seriously romantic: wagering for miss blake by callie hutton

in a flip on the usual trope, wagering for miss blake, has the hero tumbling head over heels in love with the heroine three pages into the story. but the course of true love can't run smoothly in a romance novel, and he finds himself thwarted by circumstances of birth. mr. giles templeton is the third son of an earl, but miss suzanna blake's mother wants her to wed a title. and up until now, suzanna has never had any reason to counter this particular parental demand.

knowing what she knows about her parents and what they want for her, suzanna tries to resist giles. she tries to dissuade him of his pursuit. she tells him point blank it will never work. and yet, he persists. but he isn't actually goinog against her wishes, suzanna wants him around. she is in love with him too. she just doesn't see how her parents will ever agree to their courtship and wants to avoid heartbreak.

sometimes it's hard to assess books like this in the #metoo era. you can see how modern views of consent have infiltrated the narrative when there are moments that the hero reflects on whether or not his suit is really welcome. he isn't interested in forcing suzanna to love him against her will. he wants to win her hand in marriage because he believes she loves him as much as he loves her. these are modern thoughts, though they do not feel unnatural in the narrative. it appears to be self-reflection. but at the same time, it helps assuage those problematic bits in how male desire  and female agency is portrayed.

**wagering for miss blake will publish on june 11, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (scandalous) in exchange for my honest review.