How To Best A Marquess Review

Author: Janna MacGregor

Series: The Widow Rules #3

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Release Date: April 25, 2023

Order Link: Amazon

4 Hearts

Special thanks to St. Martins Press for an arc of this book.

Review:

Beth Howell was left financially ruined and dependent upon her brother when it turned out that her scum of a husband who abandoned her after one brief night had ebsconded with her dowry leaving her penniless and socially ruined.  If that's not bad enough, it turns out he had two other wives before her meaning she wasn't legally married at all.  Desperate to recover her missing dowry, Beth turns to her childhood friend and former almost fiance for help.  Lord Julian Raleah, Marquess of Grayson, was the love of her life, but like all the men in her life he walked away with nary a word.  However, now Grayson is in need of funds and he'll either need to marry a rich woman quickly . . . or help Beth for half of her dowry.  The pair shake hands over a deal and set off on a perilous road trip filled with intrigue, danger, sexy banter, steamy scenes and a healthy dose of humor.  

How To Best A Marquess is the third book in The Widow Rules series and ends the series in stunning style.  The tension and sexual chemistry between these two main characters is explosive even as they fight the attraction - each for their own reasons.  Beth has vowed to never leave herself vulnerable to a man again.  Grayson has a heart of stone even as he yearns for the future he thought lost with Beth.  He vows to protect her even if she'll never be his and that means helping her recover her lost dowry and preventing her scum bag of a brother who's threatening to marry her off to a man fifty years her senior from getting his hands on it and/or Beth.  I loved the inclusion of beloved characters from books one and two in this story.  The character and relationship development is outstanding and the setting is authentic.  While I may have wanted to knock some sense into these two stubborn characters more than once, I couldn't turn pages fast enough to see what happened.  

I highly recommend reading the first two books prior to How To Best A Marquess, but this book absolutely stands alone.  I enjoyed Beth and Grayson's story and must admit to laughing out loud at a few of the antics of these two.  MacGregor's highly readable and entertaining writing style is evident once again in How To Best A Marquess.  Highly recommended to fans of historical romance.

Synopsis:

Beth Howell needs to find her dowry, post haste. After her good-for-nothing first husband married her―and two other women, unbeknownst to them all―she’s left financially ruined and relegated to living with her brother, who cares more for his horses than he does his blood relatives. If Beth fails to acquire her funds, her brother will force her to marry someone fifty years her senior and missing half his teeth. She’d prefer to avoid that dreadful fate. But her now-deceased husband, Meri, absconded with her money mere days after their illegitimate marriage. To find it, Beth will have to leave town and retrace Meri’s steps if she’s to take her future into her own hands.

Julian Raleah, Marquess of Grayson, cares not a whit for social norms and generally growls at anyone in his path. Grayson has had a heart of stone ever since his engagement to Beth Howell went down in flames―long before she married that cad, Meri, and sealed her own fate for good. But now she’s on his doorstep, asking for use of his carriage and accompaniment on the hunt to find her lost dowry. Surely Grayson cannot go on the road with the woman who has occupied his thoughts for the past decade. Yet, knowing she needs him, how can he resist helping her this one last time? And maybe that’s just enough time to change the ending to their over-too-soon love story.