Wager for a Lady’s Hand: A Lockhart Regency Romance by L.G. Rollins

4 Stars

Publisher:

Date of publication: December 26th, 2019

Genre: Romance

Where you can find Wager for a Lady’s Hand: Amazon | BookBub

Book Synopsis:

Forced into a betrothal with an abusive man, the only way out might be to beat her fiancé at his own game.

Miss Marianne Twisden knows her best chance at a safe and happy life is to marry a kind man and leave her violent father behind. When her father signs papers betrothing her to Lord Cockell—a cruel and even more violent blackguard—Marianne is desperate for a way out. Her new fiancé gives her one: if Marianne discredits Lord Sheldon Lockhart, England’s newest barrister, Cockell will release her from the marriage contract.

Lord Sheldon Lockhart is determined to rid his neighborhood of Cockell—a man who preys on gamble-hooked gentlemen by loaning them far more money than they could ever hope to repay and then extracting it mercilessly. What he didn’t expect was to fall for Cockell’s most beautiful victim, Miss Marianne.

The seemingly simple game becomes complex when a deep, abiding affection grows between Marianne and Sheldon. It is made all the more perilous when Cockell refuses to play by the rules. Strategizing together, Marianne and Sheldon must think several steps ahead if they ever hope to out-play their opponent and have a shot at victory and their own happily ever after.

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First Line:

Lord Sheldon Lockhart, second son of the Marquess of Rampart, would not allow himself to be distracted tonight.

Wager for a Lady’s Hand by L.G. Rollins

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My Review:

When I got the invite to review Wager for a Lady’s Hand, I was intrigued. See, I have read several books by the author, but they were all steampunk/fantasy/dystopian/paranormal/romance based books. So, to see a historical romance by her caught my attention. When I read the blurb, I was all in to read this book. I am glad that I did because this was a wonderful historical romance.

The plotline for Wager for a Lady’s Hand was fast-paced and well written. The author didn’t allow for two many secondary storylines, and in turn, allowed for a book that flowed well. There was some slight lag towards the end of the book. But the author was quick to get the book back on track.

I loved Marianne. She dealt with a lot during the book. But she wasn’t one of those heroines who screamed and fainted when it started getting tough. Instead, she came up with solutions to her problems. Her father drinks too much and starts to become abusive? She drugs him. She didn’t want to be married to Lord Cockell? She tries to bargain with him. The list could go on and on.

I did think that Sheldon was a bit clueless during the first half of the book. Not that I didn’t like him, he just didn’t put two and two together when it came to Marianne. I mean, if the woman I was interested showed up with bruises around her neck and on her arms, I would make it my business to find out what is going on. Which he did but not until the second half of the book.

The romance involving Sheldon and Marianne was sweet. I loved watching them fall in love. Even when Marianne was at her lowest, Sheldon was there for her.

I also loved that it was a clean romance. There was one kiss between Marianne and Sheldon, and that was at the end. It was refreshing. Don’t get me wrong; I like a raunchy romance as much as the next person. But sometimes a book doesn’t need that. And this one was.

There were a couple of things that I didn’t like about Wager for a Lady’s Hand. The first was there was never any explanation about who was supplying Lord Cockell with all of his information. If the author had gone more into that, it would have made for an interesting side story.

The other thing I didn’t like about Wager for a Lady’s Hand was that it got repetitive. By repetitive, I mean that Sheldon’s case and Marianne’s blackmail was addressed a lot during the book. It got to a point where I started skimming over those parts when it happened.

The end of Wager for a Lady’s Hand. It did end in a HEA. But, the lead up to the HEA was fantastic. Honestly, I couldn’t have written a better ending.

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I would give Wager for a Lady’s Hand an Older Teen rating. There is no sex. There is no language. There is mild violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 16 read this book.

I would reread Wager for a Lady’s Hand. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**