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Blog Tour: Any Groom Will Do by Charis Michaels (Excerpt, Review & Giveaway)

February 13, 2018 By AnnMarie Leave a Comment

Blog Tour: Any Groom Will Do by Charis Michaels (Excerpt, Review & Giveaway)Any Groom Will Do (The Brides of Belgravia, #1) by Charis Michaels
Published by Avon Impulse on February 13th 2018
Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Goodreads
Rating: 4 Stars

The Dreamer
Lady Wilhelmina “Willow” Hunnicut has always dreamed of leaving tranquil Surrey for sights and sounds London. She is a talented designer and has aspirations as grand as London’s finest mansions. But an unmarried heiress dare not relocate to the capital city alone, and her parents have forbidden the move. A married woman, however, may come and go as she pleases, not a hint of scandal. With this in mind, Lady Willow writes an advertisement that offers her dowry to potential husbands as bait. She is determined to conveniently marry any man who will give her his name and then otherwise walk, ride, or sail away.
The Desperate
Lord Brent Caulder, the Earl of Cassin, lives in one of the last-remaining castles in Yorkshire, but it is a castle in decline. The tenants are listless and destitute, his mother and sisters are barely getting by. It’s Cassin’s fault, unfortunately, because he’s sealed the dangerous mines that have brought the earldom prosperity for generations. Now he must discover a safe alternative or his people will starve.
The Deal
Relief comes in the form of an advertisement from a London investor. But when the “investor” is revealed to be a young woman and the money her dowry, Cassin must decide if he’s desperate enough to marry a stranger. The deal hinges on one stipulation: bride and groom will go their separate ways after the wedding and never look back.
The Discovery
When a family crisis forces the estranged couple to travel home to Yorkshire, Cassin seeks aid and solace from the new wife he barely knows. Lady Willow embraces the heated attraction that sizzles between them, and Cassin comes to see her as more than a financial backer, he falls in love with her as his wife.

He thought a moment and said, “So I’m meant to suffer the indignity of poverty and, if I marry you, have all my troubles magically solved because of a wedding?”

“Countless men,” she said, “change their fortunes by taking rich brides.”

“I did not leave Yorkshire to marry my way out of mean times. I intend to earn the money.”

“And yet you deny your first viable investment.” She sat up.

“Collecting your dowry is not an investment.” He followed her up.

“It is £60,000 and complete freedom.” She swung her legs to the floor.

“It is £60,000 and a wife,” he said, “who, apparently, I would never see.”

“You’ve just said that you don’t want a wife.”

“Yes, and you wish to become one tomorrow.”

“No, I wish to marry tomorrow. Not be a wife.”

He made a sound of frustration. “How, exactly, does that happen? That arrangement?”

She opened her mouth to say something but hesitated. “I . . . beg your pardon?” she asked.

“I’m curious,” he said, rolling to his feet, “how a married woman goes about her life as if she is ‘not a wife.’ ”

“I’ll . . . I’ll do as I please,” she told him defensively. “I’ll answer to no one. I’ll be a bother and a burden to no one.”

“Right, right, such isolation. That’s not what I mean, and I think you know it.”

Tour Wide Giveaway

To celebrate the release of ANY GROOM WILL DO, there is a giveaway of one paperback set of THE BACHELOR LORDS OF LONDON series by Charis Michaels!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

~~Reviewed by AnnMarie~~

Any Groom Will Do is the first book in The Brides of Belgravia series by Charis Michaels.

Lady Wilhelmina (Willow) Hunnicut cannot have children thanks to a childhood illness. She has come to terms with that knowledge and wants nothing more than to move to London to live with her aunt and uncle to help them out with their interior design business. Unfortunately, her parents won’t let her move. The only way she would be able to go would be if she was a married woman. She comes up with a plan to offer her substantial dowry to a gentleman sailor or businessman who would marry her but then leave her alone to get on with her life. With that in mind, she advertises as an investor willing to give money to said gentleman traveller.

Lord Brent Caulder, the Earl of Cassin is desperate for an investment of money into a venture of his that should save his estate, his family and his tenants from falling into the hands of his wicked uncle. So desperate that when he sees Willow’s advert rather than waste time writing back and fore he travels in person to her house to inquire about the money. When he discovers that in order to get the investment he must marry and then leave his wife alone he can’t believe it. He never thought to marry, and if he did he never thought he would be forced to leave her. But beggars can’t be choosers and he agrees to marry her.

There is an instant lustful attraction between them, but despite the occasional passionate kiss before Brent has to leave on his travels, neither seriously thinks that their marriage should be or could be more than a marriage of convenience. Letters are shared between them when they are apart where they get to know more about each other, and when Brent needs to return to England in order to help Willow with an emergency at home with his family, things start to change between them. Can our couple have a real marriage, or will the obstacles in their way be too big to be overcome?

This story was wonderful to read. Brent and Willow were so perfect for each other, and despite them not being honest with their feelings, it was obvious from the start that they would make a perfect couple. It was lovely to see how things developed between them. The perfect villain of the story is Brent’s Uncle who is determined to take over the castle and the estate. I couldn’t believe how rotten he was and the author wrote his scenes so well that I just wanted to climb into the book and slap the man silly! There were some deep, emotional parts to this story, not least a scene when Willow discovers as a child that she will never have babies. But there were some lovely comical moments too that kept the story from being dark.

I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to the stories about Willow’s two friends who also married and moved to London with her.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers’ copy of this book.

Rating:

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About Charis Michaels

USA Today bestselling author CHARIS MICHAELS believes a romance novel is a very long, exciting answer to the question: “So, how did you two meet?” It’s a question she loves to answer again and again with different characters, each time she writes a book. Prior to writing romance, she studied Journalism at Texas A&M and managed PR for a trade association. She has also worked as a tour guide at Disney World, harvested peaches on her family’s farm, and entertained children as the “Story Godmother” at birthday parties. She has lived in Texas, Florida, and London, England. She now makes her home in the Washington, D.C.-metro area.

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