The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck: A Novel by Kathleen Y'Barbo

The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck: A Novel by Kathleen Y'Barbo

My Rating: 


One thing I loved when reading Kathleen Y'Barbo books ('The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper', 'Anna Finch and the Hired Gun', & 'The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck') was seeing how the characters' stories unfolded. It is sad to see the "Women of the West" series (as Kathleen Y'Barbo dubbed these books in her acknowledgments) come to an end.

The first time I "met" Charlotte Beck she was a spoiled, trouble-making child, but in this book she's now a young lady getting ready for adulthood.

On her journey, she still gets into some trouble - including getting a man pummeled in the face, stealing that man's pocket watch, breaking a telescope, and performing in a wild west circus show!

At her 'unofficial' debut into proper society, Charlotte meets a highly irritating man, Mr. Hambly. When she tells her Uncle Edwin Beck something less than truthful, Mr. Hambly ends up with a black eye.

Edwin Beck had been itching to punch a Hambly for years. At least since the day Martin won Edwin's favorite polo pony in a race Edwin claimed was fixed. It wasn't, of course, but the younger Beck brother had never been a good sport or a good loser. That Alex had been the one to offer an excuse for fisticuffs irked him almost as much as the slight to the Hambly name. - Page 21


Alex Hambly has enough trouble without Charlotte Beck. His family is in debt, and he is the one responsible to help fix that. One of his many options is to marry a rich American lady, although the thought doesn't sound pleasant to him.

Charlotte wants to go to college and then join her father's company, but he has a stipulation: agree to marry Alex Hambly and I will allow you to go to college and after you graduate, having a four year engagement, you will marry Alex Hambly.

"Papa!" Charlotte rose. "You're not serious. You wouldn't dare trade me for some silly title. You've got one of your own. Why add another? Especially his."
    "I assure you, Charlotte, my interest in seeing you yoked to the viscount has nothing to do with nobility." Mr. Beck laugh held little humor. "It is because I've never seen anyone handle you and your outrageous behavior as well as Alex does." - Page 162

'The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck' was really good. I continued reading it well into the night, until I had to stop. I really liked Alex's and Charlotte's characters and how their relationship blossomed. I found myself laughing when reading this book - some of the situations were just very humorous.

One of the only things I didn't like was how quickly the book covered some topics. I felt that had I not read the other books, I wouldn't have known what Charlotte's father was talking about when he mentioned her birth certificate. Also, I would have liked an epilogue that showed a couple of years later, how things unfolded. I hope there will be a book in the future featuring some of the same characters - I just don't want to say goodbye to them yet.

I liked this book so much that I will probably reread this in the future. I recommend this if you enjoy reading romance novels with a western theme mixed in!

* I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I've expressed are my own.*


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• Author's Website: www.kathleenybarbo.com
• Author's Twitter: twitter.com/KathleenYBarbo
• Publisher's Website: waterbrookmultnomah.com

The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck (Chapter 1 Excerpt)

Product details:

Price: 13.99

Format: Trade Paperback

SBN: 9780307444820

Categories: Fiction - Christian - Historical