A Husband for Hartwell

The Lords of Bucknall Club, Book 1

De: J. A. Rock, Lisa Henry

Narrado por: Cornell Collins

He must marry, or risk his fortune.

The whole of London society has long assumed Lord William Hartwell will marry his childhood best friend, Lady Rebecca Warrington. After two seasons, Hartwell remains quite content with bachelorhood - his parents do not. When Hartwell learns they intend to cut his purse strings unless he makes a match this season, he resigns himself to a marriage of convenience with Becca, and yet he can’t help but be drawn to her younger brother, Warry.

He must marry or risk his sister’s ruin.

The Viscount “Warry” Warrington is used to being viewed as the tagalong little brother. Now a grown man about to enter his second season, Warry is desperate to be seen. When Lord Balfour, a handsome older peer, takes Warry under his wing, Warry thinks his dream is finally coming true until Balfour reveals his true intent - to make public a letter that will destroy Becca’s reputation, unless Warry agrees to marry him.

Time is running out for both of them.

When an injury forces Warry to recover at Hartwell House, the two succumb to a secret flirtation. But, Warry’s sudden announcement of his engagement to Balfour drives Hartwell near mad with jealousy - and right into Becca’s arms. With the clock ticking for Warry to save his sister, will Hartwell discover the truth of Warry’s feelings before it’s too late?

A Husband for Hartwell is the first book in the Lords of Bucknall Club series, where the regency meets M/M romance. The Lords of Bucknall Club can be listened to in any order.

©2021 J. A. Rock and Lisa Henry (P)2021 J. A. Rock and Lisa Henry

Loved it!

Sweet and very entertaining. Kept my attention the whole way through. I will be listening to the rest of the series.

Alternate universe Regency romance

I really enjoyed this story and of course, Cornell Collins serves all his dishes hot. Someone else complained that the fun of queer love stories was missing, which I have to agree with. Felt like there was a missed opportunity to lean into the nuances of queer relationships, but perhaps this was intentional as a fantasy about a Regency period with a slight twist rather than a more substantial re-envisoning. Now if we could get Becca's story...

Wonderful Regency Romance

Loved the conflict between the two lovers. Perfect cat and mouse chase for love! Also really impressed with the spin on the acceptance of same-sex marriage/couples. Definitely a new intriguing angle to a m/m regency romance.

Starting a bit slow...

... but give it time. Very Jane Austen, but with a twist. 😉Narrator did a great job that lifted the story further.

Excellent Narration

First of all, the narrator was fantastic and gave this silly story his all. That alone was almost enough to make up for the unlikable characters and thin plot. The writing itself was good, but the time jumps were confusing and something about the lack of scene setting made me constantly confused about where the characters were and what they were doing. Mostly just standing around and talking. Oh, and the mains are 19 and 23. I actually think these ages were very well written, because the 19 year old is very believably an angsty teen and the 23 year old is the sort of arrogant that comes from being young and full of himself. It was hard to really get into the romance when they just felt so immature, like this was a summer fling or something. I'm almost twice the age of the youngest main, so I guess I'm just not the target audience for this NA book.

An utter delight.

I adored Warry and Hartwell, and am just desperate for the remainder of the series to be released in audiobook!

Yes!!!!

I have been waiting for something like this for forever, and it did not disappoint! So much angst and humor and adorableness… I loved every second.

An okay story elevated by an amazing narrator.

This one was . . . okay. Enjoyable enough, but I never got invested in the relationship between Hartwell and Warry, and it was sometimes hard to follow this wayward plot.

Cornell Collins, as one of my favorite narrators in this genre, was definitely the highlight.

I'll definitely be listening to book two, as I loved Cornell's performance of Christmas Gale and need more of that character in my life.

Nice start to a series

First, loved the narrator. He did an amazing job with Regency England accents and pronunciation. I thoroughly enjoyed his reading of this book.
Story-wise, it was lacking in a few places. I had a hard time with Hartwell being so mean, then being in love with Warry. And Warry for forgiving him for some of those mean things. However, it was a fun romp, with a dastardly villain who is randomly arrested, even though we weren't aware he was under investigation; a sassy sister who broke her own rules; and two men who danced around each other, poking each other in the chest.
It did introduce the character of and I absolutely adored his sarcastic, bored nature. I'm hoping to get to hear more of him.

low heat high angst, weird alternate reality historical setting, might as well have been a contemporary romance

A lot of angst and frustrating secrets kept between the main characters- with not enough sexy scenes to make up for the suffering and waiting.
Also, I was not a big fan of this “alternate reality” in which gay relationships are not illegal, but are socially acceptable— and gay marriage is legal as well, yet everything else about the historical British setting is accurate.
For me, the main appeal of m/m historical fiction is the clandestine nature of the m/m relationship and the associated danger— yet despite the world being against them, the couple is overtaken with lust, longing and love, that they’d rather risk their reputation and their necks than deny their true feelings for one another! Might as well have just been a contemporary gay romance.