When a marriage is needed, but not wanted

Synopsis

Four soldiers face their greatest battle yet—in the Regency marriage mart! Be enthralled by the second installment of A Season to Wed.

A dance with temptation…

sets his world ablaze!

Lieutenant Colonel Ezra Hart finds himself in urgent need of a wife—inheriting the viscountcy relies on it. But while he’s dutifully spinning the season’s jewels around society’s ballrooms, he finds himself desiring the one woman he shouldn’t covet…

French émigrée Seraphine Mounier is as beguiling as she is vivacious, but Ezra knows she has no interest in the marriage mart. What’s worse, she represents the very enemy he fought at Waterloo. As an undeniable connection sparks, resisting Seraphine seems one battle Ezra’s destined to lose!

From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.

A Season to Wed

Book 1: Only an Heiress Will Do by Virginia Heath
Book 2: The Viscount’s Forbidden Flirtation by Sarah Rodi
Book 3: Their Second Chance Season by Ella Matthews
Book 4: The Lord’s Maddening Miss by Lucy Morris

My review

After the war, and the sacrifices after Waterloo, being a French emigrée isn’t easy, as you are seen as the enemy, even if Seraphine Mounier and her family moved to France even before Waterloo. So while it is customary for young women to find a match for marriage, not only does her background makes it difficult for Seraphine to find a match, but she doesn’t want to find a husband. Because no matter what Regency society may dictate, Seraphine does not want to be bounded, as she knows that marriage will kill her spirit and it won’t allow her to follow her passions and her vivacity. And then she meets Colonel Ezra Hart, who has returned from Waterloo and is being seen as a war hero. In order to inherit the viscountcy, he must marry. But while the eligible women are lining up for him, marrying is the last thing he truly wants. But when Ezra and Seraphine meet, something sparks between them, despite their many differences. And let’s not forget that French and English just don’t work… Or will Love be stronger than everything that could break them apart?

I have got to know this amazing author through her Viking stories, making me swoon with each book not only over those strong Nordic men, but also with just great stories with strong female characters and a quest for love, whether the characters were searching for it or not.

And now a new era has started for Sarah Rodi, the Regency era. So of course I was curious to discover if Sarah would be able to pass her talent from Viking to Regency.

It cannot be easy to stand out in an era where so many books already exist. It would be easy to fall in the trap of becoming thirteen in a dozen. But beside my curiosity, I also had a lot of faith in this author and I knew she would succeed!

I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been for Seraphine and her relatives to leave her home in France, to seek a better future. It may seem so easy to do, the prospect of a better life, but let’s not forget it wasn’t an easy time when they all moved, with many sacrifices that have been made.

Being in a different country is already not easy, but being seen as ‘the bad guys’, as the French are being seen as the enemy, I truly felt sorry for Seraphine.

But on the other hand, I also liked her. She has this fire in her. A fire she won’t allow anyone to get extinguished. Seraphine knows that she isn’t making things easy for herself, but she wants to remain true to herself. And while she knows that marrying into society may help her and her family, with being French and her vivacity, shoe doesn’t know if there is someone out there for her. Nor does she knows if she wants to get married at all, as it will restrict her.

Restrict her, because we get to see that not only she would do anything for her loved ones, even at the risk of her own reputation, but we also see her kind heart towards others. Others that may be connected in a way, but are in fact total strangers.

And we also see that Seraphine understands people better than anyone else. We see this especially with Ezra. She sees what nobody else sees, she sees the demons that are haunting him.

Ezra… where to start with him? My heart broke already reading about his background and his upbringing. And then I cannot even imagine the horrors he must have lived and seen at Waterloo.

He is trying to find his feet again after the war, and just in his life. It is expected from him to find a perfect match, but he is clearly struggling with how his life should actually look like.

But it was sweet how he can always rely on the help and support of his best friends. No matter what, he will always have them by his side.

While at first I was understanding of what Ezra has been through, I found it a tiny bit difficult to truly like him. Not because he is a bad person, searching for redemption, but because perhaps there may have been signs that he may be prejudiced too, especially towards the French.

However, the more I got to know Ezra, the more I realized that I was wrong. And that in fact, Ezra is a, yes scarred person, but also a wonderful person. Not only is he very loyal, but he is also an open person. In the sense that he doesn’t judge people based on what other say, but he makes his own opinion based on what he actually sees himself.

Of course, like is mandatory in these kind of books, the main characters initially don’t get along. Yet it was delightful to read how slowly Seraphine and Ezra are growing closer. How Ezra is even ready to risk everything to help Seraphine in time of need, even when they barely just know each other. Because that is just who Ezra is, someone that helps whenever he can.

And Seraphine is the kind of person that won’t allow Ezra to lose everything, even if it will cost her everything…

Seeing their friendship develop, despite all the odds against them, truly warmed my heart.

Because they show us that love for sure can work in mysterious ways, and that perhaps it gives us not the person we expect, but the person we need. As Seraphine and Ezra are very different in so many aspects, they are so alike in what truly matters…

Sarah Rodi proves with this heartwarming story that her talent isn’t just limited in Viking stories, but that in fact, Sarah can write amazing stories taking place in any era, in every setting! And I absolutely enjoyed reading this book!