37. The Duke and the Wallflower by Jessie Clever

listened on Chirp

389 pgs.

2020
Adult historical romance
Finished 7/29/2025
Goodreads rating: 3.89
My rating: 2.75

My comments:  Ultra-handsome duke and plain Jane marry after knowing each other for about a week, and although they would never admit it to each other, instantly fall in love, while fighting it the whole time.  Light-hearted and fun to read, but.....

Goodreads synopsis:  Shunned by a society that puts attractiveness above all else, Lady Eliza Darby’s wallflower status keeps her from getting the one thing she wants most, namely, to be a mother. But when her scorned older sister returns home to see all of her sisters wed in happy matches, it may be Eliza’s only chance to secure a husband and have the children she so desires.

Jilted in a publicly humiliating display, Dax Kane, the Duke of Ashbourne, has sworn off love forever and has no wish to wed. But when the title demands it, he selects the most perfect candidate for the position: Lady Eliza Darby, a wallflower so unattractive, he won’t be in danger of falling in love with her. But the Jilted Duke will soon discover looks have nothing to do with love.

90. To Catch a Spinster by Megan Bryce

listened to audio on Chirp
narrated by Maureen Cavanaugh
Unabridged audio (4:28)
2012
256 pgs.
Adult Regency Romance
Finished 6/3/2020
Goodreads rating: 3.69 - 2994 ratings
My rating: 2.5
Setting: London, England, turn of the century? (can't remember)

First line/s: "Miss Olivia Blakesley watched as her youngest sister was married and thought, 'That does it, old girl.  You are officially on the shelf.' "

My comments: Very cute and very stupid.  Haven't read any like this before, a short regency romance.  A 25-year-old "spinster" decides that she will spend the rest of her life unmarried, but wants to learn about the stuff that she'll miss.  So she makes an arrangement with an older, for-some-reason unmarried, very nice gentleman.  And of course they fall in love.  But she is stupidly stubborn and refuses to marry him until the very last few minutes of the book.  Refreshingly, didn't get steamy.  Read with a very snotty upper crust kind of British accent.

Goodreads synopsis:  Olivia Blakesley, self-proclaimed spinster extraordinaire, is quite happy with her life. She has her studies and her duties, what need does she have of a husband? With five sisters married she knows the reality does not live up to the promise, and does not need to personally experiment with the state to know she would be ill-suited to it. However, she finds herself envious of at least one aspect of marriage. But to experience the physical side of marriage, one doesn't need a husband, all one needs is the right man...
          Nathaniel Jenkins knows his duty. Marry a young girl from a respectable family and father an heir, no matter how cold the endless parade of suitable girls leaves him. But a shocking proposal from a scholarly spinster leaves him wondering if unsuitable is just what he's looking for. Can he convince his spinster that marriage is the greatest experiment of all?