Book Review
Jan. 17th, 2026 10:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariGentleman Seeks Bride
by Megan Frampton
In this historical romance, two people strike a bargain that ends up being more than they bargained for. Jane Capel moved in with her brother after a refusing to go back on the marriage market after being painfully jilted. Tired of bowing to the expectation that she be demure and retiring, she is now seeking more independence and experience of the world. After a bad investment ruined his family's finances, Thomas Sharpe, a close friend of Jane's brother, feels duty-bound to marry an heiress so that he can keep his parents and sister out of poverty but is not having much luck. Thomas and Jane thus agree to help each other - he will show Jane pleasures and experiences that young unmarried women are not able to have and she will help him find a rich wife. Of course, they fall in love.
This book had a lot of nice elements, but they just didn't click for me. This is probably more of a me problem, though, and I'm sure this one would work really well for other readers. I liked both main characters - they are good people whom it was easy to root for. I especially liked how they both struggled with the ethical aspects of Thomas' need to fortune-hunt. Neither of them wanted to cause misery to anyone. I also liked how what Thomas showed Jane wasn't just carnal experience - he also took her to a circus performance and a hot air balloon ride. They became friends as well as lovers. There was also lots of witty banter.
by Megan Frampton
In this historical romance, two people strike a bargain that ends up being more than they bargained for. Jane Capel moved in with her brother after a refusing to go back on the marriage market after being painfully jilted. Tired of bowing to the expectation that she be demure and retiring, she is now seeking more independence and experience of the world. After a bad investment ruined his family's finances, Thomas Sharpe, a close friend of Jane's brother, feels duty-bound to marry an heiress so that he can keep his parents and sister out of poverty but is not having much luck. Thomas and Jane thus agree to help each other - he will show Jane pleasures and experiences that young unmarried women are not able to have and she will help him find a rich wife. Of course, they fall in love.
This book had a lot of nice elements, but they just didn't click for me. This is probably more of a me problem, though, and I'm sure this one would work really well for other readers. I liked both main characters - they are good people whom it was easy to root for. I especially liked how they both struggled with the ethical aspects of Thomas' need to fortune-hunt. Neither of them wanted to cause misery to anyone. I also liked how what Thomas showed Jane wasn't just carnal experience - he also took her to a circus performance and a hot air balloon ride. They became friends as well as lovers. There was also lots of witty banter.
