A Daring Arrangement was a very enjoyable historical romance with an incredibly strong heroine, a fake fiancé, and a beautiful setting of New York City's Gilded Age.
Lady Honora Parker is in need of a fiancé as soon as possible, but only a certain type of man will work. Nora must find a man so unacceptable that her father will reject the match allowing Nora to marry the man she loves. Nora knows just the man and approaches financier Julius Hatcher, a man known for his outlandish behavior. Julius is intrigued by Nora’s proposal and for reasons of his own, accepts the proposition. To Nora’s dismay, Julius transforms into a proper gentleman, charming everyone he meets. As Julius and Nora continue to get to know one another, their relationship slowly becomes more real and they’re forced to decide what it is they truly want.
Nora, the daughter of an English Earl, is in love with a struggling artist Robert who is back in England while Nora is in America. Nora was sent to America to live with her aunt and uncle as her father does not approve of the artist Nora is in love with believing him to be not good enough for Nora. Nora though is convinced they are meant to be and won’t settle for less than what she wants. Nora is a very intelligent woman who can be brutally honest when necessary. She is also quite resourceful and very clever in her schemes to be sent back to England.
Julius is a very charming man who enjoys life and simply wants to have fun. His antics have a habit of getting him into the gossip columns which has resulted in polite society shunning him. Julius is actually a very clever man and a mathematical genius who is extremely good at following the market which has resulted in him accumulating great wealth. When he was young, his father killed himself after an investment went wrong and the fellow investors claimed no knowledge of the investment forcing Julius’s father to take on the entire debt. Julius has spent his life trying to locate those men and has sworn revenge against them.
Fake relationships are one of my all time favorite tropes, so I loved Nora and Julius’s relationship from the start. Their interactions are filled with so much banter and they have amazing chemistry on top of that. Julius teaches Nora that there’s more to life and shows her how to have fun while she gains him access to high society to locate the men responsible for his father’s suicide. Their romance is very much a slow burn as they both cling to the fake aspect for a long time, but that does allow them a chance to get to know each other. There are some great kissing scenes before their relationship moves to the next level, but once it does the scenes are incredibly hot and the two are very sexually compatible.
The Gilded Age as a setting is incredibly gorgeous and the extravagance of the time fascinates me. I’ve never read a historical romance set during this time period, but I have to say I really enjoyed it. It was also a nice change to read a historical romance set in America rather than the usual England or Scotland that I’m used to.
A Daring Arrangement was a phenomenal read and the tropes used are some of my absolute favorites. I can’t wait for the second book, A Scandalous Deal, in the series to come out and am looking forward to checking out more of this author’s books in the future.
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Top reviews from other countries
Dimple
Light hearted, enjoyable afternoon read with a happy ever after
Reviewed in India on January 14, 2020pussycat
Entertaining read. Original plot and hugely likeable H and h. Missed out on 5 stars as I would have liked a little more tension and conflict. Sweet romance though.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 3, 2018Sonja
I normally really enjoy this author even though her men as usually reformed ...
Reviewed in Canada on March 7, 2018