Wager for a Lady's Hand

A Lockhart Sweet Regency Romance

By: Laura Rollins

Narrated by: Kathryn Vinclaire

Forced into a betrothal with an abusive man, the only way out might be to beat her fiancé at his own game.

Miss Marianne Twisden knows her best chance at a safe and happy life is to marry a kind man and leave her violent father behind. When her father signs papers betrothing her to Lord Cockell - a cruel and even more violent blackguard - Marianne is desperate for a way out. Her new fiancé gives her one: If Marianne discredits Lord Sheldon Lockhart, England’s newest barrister, Cockell will release her from the marriage contract.

Lord Sheldon Lockhart is determined to rid his neighborhood of Cockell - a man who preys on gamble-hooked gentlemen by loaning them far more money than they could ever hope to repay and then extracting it mercilessly. What he didn’t expect was to fall for Cockell’s most beautiful victim, Miss Marianne.

The seemingly simple game becomes complex when a deep, abiding affection grows between Marianne and Sheldon. It is made all the more perilous when Cockell refuses to play by the rules. Strategizing together, Marianne and Sheldon must think several steps ahead if they ever hope to out-play their opponent and have a shot at victory and their own happily ever after.

Wager for a Lady's Hand is a clean and wholesome Regency romance, full of witty characters and a heartwarming happily ever after. Buy Wager for a Lady's Hand and start falling in love today.

The stories in the Lockhart Sweet Regency Romance series are all stand-alone novels. They can be listened to apart or enjoyed in proper order.

1. Wager for a Lady’s Hand
2. Lily for My Enemy
3. A Heart in the Balance
4. A Farewell Kiss
5. A Well-Kept Promise

©2019 Laura Rollins (P)2020 Laura Rollins

Wonderful story, but narrator has sore throat?

The story was wonderful and worth a listen, but the narrator sounds as though she is losing her voice or has a scratchy throat. I got used to it after a while and the story is worth sitting through the narration, but for the first little bit it nearly made my own throat hurt listening to her speak.

I liked the idea of a team

The description implied that the H&h would be a team, working together against a common enemy. That was true but not to the extent that I'd hoped. Still, at least it wasn't the tired enemy to lovers equation. And neither the H or the h were frustratingly clueless or stubborn.

ˈVīˌkount/ not Vis count

Not a bad story but I went crazy every time the narrator mispronounced the word Viscount! I don't understand how neither the British author nor the editor allowed this error to go on over and over again.

Somber but good

[4.5 stars]
This is a somber story but engaging and well developed. There is danger, suspense, and a rather evil villain. The FMC’s father is a cruel and abusive drunk, prone to gambling and heavily in debt. The FMC’s life is terrible enough from that, but then her father trades her to said villain as wife in exchange for canceling his debts. Things go from terrible to worse as she works to free herself from the machinations of evil men.

Of course, we have a romance to brighten the story. The MMC is a barrister that gets pulled into the same machinations. Their relationship is well done and I liked how the author fulfilled the mandatory relationship tension through events and circumstances, rather than miscommunication and insecurities.

It’s definitely not a light book, but it’s not as dark as you might think, considering the plot. The FMC has a surprisingly positive attitude for a life of regular physical and emotional abuse. That’s actually one thing that felt off/unrealistic to me. Marianne seemed too unaffected by her father’s ongoing and violent abuse. I liked her character, she just didn’t seem to fit with the backstory that was created for her.

Content:
There is no foul language or sex. There is violence, but it’s not overly detailed and often glossed over. The romance is limited to lightly descriptive kisses. There is no real mention of faith or God.

Trigger warnings - a physically abusive father, a woman is abducted (but rescued).