Friday Fiction | In Want of a Wife (Luella Linley #2) by Meredith Resce

As Jane Austen once told us, a single man in possession of a fortune must be in want of a wife.

Regency romance author Luella Linley (aka Louise Brooker) agrees, and decides lawyer Michael Sullivan should marry her daughter, Chloe. Unfortunately, fact checking isn’t Louise’s strong point as an author: while Michael Sullivan is single and a lawyer with a reputable firm, he is not in possession of a fortune. Far from it: he’s only one step up from living on ramen noodles as he tries to pay off his mother’s debts and persuade her to stop buying junk they don’t need and can’t afford off infomercials.

Chloe is not interested in being set up by her mother.

But she does have a little legal problem she’d like sorted out–a speeding fine she doesn’t think she should have to pay. (I do sympathise: I’ve also been caught “speeding” in a brand new school zone. Fortunately, I was going under the regular limit so my fine was $30 and no demerit points … not the $800 and seven points Chloe suffers.)

So Louise “kindly” arranges a meeting between Chloe and Michael in the hopes that romance will result. It does, but not the kind of romance she wants. Chloe needs a lawyer to help her fight her speeding fine. Michael needs a fiance to take to the firm’s staff retreat on the Gold Coast. The two agree to a fake relationship to get Chloe’s mother and Michael’s boss of their backs.

This is the second Luella Linley mystery, and it’s just as good as the first.

They are amusing Australian rom-coms in which the real-life romance echoes the book Luella Linley is writing … or is it the other way around? Either way, it’s a unique twist on both contemporary and Regency romance, and different to any other author-as-character novels I’ve read.

In Want of a Wife is also Christian fiction. Chloe has been a Christian for years, but Michael is a newer Christian, with all the baggage that brings. He also has a lot of unforgiveness to deal with, having grown up in council housing as the son of a single mother who only ever revealed he was the product of an affair with a married man.

Christian fiction with a fake relationship can be hard to do well, because the basis of the fake relationship is one or both halves of the couple lying about their relationship. I thought In Want of a Wife handled this particularly well. But you’ll have to read it to see if you agree with me.

Overall, In Want of a Wife is a fun and funny Australian rom-com, and my only concern is that we might not see more of Luella Linley once she’s married off all three children. Recommended.

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.

About In Want of a Wife

The temptation to match-make is too much to resist. Louise has one success already under her belt. Now this handsome, successful lawyer has just admitted he isn’t married. Single and in possession of a large fortune, Michael Sullivan must be in want of a wife. Louise’s second daughter, Chloe, would be just right for him.

There is no way Chloe will let her mother organize a blind date for her as she did for her sister. Chloe has her principles—and she has a ridiculous, unjust speeding ticket. The person she needs is a lawyer to help argue her case in court. Is it dishonest, when her mother’s lawyer calls and asks her on a date, to agree with ulterior motives?

Michael Sullivan has ulterior motives of his own. This all expenses paid trip to the sunny Gold Coast is merely a case of one person helping the other out—isn’t it? Everyone else might think they’re a couple, but it’s just about winning a court case—isn’t it?

Can Regency romance author, Luella Linley (AKA Louise Brooker) hit the target twice in a row? Meddling in her adult children’s lives is almost as much fun as creating fiction characters, except her children have minds of their own and don’t always cooperate.

Find In Want of a Wife online at:

Amazon | Goodreads | Koorong