THE GENTLEMAN’S GAMBIT by EVIE DUNMORE

“We broke your spectacles, too … I shall fix them for you.”

The Arabic language offered many romantic possibilities, at least eleven different words for love to precisely capture the various stages of the emotion, and perhaps, secretly, she had expected more elaborate verbal wooing from him. Yet here he was, making her swoon with a plain I shall fix them for you.

January reads

will definitely be posting thoughts, ramblings, and reviews on some of these soon!

THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN Series by Evie Dunmore: Fancast

1. Ella Purnell as Annabelle and Aaron Taylor Johnson as Montgomery

2. Thomasin McKenzie as Lucy and Callum Turner as Tristan

3. Aimee Lou Wood as Hattie and Richard Madden as Lucian

4. Emilia Jones as Catriona

What book are you finishing up the year with?

Unless I squeeze in another audio before I go back to work on the 3rd, I'll be ending the year with 'The Gentleman's Gambit' by Evie Dunmore. Which is fitting, as I read the last book, 'Portrait of a Scotsman', two years ago around this time. I believe this is the last of the League of Extraordinary Women series as it's the last story of the friend group established in 'Bringing Down the Duke'.

I picked up 'Bringing Down the Duke' on a whim in 2020 (I forget who recced it, but I trusted their opinion), and found one of my favorite genres—historical romance. I hadn't read many romances at this point, but this was definitely a jumping off point (along with 'Well Met' and 'Red White and Royal Blue'.) Highly recommend this series if you like badass ladies, the hand scene from Pride & Prejudice, and social commentary. (Also, peep the queer rep with bisexual icon Tristan in book 2. 😉)

Now she knew why girls were not allowed to feel anger--there was a reckless hope in it, and power.

-Portrait Of A Scotsman

TBR looking pretty ✨ I’m reading A Magic Steeped in Poison right now, but what would you pick next?

love this series so much it made me want to read novels set in this era. Book 1 is my favorite followed by 2 & 3.

I shall now forever live with the knowledge that without you in it, the world would be a strange place, and I should never be at home in it again.

Evie Dunmore, Portrait of a Scotsman

“I think everyone should have at least one person they love well enough to die for.”

Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore.

Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore might be one of my favorite romances now. Holy shiiiiiiit. Hattie’s growth, Lucian’s emotional development… the fucking ending?!

— The Gentleman’s Gambit, Evie Dunmore

Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore

Not just one of the best romance books I’ve read, but one of my favourite books this year.

Hattie Greenfield is idealistic and a bit sheltered by her upper-crust life and matching, upper-crust family. She fancies herself open-minded and progressive, even a bit rebellious, so when she crosses paths with the infamous Lord Lucian Blackstone, she welcomes a shocking, stolen, kiss. That sinfully delicious kiss has repercussions, though, which even the brooding and enigmatic Lucian must face. A hasty marriage and an escape to his native Scottish Highlands has Hattie reeling. The unexpected union forces both Hattie and Lucian to reveal the truest version of themselves to each other, and as titillating as the sexual tension between them is, I liked their character growth, and the questions the book asks, even more. Lucian’s business in the Highlands lands them in a small, poor, mining town. Hattie’s idealistic, unpracticed feminism clashes hard with the reality the women face. Lofty suffragette ideals in London tea rooms are hard to reconcile with mining mortalities and keeping a house running round the clock. Lucian, too, discovers that his personal truths are tested. Pragmatism doesn’t mean having to remain mired in negativity. I’ve never read a romance book where I’ve related to the main heroine so much. Hattie’s optimism was my own; the way she is forced to ask hard questions about her broad, easy answers to a utopian world made me think about my own views. Her feminist politics are wonderful, but they are challenged in a very real way. This book was surprisingly, and wonderfully, political. Still, Hattie’s character is never put down; she has lessons to teach as well as learn, and she brings out the best in Lucian by stretching his comfort zone. She's feminine and womanly but doesn't always say or do the right thing. She questions herself. I often think that heroines in romance novels sound and act like movie characters with overly snappy dialogue; they seem to react to each and every situation with the perfect quip and matching action. Hattie feels like a real woman: progressive but a product of the societal expectations of her time, winning and daring but not perfect. I don’t think I’ve ever read a romance (especially historical fiction) where the two leads feel like such symbiotic partners. They don’t lose themselves in each other but grow together. And the heat! Hattie and Lucian are gorgeous together: that slow build from their forbidden kiss to the eventual consummation of their marriage is hot. Every suggestive scene and progressively intimate moment is lush. Such a rewarding, romantic, fun, and genuinely thoughtful, feminist read. I enjoyed every moment. 

Presenting Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore. Reviewed by Jess the Librarian for In the Stacks.

http://www.inthestacks.tv/2022/09/jess-the-librarian-portrait-of-a-scotsman-by-evie-dunmore

Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore - Book Review!

London banking heiress Hattie Greenfield wanted just three things in life: 1. Acclaim as an artist.2. A noble cause.3. Marriage to a young lord who puts the gentle in gentleman. Why then does this Oxford scholar find herself at the altar with the darkly attractive financier Lucian Blackstone, whose murky past and ruthless business practices strike fear in the hearts of Britain’s peerage? Trust…

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The Scotsman

Finally did a fully rendered portrait and I chose Scott. I adore him and here he seems somewhat sad??! He‘s beautiful and handsome.