Dorcas aka Dorie Calthorp loved and lost in her first season but now she's helping Alexander Marquis of Exeter's family deal with a mother who has run away with her love after her husband has died. He was on his grand tour when his father died and now his duties include bringing up his two youngest sisters.
She's determined that she doesn't want a relationship but there's something building between them both and it's going to rock both of their lives.
I enjoyed the story and would read more by the author. ( )

This historical romance entails a refreshing tale centered on a charming hero in misery and a strong minded heroine.

The story begins with Alex, newly titled Marquis of Exeter, finding his mother to have eloped leaving behind a scandal, young daughters, an estate, and a justifiably disgruntled Alex. Alex is clueless about running a household, his estate and quite obviously raising his sisters. And the answer to all his miseries presented in the form of Lady Dorie. Alex is well aware of Dorie’s apt estate management skills through her brief stint at running his household in the absence of his mother. Too bad for Alex, Dorie is above the kind to wear heart on her sleeve and wishes only for a love match.

First half is indeed well written and captivating but the second half falters in a way. A better part of the book entailed a clueless Alex tiptoeing around Dorie for her affections. However, things soon cooled down with an underdeveloped sensual chemistry. Either the road to romance was way too long or the characters lost their way somewhere in between. The friendship and camaraderie did eventually evolve into a romance but that was lifeless at best and could have done better with a generous flow of heat.

Another thing that bugged me was that Alex’s father, a marquis, left his only heir with absolutely zero knowledge of his duties. That seemed highly unlikely even after the excuses mentioned in the book.

That being said, the writing was good and it was a pretty decent read with likable characters founded in a somewhat unusual setting. ( )

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It's been a long wait, at least it seemed so to me, for this conclusion to the Marriage Game series. The Marquis She's Been Waiting For, by Ella Quinn, is listed as book #9 but It's actually #10. If you've not read any of the books in this series please don't miss them, they're very clever.

Alex Endicott, new Marquis of Exeter, has arrived home to find chaos. Lots of chaos. His mother ran off to Scotland with her new hubby & left his underage sisters behind. He's not been trained to run an Marquisate & suffers from a slight case of dyscalculia. I've read of this syndrome and think I might be effected slightly. It's akin to dyslexia, but with numbers. I can't balance my checkbook, poor Alex has to look after his holdings & make sure he's not being cheated. Thank goodness for Lady Dorie, she took charge while the girls, & estate, were alone & has done a magnificent job. Marrying her would sure solve a lot of his problems. Love? No need for it, just get married quickly. He's a Marquis for heavens sake., it shouldn't be difficult.

Lady Dorcus, "Dorie", Calthorp is a young lady with a good head on her shoulders. She's been taught to run a household and holdings too. Managing is a word applied to her often. Burned last season by a gentleman she's wary now. Backstory, he realized they were wrong for each other a little late but did manage to stop a catastrophe by bowing out. Dorie wants a love match & understands Alex doesn't care, he needs to marry soon. Alex asks his friends how to make her fall in love with him & how would he know if he loved her. There was some good advice and lots of snickers. It all works out in the end but I felt it dragged a little and then rushed to the finish line. I still enjoyed the book, don't get me wrong, but it's not my fav in the series.

As always, Ms Quinn has a masterful way with the side characters. I love their stories & it sets up the next book without giving away too much. She manages to do this every time, I'm amazed. The guy who dumped Dorie? He's next. Poor guy. Another thing I enjoy is how Ms Quinn uses archaic words. While Behoove isn't archaic it's old fashioned & few of us use it. It sounds funny. Roundaboutation popped up again, love it, and a new phrase, quacking yourself! I almost choked on my coffee, it's a terrific scene. Happy reading & we'll meet again for The Most Eligible Lord in London in March of 2020. Happy reading.

#Netgalley #EllaQuinn #TheMarquisShe'sBeenWaitingFor #TheMarriageGame #KensingtonPress ( )

Another lively read from Ella Quinn.

What do you do when you've become the Marquis earlier than wished, your mother's scandalously run off with the land steward leaving your two sisters in your care, and you know nothing about managing households, lands, or young ladies?
What Alexander, now Marquis of Exeter decides is that he needs a wife to help him through the mire of governing his marquisate. An aunt he's asked for assistance fires off the following tersely worded sensible sentiment, 'My advice is to find a wife.'
Meanwhile Lady Dorcus Calthorp, daughter of a Marquis and sister one of Alex's friends, crosses Alex's path and decides to help him by introducing him to eligible potential candidates.
Dorie discounts herself as a candidate. She's decided to marry for love, like the rest of her family. (I must admit to finding the interactions of her parents, the Marquis and Marchioness of Huntington very amusing.)
Alex is completely bamboozled about the idea of being in love. This is foreign territory and not for him. However as he starts to change his mind he ruminates that, "This falling in love made life much more problematical just when it did not need more complications."
He feels his only viable action is to pursue the reluctant Dorie. Having decided she is his preference will be difficult because, "Dorie was definitely a challenge. His greatest one yet."
Now added to this it seems his father has another family. We don't hear much in this novel but that fact seems to be somewhat up in the air and hidden. Will it come to light later? And then there's Dorie's friend Lady Augusta Vivers, who seems to me even more absent minded than ever. Mmmm!
What with amongst many things, preventing scandals from coming to light, needing a wife, and not even on a nodding notice with the idea of falling in love, our newly minted noble has his hands full, as does his chosen lady.

A Kensington Books ARC via NetGalley ( )

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. The Marquis She’s been waiting for is the 10th book in Ella Quinn’s The Marriage Game Series.
It can be read as a stand-alone. Alexander Endicott, Marquis of Exeter returned from his Grand Tour to find a bit of a disaster. His father had died, his mother remarried and fled to Scotland and his younger sisters left in the care of servants in London. His father never prepared him to take over the estates and lands that are now his and he doesn’t know where to turn for help. Lady Dorcus (Dorie) Calthorp had been helping out with his household in his absence and he thinks perhaps that marrying her would be the most convenient solution to his problems. Dorie is not having that as she plans to marry for love and so sets out to find him a suitable wife from the ton. As always Ella Quinn writes an enjoyable story that will provide a lovely escape on a rainy afternoon. Medium Steam. Publishing Date September 3, 2019. #NetGalley #EllaQuinn #TheMarquessShesBeenWaitingFor #KensingtonBooks #LyricalPress #Bookstagram #HistoricalRomance ( )