{"id":3608,"date":"2026-02-21T20:12:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T20:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianregency.com\/blog\/?p=3608"},"modified":"2026-02-21T20:12:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T20:12:19","slug":"a-proper-marriage-a-traditional-regency-reviewed-by-vanessa-riley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/21\/a-proper-marriage-a-traditional-regency-reviewed-by-vanessa-riley\/","title":{"rendered":"“A Proper Marriage” A Traditional Regency Reviewed by Vanessa Riley"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was introduced to Modern Regencies, you know the ones written by after Austen, Heyer and Veryan while in college. Nothing I liked more than to unwind with a witty, Regency with everything on the line in the story after calculus.<\/p>

\"Fire<\/a><\/div>\n

One novel, A Proper Marriage<\/i> by Debbie Raleigh is one of my favorites. I reread it each year, at least once.\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

What’s not to love about A Proper Marriage<\/i>. First, the hero and heroine are married, to each other.<\/strong> Not a marriage of convenience (those are great) or gun-induced wedding from a compromise, but an arranged marriage one year in between noted war scholar, Adam Drake and the formerly free-spirit, Adele Morrow.<\/p>\n

Here’s Adam explaining to Vicar Humbly, the man who wed the two, the problem:<\/p>\n

Adam winced in spite of himself. “No, I made very certain before we wed that she understood I would not tolerate the scandalous behavior of her parents,” he admitted. “I made a precise list of what I expected in my bride. I even chose her wardrobe to ensure she would not be an embarrassment when we arrived in London.”<\/p>\n

“And Addy agreed to this list?” he (Humbly) at last demanded in carefully bland tones.<\/p>\n

Adam waved a restless hand. “What choice did she have? Her parents had managed to squander their fortune years ago and only survived in the knowledge they would receive a settlement when Addy and I wed.”<\/p>\n

“Ah.” The Vicar nodded in a knowing manner. “Well, you should be pleased. Addy has become a most proper lady.”<\/p>\n

“Yes, I should be delighted,” Adam agreed grimly.<\/p>\n

“But you are not?”<\/p>\n

Adam polished off the brandy in a single gulp. He thought of the months with Addy in his home. No, he was not bloody well delighted.\u00a0 No man would be delighted to possess a shadow that slipped from his grasp whenever he reached out to take hold.<\/p>\n

“It is not pleasant to live with a woman who is clearly miserable,” he conceded with a pained grimace.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Second a smart but bored heroine:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here’s Addy dealing with a rake.<\/p>\n

Addy reached out to reclaim her fan. “I am sensible enough to know you are a reprehensible rake! If you wish to polish your fatal charms you should choose a more gullible victim.”<\/p>\n

“You have it wrong,” he (Barclay, the rake) protested. “I have been felled by your beauty.”<\/p>\n

She rolled her eyes heavenward, but before she could take him to task for his foolishness, a sudden shadow fell over her.<\/p>\n

A familiar tingle of awareness rushed through her and slowly she turned to confront the glittering gaze of her husband.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Third, real arguments<\/strong> about cross-purposed souls with the richness of history, duty, and commitment that you don’t always find with unmarried couples.<\/p>\n

He (Adam) had thoroughly ruined her evening and worse, he had wounded her pride with his blunt confession he did not trust her.<\/p>\n

Dash it all. It had been uncomfortable enough living with Adam in a state of polite, frozen courtesy. She might have disliked guarding her every word and being abandoned for hours in this great tomb of a house, but at least she did not have to worry over sudden squabbles and sharp words that seemed to cut her very soul.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Through the vicar’s counseling, Addy and Adam manage to reconcile and even find love, with each other. \u00a0I adore this book so much, I even cut a trailer for it.<\/p>\n