seriously romantic: the butterfly bride by vanessa riley

the butterfly bride is freddie's story and the third installment of the advertisements for love series. what makes this series unique is that the protagonists are black women making lives for themselves in regency london. 

it's not an easy life, but all things considered, as the illegitimate daughter of a duke, freddie doesn't have it so bad. and yet, with her father recently remarried, and her closest friends too, she wants marriage for herself. so she vows to select a groom for christmas. she's had offers. and lord hartwell, is just the guy to help her rule them out. 

nevermind their attraction. he doesn't think she wants to be the stepmother to his four daughters. she doesn't want to be someone's second choice. she knows he is still in love with his dead wife and there is no competing with that. but hartwell is unwilling to approve these suitors easily. he doesn't actually want to let freddie go. 

and freddie is under some threat, as someone has vandalized her room, stolen her mother's jewels and threatened her life. so hartwell also works to figure this out. he is not willing to risk freddie's life for anything. 

once these two figure out that what they share is more than friendship, they sort themselves out. but it takes a while.

**the butterfly bride will publish on october 22, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (amara) in exchange for my honest review.