I enjoyed this story, I like how the author really lets the reader into Gladys’ mind and thoughts. Not sure I liked her choice of profession, but she probably had very few choices. I couldn’t get over how cruelly her parents turned her out, publicly and without even a penny to be able to get away from them.

Lord help Reuben the Rake & Gladys the Wallflower in this second=chance, mistaken identity romance. After he ruins her in a garden at a festival thinking she is someone else, Gladys is disowned by her terrible parents and leaves town to become a sex worker. Sad, but realistic consequences. Years later she's back for REVENGE against the man who ruined her life.

Gladys should have marched up to him once she was ruined and demanded his help in setting up a home. I was heartbroken that she became a whore! He didn't even blink an eye when she told him years later which was unrealistic.

Why did Reuben feel unworthy of love? There was no backstory for his character to explain this. Who were his parents? How was his childhood? It was like half the love story was left out.

My rating = Ugh.

Release Date: March 24, 2023

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Miss Gladys Bell is a firm wallflower. This is the last season before she is declared spinster and her dowery given to her younger sister to use. Gladys is enchanted with Reuben Medford. Unfortunately he is a rake on the prowl for a new conquest. A short tryst in the garden later along with some rumors and Gladys is properly ruined. She is disowned by her entire family. Alone and penniless, Gladys turns to sex work. In 5 years time, Gladys becomes a sought after courtesan and is back in London. Finding Medford in London as well, she vows to ruin him by making him love her and leaving him. But thin line between love and war is thin and sometimes isn’t there at all!

I love a revenge turned romance storyline but this one seemed far fetched. It was too hard to suspend my disbelief that after all Gladys had been through, when Medford once again accosts her in the dark (the same dark gardens no less!), kisses her senseless, and still has no idea who she is, she still falls in love with him! Medford clearly shows that while she has changed in their years apart, he has not.
The explaination given is that he believes that he is damaged goods, with an uncle who berated him and made him feel worthless. This does NOT justify ruining a girls entire life and absolutely forgetting about her. I think it would have been better had she haunted him and was at least trying to be repentant. Half a great concept but I’d skip this book for one of Erica’s other great books!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

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I said it before and I'll say it again. I love Erica Ridley's books. I wish they were longer but she has the skills to develop her characters well enough without adding extraneous details.

I liked this story. I liked the leads together and I could see why they fell for each other. I would have liked going into more depth in them forming their connection. However, I can see why they are good together.

Erica Ridley never disappoints! This was a really quick and well done read! I enjoyed the characters and watching how they came together.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

Sweetly sexy and emotionally thrilling journey filled with dangerous and engaging charters, witty banter, heart racing twists, exciting turns and undeniable passion. An edge of your seat exciting adventure from beginning to end.

What a nice find. This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

The plot of this book revolves around Miss Gladys Bell, who has always been a wallflower and never thought she would attract a suitor. However, when she meets the man of her dreams, Reuben Medford, she thinks her luck has finally changed. They have a passionate night together, but Reuben doesn't remember her name and doesn't propose.

Gladys loses everything, including her reputation and her chance at love, thanks to Reuben's callousness. But now she's back, and she's seeking revenge. This time, Gladys is determined to hold Reuben's heart in her hands and crush it, just as he did to her.

The book is a historical romance novel that features a strong and determined female lead who is out for revenge. The chemistry between Gladys and Reuben is palpable, and the tension between them is electric. The story is well-paced and engaging, with plenty of twists and turns to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Overall, "Wallflower with a Revenge" is a fun and exciting read that will keep readers entertained from beginning to end. It's a story of love, betrayal, and revenge that will leave readers rooting for Gladys and hoping that she gets the justice she deserves.

Thanks to Netgalley and Webmotion for the ARC of this!

I loved this revenge, one-sided enemies to lovers (since the male MC had no idea who the female MC was or that they were enemies 😂) It was overall a lot of fun and I loved the sexual power of her becoming a wealthy prostitute, with the conversation around her choices and sexuality. The end wrapped up pretty quickly in a mostly satisfying way, but I think the damage done was not fully addressed because she had re-fallen for him.

A strange mix with some good parts.

I had a very hard time getting into this one. The FMC changed so much so quickly, and it was jarring. And somehow, Gladys and Reuben didn’t seem to fit together.
Her parent’s reaction and complete lack of kindness or empathy was shocking and off-putting. It left a sour taste in my mouth for the whole book.
However, being Erica Ridley, there were some sweet and funny parts of course. I’m looking forward to the rest of this series (and the ones by Darcy Burke of course).

Star Rating: 2.25/5
Tropes: Wallflower, enemies to lovers, second chance
CW: Toxic relationship, abandonment

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Five years ago, Gladys was kissed by Reuben Medford and it left her ruined and homeless. She became a courtesan and while she's earned a great amount of money it's not a lifestyle she wants to continue. She'd rather read and pet her cat. But she wants her revenge against Medford first, hoping to entice him and then break his heart. When they meet again he does not recognize her and attempts to seduce her. She resists and they develop a strange sort of friendship instead, and she finds that her heart is also in danger. Reuben was a pretty shameless rake in his actions and is famous for never being seen with the same woman twice. Before Gladys, that is. But he's got trouble believing that any woman would want him for more. This was a quickly read story and I enjoyed reading about their encounters. Steam level: Sure, they did it, but the best scenes here are the non-sexual ones.
I received a netgalley copy and this is a voluntary review.

I loved this revenge romance. It was a quick read and the heroine is also a reader - it is nice when characters match aspects of ourselves. Gladys was ruined by a rake, and after five years is back to return the favor. But is vengeance really what she wants or needs?

While there was much heartache and injustices faced, all was set to rights making this a true HEA romance.

I was received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley. Opinions and poorly worded reviews are my own.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is book 2 in the series. This was a pretty good story about revenge. I understand that some people did not enjoy it. They couldn’t understand why the main character chose the life she did. It was because for women back in the day they just did not have a good education. She had no life skills and was so sheltered she just didn’t have much of a choice. I did enjoy it but couldn’t believe how quickly she gave up on her revenge other than that it was a good read.

Miss Gladys Bell is looking for a husband (already considered a wallflower), but I have to say that her parents don't seem to be very helpful in this endeavor.
When Gladys thinks she has finally found her soulmate - Reuben Medford, in fact, she is left disgraced by the gentleman (he was a famous rake, and yet she let herself be enchanted by him) and by her parents, who cannot bear the shame, abandon their daughter completely (and literally).
The story continues five years later, and Gladys returns beautiful, powerful and with a lot of money. She had become a famous courtesan, and had returned to the city with a plan of revenge: to make Reuben Medford fall in love with her, and this time, she would leave him heartbroken.

Needless to say, the plan doesn't go as planned.
The two turn out to be more alike (wounded and scared) than they thought, thus becoming the perfect match for each other.
3 stars

After Darcy, it is now Erica’s turn in the Lords in Love series.

And from the cute and hard working Sadie, we now go to the hell bend on revenge courtisane Gladys. As a naive wallflower she made the mistake of trusting a rake. And she has paid dearly for it. But now she is back in Marrywell to make him suffer as she has.

Reuben Merford is the rake in question. But of course, with Erica, nothing is as it seems and you will slowly learn what’s behind Reuben’s shiny facade.

As always, a funny, cute and cozy story. Can’t wait for the next part of this series. Five out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

Erica Ridley is my go-to when I need the literary equivalent of comfort food. Her characters are diverse and empowered while not feeling too anachronistic. This book takes the fundamental story of a girl who is compromised by a cad and falls into prostitution, and turns it into a bigger exploration of revenge and loneliness. I stayed up way too late reading it, but didn't want it to end.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! I am loving this new series! When you put two wonderful authors together, you have a five star effort! This story had me hooked from start to finish. Each one takes place in the small town of Merrywell at their annual festival. This strong and courageous heroine returns after five years to exact revenge on the Rogue who ruined her life all those years ago. In a game of cat and mouse, a relationship grows, and it becomes uncertain whose heart will do the breaking!

This one has me mixed, the romance is good but the setting didn't make it completely for me. Like I have a hard time with courtesans as leads not because i judge them, but because usually in the story the author doesn't handle it realistically.

That being said the chemistry between the character was good, the development in the relationship was good.

This one is full of revenge and after what happened you know why but dannnng I hold a grudge but this might beat me. It’s also super slow burn and very enemies to lovers' romance. Gladys had fend for herself for years after Reuben “ruined” her. Reuben tries hard to win her over with some special dates with a book gift and card games, but he goes too far with this rakeish way and had to win her again.
This is very revenge and not much HEA until the very very end. I’m excited to see where this series goes!

Wow, I really had to suspend all of my disbelief to even attempt to buy into this story. Unfortunately today was not that day. The blurb sounded well enough with a revenge plot I could get on board with. However, turning a ruined debutant into a *retired* courtesan after a 5-year time jump and still have her fixating on some rake was not it. I couldn’t stand the MMC either so it wasn’t hard to DNF this one.

Thank you for the advance reader copy via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.