Κατά συνθήκη γάμος

The London Trilogy #1

by Sherry Thomas, Νέλλα Γιατράκου (Translator)

Η Λουίζα Κάντγουελ είναι αποφασισμένη να παντρευτεί μέχρι το τέλος της σεζόν.
Τα περιθώρια στενεύουν και πλέον γνωρίζει ότι ένας γάμος είναι η μοναδική ελπίδα για να γλιτώσει η οικογένειά της.
Για εκείνη δεν υπάρχει τίποτα ρομαντικό στην ιδέα ενός γάμου.

Είναι απλώς μια συμφωνία.

Από την άλλη ο Φίλιξ Ρίβεντελ, ο μαρκήσιος του Ρένγουορθ, είναι ο πιο περιζήτητος γαμπρός του Λονδίνου. Θεωρείται από κάθε άποψη ο «Τέλειος Τζέντλεμαν».
Οι υπόλοιποι άνδρες θέλουν να του μοιάσουν και οι γυναίκες να τον κατακτήσουν.
Έχει χτίσει την τέλεια εικόνα. Πίσω όμως από αυτή τη βιτρίνα κρύβεται καλά μια πληγωμένη ψυχή, απέραντη θλίψη και μοναξιά.

Υπάρχει κάτι στη Λουίζα που τον μαγεύει. Και παρόλο που ο μαρκήσιος του Ρένγουορθ φαίνεται να είναι η ιδανική επιλογή για εκείνη, δεν τον εμπιστεύεται.
Γεμάτη αμφιβολίες και ερωτηματικά, δέχεται την πρότασή του.
Ο γάμος τους ξεκινά με επιφυλακτικότητα και δυσπιστία.

Ένας έρωτας δεν ήταν ποτέ στα σχέδια της Λουίζα, δεν μπορεί όμως και να παραβλέψει τα πρωτόγνωρα συναισθήματα που της γεννά ο Φίλιξ…
Θα τολμήσει όμως να έρθει πιο κοντά στα πιο βαθιά του μυστικά με κίνδυνο να καταστραφεί η ίδια;

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Adult, Fiction, Audiobook

328 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 2013

About the author

USA Today-bestselling author Sherry Thomas decided years ago that her goal in life is to write every kind of book she enjoys reading. Thus far she has published romance, fantasy, mystery, young adult, and three books inspired by the martial arts epics she grew up devouring. Her books regularly receive starred reviews and best-of-the-year honors from trade publications, including such outlets as the New York Times and National Public Radio.

A Study in Scarlet Women, A Conspiracy in Belgravia, and The Hollow of Fear, the first three entries in her gender-bending Lady Sherlock historical mystery series, are all NPR best books of the year. The Magnolia Sword, her 2019 release, is the first young adult retelling of the original Ballad of Mulan in the English language.

Sherry emigrated from China at age 13 and English is her second language.

“Sherry Thomas has done the impossible and crafted a fresh, exciting new version of Sherlock Holmes. From the carefully plotted twists to the elegant turns of phrase, A Study in Scarlet Women is a splendid addition to Holmes’s world. This book is everything I hoped it would be, and the next adventure cannot come too soon!” —Deanna Raybourn, New York Times bestselling author

“Thomas weaves a lush, intricate fantasy world around a gorgeous romance that kept me riveted until the very last page. What a breathtaking journey!” (Marie Lu, New York Times bestselling author of the Legend series )

"Sherry Thomas is the most powerfully original historical romance author writing today."—Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling author



Visit Sherry at her website

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Reviews

[Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, Loki! Yes, it is!

I hate the word "delightful." It feels like such an insipid word, but fuck it, if you ask me to sum up this book in one word, right off the top of my head, delightful it is.

Simply put, this book made me happy, this book made me smile. In a 3-bear rating system, this book would be Baby Bear to my Goldilocks because it is just fucking right. I cannot ask more than that of a comfort read. I really have to restrain myself in this review in order to contain it to a reasonable length, because I have a million reasons on my "Why I Love This Book" list. And yes, I do have a "Why I Love This Book" list. I can provide photographic proof, but you wouldn't be able to read my handwriting so the point is moot.

I have not always been a fan of historical romance novels. Throughout my teens, I have always regarded with scorn the paperback shelves with the books labeled with the big red heart of shame on the side binding. For me, it might as well have been the Scarlet Letter, that stupid red heart. Around 7 years ago, desperate for something frivolous to read, I grabbed a book by Julia Quinn. "It's less shameful to read a romance novel because she's a Harvard graduate." I told myself in order to mitigate my internal shame. And I have never looked back. This book brought back all those earlier Julia Quinn feeeeeeels.

Ignore the summary. The summary sucks and the title sucks. The characters made the book so much more fun than the boring as heck summary would have you believe. It is your typical historical romance, set in Victorian England. Our heroine is Louisa Cantwell, the daughter of a failed fortune hunter and his destitute society bride. Louisa has four sisters who are nearly unmarriageable, for various reasons (none of them scandalous). She loves them, she wants to be able to care for them. At the age of 16, our very admirable Miss Louisa Cantwell decides to make the completely mercenary and highly admirable decision to marry for money, so she can provide for her family, who are living in genteel poverty.

Flash forward 8 years later, Louisa finally has her chance. A family friend finally grants her the chance to make her London debut. Louisa is very old for a debutante, and she is completely unoutstanding in every way, but due to sheer willpower and effort, she catches the eyes of a few eligible young men. Her plan goes accordingly, and Louisa is on track to make a good match at the end of a the season (to a wealthy gentleman, of course), until---shit!---The Ideal Gentleman glances her way.

Felix, Marquess of Rivendale, has a shitty, shitty childhood, which we know from the very beginning. His stunning mother makes a fabulous match to a Marquess---which actually sucks, because she's not in love with her intended husband. She was forced into the marriage very much against her will, and being unable to take out her anger on her father, she instead takes it out on her husband. Her heartbroken husband plunges into a worsening state of heartbreak and despair with every passing year. Felix becomes their pawn, and as he grows up and learns manipulation from the very best, he begins playing games of his own, pitting his parents against one another as a desperate gasp for acknowledgement. They die. Felix swallows his regrets, and becomes determined to live his life his own way, to be The Ideal Gentleman in the eyes of society.

Felix has very definite plans for his life, he'll marry at an old age, to a pretty 17 year old with more tits than brains who will adore him blindly, and he'll never relinquish control over his heart. His plans gradually fall to pieces the more he gets to know the ever-so-ordinary, but inordinarily fascinating Louisa who will become "his undoing."

Louisa is freaking terrified of Felix. Not that he's ugly, far from it. She's terrified of him because he is fucking gorgeous, she is really, incredibly attracted to him, and HE may prove to be the undoing of her plan. Remember, Louisa plans to marry a boring, safe gentleman, and she is ordinary enough to know that she doesn't have a snowflake's chance in hell of getting a marriage proposal from Felix, the most eligible gentleman in town. Naturally, guys want what they can't have, and Felix turns into a circling hawk of prey once he sees that Louisa wants to run away screaming whenever he appears in the same room with her.

Their courtship is akin to a deer-in-a-headlight situation. It is hilarious, it is outrageous at times. Felix turns into kind of an asshole, but he is never irredeemably bad. They get married quickly, and the fun continues (and I mean fun). It is not all roses, Felix and Louisa both have their own internal battles to fight. Both characters have their issues with trust, and their struggle is believable, sympathetic, and never overwhelmed by an exorbitant amount of angst. I said I read this book with a smile, and I mean it. The story is not altogether light, but it is tremendously satisfying.

Reasons Why I Love This Book: Historical romances are all the same, pretty much. It is the characters that makes a book stand out, and these are the reasons why I adore Felix and Louisa. These are just a few reasons. If I were to name them all, you'd be forced to read a review the length of a novella.

Louisa is average: Louisa is not outstanding in any way. She is a success in town, but only out of sheer effort. She is smart, but not overly intelligent nor a wit. She is good-looking, not beautiful. She is flat-chested (and as a fellow itty-bitty-titty-committee member, I cheer her on). Felix does not love Louisa because she is beautiful. Louisa becomes beautiful to Felix because he loves her.

Her nose was red. The rest of her face, too, was somewhat ruddy. And the somber blue of her cloak did her complexion no favors, making her appear even more splotchy.
All this Felix perceived. But he could see only loveliness, endless, endless loveliness.
Love was not blind, but it might mimic a deteriorating case of cataracts.

Felix and Louisa are friends before lovers: They are so tremendously dynamic together. Their dialogue is full of hilarity, playful banter, laughter, teasing. They play games with each other. They do things to make each other laugh. Knowing her secret desire to be a voyeur, Felix climbs a hill and places two mannequins in compromising positions and repeatedly reposition them so that she could see them through a telescope. They learn together. He teaches her math. He fosters her desire and love for astronomy, he never puts her down, he never outrightly belittles her. As cold as he acts sometimes when he is trying to shield himself, Felix almost always treats Louisa with utmost courtesy. And he doesn't mind that she wears bust improvers.

“Well, my bust improver doesn’t so much improve my bust as create one where none exists.”
He glanced at her bosom. “So how much of that is actually yours?”
“Twenty-five percent. Thirty-five at most.”
His eyes widened.
“I apologize!”
“Only sorry to be caught, I see.”
“Well, I always did plan to make up for it.”
“How?” Was that a barely suppressed smile in his voice? “Isn’t it a bit late for you to develop a bigger pair?”

Louisa is not ashamed of her desire: Louisa acts like a lady, but a lady still has desires. This book may be set in Victorian times, and Louisa may be chaste, but it doesn't mean that she doesn't feel attraction. And what I love about her is that she acknowledges her carnal desires, her need, her want of the astoundingly attractive Felix, and she does not chastize herself for it. The love scenes are sensual, but exceedingly fun. I said that Felix and Louisa are friends, and that translates to the bedroom, as well. They have fun together, they laugh together, they learn together. And that's what makes this book so enjoyable, because the characters are having a tremendous romp themselves.

Felix is just the perfect amount of rake: He is not perfect, she is not perfect. There is an amount of angst, of course, and he has to overcome it, but unlike most HR leading men, Felix is a genuinely nice guy. He is sweet. He is so utterly sweet. He sends Louisa tulips, meaning "I am hopelessly in love with you." He knows she has wanted a telescope her whole life, and he buys her an extravagant one as a wedding gift. And the way he treats her family...I melt.

Louisa has a sister, who is mildly pockmarked. She asks Felix to comfort her sister and reassure her that she is not ugly, to "shamelessly flatter Frederica". This is how Felix does it. It's a long quote, but I love it so much that I will include it in its entirety.

“The only imperfections I see are a few shallow pockmarks on your right cheek. I would never have permitted any sister of mine to brood over such minor blemishes for the better part of a decade.
“Had you come for a London Season, you would not have dislodged Mrs. Townsend from her perch as the most beautiful woman in London. You might not even have disturbed Miss Bessler’s place third on that list. But make no mistake, you would have been mentioned in the same breath as those women. Instead, you have wasted your youth grieving for a gross misfortune that never took place: You are perhaps five percent less lovely than you would have been without the pockmarks, not fifty percent.
“Miss Louisa asked me to compliment you, but I shall not, not when you can go out and garner hundreds of them on your own with minimum effort. And if you will not, then there is nothing anyone can do for you—the matter is not with your face, but your head.”

Felix and Louisa are likeable: They are good people. They are not overwhelmingly stubborn for the sake of contrariness. I loved them both. They are not resistant to change. They have their moments of obstinacy, but they quickly, and the keyword is quickly realize their error. Their change is not sudden, it happens throughout the book. They learn from each experience. They apologize. They make amends to each other. They admit their faults. They open up about their past. They are honest to each other. They do not play stupid fucking petty mind games.

Truly, I loved them both.

The tension: Felix and Louisa do not have an altogether smooth marriage, and the tension is portrayed so well. They are utterly civil towards each other, but both are living on tenterhooks, the tension is high, and it is thoroughly felt. It is not overwhelming, but the reader is left slightly on edge, wondering if they will work things out. The portrayal of anxiety and stress is impeccably done.

This book is not perfect; I had some problems with the plot, but overall, the characters are so lovely that it didn't bother me that much. I do not recommend books lightly, and I hope those of you who read this enjoy this book as much as I did.

P.S. Don't read the short excerpt of her next book after the epilogue. It looks all sorts of terrible, and it takes away from the afterglow of this wonderful book. I was left scratching my head thinking: "What the actual fuck?! A Victorian ninja assassin lady fighting on a ship in a storm-tossed sea?"

[chan ☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

this guy fucking sucks!!!!

[Christina ~ Brunette Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 "A cut above average" Stars thanks to the impeccable writing and characterisation. A great "internal conflict" driven Romance (one of my favourite tropes) the like of which I haven't seen in a long time.

Already in the prologue we are aptly given the representation of a full-circle picture of what a totally dysfunctional Victorian family is. Felix, the future Marquess of Wrenworth (and hero), is the product of a miserable marriage, where the consorts use him as a leverage to their constant tug of war. In just few pages, we ache for this sweet little boy who lives waiting to be enveloped in his mother's perfumed embrace, but who sees his gifts rejected, often unopened, and who too soon learns that what is apparently undiluted and pure affection, is in reality a subtle and sharp weapon for revenge. So our little hero in the making starts equating others' love with falsity and his love towards them with unaffordable vulnerability. And we can pretty well guess where this is going to lead in his adult life.
To shield his inner softness Felix has created a forgery of himself, what the Ton now recognises as The Ideal Gentleman: a cunning, manipulative and cynical young man with an impenetrable façade of elegant smoothness. He's sophisticated, he's intelligent, he's unbearably beautiful and he could coax a statue to move or your grandmother out of her clothes. The only facet of his life that belongs exclusively to him, and in which he can be his true-self, is his love for astronomy, cherished and well guarded from external intrusions since his lonely childhood. But you, as the reader, knowing from the start that this is just a coping and self-defence mechanism, are actually unable to truly hate him for his duplicity.

Miss Louisa Cantwell is a cunning, wary and cynical creature too, not thanks to a traumatic past, but due to the desperate financial situation of an impoverished country gentry family, with four unmarried sisters one of which suffers from a form of epilepsy that demands constant care (and money). Louisa is the type to make lists of requirements and, no romantic fancies here, she knows that the first two items to check in a husband are funds and a generous disposition to selflessly use them. She has a practical shrewd mind, and the choice to marry not for love but out of family duty ends up appearing like the only sensible route.
So what does The Ideal Gentleman see in a pretty unremarkable husband-hunting spinsterish debutante who has finally been able to scrap enough means for a Season in London? Probably a kindred calculating mind who will allow him to be his usual jerkish-self without whining too much about hearts & flowers (or at least that is what he tells himself). Because he wants her, oh if he wants her, in spite of his better judgement. And after having blundered things a bit and a great show of mulish stubbornness from both parties, he asks her to marry him and she promptly accepts. Theirs is the Wedding of the Year, but with all the well-wishers still waving their handkerchiefs, the couple soon discovers that explosive sex is not enough for a good marriage (doh!)
A house-party, an ex-mistress who won't let the bone go, some stupid coldness from the hero's part, dressed dummies in Roman Belvederes and some astronomical foreplay later, our couple could really start making things work out, but Felix, in all his calculations, hasn't counted on lies having short legs and the bad habit to chase after you like angry boomerangs, so... what poor Felix, now hopelessly in love with that wife of his, can do to win her trust back? Become a better man? The Ideal Husband? Who knows...

With this scenario, what could have easily been the unpleasant story of two manipulative people deserving each other, in Sherry Thomas's deft hands is instead turned into a beautiful and layered journey of self discovery, thanks to the freedom mutual love is starting to grant them, an unexpected twist they both hadn't seen coming. And it was very rewarding witnessing these two coming to terms with the at the same time exhilarating and frightening feelings finally showing your true self entails.
I loved the witty repartee the H/h shared during their unusual courtship, the great chemistry and sexual tension. Felix is such a bad boy, always trying to get what he craves, but even when he treats his wife so coldly, he looks more like a wary animal afraid of the hand feeding him what he needs most.
Louisa is very distrusting of her husband with good reasons, but she too cannot deny the great attraction that pulls her towards him. Most of their verbal exchanges are really erotic, but in a soft, tasteful way. Even the sex-scenes are hot in a non-too-graphic way, which I personally prefer, and are functional in showing the development of the emotional relationship as well, not just there because they have to be there. Some "dreams" Louisa recounts to Felix in the first weeks of his courtship had me smiling a bit as I don't think plausible that a well-bred and sheltered Victorian spinster could have harboured voyeuristic/exhibitionist secret fantasies (let alone muster the courage to express them aloud) with no previous experiences. But I'm no Herr Freud and I've never been 24 in 1888 London, so what do I know? Though I suspect, given the benevolent and mischievous undertone in which they are represented, the author intended to humorously poke some gentle fun at common stereotypes regarding Victorian women... corsets used to constrict the waist and not the mind after all, no?

I just would have preferred the author had explored more meaningfully the motivations, apart from lust of course, that have brought Felix to offer marriage practically out of the blue and that Louisa had had more time to understand the reasons that have shaped her husband into the cold man he was at the beginning: it's implied he will disclose things to her in the future, but I still would have liked to "see" a little more resolution at the end (and this is the only reasons I'm not giving the book a full 5 stars rating and rounding down the 4,5 to 4).

[Kiki · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was EXTREMELY hard to rate.
I have decided on 2.5 and then round it down.
The 2 stars are for the heroine.
The hero is not really redeemable. And to me he hadn't redeemed himself.
The heroine FORGAVE him out of her own goodness, and simply because she had no other option.
I mean it was the 1860 or something, what other choices did she have?
Divorce was surely not on the card, she was financially dependent on him, her whole family was financially dependent on him and she had no education.
However, if divorce was an option, it is my strong belief, she would have divorced him, despite all other shortcoming.
She was indeed an extremely strong character.

I'll rant about the hero first. This is going to be long! My apologies in advance!

1. he was despicable. He had no redeemable quality in my eyes. I do not care about his past. It only makes him appear weaker. It just shows that he learned NOTHING from his mother's mistakes. There is no fool like an old fool. he made the choices knowingly which makes him a disgustingly immoral characterless person, and he was NO hero. from this point forward, I am going to refer to him as Felix.
2. He had NO morals, and he grew NO morals. He claimed he married Louisa because he couldn't diminish her character. But that was an out an out lie. he also half lied that he married her because he like her too much, and if he didn't marry her, someone else would have, and he couldn't stand to lose her. that was a also a FULL lie. yes, he couldn't stand to lose her, but he ONLY married her, because Louisa had standards, and morals, and a spine of steel, and she made it crystal clear that the only way he could have her was by marriage. If she agreed to be his mistress, I strongly believe he'd have rejoiced by that acceptance and would have NEVER married her, and would have married someone of equal footing at later date.
3. His intentions were never honourable, yet, he never felt the remorse of blackening TWO people's character by suggesting incest and ruining a chance of Louisa's HONOURABLE happiness, which he was NEVER gonna offer. He DID try to blackmail her, which didn't work simply because this heroine, failing to have read HP, and only to have read Jane Austen, had learned how to use her brain and did not give in to blackmail!
4. Have you ever been called a slut by a loved one for being attracted to THAT loved one or for "performing" for your loved one? It could be worse than death. Something does die inside you. The handkerchief scene in the library is enough to write Felix off forever. And why does he do it? BECAUSE OF HIS SHORTCOMING. HE is attracted to his wife, so SHE should pay for it. Excellent logic. He should have died in a ditch somewhere by being kicked by his favourite horse. I died a little inside for the heroine. The heroine had lost her sexual urges for quite a while. Now if it was real life, she would have lost it. period. unfortunately it's an OTT book, she gained it back, and used it to her advantage, kudos to her. BUT that scene itself calls for castration. There was NO formal apologies. there was a picnic that she wasn't particularly keen on attending!!!! he needed to grovel on broken glass, or anthill, or both.
5. He ruined her life. period. he manipulated the events and she was stuck with him. Not by choice. Louisa may actually have been happier with the OM. We will never know. And he did that for his selfish dishonourable gain.
6. Even till the end, NOTHING was for her. As she has pointed out. he did everything for his gain.
7. He didn't consider even for a minute that if she agreed to become his mistress, her life would have been ruined, by his doing.
8. I really don't see what he did to gain her love OR trust. He hadn't flaunted the OW in front of her, he didn't particularly NOT flaunt the OW in front of her either. He built her a classroom, he wanted a wife his equal, I'm sorry, once again, his gain. Bought her a telescope, wedding present for a compliant wife. Financial security - that's his duty. attention to small details to her family - once again, husbandly duties, specially for a husband who needs to pacify a wife.
He did not have a single redeemable or lovable quality in him.

Why I liked the heroine:
1. She did NOT succumb to blackmail. not even when he used her epileptic sister's love as a bait.
He raised a brow. “Not even for dear Matilda?”
“Dear Matilda would never want me to subject myself to such degradation, especially not for her.”
“You are so sure of her love?”
“I am. And if it should be the case that she does not love me enough, then why should I martyr myself for her?”
Score!

2. She doesn't cry or breaks down in front of him. even after his disgusting insult. She just walks out.
3. After she hears the OW propositioning her husband, she is extremely cool and collected. She basically beats him at his own game. after the handkerchief incident, she's void of any emotions, which drove him crazy!
This might very well me her:

4. She only appears to flirt with the OM, and she beats her husband at his own game, the cold hearted bitch in me wishes she rejected him at that point though, and left him aching!
5. She doesn't feel desire for quite a while after being rejected by her husband. She fells exactly how she should, hurt and rejected.
6. She doesn't melt whenever he touches her even if she's mad. He THINKS he could do that so he starts kissing her when she's mad, she struggles, and then slaps him and then kicks him out. At no point, does she find herself melting.
A resounding thwack. A burning sensation on his cheek.
He stared at her in incomprehension.
“Get out!” she shouted.
“I don’t want you to be angry,” he said dumbly. “You said that when we are in direct physical contact, you cannot remain angry at me.”
“I don’t care what you want,” she answered, her teeth gritted. “I deserve to be angry and you do not deserve anything. Now get out.”
7. She has no illusions about what he is, and how useless his avowal of love is.
all love should meet a minimum standard. A lover should take my wishes into consideration and have a care for my well-being. When have you ever thought about me, except so that you may better gratify yourself—either to make you feel more powerful or to make you feel less out of control?

This one was an immensely strong character completely wasted on a characterless rake of a male protagonist. Felix was weak. He was SO weak, he made noseless Voldermort look more appealing! I have zero respect for him, and he was a disgusting excuse of a human being for ruining Louisa's chance of happiness to begin with and then to strip Louisa off her self confidence and liveliness because HE was not man enough.

If I could rewrite this, I will kill him off in that ditch so Louisa will be a really rich widow and would be able to live the life she dreamed of!!

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am actually speechless. Except I'm about to write a whole ass review about how insanely good this book is.

I kept hearing about Sherry Thomas and how amazing her books are, BUT I WAS STILL BLINDSIDED BY HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS FUCKING BOOK!!!!!!!

When I read that first chapter about Felix's painful, lonely childhood full of parental manipulation and lack of affection, I was immediately hooked (Lord of Scoundrels, anyone?).

Sure enough, he grows up to be the Marquess of Wrenworth, the wealthiest, most handsome man in the whole entire world. He plans to never love another person again and only marry well into his forties, except, wait! He accidentally becomes completely obsessed with Louisa, a 24-year-old spinster who makes it very clear she's looking for the most advantageous marriage to the richest possible man in order to support her family.

She's obviously insanely attracted to Felix too, but, knowing he will never propose, she decides to only give him an inch – the knowledge of all her deepest fantasies.

As romance heroes are wont to do, boy, does he take a mile.

I mean… who even gave Sherry Thomas the right?!

Every line of this book was heart-wrenching. Every aspect of this story was satisfying. I will now be forced to read a marriage-in-trouble book, which I usually hate, because it's the second book in this series and I am a slave to this author.

If you haven't read this book, don't walk, RUN!!! Do a nice thing for yourself!!!

[K.J. Charles]

We often hear about bad boys in romance but we rarely get people who behave *actually shittily* without taking the entire book down with them because the reader exchanges hope of an HEA for hope the bastard steps on Lego forever. This book pulls that off with unbelievable panache.

Louisa is an impoverished gentlewoman who needs to marry. Felix is a marquess, born into a hate-filled marriage, rejected by both parents, who has reinvented himself as the perfect gentleman in order to manipulate everyone around him. And he does. He is *nasty* manipulative, attempting to force Louisa by financial pressure into becoming his mistress, using her sexual desire against her, and even when he marries her he does an abrupt withdrawal of affection that is genuinely horrible. The triumph here is that the author has laid down what a badly damaged person he is *but does not use that as an excuse*. We see exactly how hurtful he is through Louisa's eyes, we see the better person he has the capacity to be if he stopped being so self centred, we see his difficulty opening up to her in any other way than sexually, and when the edifice of lies he used to trap her comes crashing down just as he starts believing there could be more in his life, we can share in his feeling of unstoppable nightmare even while thinking he 100% has it coming.

What I think works brilliantly is that Louisa isn't particularly altruistic. She's willing to make a marriage of convenience for her family's sake, but not a miserable one. She'll go so far for her husband but no further. Nevertheless the revelation of Felix's misdeeds that pushes her too far is not about how he hurt her but what he did to someone else--and although he then goes into the most magnificent extended attempt at apology and reparations, that isn't what ultimately allows her to move on. It's not about how he behaves *to her*, it's about the person he is, or has become, in general. And that makes all the difference.

Basically this is a story about selfishness and the damage it does, and the way that hurt reverberates down the generations. Felix and Louisa are both where they are because of selfish fathers acting out of greed (two on Felix's side) and it's not enough to say women ought to forgive. Men need to do better, and Felix eventually does. A fantastic romance.

[Mei · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun, fun book!

I loved the heroine who was able to turn tables on the hero! Go girl!!!

Louisa is almost "on the shelf" since it has been 8 years that she should have her debut. This is her last chance to find a husband and thus secure the future for her mother and sisters and avoid destitution.

She very determined to succede. And she's very clever on how to do it. Nothing is left on chance. She's pianified everything: her behaviour, her look, her prospective husbands, and she carries on very well, even if the choices are not many.

Felix, the hero, is a masculine paragon of the ton. He's rich, handsome, successful. Everybody adores him. But... he's cynic. Nothing involves him except his astonomical research. He knows that he has to find a wife, because he needs a heir, but he's not in any rush to do it.

They meet by chance and Felix is fascinated by a girl who's not trying to ensare him. More she doesn't consider him at all! How's that possible? Why she's not overwhelmed by his magnificence?

Louisa, even if attracted to Felix, knows very well that he's out of her reach and so turns cold shoulder on him. Why wasting time when she has so little of it?

The more Louisa tries to ignore him, the more Felix is first fascinated, then attracted to her.

And thus a very, very fun banter and even fannier evasion and almost stalkerish tactics between Louisa and Felix! It was delight to read!

Louisa is fanstatic! So clever and so level-headed. She makes Felix, who thinks he's so clever, crazy.

He makes her a preposterous offer to bacome his mistres!!! But Louisa, instead of becoming enraged and offended, turns the table on him.

Finally he offers her marriage and they wed. And here start the problems....

Louisa is wary of Felix (with reason!) and Felix is bewildered when he becomes aware that his feeling for Louisa are much deeper than what he thought! So, even if their passion is out-of-charts, he reiterates in fear and wounds Louisa very badly.

Louisa, true to herself, doesn't mince words and lashes at him, making him realize that he's almost lost her.

This is the part of the story where Felix grovels. And what a groveling it was!!! In true Felix style! Because, for all his faults, he's a very clever and intelligent man!

Obviously there's a HEA!

A wonderful book, full of clever, intelligent, smart dialogue insterspaces with great internal musings!

Very recommended!!!

[Lori ◡̈ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This review is not going to score me any friend points, that’s for sure 🫣 I have a whopping 13 GR friends that have read and loved this story. So I started this story with high hopes, certain I was going to love it as well! A rude hero with tons of angst? Give it to me!

Page count: 250. Times I wanted to DNF: 249. But Olga and I enacted the BR rules, ‘friends don’t let friends suffer alone’. So finish it, I did.

My first and main problem was that the first 20% of the story was tons of telling and inner thoughts. Nothing in the first 20% grabbed my attention or engaged me to either character, so when the hero and heroine FINALLY start to converse, I was already disengaged and felt nothing for these characters. And because I was completely indifferent to the hero and heroine, this is how I saw them as I read the story:

🔭 The Ideal Gentleman, my ass. Felix, Lord Wrenworth. We are explained in the prologue of his loveless childhood, so I could understand well why he was afraid of opening himself up to love and future heartache. Typical tortured romance hero. What seemingly bothered other readers, didn’t bother me. The way he treated her after the wedding night? I’ve seen this scenario before in other HRs, so I was not shocked at all. Yes, he was a cruel ass to have acted in such a way, but Louisa had zero self-respect and kept following him around hoping for scraps of sex. Then there was The Lie. Again, I was not shocked at his lie he told to manipulate to get what he wanted. Another typical ploy I’ve seen in romance stories, and I actually assumed it was a lie when I first read his saying it for the first time. I would have liked him better if he had been grumpy and disagreeable, instead he was just a normal guy randomly acting cruel.

What did bother me though, was:

🔭 - the inner thoughts that made up the entirety of the first 20% were eye roll-worthy. Constant outlandish assumptions of the other, that I never would have guessed. And then comments like this:
“That is a very pretty dress on you, Miss Cantwell,” he said.
“Thank you,” she murmured, all too aware of the gentle pressure his hand exerted on her back.
“Prettier than I remembered, when Lady Tenwhestle wore it a few Seasons ago.”. Please, what guy remembers the dress some random lady, that’s not even his friend, wore a few years ago.

🔭 - Louisa - she was a country bumpkin virgin nymphomaniac who fantasized about having public sex with the hero (before they were even really interacting much). And she bluntly tells him too, repeatedly. It was like watching a nerd trying overly hard to be a sex kitten… Her making out with the jaguar head of his walking stick, constantly trying to talk dirty to him, her in love with him by 30%. She was the most cringeworthy heroine I’ve ever read, period. She even told the hero that she was totally cool with doing “unnatural acts” to keep him happy since her boobs were small, as she felt guilty by disguising them with a bust enhancer:
“I once heard Lady Balfour talk about her brother-in-law’s mistress. She said the woman was completely flat-chested, but was willing to take part in all kinds of unnatural acts.”
He made the sound of choked laughter. “Sorry, go on.”
“So I thought . . .” She pulled at her collar. “I thought if I would consent to unnatural acts, then perhaps it would not be so difficult to achieve my husband’s forgiveness in this matter. And, well, you are most certainly the sort to incline toward unnatural acts.” - her talking about being cool doing unnatural acts: 9 times.

🔭 - The only thing I disliked about Felix, the fact that he let his ex-mistress, Lady Tremaine, attend his bi-annual house parties, have his wife attend to her, lets the ex-mistress hit on him during the parties. That would be a NO from me.
“And you might as well call me Felix in private—we wouldn’t want Lady Tremaine to be the only one enjoying that privilege.”
“Huh,” was her dismissive response.” Rude! Yet, Louisa tolerated such behavior as long as he gave her a fun time in bed.

🔭 - As much as readers were upset by The Lie or the Post Wedding Night Treatment, I was actually most irritated by something Louisa said. When she was furious with Felix after he admitted to his lie, she compared it to being so much worse than the time she slapped her 6-yr old sister so hard, that it loosened her teeth. How hard must you slap a child to make their teeth loose? (reason for the slap? The 6-yr old was trying to instigate a seizure from their other epileptic sister. Not a nice thing to do at all, I agree. But 6-year olds have no full concept of what a seizure is. Punish her, yes. But not hit her face so hard her teeth become loose).

All around, one of the most boring, irritating stories with loathsome and/or pathetic MCs. Ok sorry, rant over. Thanks Olga, for the BR support!

Bingo Reading Challenge 2025
Square #70 - book with a green cover (since there’s not a square for most boring book with irritating MCs)
Progress - 41/100

[Hannah B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awwww this was actually really cute. The lack of external plot really popped off and it was angsty but so centralized on the couple that I really enjoyed their journey. The pavilion scene >>> I’d definitely reread and could see myself bumping it to five stars!



Idk if I’ll get judged for this but it felt like a much less nuts and berries version of Lord of Scoundrels??? Maybe I’m nuts idk



⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 🌶️🌶️.75*/5



*lots of sex scenes and incredibly horny but they were pretty vague and quick



More thoughts in our St. Patrick’s Day “Get Lucky” Romance Your TBR🎙️episode this Friday ✨



Listen here: https://msha.ke/romanceyourtbr

[WhiskeyintheJar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read a book by Sherry Thomas before. You can now bet your sweet patooties I will be snatching up as many of her books I can find.

You want a smart, realistic, and willing to sacrifice for her family but NOT martyr herself heroine?

DONE.

You want a closed off, hidden, Ideal Gentleman, with a delicious sense of humor hero?

DONE.

You want a non-forced storyline of two people navigating personal issues involving trust, love, and learning to reveal and grow together?

DONE.

From the banter that was intelligent, engaging, push/pull, and sexual (Oh my dearies, the sexual banter;) to the emotional strife of fear and of revealing love and oneself, Felix and Louisa never failed to make me smile, heat me up, and produce watery eyes.

The one disappointment was the very abrupt ending. I could have read epilogue after epilogue about this couple.

A very delightful historical.

(Elicited the same feelings I had while reading Connie Brockway's "The Bridal Favor". I did find Brockway's to have more emotional punch and storyline however, and rated it 5stars)

[Lady Wesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

28 Feb 2021
I see that I have now read/listened to this book four times.

I suspect that this book is not as highly rated as other Sherry Thomas titles because it is difficult and different from the ordinary histrom. But the writing is so beautiful; the characters are so interesting, and the story is so unusual that it is well worth the reader’s time.

* * * * *

I chose this book as one of the Best of 2014.

Five lucky stars to this clever reworking of the gorgeous, perfect man marrying the impecunious, plain girl. And then falling in love.

[Bubu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most fascinating HR I've ever read.

It's the story of Louisa Cantwell and Felix Rivendale, and a duel of wits and emotions all the way through the book. The outset is easily explained: Louisa has to marry well in order to keep her family from poverty. Felix is the usual arrogant, cold-hearted and rich aristocrat who has no intention to marry for at least another decade, and then only to secure an heir.

Heard it all before? Yup! But this is where the similarities to other HR end. Sherry Thomas has created a story that has no subplot. Nonetheless, every description, every dialogue, every encounter comes with a precision that left me speechless because not one word is wasted.

As a child, Felix learns that love is painful and fruitless. He's being used as a weapon by a mother who hates his father. My heart ached for the child who wants nothing but love but is being rejected. So when the time comes he decides to be in total control of his life, his emotions and the people around him. He creates a second persona, The Ideal Gentleman, impeccable, perfect, beyond reproach. To achieve his goals he manipulates and lies if need be. It's fine as long as others don't see his true nature. But he will never be anyones puppet any longer.

Now, Louisa...what a woman, what a wonderful character! Knowing she must marry well and sacrifice her own dreams, meticulously plans for years the one season her family can afford for her to catch a rich husband. Like Felix she creates a second persona, the lovely and agreeable young woman who just wants to enjoy a season in London, but she is not beyond manipulation herself. Unlike Felix, though, her family's financial situation leaves her no other option. However, she's no martyr and never behaves as one. There's a dignity and self-respect to her that made me root and cheer for her all the way. You go, girl!

Their first encounter is written beautifully. They meet and they see through each other's disguises straight away. Both are not what they appear to be and once both acknowledge it, they don't pretend to be something they're not. He's nowhere near as respectable, and she is anything but the meek, agreeable country chit.

It's clear that Louisa is not fooled by The Ideal Gentleman image in any way, but is still drawn to him. Intrigued by this, and by his own growing lust, Felix starts a little game with her and sets out to destroy every hope that Louisa may have in making a good match. And this is where his downfall begins. He underestimates Louisa in every way. Her intelligence, her determination and her passion. However, smart man that he is, he realizes this quickly and now there's no way he will let her get away.

Let the fight begin! He wants her as his mistress; she knows that, should she give in, not only would she ruin herself but she fears that he would eventually lose interest in her, and his interest is something that she, despite her resentment, enjoys very much. This is where Sherry Thomas excels. The conflicting feelings and actions, the confusion we see in Louisa as well as in Felix are brilliantly, and most importantly, believably shown.

At first, Louisa is lost and angry as to why he has to play his little game with her. She doesn't understand his motivation, nor the rules of the game. But wow...once she gets the hang of it, she turns the tables on him and Felix doesn't know what's hit him. Louisa, oh clever, brilliant Louisa won't give in, but at the same time makes no secret of her lust for him. The sexual tension runs high.

There's a little scene that made me grin and cheer and root for Louisa. They are alone in a carriage, both lusting, both confused and fascinated with each other. Smug, little arrogant bastard that Felix is, thinks he has the upper hand, having destroyed almost all her hopes for an advantageous marriage, until she makes it clear that if a marriage to a man of rank and considerable wealth is out of reach, she may very well marry beneath her social status. After all, a butcher or a greengrocer can provide for her family just as well. Felix didn't see this coming at all and it's pure joy to see him thwarted.

His fortune privileged him over most other men in London, but how did he compete with all the 'butchers, greengrocers, and the like'? [...] His whole plan had depended upon her failure to secure a man of a social station. [...] A butcher was an upstanding member of any community.

Seeing that he has no other choice if he wants Louisa in his bed, he proposes to her, and she is not stupid enough to reject him. He gets a woman who is intelligent and intriguing and who "will never have headaches". Louisa secures her family's future and gets the man she wants and, by now, loves.

Their love story is a sweet one. Full of insecurities on both sides, their marriage is wobbly. The conflicts they face are created by themselves and both of them have to face facts they don't like. Due to their conflicting feelings for each other they either retreat or make mistakes, especially Felix. However, because their confusions are put into words so poignantly, I could always relate to both characters. Felix, trying to uphold his control, hurts Louisa deeply, and, although, I could have slapped him for it, I understood why he did it at the same time. Given his backstory, it made sense for someone who had come to understand love as a weakness. Louisa, wounded by his behavior, doesn't crumble or feel sorry for herself. Instead, she makes him pay, and pay he does. Right from the start, she gives as good as she gets, and I admired that.

Sherry Thomas has created a wonderful story here, which is intelligent, heart breaking at times and hot. The only quibble I do have is the ending that felt a little rushed, but hey, that's me mourning that I reached the end of the story of Felix and Louisa. And I really, really didn't want to let go.

[Lady Gabriella of Awesomeness (SLOW) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 I-Love,love,LOVE-the-book stars

She turned around sharply. “What do you want, Lord Wrenworth?”
The formality of her address—the depth of the chasm that separated them—made him dizzy.
“Louisa—”
“There is a time and place for that name—and the time is now behind us,” she said, chilling him to the bone.

The characters and their story,left my heart pounding mindlessly. Its been an absolutely pleasure to read their journey.They might me frictional but their simplicity and love touched my heart.

[Sam I AMNreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

2025:
Here I am, thinking that I've never reread this, to find I indeed have. It's remains spectacular, a book I think that should be a study in how to develop a manipulative, cruel hero and a motivated, ambitious heroine. Somehow you are hoping for them. It's just masterful.

2021:
I forgot much more of this than I remembered, but that is my reading way. There's a reason rereads are great for me.

And this is frankly just what I needed. I'm thinking I need another reread now! As I said to my reading buddy I don't know what spells this author casts (I do, she's excellent with motivation) but I would rage quit near any other book with this hero's behaviors (not to mention some other heroes of hers) and yet her books are all alone on a weird little shelf....
reminding me that in a capable author's hands, there's no such thing as can't/won't for me. Execution, baby.



Original review:

Good grief, this book is fan-flipping-tastic. I've never read Sherry Thomas before, and right off the bat, she earns a favorite spot on my shelf. The first historical romance to go there, if I'm not mistaken.

I was so invested in and so adored this couple. The dirty talk was off the charts. The sweet talk was unreal. The writing was substantive.The characters had depth and believability.

I'm so glad this was recommended to me!

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger Warnings: Death of parents, parental neglect, emotional child abuse, epilepsy, slut-shaming (if a girl slept with someone in this time period, they were cast away from society), sexism (historical books tend to have this), incest (fake rumors)

This was a buddy read with lovely Shilpa, my long lost sister. This was her first buddy read and I had a blast, I loved book talking with her, she’s bloody amazing y’all. So I’ve always heard about this book and I’ve read Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas and despite me feeling meh about it, it was still memorable. I was excited to start this because of Anna’s review and heard it had grovel which got my attention. Lemme just say BOY DID IT DELIVER. We have an FMC with a backbone and an MMC who is completely smitten with her. The characters were refreshingly honest but once they kinda got together, they didn’t communicate at all and they were really passive-aggressive, leading to many misunderstandings and no trust. The problem I had was that this lacked angst, there was one chapter that did it well but that’s it. And I’ve read better historicals, this was good but not AMAZING to me, but I do see myself rereading the grovel.


Felix lived a life with parents who had a broken marriage. A marriage so broken that he ended up being a pawn in their petty game to get revenge on one another. After experiencing the worst childhood, feeling neglected and alone, Felix realized that he wouldn’t be like his father and fall in love. He was going to live a life with no love since that will make him powerful rather than vulnerable. But he does not expect a woman to catch his eye. Louisa comes from a household that is not rich in name. But she knows how to keep up a façade where she appears to be a lovely lady that is gaining the attraction of suitors. After these two run into each other, things change.


Now for spoilers


Seeing Felix’s childhood was sad. So his mom fell in love with someone but his dad set eyes on her. Despite his mom saying she doesn’t wanna marry the dad, her dad forces her to marry him by starving her for ages and making her live off bread and water while on house arrest. The dad got what he wanted and they got married but she got revenge on him. She made him think that Felix was the son of another and gave Felix so much affection when the father was around. But once he was gone, she set Felix aside and didn’t even glance at him. Felix being pissed started to play their game, lying that the father has a mistress and the mom went crazy tryna figure out who it was. They neglected him and he was forced to find his own hobbies like watching the sky. His parents both passed away and the doctor said his dad died because of a broken heart. Once he grew up he realized he didn’t wanna fall in love since love was a weakness.


Louisa has similar interests to Felix, she likes math and astrology. She was a girl who put up this façade of being beautiful and lovely. I loved how the book mentioned that realistically she had crooked teeth and her hair was glossy cuz of mayonnaise even though that’s bloody disgusting. Do people actually do that? Anyway, she was brought up in this poor household and I really liked Louisa. When she first met Felix, she knew she didn’t have a chance with him since he was like Prince Charming. Felix put up this façade of being the perfect gentleman whereas Louisa did the same by being a “proper” lady. But Louisa knew she didn’t have a chance with Felix, he didn’t glance her way again and she wasn’t surprised since she knew she didn’t have a title and was a nobody. But that didn’t stop her from admiring how good-looking Felix was.


Despite Felix acting like he doesn’t know what’s going on, he observes everything around him. He noticed Louisa was acting cold and didn’t give him much attention but he also noticed she checked him out. What I loved was despite Louisa not giving him the normal reaction, they didn’t go with the “not like other girls” approach. Felix has already had girls act cool and unaffected and he’s seen this cuz they wanna get his attention and shit. Normally you see books have an MMC be shocked that the FMC isn’t interested because EVERYBODY is interested in him. So seeing him not be fazed was nice but he did say she’s different because she isn’t able to hide her attraction for him. And I loved how the FMC did find him attractive but she didn’t act too cold and uninterested, she just felt like she didn’t have a chance which made her relatable.


Felix runs into her again and he’s actually sweet with people but it’s all an act, he’s actually cynical. But Louisa and Felix keep getting put in situations where they need to interact and Felix becomes more and more entertained by her. When they had to sit next to each other at dinner and Louisa is dry with him cuz she was nervous, he purposefully asked her questions while giving her his full attention so that she would feel flustered. When they had to dance together, he held her tightly and told her about the gossip about her possible suitors. He knew he had an effect on her and wanted to bother her. When she was thinking it was the longest dinner of her life, he was having the time of his life. Apparently one of her suitors was sleeping with their half-sister while the other wasn’t great either. Seeing them use their eyes to communicate after was so funny, he’s all “I told you so,” while she observes the suitors and the rumors.


Felix sees Louisa in this book reading room and couldn’t help himself and decided to bother her. He joins her without letting her answer, he even liked how she was when she didn’t know anyone was around and was fiddling. He started naming suitors and Louisa had a smart comeback for each one and was also very flushed when talking to him. Felix knew that one of her sisters was epileptic and was surprised at how much Louisa knew about others. They have this funny banter and it was so funny seeing how infatuated Felix was with Louisa. He was watching her everywhere and started studying her suitors. He was restless when he thought someone would propose and would feel relieved when they aren’t interested. So Felix decided to propose the mistress deal, where Louisa would have to sleep with him or “provide him her company” and he would help with her family's financial troubles. He would even give her a house where she can get an annual income and although it is tempting, Louisa doesn’t wanna do it because she doesn’t wanna tarnish her name and become a mistress. I loved her comparison, she told Felix she really wanted this telescope but she never got it, and she moved on. And she says how she wants Felix so bad and even has dreams about him, but she’s gonna move on as she did with the telescope. But as she was thinking, she thought she might be able to trap him in a marriage if they are discovered when sleeping together. I really liked how Louisa had a backbone and was honest about her feelings.


Both Louisa and Felix are so horny, they tell each other their fantasies about fucking each other. There are so many sexual innuendos, at one point she’s caressing his walking stick and we all know they’re talking about dicks. When Louisa mentioned she might marry a butcher, Felix panicked and it was funny. You could feel the tension through the book bro, they were horny as hell for each other. People slowly started to notice that Felix and Louisa spent time together and I was so certain she would give in. But what I LOVED was that when he showed up again, he asked to speak with her privately. At first, I thought they were gonna kiss for the first time especially since he was unbuttoning her blouse. It was so funny how he threatened to unbutton her blouse if she didn’t tell him about her dream and she was actually considering it. I liked how open she was about her dirty dreams. It’s so funny how the walking stick is a metaphor for dick now. When Felix proposed and Louisa was crying, I was so happy the whole mistress thing didn’t happen. And I loved how despite Louisa hitting a jackpot, she still bargained about getting a house and more money. She was straightforward about what she wanted and Felix was willing to oblige.


Louisa is so thankful and happy but she’s also suspicious. Felix even threw in more money to their deal because he thought Louisa’s bargaining skills sucked which was so funny. He even got her the telescope she wanted and Louisa is just shook that he knows her so well. I thought we would find out Felix is gonna betray Louisa or some shit but nah, he adores her and really wants to marry her. He even took care of her family so well it’s so sweet. They both got married and played cards and I swear all their convos become sexual. When he knew she wanted to learn math and she was always suspicious and surprised by his thoughts, she was scared since he knew her so well. They’re both so excited to consummate their marriage. But before getting to the house we find out he’s close with the woman he’s always seen with. He mentions that when he plays cards with this woman, he loses cuz of her big boobs and I’m like bruh why. And he admits to looking at a lot of womans’ boobs and shit I’m like why bruh.


They have the most passionate night and Felix realizes he didn’t even take his clothes off to have sex with Louisa because he is so obsessed with her and lost it. He literally leaves the room without saying a word and is shocked at how obsessed he is. That’s when he realized he was becoming like his father and becoming powerless. So he decides to keep his distance from Louisa despite her being nothing like his mother because they actually like each other. Felix continues to avoid Louisa while Louisa is a happy girl constantly seeking him out. She got to know the household and servants. When she saw him, she told him not to make her wait and he said he would. She saw this as a way to make her anticipate the sex but he was actually keeping a distance. He lied to outsiders saying that Louisa wanted to take care of the household and servants but he was just avoiding her. He never showed up the second night to her bedroom and she was disappointed.


Louisa had enough of Felix avoiding her so she decided to confront him. Even when she confronted him, he wouldn’t give her an answer and was pissed that she wasn’t satisfied and called her the horniest girl in London which was lowkey funny. And Louisa wished she put the number of times they would have sex in the contract since he didn’t touch her in two days. So she tries to kiss him and shit but he gives her what she wants without doing exactly what she wants, fingers her, and leaves right away. But he wipes his hands in disgust and that’s when Louisa realized he doesn’t want her like that. He even referred to the whole thing as a duty and Louisa was upset, he humiliated her, and I was here for the angst.


So Louisa gets used to being alone and does her own thing. She looks at the telescope and is busy with the housework. Felix and Louisa put on a show for others by being loving but didn’t do anything when they were alone. So Felix’s friend/former mistress shows up and they’re flirting and I was so relieved Louisa also had someone. So Felix was jealous of Louisa while Louisa was jealous of Felix. What pissed me off was that Louisa was in the library and Felix’s friend/mistress walks in with Felix and offers to sleep with him like old times. He doesn’t reject the offer and he knew she was in there and didn’t apologize. But I loved how Louisa intentionally flirted with the guy she was with and how jealous Felix was. What annoyed me was when he showed up and she talked about how pretty the sky and house were, I hated how she gave in and had sex with him. He did tell her he didn’t sleep with the friend and she admitted she didn’t do anything with the guy either but yea, I loved how angsty it was and wanted more of it.


Louisa lets him have sex with her but when it’s daytime she ignores him. So when Felix insisted on a picnic, I liked how cold she was to him. I liked how he would ask her to feed him and she would say nah fam or when he would say thank you, she would ignore him. But she didn’t stop him from having sex with her there and she told him she couldn’t stay mad at him when he touches her so he said he would continue to do so since he didn’t want her mad. It’s lowkey grovel which was sweet. I liked how she was cold to him but I wanted her to just stay away from him as he did to her.


Even though Felix was making Louisa happy, she was always suspicious and ready for him to be cold again. Whereas Felix continues to live in regret for ruining the marriage and making things so tense. They aren’t able to go back to the way they were since Louisa didn’t trust him. When he showed her telescope tricks it was so cute. And when he took her to his room to show her his telescope, seeing them bond was everything. They fell in love all over again at that moment but they both couldn’t admit it to each other because of their strained marriage. Felix lives in constant regret despite being in each other’s company and even having sex regularly.


It was cute how Felix tutored Louisa on math, physics and how to use the telescope. And despite them spending so much time together, both fucking and learning, they still have a strained relationship. They didn’t communicate with one another and were super passive-aggressive. Louisa wouldn’t open up much to him and Felix wouldn’t either and they didn’t fully trust each other even though they loved each other. When Felix saw the incest couple, I was so confused as to why he was scared.


Turns out Felix lied and tried to manipulate Louisa originally because the guy was a good candidate to be her husband. So he lies about the incest to keep Louisa from marrying him and Louisa is furious. She calls him out on his shit and he keeps apologizing but she was angry. She asked him what he would’ve done if she gave in to being his mistress and disqualifying the possibility of getting married. He says “I love you” and tries to make out with her because she said she can’t be mad at him when he touches her, but she slaps him and leaves. He continues to try and grovel but she doesn’t want him near her, getting rid of the tulips he got for her.


Felix realizes he’s in the same position as his dad now, with a woman he loves so much that wants nothing to do with him. I loved how he wrote her algebra lecture notes and prepared everything knowing she wouldn’t want him present and how she studies it. The fact that he kept track of her family is so sweet and the golden tulips were everything. When he offers for her to have another tutor, I liked how she said no since he can teach her. He finally opens up about his family but Louisa is too pissed and still has a backbone but they’re marking progress. When his friend was in danger and he went to save the friend and didn’t care if he died as long as Louisa had his lessons to remember him by, it was just sad. When she asked him about his past and he didn’t make himself seem like a victim even though he was, I felt bad. He only mentioned his father and Louisa read between the lines and realized he was a victim too but they were interrupted. He always had her interests in his heart and didn’t care if he got nothing in return. He just wanted her to be happy and didn’t care for himself anymore. But this book lacked a lot of angst. I did appreciate that he never said that she is lucky she has this life cuz of him cuz of his money even though he thought it at some point. Because despite him being right, it would make Louisa wanna leave him and shit and I wouldn’t like that either.


He had a dummy have a sign saying “I am hopelessly in love with you,” which is so cute. Felix had these lectures for Louisa and it was so cute how she was his student and how he would teach her and prepare lectures. She was so in love with the way he taught and would get flustered and he was always aroused by her being aroused. They both were going insane until they lost it and had sex in the classroom and went back to having sex again. Louisa finally forgave him and I loved how Felix continues to say he loves her despite getting no response. When his mother’s former lover comes to visit, Felix was sweet and considerate which made Louisa finally forgive him because she realized he is a loving man. She finally says “I love you,” and it was sweet how Felix wanted her to say it a lot. It had a cute ending and I was happy for both Felix and Louisa and the grovel was satisfying.




I had a blast with this buddy read and can’t wait for more buddy reads. Anyway, stay safe folks!

[Priskah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,0 ✨✨✨

This was a solid HR.💜
I especially enjoyed the witty banter between the two MCs. It is so refreshing to see that the MFC wasn't the typical spineless moronic ingenue seen in this kind of trope. She gave as good as she got, and good for her! 💅😎 Made Mr. Hotpants sweat and grovel like a champ before their well-deserved HEA. 💖✨✨

The only hiccups for me were the rushed ending and the steamy scenes _ they could've been better explored . 🔥👀🥴😅

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so much better than Private Arrangements! The story is tons better and the characters are actually likeable, and nobody uses love as a weapon (though sex gets a workout).

Okay, let me backup. While prologues are almost always a mistake, this one was not only well-done, but also absolutely necessary. The reader needs to understand how very damaged Felix is beneath his calm scheming and that's the best, most efficient way to do it. Plus, Thomas does an excellent job keeping it both succinct and with a narrative voice that keeps you from attaching prematurely to that part of the story.

And Felix is nine kinds of damaged. Even so, you can't help but like him and hope he gets over himself. Poor Louisa, though. She's strong and fragile and courageous and doesn't put up with more of his crap than she has to. Indeed, this was a great strong female that managed to be all those things and still not violate the time period too terribly (except for the sexual adventurousness—but then, that was very well portrayed as a personality quirk and a not-unreasonable one).

But what pushed this to four stars was Felix's maturation. I bought it, even though it was such a large transformation and happened pretty fast. Thomas did an excellent job of hinting at the change for quite some time before the pivotal moment so when it came, it was with relief rather than disbelief. Further, Thomas manages to make Louisa's continued resistance to him sensible even as we, the readers, know the depth of his reformation. It'd be easy to lose the readers there because Louisa becomes the obstacle to their reconciliation as our sympathies shift. Instead, my sympathies lay firmly with both, despite their continued friction (and in anticipation of their eventual reunion).

So yeah, well-done, though I'm not sure I can take too many of Thomas' books in succession. Her dark rogues are hard on the heart.

A note about Steamy: Lots of steam, though not so much that it went outside my tolerance (or became erotica rather than romance). There are a handful of explicit scenes (three or four), but they're relatively short. What makes them feel longer is that the lead-up is pretty sexy and there are lots of little sexual/intimate moments leading up to them—not to mention that some of them are expressed first as fantasies/dreams in a kind of flirty foreplay so when things actually happen it feels like it's longer than it really is...

[Simona B · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Caz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of Sherry Thomas’ writing, and of the way she injects a degree of grit and realism into a genre that is so often seen through rose-coloured lenses and softened around the edges. Her characters are, for the most part, rich, titled and good-looking, but it’s what’s underneath the surface veneer that really marks her books out as something special for me. Their emotional lives and the way they react to the situations in which they find themselves feel natural, despite the heightened angst they’re often facing, and even though sometimes, those reactions are unpalatable or may at first seem unsatisfying, they nonetheless feel right and completely in character for the personalities she has created.

The hero – or anti-hero – of The Luckiest Lady in London is Felix Rivendale, Marquess of Wrenworth, who made a very brief appearance in Ms Thomas’ first book, Private Arrangements. Felix is known throughout society as The Ideal Gentleman; devastatingly handsome, devastatingly charming and just as devastatingly rich, he’s a paragon of virtue and decorum. Unfailingly polite, able to put even the most nervous at their ease, Felix is London’s most eligible bachelor – and is determined to hang on to his bachelor status until he’s at least forty-five, when he plans to marry a seventeen year-old débutante with big boobs and no brain who’ll worship the ground he walks on and pose no threat whatsoever to his heart.

Nobody around Felix has the slightest inkling that it’s all an act and that he’s about the farthest thing from an Ideal Gentleman it’s possible to be. He’s unscrupulous, manipulative, and determined to get whatever he wants from life with no thought for anyone else’s comfort but his own; and he hides all of that beneath a charming, polished persona which is so well-established that even were anyone to discern the truth, any attempt to expose him would be given no credence whatsoever.

Felix is the product of a childhood which saw him used as an emotional football between his parents. His mother was forced to marry his father and resented it until her dying day, taking her revenge by being cold and distant, and by giving the elder Wrenworth to believe that Felix may not have been his. Thus, Felix grew up in an environment in which his father didn’t take much notice of him, and his mother only did so in order to annoy his father – and as soon as Felix was old enough to realise what was going on, he began to play the game himself. Following his parents’ early deaths, he determined never to allow himself to be put into a position of weakness by anyone, and certainly not to be put there by love.

Felix continues to cut a dash through London society – the men want to be him, the women just want him – never faltering and never failing to exploit every opportunity afforded him to get what he wants –until he meets Louisa Cantwell, a young woman of no particular beauty and no particular accomplishment.

At first, it seems that Louisa is like all the other young women Felix meets – stunned by his physical perfection and taken aback by the fact that The Ideal Gentleman, a man so far above her reach, should have taken notice of her at all. And to start with, she is just that. But just as he’s about to add her to his list of – if not bedpost notches, then at least, wannabe bedpost notches – and move on, he realizes that, incredibly, Louisa Cantwell has seen through his Ideal Gentleman persona and doesn’t at all like what she’s discovered lurking about underneath.

Naturally, this causes Felix no small degree of pique. But while there are any number of books in which the irresistibly gorgeous hero is so pissed off by the heroine’s disinterest in him that he starts to pursue her, what sets this book apart is that while Louisa is appalled at what she suspects is Felix’s true nature, she is also in the grip of a lust for him that’s so strong she can’t hide it from him. And he knows it. He knows she wants to run, screaming, from the room whenever they’re in one together, and he so loves knowing she wants him in spite of her dislike that he starts to seek her out and make excuses to be wherever she is.

Yet Louisa is also not all she seems to be. One of five daughters, she is determined to be the one who supports her mother and sisters (the youngest of whom is epileptic) by marrying well. She has just one chance – she is to be sponsored for a London season by one of her mother’s friends – and she has been preparing for years. For various reasons, her début is delayed, and she’s twenty-four by the time she makes her entrance into society. For the past eight years she has been carefully assimilating everything a young lady without fortune or accomplishment intent on finding herself a rich husband needs to know – how to flatter a gentleman with subtlety, how to show the correct degree of attention to his female relatives, and most of all, how to work out which potential husband is likely to be the most biddable.

And Felix knows this, too. He knows that Louisa’s amiability, her composure and deferential femininity are just as much of an act as his own, and does not scruple to let her know he’s found her out. I love romances in which the protagonists become friends before they become lovers and this idea of “two frauds together” provides the basis for the unlikely friendship that develops between them.
With Louisa, Felix is able to act more like his true self – opportunistic, devious and, it has to be said, deliciously naughty. And even though she knows she can’t trust him, Louisa can be more herself when she’s with Felix. I loved their shared sense of humour and their teasing, which is something which I was delighted to discover continues throughout the book.

Louisa is astonished when The Ideal Gentleman proposes marriage –but, having no other options, she accepts, in full awareness (she believes) of what she’s getting into. Felix may be Machiavellian, but he’s witty, intelligent and sexy and she thinks that as long as she doesn’t make the disastrous mistake of telling him she’s in love with him, they should be able to do fairly well. It doesn’t hurt that they’ve been desperate to rip each other’s clothes off and shag themselves witless since setting eyes on one another, and Louisa is certainly looking forward more than eagerly to getting Felix into bed and doing all the naughty things she’s imagined and that he’s hinted at.

I should say at this point that although Felix and Louisa have a lot of sex – and I mean A LOT – the book is not a bonk-fest, and I think that was the right way to go. Even though they’re burning up with lust, they don’t even kiss until after they’re married, which means that the level of sexual tension between them feels like a pressure cooker ready to explode. The sex scenes are not overly explicit, but they’re no less hot and steamy for that. I think that pages and pages of detailed horizontal Olympics would have become boring after a while and would certainly have been detrimental to the story overall.

Naturally, the course of true love does not run smooth. At first, Felix is unnerved by the force of his desire for Louisa and decides that he needs to keep away from her if he’s to avoid becoming completely in thrall to her. This leads him to act like a complete bastard, it’s true – but it’s also true that he quickly realises he’s behaved like a complete bastard and tries to make amends.

That’s another one of the things I really liked about the book. The conflicts between the couple are entirely of their own making – but so are the resolutions. Felix and Louisa both make mistakes – but they’re grown-up enough to admit them and to take the steps needed to fix things.

As is the case with the other books I’ve read by this author, what really sets her stories apart from the crowd is the depth and complexity of the characterisation. Felix may be an underhand cad in many ways, but the things that make him The Ideal Gentleman are not completely fabricated. Beneath it all, he’s a genuinely kind and charming man and despite his parents’ terrible example, he’s a romantic at heart. When he admits to himself that the accusations of selfishness Louisa has levelled at him are true, he is unwavering in his determination to do something that’s just for her; he fosters her interest in astronomy and meticulously plans lessons in maths and physics to further her understanding. His behaviour towards her mother and sisters is adorable and once he finally realises that what he had thought of an obsession with Louisa is actually a deep and abiding love, he’s terrified – but tells her how he feels anyway.

I’ve read some reviews saying that the resolution was rushed and that Louisa forgave Felix too easily for the deception he’d practiced on her, but I disagree. Going back to what I said at the beginning, Ms Thomas’ characters act in ways which feel right, even though at times, that may be somewhat frustrating to the reader. And here, I thought we got a perfect resolution. Both characters have to admit to faults and decide to do what’s needed to make their marriage work. I think what we see at the end of the book is just the beginning - and that what the author has done is to give the reader a glimpse of a relationship that is only going to get better.

The Luckiest Lady in London was a real treat from start to finish and if there are any fans of historical romance out there wondering whether or not to read it – all I can say is: it’s brilliant so stop wondering and get your hands of a copy as soon as possible.

[Verity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sigh-worthy quotes from the smoke-and-mirrors Ideal Gentleman :

“You are right,” he said half a minute later. “The grapes are too tart, especially compared to the sweetness of you.”

“I can never be in you deep enough. Never.”

“No,” he said. “I only want you.”

“I will,” he told her. “I will keep waiting.”

“The Ideal Gentleman might have always had what he wanted, but I have not. I know perfectly well what it is like to wish for affection and receive none in return.”

“That’s for your family. I want you to have everything you have always wanted in life, everything you have ever dreamed about.”

“I’ve been satisfying my whims my entire adult life. It will not injure me to put aside my self-consideration for a while.”

“I always think I cannot love you more if I tried, but I always do.”

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sherry Thomas wrote this so I knew before reading a single word it was going to be intelligently written, complicated, and painful. Check, check, and check.

Louisa is in London to catch herself a wealthy husband, has groomed herself in advance, and has done her homework. Mr. Pitt or Viscount Firth would do nicely. They are not the catch of the season like Lord Wrenworth, The Ideal Gentleman, the Holy Grail of London bachelors, but Louisa isn’t a raving beauty, bust improvers notwithstanding, and has no social standing or dowry. Wrenworth is not a possibility. Yes, there is that moment of blinding infatuation when she is first introduced to him, but she quickly perceives that he saw it and found it ridiculous, so she smothers her flight of fancy under practical considerations and turns away.

Someone as insignificant as Louisa turning away from him piques Wrenworth’s interest, and Felix begins a lowkey campaign to entice her into being his mistress, which she rebuffs, forcing him to make a very surprising counteroffer.

For a gold digger, Louisa is an unexpectedly sympathetic character, enterprising and intelligent, occasionally uncertain, cautious, practical, and honest, especially with herself. She doesn’t let her modest background define her ambitions, and gives as good as she gets, even with the lofty Felix.

Felix is challenging. The brilliant prologue details his heartbreaking childhood, so the reader understands why he chooses to protect himself by becoming The Ideal Gentleman, and his interest in Louisa is a mark in his favor. But then the past rears its ugly head and he gets nervous and STARTS THINKING!!!

All along, the saner parts of himself had been issuing warnings that it was a terrible idea to fixate on this girl. And all along, doltishly preoccupied with her, he had ignored all the danger signals. While telling himself that he was only after a bit of perverse fun, as if Captain Ahab had somehow come to the belief that he was only a recreational angler, even as he pursued his obsession all over the seven seas, a harpoon at the ready. Obsession. He winced at the word, but there was no denying the truth: He had been obsessed for months. He stopped midstride, horrified.

For the first time ever, I was wishing a man would think with the brain in his pants instead of the one in his head, but nooooooooo.

So KABOOM. Pain happens, big pain, fierce pain. Even after he’s made some amends and they manage to get past it, Louisa can’t forget it.

Remember this, she thought to herself. Remember this weakness in yourself. Remember that you do not know why he behaved abominably a fortnight ago, or why he is sweetness and sunshine now. It could all go away again in the blink of an eye, without warning, without explanations.

And just when you think he’s clawed his way back, KABOOM again. And here’s the horrible truth: even when you know he’s done the unforgivable, you’re still hoping he’ll be forgiven.

That’s some Sherry Thomas magic right there.

[Vintage · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a horrible, horrible hero. I loved him. I really wish Sherry Thomas had called this bookThe Ideal Gentleman because he most certainly was not.

Not quite sure why I buy these complete and total reprobates in a historical setting when I want to drown the Harlequin HP Old school heroes for ridiculous punishing kissed and arm twisting as well as the modern Greek/Spanish/Italian/Sicilian billionaires and their slut shaming and blackmailing. These Georgian, Regency and Victorian anti-heroes are just so darn charming.

The h is a great character as well. She realizes years before she is even presented in society that she's the only one in the family with the determination and smarts to make a good marriage. Machinations include bust enhancers, learning to smile mysteriously and generally being entertaining. She's more than happy to settle for a nice, middle of the road swain, one with whom she can make an agreeable marriage, make happy and take care of her sisters.

The H slithers in and wrecks her plans. An emotionally deformed hero, he was used as a tool by his emotionally cold and manipulative mother against the father. Control and emotional distance are essential to him, and he is as charming as the day is long. He is fascinated by the heroine. Their banter and connection sparkles from the beginning.

He thought of her a great deal, but that was only to be expected, given that he had plots in place concerning her. Besides, those thoughts were quite pleasurable and gave him not a moment of distress or angst.

The expression on her face when she saw him—as if he were a swaying cobra and she a hapless would-be victim, desperate to flee but mesmerized against her will. He wished he could distill and bottle the sensation. One drop of such an essence would turn a eunuch as virile as Hercules himself.

But she was, if not a shark, then at least a dolphin: smiling and sweet-faced, yet ferociously intelligent and undeniably a predator.


She refuses his generous offer, of course, but he continues to manipulate the playing field by encouraging one beau to leave and telling her that her favorite candidate is having sex with his half-sister. This lie comes back to bite him later.

Some of her comments to him...

On their wedding night she confesses that she is much flatter than she looks due to her bust enhancers. Here is her version of an apology.
“So I thought . . .” She pulled at her collar. “I thought if I would consent to unnatural acts, then perhaps it would not be so difficult to achieve my husband’s forgiveness in this matter. And, well, you are most certainly the sort to incline toward unnatural acts.”

He does so many unforgivable things, I forget which grievous error inspired this comment,
“How exceedingly clever you are. And how frightfully accurate your reasoning,” she said, her voice as flat as his. “I should be flattered that you would resort to such extraordinary tactics just to sleep with me. I wonder why I am not.”

The H caves and they marry, and the scenes are steamy. After their wedding night it hits him how much he wants her emotionally. Petrified, he turns into a jackass of immense proportion and is cold and cruel.

He manages to grovel his way back into her good graces for a while when the second shoe drops. She finds out about his lie regarding her suitor and his sister. They WERE NOT lovers after all. The realization of the consequences of his lie overwhelm her. She points out that it's a good thing she's no gossip when he points out, fairly shamefaced, that if she had said something it would be her word against The Ideal Gentleman and no one would believe her.

Yep, he's a bad boy, but I enjoyed his manipulation and his redemption.

[*The Angry Reader* · Rating 5 out of 5]

At around 20% I was so angry I thought I’d smash my iPad. I went into the kitchen to peel potatoes and breathe. What. A. Ride.

Of course y’all know that Sherry Thomas is incomparable. I feel like we wouldn’t be GR friends if you hadn’t read at least one of her books. And I know that if you’ve read one you’ve read at least 3 and have the rest on your TBR. Thomas and Duran are the mountain top. And I have been to the mountain top.

Felix is awful. Awful. Awful. Awful. Whatever you’re picturing he’s worse. Not in the dumb brooding he-man way. Not in the pathetic angsty alpha male way that C list authors bandy about. He’s a total and complete shithead. And Louisa is smart, practical, funny, calm, determined and wayyyyyyy too good for his ass. At least twice I hoped that Felix would get a case of incurable hemorrhoids and we’d Get a new hero.

Do you know the fun thing about reading a conceited, conniving, pinheaded, fancyboy who does whatever he wants to whoever he wants? The reckoning. And as much as I spent 70% of this book looking like an angry chicken strutting around with feathers akimbo, I ended this bad boy smirking like the cat that got the cream. Oh the satisfaction.

So yeah. Read the book.

[Merry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the third in the series first. "His at Night" and adored it. So I wanted to read this book the first in the series. It started out fun and engaging. Two rather strong minded people that plotted and planned out how to influence their future. Then came the next several hours. Sigh. They were a long several hours. Then a fun end.

[Princess under cover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite liked this one. Thought H's adult behavior was a little too exaggerated for the upbringing he had. But then, ST's books tend to be melodramatic. I like this mainly for the heroine, how smart she is, how she knows to combat him and intrigue him and please him and tease him. I'm not exactly sure why H fell in love with her tho, other than her ability to hold her own against him (and of course their physical chemistry). I suppose that's enough. I do understand how she ultimately fell in love with him, but I think what she felt in the beginning was merely lust.

It was good. Not the best.

[Sher❤ The Fabulous BookLover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow I loved this book! Definitely the best romance of the year. It was refreshing and truthful, unlike a lot of historical nowadays. Great writing, it might be hard to get into, but it does pick up a lot. There's a lot of tasteful, steamy scenes. Overall, an awesome read.

[OLT · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's reading magic in a Sherry Thomas romance. It's the great way she writes, the imperfections and depth of her characters, the very rough path to the HEA where I actually feel the pain of the H or h, something I'm often clinically removed from with romance by other authors, and the great feeling of relief and happiness the books give me when the H and h do finally get to their HEA.

Ordinarily, the poor little unloved rich boy hero who grows up to avoid the trap of love is not a character I feel much sympathy for, but the prologue of this book has me aching for young Felix Rivendale. A pawn in his parents' marriage, his mother shows affection for him only when she sees it will hurt her husband, and the father is distant and doesn't even trust that Felix shares his DNA. Orphaned at 17, Felix adopts his protective "Ideal Gentleman" persona, which will show him to be an example of all that is perfect in a man. But he will only allow himself friendship and affection for others, because love makes you powerless and vulnerable. He learned that long ago when he yearned for a mother's and father's love in vain.

Enter Louisa Cantwell, from a poor, slightly scandalous family. Louisa is insecure but pragmatic. She knows she lacks money, pedigree, accomplishments, and, in particular, beauty. Yet she must marry well because after the eventual death of her mother there will be no money left for her to care for her epileptic younger sister. So Louisa adopts her own persona. After years of practice she develops social skills, is attractive, interesting to men, warm but not too warm, sweet but not too sweet, and has learned to improve greatly upon what nature has given her in the beauty department. But she feels like a illusion. If anyone knew the real Louisa, they would not be interested in her.

Felix and Louisa meet at a party. She's uncomfortable with him, feeling that he can see through her facade. That he knows the gloss of her hair is owed to mayonnaise, her lovely smile hides crooked teeth, her beautiful bosom created by a "bust improver" under her clothes, and that he finds her ridiculous. But Louisa is misinterpreting Felix's thoughts. In actuality, Felix is intrigued, but not because of her bosom or beauty or wit or sex appeal. No, Felix senses that Louisa can see through his own Ideal Gentleman facade and still can find him attractive. This is just the beginning of the misunderstandings our lovers will have as the book progresses.

Such great imperfect characters Thomas has created: Felix, who has set up emotional barriers against love so that he can always be in control and have the power, and Louisa with trust issues, believing no one could really love her if they really knew her. Well, you know this is going to cause major roadblocks and stumbles on their way to an HEA. And what a great read it is, even when the reader is agonizing with one or the other of the protagonists.

BTW, if you remember Thomas's first (and excellent) romance, Private Arrangements, you'll find it interesting that Lady Tremaine, the heroine of that debut book, makes an appearance here as a secondary character.

[Luana ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unpopular opinion, but I didn't like this book much. The beginning was amazing, I loved the heroine and loved her strategy to get a husband. She's a woman of action and prepared to do what it takes to help her family (as long as it is proper). But after the conquest, it was just meh for me.

2.5⭐

[Becky (romantic_pursuing_feels) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread 1/29/2023

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Keeping my original rating of 5 stars, though I probably would have rated 4 stars this read. I don’t like to lower a rating for a reread unless it’s something problematic)
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 - Thomas’s scenes are a bit on the vague side
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑 Many are on the short side
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥- hard to rate true steam. There’s a number of scenes but many are light and short and this is a book that overall didn’t feel SUPER hot to me even though there’s quite a bit of sex.
Humor: Yes! Delightful banter.
Perspective: Third person perspective from both the hero and the heroine

(These are all personal preference on a scale of 1-5 (yours ratings may vary depending what gives you feels and how you prefer you sex scenes written, etc) except the Steam Scale which follows our chart from The Ton and Tartans Book Club )

Should I read in order?
This is the first book in Thomas’s London Trilogy.

Basic plot:
Louisa must marry well to support her sisters, but the one man she doesn’t want seems to be her only marriage opportunity.

Give this a try if you want:
- I think this is Victorian? But I don’t have a year
- split between London and country setting
- light to medium steam – there are a number of scenes but most are on the vague/short side
- Lots of fun banter
- You’re okay with a jerk hero that results in a hero grovel

Ages:
- Hero is 28. I didn’t catch the heroine’s age but I think she’s mid 20s?

My thoughts:
I still loved this book for my reread! I won’t go too much into it, as I covered a lot of my thoughts and feelings in my original review (found below).

The banter here I thought was perfection. I enjoyed Thomas’s writing, her humor and her angst. I again wished for a bit more explicitness and length with her love scenes.



Content warnings:

- Some scenes of neglectful parenting
- Loss of parents


Locations of kisses/intimate scenes: What counts as a ‘full’ scene was hard to judge and will vary with readers. I listened to the audio this last reread so I struggle with telling the length of the scenes on that. This should give an idea at least!

49% - 🔥 kisses, breast play, missionary (it’s fairly short), that continues into another missionary scene
59% - kisses and fingering for heroine (short)
67% - him behind her in the folly
70% - 🔥 oral for her outside followed shortly after with missionary
78% - kisses and implied blow job
80% - oral for her (short)
87% - kiss
95% - mention of hero masturbating repeatedly
96% - 🔥 classroom sex against a blackboard with some teacher/student play




Original review 2/9/2020

This was my first Sherry Thomas! I have heard so many people recommending her and loving her books. Well, I'm sold. Totally sold. I adored this book. I stayed up alllll night reading it. I loved it. I didn't care how tired I was going to be. I had to finish it.

Felix, our hero, has some issues. You see them forming in the prologue and your heart just breaks for him. You worry what he is becoming and his defense mechanisms he begins to employ to protect himself from hurt. Despite his rather sad past, he makes himself into The Ideal Gentleman. As a marquess, his manners, grace, and gentlemanly behaviors are above reproach. No one sees what is beneath this veneer he has created.

Louisa, our heroine, has a very certain goal – marry and marry well to support her family. She has many sisters, one who needs extra care, and she knows she must marry well to have the finances and stability to save everyone. She has created the perfect persona to thrive in London. She is friendly but not too forward. She is engaging without being desperate. She first is in awe of The Ideal Gentleman but quickly is wary and pushes him away when she feels his judgment.

God I just loved this entire book. I smiled so much in the beginning when they were dancing around each other and getting to know each other. Thomas has amazing chemistry and tension between the characters without a single touch. I was so in love with both of them, my heart fully engaged, gripping my book just waiting for something to happen. I LOVED this hero. I loved him falling in love. It was like he couldn't really see it or admit but I could see it, feel it and just revel in every moment. Then, he breaks my damn heart. Stomps on it. It's like he's realizing he's in too deep and tries to back track but it's too late. This book played on every one of my emotions. I FREAKING LOVE A BOOK THAT DOES THAT!!! But, oh, the groveling. He's an arrogant lord so he struggles, but it happens in the sweetest ways.

The sex was not what I was expecting. The scenes are not closed door, but are not very long or detailed or explicit. I know this will suite a lot of people. But oh, how much I wanted every look, every touch, the entire thing laid out for me. I was a little sad after the first scene, because well I'm greedy for eggplants. Yet, the scenes still had the emotional aspect to it. While it's not ideal for me, I still loved it.

I will say I thought Louisa's reaction towards the end of the book was more extreme than I would have done. I would have reacted worse to the source of the initial conflict in the book. It would have taken me a lot longer to forgive that instead.

I found something just a bit unique and different about the writing in this book. Definitely going back for more Sherry Thomas. I also have Delicious from the library so I'm going to start that tonight.

Spoilers ahead! Some random but specific thoughts about the book:
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I loved their dialogue in the beginning half of the book. The flirting with the walking stick was amazing. The innuendos had me laughing.

I adored the mannequins in the folly. Hilarious and then when Felix attempts to be a jerk to push Louisa away my heart was just so broken. I knew she would never cheat on him when she meets him at the folly at night. And I wanted to high five her for her line saying, “And I told him not to come near the folly due to the wasps” (paraphrased from rough memory haha)

I wondering if he would be able to make me forgive him by the end of the book. The tulips at first weren't enough, but oh how my heart totally melted when I saw it placed on a mannequin in the folly. His actions became just so sweet and respectful of her and I loved that.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

-- A Romantic Book Affairs Review

Felix Rivendale, the Marquess of Wrenworth, is the most eligible bachelor of London. Any woman would be lucky to have Felix. He’s wealthy, charming, and handsome. Growing up he was a pawn in his parent’s marriage. His mother never loved his father and his father obsessively loved his mother. His mother used Felix to her advantage and his father withheld his love for Felix. Because of his parent’s reckless actions in their marriage, Felix is a broken, vulnerable man who hides behind his golden image. When they died, Felix decided he would become even more influential and admired in society than his mother and would never fall madly in love like his father did. He would keep his heart guarded, always hold all the power as The Ideal Gentleman and let society admire him from afar, but never let them know him truly. But then Felix meets the one woman that could unravel his guarded heart and make him fall hopelessly in love.

Louisa Cantwell would happily embrace spinsterhood if she didn’t need a wealthy husband to help support her family. At twenty four, she enters Society on a mission to find a husband. But her lack of fortune and pedigree could essentially keep her from marrying well, even though she is charming and beautiful and so very ambitious. Louisa has a few eligible bachelors in mind and sets out to charm them at a ball one evening when she was introduced to Lord Wrenworth, who is completely out of Louisa’s league. Though he seems to have shown interest in Louisa and she cannot for the life of her figure it out; she’s considered a country bumpkin. She doesn’t trust his intentions. She doesn’t trust the man himself. And she knows she must stay away from him because he has no intentions of marrying her. Well, Louisa tries to avoid Felix but everywhere she goes, she runs into him accidentally. And soon she begins to feel consumed by this enigma of a man.

Felix has become infatuated by Louisa and finds it baffling she’s not falling over herself trying to seduce him into marrying her. He doesn’t realize that Louisa is doing everything possible to keep away from him and hopes he doesn’t see her attraction towards him. Louisa’s stand-offish behavior proves to be a challenge Felix cannot ignore. The cat wants the mouse and, the more he pursues her, the more his attraction increases. So, all of the ‘accidental’ times they run into each other are actually carefully orchestrated by him. Orchestrated or not, every time they are together the chemistry between them smolders with playful banter and sexual innuendo. But, even with his manipulations, Felix still worries he might lose her to another man, which leaves him no choice but to marry the woman he’s become infatuated with.

So, why did Felix marry Louisa if he fears becoming a besotted fool like his father? Felix is a complicated man shaped by his parent’s bad marriage. The things he does are usually self-serving, which means letting Louisa marry another was out of the question. He knows he cares for Louisa, but the deep seeded fear he has of becoming his father continues to rule his life. Because of this, when Felix and Louisa whisper sweet nothings in the bedroom, he gets scared and pushes her away with his harsh and cold words. This causes distance to grow between them and this is when the story became very emotional. I could feel the love they had for one another. And I felt how much they yearned for one another. It was heartbreaking. Felix knows he royally screwed up with Louisa. He will have to woo Louisa’s heart to get her back in his good graces again. And she certainly makes him woo hard to gain her trust and heart again.

Oh this is such a good story. Sherry Thomas gives Felix and Louisa realistic marital problems. I like that she didn’t give these characters a blissful marriage right away. These characters go through so much emotional turmoil right from the beginning, as they learn to trust and love one another without their defenses up. It made for a heartfelt story as both mature and intelligent characters fumble at love. Not to mention the drama that happens when Louisa finds out just how cunning and manipulative Felix can be. Ah, but, beyond the drama, there are many beautiful and touching scenes between them that were romantic and sweet and sexy. This quote fits this couple so perfectly…

“I seemed to have married the horniest girl in all of England.” He said softly, but with a sharp edge to his words. “You knew it long before you married me.” His eyes were now on her lips. “Yes, I did, didn’t I?” he murmured.

Sherry Thomas has written an amusing and clever story with charismatic characters. Louisa and Felix have some of the best dialogue between them that had me laughing and smiling and melting. They are mischievous and playful together. I loved it. While I thought the beginning was a little slow, but still good, I enjoyed this story a great deal more after they married. Felix turns out to be a sexy nerd (I have a weakness for smart men), a worthy husband, and a redeemable hero. I love how Louisa turns out to be just as much of a nerd as Felix and stood her ground with Felix. She’s strong and unpredictable, and really does turn out to be the luckiest lady in London. The steam and heat the author brings to the pages was incredible. They would spontaneously have sex anywhere and everywhere. And the dirty things they would say to each other were absolutely delicious. Needless to say, being that this is my first Sherry Thomas novel, it will not be my last. I’m already looking forward to reading more by this author.

Rating: B+
Heat: Hot


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