Confessions from an Arranged Marriage

By Miranda Neville

They couldn't be more different—but there's one thing they agree on . . .

In London after a two-year exile, Lord Blakeney plans to cut a swathe through the bedchambers of the demimonde. Marriage is not on his agenda, especially to an annoying chit like Minerva Montrose, with her superior attitude and a tendency to get into trouble. And certainly the last man Minerva wants is Blake, a careless wastrel without a thought in his handsome head.

The lights and din of her debutante ball set Minerva's teeth on edge. Surely a moment's rest could do no harm . . . until Blake mistakes her for another lady, leaving Minerva's guests to catch them in a very compromising position. To her horror, the scandal will force them to do the unthinkable: marry. Their mutual loathing blazes into unexpected passion but Blake remains distant, desperate to hide a shameful secret. Minerva's never been a woman to take things lying down, and she'll let nothing stop her from winning his trust . . . and his heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Mar 27, 2012
• ISBN: 9780062096494

Miranda Neville

Miranda Neville grew up in England before moving to New York City to work in Sotheby's rare books department. After many years as a journalist and editor, she decided writing fiction was more fun. She lives in Vermont.

Reviews for Confessions from an Arranged Marriage

[Alexandra Vidrago · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

No chemistry between main characters, story line that left to be desired. Disappointing.

[anissaannalise-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book I've read by Miranda Neville & I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't usually read series out of order but I saw this recommended to me on Amazon & bought it straight away, not realizing it was the fifth in a series. It's no matter though, the story of Minnie/Blake stands very well on its own.

Minnie is a woman who pines for political power & influence & Blake is born into the very thing but wants nothing to do with any of it. She's a voracious & opinionated reader & he's of the sporty end & prefers to be with his horses. A funny if not cliched turn (her epic migraines are never mentioned again in this book) causes their paths to cross in such a way that marriage is the only choice to avert scandal & that's where the story really takes off. It's quite clear early on that Blake isn't the slacker Minnie (& most others) regards him as. He has a secret that he's been keeping for years & will go to most any length to continue to keep.

It was very easy to feel for Blake as the story unfolded & while I wanted him to fess up to Minnie, I could understand why he was so reticent. Huntley, our resident extortionist, was reason enough to make anyone wary of divulging a secret ever again in life. For Minnie's part, she was very informed & smart in a good many ways but she was just as stunted when it came to reading people or having any clue about why Blake was the way he was. I suppose that could make Minnie seem inconsiderate & put some readers off, but I liked it because it was clear that she too was flawed. It was as though she couldn't conceive of people relating to the world of books & reading in any other way than she did, so watching her grow over the course of the story was interesting. I did feel badly for both of them often as they stumbled along in the story. Also, I was worried when Blake became Hampton because I kept thinking that as he was relying on his secretaries (or anyone other than Amanda) to give him summaries of all things before he signed all things political, he could be signing anything (much like the IOU Huntley had him sign before). His vulnerability made me anxious & I wanted someone, anyone, to tell Minnie before something drastic happened! In the end, that wasn't the drastic event I needed to worry myself over but the one that presented itself was handled well, even if it was a bit predictable.

The romance between Minnie/Blake was very well done & believable & not overwrought & sappy. I appreciated that. It was nice to watch them evolve as people & as a couple & I cheered for them. Their having genuine affection for one another was sweet but I most enjoyed that they had mutual respect & felt protective & supportive of each other. I'm a huge historical fiction fan so I was probably a bit predisposed to enjoy this & I would read others in the series.

[addictofromance · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am a bit sad to see the series concluded now that I have read the last and final book. I have really enjoyed seeing the variety of sets of stories that have been put in place in this series.I found that the first half was alright, didn't exactly completely draw me into the story, but once I got about halfway, that is when it started to really pick up. Despite the slower start, I definitely had fun with this one.Minerva has always had ambition and has a passion for the political arena. She wants a marriage with a man that has the same desire to make a difference as she does. She knows that her views can be a bit radical, wanting equality for everyone. But her plans get put on hold when she ends up caught in a compromising position that is no fault of her own, and is forced to marry Lord Blakely or face a horrendeous scandal. She has no desire to marry Blake, since all he cares about is sports and horses. He has no intellectual drive that she knows of, and there couldn't be a worse possible match for her. Blake has never been able to read. He had to force his way through his studies, his brain has never been able to make sense of jumbled letters that make no sense. He is the heir to a Dukedom, and he knows his father is always disappointed in him. He has always known that he will have to marry one day, but he has no clue that drunk one night, that he would end up compromising Minnie, and end up having to marry her. A woman he fears of ever learning his secret. But when they go to Paris, passion is awakened, and he starts to believe that their marriage could turn into something special.My heart just broke for Blake in this story. I was totally on his side through the whole story. He has struggled with a certain mental condition, that was not known of back in the 1800's. With no help, only criticism and censure from his family and peers. I felt like he did a good job with handling tough situations, and even though he could care less about politics, I loved seeing the way he was with Minnie and what he would do for her. Blake loves sports and women, but he is the honorable kind, sensitive to others and can be very reasonable at times. Minnie wasn't my favorite, I mean she was a average heroine, but I didn't find her too likeable. There were some aspects of her characters I did like, but I felt that she was too judgemental at times, and had politics on the brain almost too obsessive I found at times. But overall I did like how she reacts to finding out about Blake's secret. She did have a sweet nature that I really liked.Overall I did enjoy this story quite a bit, not my favorite of the series, but it was a fun and it had some interesting look on politics back in this era in England. I liked how this author also put a mental condition into one of the characters that added a certain conflict to the story, that made me like it even more. It was also a fun setting from Paris to London, and seeing this couple interact and see how right they are for each other. Both are clever, just in different areas and I enjoyed seeing how well they complimented each other. A sweet and romantic story that is very moving!! LOVED IT!

[rubya_32 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Boring.

The hero and heroine has zero chemistry. I could not connect with the heroine at alll. When she wasn't going off about how she wanted to be involved with politics and blah blah blah, she was snooping through her husband's things. When the hero wasn't bemoaning his dyslexia, he was going on about what a sportsman he was.

I couldn't get into this book at all.