“In Regency England, marriage is everything. For young widow Sybella Lovatt, the time has come to find a suitable husband for her sister and ward Lucie. Male suitors are scarce near their Wiltshire estate, so the sisters resolve to head to London in time for The Season to begin.

Once ensconced at the Mayfair home of Lady Godley, Lucie’s godmother, the whirl of balls, parties and promenades can begin. But the job of finding a husband is fraught with rules and tradition. Jostling for attention are the two lords – the charming and irresistible Freddie Lynwood and the preternaturally handsome Valentine Ravenell, their enigmatic neighbour from Shotten Hall, Mr Brabazon, and the dangerous libertine Lord Rockliffe, with whom the brooding Brabazon is locked in deadly rivalry.

Against the backdrop of glamorous Regency England, Sybella must settle Lucie’s future, protect her own reputation, and resist the disreputable rakes determined to seduce the beautiful widow. As the Season ends, will the sisters have found the rarest of things – a suitable marriage with a love story to match?”

Why did I request The Marriage Season (Amazon US $1.99 on Kindle) (Amazon UK) from NetGalley? Probably because I was looking for something different. I have only read the first Bridgerton book in terms of Regency Romance, but I do love historical fiction, so I took a chance. I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy of the book from NetGalley and Boldwood Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

It was clear from the beginning of the book that I would be struggling, and I found that to be true. Whilst accurately portraying life in Regency England, there were so many unfamiliar words I had to look them up. If you read these sorts of books, you might be well-versed with many of the words, so YMMV when reading this book. But because I constantly felt like I was looking up word definitions, it broke up the flow of the story.

The other problem I had was one character in particular, the young son of one of the main characters. He’s probably the most precocious 2-year old since I read the Amelia Peabody mystery series by Elizabeth Peters. His actions and words defy anything I’ve ever experienced with a toddler, either my own or friends and family. He was just not believable.

And what’s up with the obsession with horses in this book? I love horses as much as the next gal, but all this horse talk, and descriptions of horses got old pretty quickly. It really dragged the book down for me, as I found myself skimming through the book because of this. If you love conversations about horses ad nauseam, this might be the book for you.

Lastly, the slow burn to be found in a Regency romance did nothing for me. I didn’t particularly care for either romance presented. They bored me. Maybe it’s because I don’t normally read this type of romance, I don’t know, but I didn’t get the warm fuzzies while reading this book. I was bored with the romance.

Bottom line, if you like Regency Romance books and don’t mind an annoying toddler and endless talk about horses, this might be the book for you. But it wasn’t for me.

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