A CONVENIENT ENGAGEMENT is Book 1 in Kimberly Bell's
Countess Scandals series. Kimberly Bell is a new
author
for me, but I look forward to reading more of her books
in the future.
Hannah Howard is a little annoyed,
disgusted, and attracted when she first runs into her
neighbor—the devilishly handsome rake Gavan Dalreoch,
Earl of Rhone. This is an interesting spin on the usual
marriage of convenience stories by having the hero
propose an engagement of convenience only. Of course
having the hero utterly fall for the heroine and feel
trapped by the parameters he set is delightful.
Gavan and Hannah are both haunted by the marriages and
decisions of their parents. It's something that still
influences their lives after so many years have passed.
Hannah fears losing her independence after marriage and
of being as devastated by loss as her father was after
her mother's death. Gavan still harbors hurt over his
illegitimacy and struggles with his place in his family.
Both Gavan and Hannah are wonderfully complex characters
and equally flawed. Hannah is an interesting
contradiction. Usually a heroine in a historical romance,
who is an intellectual, yearns to be taken seriously for
her intelligence. In Hannah's case, she doesn't need
validation over how smart she is, but instead she longs
for the typical frivolous, fun, girlish things she lacked
growing up under her father's watch. This confident yet
vulnerable mix makes her sympathetic as she steadfastly
and maddeningly thwarts the hero's attempts to woo her.
The constant push and pull of whether to listen to her
head or her heart makes for a compelling story.
After reading his introduction in A CONVENIENT
ENGAGEMENT, I was thoroughly prepared to dislike Gavan
because of his reprobate ways. However, whether because
of the stumbling blocks he faces when it comes to winning
Hannah and his response to them, Gavan endears himself
and completely charms the reader as the story progresses.
Hannah's initial prickly attitude toward Gavan, and their
often rocky romance, acts as a trial to test his
character. Gavan is not a perfect hero and his cousin
Ewan and Hannah put him in his place often, but his
unexpected love for Hannah and his constant
state of arousal and bewilderment over those feelings is
lovely. Gavan also impresses me with some degree of self-
awareness. He knows his shortcomings as a laird and a
brother.
A CONVENIENT ENGAGEMENT seals the deal as a totally sexy
and bewitching romance by having such a delectable hero
and intriguing supporting characters. The romance
between Gavan and Hannah is at times complicated and
frustrating, but it also sizzles and is deeply rewarding
when they finally find their happily ever after. I look
forward to reading about characters like Hannah's friend
Jane and Lord Courseclay in future books.
A young lady makes an outrageous deal with a very handsome
devil in this sexy debut romance set in Georgian Era London
and Scotland.
An independent young woman of means, Miss Hannah Howard is
as stubborn as she is beautiful. After she moves to London
for her first season among the ton, she immediately finds
herself in a heated dispute with her neighbor, the
ill-mannered Gavan Dalreoch, Earl of Rhone. Giving the Earl
a black eye is a lapse in judgment—even though the Scottish
scoundrel deserved it. Now with her reputation in jeopardy,
her only hope for saving face is the man whose face she
bruised.
Gavan is content to live up to his rakish reputation, but
with family pressuring him to marry, he and Hannah agree to
get engaged just long enough to appear respectable. Yet as
the charade continues with stolen kisses and a trip to
Gavan's Scottish castle, Gavan and Hannah discover that
their false engagement may be more real than they imagined.
Includes a preview of Kimberly Bell’s upcoming novel.
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