A Wager at Midnight, Vanessa Riley
A Wager at Midnight, Vanessa Riley
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

A Wager at Midnight

Author: Vanessa Riley

Narrator: Bianca Drew

Unabridged: 11 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/25/2025


Synopsis

The stakes are high in this dazzling and diverse Regency romance, in which a clever duke has made a wager with the now-widowed Viscountess who is the love of his life: To win a second chance with her, he will find husbands for her two sisters—or resign himself to a life of longing.

Scarlett Wilcox is willing to live out her life as a spinster if it means being able to continue her medical research to help a friend in need. After all, few husbands would tolerate her dressing as a man to attend lectures at the Royal Academy of Science. If the Duke of Torrance finds her such a specimen, she'll agree to a marriage in name only, much to the dismay of her elder sister, the Viscountess.

When she's unmasked at a lecture on ophthalmology, Scarlett prepares to be disgraced, but she's saved by Trinidadian-born physician Stephen Carew who claims her as a cousin. Dedicated to caring for his community, Stephen has no wish to marry a frivolous and privileged lady, no matter how many fall for his disarming accent and seductive charm. But Scarlett proves the opposite of any he's ever met before. Yet the pressure to marry blinds them both to the chemistry growing between them, pitting their brilliant minds against their reluctant hearts—as the Duke and Viscountess await with bated breath to see who will win . . . a wager at midnight.

About Vanessa Riley

Vanessa Riley is an award-winning author of historical romance, mystery, and fiction novels featuring realistic multicultural communities and powerful persons of color. To fuel her interest in the Regency and early-Victorian eras, she made time for attending renaissance fairs and consuming period novels and films while obtaining her PhD in mechanical engineering and a master's in industrial engineering and engineering management from Stanford University, as well as a BS and MS in mechanical engineering from Penn State University. A frequent speaker at literary, women's, and STEM events, she lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her military husband and teenage kid.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nadia on March 28, 2025

Book 2 in Betting against the Duke series is an incredible story!! The voices of these characters are so deep and relatable. I loved the dialog so much!! Vanessa Riley knows how to write regency romance where the reader can see themselves on the page. Scarlett and Stephen find themselves in a situat......more

Goodreads review by BoxerLover2 on January 20, 2025

I have one word to describe this book. Joy. Stephen Carew is a man who reads Jane Austin novels to unwind from his stressful work as a physician. Scarlett Wilcox is a spinster who dresses as her deceased twin brother in order to teach herself to perform cataract surgery. Scarlett and Stephen are bound......more

Goodreads review by Mindy B (reader_of_the_lost_arcs) on January 29, 2025

This book is very fascinating from a medical stand point in how far we've come. Without giving too much spoilers, the scene where the wager is placed was extremely tense and amazing. Sometimes I think we take medical technology and advancement for granted now. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opin......more

Goodreads review by Chelsea on March 13, 2025

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review A Wager at Midnight by Vanessa Riley is a first person multi-POV Regency romance. Scarlett Wilcox has been using her deceased twin brother’s name so she can attend medical conferences and training to become a physician. When her fa......more

Goodreads review by RomanceReaderExtraordinaire on March 24, 2025

I have read Vanessa Riley books and highly enjoy how she always mixes romance, with untold history and a diverse cast of characters. Scarlett is woman determined to make her own path in the world. She decides to follow her dreams and infiltrate a medical school, dressed as a man. Her headstrong natu......more