Charming!

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The Earl's Marriage Bargain (Liberated Ladies #2) by Louise Allen.        



A delightful romance with a lively leading lady whose impulsiveness drags her and her acquaintances into unchartered waters.
Jane Newnham has her life mapped out--even if her parents have other ideas! A talented artist she intends to set herself up as a portrait painter. Yes, it will be a struggle but one Jane's determined she'll win through.
That was before she hauled a man being attacked by some hefty thugs into her carriage and whisks him away to safety, much to her maids disgust.
Ivo Merton, recent Earl of Kendall, just back from the Napoleonic battlefields, recovering from a broken heart, and now a damaged shoulder, finds his would be rescuer a force to be reckoned with.
Which may be why these two at some time further along find themselves declaring they're engaged to bystanders after a heated argument in the middle of a Bath street. This news just ricochets around the place in a nano second and suddenly they're faced with an arrangement that confuses them both. What now of Jane's artistic dreams and Ivo's commitment to the love of his youth, even though that party is married to someone else?
Although, those shared kisses do hum in both their minds, even as their reasons for the betrothal have nothing to do with this!
An easy, humorous read with two endearing lead characters and a plot populated with various interesting secondary personalities.

 A Harlequin - Romance ARC via NetGalley

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