Captain Leo Winterton sets himself up for heartache when he agrees to become Isabella, Lady Ashby's lover. He's been in love with her since Waterloo, when he saw her with her husband for the first time. She lost her husband on the field of battle and went through a very dark period. Almost two years later, Isabella has a list and wants a lover she can control. Very erotic and very painful to read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

1816 - London

Isabella Richmond, Lady Ashby Mauleveren, 21, is the widow of Lord Ashby, second son of the Eighth Duke of Northreding. After less than a year of marriage, Ashby was killed at Waterloo. Isabella went through a very difficult time grieving him. Now, she has come to London to stay with her sister-in-law, Lady blanche FitzHenry. Tonight, she is attending a ball for her brother-in-law Gabriel and his bride Georgiana in celebration of their marriage.

Captain Leo Winterton, 27, asked Isabella to dance and afterward she said she needed some fresh air so they step outside. She ends up kissing him telling him she wants to experience the physical side of marriage one more time before retiring to the country to live out her widowhood. Even though Ashby was her one true love, she wants to fulfill a list of physical things. He tells her that he is in love with a woman he can never have so he agrees. They promise they will not fall in love with one another. While they begin on the list, they then journey to a weeks-long house party where they hope to discretely complete the list. Just a physical union with no regrets, right?

I had mixed feelings about this book. The over-the-top erotic scenes were too much for me. I liked Leo and found him to be a truly nice guy but Isabella was a hot mess. However, the story has a nice ending so I will push my rating to 4 stars. Check it out and see what you think.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I did enjoy it but preferred her previous book. A fun regency romance.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the eARC.

Such a great read! Highly recommend this one.

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

After struggling following her husband’s untimely death, Lady Isabella Ashby is resolved to find herself again. She’s created a list of all the things that she is missing since widowhood, the intimate things, and has chosen the man who will help her explore her sensuality. Unfortunately the man she has chosen, the honourable Captain Leo Winterton, just happens to be in love with her, and will do anything she asks to have a small chance with her.

When this book was advertised on NetGalley, I decided that I needed to request it as we had met Isabella in A Duke of One’s Own, and her story had been so tragic that she just deserved a happy ending. I did like her character and resolve, and she and Leo definitely had the right chemistry for their agreement, but something was missing. I don’t know what it was, but I was always wanting a bit more, and the first 1/3 of the book was a little bit of a drag to get through. However, it definitely made up for it later on, and though the path to happiness wasn’t easy, it was worth it.

One more taste leads to more than one.
Set just after the Battle of Waterloo, we have a very young widow from this definitive battle. A widow still deeply in love with her dashing, dead husband, but about to retire to the depths of the country to live out her life remembering him.
But the best laid plans...
A sweet historical romance, nicely, if somewhat obviously, plotted. Good writing style and grammar.

Despite the cover this is not a romantic comedy like Bridgerton and Julia Quinn. I'd say this is more old school Regency Romance so if you like Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balough and Amanda Quick, definitely try Emma Orchard. Her spice scenes are wonderful and the low-level angst, pining and etiquette are so comforting. Enchanting and engaging in every way.

Light BDSM Georgette Heyer! This was like a warm hug for my soul. It's no secret that I love Georgette Heyer novels and this book took all the good parts of Georgette Hetere and added spice! But not just any spice but light BDSM spice! I would have liked to read more investigation into what was on the list and how it developed between each of the main characters, and an epilogue. I really need to know how the pregnancy progressed and if the baby survived! I wanted to read more! Hopefully there will be more in this series!

- Strangers to lovers
- Surprise pregnancy
- light BDSM
- a secret list
- Secret relationship
- He falls first

Big thanks to NetGalley, Boldwood books and Emma Orchard for this early release copy. This is my honest review.

I felt like this book had a lot of potential, but it fell flat for me I didn’t like the tropes, particularly late in the book, and it felt rushed. I might give this author another try, but this just wasn’t for me.

I liked this book better than the previous but it still wasn't really for me. I did like the plot surrounding her late husband and their previous meeting but it was too much of a 'bodice ripper' for my taste.

Great premise....

But did it deliver? Ambivalent...Was there for the premise...Isabella, a young widow, writes a naughty list.
A spicy list of things she would like to experience before she retires to the countryside, and I assume never has sex again. Which is unrealistic, as she is a young widow. With a hot friend, Leo. Leo has been carrying a torch for Isabella and is only too happy to help indulge her list request. He does, however, want more. She does not want to marry again. See? Great premise. My thoughts are the pacing was slow and I had to trudge along.

I had high hopes for this book, and sadly was a bit disappointed. I was enjoying the book for the first half of the story. After that, I found that the characters started acting very out of character and in ways that didn't make a lot of sense for who they had been for the first half of the book. The last 1/4 of the book felt very rushed. Also, *spoiler warning* I am not a fan of the unplanned pregnancy or the forced marriage tropes, so this was really just not a book for me.

I'm sad to say I really struggled with this. I absolutely love the premise of Isabella experiencing all these things and making a list of she things she desires but I did not but their connection at all. It was all very surface level and the writing, mostly the speech was very stilted. It's a real shame but it was hard to get through

This book had such a great premise. A young widow creates a list of sexual acts she wants to experience for a last time before returning to the country to rusticate, so she asks a trusted family friend to be her partner. Of course he’s been in love with her since he first spotted her as a young bride before her husband was killed in the war by she refuses to marry again. However, I found this book so slow to get there, that I ended up putting this book down to read something else and after a bit reveal happened I skimmed to the end because it wasn’t holding my attention.

While I liked the author’s writing style which had a sense of playfulness as we are flies in the wall watching scheming matchmaker friends and the like, at times it just dragged with not enough action to drive the story along because it wasn’t as interesting as watching Leo and Isabella. and while it makes sense for an unplanned pregnancy given quality birth control was unavailable, I just hated that this was the plot device to force Isabella along. Even then it all dragged out much longer than it needed because she’s stubborn and was pretty horrible to poor old Leo who was clearly besotted with her. I just think this books pace could been better and I’d prefer the plot developments not so cliche.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the ARC

A lovely third book for this series by Emma Orchard. I was introduced to the second book through Netgalley and loved the free flowing writing and modern twists involved in the story. This book is another well written addition and brings back the well known and loved characters from the first two.

I appreciated the modern feminist take, amongst regency chivalry and society. It's refreshing to see characters so open about their desires, especially set in the 1800s and especially for women.

I laughed to see how the chapters were 'numbered' and greatly enjoyed the first half of the book. The second half did get caught up in the old romantic cliche of a misunderstanding forcing the lovers apart unfortunately, and seemed to drag on a little bit before resolving.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read with seamless writing and I can't wait to see if there are more books in this series!

My thanks to Netgalley and the author and publisher for an opportunity to read the book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Whilst this was a fun read I would have preferred less raunchy scenes are more character development. The characters all felt a little shallow and 1d.

What the Lady Wants had brilliant characters with some fun and lively interactions that definitely made me smile. I couldn’t help but like Isabella, she is a widow at a young age and still grieving her husband. However she decides to make a list, a very special but secret list and she needs help. In comes Captain Winterton, her friend who is actually secretly in love with Isabella. What could go wrong or maybe right?!

Leo makes for a great hero, he had strength and genuinely cared for Isabella. Together they were sweet but they also had plenty of chemistry which was a great combination. It’s safe to say I was rooting for this couple. The story moved at a lovely pace and I was invested throughout not only in the romance side of things but the way the characters interacted. There is some spice within this book but it works well. I thought it offered a pretty good balance with the rest of the plot too. The characters definitely go on a journey and at times a heartfelt one. I really enjoyed seeing it all play out.

All that’s left to say is that What the Lady Wants was a fun, romantic and engaging story!

What The Lady Wants by Emma Orchard

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Autumn, 1816...

Lady Ashby is grieving the death of her beloved husband, just two years earlier. Although still young and beautiful, Isabella is resolved never to marry again, and plans to leave London, return to her parents’ Yorkshire house, and resign from society before the year is over. But first, she wants one more taste of life…

Isabella has written a list, the contents of which, if discovered, would create a scandal that neither she nor her family would recover from. A list of things she would like to experience, just once more, before she surrenders herself to the life of a widow. And she knows just the man to help her friend, handsome and honourable Captain Leo Winterton.

But Captain Winterton has a secret of his own. He is in love with Isabella – and when she makes her most improper proposal to him, he is powerless to resist her, even if she is resolved never to love again. Can he persuade her they are destined to be together? Or will their impropriety be discovered, to the ruin of both?

My Opinion

If you have followed my reviews for a while then you will know that I am trying to read more historical fiction and when they are as enjoyable as What The Lady Wants it is difficult to know why I have stayed away. Emma Orchard takes us on a journey of self-discovery as Isabella has to learn to live without her husband. I enjoyed the way that this had been cleverly written with Isabella and Leo trying to steal some time to spend together. A beautifully written novel.

Rating 4/5

How I ADORE this new author! Now that I got used to her Georgette Heyer inspired style of writing, I’m enjoying it more and more with each book and actually I found that I’m CRAVING it. It’s like reading Jane Austen with spice! It’s a curious mix and I’m captivated! This book has angst and humor artfully mixed, two characters who are perfectly suited to each other, but most of all a sweet cinnamon roll of a hero, willing to do anything for the woman he loves, but who won’t be used as a doormat. I really loved Leo’s fortitude, as much as I loved Isabella’s quest for something more, for her independence, for fulfilling her desires. A really wonderful book that I would willingly re-read many times!

Emma Orchard's What the Lady Wants is a delightful exploration of love, loss, and the pursuit of forbidden desires in the opulent world of Regency London. The novel follows Lady Ashby, a young widow determined to live out her days in quiet resignation. Yet, before retreating from society, she decides to indulge in a list of secret desires—scandalous by any measure of the time. Enter Captain Leo Winterton, whose loyalty and secret love for Isabella make him the perfect confidant in her quest. Orchard’s vivid descriptions and well-drawn characters bring to life the tension between duty and passion, making this novel an engaging read from start to finish.

While the plot may tread familiar ground in the historical romance genre, it is the chemistry between Isabella and Leo that truly shines. Their interactions are charged with a sense of urgency and forbidden passion, keeping readers invested in their journey. The stakes are high as they navigate societal expectations and personal boundaries, and Orchard handles these themes with a deft touch. What the Lady Wants is a captivating read for fans of Regency romance, offering a satisfying blend of romance, scandal, and self-discovery.