The Bashful Bride (Advertisements for Love, #2)
Vanessa Riley
A friend's newspaper advertisement for a groom nets the most famous actor in London, Arthur Bex. Shy heiress Ester Croome proposes to elope with the handsome man, who she's secretly loved for two years, in order to escape an impending engagement arranged by her overbearing family. Trying to outlive the shadow of his villainous uncle, Bex needs to marry quickly—to a woman of good character. And smart, beautiful Ester fits the bill. But a harrowing trip to Gretna Green and dangerous abolition rallies prove to be a more treacherous stage than either imagined. Infatuation and a mutual love for Shakespeare might not be enough to bind a couple looking to outrun the chains and secrets of family and the past.
Publication Year: 2018
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I enjoyed this a medium amount. I liked that the two talked so much and that I finally got a historical romance with a marriage of convenience trope that got consent right.
There was a lot of repetitiveness in the heroine's thoughts and her problems with the hero that I think could have been solved with thinking through things before speaking/acting.
I liked the hero pretty well - he had one moment of being a massive jerk vs. her having a bajillion moments of being illogical, which reminded me of how much I resent authors not in their early 20s writing 2o year olds as if they can't connect two thoughts in their heads.
I liked the commentary on how lies can mess up relationships and how you only have so much right to privacy when your secrets affect other people. The characters were very nice together when they weren't arguing, which was maybe 50% of the time - not banterous arguing, by the way, just them both repeating the same sentiments over and over.
I really enjoyed the ending, it was very mushy in the best way.
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