An Accidental Marriage (The Gentlemen's Gamble, # ?)
By: Deborah M. Hathaway
Expected Publication: March 19, 2026 by Draft Horse Publishing
232 pages
Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction
Source: Personal Kindle Library
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Goodreads description--He expected a quick visit. He left with a wife instead.He expected a quick visit. He left with a wife instead.
Charles Shepherd is in no rush to marry. With good looks, a comfortable fortune, and considerable charm, he’s certain love will find him eventually. Unfortunately, his mother has other plans.
Returning home for a short visit, Charles reluctantly agrees to meet Miss Marie Oakley—a woman as fortunate as he in both looks and manners. What is meant to be a simple introduction, however, ends in a sudden marriage, and Charles, who values his freedom above all else, is livid.
Mercifully, Marie is as uninterested in the marriage as he is. After a disastrous first day together, they strike a mutual bargain: do whatever it takes to end the marriage as quickly as possible. Charles is determined to reclaim his independence and find love on his own terms. But as forced proximity turns into reluctant understanding, he must face an unsettling possibility—what if the woman he’s trying to leave is the very one he can’t live without?
***The Gentlemen's Gamble is a series about seven men racing to the altar in order to avoid losing a wager. Starting January, the books will release in surprise order so as not to give away who the final bachelor and loser of the wager is.***
Now this was a fun book to read! I've never read Deborah M Hathaway before, but I definitely will now.
Charles and his 6 friends (including his twin brother) made a wager in the heat of a moment several years ago when they all thought they might very well die. Charles's friend Thomas has written to let the group know that he has now married and is ready to collect on their wager. The last gentleman to marry will owe the other six 100 pounds each. Not to mention that Charles's other friend, Andrew, is now married too. Meaning, two down and five to go. To make matters worse, Charles's mother is constantly trying to marry him off. She has been writing him for about two years about marrying a neighbor, Marie Oakley. Charles responds to his mother in letter form, dripping in sarcasm. The trouble is: sarcasm is hard to detect in written form, particularly if the reader is unfamiliar with the author.
Marie has no intentions of trapping anyone in a marriage. It's simply that she is of an age where suitors are less and less likely. She believes that Charles has decided to enter into a marriage of convenience willingly. She doesn't know that his mother has tricked him. And now her reputation may be on the line. At least before, marriage to someone else was possible. But now, her reputation likely won't survive being spurned. Marie feels she has no choice but to proceed. Yet she is willing to annul the marriage if that is what Charles wants.
These two go on their honeymoon to a secluded cottage. They do have servants with them, but even I knew there would be no way to annul the marriage without Marie's reputation suffering from it. Yet they find that maybe they don't want to annul the marriage afterall.
I tell you. I enjoyed this book much more than I was expecting to. And it's possible that this might end up being my favorite of the series, even though we are only two books in.
Favorite quotes:
-“Actions reveal far more.” “Cannot actions be feigned, as well?” he countered. “Not for long. In the end, a person always reveals who he or she is on the inside by their actions.”
-“Sooner or later,” she replied, “as the night wears on and propriety and politeness wane, the drink becomes stronger and the tired eyes become weaker, a person reveals his true character. How he treats others during those late hours is very telling.”
-“Why would I ever reveal to you who I truly am if you are simply to reject that version of me, too?”
-Childish Charlie had met his match in Immovable Marie.
The banter was fun. The fountain scene was delicious. And I just thoroughly enjoyed this entire book. An Accidental Marriage gets 4.5 Stars. I can't wait to continue the series, as well as delve deeper into Deborah M Hathaway's other books. Have you read An Accidental Marriage? What did you think? Let me know!
