Marry in Scarlet by Anne Gracie Also by this author: Marry in Secret
Published by Penguin on May 26th 2020
Genres: Fiction, General, Historical, Regency, Romance
Pages: 336
A marriage born of passion and scandal turns into something more from the bestselling author of Marry in Secret.
When a duke denied...
The proud and arrogant Duke of Everingham is determined to secure a marriage of convenience with heiress Lady Georgiana Rutherford. He's the biggest prize on the London marriage mart, pursued by young unmarried ladies and their match-making mamas, as well as married women with a wandering eye. He can have any woman he wants. Or so he thinks...
...Hunts an independent lady...
Lady Georgiana Rutherford—irreverent and unconventional—has no plans to marry. Having grown up poor, Lady George has no intention of giving up her fortune to become dependent on the dubious and unreliable goodwill of a man. Especially a man as insufferable as the Duke of Everingham, whose kisses stirs unwelcome and unsettling emotions...
...Sparks are sure to fly
The more she defies him, the more the duke wants her, until an argument at a ball spirals into a passionate embrace. Caught in a compromising position, the duke announces their betrothal. George is furious, and when gossip claims she deliberately entrapped the duke—when she was the one who was trapped—she marches down the aisle in a scarlet wedding dress. But the unlikely bride and groom may have found love in the most improbable of places—a marriage of convenience.
Marry in Scarlet by Anne Gracie is the fourth (and I believe, final) book of the Marriage of Convenience series and I’m so sad that it is over as I loved these characters. With that said, I am so glad I finally got to read George’s story and I loved how it all wrapped up.
If you recall, the last book had Rose leaving the Duke of Everingham at the altar which turned out well for her in the end. It wasn’t a love match, so he wasn’t that broken hearted about it but he’s definitely having to deal with the gossip and he doesn’t really have any interest in finding a replacement.
Lady Georgina Rutherford is determined not to marry. When she comes of age, she wants to move to the country and raise horses and dogs. Unfortunately for her, that means that until that happens, she has to continue to go to all of the parties and social events whether she wants to or not.  George actually has a good reputation with the gentlemen of the Ton because she has always been up front with her plans and even though she still gets offers of marriage, she is clear with her intention not to marry.
George catches Hart’s interest at first because of her aunt Agatha. They never really interacted all that much when Hart was engaged to Rose but when Agatha offers George up as an option as a bride, Hart’s interest is piqued.  Of course, he declines (adamantly) but when he starts to engage with George at parties and then also finds out she owns a magnificent horse he would like to own, he decides he wants her and does whatever he has to in order to make her his.
I loved how these two came together. I was worried it was going to be weird with Hart having almost married Rose, but it actually wasn’t as they didn’t have any feelings invested. As George continues to challenge and push back at Hart, things get more interesting until they find themselves in a situation where the only way to save both their reputations is to get married. Unfortunately for George, she is the one to suffer because of this. Having declined other offers, people now think she was scheming for a title and even though she doesn’t really care what people think of her, she does care if what they think is completely incorrect.
As Hart and George start to learn more about each other and correct some assumptions they had along the way, their relationship becomes about more than just the contract they agreed to and it was wonderful to see these two figure it out.
Overall, I thought this was a great wrap up for this group. I loved every one of the stories and George’s was a solid ending. I think everyone who loves Historical Romance should be reading Anne Gracie’s stories as they rank amongst some of my favorites. She develops wonderful characters, interesting stories, and makes the romance swoony. Gracie has quickly become an auto-buy author for me in this genre and I can’t wait for the next book she writes to come out…whatever it is.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
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