To Marry and to Meddle by Martha Waters

Summary:
Lady Emily Turner has been a debutante for six seasons now and should have long settled into a suitable marriage. However, due to her father’s large debts, her only suitor is the persistent and odious owner of her father’s favorite gambling house. Meanwhile, Lord Julian Belfry, the second son of a marquess, has scandalized society as an actor and owner of a theater—the kind of establishment where men take their mistresses, but not their wives. When their lives intersect at a house party, Lord Julian hatches a plan to benefit them both.
With a marriage of convenience, Emily will use her society connections to promote the theater to a more respectable clientele and Julian will take her out from under the shadows of her father’s unsavory associates. But they soon realize they have very different plans for their marriage—Julian wants Emily to remain a society wife, while Emily discovers an interest in the theater. But when a fleeing actress, murderous kitten, and meddlesome friends enter the fray, Emily and Julian will have to confront the fact that their marriage of convenience comes with rather inconvenient feelings.
With “an arch sense of humor and a marvelously witty voice that rivals the best of the Regency authors” (Entertainment Weekly), Martha Waters crafts another fresh romantic comedy that for fans of Julia Quinn and Evie Dunmore.

Review:
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I was very excited to read this one since I rather enjoyed the first two.
To Marry and to Meddle follows Lady Emily Turner who, early in the story, is proposed to by Lord Julian Belfry. Emily agrees, but with a few conditions. They marry right away and then return to London soon after.
This was a slow-burn story that starts with a marriage of convenience. I liked both Emily and Julian, so this was an enjoyable story for me. We follow the two flirt and kiss and slowly fall in love. I liked seeing Emily figure out how to be free of her mother’s constant instructions and expectations. Julian was a really good influence on her breaking her out of those habits and doing whatever she wanted. I also really liked seeing Julian work on moving from the issues in his past. The two were a great couple that repeatedly made me laugh out loud while I was reading.
I absolutely recommend this one if you like slow-burn romance and character-focused stories. It’s also not a super smutty book. But it has a whole lot of heart and was really so much fun for me to read.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

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