jayvall reviewed In the arms of the heiress by Maggie Robinson (Berkley Sensation historical romance)
Review of 'In the arms of the heiress' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
There are so many things in this book that I wouldn’t normally like (injured hero, villain trying to kill hero) but somehow Maggie Robinson managed to make everything work, and work well! In the Arms of the Heiress is such. a. fun. book. It’s a book that’s premised on Louisa’s need for a fake husband, who she first conceived of while on her European adventure as a way to keep her nosy aunt at bay, but now that she’s decided to come back home to England, she needs someone to bring this fake husband to life. What she gets is Charles Cooper, a discharged soldier who’s injured and on his way to drinking himself into an early grave. This sounds like the makings of a dark and possibly angsty novel, but in reality In the Arms of the Heiress is funny and sensual and with tons of heart. Even though …
There are so many things in this book that I wouldn’t normally like (injured hero, villain trying to kill hero) but somehow Maggie Robinson managed to make everything work, and work well! In the Arms of the Heiress is such. a. fun. book. It’s a book that’s premised on Louisa’s need for a fake husband, who she first conceived of while on her European adventure as a way to keep her nosy aunt at bay, but now that she’s decided to come back home to England, she needs someone to bring this fake husband to life. What she gets is Charles Cooper, a discharged soldier who’s injured and on his way to drinking himself into an early grave. This sounds like the makings of a dark and possibly angsty novel, but in reality In the Arms of the Heiress is funny and sensual and with tons of heart. Even though the story only takes place over the course of a couple of days - no more than a week - Charles and Louisa are thrown into such absurd circumstances that they have no choice but to grow together and become close as they face Louisa’s aunt and the rest of the crazy people populating Louisa’s childhood home.
In the Arms of the Heiress is the first book in Maggie Robinson’s newest series, Ladies Unlaced. I also really liked that this book was set in 1903 so we were treated to the existence of cars, and there weren’t some of the cultural sensibility issues that I usually find tiring, like the need for a chaperone or the marriage market. I know I’ve said it twice already but this was really such a fun book and I’m excited for the second book in the series which will feature a really fun secondary character here, who I’m sure has lots of secrets waiting to be discovered.