Mihwa Lee - Reluctantly Yours

He thought a proxy marriage was the perfect loophole to fund his next big scientific marry a former courtesan by mail, collect the cash, and disappear into the Highland fog before anyone could say “I do.” Unfortunately for Frederick Lockwood, his calculations didn’t account for Dhalia—a woman with a killer figure, a sharper tongue, and a knack for rearranging his precious plant specimens. Now, Frederick’s meticulously ordered life is suddenly full of chaos, questionable taxonomy, and the terrifying possibility that his “convenient” wife might just be his greatest discovery yet.
She thought she was signing up for a wedding certificate, not an actual husband. Dhalia Harrington expected her new spouse to be safely marooned on another continent. Instead, she’s dropped into a Scottish manor with a judgy cat, a hyperactive Irish Setter, a housekeeper whose fruitcakes could double as blunt-force weapons, and a brooding scientist who flirts exclusively in flowers and smoldering stares. Between Highland storms that expose more than just leaky roofs and riding lessons that involve suspiciously helpful hands, Dhalia finds her absentee husband inconveniently present-and impossible to ignore.
But with Frederick’s year-long expedition looming like a particularly soggy Scottish cloud, will their unexpected romance survive the distance?

Comment: I got interested in this recently published story because the main characters had what others would call "inadequacies" and I was curious to see how the author would develop the relationship.

Frederick Lockwood is a scientist who wants to explore his beloved Highlands but he can use some money which would not deplete the family manor or those dependent on his family. For that, accepts to marry a woman who used to be a courtesan before being finally found and rescued by a noble uncle. This way, both will get the funds and the respectability they need, The issue is that Frederick was counting on someone who would not interferes with his choices nor his peace of mind and Dahlia turns out to be very different from what he expected. But with pre conceived ideas about her past and his inability to speak due to an attack in which his throat was slashed, is there hope for their marriage to become a real one?

When this book caught my eye I didn't realize right away it was part of a series but to be fair, it does read pretty much as a standalone. In fact, by investigating, I've seen that the connection in the series is very superficial even though one of the other two stories published seemed intriguing and had some similarities to this one. Anyway, this is the first book I try by this author and while I was positively surprised, I was not wowed.

Frederick is someone we would consider a cinnamon roll type of character. Sweet natured, friendly, incredibly generous but he believes being mute makes him inadequate and he doesn't want to push himself on anyone. He accepts the proposal to marry Dahlia by convenience, to mostly help her, even if the financial part is to his benefit. He is someone I'd like to meet in real life, because he is clever and a good person.

He isn't perfect, though, and he can't help feeling a little jealous by the fact Dahlia had been with other men. Dahlia's life wasn't easy and only by luck, it seems, was she able to be taken back to her uncle's home, but her reputation is already the talk of the ton. I assume this is something alluded to in the previous books somehow, because it's a granted information when the story begins. I liked Dahlia, I think she is practical and understands what is happening, how good of a fortune it is to be marrying someone like Frederick, in the sense that he treats her well.

Their romance has its moments and develops slowly but I will say that I would put aside the "steamy" part of this story. The page count isn't big, the author even call this a "novella", so the sex scenes, in my opinion, are unnecessary. They take up too much space which would have been better for other scenes. I suppose I can understand, because of her past and his story too, the intimacy of sex is meant to be both a sort of catalyst and reward for their marriage, but the writing would have benefited without this.

As the two of them start to get along, I also feel their Highlands bubble was a bit too convenient, and there isn't any external conflict to their relationship. Any issue they have is related to them as a couple and what they think about one another. In a way, this is way too sweet and easy to deal with, and I think there is a little lack of depth in how the author presented some situations. For instance, when Dahlia explains how she came to be a prostitute, it was delivered in a very dry manner, which I can see why, but it could have been a moment for stringer emotions and things were a bit too contained.

I did like following these two in their early stages of a romance, I liked his family and I liked it how him being mute was not meant to be a reason to downgrade his abilities in other areas. Many elements worked out for me and my appreciation of this story, but the end result wasn't as polished as I think the author could have done.

Grade: 7/10