Another fun read from Orchard, of Regency with some spice. This one feels like it has modern parallels, of gossip sites, fans who behave madly and also fans who turn malicious; Those internet take-downs we read about, it feels like this could be the Regency equivalent. Two likable MCs, dealing with troubles that they haven’t brought upon themselves, seeking to navigate it with a spot of Fake dating, which gets turned on its head.

We met the Wyverne family in The Viscount and the Thief and in to Catch A Lord, the viscount’s sister finds her own happily ever after . I do like a fake engagement trope and although I generally do not like the love triangle and the evil lover,
I thought the author did a good job with it here .

I’m a fan of Emma Orchard’s Regency romances, and To Catch A Lord was the best one yet. Lady Amelia and Lord Thornfalcon are both mired down by gossip and scandal in the ton, so they decide to fake an engagement to restore their reputations and silence the gossip. The major problem is Lavinia, Thornfalcon’s brother’s widow, who is determined to marry him.

Lady Amelia and Lord Thornfalcon are actually both honorable people who have done nothing to deserve their bad reputations. But they still must endure whispers and endless gossip as they go through their daily lives in London. Amelia’s father and stepmother created drama and did many scandalous things, and Lord Thornfalcon’s former sister-in-law has declared that they are star-crossed lovers destined to be together. Amelia and Thornfalcon meet and agree to have a fake engagement for the Season to quell the rumors about them. What they don’t consider is Lavinia’s anger and thirst for revenge. Soon Amelia finds herself the target of threats and assault from Lavinia’s friends, and Thornfalcon is devastated that he brought this danger into Amelia’s life.

The engagement quickly turns into something real. These characters bumble through their feelings but find their happy ever after by the end of the novel. The author did a wonderful job of building the chemistry and affection between these characters. She also created a lovely circle of family and friends who supported both of them through various challenges in the novel. The character of Lavinia was completely unhinged, which provided a lot of dramatic tension. The pacing of the story was quick, and the action kept me engaged in the novel until the last page. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel.

Thank you to Emma Orchard, Boldwood Books, and NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Amusing historical romcom /mystery

Another amusing regency romcom/mystery from Ms Orchard, this is a great book for the beach or poolside.

Thank you to the publisher who lent me a time limited e-arc via netgalley with no obligation. This review is optional and my own opinion.

This novel had many things I like: strong and kind main characters, crime, romance and a light heartedness. It was a fine read but I thought the author could’ve done so much more to make things more realistic (like how quickly they fell in love) and the villain more villainous rather than dumb and empty headed.

Emma Orchard delivers another irresistible historical romance: fake engagements, scandalous reputations, and a love triangle! Lady Amelia—sharp-witted, defiant, and weary of fortune hunters—hatches a plan to salvage her tarnished name by fake-betrothing the impeccably upright (and devastatingly handsome) Lord Thornfalcon. But when Thorn’s scheming childhood sweetheart, Lavinia, rallies the ton against her, Amelia discovers her pretend feelings might be dangerously real.

Orchard’s writing sparkles with Regency flair and modern sensibilities. The banter between Amelia and Thorn is pure delight—charged with chemistry and laced with vulnerability. Lavinia makes a deliciously petty antagonist, and the stakes heighten as Amelia’s heart becomes entangled in their ruse. The slow burn simmers perfectly, culminating in a payoff that’s satisfying. The only quibble I have is that the author's style can get bogged down in telling not showing, but that's more of a stylistic preference, I think.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I've enjoyed all the stories in this Regency Romance series, and this is one of the best. It is readable as a standalone, but as it features characters from previous books, I recommend reading all of them. I like the clever storytelling, heartfelt emotion, and spicy romance. The complex characters are believable, and in keeping with the period, the story keeps you invested with many twists. The mix of naivety and passion makes this perfect for lovers of sensual romance.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Lady Amelia has suffered the bad effects of her terrible father for long enough. If she's to have a chance at improving her lot in life, she needs some help. Her sister-in-law notes Lord Thornfalcon is also in need of a lift to his reputation after his childhood sweetheart and eventually his brother's widow tries to keep her claws into him. A proposal of a fake relationship leads them together with hopes of repairing damage, but the gossip seems to get worse. Meanwhile, they are both catching feelings for each other. Of course. :)

This was yet another lovely book from Emma Orchard. I find her books are grounded in ways many aren't. I do think the pair catch feelings rather quickly, but these are regency historical romances, so I shouldn't expect much different. Lavinia Thornfalcon is quite a character and the perfect villain of the story. Seems her beauty brings with it many benefits and she uses them to help herself along no matter the collateral damage. Most of the other characters are pretty likeable and even Amelia's stepmother makes an appearance and seems to have somewhat redeemed herself.

Overall, it's an enjoyable read and I recommend it to loves of the genre. I give it 3.5 stars rating. Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for giving me the free advanced reader copy. My opinions have been shared voluntarily and under no obligation.

Emma Orchard's "To Catch a Lord" guarantees a merry Regency romp with a welcome spin on familiar tropes. The 1813 London setting finds Lady Amelia, daughter of the scandalous Wyverne family, concocting a pretend engagement with the morally upright Lord Thornfalcon to deter unwanted admirers.

But their easy configuration is soon complicated by Thorn's determined childhood sweetheart, Lavinia, who mobilizes half the ton against Amelia. As pretence and true affection become intermixed, Amelia discovers herself falling for courageous and good-looking Lord.

The writer masterfully weaves wit, charm, and a dash of spice, and it's the ideal read for "Bridgerton" fans who love a spicy historical romance with a witty plot and interesting characters. Readers like me will love it as a "delicious slice of escapism" and "Heyer with spice!"

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
I continue to enjoy this author’s stories! This had a lot of shenanigans and kept you on your toes. I like a fake dating (or in this case fake betrothal) trope and I thought the author did this trope well!

I did feel for Lady Amelia, being ignored and gossiped about, apart from fortune hunters, because of the scandal her father caused. Marcus, Lord Thornfalcon, was having a similar problem with women throwing themselves ( sometimes literally) at him, in order to force a marriage. At Amelia’s suggestion they form an alliance but not all people are happy at their engagement. One vindictive person, in particular, is determined to thwart their supposed plans. They are a number of surprises, particularly in the second part of the story. There are a number of interesting characters as well. My only negative thought is that sometimes it was a bit wordy, especially when the main characters were expressing their inner thoughts. I did enjoy it though and found it to be an entertaining read. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Emma Orchard has delivered another scintillating Regency Romance, or should one say romp, Georgette Heyer style in her latest book To Catch A Lord in which Lady Amelia Wyverne sets out to catch a Lord, who just happens to be Marcas, Lord Thornfalcon!
Both Amelia and Marcus are attending the Season reluctantly. Amelia is supposed to be finding a husband but is less than impressed with the men who are out to not necessarily to marry her but her fortune.
Marcus has recently returned to London after considerable time in the Military in Spain and Portugal. He is also mourning the death of his older brother and learning how to be Lord Thornfalcon, a position he never thought he would hold. He is chaperoning his sister Helena in her first season.
Both have earned the scorn, in Amelia case and ridicule in Marcus’s case of the Ton and are finding the Season challenging, depressing and beyond comfortable. In desperation Amelia and her sister-in-law Sophie create a daring plan to stage a false engagement with Marcus, but how to achieve this is the issue.
Enlisting the help of Marcus’s sister Helena, Amelia puts the proposition to Marcus, who after a serious moment’s reflection agrees to go along with the ruse. That is when things really begin to get interesting, as the widow Lady Lavinia Thornfalcon is not prepared to accept that the engagement is real. She is a woman of outstanding beauty, used to getting her own way and will not have her plans thwarted by, in her mind, a no account woman!
As the days pass Amelia and Marcus realise they enjoy each other’s company and also that Lavinia is not about accept the engagement, setting about doing her upmost to uphold the story she has carefully let become common knowledge through the Ton; that of a long time love for Marcus and how they are now destined to be together at last.
To Catch A Lord is a comfortable and captivating read, full of twists and turns as well as the unexpected, which will hold interest until the final word, as nothing goes to plan and sinister forces are at work to bring it to bring the engagement to an end one way or the other.

Witty, funny Regency romance with Mean Girls and Bridgerton vibes. Definitely read Emma Orchard's other book The Viscount and the Thief first, there is a lot of background information for the characters and storyline in To Catch a Lord.

I really liked the characters and premise in this book, and found it had an interesting take on tropes like a love triangle and fake engagement. The banter between Amelia and Thorn is excellent, and the appearances by the couple from the previous book (Amelia's brother and sister-in-law) are well written and add to the story.

Is it weird that I get excited when reading and have to look up the definition of some of the vocabulary? To Catch a Lord is a Regency-period romance and took me a few beats to get into the rhythm of the writing style, which is reflective of the period. If you are unfamiliar with the Regency era, think Bridgeron. I enjoyed reading this immensely. I appreciated how humor was obvious but not always spelled out. It was humor adjacent to the use of Mr. Collins or Mrs. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. FMC seems bold and more straightforward than I expected for a female of that period. It was refreshing. The slow burn and longing were the majority of the book, with FMC imagining some steamy bits with a payout by the end. There were a number of twists and revelations that I found pleasantly surprising. I love a good WHAT?!? moment.

This is my first of the author and this book takes place in the same universe as some of her other books. The FMC's brother has a book predating this one that I am interested in reading.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

To Catch a Lord is a really sweet story, but it gets bogged down by the old-fashioned writing style; it feels like it's aping Heyer rather than quite flowing naturally to a modern ear. The pacing of the romance is also really off - the final beats are blink-and-you'll-miss-it, which is a shame when the most fun thing about fake-dating is the realisation of it being real for each party! There's also a really unexpected subplot that comes out of nowhere to wrap up the obstacle between the main couple, which no-one seems to react to with the strength it probably deserves - again, it's just a very quick moment and then the book is done. This is the second book I've read by this author, and I just don't think that pacing is a strength in either. I think this is probably a 3.5 star, rounded up.

A very self aware historical....

I enjoyed this very self aware historical. Lady Amelia is in want of a fake suitor, to be her armor against all the fortune hunters, rakes and opportunists after her fortune. The other girls (and they are girls at nineteen) are jealous of her and this is a major player in the book.

I liked Thom, a decent sort that Amelia is using as her fake suitor. I also liked her brother who was protecting her, in his own way . Since her father was a rake, every guy in the ton thinks she's fair game and she has to weapon up to protect her virtue.

I thought Amelia and Thom a good match, with the unnecessary OW drama with Lavinia and the ton girls jealousy in full force.
Recommend.

I was sent this book as an ARC to read. The cover drew me in straight away, LOVE it. Once I delved into this book it became apparent to me that this isn’t my usual genre. I struggled to keep up with the story and characters. I kept at it thinking I may enjoy it after the first couple of chapters, which I did and the last couple of chapters became interesting and racy. Just wish it had the effect from the start, for me. Overall, it was a good book and I did enjoy it towards the end.

If you're a fan of Bridgerton, then this is the book for you! It's well paced with some loveable characters, plus some you'll love to hate. There's a great romance, and a steamy ending. This is never going to be my favourite genre, but it made a nice change and was thoroughly enjoyable.

I thought the descriptions were perfect, I could see the gowns and the grand staircases. I could smell the flowers and I could hear the gossip!

This is a romcom with absolute Bridgerton vibes so fans of that will absolutely love this! The only exception is a little less of the spicy scenes, there's loads of slow burn teasing scenes but when it finally happens, yahoo!
I really enjoyed learning a bit more about the Bow Street Runners, I don't read much historic novels and while I've heard of them I don't know all that much so that was definitely an interesting plot point.
The first half of the book really sets the scene up, the second half is much more action-packed and passes much quicker.
It appears this is part of a series, I'm guessing the previous book featured on Sophie and Rafe, I'm hoping there might be stories to be told from Helena and Charlie, we see more of Helena than Charlie in this tale, but I definitely read enough to be intrigued by them.
This has really powerful women owning their stories and I love that, especially in a historical drama where they didn't have much power.
There is loads to enjoy about this book, bear with it as the story builds and you will absolutely be in for a treat!

Perfection! I always feel like I am in good hands with Emma Orchard. I can sink comfortably into one of her stories without fear of jarring anachronisms or historical inaccuracies to yank me back out. The characters speak in a way that feels authentic without being impenetrable. The heroes are dashing and daring but never overbearing alpha males, and the heroines are intelligent and self-possessed.

I loved how the hero and heroine of this book were always open and honest with each other. Another author would have wrung multiple frustratingly angst-filled chapters out of one large potential misunderstanding early in the narrative. Instead, Orchard had her characters address it immediately, opening up a much more interesting route for the plot. And she has crafted an antagonist who feels genuinely threatening but still behaves like someone of that station would at that time. All this results in a story that is a delight from start to finish!