Review: Enticing Her Unexpected Bridegroom (Lady Lancaster Garden Society #4) by Catherine Hemmerling

Print Length: 201 pages

Publisher: Entangled Publishing, Scandalous (January 25, 2016)

From Goodreads.com: London, 1814

Sarah Jardin has been quite dreadfully in love with David Rochester her whole life. As the youngest of five daughters, her family and society neglect her. She's outspoken, brash, and terribly ungraceful. In short, not at all a lady...until she's taken under the benevolent wing of Lady Lancaster and invited to join the Young Ladies Garden Society.

But Sarah's new life—filled with the mysteries and intrigues of high society—is interrupted by an unexpected scandal. Her scandal. In a moment of kindness, David comforts her...and they are discovered and forced to marry. Even as the newlyweds must come to terms with their new arrangement, they find themselves drawn into the investigation of a dangerous conspiracy. 

With life and love on the line, their unexpected marriage will either end in rapture...or ruin.

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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

There were some aspects of this story that didn't seem to gel as well for me as others, for example - while I have a basic understanding of how society worked back then (being forced to marry or face ruin), I don't quite understand why these two decided to marry in so short a time. I'm sure just a betrothal announcement would have sufficed and it would have given the pair more time to explore what feelings (either romantic of platonic) they may have had for one another. As it was, it seemed as though even though they had been friends since they were children, neither one really had an understanding of the other at all, and as such it made David's feelings seemingly come out of nowhere and I found them a bit harder to believe. As it was, it seemed that he was more in lust with his wife than in love with her as we were lead to believe. 

And while I found the characters to be quirky and endearing, I also found it hard to believe that regardless of the loss Sarah's father had faced in his life, that he would allow his youngest daughter to essentially be raised by servants (the butler and his wife). Because of her "lack of proper upbringing" we are lead to believe that her outspokenness and clumsiness are no fault of her own, however I cannot imagine her not being taught at least the minimal decorum necessary for a young woman of society. 

What I found to be the better part of the story was the mystery that the pair found themselves submerged in. What started out as a simple misunderstanding between another Earl and a family member of someone near and dear to Sarah, turned out to be so much more and I deeply enjoyed watching that story-line unfold. There was just enough mystery and a sense of adventure that kept me reading until the very end determined to find out the truth. 

All of those things considered, I would still recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a good mystery with a bit of romance tossed in. I would also read more from this author myself. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

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Enticing Her Unexpected Bridegroom is available from Amazon.com