An Unwitting Alliance - Review

An Unwitting Alliance (Matchmaking Mamas, # 2)

By: Anneka R Walker

Expected Publication: July 10, 2023

272 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

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Goodreads description--Cassandra Vail has but one objective at the Kellens’ ball: she must secure a proposal from her eminently suitable suitor. Instead, she finds her best-laid plans thwarted by another man―the handsome and thoroughly vexing Mr. Harwood. Thanks to his meddling, Cassandra is faced with an unthinkable consequence: her parents take matters into their own hands and betroth her to a complete stranger.

Tom Harwood meant only to deter a debutante from pursuing his friend. He wasn’t supposed to be entranced by her. He certainly wasn’t supposed to flirt with her. And he especially wasn’t supposed to engage the wrong woman entirely. To make matters worse, he’s offended Cassandra and before he has the opportunity to make amends, he finds himself the latest unwitting victim of the meddlesome Matchmaking Mamas. His parents have signed a contract for his hand in marriage, and it seems his mysterious betrothed is as opposed to the union as he is.

When the reluctant couple finally meets, they are shocked to realize they are not strangers after all. Can one miserable beginning be overcome, or has their future ended before it even begins?

I really enjoyed Bargaining for the Barrister. The idea of arranged marriages pulls me in every single time. And my favorite way these stories play out is when the characters come to love each other despite their relationship beginning in the most unromantic ways. I knew I would want to read more of this series where a group of mamas determine to find matches for their children who are equally determined not to marry.

This go-round is for Tom out of the group of friends, or rebels as they call themselves. Tom and Cassandra meet at a ball. I loved their unorthodox meeting. Tom is enlisted to keep a determined lady from bothering his friend, and he asks her to dance without receiving an introduction by claiming they have been introduced before only Cassandra must not remember. He handles the dance in such a fun-hearted way that is Tom's way. Only things don't end so well for Cassandra. She injures her ankle and loses the opportunity to be proposed to be a man she's had her eye on for weeks. Tom is determined to apologize to her, but he doesn't know her name. What a surprise to find that Cassandra is the lady his mother has determined should be his future bride!

Cassandra is angry at Tom. He embarrassed her. And he ruined her chances to make a match. Despite everything, she is determined to find a match of her own making. So little choice is given to women of this time, and Cassandra wants the right to choose. But she also knows that she needs to marry to relieve the financial burden she places upon her parents and their growing number of children. She and Tom form an uneasy alliance to get the engagement broken by their parents. The only trouble is that Tom starts to realize that he doesn't want to the engagement to be broken.

Cassandra's family was easy to fall in love with. And my heart broke for Tom's past and his brother that passed away. Her family is so foreign to him. But where he was once overwhelmed upon meeting them all, he comes to care for each of the members of her family and doesn't want to lose them either.

There's more to the story than all this, but I wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone interested in checking it out. I will only say that I wasn't disappointed, and I read it very quickly.

Favorite quotes:

-Love has many languages, but sarcasm is not one of them.

-"Forgive me. It sounds foolish, but I sometimes forget how to breathe when my emotions get the better of me."

I find that this can sometimes happen to me too.

-It was not every day a person realized he wanted to marry at the same time he realized who he wanted to marry.

-"I hate him." Megan's mouth dropped. "No you don't." "Then, I hate that I love him."

An Unwitting Alliance was enjoyable all around. I love the side characters from the previous book still. I loved the new side characters. It was easy to root for Tom and Cassandra. Feeling what they feel and wanting what they want for themselves even with that conflicts with what they used to want or think they want. I really enjoyed every part of this story. An Unwitting Alliance gets 4 Stars. Have you read An Unwitting Alliance? What did you think? Let me know!