ARC Review: Always the Bluestocking (Never the Bride #6) by Emily E.K. Murdoch
10:00
Series: Never the Bride #6
Author: Emily E.K. Murdoch
Published September 10th 2020 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Goodreads Synopsis
Always the bluestocking and never the bride—not that any woman should have to choose…
Miss Mariah Wynn was adopted and has spent her life attempting to prove herself worthy. Intelligent and witty, it's nonetheless not a good idea to let a gentleman know you actually have brains. After all, no one marries the bluestocking, even if she is beautiful and but twenty one.
One man who laughs in the face of bluestockings is Patrick O'Leary, Viscount Donal. He knows the woman's place, and that is most certainly in the home.
Until, that is, he sees Mariah attending a lecture at his alma mater. A woman—at university. He's determined she won’t get an education. She's ready to face down any ignorant man, title or no. A battle of intellect storms while a battle of desire fights under the surface.
Will Mariah and Patrick have enough focus to argue while every bone in their bodies wants to make love?
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
Always the Bluestocking follows the final heroine in this series, Miss Mariah Wynn, renowned bluestocking, and adopted sister of Viscount Wynn, our hero from the previous book. She fully believes in education for all, and being a woman should not bar her from university. Known amongst the ton for her bookish ways, she retreats to Oxford, where she tries, again and again, to make her way into lectures, colleges, and even into the Bodleian Library. No matter how many times she is hauled out and denied, she won't stop, and she thinks she's found a somewhat ally in Patrick O'Leary, Viscount Donal. Patrick has returned to Oxford from his Irish estate for his reunion celebrations, and is normally very against bluestockings, but something about Mariah intrigues him. Maybe it was seeing her rip into a rude gentlemen at her brother's wedding, or her sheer determination, but he needs to get closer to her, and soon finds himself agreeing with her goals. Has Mariah found someone who she could imagine being with, and perhaps even finally thinking marriage is for her?
I think that this one was my favourite out of the three in the series I have read. I loved Mariah when we met her in Always the Wallflower, as Letitia's best friend, and when I realised the 6th book would be her story, I was overjoyed. I loved learning more about her, and seeing her power and desire for education - not just for herself, but for all women who want it. She was in a privileges position as the sister of a Viscount, so used that to get a voice, even though it was difficult. The only thing I could've asked for was a little more of the backstory of her and Edward's relationship, as it had been alluded to in both this book and the last one, but that was still missing by the ending. Patrick was a lovely hero, flawed and not perfect, but with Mariah they worked together so well. Sometimes they rubbed each other up the wrong way, and bounced off each other, but their combined strengths were perfect, and they were definitely made for each other. Maybe we could've seen some more from other characters in this story, but all in all, I really enjoyed it!
Dates Read:
August 28, 2020
Rating
3 Stars
0 comments