Rating: ★★★ | The Spinster Heiresses #1 | 384 pages | Avon | Historical | 4/17/18
After getting caught in a compromising position at a house party with Soren York, Earl of Dewsberry, the bluestocking heiress Cassandra Howell must either marry Soren immediately or embrace spinsterhood forever. Deciding she doesn’t want to give up her chance at being the lady of her own house she takes his hand, but once she marries Soren she quickly discovers everything she’s ever known about her family and her fortune is a lie.
I thought overall this book was enjoyable but I had a rough start with it because I hated Soren. I don’t know what it is with the books I’m picking up lately but I hate when the hero doesn’t take no for an answer and is a lying liar who lies. Soren has a son from a previous marriage and just decides not to tell Cassandra about any of that. There is even a point where he realized he hasn’t made it clear to her he has a son and is just like “meh, whatevs I’ll deal with his later.”
Speaking of the son…So, Soren had a commission in Canada and had the son through a marriage to a Lenape woman. A woman who is dead because the Native and Indian women are always dead in these things.
Dear Traditional Regency Romance Authors,
Can we please have a moratorium on writing colonized women…it just never feels right. I know it can be a hard thing to balance the realities of the time with a modern mindset but I feel like rule #1 is not to use the word savage–even to show the hero defending the minority–and to maybe not constantly compare the half native child to an animal.
That said this romance does have some really sweet moments. I loved the interactions between Soren and his son and this line from Soren after he and Cass go through their unexpected married
“Life rarely meets our expectations. But sometimes, when we are lucky, we discover things are better than we could have managed.”
I just think that describes the journey of a romance novel perfectly.
A Match Made in Bed is an ultimately sweet romance, with some interesting twists and turns but I had some serious side eye for a hero I could never fully get on board with.
*received as part of Avon Addicts Program