The Marriage Method
I enjoy romances that have a good mystery and The Marriage Method has both. It also has a male lead who rescues cats which ends up causing a forced marriage! Other than a rare slow spot, I was intrigued by the story.
Nell is a teacher at a girl’s academy who comes to London to meet with Miles, an editor and journalist for a newspaper. During their meeting one of Miles’ cats gets tangled in the crinoline cage of Nell’s skirts and when they try to untangle the cat, Nell loses her balance (she has an injury from a childhood accident and uses a cane.) When the annoying Reverend Pettiman walks in, Nell and Miles find themselves compromised and must marry.
Both Nell and Miles have mysteries to solve. Nell is looking for Miss Brent, a fourteen-year-old girl who disappeared at a train station on her way to Nell’s school from a workhouse. Miles is looking for a gossip reporter who has disappeared. Together they search for clues and interview witnesses to discover what happened. Nell’s beauty takes Mile’s breath away and she surprises him by her unique skills in self-defense. Nell admires Miles’ loyalty and kindness plus he has five cats!
The story started out fun with Nell and Miles first cute meeting with the cat trouble. The pace slowed down for a bit until they got married, but then it picked back up and I became totally immersed in the story as they worked to solve the mysteries. The story has a little bit of spice. Also, Nell grew up an orphan at the school and I enjoyed hearing about her backstory.
This is my first book by Mimi Matthews and I think it stands well on its own. Nell is friends with Effie and Gabriel from Rules for Ruin. She and Effie grew up together at the academy and Nell is planning to visit with her when Effie returns to London from a trip to Paris with her new husband.
I think historical romance readers that like some mystery in their stories along with a sweet romance will enjoy this gem.
Recent Comments
So few romance authors who write closed door that’s not religious books, kinda disappointing.
I have to say that I’m surprised by the warm rating – the reviews I’ve seen so far all say it’s closed door or has “mild love scenes”. One reviewer on Goodreads says she considers it closed door, although it has the “tiniest peek of cracked door. You’re in the room and you know what happened but you don’t get any details”.
If that helps you make up your mind about it :)
I think this is actually more of a “closed door” for the current romance market. The thing is, the standards on this site have been the same for decades, so “warm” is too broad and isn’t necessarily the “open door” of romance.io, for example.
Anyway, I think if Mimi wants to write hot and explicit romance, she should use a different pseudonym. After all, her fanbase is mostly people who seek out her books because they’re “closed door” and non-religious, and a minority who read everything. Many people have it set to automatic purchase, so if it were to start having books with varying sexual intensity, people would have to find out about them one by one.
So, at this point, her name is almost a brand with certain characteristics, Of course, an author has the right to write whatever they want, but it’s a reality that people have the right to know how they spend their money, and you have to be responsible to your fan base so they know if you’re going to change the product you offer.
That’s a very good point – about author brands.
I will say that the way we use our sensuality ratings have changed – although we still use the same terminology – kisses, subtle, warm, hot, burning; it’s just that so many romances now contain sex scenes that fit the warm rating (2 people, no kinks) that “warm” has become the standard rating. I find it hard, these days, to imagine what I’d classify as “burning” – I rarely read anything I’d classify as “hot”, but I think that’s because the market has changed so much in the last 15-20 years.
So true. I have always liked heat in my romances. I used to have to seek it out and now, it’s a given.
Is this book really explicit? It would be Mimi Matthews’ first book with sex scenes.
This is my first book by her. There is a chapter that is an open door scene. There are enough details described with them skin to skin that I went for the warm rating. Nell is worried about what Miles will think of the scars on her leg but they are in love and it’s gently done.
Wow, I’ve been waiting for her to write an open-doors romance again!
I haven’t read it, but I’d be surprised if she’s gone from no sex at all to full on “warm” sex scenes complete with the usual words to describe the male anatomy! The reviews I’ve seen say it’s closed door.
From Kayne’s description, maybe “subtle” would be more accurate?
Hmm, I’m intrigued — will see what happens when I come to it!
For anyone wondering, AAR’s sensuality ratings can be found in the top menu under About AAR.
Reviews on Goodreads indicate that it’s pretty much closed door, apart from one scene where the reader is “in the room” and it’s clear what happened, but nothing is told in detail.
This has been getting positive reviews all over!