ARC Review: “To Marry And To Meddle” (Regency Vows #3) by Martha Waters

“To Marry And To Meddle” (Regency Vows #3) by Martha Waters

Publishing Date: April 5, 2022

Genre: Historical, Romance, Fiction

Page Length: 352 pages (electronic review edition)

Synopsis:

Lady Emily Turner has been a debutante for six seasons now and should have long settled into a suitable marriage. However, due to her father’s large debts, her only suitor is the persistent and odious owner of her father’s favorite gambling house. Meanwhile, Lord Julian Belfry, the second son of a marquess, has scandalized society as an actor and owner of a theater—the kind of establishment where men take their mistresses, but not their wives. When their lives intersect at a house party, Lord Julian hatches a plan to benefit them both.

With a marriage of convenience, Emily will use her society connections to promote the theater to a more respectable clientele and Julian will take her out from under the shadows of her father’s unsavory associates. But they soon realize they have very different plans for their marriage—Julian wants Emily to remain a society wife, while Emily discovers an interest in the theater. But when a fleeing actress, murderous kitten, and meddlesome friends enter the fray, Emily and Julian will have to confront the fact that their marriage of convenience comes with rather inconvenient feelings.

Review:

To Marry And To Meddle is the third installment in the Regency Vows series. This book follows Emily and Julian who are mentioned in the first two novels and their whirlwind marriage of convenience. We also have the addition of our previous leading couples from the other novels. Emily and Julian end up having more in common than they think and what starts off as a contract between two strangers quickly becomes a relationship. Both are sick of the societal pressures and trying to fight against the plans their parents have set out for them. This marriage is a way to defy all of society’s commands.

Julian and Emily get married to each other to shake up the public’s opinions about them. Julian is the owner of a rowdy theatre and Emily is the picture of the “perfect” society wife. However, when their newlywed life becomes mundane she and her best friends, Violet and Diana, come up with a scheme to put a spark in Emily’s marriage. I love the friendship this trio shares and that they care so deeply for each other. They constantly get into these wacky schemes which makes the story even more entertaining.

I loved the progression of watching Julian and Emily starting to develop feelings over the course of the story among their schemes to fool the public. The quiet moments where they get to know each other were endearing and made me smile. Also, I appreciated how they both go on a personal journey of learning to love each other and themselves just the way they are. They get so wrapped up in what others think that they’ve become a shell of themselves.

This book was fun to read! It’s funny and lighthearted like the rest of the series and navigating through Julian and Emily’s love story was entertaining! This series is a regency romance that’s got a slightly modern sensibility that can appeal to new readers of this sub-romance genre.

Final Verdict:

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.