An American Heiress in London #1
"I adore everything she writes." - Julia Quinn
What happens when a carefree, disreputable, stone-broke bachelor is forced to find a wife in a hurry? He hires a matchmaker, of course. What happens when the matchmaker doesn’t want to help him? Well, that’s when the fun begins…
Nicholas Stirling, Marquess of Trubridge, loves his life just as it is: dissolute, scandalous, and deuced good fun. His father, the Duke of Landsdowne is not amused, and when he cuts off Nicholas’ trust fund, the fun-loving marquess is forced to find an alternate source of income—in other words, he has to marry an heiress.
Every new-money American heiress knows Lady Belinda Featherstone is the key to social acceptance. Once a new-money nobody herself, Belinda discovered first-hand how heartbreaking the game of love and matrimony could be after a reprobate British earl married her for her money. Now a respectable widow, Belinda has become England’s most successful matchmaker, guiding young American heiresses through the hazards of the London season and helping them to find husbands worthy of them. To her mind, the Marquess of Trubridge is nothing but a fortune-hunting scoundrel and she has no intention of allowing him to charm his way into any American girl’s heart, including her own.
Nicholas Stirling, Marquess of Trubridge, loves his life just as it is: dissolute, scandalous, and deuced good fun. His father, the Duke of Landsdowne is not amused, and when he cuts off Nicholas’ trust fund, the fun-loving marquess is forced to find an alternate source of income—in other words, he has to marry an heiress.
Every new-money American heiress knows Lady Belinda Featherstone is the key to social acceptance. Once a new-money nobody herself, Belinda discovered first-hand how heartbreaking the game of love and matrimony could be after a reprobate British earl married her for her money. Now a respectable widow, Belinda has become England’s most successful matchmaker, guiding young American heiresses through the hazards of the London season and helping them to find husbands worthy of them. To her mind, the Marquess of Trubridge is nothing but a fortune-hunting scoundrel and she has no intention of allowing him to charm his way into any American girl’s heart, including her own.
I have been going in and out of the historical romance genre for years now. After reading for some time, the genre gets a little repetitive and I just have to take a break from the genre to preserve my love of it. I picked up this book when I received a copy of the fourth book in the series. Me, being the nitpicky reader that I am, has to read a series in chronological order to restore balance to the universe. Luckily, my local library had the first three books of the American Heiress in London series.
This first one starts with a young American heiress lamenting over that fact that she is still not engaged to an eligible bachelor of the ton. Lady Belinda Featherstone, formerly an American heiress turned wife, turned widow, turned continental matchmaker, is trying her best to match up her newest customer to a member of the ton. Belinda is a successful matchmaker, mostly due to the fact that she does her homework and always makes sure there is some attraction and affection between the people she matches up. This need stems from her disaster of a marriage and the desire to see no other American heiress to end up disillusioned and heartbroken like her. Unfortunately, her newest charge is a hardcore romantic and still quite naive about men.
Enter Nicholas, Marquess of Trubridge. This rake loves the single life as much as the next guy, until his dad cuts him off without a cent. What's a fellow to do? He needs to find a rich heiress to marry ASAP and goes to see Belinda to hire her as a matchmaker. Belinda dislikes Nicholas on sight. He reminds her so much of her late husband, but gradually as they get to know one another, their first impressions change and before you know it, the two fall in love. Psych! Fooled ya, didn't I? They pair do fall in love with each other, but there's plenty of things in the way. Nick's dad and a certain overly romantic heiress; just to name a few.
Nick may seem like the typical male member of the ton enjoying the single life, but underneath that veneer of nonchalance, there's a battered and unloved soul. Nick has his own scar from a past love that burned him, but that doesn't stop him from turning his sexual attraction for Belinda into something more. The only problem seems to be the lady herself. Belinda is a little prejudice against rakish members of the ton because of her own past experience with her late husband. While I do understand how hurt and disillusioned she became from her marriage, she does herself a disservice by categorizing rakish men into a box of undesirables. While it is admirable how protective she is about her charges, Belinda often lets her prejudices color her opinions of men, despite never knowing the person. This small character flaw, for some reason, really got on my nerves.
Overall, I really liked this book. I thought it was a solid start to this series and that definitely says something about the author. This is the first book I've read by Laura Lee Guhrke and definitely won't be my last. The characters had definitive personalities.
Check out other book in this series!
Book #2
Book #3
Book #4
About the Author
Laura Lee Guhrke spent seven years in advertising, had a successful catering business, and managed a contruction company before she decided writing novels was more fun. A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Laura has penned over twenty historical romances. Her books have received many award nominations, and she is the recipient of romance fiction's highest honor: the Romance Writers of America RITA Award. She lives in the Northwest with her husband (or, as she calls him, her very own romance hero), along with two diva cats and a Golden Retriever happy to be their slave. Laura loves hearing from readers, and you can contact her via her website: www.lauraleeguhrke.com
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