A Gamble at Sunset

Starred review from April 8, 2024
Riley (Island Queen) makes a triumphant return to romance after dabbling in mystery and historical fiction, proving with this Betting Against the Duke Regency series launch that her talent translates across genres. Georgina Wilcox is a middle daughter with beauty, brains, and musical talent. Unfortunately, her parents’ deaths and her sister’s desperate marriage left their family business in the hands of a pathological gambler. After her brother-in-law dies, an old family friend, the Duke of Torrance, helps the Wilcoxes narrowly escape destitution, but they cannot afford another scandal. Unfortunately, Georgina and Lord Mark Sebastian, an aspiring composer, are about to cause just that when a misunderstanding leads to a kiss in the Duke’s gardens that’s witnessed by a large group of guests. The only way to protect their good names is a fake engagement, a charade they hope to pull off through a concert in which Georgina performs Mark’s music, making society believe that they fell in love in the process. Mark hopes this performance will also convince London society of his talent. Riley renders the Regency in living color, with impressive historical detail and an admirably diverse cast. Historical romance readers will be entranced. Agent: Sarah Younger, Nancy Yost Literary.

May 15, 2024
A composer finds his muse on the other side of the Thames. Georgina Wilcox, second-eldest daughter of a wealthy coal magnate, has gotten herself in a bit of trouble. In an impulsive moment, she kissed a man she barely knows in a garden that wasn't as private as she thought, and now she's in danger of being ruined. This isn't as troubling for the man she kissed, Lord Mark Sebastian, a marquess' "spare's spare." His primary passion and struggle in life have always been composing music, and after Georgie inspires him in more ways than one, he wonders if she could be his muse. Despite this, he doesn't want her to be forced into marriage, so both agree to a convoluted plan to pretend to be engaged while he serves as her music teacher and then allows her to throw him over for a more advantageous match. Though the plan is proposed by the Duke of Torrance--who has a mysterious history with Georgie's widowed sister, Lady Hampton--it can't fully protect her from the gossip mill. Rumors start spreading about Georgie and Mark, most focused on the fact that Mark is a white nobleman and Georgie is a "Blackamoor woman" whose father was a man of trade, not title. When their fake betrothal starts to lead to complicated romantic feelings for both of them, the threats intimated by the rumors start to feel all too real. The first in a new series from Riley builds on her reputation for depicting authentic diversity in the Regency era, including depictions of sickle cell anemia and its devastating impact, as well as the complicated experience of Black Russians in London society. Though Georgie and Mark have chemistry, their encounters are relatively chaste, which combined with a traditional writing style gives the story a pleasingly retro feel even as it broadens representation in the genre. The early chapters are a jumble and the plot feels disjointed at times, but when the book hits its stride, it's a satisfying story that also lays out a promising setting for future entries. A strong historical romance that combines diverse experiences with classic storytelling.

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