Rules of a Ruse

Regency Christmas Brides, Book 2

By: Laura Beers

Narrated by: Hedra Knight

Mr. Alden Dandridge has received astonishing news: he is set to inherit a thriving horse farm in a quaint Scottish village. However, there's a formidable catch. He must be married by Twelfth Night. Undeterred, Alden journeys to Scotland, convinced that a marriage of convenience will solve all his problems.

Miss Elinor Sidney has been successfully running the horse farm for the past two years, and she has no intention of relinquishing it to Mr. Dandridge. Adding to the stakes, she learns that if Alden fails to secure a bride by Twelfth Night, the horse farm will legally belong to her. When Alden enlists her help in finding a suitable bride, Elinor agrees, though she has no true intention of aiding him.

As Alden spends more time with Elinor, he comes to realize that she is the perfect solution to his predicament. He just needs to persuade her to marry him. Yet, Elinor yearns for a marriage built on love, not convenience. When someone from Elinor's past reemerges, threatening her peace, Alden knows he must risk everything—including his heart—to protect her.

Love unfolds in unexpected ways in this light-hearted, clean, and wholesome holiday romance. Enjoy it as a stand-alone story or as the second book in the Regency Christmas Brides series.

Other books in the Regency Christmas Brides series:
A Seasonal Pursuit by Rebecca Connelly
Yuletide Bride by Kasey Stockton
Married by Twelfth Night by Anneka Walker

©2024 Laura Beers (P)2024 Dreamscape Media

Enjoyed this series

Very sweet story, not too many surprises, but I enjoyed it anyways. Lovely performance. I would highly recommend the series.

Boy, girl, aunt as a ghost, uncle as villain, and hairy spiders!

This is a really fun story! Handsome man, beautiful woman, and big hairy house spiders. What could go wrong??? The banter between the two main characters, the aunt pretending to be a ghost. The uncle chimes in as the evil villain. And the spiders! You won’t be disappointed.

The concept of Great Aunt Edith's want for her love story to teach and help others to find true love.

I liked the overall theme of the book due to following the series. The storytelling lacked tho.

Hallmark Would Be Proud

The first 2/3 of the story was cute and enjoyable, if a little cheesy in places. However, the ending is dragged out to the point that I got bored with the last few chapters. All’s well that ends well, though, and I would recommend the book overall.

Sweet, but contrived; eyeroll worthy

Definitely not as good as the first in the series, but it’s hard to follow Rebecca Connolly and her unique talent for writing interesting and witty dialogue and creating realistic scenes and sentiments that don’t feel so forced.
Agree with a previous review, very Hallmark worthy. Contrived bits, pulling elements from other famous works that just make your eyes roll. (I.e. if I see another chick flick with a close up of a guys hand flexing after touching the girl he’s into… 🙄). Things happened just so. Cause yeah, his one main hang up just suddenly resolved. I felt like the drama at the end was way overdone and unrealistic. I’d have way rather had an encounter with the MMC’s family (brother and parents) and shoved his success in his brothers’ face. And can the FMC just show her true feelings instead of be polite?
Narrator just needs to relax into her male voices. Too much focus on lowering the tone that it lost inflection and the characters felt flat. Otherwise loved it! The Scottish brogue was fun!
Low key loved the aunt too! Sounds like my kind of lady!