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Merely Married
352 pages
A sparkling historical romp where a cynical duke's foolproof plan to avoid marriage spectacularly backfires into true love.
What it feels like
Reading this historical romance feels like stepping into a perfectly executed comedic play, where the banter is sharp and the romantic tension is deliciously inevitable. The narrative moves at a brisk, engaging clip, propelled by the classic friction of a marriage of convenience gone delightfully awry. It wraps the reader in a sparkling, cozy atmosphere, balancing lighthearted societal maneuvering with moments of genuine, swoony vulnerability. The prose is breezy and dialogue-driven, ensuring the pages turn effortlessly as the protagonists navigate their self-imposed rules. It is a thoroughly comforting read that will delight fans of trope-heavy historical fiction who love watching cynical pragmatists slowly and reluctantly surrender to unexpected affection.
- Mood
- sparkling
- cozy
- swoony
- Tone
- wry
- playful
- romantic
- lighthearted
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- marriage of convenience · fake relationship · subverting expectations · reluctant vulnerability
- The writing
- Breezy and dialogue-driven, characterized by sharp banter and an accessible, engaging historical flair.
- The arc
- Moves from cynical pragmatism and comedic frustration to a tender, reluctant surrender to true love.
- Who it's for
- Readers who delight in classic historical romance tropes, especially the marriage of convenience and fake relationship dynamics.
Content notes
- illness
About the book
Life for Adrian Devereau, the sixth duke of Raven, was flawless, but for one nagging detail. Try as he did to live down to his reputation as the Wicked Lord Raven, the ladies persisted in viewing him as desirable husband material. So he conceived a bold solution to foil them once and for all--he would marry a woman on her deathbed and adopt the role of grieving widower. He even found a most suitable wife: Leah Stretton, overtaken by a sudden illness while journeying to London. But with Leah's "miraculous" recovery, Adrian found himself properly wedded to a beauty as headstrong as she was healthy. Now his only chance at freedom was playing her game. More adept at writing about romance and adventure than living it, Leah could not permit a new family scandal to ruin her sister's launch into society. If Adrian played her devoted husband, she would grant him an annulment later. There was only one rule: neither of them could fall in love. Of course, rules were made to be broken.
Description from Open Library.
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