I chose to read A Bride For His Convenience because I love the instant and forced intimate tension a marriage of convenience plot creates. Unfortunately, Layton consistently diffused this tension in her tale of two likeable, mature protagonists marrying for mutual benefit.

Lord Ian Sutcombe, the Marquess Sutcombe, has come into his title only to find his estate is in ruin. His father, a poor money manager, was taken for a ride by his second wife, and Ian himself his spent his little remaining money on getting treatment for his ill younger brother. He really has no choice but to marry a woman with money if he is to fulfill any of his responsibilities.

Hannah Leeds has recently been left by her would-be lover and no longer believes in happy endings. So when her father proposes she marry to elevate her family and sponsor her sisters, she rather apathetically goes along with his plans. She does not expect to be happy in her marriage, but she does demand a certain respect from her future husband. The echoing abyss of the difference between their social statuses, however, makes for numerous miscommunications and injuries to pride. Can something so practical ever turn out to be love?

First, it must be said that both Ian and Hannah are likeable, mature people who are open-minded and honorable. Ian is determined to fulfill every inch of his marriage contract and, within the expectations of his class, be a good husband. Before he will bring Hannah home, he determines to make his estate habitable. Hannah initially expects little from Ian, but soon she comes to admire him for his hard work and selflessness. She definitely feels her social lowliness compared to him, but she isn’t a shrinking violet and asks for honesty and open communication between them. So they are both worthy of each other and of love.

The downside of all this good grace and open-mindedness is that it diffuses the tension between them. When they become betrothed, you’d expect that exquisite awkwardness and struggle for domestic power built in to this type of plot to appear. Instead, Ian goes off to restore his home, and they spend the winter writing letters to each other. Finally, they marry and then tiptoe around each other respectfully, communicating fairly openly when there is conflict. This is solid, adult behavior, but dramatically rather boring.

Late in the book, the plot conflict shifts from internal to external when certain secondary characters decide to meddle in Hannah and Ian’s relationship. This last wrench thrown in feels artificial and rather pointless. Also, Hannah and her family have the rather high expectation that they will be accepted by the ton quickly. It’s hard to believe anyone would expect to make friends so fast, let alone ones from a completely different social class at this particular point in history.

A Bride For His Convenience did not deliver what I wanted from its premise, but it was capably told and contained characters I could respect. If that’s a half-hearted recommendation, take from it what you will.