Series: Shapeshifters of the Beau Monde, #2
Traits & Tropes: arranged marriage; alpha male; widowed heroine; starched heroine
Publication Date: 12.28.21
Genre/Setting: Historical/Paranormal; Regency; England
Heat Level: 3
Rating: 4/5
The Prince Regent has lost patience with his cousin and fellow bear shifter, Arthur Humphries, the Duke of Osborn, and insists he take a mate and shore up their bloodline. Arthur needs to set an example as an alpha and the prince is determined to make that happen by forcing marriage on the confirmed bachelor duke.
As the widowed Marchioness of Castleton, Beatrice has established a reputation amongst the ton for her icy demeanor, but her wealth and knowledge of shifters thanks to her terrible late husband, make her a dangerous liability to the prince. The prince must protect the secrets of his kind and his best solution is to force her marriage to another shifter.
Neither Arthur nor Beatrice desires marriage, much less to each other, but this union should be safe enough since there’s no chance of their falling in love.
This was a truly unique story, different than anything I’ve read so far, including the first book in the series, and I found it very refreshing. I still got the everything I like about the historical time period, but with a twist brought by the addition of paranormal/shifter elements that intrigued me. This story gives a new spin on forced/arranged marriage and enemies to lovers with a slight hint of the forbidden about it too. I will say that Beatrice frustrated me to no end, especially in the first third or so of the book with her insistence on rigidity and frost when Arthur had done nothing to deserve her animosity. He was definitely gruff, but I didn’t understand her disdain for him. It also annoyed me that she is so often referred to as madam. He eventually made this a sort of affectionate pet name for her, but still for some reason it just bugged me. I was relieved when that protective veneer of ice eventually melted away and Beatrice and Arthur became a real couple, a true team working to reestablish his shifter sleuth, but the change from rigid to a love match was so abrupt it nearly gave me whiplash. Nonetheless, I enjoyed these characters and the family dynamics in this story. It’s incredibly different, but entertaining and I will continue the series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2391711157
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4558008667
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