A Fortunate Miscalculation - Review

A Fortunate Miscalculation (The Gentlemen's Gamble, # ?)

By: Karen Thornell

Expected Publication: March 19, 2026

252 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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Goodreads description--A wager. An inconvenient love. A fortunate miscalculation that changes everything.

Andrew Langford is an honorable man. So it is deeply inconvenient when Sophie Renard, the woman he loved, appears at his door on the very day he’s reminded of a youthful wager that will cost the last unwed man a small fortune. She is beautiful, desperate, and, Andrew believes, married.

Sophie came to London for a prestigious mathematics position that she’s worked toward for six years. But after the promised job is withdrawn, she faces humiliating failure unless she can persuade her employer to reconsider. With no one else to turn to, she seeks help from her old friend, Andrew.

Andrew offers assistance where he can, determined to be nothing more than a friend. But proximity rekindles old feelings neither of them can afford, and Sophie’s charm and brilliance remind him why he once fell for her. As secrets unravel and the future threatens to pull them apart for a second time, they both must decide what they are willing to risk for love.

Andrew and six of his friends are on the way home from their Grand Tour when their boat is caught in a storm that the friends think will result in their deaths. Spurred on by the seriousness of the situation, the friends make a gamble about which will be the last friend to get married. Honestly, I got a little confused by the details of the wager. Do all the friends pay each time one of the other gets married until the last? Or does only the last unwed bachelor end up paying all of the others? I suppose it pans out in the end. The friends returned safely, and the wager is forgotten, until one friend sends letters around to all of the others that he has successfully married and he is expecting his winnings.

Andrew had full intentions of coming home and proclaiming his suit to his neighbor and friend, Sophie. He'd been in love with her half his life anyway. But when he finally returns, he is told that she's already married. Dejected, he returns to London to go about setting up his career. As a second son, he can't depend on a living being provided for him. He has an uncle who taught him about banking, and he has dreams of purchasing (or renting) his own estate and setting up his own bank in the future. He never expected Sophie to show up to his door in London alone one night.

Sophie hasn't exactly cut her parents off, but she left home to take care of her ailing grandfather. While in Bristol, she tutored under a brillant mathmetician. She then taught at a girls' school, but her dream is of making a name for herself in the world so that he parents will see her love for mathematics to be worthwhile, and thus her person as well. Except, the position she was offered was offered to her under the assumption that she was male. Rejected, she has nowhere to turn late at night. She seeks out the family home of her nearby neighbors only to find Andrew alone in the house.

It isn't a great situation, but Andrew believes her to be married so he allows a married, family friend to stay for a short while. Only, Sophie's marital status isn't at all what Andrew believes it to be. The two end up in a marriage of convenience to save reputations and to allow Sophie a little leeway with the job she's seeking. Only, Andrew still has all the feelings for Sophie that he had growing up. But he's offered Sophie a marriage in name only.

Favorite quote:

-"I cannot wait until you're mired in love. I will be full of useful advice like 'just propose, what could go wrong?'"

The only other quote I highlighted was a reference to the last friend who has fallen victim to love. See, the A Gentleman's Gamble series has a unique premise. The authors all took a friend. There are six books in all and seven friends total. For the loser of the wager not to be spoiled for the reader, the order of the books has not been revealed. And the reader doesn't know which book will release next.

A Fortunate Miscalculation was an enjoyable read for me. I appreciate forced marriages and marriages of convenience. Andrew & Sophie had a sweet story. I can already tell you it isn't my favorite of the series, but that's okay. A Fortunate Miscalcuation still gets 4 Stars. Have you read A Fortunate Miscalculation? What did you think? Let me know!