seriously romantic: how to marry a marquess by stacy reid

when richard maitland, the marquess of westfall first met evie chesterfield he knew that she was not for him. she was too young. too innocent. too good. he'd already been burned by what he thought was love once. and he'd already vowed to never marry and never let his heart get involved again.

and sure there were moments where he wondered. where he yearned for more with evie. but those close calls only served to reaffirm his resolve. he wasn't going to give evie a chance for anything real. but what he doesn't count on is the pressure on evie to finally marry. she's a young woman of the ton, her duty is to get married. not only because it is what is expected, but also because it is the only way for her to pay her way. daughters are financial burdens until they marry and become someone else's problem.

in how to marry a marquess, evie decides it's finally time to take matter into her own hands. she's never fully understood richard's hesitation. she knows in her heart of hearts that he feels the same love for her as she does for him. he tries to keep her at arm's length, but he's been denying himself for so long it's only a matter of time before she wears him down.

and even still he doesn't have it in him to believe that evie is strong enough to stand up to society by his side. and part of his doubt stems from his need to protect her from those who would cut her. but part of it is also his inability to trust anyone but himself. and it's this distrust that almost kills evie. realizing how little he thinks of her breaks her heart. and the thing of it is, she could almost understand how deep his damage is, but he knows her. he is the one person she has shared all of herself with, and if that is not enough then nothing will be.

but when the prospect of losing evie forever is forced on richard, he realizes that he's been criminally stupid and unfair. he loves evie. she loves him. they can withstand anything society throws at them. he just has to have enough faith to believe that together they are stronger than they are apart. and while his scars run deep, the deepest cut to his heart would be losing evie for good, and so he must redeem himself. and when he does, it's pretty spectacular.

**how to marry a marquess will publish on august 14, 2017. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (scandalous) in exchange for my honest review.