The Devious Husband is a steamy and angsty enemies to lovers arranged marriage romance. It features a strong-willed heroine who doesn’t fear her nemesis, the one who would eventually become her husband. This couple with the slow burning tension brewing between them will frustrate you with their actions but will also have you rooting for their happily ever after.
Title: The Devious Husband
Author(s): Catharina Maura
Series: The Windsors #6
Published by Self Published on August 30, 2024
Pages: 356
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance
Source: Author
Format: eArc
Purchase: Amazon
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From the author of The Wrong Brides comes a steamy and angsty enemies-to-lovers arranged marriage romance.
He's the business rival she can't stand. She's the woman he's secretly loved for years.
Xavier Kingston’s life is turned upside down when his nemesis and business rival, Sierra Windsor, suddenly begins to show interest in a man that isn’t him.
Certain he’s at risk of losing his chance with her forever, Xavier offers the Windsors a deal they cannot refuse: a merger between his company and Windsor Real Estate.
On one condition: Sierra must marry him.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.
“The Devious Husband” is the sixth installment in the Windsor series, yet it stands alone. Having had prior experience with the author’s work, I held high expectations for this book. Regrettably, it fell short of those expectations. This book included what I detest most in a romance story: miscommunication. Moreover, there was no justifiable reason for this miscommunication, exacerbating the situation.
The first half of the book focused on the tension between the hero and the heroine. They constantly antagonized each other constantly. Yet, post-marriage, their relationship began to soften. The change wasn’t immediate, but over time, they found themselves genuinely enjoying spending time together. However, the situation deteriorated when an individual from the hero’s past emerged with intentions to harm the heroine and spilling dangerous secrets about him.
Miscommunication surfaced once more. The hero began to mistreat the heroine, claiming it was for her protection. When he realized his error, he was forced to grovel to gain her forgiveness. Now I don’t mind groveling, but in this case, it seemed excessive. There were moments when I doubted whether they would stay together. Most of the negative events could have been prevented if they had simply communicated as the adults they ought to be. Physical attraction drove their relationship, and the absence of an emotional bond made their romance feel inauthentic.
The secondary characters captivated me, particularly the hero’s sister’s story. Despite my disappointment with The Devious Husband, I remain curious about the direction the author will take with her story. As such I am not ready to give up on the author as yet.
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About Catharina Maura
Catharina Maura grew up in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She has since lived in The United Kingdom, Singapore, and Hong Kong. She’s an accountant by trade, but her undying love for romance novels combined with a petty bet with her husband resulted in the release of her first book. She hasn’t looked back since. Cat writes steamy and angsty contemporary romance that will give you all the feels, and her leading men only ever have eyes for one woman, no matter what life throws at them. You’ll usually find her daydreaming about the characters that waltz through her thoughts, begging for a happily ever after.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2024 COYER Summer Challenge
An interesting premise to me with a modern arranged marriage, but yeah, refusing to talk about the issues is a big pet peeve of mine, too.
I dislike miscommunication but it seems to be in so many books.
Not a fan of angst. LOL. I love the cover though. Great review!