SYNOPSIS
As one of the daughters of an English Earl and his Indian Mistress, Anya Marleigh has defied Regency society’s rules by playing her sitar and singing beautifully for Queen Charlotte at the court of George III.
When she comes into an unexpected inheritance, her change of fortune comes with a catch — she must marry before her twenty-fifth birthday or the money will go to her trustee — the infuriating but devilishly sexy Lord Damian Ashton, who also has the power to approve her choice of husband.
As Anya begins to attract the wrong sort of marriage suitor, Lord Ashton is the only thing standing between her and a fate worse than death. But does he have his own reasons for hindering her happy ever after …?
MY REVIEW
I will start off by saying I absolutely loved this book and everything about it. Anya Marleigh is the daughter of an Earl but her mother was his Indian mistress. She plays the sitar and sings for the Queen. When Anya unexpectedly inherits money from the late Dowager Countess Budleigh she is shocked, she hadn’t expected it, she had got on with the late Dowager, she had also sung and played the Sitar for her. There is just one thing though before she can receive the money she must marry by her 25th birthday, she is already 24. The person she marries has to be approved by her trustee Lord Damian Ashton. If she doesn’t marry by her 25th birthday Lord Ashton will get the money. The heirs to the Budleigh estate are furious at this, and they don’t hold back on what they think. But how far would they go to stop Anya receiving the money? Or to what extent would they try and get Anya to give the money to them?
Lord Damian Ashton didn’t want or need to inherit anything, but after several members of the Ashton family died in quick succession he became Lord. He has no time for socialising with the Ton, he doesn’t care for anyone but his brother Jeremy, who he will protect. When he meets Anya he thinks she has managed to somehow wheedle her way into inheriting money. But he cannot stand the Budleigh’s either, and the feeling is mutual as the two estates are near each other.
I loved the characters in this book Anya is a strong person, she has had to be as you learn of her backstory. But equally Lord Ashton is a great character as well, his life hasn’t been easy either. This book has it all a love/hate relationship between Anya and Damian. I really enjoyed how their relationship went. Damian’s brother Jeremy gets on well with Anya, after the briefest of meetings which really annoys Damian, he finds it hard to understand. Anya has two sisters she has become estranged from, but also the three girls were split up from triplets that their mother had given birth too, before her parents died. Will the sisters be able to reconcile with each other?
This was such a fun read pure escapism, I left my own dreary world and entered that of these characters. I laughed out loud at times. The Budleigh’s are such an entitled group of characters that just wanted the money, and would go to whatever means necessary to get their hands on it. Can Anya win the heart of Lord Ashton? Will Lord Ashton let his guard down? The sexual tension between them is buzzing, but will they give in to it? Can they save each other from accusations aimed at them by the Budleigh’s? If you like Bridgerton you will enjoy this. I look forward to reading more from this author. It’s so nice to just lose yourself in a good read.
Thank you to Amita Murray for asking me to read her novel and for sending me an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amita Murray lives in London. Just to keep things interesting, she writes in two genres: Regency romance and contemporary mystery. Her Arya Winters mysteries are published by Agora and are under a TV option. Her mystery novel Thirteenth Night won the Exeter Novel Prize in 2022. A collection called Marmite and Mango Chutney won the SI Leeds Prize in 2016 and her short story “A Heist in Three Acts” came out in Ellery Queen Magazine in 2022.
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