many layers of successful, high-achieving women. Selena struggles to quiet parts of her brain, worrying about how she's perceived by others and that was even translated into how she struggled with intimacy.
As per usual, the spice in Elodie's book was SO GOOD, but it was incredibly refreshing to read the story of a woman who isn't all sultry, sex goddess at the snap of her fingers. Benedict has to put in the work of reassuring her insecurities, making sure she's in the right headspace and THEN these two are FIRE together!! I loved the journey they go on to figuring each other out and the personal growth they both have throughout this story.
🌿 Billionaire Duke x Fashion Brand Heiress
🩵 Inexperienced FMC x Reformed Playboy MMC
🌿 Marriage of Convenience
🩵 Mental Health Rep
🌿 Shower Spice & K!nky Exploration
I can't wait to be back in this world again soon for Flora's book. Thank you so much Elodie for the arc 🫶🏻
June 12, 2026
Am I an extremely wealthy aristocrat? No. Am I in a marriage of convenience with my ex-fiancé’s brother? Also no. But did this FMC make me feel seen, validated, and understood as a woman with ADHD in a way I didn’t even know I needed? ABSOLUTELY.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, because Selena was so unlikeable in The Heir. She seemed manipulative and arrogant. But getting into her brain and seeing the inner turmoil was a masterclass in making this reader regret judging a book (character) by the cover. The face Selena shows the world is so different to who she really is, and I loved seeing the real her! She was without a doubt the best representation I’ve ever read of an FMC with ADHD (especially undiagnosed ADHD), and I feel so much less alone after reading her story.
Our MMC Benedict was also a perfect example of there being more to him than what we saw on the outside. If I have any complaints about this book, it’s that I wish we got more time inside Ben’s brain - but I still wouldn’t sacrifice a minute of what we saw with Selena! The way he shows up for her, listens, and validates her feelings was nothing short of beautiful.
While still open door, I’d say this is on the tamer side for Elodie Hart. Somehow, that helped the reality of Selena’s brain be even more present, and I think it worked perfectly!
With that final setup for The Muse, I also can’t wait for the third book in this series!
I read an advanced copy by this author and all opinions are my own.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, because Selena was so unlikeable in The Heir. She seemed manipulative and arrogant. But getting into her brain and seeing the inner turmoil was a masterclass in making this reader regret judging a book (character) by the cover. The face Selena shows the world is so different to who she really is, and I loved seeing the real her! She was without a doubt the best representation I’ve ever read of an FMC with ADHD (especially undiagnosed ADHD), and I feel so much less alone after reading her story.
Our MMC Benedict was also a perfect example of there being more to him than what we saw on the outside. If I have any complaints about this book, it’s that I wish we got more time inside Ben’s brain - but I still wouldn’t sacrifice a minute of what we saw with Selena! The way he shows up for her, listens, and validates her feelings was nothing short of beautiful.
While still open door, I’d say this is on the tamer side for Elodie Hart. Somehow, that helped the reality of Selena’s brain be even more present, and I think it worked perfectly!
With that final setup for The Muse, I also can’t wait for the third book in this series!
I read an advanced copy by this author and all opinions are my own.
Read
June 8, 2026The FMC Selena has had a cradle betrothal to a noble toddler, arranged by their parents, and she was all set to become the most stone-cold duchess that ever duchessed. However, her fiance Xav jilts her days before the wedding for his one true love. Selena wasn't in love with him, but she's devastated because it is about to be a public humiliation. But Xav's brother Ben comes up with a proposal of his own. If she agrees to switch bridegrooms they can spin it as a great love triangle, as in, Ben has always been pining for his brother's fiancee.
Sure, you get arranged marriages with hunky lords ALL the time. But in historicals. And this is a contemporary romance. So it is pretty hard to identify with Selena to begin with, the way she was about to commit to a man she didn't care the first bit for, for the sake of some dynastic folderol the parents cooked up. (If I ever meet those parents I'll have a few choice words for them, before their butlers have a horde of liveried footmen throw me into the moat.)
So this set-up is pretty wild. But this is Elodie Hart so she'll make it work somehow. It helps that both Ben and Selena fancy each other madly (so you know it will be hot). But will she be able to trust him?
I received an ARC from the author, who is my go-to for sexy, smart reads with great characters who have other things going on besides the spice.
Sure, you get arranged marriages with hunky lords ALL the time. But in historicals. And this is a contemporary romance. So it is pretty hard to identify with Selena to begin with, the way she was about to commit to a man she didn't care the first bit for, for the sake of some dynastic folderol the parents cooked up. (If I ever meet those parents I'll have a few choice words for them, before their butlers have a horde of liveried footmen throw me into the moat.)
So this set-up is pretty wild. But this is Elodie Hart so she'll make it work somehow. It helps that both Ben and Selena fancy each other madly (so you know it will be hot). But will she be able to trust him?
I received an ARC from the author, who is my go-to for sexy, smart reads with great characters who have other things going on besides the spice.
June 13, 2026
I love Elodie Hart, but I disliked
The Heir
so much that I didn't even bother to leave a review. I had high hopes for this book because Benedict, the MMC, is the fun brother, but honestly, it falls flat and it's really boring. It reads like a Regency novel and I am so not into that genre.
The FMC, Selena, is awful. She's so judgmental and so extremely naive ... this is the girl who has been groomed to be a Duchess her entire life? Honestly, she just comes off as the worst kind of snob. Her insecurities? Rich people problems ... and I find it hard to believe that she doesn't seek therapy until after her marriage. The girl should've been in therapy since the day she was born. For me, there was nothing redeeming about her character.
The declarations of love between Benedict and Selena are also hard to believe. It's lust ... we see no relationship development between these two. Even when Ben doesn't know how to handle her, he calls Athena and Sophia. It's dumb.
Lastly, the thing that I really didn't like about this book, much like it is described in the first, is that our beloved Alchemy is described as more of a whorehouse than the upscale sex club that it is.
I have zero interest in royal families, so that could be part of the reason I didn't like this book, but ultimately, it comes down to it being extremely bland.
We get a sneak peek into the Alchemy New York book series at the end of this ... it seems promising, but once again, the snippet is focused on an entitled, rich prick who thinks he's an alpha male.
I don't like this Belvedere series at all, and honestly, I don't recommend it.
The FMC, Selena, is awful. She's so judgmental and so extremely naive ... this is the girl who has been groomed to be a Duchess her entire life? Honestly, she just comes off as the worst kind of snob. Her insecurities? Rich people problems ... and I find it hard to believe that she doesn't seek therapy until after her marriage. The girl should've been in therapy since the day she was born. For me, there was nothing redeeming about her character.
The declarations of love between Benedict and Selena are also hard to believe. It's lust ... we see no relationship development between these two. Even when Ben doesn't know how to handle her, he calls Athena and Sophia. It's dumb.
Lastly, the thing that I really didn't like about this book, much like it is described in the first, is that our beloved Alchemy is described as more of a whorehouse than the upscale sex club that it is.
I have zero interest in royal families, so that could be part of the reason I didn't like this book, but ultimately, it comes down to it being extremely bland.
We get a sneak peek into the Alchemy New York book series at the end of this ... it seems promising, but once again, the snippet is focused on an entitled, rich prick who thinks he's an alpha male.
I don't like this Belvedere series at all, and honestly, I don't recommend it.
June 7, 2026
I have loved all of Elodie's books and The Spare absolutely lived up to expectations. As you can expect from her other work, it's spicy, heartfelt, emotional and also has a lot of depth and character development.
Benedict was as fun and charming as I imagined he'd be. He's very hot but also I enjoyed his journey of learning how to be a husband and understand his wife. And I was obsessed with him calling her Slinks.
However, the weight of this story is on Selena's shoulders. I found her absolutely fascinating. Initally, she's very typical eldest daughter, high achiever and chronic over thinker. As the story progresses and she becomes more open and vulnerable, you really start to understand her and I enjoyed the ADHD/RSD representation and learning more about this, it felt very relatable. It was really interesting to break through those walls of the 'ice queen' persona. Also on a lighter note, her internal monologue is absolutely hilarious. There are so many fantastic one liners, it was such a good time.
I adored the pop culture references throughout especially the fact Selena is a massive Swiftie! And of course like with all of Elodie's books the found family and support from other women is 🤌
My one small criticism would be I personally would have liked a little bit more chemistry/tension, but I understand the story stretches far beyond the romance aspect. I would definitely recommend at least reading at least The Heir first. There are lots of other cameos from characters from other series but you really need The Heir for the context of the plot.
Overall this is a character driven romance with so much depth and an FMC who completely stole the show.
Benedict was as fun and charming as I imagined he'd be. He's very hot but also I enjoyed his journey of learning how to be a husband and understand his wife. And I was obsessed with him calling her Slinks.
However, the weight of this story is on Selena's shoulders. I found her absolutely fascinating. Initally, she's very typical eldest daughter, high achiever and chronic over thinker. As the story progresses and she becomes more open and vulnerable, you really start to understand her and I enjoyed the ADHD/RSD representation and learning more about this, it felt very relatable. It was really interesting to break through those walls of the 'ice queen' persona. Also on a lighter note, her internal monologue is absolutely hilarious. There are so many fantastic one liners, it was such a good time.
I adored the pop culture references throughout especially the fact Selena is a massive Swiftie! And of course like with all of Elodie's books the found family and support from other women is 🤌
My one small criticism would be I personally would have liked a little bit more chemistry/tension, but I understand the story stretches far beyond the romance aspect. I would definitely recommend at least reading at least The Heir first. There are lots of other cameos from characters from other series but you really need The Heir for the context of the plot.
Overall this is a character driven romance with so much depth and an FMC who completely stole the show.
June 18, 2026
I am so obsessed with the way Elodie writes growth and personal development. The complexities of each individual character is always so eloquently written and so easy to interpret and empathise with.
Selena’s brain is so fascinating but even more was how perfectly Athena and Sophie can bring her out of herself.
On that note, I LOVED seeing all the crossovers in this story with every part of Eloise’s universe 🥰
Ben on the other hand is so well adjusted and truly the most thoughtful, caring soul. Not the mention that man can throw down!!
I cannot wait to see Flora and her naughty professor in the next book!
10/10 - HIGHLY recommend
Selena’s brain is so fascinating but even more was how perfectly Athena and Sophie can bring her out of herself.
On that note, I LOVED seeing all the crossovers in this story with every part of Eloise’s universe 🥰
Ben on the other hand is so well adjusted and truly the most thoughtful, caring soul. Not the mention that man can throw down!!
I cannot wait to see Flora and her naughty professor in the next book!
10/10 - HIGHLY recommend
June 13, 2026
Woe is me
The entire book is literally Selena whining about what ifs and fears. This could’ve been a much shorter read that I would’ve been grateful for. This read more like a diary of thoughts that overshadowed the actual story. Then there was the constant repetition of “she ruined my life” and the drawn out language of irrelevant mutterings.
One thing I did enjoy was the “recap” chapters in the beginning that reminded me of the going’s on in the first book.
The entire book is literally Selena whining about what ifs and fears. This could’ve been a much shorter read that I would’ve been grateful for. This read more like a diary of thoughts that overshadowed the actual story. Then there was the constant repetition of “she ruined my life” and the drawn out language of irrelevant mutterings.
One thing I did enjoy was the “recap” chapters in the beginning that reminded me of the going’s on in the first book.
May 31, 2026
This is my first ARC. I’m a big fan of Elodie Hart.
First let me say, I really enjoyed The Heir, so I was eagerly anticipating The Spare and Elodie Hart delivered. I loved this book. It’s witty, it’s emotional, it’s girl power, it gave me all the feels.
Selena and Ben are both layered and I enjoyed getting to see beyond their public perception. And, if you’re an Elodie Hart fan, you’ll recognize some character names from her universe which was fun. And, who doesn’t love love?
First let me say, I really enjoyed The Heir, so I was eagerly anticipating The Spare and Elodie Hart delivered. I loved this book. It’s witty, it’s emotional, it’s girl power, it gave me all the feels.
Selena and Ben are both layered and I enjoyed getting to see beyond their public perception. And, if you’re an Elodie Hart fan, you’ll recognize some character names from her universe which was fun. And, who doesn’t love love?
June 13, 2026
OMG. This was so fucking hot. Benedict has been on the fringes of a few of this author's books and it was very satisfying (ahem) to see him get his HEA. He and Selena are my favorite kind of paring - one partner up in their head and the other determined to make them feel good. I loved this story!
The set up for Flora's book sounds fantastic! It's going to be a long wait until January!
The set up for Flora's book sounds fantastic! It's going to be a long wait until January!
June 12, 2026
DNF 51%
I hate Selena, she's awful. But I was out 100% when the dialog amongst the charecters in the book referenced American Queen which is a terrible book, and a terrible example to use when trying to figure out what you want during sex.
I hate Selena, she's awful. But I was out 100% when the dialog amongst the charecters in the book referenced American Queen which is a terrible book, and a terrible example to use when trying to figure out what you want during sex.
June 11, 2026
4 ⭐️
I had the best time with this, Benedict and Selena were complete opposites, but they could not be more perfect for one another. Elodie really brought all the emotion and heat with their story.
I was so curious about Selena, especially after how things had gone down in The Heir. Ben was an absolute dreamboat, who had it so bad for Selena, and I loved how patient and attentive he was towards her, too, as she worked through her own issues.
I'm really looking forward to The Muse, I love a forbidden romance, and these two, from what was teased about them, have so much tension between them, I can't wait!
Thank you kindly to Sara and her team for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I had the best time with this, Benedict and Selena were complete opposites, but they could not be more perfect for one another. Elodie really brought all the emotion and heat with their story.
I was so curious about Selena, especially after how things had gone down in The Heir. Ben was an absolute dreamboat, who had it so bad for Selena, and I loved how patient and attentive he was towards her, too, as she worked through her own issues.
I'm really looking forward to The Muse, I love a forbidden romance, and these two, from what was teased about them, have so much tension between them, I can't wait!
Thank you kindly to Sara and her team for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 11, 2026
hot damnnnn ;P
June 13, 2026
Who's giving this book 5 stars??? Are you guys forced to rate this 5 stars? Bcs this was absolutely stupid book!! Both of the book were written soo poorly I skipped most pages and read the last few pages..
June 13, 2026
DNF I couldn’t get on with the writing style felt like a regency book also didn’t like the FMC
June 13, 2026
I read book 1 a while back but must not have rated it on here. This is pretty smutty, but I did enjoy the storyline, I guess.
Review of advance copy received from Indie Reviewers
♾️⭐️
I know a lot of people see this as Selena’s redemption arc, but honestly? I never felt like Selena needed redeeming in the first place. Even back in The Heir, I couldn’t bring myself to dislike her. She wasn’t cruel or vindictive—she was someone dealing with the fallout of her entire future collapsing while Xavier and Ivy got their happy ending. So for me, this was never really about redemption. It felt more like her silver lining after being dealt a very unfair hand.
That’s where this book picks up—after being publicly abandoned by her fiancé just days before their wedding, Selena finds herself thrown into an unexpected arrangement with Benedict, when he steps forward claiming he’s always been the one who loved her. What starts as damage control quickly turns into something far more complicated as years of buried tension, unspoken history, and undeniable chemistry rise to the surface. But even as the romance builds, the real story is what happens to Selena when the life she was performing starts to crack open.
Selena completely won me over here in a way I didn’t fully expect. If you’ve read The Heir, she comes across as polished, controlled, untouchable—but that version of her is exactly that: a version. Inside, she’s been living on performance for years. Be perfect. Be useful. Don’t disappoint anyone. Don’t be too much. Somewhere along the way, she starts tying her worth to how well she can hold everything together for everyone else, even at the expense of herself. And when that starts to unravel, it doesn’t happen loudly. It’s quiet. Constant. Sometimes painful to sit with. Her self-doubt, people-pleasing, and instinct to assume she’s always the problem never feel exaggerated—they feel deeply familiar, in a way that makes you sit back and really pay attention to her internal world.
When she opened up to Ben about how the event from her childhood affected her it hit me like a ton of bricks. A moment of "Oh my god. You mean to tell me not everyone feels this way and there's an actual name for it and I've been 30+ years feeling like this was normal? What do you mean not everyone remembers multiple events during childhood when you felt you disappointed someone and have it illicit a visceral paralyzing reaction and over analyzing all these years later?"
There were so many moments where I had to pause because it felt uncomfortably familiar—not in a dramatic way, but in that quiet way where something finally gets named that you’ve been carrying for years without realizing it wasn’t just you.
Thankfully, the book never lets itself get swallowed by that heaviness. Selena’s internal monologue is genuinely hilarious, and her first meeting with Athena, Marlowe, and Sophia had me absolutely losing it. It’s one of those scenes that just snaps the tension in the best possible way.
Benedict, meanwhile, ends up being one of the most unexpectedly grounding parts of the book. We already knew him as the chaotic, charming presence from The Heir, but here we see what he looks like when the stakes are real—when Selena becomes the person he’s orienting himself around. What makes him work isn’t polish or perfection. It’s consistency. He shows up. Fully. Even when he gets it wrong, even when he’s clumsy about it, even when he’s operating with what Selena very accurately calls the “emotional intelligence of a bowl of custard” (Selena’s words, not mine), there’s never any doubt where his loyalty sits. That sense of unwavering intent becomes the foundation of everything between them.
"To always be Team Slinky no matter how brutal she finds the rest of the world."
And he spends the entire book proving exactly that.
I loved watching Selena grow into her own confidence throughout the story. One of my favorite scenes was when she defended Ivy and the twins in front of both mothers and absolutely put them in their place. It was such a satisfying moment because by then we had seen just how hard Selena had been working to find her voice. The growth in her relationship with Ivy was equally rewarding. Considering how complicated their story began, seeing them develop a genuine friendship felt like a full-circle moment, especially when so many of Selena's old friendships proved to be conditional at best. Ivy truly is a girls' girl, and I loved seeing Selena finally find people who supported her without expecting perfection from her.
Of course, this is an Elodie Hart book, so the chemistry is off the charts. Selena was beside herself and I was living for it.
"He's into orgies and the like... Meanwhile I'm mentally highfiving myself every time I survive doggy style."
Ben may have arrived with a very extensive résumé, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching Selena reap the benefits. Nobody writes chemistry and spice quite like Elodie Hart. The tension between these two had been simmering for years, and once everything finally came to the surface? Benedict absolutely had me sweating.
What I loved most, though, was how beautifully everything came together. Alongside Ben and Selena's story, we get to see Xavier and Ivy from the other side, watching relationships heal, evolve, and find their footing. It felt incredibly satisfying and gave the entire series a wonderful sense of continuity. Seeing familiar faces from the Seraph world rally around Selena reinforced one of the book's strongest messages: even the strongest women need support sometimes.
By the end, I wasn't just rooting for Ben and Selena as a couple. I was rooting for Selena to finally see herself the way everyone else did. Her growth felt earned, Ben's devotion was swoon-worthy, and together they created a romance that was emotional, funny, sexy, and surprisingly healing.
💫Thank you Elodie for the privilege of being on your ARC team! 💫
I know a lot of people see this as Selena’s redemption arc, but honestly? I never felt like Selena needed redeeming in the first place. Even back in The Heir, I couldn’t bring myself to dislike her. She wasn’t cruel or vindictive—she was someone dealing with the fallout of her entire future collapsing while Xavier and Ivy got their happy ending. So for me, this was never really about redemption. It felt more like her silver lining after being dealt a very unfair hand.
That’s where this book picks up—after being publicly abandoned by her fiancé just days before their wedding, Selena finds herself thrown into an unexpected arrangement with Benedict, when he steps forward claiming he’s always been the one who loved her. What starts as damage control quickly turns into something far more complicated as years of buried tension, unspoken history, and undeniable chemistry rise to the surface. But even as the romance builds, the real story is what happens to Selena when the life she was performing starts to crack open.
Selena completely won me over here in a way I didn’t fully expect. If you’ve read The Heir, she comes across as polished, controlled, untouchable—but that version of her is exactly that: a version. Inside, she’s been living on performance for years. Be perfect. Be useful. Don’t disappoint anyone. Don’t be too much. Somewhere along the way, she starts tying her worth to how well she can hold everything together for everyone else, even at the expense of herself. And when that starts to unravel, it doesn’t happen loudly. It’s quiet. Constant. Sometimes painful to sit with. Her self-doubt, people-pleasing, and instinct to assume she’s always the problem never feel exaggerated—they feel deeply familiar, in a way that makes you sit back and really pay attention to her internal world.
When she opened up to Ben about how the event from her childhood affected her it hit me like a ton of bricks. A moment of "Oh my god. You mean to tell me not everyone feels this way and there's an actual name for it and I've been 30+ years feeling like this was normal? What do you mean not everyone remembers multiple events during childhood when you felt you disappointed someone and have it illicit a visceral paralyzing reaction and over analyzing all these years later?"
There were so many moments where I had to pause because it felt uncomfortably familiar—not in a dramatic way, but in that quiet way where something finally gets named that you’ve been carrying for years without realizing it wasn’t just you.
Thankfully, the book never lets itself get swallowed by that heaviness. Selena’s internal monologue is genuinely hilarious, and her first meeting with Athena, Marlowe, and Sophia had me absolutely losing it. It’s one of those scenes that just snaps the tension in the best possible way.
Benedict, meanwhile, ends up being one of the most unexpectedly grounding parts of the book. We already knew him as the chaotic, charming presence from The Heir, but here we see what he looks like when the stakes are real—when Selena becomes the person he’s orienting himself around. What makes him work isn’t polish or perfection. It’s consistency. He shows up. Fully. Even when he gets it wrong, even when he’s clumsy about it, even when he’s operating with what Selena very accurately calls the “emotional intelligence of a bowl of custard” (Selena’s words, not mine), there’s never any doubt where his loyalty sits. That sense of unwavering intent becomes the foundation of everything between them.
"To always be Team Slinky no matter how brutal she finds the rest of the world."
And he spends the entire book proving exactly that.
I loved watching Selena grow into her own confidence throughout the story. One of my favorite scenes was when she defended Ivy and the twins in front of both mothers and absolutely put them in their place. It was such a satisfying moment because by then we had seen just how hard Selena had been working to find her voice. The growth in her relationship with Ivy was equally rewarding. Considering how complicated their story began, seeing them develop a genuine friendship felt like a full-circle moment, especially when so many of Selena's old friendships proved to be conditional at best. Ivy truly is a girls' girl, and I loved seeing Selena finally find people who supported her without expecting perfection from her.
Of course, this is an Elodie Hart book, so the chemistry is off the charts. Selena was beside herself and I was living for it.
"He's into orgies and the like... Meanwhile I'm mentally highfiving myself every time I survive doggy style."
Ben may have arrived with a very extensive résumé, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching Selena reap the benefits. Nobody writes chemistry and spice quite like Elodie Hart. The tension between these two had been simmering for years, and once everything finally came to the surface? Benedict absolutely had me sweating.
What I loved most, though, was how beautifully everything came together. Alongside Ben and Selena's story, we get to see Xavier and Ivy from the other side, watching relationships heal, evolve, and find their footing. It felt incredibly satisfying and gave the entire series a wonderful sense of continuity. Seeing familiar faces from the Seraph world rally around Selena reinforced one of the book's strongest messages: even the strongest women need support sometimes.
By the end, I wasn't just rooting for Ben and Selena as a couple. I was rooting for Selena to finally see herself the way everyone else did. Her growth felt earned, Ben's devotion was swoon-worthy, and together they created a romance that was emotional, funny, sexy, and surprisingly healing.
💫Thank you Elodie for the privilege of being on your ARC team! 💫
June 7, 2026
Give me some Benergy any day! 4.5 stars
*some spoilers ahead*
I went into this ARC with not many expectations, other than your typical reformed playboy/black cat x golden retriever theme, but this book really surprised me with its sincerity and depth to these two characters.
I left the end of The Heir (book 1) not necessarily thinking Selena (our FMC) as a cold hearted bitch, more like I felt sorry for her, because she (like Xavier) was born and bred to be this perfect person with essentially no free will on her life. She was doing what she was supposed to do her whole life, she did everything right, and yet she's the one who gets screwed over. I finished book 1 really hoping that we were going to get to know more about her, and was hopefully going to get a happy ending of her own - and she sure did.
Selena of course is neurotic as hell but very endearing. I think we can all relate to her feeling of being such a self conscious people pleaser -it's very relatable anxiety. I truly felt bad for her when cyber bullying started; that feeling of hopelessness and damned if you do, damned if you don't is unimaginable in such a public space, and the way that was handled with Benedict and her new friends (more on that later) was very well handled. Her anxiety did get a bit much at times (especially during her inner monologues) but I suppose that’s the point. You know she's never had a friend that just told her GIRL RELAX! and it shows. It was very interesting learning about her RSD; it's funny I always learn something new in Elodie Hart books, whether it's about psychology or biology, you can't say that romance isn't educational! This truly was Selena's book, and I'm so glad she got her HEA.
Now let's talk about yummy Benedict - What a total sweetheart. You could tell he loved her (almost yearned for her) from the start, and his playboy act was definitely just an act. I wouldn't even call him a 'reformed playboy' because he was always smitten with her, and was just waiting in the wings for his moment to be with her, and then was immediately loyal and happy to do it. I loved his endearing qualities; he was a great sunshine to her black cat, which we really needed his moments of light when Selena was spiraling. I of course also loved him help her discover her sexuality - oh man there is nothing better than a "teach me" moment in a spicy scene:) I appreciated that this book wasn't just all smutty moments, and the smutty scenes were a mix of raw sensuality and emotional connection. Ben was teaching her to love herself, make her feel seen and safe -which of course is the sexiest thing of all.
He wasn't perfect of course; there were definitely times when his default casual demeanor made him come across as a little insensitive towards what was happening in Selena's world, and of course, in times of scandal and gossip the female is always going to come across worse in the media than the guy. What I like though was that Benedict immediately would comfort her when she was in need, and you truly believed he cared and loved her for real. It kind of broke my heart when she said she regretted marrying him when she was at her lowest point; you could tell that absolutely gutted him, and he really didn't deserve that!
In terms of the story, I really enjoyed seeing the other side of The Heir. It makes you really realize how big of a deal it was, and I liked how you see more repercussions from Xav’s actions (and that he’s very remorseful for how he treated Selena). I think my favorite part about this story was the returning characters from the Seraph series - our favorite gals Athena and Sophia! I always love a good tie in from previous books, and this one probably has the most since Always Alchemy. I almost went back to other books to refresh myself on each character - which I actually love when that happens. (Side note - it would be nice if they had that somewhere, like a glossary index of characters from each book, or a family tree.) But yes, I really liked how Sophia & Athena came to rescue Selena in her time of need, and what better women to help her get her our of her slump than those two queens?! Talk about girl power! I did enjoy that tidbit about Selena admitting her girl crush on Athena, or just being generally attracted to strong, confident and beautiful girls like her. For a minute I was like....um Athena threesome anyone? Which NGL would be super hot, but hey, maybe in a bonus chapter in the future...;)
Overall, I enjoyed these two characters' story arcs, and am glad things got wrapped up in a nice little bow with the great groom swap. The only thing I would've liked to have seen were some more scenes with Benedict and his character development, but I get that sometimes you need to cut the story down to keep it concise, and it was already a pretty long book as it was. I also loved the little cliffhanger we were left on at the end, because I am totally ready to read about Flora's story in The Muse!
Thank you again Elodie & her team for this ARC read:)
*some spoilers ahead*
I went into this ARC with not many expectations, other than your typical reformed playboy/black cat x golden retriever theme, but this book really surprised me with its sincerity and depth to these two characters.
I left the end of The Heir (book 1) not necessarily thinking Selena (our FMC) as a cold hearted bitch, more like I felt sorry for her, because she (like Xavier) was born and bred to be this perfect person with essentially no free will on her life. She was doing what she was supposed to do her whole life, she did everything right, and yet she's the one who gets screwed over. I finished book 1 really hoping that we were going to get to know more about her, and was hopefully going to get a happy ending of her own - and she sure did.
Selena of course is neurotic as hell but very endearing. I think we can all relate to her feeling of being such a self conscious people pleaser -it's very relatable anxiety. I truly felt bad for her when cyber bullying started; that feeling of hopelessness and damned if you do, damned if you don't is unimaginable in such a public space, and the way that was handled with Benedict and her new friends (more on that later) was very well handled. Her anxiety did get a bit much at times (especially during her inner monologues) but I suppose that’s the point. You know she's never had a friend that just told her GIRL RELAX! and it shows. It was very interesting learning about her RSD; it's funny I always learn something new in Elodie Hart books, whether it's about psychology or biology, you can't say that romance isn't educational! This truly was Selena's book, and I'm so glad she got her HEA.
Now let's talk about yummy Benedict - What a total sweetheart. You could tell he loved her (almost yearned for her) from the start, and his playboy act was definitely just an act. I wouldn't even call him a 'reformed playboy' because he was always smitten with her, and was just waiting in the wings for his moment to be with her, and then was immediately loyal and happy to do it. I loved his endearing qualities; he was a great sunshine to her black cat, which we really needed his moments of light when Selena was spiraling. I of course also loved him help her discover her sexuality - oh man there is nothing better than a "teach me" moment in a spicy scene:) I appreciated that this book wasn't just all smutty moments, and the smutty scenes were a mix of raw sensuality and emotional connection. Ben was teaching her to love herself, make her feel seen and safe -which of course is the sexiest thing of all.
He wasn't perfect of course; there were definitely times when his default casual demeanor made him come across as a little insensitive towards what was happening in Selena's world, and of course, in times of scandal and gossip the female is always going to come across worse in the media than the guy. What I like though was that Benedict immediately would comfort her when she was in need, and you truly believed he cared and loved her for real. It kind of broke my heart when she said she regretted marrying him when she was at her lowest point; you could tell that absolutely gutted him, and he really didn't deserve that!
In terms of the story, I really enjoyed seeing the other side of The Heir. It makes you really realize how big of a deal it was, and I liked how you see more repercussions from Xav’s actions (and that he’s very remorseful for how he treated Selena). I think my favorite part about this story was the returning characters from the Seraph series - our favorite gals Athena and Sophia! I always love a good tie in from previous books, and this one probably has the most since Always Alchemy. I almost went back to other books to refresh myself on each character - which I actually love when that happens. (Side note - it would be nice if they had that somewhere, like a glossary index of characters from each book, or a family tree.) But yes, I really liked how Sophia & Athena came to rescue Selena in her time of need, and what better women to help her get her our of her slump than those two queens?! Talk about girl power! I did enjoy that tidbit about Selena admitting her girl crush on Athena, or just being generally attracted to strong, confident and beautiful girls like her. For a minute I was like....um Athena threesome anyone? Which NGL would be super hot, but hey, maybe in a bonus chapter in the future...;)
Overall, I enjoyed these two characters' story arcs, and am glad things got wrapped up in a nice little bow with the great groom swap. The only thing I would've liked to have seen were some more scenes with Benedict and his character development, but I get that sometimes you need to cut the story down to keep it concise, and it was already a pretty long book as it was. I also loved the little cliffhanger we were left on at the end, because I am totally ready to read about Flora's story in The Muse!
Thank you again Elodie & her team for this ARC read:)
Review of advance copy received from Author
This is unlike any romance book I’ve ever read. Elodie Hart weaves her magic, writing a deeply emotional book that so many women can relate to. This is, at its heart, a profoundly character-driven story. Yes, there is a plot, but the real journey is Selena's — her unraveling and her growth. Much like Hart's Vivacity published last fall, personal growth and self-discovery on a deep psychological level are the soul of this book. I related to Selena on so many levels that it felt as though Elodie had reached into my mind, grabbed my most private thoughts and emotions and put them to paper.
A quick plot rundown….Selena gets jilted by her fiancé, Xav, the lead from the previous book The Heir, days before their wedding — his younger brother Ben steps in with a bold, very public declaration that he has always been the one who truly loved her. Mortified and desperate to save face, Selena plays along. Yet Ben isn't entirely lying. Because the truth is, there has always been something simmering between these two. A deep, long-buried attraction that neither of them has ever dared to acknowledge. And this new arrangement, fake as it is, is about to bring all of it to the surface. But that’s only part of the plot as Selena feels the weight of this lie of a marriage so heavily that it begins to unravel her tightly held control.
Selena has always worn control like armor. Being the brand ambassador for her family’s multi-million-dollar luxury fashion and home goods company, Selena has mastered the art of public appearance, especially as she has been engaged to the heir of a dukedom. She maintains a cool and composed façade even when she is quietly falling apart inside — and that mask is driven by an exhausting obsession with public perception, a visceral response to anything that dares go off-script in her life, and a gobs of self-doubt that keep piling on. She is, in the most loving way, her own worst enemy. The mental gymnastics she puts herself through are so painfully relatable that I know many women readers will understand and empathize. As the buried truths come spilling forth, Selena's emotional well-being takes hit after hit. And I felt every single one. She simply cannot catch a break — and yet watching her navigate it all is utterly gripping.
If a true dominant alpha could also be an enthusiastic golden retriever, it would be Ben. He is the life of the party, relentlessly optimistic, and approaches adversity with the kind of breezy confidence that says, "Well, let's jump in and see what happens." He is the antithesis of Selena — and the perfect remedy for her hyper-controlled way of moving through the world. Ben doesn't try to fix her. He just creates enough space for her to breathe and feel safe enough to finally examine herself and understand how she responds to the things beyond her control. And, it’s so beautiful to watch how his love for her grows and grows as she’s gradually unraveling and allowing him in. Experiencing Selena slowly let her guard down and finally give herself a little grace along side Ben’s support is the magic that is Elodie Harts writing.
Normally I don’t wish for a book to be longer but I didn’t want this to end and I felt I needed a bit more of Ben’s personal journey since so much of this book is focused on Selena. Elodie has done something no other romance writer I have read has done. And that is the mental gymnastics women go through when they need and want to wind down, especially when it comes to being physical with a partner. It’s great to read stories with characters who can’t keep their hands off each other and where women are ALWAYS rarin’ to go at a drop of a hat. But is that reality? Even if we all had the super sexy Ben’s of the world with insane levels of mutual attraction. Hart writes a beautiful bedroom scene where Selena stresses about winding down enough to be intimate with Ben even with their intense chemistry. That is the first time I’ve ever seen that in a romance book and I applaud the author for being so bold.
This is the point I was trying, a little hysterically and not at all coolly, to make the other night. A lot of the time, I need some kind of portal before sex where I can shed the real world and rewire my brain. Foreplay for the foreplay....Men don’t seem to need context for sex—rather, the only context they need is I have a penis. For me, on the other hand, context is everything. And that context can be I’m on my period, or I’m about to get my period, or I’m tired, or I have too much on my mind, or I have thrush and I’m sore, or even the simplest context of all: I have an actual brain, and my brain is not focused on sex right now, nor is it likely to be in the next thirty minutes.
Another winner by Elodie Hart.
A quick plot rundown….Selena gets jilted by her fiancé, Xav, the lead from the previous book The Heir, days before their wedding — his younger brother Ben steps in with a bold, very public declaration that he has always been the one who truly loved her. Mortified and desperate to save face, Selena plays along. Yet Ben isn't entirely lying. Because the truth is, there has always been something simmering between these two. A deep, long-buried attraction that neither of them has ever dared to acknowledge. And this new arrangement, fake as it is, is about to bring all of it to the surface. But that’s only part of the plot as Selena feels the weight of this lie of a marriage so heavily that it begins to unravel her tightly held control.
Selena has always worn control like armor. Being the brand ambassador for her family’s multi-million-dollar luxury fashion and home goods company, Selena has mastered the art of public appearance, especially as she has been engaged to the heir of a dukedom. She maintains a cool and composed façade even when she is quietly falling apart inside — and that mask is driven by an exhausting obsession with public perception, a visceral response to anything that dares go off-script in her life, and a gobs of self-doubt that keep piling on. She is, in the most loving way, her own worst enemy. The mental gymnastics she puts herself through are so painfully relatable that I know many women readers will understand and empathize. As the buried truths come spilling forth, Selena's emotional well-being takes hit after hit. And I felt every single one. She simply cannot catch a break — and yet watching her navigate it all is utterly gripping.
If a true dominant alpha could also be an enthusiastic golden retriever, it would be Ben. He is the life of the party, relentlessly optimistic, and approaches adversity with the kind of breezy confidence that says, "Well, let's jump in and see what happens." He is the antithesis of Selena — and the perfect remedy for her hyper-controlled way of moving through the world. Ben doesn't try to fix her. He just creates enough space for her to breathe and feel safe enough to finally examine herself and understand how she responds to the things beyond her control. And, it’s so beautiful to watch how his love for her grows and grows as she’s gradually unraveling and allowing him in. Experiencing Selena slowly let her guard down and finally give herself a little grace along side Ben’s support is the magic that is Elodie Harts writing.
Normally I don’t wish for a book to be longer but I didn’t want this to end and I felt I needed a bit more of Ben’s personal journey since so much of this book is focused on Selena. Elodie has done something no other romance writer I have read has done. And that is the mental gymnastics women go through when they need and want to wind down, especially when it comes to being physical with a partner. It’s great to read stories with characters who can’t keep their hands off each other and where women are ALWAYS rarin’ to go at a drop of a hat. But is that reality? Even if we all had the super sexy Ben’s of the world with insane levels of mutual attraction. Hart writes a beautiful bedroom scene where Selena stresses about winding down enough to be intimate with Ben even with their intense chemistry. That is the first time I’ve ever seen that in a romance book and I applaud the author for being so bold.
This is the point I was trying, a little hysterically and not at all coolly, to make the other night. A lot of the time, I need some kind of portal before sex where I can shed the real world and rewire my brain. Foreplay for the foreplay....Men don’t seem to need context for sex—rather, the only context they need is I have a penis. For me, on the other hand, context is everything. And that context can be I’m on my period, or I’m about to get my period, or I’m tired, or I have too much on my mind, or I have thrush and I’m sore, or even the simplest context of all: I have an actual brain, and my brain is not focused on sex right now, nor is it likely to be in the next thirty minutes.
Another winner by Elodie Hart.
June 8, 2026
Book 76 of 2026
My excitement over this ARC has been palpable since I finished The Heir (Belvedere #1) earlier this year. I enjoyed Ivy and Xavier’s story, but the tension brewing underneath the surface with Benedict and Selena was always intriguing to me. So, we get that major bombshell at the end of that book and now here with are with these two, and it was even better than I could have imagined! Truly, whoever is sleeping on @ElodieHart doesn’t know what they are missing. She brings this posh energy (I think it’s all the British-isms and London-esque venues) that gives you something elevated. It’s always grand and beyond, and this one is climbing to the high end of the charts for me. It may even grace the Best of 2026 list for me because I fell in love with these two.
“She tries so bloody hard to hold herself together, bless her, that being the man to finally undo her will surely be a privilege. Knowing my future wife, it may also take me years to do.”
The mouth on Benedict was… whew. Well, let’s start with this -- @ElodieHart teased us with all the troupes here. I love myself a marriage of convenience, and this was THAT… but times a thousand. It was a deal that bloomed into so much more. We got this angst, forced proximity, one bed and so much tension. THE TENSION. I absolutely loved seeing our playboy turn into a golden retriever for Selena. On top of it all, I think that Selena might be one of the best female leads that @ElodieHart has ever written. I have no doubt that so many women read her and found her to be completely authentic and genuine. All of her feelings, the heartbreak, the worry, the anxiousness – it was all so relatable. She was raised for duty, and felt performative until the rug was pulled out from under her. No, I am not marrying into nobility or having my life splashed across the pages, but everything that Selena thought and how she processed her feelings about herself felt so relevant. She was a knockout of a lead that gave so much depth.
“I’m going to enjoy shocking the ---- out of my hot little wife for a very long time.”
Ben, Ben, Ben. What can I say. I just loved you, ha! He was a raucous in the first book and I loved seeing all his layers here, and the attention he paid to his Slinks. He really did put in the effort and I loved that about him. All of this was beautifully paired with Xavier and Ivy and seeing things from the “other side.” I loved seeing these relationships iron themselves out, and being able to see them from Ben and Selena’s side. It felt full circle in the best way. Then you give me cameos with Gabe, Athena, Ethan and Sophie? STOP IT, people. I love myself an @ElodieHart crossover.
“Forget trite vows and staged kisses in front of a crowd. This is how to make our marriage real: by branding my wife from the inside out.”
That epilogue sent me into a tailspin. HOW long do I have to wait for Flora’s book?!? Age gap AND a professor/student relationship? Sign me up! I have made it pretty clear I will read anything that @ElodieHart writes because she is doing it in a way that no one else is, and so it’s always a standout. She takes classic troupes and puts a spin on it to make it wholly unique, and that’s exactly what Ben and Selena are.
Rating – five stars
Format – ARC, e/book
Ranking of all Elodie Hart novels—
1. Always Alchemy (Alchemy #7, extended epilogues), five stars
2. Duplicity (Seraph #2, Brendan and Marlowe), five stars
3. Undulate (Alchemy #2, Zach and Maddie), five stars
4. The Spare (Belvedere #2, Benedict and Selena), five stars
5. Unbind (Alchemy #6, Adam and Nat), four and a half stars
6. Untether (Alchemy #4, Cal and Aida), four and a half stars
7. The Reluctant Billionaire (Love in London #5, Aide and Lotta), four and a half stars
8. Unstitch (Alchemy #5, Dex, Max and Darcy), four stars
9. Vivacity (Seraph #3, Ethan and Sophie), four stars
10. The Rest is History (Love in London #6, Charlie and Elodie), four stars
11. Audacity (Seraph #1, Gabe and Athena), four stars
12. Unveil (Alchemy #3, Anton and Gen), four stars
13. The Heir (Belvedere #1, Xavier and Ivy), four stars
14. Unfurl (Alchemy #1, Rafe and Belle), three and a half stars
Random Sidenote: Is it me, or does @ElodieHart always strike gold with the second book in her series? Clearly the second in the series are always hits for me as they are in three of the top four spots, ha!
My excitement over this ARC has been palpable since I finished The Heir (Belvedere #1) earlier this year. I enjoyed Ivy and Xavier’s story, but the tension brewing underneath the surface with Benedict and Selena was always intriguing to me. So, we get that major bombshell at the end of that book and now here with are with these two, and it was even better than I could have imagined! Truly, whoever is sleeping on @ElodieHart doesn’t know what they are missing. She brings this posh energy (I think it’s all the British-isms and London-esque venues) that gives you something elevated. It’s always grand and beyond, and this one is climbing to the high end of the charts for me. It may even grace the Best of 2026 list for me because I fell in love with these two.
“She tries so bloody hard to hold herself together, bless her, that being the man to finally undo her will surely be a privilege. Knowing my future wife, it may also take me years to do.”
The mouth on Benedict was… whew. Well, let’s start with this -- @ElodieHart teased us with all the troupes here. I love myself a marriage of convenience, and this was THAT… but times a thousand. It was a deal that bloomed into so much more. We got this angst, forced proximity, one bed and so much tension. THE TENSION. I absolutely loved seeing our playboy turn into a golden retriever for Selena. On top of it all, I think that Selena might be one of the best female leads that @ElodieHart has ever written. I have no doubt that so many women read her and found her to be completely authentic and genuine. All of her feelings, the heartbreak, the worry, the anxiousness – it was all so relatable. She was raised for duty, and felt performative until the rug was pulled out from under her. No, I am not marrying into nobility or having my life splashed across the pages, but everything that Selena thought and how she processed her feelings about herself felt so relevant. She was a knockout of a lead that gave so much depth.
“I’m going to enjoy shocking the ---- out of my hot little wife for a very long time.”
Ben, Ben, Ben. What can I say. I just loved you, ha! He was a raucous in the first book and I loved seeing all his layers here, and the attention he paid to his Slinks. He really did put in the effort and I loved that about him. All of this was beautifully paired with Xavier and Ivy and seeing things from the “other side.” I loved seeing these relationships iron themselves out, and being able to see them from Ben and Selena’s side. It felt full circle in the best way. Then you give me cameos with Gabe, Athena, Ethan and Sophie? STOP IT, people. I love myself an @ElodieHart crossover.
“Forget trite vows and staged kisses in front of a crowd. This is how to make our marriage real: by branding my wife from the inside out.”
That epilogue sent me into a tailspin. HOW long do I have to wait for Flora’s book?!? Age gap AND a professor/student relationship? Sign me up! I have made it pretty clear I will read anything that @ElodieHart writes because she is doing it in a way that no one else is, and so it’s always a standout. She takes classic troupes and puts a spin on it to make it wholly unique, and that’s exactly what Ben and Selena are.
Rating – five stars
Format – ARC, e/book
Ranking of all Elodie Hart novels—
1. Always Alchemy (Alchemy #7, extended epilogues), five stars
2. Duplicity (Seraph #2, Brendan and Marlowe), five stars
3. Undulate (Alchemy #2, Zach and Maddie), five stars
4. The Spare (Belvedere #2, Benedict and Selena), five stars
5. Unbind (Alchemy #6, Adam and Nat), four and a half stars
6. Untether (Alchemy #4, Cal and Aida), four and a half stars
7. The Reluctant Billionaire (Love in London #5, Aide and Lotta), four and a half stars
8. Unstitch (Alchemy #5, Dex, Max and Darcy), four stars
9. Vivacity (Seraph #3, Ethan and Sophie), four stars
10. The Rest is History (Love in London #6, Charlie and Elodie), four stars
11. Audacity (Seraph #1, Gabe and Athena), four stars
12. Unveil (Alchemy #3, Anton and Gen), four stars
13. The Heir (Belvedere #1, Xavier and Ivy), four stars
14. Unfurl (Alchemy #1, Rafe and Belle), three and a half stars
Random Sidenote: Is it me, or does @ElodieHart always strike gold with the second book in her series? Clearly the second in the series are always hits for me as they are in three of the top four spots, ha!
Review of advance copy received from Author
I absolutely loved it!
The Spare by Elodie Hart is the second title in the Belvedere series and was such a thoroughly entertaining read that I couldn't put it down.
I was lucky to be included in Elodie Hart's ARC team for the opportunity to receive a copy before release to read and review and, hopefully communicate successfully, how good The Spare actually is!
The story follows main characters Selena/Slinks Wentworth and Benedict DeVere as they navigate a last minute groom swap in a long awaited arranged marriage between the families.
Selena has had her life mapped out from childhood with the goal to marry the eldest son of the Duke of Oxford, Xavier, with the understanding she and Xavier would become the next Duke and Duchess. As such, Selena's education and upbringing has been geared to be ready to take on the role as well as lead the highly successful Wentworth family company. Selena has been conditioned to achieve, perform and ensure that she more than fulfils her obligations without much of her own personal choices and feelings taken into account. She knows she performs and wears a mask to keep everyone happy but internally she struggles at times to maintain the facade and constantly worries that how she performs and reacts will not make her valued by those closest to her.
Selena, Ben and Xavier are close in age so have grown up together in the same social circle but as she reaches the end of her teens aware that she will be marrying Xavier, she feels an attraction to and longing for Ben more than anything she feels for Xavier.
Ben, the second eldest and the spare to the heir, doesn't have the obligations that his brother has and has led a more carefree and reckless life gaining himself a playboy reputation. He doesn't take life too seriously and hasn't had a relationship but he also performs and wears a mask to hide his hidden depths from friends and family to protect himself, especially the desire he has harboured for Selena for years. When Xavier calls off his marriage, Ben is loyal to a fault in helping both Selena and Xavier by stepping up and offering to take his place as husband and future duke.
The way Elodie Hart wrote the story following Selena and Ben as they execute the Great Groom Swap and then navigate the beginning of their new life as a married couple was captivating.
They are both highly intelligent people starting out on a relationship journey neither of which are experienced in but at least having the basis of of knowing one another and having a physical desire and appreciation for one another was a positive starting point.
The use of the dual POVs for Selena and Ben was well done as it slowly reveals the internal thoughts, doubts, struggles and approaches they both have as try to move forward wanting to make their relationship work. Ben is depicted as having layers to his character that aren't always apparent to most and with his intelligence he pushes himself to reflect and examine how to make things work and more comfortable for Selena. He is committed to Selena and determined to make their marriage of convenience work both publicly and privately behind closed doors.
Selena's lack of support and trust from her family and friends added to her feeling of isolation in approaching moving forward with Ben but the moments they shared together, slowly opening up and being vulnerable, was lovely to read. Ben's alpha confidence was a positive influence on Selena once she started seeing that he wasn't trying to intimidate her it encouraged her to speak up to him.
The Spare is a standalone and as such I felt I hadn't missed out on anything by not having read the previous story - The Heir. I have read several other titles/series by Elodie and it was great to see other characters from these woven in seamlessly in the narrative. Overall The Spare is a brilliant story with wonderful main characters that overcame personal struggles within a difficult situation and ultimately found love, acceptance and got a well deserved HEA. The setting of the estate, pace of the story, and a wonderful collection of supporting characters all contributed to make this such a pleasurable read that I will definitely come back to again and also look forward to the next in the series.
Thank you Elodie and Lona for the ARC opportunity.
The Spare by Elodie Hart is the second title in the Belvedere series and was such a thoroughly entertaining read that I couldn't put it down.
I was lucky to be included in Elodie Hart's ARC team for the opportunity to receive a copy before release to read and review and, hopefully communicate successfully, how good The Spare actually is!
The story follows main characters Selena/Slinks Wentworth and Benedict DeVere as they navigate a last minute groom swap in a long awaited arranged marriage between the families.
Selena has had her life mapped out from childhood with the goal to marry the eldest son of the Duke of Oxford, Xavier, with the understanding she and Xavier would become the next Duke and Duchess. As such, Selena's education and upbringing has been geared to be ready to take on the role as well as lead the highly successful Wentworth family company. Selena has been conditioned to achieve, perform and ensure that she more than fulfils her obligations without much of her own personal choices and feelings taken into account. She knows she performs and wears a mask to keep everyone happy but internally she struggles at times to maintain the facade and constantly worries that how she performs and reacts will not make her valued by those closest to her.
Selena, Ben and Xavier are close in age so have grown up together in the same social circle but as she reaches the end of her teens aware that she will be marrying Xavier, she feels an attraction to and longing for Ben more than anything she feels for Xavier.
Ben, the second eldest and the spare to the heir, doesn't have the obligations that his brother has and has led a more carefree and reckless life gaining himself a playboy reputation. He doesn't take life too seriously and hasn't had a relationship but he also performs and wears a mask to hide his hidden depths from friends and family to protect himself, especially the desire he has harboured for Selena for years. When Xavier calls off his marriage, Ben is loyal to a fault in helping both Selena and Xavier by stepping up and offering to take his place as husband and future duke.
The way Elodie Hart wrote the story following Selena and Ben as they execute the Great Groom Swap and then navigate the beginning of their new life as a married couple was captivating.
They are both highly intelligent people starting out on a relationship journey neither of which are experienced in but at least having the basis of of knowing one another and having a physical desire and appreciation for one another was a positive starting point.
The use of the dual POVs for Selena and Ben was well done as it slowly reveals the internal thoughts, doubts, struggles and approaches they both have as try to move forward wanting to make their relationship work. Ben is depicted as having layers to his character that aren't always apparent to most and with his intelligence he pushes himself to reflect and examine how to make things work and more comfortable for Selena. He is committed to Selena and determined to make their marriage of convenience work both publicly and privately behind closed doors.
Selena's lack of support and trust from her family and friends added to her feeling of isolation in approaching moving forward with Ben but the moments they shared together, slowly opening up and being vulnerable, was lovely to read. Ben's alpha confidence was a positive influence on Selena once she started seeing that he wasn't trying to intimidate her it encouraged her to speak up to him.
The Spare is a standalone and as such I felt I hadn't missed out on anything by not having read the previous story - The Heir. I have read several other titles/series by Elodie and it was great to see other characters from these woven in seamlessly in the narrative. Overall The Spare is a brilliant story with wonderful main characters that overcame personal struggles within a difficult situation and ultimately found love, acceptance and got a well deserved HEA. The setting of the estate, pace of the story, and a wonderful collection of supporting characters all contributed to make this such a pleasurable read that I will definitely come back to again and also look forward to the next in the series.
Thank you Elodie and Lona for the ARC opportunity.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Elodie does it again. We met Selena (Slinks) and Benedict (Ben) in The Heir (though we have seen Ben previously as well). When Xavier breaks off his lifelong engagement to Selena just 5 days before the wedding of the decade, Benedict seizes the opportunity to swoop in. His brother has been disowned and disinherited. Ben steps up to become the Duke and assume the role as caretaker of Belvedere. He also steps up to become the husband. Based on previous interactions, it seems they may be better suited for each other anyway.
The first sentence of chapter 1 tells us so much about Selena.
‘The problem with you, Selena,’ an old housemistress of mine remarked when I was in the Sixth Form, ‘is that you’re exceptionally good at going after what you think you want and exceptionally bad at understanding how that differs from what you actually want.’
Ben has been a playboy. Never dipping in the same well twice, as he puts it. He vows to Selena he will never be unfaithful and they will have a real marriage in all ways. He is willing to be patient as he knows she has a lot to come to terms with. They successfully pulled off The Great Groom Swap. It was a lot for her to process. In 24 hours she was dumped then proposed to by The Spare. Only a trusted few people knew before they entered the church that groom was now Benedict.
Selena has spent her life being groomed for the life as Duchess of Oxford. She was betrothed to Xav as an infant. She is plagued with self doubt and worry of not being enough. She expects life to follow rules and fit into best boxes. She wants an even playing field. Xav calling off the wedding sends her into a spiral.
“But here’s the worst part of it: he changed the rules without telling me. The woman he’s rejected me for isn’t better than me on any of those fronts—she’s not—she’s somehow better on fronts I didn’t know I needed to cultivate. She’s playing some game I’ve never even heard of, let alone know the rules to. And I can’t handle it, because it’s not fair.”
Seemingly carefree Benedict wants to protect Selena from embarrassment, protect her and his brother at the same time. While he is on bended knee offering Slinks the opportunity to save face, and her family’s business reputation, he is left wondering if he is doing the right thing.
“I’m basically offering Selena a lifetime contract without having read a single word of the fine print myself. Or maybe this analogy is more on point: I’m letting some random hook me up to a bungee harness without knowing if they even have health and safety regulations.”
This thought of Benedict’s after the Bishop announces to the church the Great Groom Swap, gives us another glimpse of the complete chaos that is Ben’s inner monologue:
“The bishop stays in place, looking amiably around at the carnage his bombshell is causing, while the noise level in his church goes through the roof.”
When Ben and Selena consummate their marriage she is more than willing.
‘Your cunt is way sluttier than the rest of you, princess,’
She is plagued with self doubts. She knows he is a playboy of epic proportions and she is not as experienced. She’s worn a 5 carat engagement ring for the past 8 years, which keeps most suitors at bay.
“Okay, so that sounds not disastrous. He must, somehow, be getting some form of enjoyment or maybe just validation—power, even—out of doing this.”
Over time, she forges a tentative (then enthusiastic) friendship with Ivy. She finally learns how Ivy and Xav met and, despite the very different backgrounds, the two couples become a great team, both behind the gates of Belvedere and out in public.
Things are not always smooth sailing and there are muddy waters to traverse. As this a romance, there is an HEA and there is no third act breakup.
This line marries so perfectly with the first:
“He wasn’t the brother I was told to want. He wasn’t the brother I was told to marry. But he was, and always will be, the brother for me.”
The first sentence of chapter 1 tells us so much about Selena.
‘The problem with you, Selena,’ an old housemistress of mine remarked when I was in the Sixth Form, ‘is that you’re exceptionally good at going after what you think you want and exceptionally bad at understanding how that differs from what you actually want.’
Ben has been a playboy. Never dipping in the same well twice, as he puts it. He vows to Selena he will never be unfaithful and they will have a real marriage in all ways. He is willing to be patient as he knows she has a lot to come to terms with. They successfully pulled off The Great Groom Swap. It was a lot for her to process. In 24 hours she was dumped then proposed to by The Spare. Only a trusted few people knew before they entered the church that groom was now Benedict.
Selena has spent her life being groomed for the life as Duchess of Oxford. She was betrothed to Xav as an infant. She is plagued with self doubt and worry of not being enough. She expects life to follow rules and fit into best boxes. She wants an even playing field. Xav calling off the wedding sends her into a spiral.
“But here’s the worst part of it: he changed the rules without telling me. The woman he’s rejected me for isn’t better than me on any of those fronts—she’s not—she’s somehow better on fronts I didn’t know I needed to cultivate. She’s playing some game I’ve never even heard of, let alone know the rules to. And I can’t handle it, because it’s not fair.”
Seemingly carefree Benedict wants to protect Selena from embarrassment, protect her and his brother at the same time. While he is on bended knee offering Slinks the opportunity to save face, and her family’s business reputation, he is left wondering if he is doing the right thing.
“I’m basically offering Selena a lifetime contract without having read a single word of the fine print myself. Or maybe this analogy is more on point: I’m letting some random hook me up to a bungee harness without knowing if they even have health and safety regulations.”
This thought of Benedict’s after the Bishop announces to the church the Great Groom Swap, gives us another glimpse of the complete chaos that is Ben’s inner monologue:
“The bishop stays in place, looking amiably around at the carnage his bombshell is causing, while the noise level in his church goes through the roof.”
When Ben and Selena consummate their marriage she is more than willing.
‘Your cunt is way sluttier than the rest of you, princess,’
She is plagued with self doubts. She knows he is a playboy of epic proportions and she is not as experienced. She’s worn a 5 carat engagement ring for the past 8 years, which keeps most suitors at bay.
“Okay, so that sounds not disastrous. He must, somehow, be getting some form of enjoyment or maybe just validation—power, even—out of doing this.”
Over time, she forges a tentative (then enthusiastic) friendship with Ivy. She finally learns how Ivy and Xav met and, despite the very different backgrounds, the two couples become a great team, both behind the gates of Belvedere and out in public.
Things are not always smooth sailing and there are muddy waters to traverse. As this a romance, there is an HEA and there is no third act breakup.
This line marries so perfectly with the first:
“He wasn’t the brother I was told to want. He wasn’t the brother I was told to marry. But he was, and always will be, the brother for me.”
Review of advance copy received from Author
ARC REVIEW
"The Spare"
(Belvedere # 2)
by Elodie Hart
Tropes:
👑 Arranged marriage
👑 Modern duke and duchess
👑 Billionaire
👑 Opposites attract
👑 Reformed playboy MMC
👑 Ice queen FMC
👑 She marries her fiancé’s brother
Reading Elodie Hart is an experience. An exclusive, refined, and exhilarating experience everyone should have at least once in their life. And then multiply it by every book she has written.
Because, for me, every one of those books (fortunately I have read many but unfortunately not all, yet) only solidifies my believe that Elodie (the pen name of Sara Madderson) is one of my favorite authors of all times. I state that every time I write a review and here I am again.
This book tells the story of Benedict and Selena.
We knew them in book 1: Ben is book 1 Xavier's brother and Selena was Xavier's life fiancé. When Xavier, next in line to the Duke of Oxford succession , falls irremediably in love with another woman, Selena (who is promised to him since birth) is lacking a husband 6 days prior to the wedding.
Enters Ben, the brother, the playboy, the one who is never serious about anything, who collects women. He unexpectedly marries her, the so called ice queen.
I absolutely loved Selena in book 1. I knew she was going to be so relatable to so many women, just like she was to me, within so many aspects of her life.
And Ben has a major character growth, undoubtedly leaving the playboy behind and loving Selena like no other man could.
Their story is beautifully written by Elodie, with so many funny details and many emotional scenes.
I missed more intimate scenes in this book (for me, until today, no one writes EROTIC scenes like Elodie) but I was content with the ones I read.
A big shoutout to the way ADHD and other medical issues are treated with so much respect throughout the book.
For who is familiar with Elodie's universe, there many little adorable cameos with other books main characters.
Releasing June 11.
Thank you to the author for this ARC. It is my privilege to be part of her ARC team.
-----
some of my favorite quotes:
🌿
I've never let the mask drop, never been anything other than the perfect, pliant, polished fiancée.
🌿
Happiness? Seriously? That's what he thinks life is about?
🌿
If I'd wanted to be happy, I would have followed my actual heart and let his dastardly brother shag me.
🌿
"And you, my dear, will be Helen of f*cking Troy."
🌿
The way he's looking at me is too ardent.
🌿
A real marriage. With Benedict de Vere: breaker of hearts, destroyer of virtue, and patron saint of fuckboys everywhere, his skills between the sheets the stuff of legend.
🌿
So I'd do well to shelve my sneaky little fantasies of her blowing me later in her wedding dress.
🌿
He looks famished. Then he's dipping his head and closing his mouth over mine.
🌿
She looks like a fairytale princess.
A really hot one.
🌿
For heaven's sake, shut your brain off and just devour the guy.
🌿
But there are bodies, and there's Benedict Vere, the Bugatti of the male form.
🌿
"Get me inside you, woman."
🌿
Turns out my very own little ice queen is hot as hell beneath that icy exterior.
🌿
It's how he talks to me, the filthy, outrageous things he says and the way he says them, that makes me absolutely feral.
🌿
"my filthy, filthy little wife. If they could see you now."
🌿
"Jesus, I am so f*cking obsessed with you"
🌿
He's a lion who knows he has his supper cornered.
"The Spare"
(Belvedere # 2)
by Elodie Hart
Tropes:
👑 Arranged marriage
👑 Modern duke and duchess
👑 Billionaire
👑 Opposites attract
👑 Reformed playboy MMC
👑 Ice queen FMC
👑 She marries her fiancé’s brother
Reading Elodie Hart is an experience. An exclusive, refined, and exhilarating experience everyone should have at least once in their life. And then multiply it by every book she has written.
Because, for me, every one of those books (fortunately I have read many but unfortunately not all, yet) only solidifies my believe that Elodie (the pen name of Sara Madderson) is one of my favorite authors of all times. I state that every time I write a review and here I am again.
This book tells the story of Benedict and Selena.
We knew them in book 1: Ben is book 1 Xavier's brother and Selena was Xavier's life fiancé. When Xavier, next in line to the Duke of Oxford succession , falls irremediably in love with another woman, Selena (who is promised to him since birth) is lacking a husband 6 days prior to the wedding.
Enters Ben, the brother, the playboy, the one who is never serious about anything, who collects women. He unexpectedly marries her, the so called ice queen.
I absolutely loved Selena in book 1. I knew she was going to be so relatable to so many women, just like she was to me, within so many aspects of her life.
And Ben has a major character growth, undoubtedly leaving the playboy behind and loving Selena like no other man could.
Their story is beautifully written by Elodie, with so many funny details and many emotional scenes.
I missed more intimate scenes in this book (for me, until today, no one writes EROTIC scenes like Elodie) but I was content with the ones I read.
A big shoutout to the way ADHD and other medical issues are treated with so much respect throughout the book.
For who is familiar with Elodie's universe, there many little adorable cameos with other books main characters.
Releasing June 11.
Thank you to the author for this ARC. It is my privilege to be part of her ARC team.
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some of my favorite quotes:
🌿
I've never let the mask drop, never been anything other than the perfect, pliant, polished fiancée.
🌿
Happiness? Seriously? That's what he thinks life is about?
🌿
If I'd wanted to be happy, I would have followed my actual heart and let his dastardly brother shag me.
🌿
"And you, my dear, will be Helen of f*cking Troy."
🌿
The way he's looking at me is too ardent.
🌿
A real marriage. With Benedict de Vere: breaker of hearts, destroyer of virtue, and patron saint of fuckboys everywhere, his skills between the sheets the stuff of legend.
🌿
So I'd do well to shelve my sneaky little fantasies of her blowing me later in her wedding dress.
🌿
He looks famished. Then he's dipping his head and closing his mouth over mine.
🌿
She looks like a fairytale princess.
A really hot one.
🌿
For heaven's sake, shut your brain off and just devour the guy.
🌿
But there are bodies, and there's Benedict Vere, the Bugatti of the male form.
🌿
"Get me inside you, woman."
🌿
Turns out my very own little ice queen is hot as hell beneath that icy exterior.
🌿
It's how he talks to me, the filthy, outrageous things he says and the way he says them, that makes me absolutely feral.
🌿
"my filthy, filthy little wife. If they could see you now."
🌿
"Jesus, I am so f*cking obsessed with you"
🌿
He's a lion who knows he has his supper cornered.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Filed under: No amount of orgasms can fix rejection sensitivity, but apparently medication and therapy can help.
Selena Wentworth has spent her entire life doing everything right.
She was raised to marry Xavier de Vere. She studied the rules. Followed the rules. Became exactly who everyone expected her to be.
Then five days before the wedding, Xavier (The Heir) blows up her entire life because he's in love with someone else.
As one does.
Enter Benedict de Vere.
The spare.
The playboy.
The brother she's secretly found far more interesting for years.
And in one of the most delightfully unhinged romance premises I've read in a while, Benedict proposes a groom swap and offers to marry her instead.
Naturally, she says yes.
What follows is part royal-adjacent marriage-of-convenience romance, part exploration of anxiety and perfectionism, and part extremely spicy sexual awakening.
And I do mean extremely.
This is Elodie Hart. You know what you're signing up for.
The chemistry between Benedict and Selena worked for me from the beginning because Benedict sees through the polished public version of Selena long before she does. Beneath the designer clothes, perfect manners, and carefully curated image is a woman who is absolutely exhausted from trying to be enough for everyone.
The emotional arc surprised me.
What started as a sexy arranged-marriage fantasy gradually became a story about performance, masking, rejection, and the terror of vulnerability. Selena's constant internal monologue of notice me, choose me, don't leave me hit harder than I expected.
The later discussion surrounding rejection sensitivity dysphoria (RSD), anxiety, masking, and women with ADHD was honestly one of the most interesting parts of the novel. I appreciated that the book didn't treat Selena as broken. Instead, it reframed years of self-blame through a different lens and gave language to struggles she'd never understood.
As for Benedict?
The man evolved from notorious playboy to emotional support duke.
And frankly, his greatest act of romance wasn't the filthy talk, the orgasms, or the sex-club adventure.
It was learning that an out-of-context "Can we talk later?" text is psychological warfare for an anxious woman.
That's husband material.
My only real complaint is that portions of the conflict near the end felt prolonged by misunderstandings that could have been resolved sooner, and there were moments where I wanted Benedict to connect the dots a little faster regarding Selena's insecurities.
That said, the payoff worked.
The emotional growth worked.
The friendships worked.
The found-family elements worked.
And yes, the spice absolutely worked.
If you enjoy:
marriage of convenience
lifelong family connections
the brother who was always the better choice (for her)
anxiety representation
filthy talk
emotional vulnerability
sex clubs with surprisingly thoughtful emotional arcs
then The Spare is probably going to be your thing.
Rating: 5/5 (I was gonna give it 4.5 but hey, I'm also a professor and I round up when it matters)
Because sometimes the hottest line in a romance isn't "take off your clothes."
Sometimes it's: "Can we chat later? Don't worry. Nothing's wrong."
Selena Wentworth has spent her entire life doing everything right.
She was raised to marry Xavier de Vere. She studied the rules. Followed the rules. Became exactly who everyone expected her to be.
Then five days before the wedding, Xavier (The Heir) blows up her entire life because he's in love with someone else.
As one does.
Enter Benedict de Vere.
The spare.
The playboy.
The brother she's secretly found far more interesting for years.
And in one of the most delightfully unhinged romance premises I've read in a while, Benedict proposes a groom swap and offers to marry her instead.
Naturally, she says yes.
What follows is part royal-adjacent marriage-of-convenience romance, part exploration of anxiety and perfectionism, and part extremely spicy sexual awakening.
And I do mean extremely.
This is Elodie Hart. You know what you're signing up for.
The chemistry between Benedict and Selena worked for me from the beginning because Benedict sees through the polished public version of Selena long before she does. Beneath the designer clothes, perfect manners, and carefully curated image is a woman who is absolutely exhausted from trying to be enough for everyone.
The emotional arc surprised me.
What started as a sexy arranged-marriage fantasy gradually became a story about performance, masking, rejection, and the terror of vulnerability. Selena's constant internal monologue of notice me, choose me, don't leave me hit harder than I expected.
The later discussion surrounding rejection sensitivity dysphoria (RSD), anxiety, masking, and women with ADHD was honestly one of the most interesting parts of the novel. I appreciated that the book didn't treat Selena as broken. Instead, it reframed years of self-blame through a different lens and gave language to struggles she'd never understood.
As for Benedict?
The man evolved from notorious playboy to emotional support duke.
And frankly, his greatest act of romance wasn't the filthy talk, the orgasms, or the sex-club adventure.
It was learning that an out-of-context "Can we talk later?" text is psychological warfare for an anxious woman.
That's husband material.
My only real complaint is that portions of the conflict near the end felt prolonged by misunderstandings that could have been resolved sooner, and there were moments where I wanted Benedict to connect the dots a little faster regarding Selena's insecurities.
That said, the payoff worked.
The emotional growth worked.
The friendships worked.
The found-family elements worked.
And yes, the spice absolutely worked.
If you enjoy:
marriage of convenience
lifelong family connections
the brother who was always the better choice (for her)
anxiety representation
filthy talk
emotional vulnerability
sex clubs with surprisingly thoughtful emotional arcs
then The Spare is probably going to be your thing.
Rating: 5/5 (I was gonna give it 4.5 but hey, I'm also a professor and I round up when it matters)
Because sometimes the hottest line in a romance isn't "take off your clothes."
Sometimes it's: "Can we chat later? Don't worry. Nothing's wrong."
June 8, 2026
The Spare by @elodiehart
I had so been looking forward to this book! Im so grateful to receive a copy of this arc!
After reading The Heir, I was very curious to see where The Spare would go, especially with Selena and Benedict.
Xavier and Ivy’s story set everything up, but this book gave us the other side of it. And honestly, I liked getting Selena’s story a lot more than I expected.
Selena has spent her whole life being shaped into the perfect future Duchess. She knows the rules, she follows them, and she has basically built her entire life around marrying Xavier de Vere. Then, five days before the wedding, Xavier calls it off because he is in love with someone else.
Enter Benedict.
The spare. The playboy.The brother she was never meant to want.
Ben steps in and offers to marry Selena instead, and I loved the setup. Marriage of convenience, modern aristocracy, family pressure, public image drama, and two people who seem completely opposite but actually make so much sense together.
Ben really surprised me. He has that charming, carefree, playboy thing going on, but from day one he had her back. I loved how much he wanted to protect Selena, not in a controlling way, but in a way where he actually paid attention to her. He saw more than the ice queen mask everyone else seemed happy to accept. He was patient with her, gentle when she needed it, and filthy when the time called for it. Perfectly balanced!
Selena was the real heart of this book for me though. Watching her try to keep everything together while feeling like she was falling apart was actually so sad. She has spent so long being perfect, being polished, being what everyone expected, that she doesn’t really know what to do when the rules suddenly change.
The RSD representation was one of the parts that stood out to me the most. Selena was already so hard on herself, but it wasn’t just that. She was constantly aware of how other people perceived her, what they might be thinking, how she should react, what she should say, and how to avoid making things worse. She didn’t want to create conflict, she didn’t want to be seen as difficult, and she kept trying to manage everyone else’s comfort while she was struggling inside. Her spiralling, overthinking, self doubt, and the way rejection hit her so hard felt very real.
I also really loved the female support in this book. Selena finding people who had her back, especially other women, was such a big part of her story. It wasn’t just about Ben loving her, even though I loved that too. It was also about Selena learning she didn’t have to do everything alone or keep pretending she was fine.
And yes, the spice was spicing. Ben and Selena had such good chemistry, and I liked that the intimacy between them was cringe, but filthy, and also sweet. There was reassurance, trust, insecurity, awkwardness, heat, and then the moments where they finally clicked were very, very hot.
Overall, I really enjoyed this. It was emotional, spicy, character-driven, and I loved seeing the so-called ice queen get her chance to be loved the way she deserved
Tropes/Microtropes:
♡ marriage of convenience
♡ modern Duke / aristocracy romance
♡ spare brother
♡ reformed playboy MMC
♡ ice queen FMC
♡ he falls first
♡ ADHD / RSD rep
♡ found family
♡ female support
♡ spicy spice
♡ HEA
4.5⭐️
3.5🌶️
I had so been looking forward to this book! Im so grateful to receive a copy of this arc!
After reading The Heir, I was very curious to see where The Spare would go, especially with Selena and Benedict.
Xavier and Ivy’s story set everything up, but this book gave us the other side of it. And honestly, I liked getting Selena’s story a lot more than I expected.
Selena has spent her whole life being shaped into the perfect future Duchess. She knows the rules, she follows them, and she has basically built her entire life around marrying Xavier de Vere. Then, five days before the wedding, Xavier calls it off because he is in love with someone else.
Enter Benedict.
The spare. The playboy.The brother she was never meant to want.
Ben steps in and offers to marry Selena instead, and I loved the setup. Marriage of convenience, modern aristocracy, family pressure, public image drama, and two people who seem completely opposite but actually make so much sense together.
Ben really surprised me. He has that charming, carefree, playboy thing going on, but from day one he had her back. I loved how much he wanted to protect Selena, not in a controlling way, but in a way where he actually paid attention to her. He saw more than the ice queen mask everyone else seemed happy to accept. He was patient with her, gentle when she needed it, and filthy when the time called for it. Perfectly balanced!
Selena was the real heart of this book for me though. Watching her try to keep everything together while feeling like she was falling apart was actually so sad. She has spent so long being perfect, being polished, being what everyone expected, that she doesn’t really know what to do when the rules suddenly change.
The RSD representation was one of the parts that stood out to me the most. Selena was already so hard on herself, but it wasn’t just that. She was constantly aware of how other people perceived her, what they might be thinking, how she should react, what she should say, and how to avoid making things worse. She didn’t want to create conflict, she didn’t want to be seen as difficult, and she kept trying to manage everyone else’s comfort while she was struggling inside. Her spiralling, overthinking, self doubt, and the way rejection hit her so hard felt very real.
I also really loved the female support in this book. Selena finding people who had her back, especially other women, was such a big part of her story. It wasn’t just about Ben loving her, even though I loved that too. It was also about Selena learning she didn’t have to do everything alone or keep pretending she was fine.
And yes, the spice was spicing. Ben and Selena had such good chemistry, and I liked that the intimacy between them was cringe, but filthy, and also sweet. There was reassurance, trust, insecurity, awkwardness, heat, and then the moments where they finally clicked were very, very hot.
Overall, I really enjoyed this. It was emotional, spicy, character-driven, and I loved seeing the so-called ice queen get her chance to be loved the way she deserved
Tropes/Microtropes:
♡ marriage of convenience
♡ modern Duke / aristocracy romance
♡ spare brother
♡ reformed playboy MMC
♡ ice queen FMC
♡ he falls first
♡ ADHD / RSD rep
♡ found family
♡ female support
♡ spicy spice
♡ HEA
4.5⭐️
3.5🌶️
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