In The Prince's Bed by Sabrina Jeffries

 

This book includes:

Straight Historical Romance

Background relationships

Mentions of infidelity (not main couple)

Internalized homophobia

Slight spoilers ahead.

Katherine is an heiress in need of a husband. Sydney is her childhood friend who she assumes will be that husband. Alec is an Earl in need of an heiress.

For the first few chapters I assumed this book was going to be another love triangle book and I was not looking forward to that. So tired of love triangles. But. Oh. My. Gods. Someone threw a gay into the triangle! 😮😱

So, this is less of a love triangle book and more of a book where the female lead realizes the man she thought she would marry is not the man she should marry. With a couple of gay poets. Who are really the important part of all of this. 

I really enjoyed this book and as soon as I realized there wasn't really a love triangle, I tore through it in a day. I'm not a fan of love triangles, but I am a fan of gay poets.

Now, there is no "Katherine, I'm gay" revelation from Sydney. He spends pretty much all his time panicking because he has feelings for his fellow poet, Julian. And with that name I immediately was picturing Joey Batey as Jaskier as that character. But I wish there was that moment. And, while this took place in a time when being gay was Not Cool, I wanted Katherine to accept her friend and be happy for him.

I enjoyed all the characters. Didn't really love any of them, but I didn't outright hate any of them, so that's a good thing. Trust me.

Katherine had misgivings about most men aside from Sydney due to her father's cheating on her mother and gambling most of their money away. But she grew to realize that perhaps not all men were pieces of shit. Just most of them, really.

Alec did not have the best of intentions involving Katherine, since he at first just wanted to marry her for her money, but he grew to have feelings for her and really just wanted the money to help his people.

Katherine's mother was... a woman of her times, really. I didn't dislike her but I could understand Katherine's annoyance at the woman.

Sydney. Oh, Sydney. I need a whole book about Sydney and Julian.

All in all, a fun read. I recommend it to anyone that enjoys historical romances with sassy ladies and brutish seeming men who are really cinnamon rolls.