ARC REVIEW Lord of Chance by Erica Ridley

First book of Erica Ridley's Rouges to Riches series. As much as I love Erica Ridley I was almost hesitant to read this book, I blame the blurb it just didn't appeal to me, but being I  love Erica Ridley I picked it up and read it and I'll be damned if it's not one of the best one of hers I've read. Call me slow, I may or may not have known this beforehand and I just forgot, because I do that sometimes, but Anthony Fairfax is none other than the brother to Sarah Fairfax of The Brigadier's Runaway Bride (2015). It started kind of iffy, Anthony and Charlotte fell victim to the well known in Scotland but apparently not England law that if you announce yourself married boom you are legally married romance troupe. As tired of this troupe that I am this was cute and well executed. This has to be one of the best written books by Erica Ridley I ever read, the ending fell short for me but as a whole this story was really good.

 Charlotte is the bastard daughter of a courtesan. She dreamed of a life different than her own, one where people accepted you and invited you places and didn't chant Charlotte the Harlot when they saw you. She also dreamed of having a father who would sweep her away and become a princess. Charlotte above all else wanted her father to love and accept her all she had to go by was what she assumed to be his name and a ruby matched set earrings and necklace. With the name she had she thought him Scottish and after a horrible argument with her mother she left to Scotland and vowed to find him.

Anthony is a well known gambler he started young and helped his family stay in fashion to fit in with the fashionable crowd. It wasn't easy and he was broke more often than he had money but being strapped for cash was never this bad; he owed the accumulative amount of two thousand plus scattered about but his so called friend bought all his vowels and demanded payment or else it was debtor's prison for him. Anthony escaped London to try some smaller venues to try his luck at the gaming table it wasn't until a small town in Scotland did he met up with his Lady Luck.

Charlotte and Anthony play a couple hands and he eventually loses everything to her. At the end of the evening in Charlotte's paranoia of someone finding out who she is she proclaims out loud that she and Anthony are married. It isn't until the next morning do they find out that it is legally binding and Anthony also discovers the severity of his debt. The emotional rollercoaster ride that Charlotte and Anthony go through strengthen the feelings and the bond between them. It shows Charlotte that not every who sees her expects her to be her mother and Anthony learn the his life doesn't have to revolve around a table. Not much action takes place it mostly internal conflict between their insecurities. I have to say that is the best part of the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Despite the overall conflict being built up so much and then being solved so easily left me wanting more the romance and the character development was fantastic.