Gentleman Seeks Bride

💥💥💥.5/5

Thomas Sharpe must find an heiress to marry – and soon –  to care for his family after his father made some bad investments. In London, he meets Lady Jane Capel. Cut off from her family after her fiance jilted her, Jane has been living with her half-brother, and Thomas’ best friend, and is determined to shed her former life and become more worldly.  When they run into each other at Miss Ivy’s gambling club, Jane promises to help Thomas find an heiress, if he shows her all the things she wants to experience.

They grow close as they navigate London’s ballrooms and underworld (and the bedroom), despite her overprotective brother and complicated family situation. Throughout it all, Thomas remains determined to marry for money, despite the chemistry (and obvious love) between him and Jane.

It was refreshing that the book did not use a lack of communication as the main conflict, but rather the fact that Thomas needed to marry for money and Jane had none. Although this point was made a little excessively.  As it is, it’s hard to forget that it’s the main reason they can’t be together, but it was constantly repeated, especially in Thomas’ narrative. It was fun to get a little of the brother’s best friend trope too, it was a slightly different spin on it, being in a historical context.

The 4th book in the “Hazards of Dukes’ series, “Gentleman Seeks Bride” is a standalone novel. It is helpful to read the previous book, “as it contains Jane’s origin story. Without that background, Jane’s character can fall a little flat. There is also a side-plot of the conflict between her and her family, which really begins in “A Wicked Bargain for the Duke”, and contains another depiction of her mother, which is some additional context for their fracture.

Overall, this is a fun, spicy book to read. It’s not my favorite in the series, but it was very satisfying to get a happy ending for Jane.