REVIEW: The Stranger I Wed by Harper St. George

OUR REVIEW:

The Stranger I Wed is the first book in The Doves of New York Series; a series about three sisters and their mother going to London to try to change their lives, due to manipulations of the 'patriarch' of their family. This first book introduces us to the entire Dove family but focuses on Cora, the oldest sister, and the one who instigates their move to London, after confronting her father and discovering conditions on her inheritance. 

When they arrive in London, the sisters begin scouting their prospects and on one such scouting exhibition, Cora meets her future spouse, the Earl of Devonworth when he accidentally runs her over while playing football. As one might expect, they both find the other fascinating and because of the nature of him needing money and her needing a title, they end up marrying fairly quickly after that meeting. Initially the marriage is one of convenience--he needs the cash and she needs the security his title offers; he doesn't want to risk his heart and she most definitely doesn't want that either. What she does want, however, is independence and freedom. As they get to know each other, their resolve to not know each other disappears and with that respect and love blooms. Before you know it, they're writing together, laughing together, and seem like a team--something neither of them anticipated. Of course, because this is a romance, there's that hesitation about whether this development in their marriage is something that they want. With a little conflict and reflection and resolution, these two find their happily ever after and now we get to see Eliza's journey from single New Yorker to the newest belle of London. 

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SYNOPSIS:

New to wealth and to London high society, American heiress Cora Dove discovers that with the right man, marriage might not be such an inconvenience after all. . . .

Cora Dove and her sisters’ questionable legitimacy has been the lifelong subject of New York’s gossipmongers and a continual stain on their father’s reputation. So when the girls each receive a generous, guilt-induced dowry from their dying grandmother, the sly Mr. Hathaway vows to release their funds only if Cora and her sisters can procure suitable husbands—far from New York. For Cora, England is a fresh start. She has no delusions of love, but a husband who will respect her independence? That’s an earl worth fighting for.

Enter: Leopold Brendon, Earl of Devonworth, a no-nonsense member of Parliament whose plan to pass a Public Health bill that would provide clean water to the working class requires the backing of a wealthy wife.  He just never expected to crave Cora’s touch or yearn to hear her thoughts on his campaign—or to discover that his seemingly perfect bride protects so many secrets...

But secrets have a way of bubbling to the surface, and Devonworth has a few of his own. With their pasts laid bare and Cora’s budding passion for women’s rights taking a dangerous turn, they’ll learn the true cost of losing their heart to a stranger—and that love is worth any price.