📖 Title: A Gentleman's Offer-a standalone

✍🏾 Author: Emma Orchard- I read The Viscount and the Thief and gave it 5⭐

📅Publication date: 3/22/25 | Read: 3/21/25

📃 Format: eBook 318 pgs.

Genre:
*Historical Fic
*Regency Romance

Tropes:
*arranged marriage
*age gap- 29/18
*family drama
*friends to lovers
*journey companions
*sapphic romance
*secret identity
*slow burn romance
*Shakespeare re-imagining-Twelfth Night

👆🏾POV: 3rd person

⚠️TW: prostitution-mentioned, homophobia

🌎 Setting: London 1817

Summary: Dominic has come to claim his betrothed- Marie Nightingale. He discovers that Marie has run away, and her identical sister Meg has assumed her identity. Meg wants Dom to help her find Marie and spend their time falling in love.


👩🏾 Heroine: Margaret "Meg" Nightingale

👨🏾 Hero: Dominic De Lacy

🎭 Other Characters:

* Marie-Meg's twin sister
*Hannah-Meg's maid
*Francis-Meg and Marie's half brother
*Lord Nightingale/Augustus-Meg's father
*Lady Nightingale/Hermione-Meg's mother
*Aunt Greystone-Lord Nightingale's sister


🤔 My Thoughts: I loved the secret identity/hidden truths that came with Meg and Dominic. Francis was the MVP taking over and elevating their families.

Rating: 4/5 ✨
Spice level 2/5 🌶️kissing, off page

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and Emma Orchard for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

Spicy, male female, 3rd person dual point of view, regency romance. I enjoyed the chemistry and humor a great deal. There was a bit of mystery and a bit of spice. This was a perfect length cozy read and I recommend it.

I really enjoyed this lighthearted romance. It's very well written and full of humor, unexpected twists and turns, very likable main and secondary characters, a touch of intrigue, deceit, a villain and some steam. Dominic and Meg are a perfect match and their chemistry sizzles from the start.

Sir Dominic De Lacy
Leads a peaceful and ordered life. To fulfill his fathers wish, he becomes engaged to Maria Nightingale, his father‘s friend‘s daughter. At their engagement party, however, he learns that his fiancée has apparently eloped and that her twin sister Margaret "Meg" Nightingale has taken her place to protect Maria from scandal.
Since her parents' separation, Meg has lived with her mother in the country, where she has led a carefree, if modest, life, while Maria has had to stay with her indifferent, ruthless father as a wealthy heiress.
Meg asks Dominic to help her find her sister and he agrees, but he has no idea that the lively young lady is about to shake up his predictable life...

All in all, a fun read that I‘m happy to recommend!

I received a free ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and left voluntarily.

I enjoyed this spicy Regency romantic tale, which engages you in the action from the beginning and has many twists to accompany the couple's romantic journey. I worked out some twists, immersing me in the story. It's a tale of romantic entanglements despite beginning with a proposed marriage of convenience. It has a good mix of action, introspection, mystery, and romance, and it has a likeable cast of characters except for the antagonist, who is suitably dire. The attraction between Dominic and Meg is compelling and has obvious emotional intent. I enjoyed the storytelling, the romance and the satisfying ending.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

This Historical Romance was good, a little bland and repetitive at times. There was nothing egregious or offensive in the book but likewise there was no spark to lift it beyond being fine.

I did find this book to be an entertaining read. I did like the main characters of Meg and Dominic. Meg had a very different upbringing from her sister Maria. Meg was quite bold and determined. Dominic helps Meg to look for her sister. As they spend more time with each other, so their feelings develop but Dominic is betrothed to her sister. I liked the connection between the two. There are a few surprises and the villain of the story gets a just comeuppance, which always pleases me! The story moved along at a good pace. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Honestly, where was the romance? I'm still looking for it. Can't find it. No romance to be found.

I love period romances and I love marriage of convenience plot, but oh boy, that was a miss.

Unfortunately, I can't find anything to rate it higher.

The characters were bland, the paragraphs were huge, the dialogue was bad, if the characters didn't repeat themselves over and over again it would've been three times shorter, there was no chemisty, sapphic rep was ehh at best, the mystery wasn't engaging and it was resolved by 50% mark, and then there was loophole and blackmail plot that I wasn't a fan of.

If it wasn't for the fact that I requested an ARC for an honest review, I'd have DNF'd it.

Sorry, but it was a big miss for me.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this arc copy.

I'm reviewing this via NetGalley, as part of a tour with Rachel's Random Resources.

I've read a couple of other Regency romances by this author, and they were delightful, so I was excited to read this one as well.

At the start of the book, we meet Sir Dominic, who is engaged to Maria. They don't know each other too well, but he hopes they can be happy together. Then Maria drops a bombshell; she isn't actually Maria, but Maria's twin sister, Meg. They don't know where Maria is, but Meg secretly takes her place in the meantime. Even if they find her, will she still marry Dominic?

I found that both Dominic and Meg were characters who came to life easily for me. They made me smile, and I enjoyed their chemistry. I found this a very easy and pleasant read; it was lighthearted and romantic with a lovely dash of spice, and it warmed my heart.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel's Random Resources, Boldwood Books, and to the author, for the opportunity to read and review this.

This was fab! Lots of regency novels have very similar plot lines but this perfectly combined those threads of the novel that we all enjoy with enough variety to make it really interesting. Dominic, Meg and Maria were all great characters, as were so many of the more minor figures and side story lines. The writing was detailed and immersive and I felt totally absorbed in the nightingale dramas. I really enjoyed the story and was sad when it was over, though of course relieved that everything came to a very satisfactory conclusion!!

I liked this book, it was an easy and fun read! My favorite part was that it had a historically accurate age gap where the FMC called the MMC old hehe

Thank you Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. I picked this book because historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. The synopsis for this book made it sound so interesting, but unfortunately, that's where it ended for me. I tried for the longest time to get hooked on the story, but it just didn't grab me. I enjoyed aspects of the book, like the parent trap style switching of twin sisters, and the fact that Maria and Meg were given their personalities. I give this book a 2.5 stars out of five.

First of all, I would like to thank Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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The first book I’ve ever read by Emma Orchard was “The Viscount and the Thief” and I enjoyed it a great deal, so I was really excited to read her newest book. The synopsis was something that also caught my attention: arranged marriage? twin sisters switching identities? bachelor who’s getting married just for the sake of it but ends up falling in love with his fake switched bride to be? Oh I was sat to read it.
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Emma Orchard’s writing styles never seems to miss, with the formal language, the details and historical accuracy being on point. As I’ve mentioned in my previous review too, the size of the paragraphs and the chapters really help immerse the reader in the book, not being overly long that makes the scenes drag on or too short that appears to have scenes half written.
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I really liked how the plot reaffirmed how difficult it was for a woman to live in that time period in regards of independence (needing a male relative to support and protect them) and also how hard it was for them to make a living (although Mrs. Nightingale was a published author, her earnings were small, and Maria could not access her own inheritance). Although the first half of the book passed by very vast, the second half fell a little flat in my opinion, and had me wondering what more could happen because by then I had guessed the most important plot points (why Maria had ran away and why Mr. Nightingale was doing what he was towards the De Lacy’s specifically).
But that didn’t make the book less enjoyable, even if it was a little bit predictable.
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The relationship between Dominic and Meg was the most delicious of the slow burns, in true regency fashion with lots of pinning and repressed sexual desire. It was nice to see them becoming friends first before finally giving in and admitting that they liked each other, with no insta love whatsoever. I found it specially hilarious how Meg would tease Dominic because of their age gap and how he was very worried about his style (my girl Meg knows what’s up, a well dressed person really raises their appeal). They’re your typical “quiet boy x energetic girl” and Dominic was down bad for her.
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The spice was a lot less in “A Gentleman’s Offer” when compared to “The Viscount and the Thief” (if I recall correctly there were only two scenes at the end of the book, and much more “censored”) but that did not bother me at all. In fact, Dominic and Meg’s flirting was much more enjoyable and I wouldn’t even have minded if there was not spice at all.
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Overall, this is a fun cozy read for those who like regency books and enjoy slow burn. The mystery is also nice, even if a little bit predictable, which made me set on giving it 3.5 (three and a half) stars out of 5 (five).

Satirical...

This story is told in a third person satirical voice. Dominic is a perfectly bored man who is so filled with ennui, that he proposes to someone he barely knows. When Meg, her twin sister announces to him she's there to take her twin sister Maria's place until Maria can be located. They are thrown together and what do you know? He notices Meg.

An entertaining and occasionally steamy Regency romp, delivered with Emma Orchard’s customary aplomb. I couldn’t say I enjoyed it as much as The Viscount and the Thief, which I adored, but I found Meg and Dominic charming and was keen to see how their budding romance would play out. Lots of fun for fans of Bridgerton.

"A Gentleman's Offer" is a charming historical romcom, perfect for fans of Bridgerton! I enjoyed the fast-paced story and the relatable female main character. The writing style, setting, historical accuracy and language style were well-suited for a historical romcom. The story features many popular tropes, including arranged marriage, fake dating, forced proximity, an age gap and lgbtq+ representation.

However, the relationship development between the main characters felt unrealistic, as their love story unfolded too quickly (insta love). They fell in love within a week, which felt abrupt. The plot was predictable and the characters were too flat, but overall the book was still fun and enjoyable.

Thank you netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Boldwood Books for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Another enjoyable histrom from this author. I hope to see more books in the future.

This is a well worked mystery romance. It tells the story of an arranged marriage between Dominic and Maria, only when the engagement is announced it is Maria’s twin sister, Margaret standing in her place. It appears that undue pressure was being put on Maria to marry and the book unravels the reasons why she walked away and where she went. In the meantime, the real love match becomes inevitable as Meg and Dominic are thrown together to sort out the mess. The book broaches issues of sexuality, independence and the limitations placed on a woman as she seeks to control her destiny. The characters are surprisingly sweet bearing in mind that the villain of the piece, Meg and Maria’s father is a selfish tyrannical brute with few redeeming characteristics about him. It would not be surprising to see some of those traits in his children. This however did not detract from a readable, enjoyable novel.

I enjoyed this book, especially as I have just finished binge watching Bridgerton!
Definitely one to read if you are a fan of that show.
I could picture every scene in this book and I fell in love with the characters and their dynamics.

Not my usual type of read, but very glad that I read this one!

Sir Dominic De Lacy has been informed by his mother that his marriage had been arranged prior to his father's passing. He is to marry Miss Maria Nightingale in 3 weeks time. However, due to a minor miscommunication Maria is a no show to her engament party, instead her twin Margaret shows up and takes her place. Desperate to find out what happened to her sister Margaret seeks the help of the staff, Sir Dominic himself, and others to find out what happened to Maria and in the process she learns all the secrets that have been kept from her and her sister and the real reason why Sir Dominic is being forced to marry one of Lord Nightingale's daughters.

A Gentleman's Offer provides you with romance, a missing twin, several disgruntled women and a splash of blackmail to deliver you a scandalous novel even the ton won't know what hit them.

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this very fun and busy historical romance.

This Is my fifth Emma Orchard novel and, as someone who’s read her work before, I can honestly say that if you’ve read her previous books and found them enjoyable, you’re also going to like this one. I’ve read my fair share of historical romance and what I think Emma Orchard does well is plotting the events and pacing the general flow of the story which reads really seamlessly. Every book of hers that I’ve read has a different feel and distinctive characters mixed with entertaining plots which are fun and eventful without being too out there or bizarre.

In "A Gentleman’s Offer" in particular I found the main character Maria to be quite enjoyable to read form, but I found the main male character’ POV and his personality slightly forgettable.

The only issue that I think some people might have with this book is that it almost feels like the romantic plot is not the main focus, but a second thought. I honestly didn’t mind, I found the plot line about the Maria’s family and the secondary characters involve in it a lot of fun to read.
Overall, I think my favourite Orchard novel is still "The second lady Silverwood", but this one was enjoyable to read.