HR-ML's Reviews > A Substitute Wife for the Prizefighter

England 1845. The story lagged in places. I gave it a 3.5 &
rounded up.

Lizzie an orphan since age 4, resided with her religious
aunt, uncle and beautiful cousin Betsy, betrothed to
prizefighter Benedict (who had savings etc.) Ben, a middle
son, thought Liz plain, prickly+ holier than thou. Aunt and
uncle hosted a dinner party. An item went missing, all eyes
turned to Ben, a non-church goer w/ time spent in prison.
Liz witnessed and named the thief. All claimed her mistaken.
Her family evicted her the next day. Ben and Betsy broke up.

Did Ben randomly choose Betsy, then Liz?
Ben and Liz wed, in a MOC-with benefits. Ben had mixed
feelings IE he wanted revenge on her b/c of her superior
attitude vs he admired her veracity. They went on a road
trip. Unknown to Liz, Ben & his 2 brothers boxed (mostly
Ben) during the 9 month festival circuit in various locales.
They charged admission & took on all challengers in the
ring. The bros & some audience men bet on matches. The
bros really missed Ben during his prison stint. During their
travels, Liz claimed a large, loyal dog. She stood up to Ben's
bossy Grandma, who made too many assumptions.

Neither Betsy nor Liz, seemed a good fit for Ben. Ben wanted
marriage b/c most people did? But as readers got to know
him better, we saw he wanted a more legitimate life IE wife,
kids, home. He explored alternate vocation options & refused
to let his sire or brothers dictate his life.

The MCs acted like oil + water, at other times seemed in
sync. Ben went into protective mode, but showed Liz
tenderness too. I thought the author a tad vague about
the MCs future way of living.