February 3, 2020
Quinn (the Marriage Game Series) opens her Lords of London Regency series with this sparkling romance between a purported rake and the young debutante helping to save him from being tricked into marriage. Lord Frederick “Frits” Littleton returns to London from his estate in Surrey to seek a wife after deciding against marrying Lady Dorie Calthorp, with whom he quickly realized he had nothing in common. Running into Lady Dorie is inevitable and awkward, especially as he’s smitten with Dorie’s new friend, Lady Adeline Wivenly. Adeline is wary of Frits, both because he jilted her friend and because of his wider reputation as a rake. Despite her wariness, Adeline bonds with Frits at society events as they discover their shared interests and compatible personalities. When Adeline learns of two ladies’ plot to trick Frits into marriage with one of them, she offers to help him evade them, and, in the process, gives in to her simmering attraction to him. Quinn explores the allures and idiosyncrasies of aristocratic life with wit and charm reminiscent of Jane Austen. This intelligent romance gets the series off to a promising start.
March 1, 2020
Adeline Wivenly plans to avoid rakes at all costs during her debut Season in London, particularly the flirtatious Fredrick, Lord Littleton. Frits earned himself an ignoble reputation having realized too late the woman he'd pursued was a terrible match. Now he's taking his time to be sure a lady's interests align with his own. Yet when he first sees Adeline, his instincts to rush forward once again take over, despite her frosty rebuke. Competing for her affections with the enigmatic Earl of Anglesey, Frits begins to second guess himself, and persuading Adeline that Frits is worth taking a chance will be a challenge for even the formidable Maximus the Great Dane. VERDICT With a love triangle, a protective Great Dane, and meddling mothers, this new Regency series launch brings on the drama but is filled with tenderness. Readers who recognize characters from Quinn's earlier "Marriage Game" series (Enticing Miss Eugenie Villaret) will be especially rewarded.--Kellie Tilton, Univ. of Cincinnati Blue Ash
Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
March 1, 2020
A reformed rake has to win the trust of a skeptical lady before he can woo her in this first of a traditional Regency trilogy. Lady Adeline Wivenly is enjoying her first season in London when she attracts the attention of handsome flirt Frederick, Lord Littleton. "Frits" Littleton's bloodline, wealth, and title make him a catch, but he is known as a rake. Worse, last year, he jilted Lady Dorie Calthorp, one of Adeline's closest friends, after leading her on all season long. Frits knows he made a mistake with Dorie, but now he's ready to settle down, and Adeline has caught his fancy. Adeline avoids him as much as politeness allows, in deference to Dorie's feelings, so Frits finds creative ways to cross her path during the usual social activities of the ton--carriage rides, plays, and balls. As Frits' basic decency reveals itself, Adeline begins to question Dorie's perspective. When she overhears another lady scheming to trap Frits into marriage, Adeline decides to warn him, throwing them together even more. In the meantime, Adeline is the target of an unscrupulous suitor who will stop at nothing to win her. Quinn (The Seduction of Lady Phoebe, 2019, etc.) creates a richly detailed traditional Regency world whose social rules dictate much of the characterizations and plot. Frits and Adeline are likable enough--they bond over their love of country life, especially animal husbandry--but their relationship moves at a glacial pace. Worse, they seem to have little effect on one another. While Adeline's inexperience explains some of her naivet�, she is frustratingly bad at understanding basic human psychology. So many characters are crowded into the storyline that readers may need a chart to sort them out. A late and unwelcome incursion of politics and violence adds no excitement to the romance. Copious historical details cannot mask a pointlessly slow pace. Might have worked better as a novella.
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February 19, 2021
Frederick, Lord Littleton, is returning for the season after leaving in a hurry the year before. He was spending time with a woman and realized they were not suited for marriage. She loves London, and he like his estates in the country. After handling that situation badly, he is back in town to try and find a more compatible bride, and sure enough, the woman he becomes interested in, Lady Adeline Wivenly, knows the woman he jilted, so she is fully aware that Frederick is a rake. But Adeline wishes she could be back in the country surrounded by plants and animals, and despite her loyalty for her friend, she warms towards Frederick, and his dog. Adeline even protects Frederick from schemes to trap him into marriage, and the two begin to bond over protecting a boy in trouble. With a plot that draws on the grim history of the slave trade in England, Quinn offers an appealing and unique romance, the start to her Lords of London series.
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