Marriage of Convenience

Starred review from March 15, 2016
Vivienne Fox, the vicar's daughter, has inherited a huge fortune from a distant relative. Since she has reached the terrible age of spinsterhood, her father is anxious for her to marry as soon as possible, so he sends her off to London to accompany her spoiled cousin who is also there for the season. But Vivienne doesn't want anyone to know about her new wealth. She wants a man to marry her for love. Lord Alex LeSayres might be an earl, but he's broke. His father left him with a mountain of gambling debts, so he needs to find a rich wife, and quickly. Alex would much rather marry for love, but he's too pragmatic for that. It's just too bad that he's fallen for Vivienne, the penniless daughter of a clergyman. Woods (Different Tides, 2014; Moon Cutters, 2014) has written a delightful Regency romp, complete with a hero worthy of Jane Austen and a feisty, resourceful heroine who has no use for the social conventions of the time. This will be a pleasure to recommend to fans of historical romances.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

June 1, 2018
Woods revisits characters from Foxing the Geese (2016) in this tale, set in 1815. Grace Ellis comes from a good family, but the death of her doctor father leaves her penniless. After her work as a paid companion to Lady Florence ends with her employer's death, Grace is considering a journey to Australia to look for gold when Dominic LeSayres, Lady Florence's executor, arrives. Lady Florence has left Grace an inheritance, but it comes with conditions: Grace must wed her benefactress' nephew, an army brigadier nearly three times her age with a reputation for preferring the company of men. Dominic is soon smitten with Grace and creates a clerk position to give her another option. Grace has also developed feelings for him, but she believes him to be a married man with a family. Thieves, bootleggers, and greed very nearly rob Grace of any chance at happiness in this lightweight Regency romance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)