Marry for Love (Choc Lit)

This the story of twin sisters, Delilah and Deborah. Deborah tries to trick Lord Blackwood to marry her but her sister steps in and gets him out of it. She declares that he slept with her first. Delilah ruins her reputation. She becomes Lord Blackwood's housekeeper. Her sister tries to cause more trouble. Love wins out..

Delilah was labeled the quiet one. The one that understood that even though she was a twin, she was not the pretty one. Her sister, Deborah was the one who was pretty and the one that all the gentlemen sought. Delilah also was the kind one and always was the victim to Deborah tactics. Delilah knows that her twins loves to have victims, now she has her most ultimate victim, the Earl. Delilah finds herself saving the Earl and also saving herself at the same time. Will the Earl ever see her for herself, and not her sister Deborah? Delilah may be the quiet one, but she also the only one right now who feels love for him. But Delilah has become adept in keeping her feelings to herself.

Hamish Baillie, Earl of Blackwood is so grateful for Delilah saving him from the trap of Deborah, that he decides that Delilah must save her too. But can the Earl really trust Delilah, after all Deborah is her sister. The Earl can not understand the motive of Delilah. What does she want from him? She has not asked anything of him yet. How can one twin be evil and the other so nice?

This was a very short story. It was a very nice read. Trust was the main issue of this story. Delilah and Hamish had to trust each other in the very beginning and through this the love developed. I like how the author allowed Hamish to realize the good in Delilah and become her champion.

This was a quick but enjoyable read. The story developed well and I would have liked there to be more of it.

Christina Courtenay is one of my favourite historical romance writers. Every time I sit down to read one of her books, I just know I'm in for some fabulous storytelling, and 'Marry for Love' is no exception.
As a novella, this was the perfect evening read for a frosty night, when you just want to be curled up with a good book. I was transported away to regency England and the world of devious debutante scheming, all masked in polite society. Deborah was a nasty piece of work, and I loved to hate her. Her limits knew no ends when it came to making her sister Delilah's life miserable. Having them as identical twins made the story even more exciting as we see that some of the tricks Deborah used have changed little over time with many a twin I know using the same tricks today.
I loved Delilah's fierce sense of duty, and really connected to her as a character, especially when we see that, despie loving Hamish, she refuses to let him marry her out of his sense of duty, and is content instead in the knowledge that he can now marry who he likes. Hamish was a dashing regency hero who made me swoon on many an occasion. I liked how he was portrayed as a little bit of a rogue at first, but shown to be an honest man and employer throughout the book.

There is so much that I loved about 'Marry for Love', and I can't wait to return to Christina Courtenay's Regency world soon.

5 Stars!

Taming of the Shrew mixed with Toads and Diamonds is what I thought as I read of twin sisters and their interest in the same man, Hamish Baillie 4th Earl of Blackwood. Deborah was selfish, mean and underhanded while Delilah – “Lilah” – was reserved, discreet and generous. Lilah had a big decision to make on her sister’s wedding day and what she decided would impact a number of people. Hamish was irresistible and a great catch for any lady who would finally managed to win him. BUT would he be won by fair means or foul? Who will Delilah and Deborah finally marry? Will there be a happily ever after and if so, who will enjoy it?

Thoroughly enjoyable read! Thank you to NetGalley and Choc Lit for the copy of this book to read and review.

It’s difficult enough to watch the man you love marry another woman – it’s even worse when the woman he is forced to marry is your own twin, a selfish, spoiled, mean spirited woman who will get what she wants – no matter what she must do to accomplish that feat. Delilah will do whatever she must in order to save the man she loves from her sister – even drastic measures. But will the end result be her own happiness at last?

Mary For Love is a short story of twists and turns in the desperate measures one twin will take for the good of the man she loves. I enjoyed Delilah’s fight for Hamish, it certainly wasn’t conventional but then it’s hard to be the hero by following all the rules.

If you’re looking for a quick, enjoyable romance then pick up Mary For Love.

*I received an e-ARC of Marry For Love from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*

This is a sweet love story of one sister in love with the handsome Lord while the other is a evil twin who likes to take things away from her sister. And once her evil twin sister knows that Delilah is in love with Hamish Baillie, Fourth Earl of Blackwood she sets to become his wife. Hamish has been tricked into a marriage trap and nothing he can do to get out of it. Until the wedding day when they priest asked if anyone 'can show just cause that they can't be together'. That is when he see Delilah stand up and take his side against her sister and say that he was trapped. Delilah also goes on to say that they were lovers and that he cannot marry her sister. It give him the opening to agree and walk away from this whole sham. Hamish goes to Delilah and offers to help her get away since she will no longer be excepted in society. Hamish offers her marriage at first which she turns down as she does not want to be like her sister. So he then offers her a job as the head-house keeper of his estate in Scotland. This take them on a journey to finding each other and over coming that evil twin sister together.

This was a fun read. It might have been better if Deborah had faced a worse fate but I'll take what I can get. ;)

This was a lovely read. How can you go wrong with a sweet regency romance?!?! You can't. I absolutely loved Delilah- I thought she was a great character who had great character. I was impressed with how strong she was and how she was pretty much willing to throw her life away to protect someone else (not a spoiler I promise... or if you think it is, it is in the first chapter). Though there were a few secondary characters I really and truly wanted to smack in the face- I thought that they all were written well, and that they worked well together. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and look forward to reading the other books in this collection. (Though this is technically book five in the collection, it is not necessary to have read the first four before reading this. I didn't even realize it was part of a collection until after I had read it).

Twin sisters- one evil and one good. I thought: different side of the same coin. The evil twin was up to many tricks and was very vindictive.She was so devious that I really hadn't seen a lot of things coming. I loved the ending and thought it was perfect satisfaction for each of the characters fates. Revenge is settled and there is a happy ever after.

Hamish Baillie, fourth Earl of Blackwood, is about to marry Miss Deborah Risden after being tricked by her, via laudanum in his tea, into thinking he had compromised her.

Deborah’s identical twin sister, Delilah (Lilah) Risden, feels sorry for Hamish as he awaits his fate so she stops the wedding by declaring that she had been compromised by him first.

Now free from Deborah, Hamish asks for Lilah’s hand but she refuses saying that she was only trying to save him from her sister’s clutches. However, knowing she needs to get away from her angry family, she accepts Hamish’s offer of the post of Housekeeper in his Scottish home. They then embark on a route to Scotland that will throw off anyone seeking to follow them. The trip is long and not without some harrowing events.

Lilah settles in very well to her new position but finds that some of he other servants try to thwart her authority. But she is stronger than that and things soon calm down.

Ah, but Deborah is a devious one and is still scheming to get back at her sister. The plan she puts into effect is very sneaky. Will she be successful?

I really enjoyed this story. Identical twin stories are always so good because the plot possibilities are endless. I hope others will give it a try as well.

Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley