"A quick retreat was as telling as a moment of flirtation would have been, and neither were acceptable for a man who desperately hoped to avoid an arranged marriage."
synopsis
After the painful loss of her parents, Rhianna's world is turned upside down. Her uncle, who has inherited the family home and mining business, has only made things worse. Banished to a rundown hunting lodge, Rhianna feels as if happiness is out of reach. Hope shines on the horizon when Rhianna is suddenly summoned to see her uncle. An addendum to her father's will has arrived in the hands of Prince Marc Wilhelm and with it the power to protect her beloved mining community and perhaps bring forth her own happily ever after.
thoughts & feelings
Can you believe I was actually right on my prediction! Prince Marc is indeed the main man in A Tenuous Betrothal! If you've been around for a bit you know that my predictions are usually wrong, so this is kind of a big deal. I had to take a moment to celebrate with you.
Now onto the good stuff. Believe it or not I feel like Jen's Royal Regency Romance series is getting better with each book. The plots are getting more intricate and intertwined and I am LOVING it! In A Tenuous Betrothal we get to see quite a bit of Whales and Oldenburg. I loved that this story took us somewhere other than London, although we do visit there as well, and that we finally get to "see" Oldenburg. We also get to meet some of the other Wilhelm brothers and get to know a few of them quite well. Can I just say that I love the Wilhelm brothers!
I really loved the set-up for Marc and Rhianna as well. Their betrothal is shrouded in mystery and I loved the slow unraveling of it all. It is a huge pet peeve of mine when all the things miraculously work out within a single chapter. I love that Jen took the time to let Rhianna's and Marc's separate, as well as joined, problems resolve in a way that seemed realistic. I also really enjoyed that there are some solutions that aren't miraculously fixed. Rather, it's more of a realistic "let's try this and see how it works" or "this is the best solution for now."
Obviously, I could gush about this book all day long. I have truly loved it and highly recommend this series. Overall, I'd give the first three books a 4.5/5 rating.
Just for fun shall I make a guess on who the next main man will be? Hmmmmm....let me think. I would personally like to hear Henri's story next. I just feel like there is so much about him that we don't know. Even though we have seen him quite a bit I feel like there is something hiding just beneath the surface. He intrigues me the most out of the remaining brothers. However, part of me feels like Kristoff is going to be next. We shall have to wait and see.
book tags
Steam Level: clean, kissing
Language: clean
content warnings: none
trigger warnings: death of parents
book information
Title: A Tenuous Betrothal
Series: A Royal Regency Romance #3
Author: Jen Geigle Johnson
Rating: 4.5/5