Series: The Gilded Age Heiresses, Book 3
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: February 22, 2022
Source: Publisher
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Tall, dark, and brooding—to say that American Maxwell Crenshaw stood out in the glittering ballrooms of London is an understatement. He vowed never to set foot in England again, but when a summons from his father along with an ultimatum to secure his legacy has him crossing the Atlantic for the last time, reuniting him with the delectable Lady Helena March, he can’t deny the temptation she presents. Or the ideas she inspires…
Lady Helena March is flirting with scandal. Instead of spending her time at teas and balls in search of another husband, as is expected of a young widow, Helena pours her energy into The London Home for Young Women. But Society gives no quarter to unmarried radicals who associate with illegitimate children and fallen women, and Helena’s funding is almost run out. So when the sinfully seductive Crenshaw heir suggests a fake engagement to save them both—him from an unwanted marriage and her from scorn and financial ruin—Helena finds herself too fascinated to refuse the sexy American.
As their arrangement of convenience melts oh so deliciously into nights of passion, their deception starts to become real. But if Max knew the true reason Helena can never remarry, he wouldn’t look at her with such heat in his eyes. Or might the Crenshaw heir be willing to do whatever it takes to win the one woman he’s never been able to forget…
A fake courtship feels all too real in The Lady Tempts an Heir. Sparks flew between Max and Helena in the last Gilded Age Heiresses book so I was delighted to see the final Crenshaw fall for the independent widow.
If Max thought that being male would prevent him from being subjected to the same pressure to marry as his sisters, he was wrong. If he doesn’t fall in line and secure the Crenshaw legacy, then his father will derail his sister’s current project. Max doesn’t want to be pressured into marriage, but he needs to buy time to protect his sister’s work so he decides to propose a fake engagement to Lady Helena March. Helena is a widow who cares deeply for others. She’s trying to secure funding for The London Home for Young Women, but her own father is pressuring her investors to pull out because it’s “unseemly” for Helena to be associated with unwed mothers and their children. Max’s proposal seems to be the perfect solution to her problem. But what starts as a mutually beneficial fake relationship quickly becomes real.
Helena and Max are easy to like both individually and as a couple. They’re well-matched, smart, kind characters who stand up for what they believe in. Max truly listens to Helena and doesn’t dismiss her ideas or plans, even if they come into conflict with his own. He isn’t perfect, but he learns and becomes an even better person over the course of the story. The two of them support one another and I loved that. They have excellent chemistry and no matter that they believe this courtship is temporary, it’s clear for all to see that they’re falling in love.
Love, however, may not be enough for Max and Helena to get their happily ever after. Both have established lives on different continents, and Helena carries a secret that has her pulling back from Max. I was rooting for them every step of the way and I loved how author Harper St. George handled Helena’s secret. St. George really made her characters consider what it would mean for them and that made the love story all the stronger. I adored The Lady Tempts an Heir – the Crenshaw siblings and their partners are all a delight to spend time with – and I cannot wait to see what St. George has in store for her next American heiress!
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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