After a sheltered upbringing, Lady Lucinda Sutcliffe is finally embarking on her first season, eager to experience everything she’s missed. When Lucy realizes that her uncle plans to quickly marry her off in exchange for a slice of her fortune, she begs a favor of a new acquaintance, Ciaran Ramsey. If Lucy remains single until she turns twenty-one, she—and her money—will be out of her uncle’s power. All the charming Scot needs to do is woo her for six weeks, and then jilt her…
The Ramseys don’t need the scandal of a false engagement attached to their name. But Lucy’s older suitor is both distasteful and dangerous, and Ciaran can’t allow his lovely friend to be forced to marry such a man. And besides, the more time Ciaran spends with his new “betrothed,” the more their ruse begins to feel very much like the real thing. Passion like this is impossible to feign, but how much is a rogue willing to risk for love?
I was hoping for a cut and dry, fun fake engagement story and was a bit disappointed with what was delivered. In a different frame of mind, I would have likely scored this one higher…so I think a good back cover description can sometimes be make or break it.
The reality is this book starts with more of a friends to lovers, where after a meet cute (she goes for an ocean swim and he thinks he is rescuing her from drowning) these two keep running in to each other until a reluctant friendship is born. Lucy hasn’t had a ton of friends over her twenty years and a depressed rake seems an odd choice, but the two somehow find a connection. Its interesting, I am not sure if I was reading into it but it felt a bit like the unspoken kinship had something to do with mental health. Its not something Bradley spends a lot of time on, so I am probably just inferring, but I wonder if this was a subtle thing that some readers didn’t connect with (I saw some reviews that criticized the insta-bestie set up).
I found the beginning portion of the book a bit of a slog, and there were unanswered questions about both MCs past that were less of a hook and felt more like incomplete writing. I am not clear why Lucy was Mr. Jarvis’ ward, for instance. I think he was her mother’s BIL, so had a loose connection to her father and absolutely none over the estate. Who inherited her father’s estate? Why weren’t they in charge?
The pace picks up when the group travels from Brighton to London for the Season. There are bonus parallel love stories with two other couples, and some cute and funny scenes. There are also compelling reasons for the fake engagement which turn into some angst/villianry that again I was not in the mood for. Had I been prepped, I would have enjoyed the baddie and his wicked ways. Just not in the mood for angst at the mome. But you might be, in which case you will probably like the tension and mood.
Lucy is a likeable heroine, daring and kind, and filled with enough doubt and insecurity that she is no Mary Sue. Ciaran is also more Beta on the spectrum (which I heart) and a pretty nice guy for a rake. His dissipation seems to stem largely from ennui and depression, so that its easy for him to reform his rakish ways.
Intimate scenes are later on in the book and pretty mild, but sweet.
Overall, recommended for readers who love the friends to lovers mashed with fake engagement and a little angst/villainy in the plot to spice it up.
4 out of 6 Friends to lovers and fake engagement between an Earl’s daughter and Scottish rake
| Content Rating/Heat Index | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Veiled references to mental issues, gambling, prostitution and villianry | |
| Intimacy | |
| Midway some kissing and mild intimate scenes | |
| Violence | |
| Assault, fights, some pugilism descriptions | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Best for readers who prefer mature content | |
*A review copy was downloaded from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was provided.
