Terri Mackenzie: In Search of a Hero

Lady Theodosia Beaumont wants a romance for the ages, but she’ll settle for a husband with all his teeth. Unfortunately, with her father’s gambling habits having rendered them destitute, her marriage prospects are poor indeed. Just as she thinks her future is doomed, pledged to a man over twice her age, her old friend Nathanial Hardinge, the Duke of Norfolk, offers an unconventional proposal. They will be married in name only, both at liberty to find distraction where they please—as long as it is not with each other.

Married to satisfy the demands of society and his mother, Nathanial Hardinge finds himself in the unenviable position of being attracted to his wife. But he made her a promise that until he wished for children, he would not visit her bed, and he is a man of his word. That is, until his cousin and heir, Sir Montague, returns from the Continent. Suddenly, his wife’s head is turned, and by the very man who wants his title. To keep her safe, Nathanial must keep his enemy close and his wife closer, and convince her that he is the one she wants before their marriage, and lives, are destroyed forever.

I received this book for free from The Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

CW: mistresses, poisoning, shooting, hint of strangulation murder, fatphobia, discussions of an open marriage

This is a debut novel from Terri Mackenzie which was easy to read and entertaining.  A bit of a slow start/slow burn to romance, this begins with a marriage of convenience between two childhood friends who are determined to escape the marriage mart and bad matches their families seem bent on making for them.

The heroine is a young, headstrong lady who is in search of a true romantic hero.  This leads her to be attracted to the cousin of her new husband, his nemesis.  Much of the action of the novel centers around the villainous machinations of this cousin and the Duke’s former paramour, who had hoped the Duke would offer for her.

The Duke is handsome, ridiculously wealthy, and has good banter with the heroine.  We don’t ever get much into his backstory, except a glimpse into why he and his cousin are at odds and a few, subtle stories about the MCs growing up.  I think I missed some of that set up to build tension or investment in the MCs relationship, as I felt we were told rather than shown that they were childhood besties.

There is nothing surprising about the characters or plot, treading familiar ground but Mackenzie has obviously done her research to deliver on historical details.  There is melodrama and some misunderstandings driving the plot, but contrasted with a sweet friends to lovers romance it was bearable.

There was some violence on the page and hints or outright discussion of violence off the page.  It wasn’t terribly graphic, but did involve lots of recovery time/sickbed time.  There are several intimate scenes, but they were not explicit and fairly sweet.  There was some mature subject matter, including mistresses, murder, and discussions of an open marriage.  The fatphobia occurred in the first few chapters with reference to a possible suitor.  I have included a content warning.  The open marriage is more in the context of marriage of convenience but it does play an important role in some of the misunderstandings, so I recognize that may be a non-starter for some readers.

Overall, it was an entertaining read.  Recommended for readers who like the marriage of convenience/friends to lovers tropes and also appreciate a bit of villainy in their plot.