The Arranged Marriage

She is a daughter of a Duke but they have money problems so they force her to marry a complete stranger . Her family never cared about her because she is shy not as beautifull as the rest of them . He is a Lord but his paternal grandfather was poor who by working mada a fortune . After the wedding she runs away and goes to Bath to start a new life as governess . She meets her new employer by chance and slowly she became more confident . At a party she attends she cames face to face with her husband . What will she do now ?
I received this book from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Regency novel in the tradition of Georgette Heyer but with the author's own style, which is impressive. Perpetua is a wonderful lead character who is brave and strong and makes the family that she comes from seem like selfish fools. I cannot say too much about the plot, because it would spoil the novel but this is possibly the best novel I have read since I read all of the Georgette Heyer novels, and that is the highest praise possible, if you have read Georgette Heyer as she is the queen of Regency romance. I loved this novel and it is highly recommended.

I was drawn in by the premise and kept interested by Petty. What a great character! I initially felt so sorry for because of the way her family treated her and then loved watching her grow stronger and more self-confident when she ran off and had to take care of herself. I was not overly fond of Edward when he was first introduced, but he won me over when he stood up to her family and defended her. I wish there had been more of him trying to court her so there was more about them falling in love with one another. Most of the supporting characters are nice additions, especially Dora and Mrs. Lumley (because they play such an important part in helping Petty come out of her shell and fell loved). I thought Petty's father change of attitude came a little too easily - he's awful to her at the beginning and basically sells her to Edward. Verity was extremely annoying as a character and Petty's determination to stay with her to protect her just showed what an amazing person she was. I was half expecting Petty to smack her after the situation with Aurelia, it was actually a bit of a disappointment that no one did. My biggest complaint about this book is that it drags at a lot of parts and has so much extra to it that wasn't really necessary. If this had been a part of a series I would have understood why it was important to have some of the side scenes with Gideon, but if we are not going to see him again why is his trying to seduce a woman necessary to this story? It would have benefitted from a good editor taking a big red pen to it. An epilogue would have been nice too, just to see how things turned out down the road.

Thank you to NetGalley for enabling review copies of The Arranged Marriage and The Rake. Gillian Hawser is a new author for me and I’ll certainly look out for books written by her in the future. The books are in the regency romance genre and are written in a unique traditional yet modern way. They are good clean tales of romance with many twists and turns on the way. At some points, I found myself laughing out loud. Definitely excellent reads for fans of this genre.

I received a free copy from NetGalley and this is my freely given review.

Lady Perpetua (Petty) is the eldest daughter of the Duke of Staplefield. She is rather plain and very shy, having had an unsuccessful season, and quite cowed by her terribly narcissistic, selfish, self absorbed diva of a mother, and her father, a duke who seems overwhelmed by his family history of scandal, lost fortunes, and disappointments, as well as her other more attractive, and charismatic siblings. Because she is so plain, shy, and fearful of arguments, she is easily bullied by her family, and even some of the servants it sounds like, and forced into an arranged marriage to regain the family fortunes, despite her protests. For goodness sake's, she has never even heard of him, or ever met him - no wonder she had concerns and fears.

Lord Edward Milton is a newly titled man, who's father was disowned by his family for marrying into a poor, common family, who became rich through trade. He unexpected inherited his title and estates when other family members passed on, and was quite wealthy to begin with due to his maternal grandfathers business. His grandfather convinces him to cement his place in Society by marrying a woman with aristocratic family history and bloodlines. Edward went with the easy route and made an offer for Perpetua, thinking the family would want his money to fix their financial woes, which her parents seemed to jump at.

Petty marries Lord Edward, as her family either ignored her expressed fears and concerns, or bullied her into accepting. But the moment the wedding is over, she runs away, with the plan to become a governess. Lord Edward and her brother try to find her, but were unable to. She runs into some difficulties when trying to get hired on to a registry, but is saved by Mrs. Lumley, a rather eccentric, but savvy and warm-hearted widow, who sees Petty, who is pretending to be a widow, as Quality and hires her to be a companion to her daughter Dora, to help give her a bit of polish as she hopes to be able to present Dora for the Season. Mrs. Lumley and Dora are just lovely, and caring, and helps Petty by being her friends, giving her a flattering set of "uniforms" and engaging her in the social whirl in Bath, where she develops happiness and some self confidence. It was at a social event that Edward finds her. Unfortunately, while he regretted the abrupt and thoughtless way he chose a bride and understood why she may have ran, he becomes angry and yells at her. Petty copes the only way she knows, through avoidance, and runs away again.

However, she seems to have developed enough confidence and nerve that this time, and when a young woman, Verity, runs into her, begging for help as she was stolen away by a dastardly villain, Petty was able to intervene, still in her guise as a widow, and save her, and bring her back home, where she was hired by the girls father to be her companion. She is not as lucky this time, in that the father is neglectful, self-absorbed, and a bully, and his daughter is quite spoiled, selfish, and manipulative, despite her youth. Petty feels obligated to help though, seeing that Verity's friends are not as they should be and the young lady may be in danger, though Petty is confounded on how to get Verity to see this and listen to her.

Mrs. Lumley and Edward join forces and manage to find Petty again, but Edward realized that his hotheadedness forces her to run off, and instead he approaches her as a friend, keeping their marriage hidden. Their relationship develops and they come to care for each other, but Edward is concerned that she still feels forced into the marriage, and considers the most caring thing to do for her maybe to let her go. Likewise, Petty starts to feel that maybe being married to Edward may be a good thing. But in the meantime, she cannot abandon Verity to her neglectful father and sketchy friends.

This was a sweet story, with some quite lovely writing. There is generally good character development and I really enjoyed reading about the various ensembled background characters and their various roles and relationships. The dialogue was lovely, with colourful set ups and descriptions of various situations and characters; I found it quite fun and a joy to read. I enjoyed how Petty, being so cowed by her absolutely deplorable mother, grew and developed confidence out of the shadow of her family, and how Edward came to appreciate her. I feel sad for the relationship between the Duke and his horrible wife, and it is sad that it sounds like he spent his youth and marriage loving her, and being disappointed by her as she sounds only to love herself, and everyone else's role is to either uplift her, reflect upon her, or cater to her. Mrs. Lumley seems very colourful and quite a lovely mother figure to Petty, and Edward too, and it felt as though she and Edward's grandfather hit it off too - a secondary romance in the air?

This was a very enjoyable read for me, with a sweetness, warmth, and sense of humour I enjoyed. I think this was a feel good 3.75/5 stars for me.

4 stars

An enjoyable read, more of a road trip book. Petty's parents are keen to marry her off so that they can get more money for the estates. Her mother is a piece of work. She tries to argue but gets coerced into the wedding. Edward is as much of a victim and doesn't understand how Petty doesn't communicate with him. After the wedding Petty flees and ends up in Bath. Her family and husband are worried and try and find her.

It's a clean romance with lots of interesting characters. I think it's definitely worth a read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Arranged Marriage, Gillian Hawser

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Historical Fiction, Romance

I love an occasional historical romance and this sounded perfect. Sadly for me it wasn't, though as always its perfect for others.
I was really taken with the synopsis, something that happened all too often back then. I loved the awful mother, the weak father and the sheer obliviousness of Petty's siblings. Petty herself was very likable, as was the Duke.
Where it fell down was the execution, the sheer unlikeliness of the Duke abandoning everything to chase after Petty, after his initial indifference to the marriage. Then Petty, its hard to believe that she'd fall on her feet and gain the first job so easily, unqualified, no references, but to do it twice? My fiction reading can take some liberties but I need some semblance of truth...and I felt in this story I needed to suspend everything to feel that the story would work. I just can't...that's me of course, if you can take the story as written that's fine, but I needed a bit more reality. Less fluff, more substance.

Stars: Two and a half, I didn't dislike the story, but I found it to be so unrealistic I couldn't believe in it.

ARC supplied by Netgalley and publishers

I thoroughly enjoyed this- so much so I devoured it in a day. Lady Petty’s character grew on me enormously from being rather feeble to finding her strength and bravery. Yes, bits of it are unrealistic, or she was incredibly lucky to not come to harm as she roved about England in the 1800s as an unaccompanied noble woman, but it was a great and interesting story. Wouldn’t mind being married off to Lord Milton myself!

It is the duty of all daughters to marry, but even knowing this Perpetua is horrified when she is forced by her father and narcissistic mother into a marriage with a man she hardly knows to save the family fortune and reputation. Trapped, unable to get her confident and beautiful siblings to understand her distress, the only option that appears open to her is to become a governess so after the last words fade from the ceremony, she runs away to Bath.
Here she is directed to The Registry where she hopes to obtain a position. Rejected, desperate, she is rescued by a Mrs Lumley and her beloved daughter, Dora, who wishes for Dora to obtain some town polish. Petty blossoms under the adoring society - but when she sees her husband at a party, she realises not all problems can be run away from.
There is a plethora of l in place of I in this book. In spite of this error the book was good.
It is funny and filled with love.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley.
This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

I adored this historical romance. And it was so refreshing to have a heroine who wasn't drop dead gorgeous with flaming violet eyes (or other nonsense I always read in other romance books).
The heroine is quiet,, sensible and intelligent,
who doesnt make outrageous decisions for the plot to move ridiculously forward. I enjoyed this book very much. This book reminded me of The quality of Mary Balogh, so if you enjoy her works. Then definitely consider this one. You wont be sorry.

Fleeing an unwanted marriage, Petty takes her fate into her own hands. She meets with good fortune and kind friends along the way, until she encounters her erstwhile husband. Can Pettt and Edward come to terms with the feelings they possess or will it be too late? What a wild ride! I couldnt put it down!

Such a fun story. I love a good romance and this was just a wonderful one. I just cannot wait to read more from this author.

I am technically giving this book a 2.75 star review. The first chapter is completely unnecessary. Building up the opulence of the estate doesn't have much to do with the story, and could have been summed up in a few paragraphs. There are also exclamations in places there shouldn't be, and so many adjectives. Im also taking points away for the use of the word n*****dly. I know with all the adjectives used there could have been a better word used.
Besides the cons, the story is a good story. If I had been ran by some beta readers, and polished, it'd be amazing.
(I will be posting to goodreads, and tik tok)

Perpetua “Petty” is the mousy, plain eldest daughter of a Duke and Duchess. Her parents need money to pay for the repair and upkeep of their home and so an arrangement is made. Petty is to marry Lord Milton, very much against her wishes. Commanded by her parents to marry she runs away shortly after the ceremony. But England is small and it isn’t long before they are thrown together again.

Perpetua is a likeable heroine, lacking confidence and not a traditional beauty. I really enjoyed the first part of this story and it’s a sweet love story. As ever there are obstacles to the romance. Unfortunately there were too many (and pretty annoying ones, yes I do mean Verity) and it became overly long and meandering. I found myself skimming sections of the book (mainly the ones about her brother).

Finally, I don’t want to read “vouchsafe” again!

I was looking forward to this read because the plot sounded interesting. I felt sorry for Petty for most of the book, her family is terrible, but I also felt a bit irritated by her behavior at times. I wasn't a fan of Edward at first, but he slowly grew on me. I wish there was a bit more interaction between the main characters. A bit more development in their relationship, but it wasn't a terrible read. There were some good moments that I enjoyed. I did like that Petty seemed to stand up for herself a bit more as time went on. An epilogue would have been a really great addition.

Overall, I found the story to be a light read, but I had a hard time staying interested. I felt like the story was always changing from one character's POV/internal thoughts to another. It sometimes made it confusing. I also felt that there were a lot of unnecessary scenes with other background characters. Although, I didn't realize this book was part of a series until after I read it. That may explain why there were many scenes that felt like they were unnecessary or irrelevant. Maybe they connect to the prior book or are going to connect to future books? Either way, to me, they added nothing really to this story. I also think this book could use another once-over from an editor.

I received an ARC for review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

I enjoyed the moments when Perpetua and the Duke were together. They were super cute together and it was a pleasure reading them get to know each other. and falling in love.
I didn't enjoy that for a good portion of this book these two were not together.
The supporting characters were also well-rounded and deep. so I enjoyed them as well
A great story I just wish these two had spent more time together to develop.
Perpetua and Duke were great characters individually

Great Novel

Another sweet, well-done book that will definitely appeal to readers of clean romances. I don't think I was quite the right audience, but I can definitely appreciate the market for it!

Set in the first year of the Regency - 1811 - this novel is great fun. The characters are beautifully drawn, full of the morality and immorality, and odd quirks, of the Georgians. The hero and heroine have exquisite character arcs and a real coming-of-age experience. It's colourful, amusing, full of romantic tension and an absolute joy to read.

Nice reading although with the premise that she runs away after marrying which sounds a bit strange. However, this gives room for some of the things that happen once she encounters her husband and mainly that first conversation/argument once they meet again.
Petty actually finds positions that are pretty different but in the second one she sticks to what she feels is right, to protect that girl despite of being quite selfish and because of that girl there is the last and main event that could be called an adventure if it would not be something bad.
I did not really enjoy all the descriptions of all the women mentioned to be super beautiful, one more than the previous one. It seemed quite annoying to read that several times.
3.5-4 stars

A story of courage and independence, The Arranged Marriage focuses on Perpetua Mordaunt, the diffident, shy and plain daughter of the Duke of Staplefield. This book was a thrilling ride from the beginning. The author’s style places the reader in the book in each scene for an entertaining journey.

This is the second book I have read by Ms. Hawser. I first read The Rake and thought it was a nice read so I decided to give this a try as well. It is a clean and pleasant read with an interesting set of characters and plot. Petty is the eldest daughter of a duke. She is a bit shy and rather plain and does not does not have a successful season. Because she pretty much does as she is told, she is forced into an arranged marriage, mainly so the family can recover from their financial losses. Edward unexpectedly becomes a newly titled man when other family members have passed on. He is already quite wealthy in his own right due to the hard work and success in trade from his maternal grandfather. He offers for Petty, a girl with good aristocratic family history, so that he can gain a a better standing in society. They marry and then Petty runs away, and faces quite a few challenges before realizing being married to Edward might not be so badafter all. She does quite a bit of growing while she is away, and I think she really needed that. This was a entertaining story and I enjoyed it.

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

A sweet regency romance where Petty, shy and plain daughter of an illustrious but broke family is forced to marry Lord Milton who needs a titled wife. Feeling trapped and ignored by her parents she runs away to Bath immediately after the wedding ceremony. There she meets the loving and colourful Mrs Lumley who takes her in as companion to her daughter Dora. Staying in Bath under Mrs Lumley's positive influence, Petty begins to thrive and flourish, gaining confidence in herself. Then one evening at a party she bumps into the husband that she fled.
I liked the character of Petty, she had believable characteristics for someone who has been mistreated and ignored by her parents. I like that she had a good friendship with her brother and former governess. Lord Milton did not make a good first impression but he definitely redeemed himself over the book. Mrs Lumley is the fairy godmother of the story and I love how she helps Petty.
The author obviously knows the Regency period very well, it feels authentic and well researched.
On a down side I feel that it was a tiny bit too long, there were many passages or even pages that did not feel necessary. For example at the start there are pages describing Petty's family home, a paragraph would have been sufficient. There were also sections for side characters that added nothing to the plot. If it was setting up another book in a series that would make sense, but they didn't feel needed. I would have preferred more interactions between the couple as their growing relationship was so sweet. Lord Milton trying to woo his wife would have been adorable and so entertaining.
A fab first novel. I would read more from this author.
I very kindly received a copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review

Gillian Hawser is new to me author who writes in the style of Georgette Heyer. The Arranged Marriage is a slow burn, with lots of characters and twists and turns but an enjoyable read.

Lady Perpetua (Petty) is an unmarried daughter of the Duke of Staplefield who is shy, plain, and easily bullied. Despite her protests, she is forced into an arranged marriage with Lord Edward Milton, a newly titled man and rich from being in trade. After the wedding, she runs away and becomes a governess. Edward eventually finds her, but their relationship is rocky. Petty also becomes a companion to Verity, a young woman in danger, and feels obligated to help her. When Edward finds her again at a party, he realizes that his anger might have forced her to run off, and instead, he approaches her as a friend, keeping their marriage hidden. Their relationship develops, and they come to care for each other, but Edward is concerned that she still feels forced into the marriage and considers the most caring thing to do for her may be to let her go. Likewise, Petty starts to feel that being married to Edward may be good.

This story was rich in characters and plot—definitely a good read if you want to escape the day-to-day. I will definitely be on the lookout for Hawser's future books.

I really enjoyed finding out just what could go wrong next for our naive heroine. Shy until she knows you, as long as you don't shout at her, she forms strong bonds and is very responsible.
Her story got me invested. It was told well, and believable in its occurrences and accidents. The strong delineation of social strata was clear and made for historical veracity.
Overall, a good novel, well plotted and written with a different trope from the norm.