How to Catch a Sinful Marquess

It was a nice read. I absolutely adored Olivia, she was a girl that knew what she wants and went for it despite her insecurities. This shows that we can have a heroine that is innocent, has flaws, is insecure but knows her value nevertheless. <br /><br />I would have given it 4 stars if not for Hamish 's 5 years old behavior. This was a book about "how to avoid bedding ones wife 1000 times ". It grew tiresome after the first 3 times...<br /><br />Another thing I didn't liked it's that everything happened way too fast.<br /><br />One good thing was that there was no kidnapping ? and no unearthly punishment for the "bad guys". And also we didn't have an absolute villain. <br /><br />It was a nice read, nothing more, nothing less.

4.5 stars rounded up.<br /><br />As an orphaned heiress with a ruined reputation, Olivia de Vere is forced to rely on the magnanimity of her remaining aunt and uncle. She longs for a love match, but that seems increasingly unlikely, especially given her grasping family’s determination to force her into marrying her debauched cousin, Felix to keep her fortune in the family. Essentially a prisoner in a townhouse paid for with her own funds, Olivia can’t help but admire her handsome neighbor, a Scottish marquess, from afar.<br /><br />Lord Hamish MacQueen, the Marquess of Sleat, carries scars from more than just Waterloo. He faced many harrowing situations, even before the war, but none that prepared him for having a young girl abandoned on his doorstep with a note claiming her to be his child. When his pretty neighbor offers to act as nursemaid for wee Tilda on the long journey to the Isle of Skye, Hamish accepts, despite his suspicions that she has personal reasons for wanting to leave England.<br /><br />Despite his efforts to fight it, a fierce attraction arises between Olivia and Hamish, as does his need to protect her from her greedy family. But with so much threatening to keep them apart, including Hamish’s need to keep Olivia safe, even from himself, their future together is far from assured.<br /><br />This book was quite the slow burn, but it was so sweet and emotional, and the buildup of tension so strong, that I didn’t mind. Hamish had several deep-seated issues tormenting him and Olivia was just what he needed to make him start believing in his own worth. I loved Olivia’s determination in the face of Hamish’s stubbornness. If you feel like reading a bit of Beauty and the Beast meets Cinderella, this is a good choice. I would’ve liked a bit more comeuppance for Olivia’s hateful family, but overall, this was well-plotted, the characters were likable, and I especially loved seeing Hamish’s protectiveness coming out in the end. It was lovely watching Olivia and Hamish grow more and more solid in their relationship and I look forward to Charlie’s story now.<br /><br />I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

<b>3.25 stars</b><br /><br />This had strong potential and strong beginning but the momentum and plot was ruined near the end for me with the stubborn as hell hero refusing to sleep with the heroine after marrying her. The annoying "I have bad blood running through me" card was milked within an inch of it's life and it didn't hold enough weight for me considering Hamish never once showed a bad bone in his body or temper through the entire story. Growing up his father was abusive with a volcanic temper who abused his mother. His father ended up dying in a house fire where Hamish left him after rescuing his mother and he's been guilt ridden and brooding over it ever since. I just struggled to see how he calls himself a villain and bad man for not saving his sire who treated him and his mother like shit and who he hated. It was too much and the more he pushed the heroine Olivia away, the more frustrating it was. I love push/pull but the author wasted too much time on the pushing part. Like 90% of this book is literally him keeping her at a distance and turning her down all the time because he thinks he's not good enough for her. He's a burly Highlander with an eye patch but he's a big sweet teddy bear with manners to match so I really didn't see the issue with all his self-loathing. It felt overblown especially with how long it took him to finally explain to the heroine what's wrong. It was like pulling teeth. I thought the heroine was a sweetheart who had the patience of a saint. Also for a renown rake with a reputation for sleeping around, he wasn't really much of one here given his self-restraint. :/ I mean if you are gonna make your hero a rake, then show it even when he's trying to resist the heroine who is begging him to bed her. <br /><br />I thought Amy Rose Bennett used a lot of great character faucets in here that kept the story engaging. Olivia has a stammer that she’s struggled with all her life. She’s shy and insecure because of it. I found this charming and liked how the author didn’t have her stammer just magically go away half into the story. It’s consistently there throughout the story during high stress. Her stammer comes out when she’s nervous, anxious or scared. She's shy but she's got heart and speaks her mind when she's frustrated or wants something which I really loved. She <i>communicates</i>, unlike our stubborn-as-an-ox hero, Hamish. I found both characters back stories intriguing. This had underlying depth that really surprised me. Olivia's whole situation with her family gives you Cinderella vibes. She's been living with her Aunt and Uncle and cousins who treat her no better than a servant and lock her in her room for the smallest things and are forcing her to marry her awful cruel cousin to keep her inheritance within the family. Which is where the hero steps in and offers a MOC to protect her until she's 21 so she can take control of her life and money. Hamish for his part is battling severe PTSD, insomnia and drinking to deal with his nightmares from the trauma he experienced during war and the accident that killed his father. So it's a lot between the two. But the author did a pretty good job showing nuance, I just wish the later half of this book held up or this definitely would have been a 4 star. But overall, I liked her writing and loved the heroine. <br /><br />Also Hamish's little ward Tilda acted and had the vocabulary of a much older child. This girl did not sound like a 3 year old. More like a 6 year old. What 3 year old toddler does Ms. Bennett know who speaks so eloquently using big words and can perform perfect curtsies? O_o That felt a little odd and very inaccurate.

I was excited to find a new to me author, even if I was jumping in at the middle to end of the series. <br /><br />I liked Olivia well enough. She’s a loyal and loving and wants to be able to make her own choices. Hamish is gruff and stoic and a complete marshmallow. Together they had a lot of potential and good intentions. There are a load of other characters mentioned, I’m guessing most of them are from the previous books. <br /><br />Plot wise, it was okay. My main complaint is that I didn’t seen their connection slash leap from like to love. There’s a handful of conversations on the page and the interactions weren’t enough for me to follow Olivia and Hamish falling in love. Lust, yes. There is a bit of chemistry, but again, it seemed like an inquisitiveness on Olivia’s part, not that she actually desired him.<br /><br />Overall, it kept me entertained, but I’m not sure if I will go back and read the other books. Annnnd I’m sort of wondering if 3 stars is too high of a rating. <br /><br />FYI: talk of verbal and physical abuse, forceful grabbing on the page <br /><br />**Huge thanks to Berkley for providing the arc free of charge**

2.5⭐ <br /><i>I received an ARC copy of this from Berkely via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review</i><br /><br /><b>Summary</b><br />After being thrown out of a prestigious young ladies academy, Olivia de Vere is a virtual prisoner in aunt and uncle's home. And when they to force her to marry her brute of a cousin, she grabs at the opportunity to escape. <br />Her Scottish neighbor, Marquess, and known Rogue Hamish MacQueen is battle-scarred in more ways than one. When a small girl is left on his doorstep, he enlists Olivia's help watch the girl on the long journey to Scotland.<br />As they travel the country and share close quarters, the attraction between Hamish and Olivia becomes difficult to resist. And when ghosts from their past come back to haunt them, they're forced to make choices they never thought they would. <br /><br /><b>Overview</b><br />➸ POV: 3rd Person, Olivia &amp; Hamish's POV<br /><br />➸ Olivia de Vere: Orphaned, Heiress to fortune, Has a speech impediment, Entrusted to her Aunt and Uncle<br /><br />➸ Hamish MacQueen: Scottish, Marquess - Lord Sleat, Scarred, Ex-soldier, Younger brother Angus and younger sister Isobel, Rogue<br /><br />➸ Content Warnings: Death of a Parent, PTSD, Night Terrors, Fire, Assault, Abuse<br /><br /><b>My Thoughts</b><br />Oh boy... this was a bit flop for me unfortunately. This had so many elements and tropes that I normally love! Forced proximity, scarred-hero, marriage of convenience. But where this lacked for me was in the believability of the romance. <br /><br />I really enjoyed the actual plot of this. I thought the travel element was great and added that forced proximity and natural tension. But despite that, I never bought into the romance. <br /><br />The characters are attracted to each other from page 1. And by the 25% mark the heroine is already confessing 'love'. Despite them having been together for like a total of 6 hours on page. My main issue with that is no matter how much you tell me happened off page, the romance doesn't feel rooted in reality to the reader. I need to see why they like each other - and it has to be more than 'he's attractive and I just know there's more to him that people know!'<br /><br />And even as this story progressed, too much of the romantic development happened off page. So the relationship always felt surface level and a bit unbelievable. <br /><br />On top of that, I didn't think the characters were that well developed either. Each characters seemed to have a "thing" and then not much else to them. And more often than not, the reader was <i>told</i> personality traits but never shown them. Olivia is constantly described as stubborn, but beyond forcing herself on Hamish, she never did anything to show that. <br /><br />And lastly, this book was just too repetitive - entire sentences were repeated multiple times. By the end I was just completely over hearing Olivia trying to rationalize why she should force herself onto a man who repeatedly said he had no interest in a relationship. I'm all for hero who doesn't believe they want a relationship, but Olivia was constantly trying to force him to change his mind and it was frustrating.<br /><br />Sadly this one was a big miss for me and I don't think I'll be reading any other books in this series.

3.5 Stars<br /><br /><i>I am writing this after reading the whole series in quick succession. Essentially, the same review will work for all four books in the series. DO NOT read them one after the other, please space them out or it will feel like reading the same book four times.</i><br /><br /><b> <u>Quick Thoughts</u> </b><br />- Great writing. I've always admired Ms Bennet's work.<br />- The "will he-won't he" got boring after a while. The emotional holdout until the end felt exceedingly cyclical; thus, the story felt long, and I skimmed it for the most part.<br />- I really enjoyed Olivia.<br />- Some steamy moments.<br /><br /><i>After reading six hundred-odd books in this genre, there was nothing new here.<i></i></i>

How to Catch a Sinful Marquess, by Amy Rose Bennett. I enjoyed reading this book. I was impressed by the different subplots that intertwined with the main plot. These together, helped support the intense drama and the budding romance between Hamish and Olivia. The drama skirted the Cinderella story, but continuously remained original. <br />I was caught up from the beginning with the witty flirtatious humor that Olivia brought to her character. As you continue to read the story you will see her confidence build and take charge of her being. Olivia begins to realize that her feelings for Hamish is more than a innocent crush on her next door neighbor. Hamish introduces himself as her knight and shining armor. After he rescues Olivia from the ledge of her house, the two new relationship grows into a beautiful romance. <br />Before Hamish and Olivia get lost in the love that they have for one another, they will need to meet head on the demons that try to infect their lives. The two realize how much they will need each other to do this. Hamish comes home from the battle of Waterloo, intending to live a solitary life. An escaping cat artist has changed that plan considerably for him with the help of a little girl by the name of Tilda. <br />Hamish receives a letter from home asking for his presence. He calls on his neighbor for some assistance. Olivia, has been the ward under her non to loving uncle and his family. Wanting to gain access to Olivia dowry, her uncle tries to marry off Olivia to her cousin Felix. Olivia says, she’s having none of that and puts to plan an escape. <br />It just so happens that Hamish needs help with Tilda on his trip back home to Scotland. Halfway through their trip Olivia’s evil past catches up with her. Hamish puts forth a plan to protect Olivia. Little that these to realize that this plan unlocks the desire and passion, that unpredictability explodes at a moment’s notice, when these two are together. Hamish feels that he doesn’t deserve to be loved or cared for. <br />His suffering nightmares, leads him down an agonizing dark tunnel. Each time Olivia is there as his light, to bring him back. No matter how Hamish tried keep his distance from Olivia, her innocent and sweet seduction pulls Hamish towards her, with a burning desire to claim her as his. My fellow readers. I recommend this book. Until next time... read on! I voluntary reviewed this ARC after receiving a free gifted copy.

I am loving this series four debutantes who caused a scandal when they were thrown out of the ladies academy they were attending form a group to find themselves husbands, but only rakes will do and this time Olivia de Vere might just about find her hero a scared soldier who is also known as a rake, this was a story that was hard to put down.<br /><br />Olivia is an orphaned heiress and is kept practically a prisoner of her guardian her uncle, and with her cruel cousin wanting to marry her she is very determined to get what she wants and that is getting to know her neighbour, a Scottish Marquess. Her friends have offered advice on how to get to know him, and with the help of a cat Olivia finally meets her Marquess in rather unorthodox circumstances. The next meeting sees her offering to help with a problem but holding onto secrets about who she is.<br /><br />Hamish MacQueen, Lord Sleat is scared on the inside and out some from fighting in the war against Napoleon and some that goes back a long way, he is a rake and has no intention of ever marrying he has a younger brother who can have the title. When a young child is abandoned on his doorstep with a note saying she is his child Hamish is not convinced but he needs to get back home to his family and fast, he needs a nursemaid for the little girl and his beautiful neighbour arrives at the right time and they are soon travelling many miles to his castle.<br /><br />The journey draws them closer and when danger arrives just over the border into Scotland, Olivia finally tells Hamish the truth about herself and he maybe a rake but he is a gentleman and very caring and he steps up to save Olivia, it is not long before they are losing their hearts but Hamish is so stubborn about not loving anyone. I loved Olivia and the never give up attitude she has to win her man, she is beautiful inside and out and Hamish wow what a hero gorgeous caring loving and to see him fall so in love well there were lots of happy smiles. Thank you MS Bennett for another keeper and I am now very much looking forward to Charlie’s story.<br />

... a runaway heiress, an abandoned child, and a Marquess!<br /><br />So I hung around thinking to myself haven't I read this already? Trying to work out how, until lightning struck⚡️ and I remembered I'd read an excerpt in Bennett's previous book, "How to Catch an Errant Earl". Mystery solved! And that excerpt had been enough for me to want to read about the 'Sinful Marquess' featuring another of our Disreputable Debutantes.<br />The story seems to be a cross between Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast. An heiress with a stammer, and a guardian uncle and aunt with two quite vicious daughters and a horrendous brother. Naturally the ugly family want to keep our heiress, Olivia de Vere's funds within their control. Hence the determination to marry their ghastly (degenerate it seems) son Felix to Olivia.<br />Then there's the mysterious Lord who lives next door to Olivia, Hamish, the Marquess of Sleat. I love the opening scenes between them. This is quickly followed by Hamish discovering an unnamed child, who might be his, left on his doorstep.<br />If that's not enough we have the Maquess and Olivia hieing off to his castle on Skye, naturally via Gretna Green. Hamish is under the impression Olivia is a hard put upon companion. When Olivia, using the name of Lavina Moreland, decides to seize the moment and volunteers to be the nursemaid for the child Tilda, Hamish accepts.<br />As one trope follows on another, as one event is succeeded by an even more challenging one I became quite exhausted--even though I'm quite enjoying the furor that keeps emerging. A fun read if you have a taste for looming injured Scotsmen and delicate intrepid sassenachs. Those powerful legs in kilts and heaving bosoms and all the altered situations that keep emerging (maybe a few too many?) have my head spinning.<br />I rather enjoyed the instructive and fitting excerpts from Gothic novels of the time used as chapter introductions.<br />Another fun read from Bennett!<br /><br />A Berkley Group ARC via NetGalley

After an incident at a ladies finishing school with her friends, orphaned heiress Olivia de Vere becomes a virtual prisoner of her guardians. Olivia dream of finding love, and it's lurking right next door in the form of Hamish MacQueen, Marquess of Sleat. When a young girl is left on Hamish's doorstep, Olivia hides her identity and steps in as a nursemaid while they journey to Hamish's estate.<br /><br />This is the third book in the Disreputable Debutantes series. This book can be read alone, but all the couples cross over. I like this book better than #2, but not as much as book #1.<br /><br />This book started out really well. I liked the introduction to the characters, with Olivia sneaking into his yard and Hamish thinking she's a poor relation. Somewhere after they got to Hamish's estate, I got a bit bored. I'm over the "hero with daddy issues" and the focus splintered onto Hamish's family. I did like the story with Tilda, and Olivia coming out of her shell and pursuing her husband. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.<br /><br />Tropes: Mistaken Identity, Road Trip, Protector