By Gabrielle Meyer

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers meets The Gilded Age!

I am so here for Gabrielle Meyer’s new Dollar Princess series that blends famous musicals with the social intrigue and complicated romances of the Gilded Age!

American heiress Lily Parker is tired of the London Marriage Market. Homesick for the isolation of the California coast, but bound by duty to her family, she quickly agrees to marry the enigmatic and reclusive Ames Welby, Duke of Severton. With the title in her family’s possession, her sisters will have the opportunity to marry for love and she’ll be able to leave the social spotlight and live with her handsome husband at his castle on the coast.

But while she hadn’t paid attention to the rumors before the hasty wedding ceremony, Lily is soon confronted by her new family’s devastating history of murder and madness. When her plans to host a matchmaking summer party for her friends and five new brothers-in-law go awry, Lily and Ames’ fragile relationship begins to splinter. Will their marriage survive decades of secrets and schemes? Or will the Severton curse claim a new victim?

Cons: The FMC was not a fast learner, and at times, I got rather frustrated with her. There was one scene in the book where I had to close my eyes because, in my opinion, she was being too stupid to live. The heroine was lucky this was a fiction book. That said, none of that ruined the book for me. Book 1 is still my favorite!

Pros: One thing I love is how Gabrielle Meyer’s books twist the tropes. (I’m not sure if this is intentional on her part or not.) Both characters bring a lot of baggage into the marriage, but instead of picking the obvious differences and creating a wedge that lasts the whole book, the author lets her characters confront their problems head on with communication. And where communication fails, the characters quickly realize and repent instead of holding onto stupid pride and prejudice the whole time. This allows for a lot of character growth and, to my mind, realistic relationship growth. Instead of one big problem, there’s multiple problems and issues that come out of left field. This also adds a layer of unpredictability that keeps you turning pages late at night, regardless of the mystery angle. 

The Bottom Line: Come for the story, stay for a clean marriage relationship story with depth.