Series Name: The Dove’s of New York #1
He laughed again, sending her anger bubbling higher. When he saw that she was serious, his amusement died away. “You have no family or name to recommend you. Do you honestly believe you stand a chance in hell of marrying an aristocrat?”
The Stranger I Wed is a fabulous start to a new series by one of my favourite historical romance writers.
Cora Dove and her sisters’ questionable legitimacy has been the lifelong subject of New York’s gossipmongers and a continual stain on their father’s reputation. So when the girls each receive a generous, guilt-induced dowry from their dying grandmother, the sly Mr. Hathaway vows to release their funds only if Cora and her sisters can procure suitable husbands—far from New York. For Cora, England is a fresh start. She has no delusions of love, but a husband who will respect her independence? That’s an earl worth fighting for.
Enter: Leopold Brendon, Earl of Devonworth, a no-nonsense member of Parliament whose plan to pass a Public Health bill that would provide clean water to the working class requires the backing of a wealthy wife. He just never expected to crave Cora’s touch or yearn to hear her thoughts on his campaign—or to discover that his seemingly perfect bride protects so many secrets…
But secrets have a way of bubbling to the surface, and Devonworth has a few of his own. With their pasts laid bare and Cora’s budding passion for women’s rights taking a dangerous turn, they’ll learn the true cost of losing their heart to a stranger—and that love is worth any price.
I love Harper St. George for her witty banter, swoon worthy romances and fantastic main heroines. The Stranger I Wed exceeded all my expectations and is my new favourite by her. We’ve got Cora Dove, a bastard to a wealthy man who needs to marry in order to come into her inheritance and save her family from destitution, and the noble and stoic Leo, who needs money to help save his estate and his family. Cora sets out to marry an Englishman with the help of some familiar faces from past series. Leo is on her list, and when she runs into him (literally) she is very interested in getting to know him better, if you know what I mean. Eventually their needs (both financial and physical) lead them to a marriage of convenience. And then the fun really begins.
Cora and Leo may be my favourite couple of 2024 so far. There’s angst, and longing. There’s shades of Pride and Prejudice, with some misunderstandings, Leo’s stoic nature and well-to-do and judgy mother and Cora’s wild family, led by an impish mother who likes her drink and has been an actress during her spotty past. Cora and Leo are a fantastic pairing. I just kept wanting to see them on the page. They are two smart characters, and support each other. Their agreement to keep the marriage superficial until Cora can leave him and be her own woman rachets up the tension as they dance around getting to know each other and resist each other. They both have secrets that they try to keep from each other, which leads to some mystery and intrigue and to an exciting climax of the story. There is no third act break up here, but you still get some excellent declarations of love.
Harper mixes fact and fiction in her series and explores women’s rights of the time of the Victorian age and the conflict between the nobility and trade, old money and new money and the role of women in a rapidly changing society. Led by Cora, this is going to be an excellent series and I can’t wait to spend more time with the Dove sisters and the men who fall for them.
Thank you to Berkley Romance for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
