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The Brelsford Brothers #2
You’ve Got the Marquess’s Mail
They are soulmates. They just don’t know it yet.
When Miss Adaline Girard finds a sweet letter from a man to his grandmother and decides to send an anonymous response, she never expects she’ll find her soulmate within the pages written by her mysterious pen pal. Even more unexpected is the discovery that her unknown love is none other than Lord Hugo Brelsford, the man who became her hated nemesis when he nearly ruined her life with a poorly timed joke.
Hugo has regretted his hasty words from the moment he uttered them. Even more so every time he runs into the beautiful but furious Adaline, who never loses an opportunity to tell him just how much she hates him. The feeling is mutual. Until one day…it isn't. Somewhere between their heated confrontations and angry barbs, a spark of a different kind is lit. And when he discovers that Adaline and the secret pen pal he has fallen in love with are one and the same, he is determined to make her his.
The only problem—their trust in each other is still tenuous at best, especially as their families are still firmly enmeshed in the feud that has fueled them for months. Overcoming their anger to find forgiveness and true love will all be for naught if their families refuse to get out of their way.
When Miss Adaline Girard finds a sweet letter from a man to his grandmother and decides to send an anonymous response, she never expects she’ll find her soulmate within the pages written by her mysterious pen pal. Even more unexpected is the discovery that her unknown love is none other than Lord Hugo Brelsford, the man who became her hated nemesis when he nearly ruined her life with a poorly timed joke.
Hugo has regretted his hasty words from the moment he uttered them. Even more so every time he runs into the beautiful but furious Adaline, who never loses an opportunity to tell him just how much she hates him. The feeling is mutual. Until one day…it isn't. Somewhere between their heated confrontations and angry barbs, a spark of a different kind is lit. And when he discovers that Adaline and the secret pen pal he has fallen in love with are one and the same, he is determined to make her his.
The only problem—their trust in each other is still tenuous at best, especially as their families are still firmly enmeshed in the feud that has fueled them for months. Overcoming their anger to find forgiveness and true love will all be for naught if their families refuse to get out of their way.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 3, 2026
2 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Michelle McLean
38 books285 followersMichelle McLean is a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl who is addicted to chocolate and Goldfish crackers and spent most of her formative years with her nose in a book. She has a B.S. in History, an M.A. in English, and loves her romances with a little heat, a lot of humor, and always a happily ever after.
When Michelle's not working, reading, or chasing her kids around, she can usually be found baking or diamond painting, which she accidentally got addicted to while bored one day. She resides in PA with her husband and two teens, the world's most spoiled dog, and two cats who absolutely rule the house. She also writes contemporary romance as Kira Archer.
For more info on Michelle and her work, visit her website at michellemcleanbooks.com.
When Michelle's not working, reading, or chasing her kids around, she can usually be found baking or diamond painting, which she accidentally got addicted to while bored one day. She resides in PA with her husband and two teens, the world's most spoiled dog, and two cats who absolutely rule the house. She also writes contemporary romance as Kira Archer.
For more info on Michelle and her work, visit her website at michellemcleanbooks.com.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Tropes: enemies to lovers; epistolary love
Steam level: 2-ish (premarital consummation, non-graphic)
Part of a series, but works well on its own.
3.25 stars. I love the "fall in love through letters" trope, and the storyline of this, for the most part, is a Regency retelling of two my fave classic movies: You've Got Mail and The Shop Around the Corner. The tone starts off affably fluffy, the pacing fast. And, as expected, there is some fun, humorous banter between MC's Hugo and Adaline as well as the emotional revelation that they loved each other before they ever met.
Unfortunately, as the plot progresses, there is also a bit too much hot/cold waffling, which makes it hard to get a handle on their personalities. Is Adaline a smart, prickly Bluestocking, or a naive romantic (it seems weird when her family late in the book accuses her of being easily swayed, when early on she isn't portrayed that way). And is Hugo a likable, regular guy who made a mistake and learned from it, or a too-easily influenced flake? It doesn't help that their family members interfere to the point that it dampened my enjoyment of the last few chapters. Instead of throwing out the same repetitive arguments about Adaline being a social climber (and there's no real evidence that she is), why not just invite her to dinner and get to know her better over time? And don't get me started on her sibling Henry's silliness. Yet another HR with a brother I couldn't stand.
The biggest reason I can't round this up to 4 stars is precisely because, after all the bickering between the families, there isn't any closure. There's quite a lot of build up, but no epilogue to show how things worked out. Bummer.
Bottom line: I enjoyed this generally until the late 3rd act family bickerfest.
I read an advanced reader copy of this book and this is my honest, voluntary review. Thanks to the author, Dragonblade, and Net Galley for this opportunity.
Steam level: 2-ish (premarital consummation, non-graphic)
Part of a series, but works well on its own.
3.25 stars. I love the "fall in love through letters" trope, and the storyline of this, for the most part, is a Regency retelling of two my fave classic movies: You've Got Mail and The Shop Around the Corner. The tone starts off affably fluffy, the pacing fast. And, as expected, there is some fun, humorous banter between MC's Hugo and Adaline as well as the emotional revelation that they loved each other before they ever met.
Unfortunately, as the plot progresses, there is also a bit too much hot/cold waffling, which makes it hard to get a handle on their personalities. Is Adaline a smart, prickly Bluestocking, or a naive romantic (it seems weird when her family late in the book accuses her of being easily swayed, when early on she isn't portrayed that way). And is Hugo a likable, regular guy who made a mistake and learned from it, or a too-easily influenced flake? It doesn't help that their family members interfere to the point that it dampened my enjoyment of the last few chapters. Instead of throwing out the same repetitive arguments about Adaline being a social climber (and there's no real evidence that she is), why not just invite her to dinner and get to know her better over time? And don't get me started on her sibling Henry's silliness. Yet another HR with a brother I couldn't stand.
The biggest reason I can't round this up to 4 stars is precisely because, after all the bickering between the families, there isn't any closure. There's quite a lot of build up, but no epilogue to show how things worked out. Bummer.
Bottom line: I enjoyed this generally until the late 3rd act family bickerfest.
I read an advanced reader copy of this book and this is my honest, voluntary review. Thanks to the author, Dragonblade, and Net Galley for this opportunity.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A Fun Story.
Lord Hugo is always up for a lark and when drunk allows another drunk nobleman to believe that a marriage is agreed between his elder brother and the nobleman’s sister. To be fair to Hugo he never believed that if Henry Girard remembered their conversation on sobering up, that he wouldn’t confirm the agreement with either his brother Edward, or their father, the Duke. Unfortunately Henry does neither of these things but blathers to the world about an engagement and how excited his sister is… on the very same day that the banns between Edward and another are read in church. Naturally it is the blameless Adaline Girard, who knew nothing about what her brother has done until the whispers and giggles began, that suffers from the scandal and rumours. She is furious with Lord Hugo for setting her brother up and causing her marital prospects to suffer. She has no idea (and nor does he) when she starts up an anonymous correspondence with a man, that she is in fact writing to her nemesis…
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Lord Hugo is always up for a lark and when drunk allows another drunk nobleman to believe that a marriage is agreed between his elder brother and the nobleman’s sister. To be fair to Hugo he never believed that if Henry Girard remembered their conversation on sobering up, that he wouldn’t confirm the agreement with either his brother Edward, or their father, the Duke. Unfortunately Henry does neither of these things but blathers to the world about an engagement and how excited his sister is… on the very same day that the banns between Edward and another are read in church. Naturally it is the blameless Adaline Girard, who knew nothing about what her brother has done until the whispers and giggles began, that suffers from the scandal and rumours. She is furious with Lord Hugo for setting her brother up and causing her marital prospects to suffer. She has no idea (and nor does he) when she starts up an anonymous correspondence with a man, that she is in fact writing to her nemesis…
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
March 10, 2026
Miss Adaline Girard has a boastful inebriated brother named Henry who proposes a match between her and the Marquess of Lockhaven Hugo’s older brother! Henry ran around town before confirming with either party and the besotted Marquess was already set to wed!
We have Lord Hugo Brelsford who was having a jokingly conversation with Henry Girard who grabbed a story by the cow tale and made his sister look foolish and grasping!
Adaline friend owns a hat shop and she encounters a letter written from a gentleman to his grandmother! She strikes up an anonymous correspondence that lasts for months! This begins the Marquess of Mayhem and Millinery Marchioness who bare their deepest secrets and thoughts without having any idea who the other is!
It’s hilarious and outrageous and the interactions between Hugo and Adaline’s real life conversations start echoing strangely familiar! They have both fallen in love but with whom? Each other or their alter ego’s!? This was humorous and steamy with the right amount of heat and angst against both sides of the family! Definitely have to read to the end!
I received an ARC copy from Netgalley for my unbiased opinion!
We have Lord Hugo Brelsford who was having a jokingly conversation with Henry Girard who grabbed a story by the cow tale and made his sister look foolish and grasping!
Adaline friend owns a hat shop and she encounters a letter written from a gentleman to his grandmother! She strikes up an anonymous correspondence that lasts for months! This begins the Marquess of Mayhem and Millinery Marchioness who bare their deepest secrets and thoughts without having any idea who the other is!
It’s hilarious and outrageous and the interactions between Hugo and Adaline’s real life conversations start echoing strangely familiar! They have both fallen in love but with whom? Each other or their alter ego’s!? This was humorous and steamy with the right amount of heat and angst against both sides of the family! Definitely have to read to the end!
I received an ARC copy from Netgalley for my unbiased opinion!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I really enjoyed this book! I read the first in the series as well, but the plots don’t really overlap so this could definitely be read as a stand-alone (the MMCs are brothers).
The author sets up the premise of their family feud very well in the first few chapters - Hugo and Adaline start out as enemies, although they really just know each other by reputation, since they don’t officially meet face to face until a few chapters in. I loved the fact that they fought with each other in person, but bared their souls to each other while writing to their pen pals. We really got to see their humor and their true selves in their letters, instead of what society thought of them.
This was a fresh story idea for a regency book - the plot was smooth and both main characters were well-developed. I really enjoyed reading from both Hugo and Adaline’s point of view, as they wrestled with their feelings for each other (and their feelings for their mysterious pen pals).
Overall, this was a great book and I’m looking forward to the next in the series by this author! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this free advanced copy - this is my honest and voluntary review.
The author sets up the premise of their family feud very well in the first few chapters - Hugo and Adaline start out as enemies, although they really just know each other by reputation, since they don’t officially meet face to face until a few chapters in. I loved the fact that they fought with each other in person, but bared their souls to each other while writing to their pen pals. We really got to see their humor and their true selves in their letters, instead of what society thought of them.
This was a fresh story idea for a regency book - the plot was smooth and both main characters were well-developed. I really enjoyed reading from both Hugo and Adaline’s point of view, as they wrestled with their feelings for each other (and their feelings for their mysterious pen pals).
Overall, this was a great book and I’m looking forward to the next in the series by this author! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this free advanced copy - this is my honest and voluntary review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
We have two very mischievous lead characters in this historical romance. Families at war because of the stupidity of drunken men. Gossip and rumours could easily destroy a person's reputation and that of his, or her, whole family.
This is a very amusing story. There are lovely characters with an unusual connection. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
Great fun.
This is a very amusing story. There are lovely characters with an unusual connection. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
Great fun.
March 4, 2026
So much better than book 1! Although it ended too abruptly. I would have liked an epilogue!
I enjoyed the take on you’ve got mail and the feeling pulled between the enemy to friend and friend to lover dynamic. I think Adaline’s brother’s involvement was a bit over the top but they needed a reason to be enemies I suppose.
I enjoyed the take on you’ve got mail and the feeling pulled between the enemy to friend and friend to lover dynamic. I think Adaline’s brother’s involvement was a bit over the top but they needed a reason to be enemies I suppose.
March 8, 2026
I love this author and this was a cute story, but I must confess that I got bored after the first half. The letters were not particularly engaging and I found some parts quite repetitive. I loved the characters though. I hope for a better story for the last brother...
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews