The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck by Kathleen Y'Barbo

Unlikely romance is sometimes just an inconvenient marriage away

Charlotte Beck may be entering adulthood, but she can’t seem to keep to her stubborn, independent spirit from bucking social protocol. Fed up with her behavior, Charlotte’s father Daniel pressures her to settle into a nice marriage despite knowing she is set on going to college. Then Daniel sees Charlotte with the handsome but annoying English astronomer Alex Hambly, and everything changes.

Though Alex and Charlotte can barely stand one another, Daniel offers them a deal they can’t refuse: if they agree to marry, he will save Alex’s family from financial ruin and grant Charlotte the freedom to go to college. Reluctantly the couple agrees, but in private they plot to annul the marriage as soon as possible.

But when Alex’s feelings change and he refuses to dissolve their contract, will Charlotte find a way out of her vows? Or will she discover that maybe this marriage isn’t so inconvenient after all?


I Give This Book: 5 Stars


My Thoughts:
The first time you meet Charlotte Beck in 'A Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper', she is a spunky, precocious ten year old prone to misbehaving. Then in 'Anna Finch and the Hired Gun', she is a fifteen/sixteen year old trying to act years ahead of her time. Now in 'The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck', you see a woman of eighteen, trying to please her family and act in a way more acceptable to society.


Viscount Alex Hambly is a man whose family is on the brink of financial ruin. As a second son, Alex is expected to earn his own living and has chosen to work in the field of astronomy. Alex's older identical twin brother Martin is the heir to the title of earl, but mentally he has not been right ever since he went to war. Because of this, their family asks Alex to pretend that he is his brother at social events, so that know one will know of his problems.


Alex first meets Charlotte while at a party his family is having and he is pretending to be his brother. Alex is out in the garden trying to catch a glimpse of Jacob's Comet, when Charlotte falls from a window into his arms and then she faints dead away. Hearing voices, he quickly moves into a hedge and doesn't think, until after he does so, what would happen if they where caught. While in the shrubbery, Charlotte comes to, then starts demanding to be put down. Fearing being caught, Alex covers her mouth with his hand and tells her to be quiet, but she bites his hand and runs off. Knowing he can't follow after her without causing a scandal, he quietly steams and then when he starts to leave, he sees her fan and picks it up to return it to her. When he tries to return the fan to her, Charlotte's uncle thinks that he had accosted her and so he punches him - right there in the middle of the party. This is the first of many times that Charlotte will cause Alex pain.


When I received this book, I thought that the marriage would take place rather quickly in the story, but it actually doesn't happen until the story is over halfway through. As soon as I thought the story was going to go one way, it changed and went a completely different way. So I think that the title and blurb are a little misleading, but the story is still very enjoyable. This was a satisfying conclusion to the series. I loved reading 'The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck' and if you love historical romances, I am sure you will too.

Thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for sending me a complimentary copy of this book to review. I was not required to give a positive review, only to give my honest opinion of the book - which I have done.

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The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck (Chapter 1 Excerpt)