Elisa Braden: The Devil is a Marquess

When a rake beyond redemption ...
A walking scandal surviving on little more than wits, whisky, and wicked skills in the bedchamber, Benedict Chatham, the new Marquess of Rutherford, is at the end of his rope. Deeply in debt and down to his last farthing, he must marry nothing short of an absolute fortune, or risk utter ruin.

Must marry for money ...
Enter Miss Charlotte Lancaster, unfashionably tall heiress to just such a fortune and a clumsy, redheaded disaster in her five London seasons. While she dreams of leaving England for a life of trade in America, her father schemes to trade her dowry for a title-and Marchioness of Rutherford will do nicely. Charlotte wants her independence, not a husband, and certainly not a disreputable devil who renders her weak and wobbly with a single scorching glance. But she's a practical sort, and a year with the devil might buy her freedom ... provided she can resist his seductive charms. That shouldn't prove a problem, for he could not possibly want someone like her, and the feeling is mutual. Really. It is.

Love grows in the most unexpected places ...
When her father demands a startling price for his daughter's hand-one year of fidelity and sobriety-Chatham must change his libertine ways ... at least temporarily. And when he does, Charlotte begins to see him in a new light-not as the scandalous charmer she married, but as the husband she just might adore.

CW: Alcoholism, abandonment, abuse and neglect, grief, house fire

Yes, seldom can I start the series at the beginning and work my way through the end.  I hope that validates that its okay to do.  And this book, with a new to me author, worked great as a standalone – although I suppose a bit of the world building would make more sense if you read the whole series from start to finish.

But nevermind.  We Regency Readers are not mere mortals, bound by the rules.

This was more in the realm of a 4.6 or 4.7 for me.  It rang a lot of my trope bells: marriage of convenience, forced proximity/one bed, and most of all a makeover (extreme home edition).  If those aren’t your reader sweet spots, you may not be as satisfied as I was.  Although, there are a lot of other great things on offer in this book.

First, a smart but clumsy and very tall redhead who just wants to go to America to be a businesswoman.  Love this FMC.  Anyone who reads Adam Smith in bed is just speaking to me.

And second, although I think most Regency Readers know I much prefer a more Beta than Alpha kind of MMC, this wastrel and rake is a true cinnamon roll; Chatham (Lord Rutherfor/Marquess) is the crustiest of outer rings with just the melt in your mouth sweetness and gooey center I can get behind.

Third, did I mention an extreme home (and farm) makeover?  I love a Cinderella story.

Fourth, there is a lot of passion and intimacy that is just darn well written.

Some of the tension and push and pull gave me those feels, but more than that I was just deeply convinced of the rightness of these two characters and so had faith (well duh, because HEA or its not romance) that they would work it out.

There are some content warnings.  I don’t think its a huge spoiler, but there are some alcohol detox scenes that are tough, although not lengthy.  I think Braden maybe hinting at alcohol being a form of self-medication for an undiagnosed condition (ADHD), but I was never truly clear on that.  An author note probably would have helped.  There also is angst in this book, misunderstandings, and it teeters really close to non-con play at one point.  So this is not kisses only, light and fluffy material.

But Braden does a lot of great things with the era, seems to understand a lot about it, and generally writes a book that is engaging and was hard to put down.

I am really looking forward to reading the next in the series, and potentially the rest of the series, and would recommend Readers try this author if looking for something new — especially if the tropes ring your bell, too.