Lily of Ludgate Hill

 

Lily of Ludgate Hill (Belles of London #3)-Mimi Matthews

Berkley

Release Date: January 16, 2024

Rate: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Lady Anne Deveril doesn’t spook easily. A woman of lofty social standing known for her glacial beauty and starchy opinions, she’s the unofficial leader of her small group of equestriennes. Since her mother’s devastating plunge into mourning six years ago, Anne voluntarily renounced any fanciful notions of love and marriage. And yet, when fate puts Anne back into the entirely too enticing path of Mr. Felix Hartford, she’s tempted to run…right into his arms.

No one understands why Lady Anne withdrew into the shadows of society, Hart least of all. The youthful torch he once held for her has long since cooled. Or so he keeps telling himself. But now Anne needs a favor to help a friend. Hart will play along with her little ruse—on the condition that Anne attend a holiday house party at his grandfather’s country estate. No more mourning clothes. No more barriers. Only the two of them, unrequited feelings at last laid bare.

Finally free to gallop out on her own, Anne makes the tantalizing discovery that beneath the roguish exterior of her not-so-white knight is a man with hidden depths, scorching passions—and a tender heart.

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Book 3 in Mimi Matthews' latest series finally gives us Lady Anne Deveril and Felix Hartford! They've sniped at each other in scenes throughout the last two books, so readers knew they had an unresolved past, and here things get resolved! This may be one of the best second-chance romances I've ever read: a lovers to enemies to lovers who never actually stopped loving each other and just wouldn't admit it (even to themselves) book. Think Jane Austen's Persuasion (one of my favorites) with major doses of "mistakes were made", "we were too young to be mature about things", and "prove it to me this time" going on here. 

Lily of Ludgate Hill has lots going on and keeps the hits coming to our characters. Some I won't mention for too many spoilers. But Anne is watching her friends marry and starting to wonder about her own life. She's chosen to withdraw from things like love and much of society in favor of caring for her mother, and while she isn't entirely sure how she could (especially in the past) have balanced the two any differently, she does regret that she couldn't have found a way. What's so great about Anne is that she doesn't care about what Society thinks of her to change who she is- especially when it comes to the people she loves. Early on Felix argues with her about how people see her as being in her mother's shadow, as being weak, how she doesn't seem like the girl he used to know. She tells him she doesn't care what people who don't know her think because they don't know about her life and she knows who she is. Anne may be willing to play within the confining rules of Society, and she and her friends may regret how those rules limit their actions, but she doesn't let them define her as a person. I absolutely love her!

I also love how we see Felix grow and understand Anne, and their past, and how to relate to her as an equal. As we uncover what happened between them and see both Felix and Anne work towards accepting the hurt they've done and the changes that have happened, Felix in particular has to change how he thinks about a lot of things. He comes to see that what he thought of as weaknesses can actually be strengths, and Matthews does a wonderful job of showing us this in multiple ways. But he gets there in the end because he figures out what's important to him.

The layers to the characters and the plot were beautifully and masterfully done, and I imagine I'll discover more nuances next time I read the book! You don't necessarily need to have read The Siren of Sussex or Belle of Belgrave Square to enjoy The Lily of Ludgate Hill, but you'll enjoy watching the characters develop throughout the series, and Belle and Lily do overlap a bit at the beginning. And this book has definitely planted the seeds for Stella's book for us to look forward to!

Return to Satterthwaite Court

 

Return to Satterthwaite Court- Mimi Matthews

Perfectly Proper Press

Release Date: April 11, 2023

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Lieutenant Charles Heywood has had his fill of adventure. Battle-weary and disillusioned, he returns to England, resolved to settle down to a quiet, uneventful life on an estate of his own. But arranging to purchase the property he desires is more difficult than Charles ever imagined. The place is mired in secrets, some of which may prove deadly. If he's going to unravel them, he'll need the assistance of someone as daring as he is.

At only twenty, Lady Katherine Beresford has already earned a scandalous reputation. As skilled with pistols as she is on horseback, she's never met an obstacle she can't surmount-or a man she can't win. That is, until she encounters the infuriatingly somber Lieutenant Heywood. But Kate refuses to be deterred by the raven-haired soldier's strong, silent facade. After all, faint heart never won handsome gentleman.

From the wilds of rural Somersetshire to the glittering ballrooms of early-Victorian London, Charles and Kate embark on a cross-country quest to solve a decades' old mystery. Will the greatest danger be to their hearts-or to their lives?

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Years after the characters of Mimi Matthews' wonderful A Work of Art and Gentleman Jim had their happy endings, their children meet. The moment Charles Heywood and Lady Katherine (Kate) Beresford see each other, there's something there. Something more than a small, half-feral dog attacking Kate's skirts. Charles may have too much on his mind at that moment to know how to follow up on his mystery lady, but fortunately, Kate is able to track him down. And fortunately, their families live close enough to each other in the country that she can pursue the accidental meeting, and Charles, to make sure he's what she has bee looking for all Season. A man interested in her for more than her looks or her money. One who might treat her as an equal, even make her happy.

Charles is adorable in his confused reaction to Kate's pursuit. He doesn't know what to make of her, let alone the fact that she invites herself into his investigation of the mystery of Satterthwaite Court, his mother Phyllida's family home. Entail broken, the home is up for sale, but the owner won't sell it to Charles for any amount of money. At first Charles is a little too overwhelmed with his own family issues of going into the Navy without his parents' blessing and now, almost ten years later, leaving it, plus Satterthwaite Court, plus trying to decide his future to know what to do about Kate. Is she serious or is this a game to her? He's been away from Society long enough that he can't tell.

Kate is delightful. She chafes at Society's rules and we see several good examples of how those rule almost seem designed to hurt women instead of help them here. But Kate is adventurous, strong-willed, and confident, and when she is sure of something, she doesn't want to waver from her path. Her few moments of self-consciousness and doubt are all the tougher to see in such a strong woman, but remind readers that we are all allowed to be a mix of strong and emotional, solitary and in need of support.

Mimi Matthews once again creates a delightful set of characters who learn how to come together to make the perfect couple. They learn when to give and when to stand, to bring out the best in each other and to support each other along the way. Return to Satterthwaite Court is a lovely, fast-paced book that will make you smile until the last page. You don't have to have read A Work of Art or Gentleman Jim to enjoy this spin off, but they are great books by themselves and I highly recommend them.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Chasing Cassandra

Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels #6)- Lisa Kleypas
Avon/HarperCollins Publishers
Release Date: February 18, 2020

Rating:
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Railway magnate Tom Severin is wealthy and powerful enough to satisfy any desire as soon as it arises. Anything—or anyone—is his for the asking. It should be simple to find the perfect wife—and from his first glimpse of Lady Cassandra Ravenel, he’s determined to have her. But the beautiful and quick-witted Cassandra is equally determined to marry for love—the one thing he can’t give.

Severin is the most compelling and attractive man Cassandra has ever met, even if his heart is frozen. But she has no interest in living in the fast-paced world of a ruthless man who always plays to win. 

When a newfound enemy nearly destroys Cassandra’s reputation, Severin seizes the opportunity he’s been waiting for. As always, he gets what he wants—or does he? There’s one lesson Tom Severin has yet to learn from his new bride: 

Never underestimate a Ravenel.

The chase for Cassandra’s hand may be over. But the chase for her heart has only just begun . . .

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Cassandra is the last in her family to remain single, but not because she has anything against marriage.  On the contrary, she wants a home and family of her own but has one requirement of her husband: love.  Men may offer for her because of her beauty and wealth, but they don't look beneath the surface to the woman inside and she's determined not to accept a traditional, 'surface' marriage.  Tom Severin is more intelligent than most men, his brain always running five steps ahead of everyone else in business- a talent that has made him rich and powerful.  But he doesn't know much about people, and even less about the heart.  He's willing to give Cassandra everything she wants- except love.  Can these opposites do more than attract, but find a way to be happy together?

Cassandra may be willing to play by (most of) society's rules, but she refuses to lose herself and what is important to her as she navigates the Season's dangers.  She's intelligent, curious, compassionate, and loving- a delightful combination of personality traits that men tend to ignore in favor of her appearance.  Kleypas did a wonderful job switching up the expected trope: instead of a plain wallflower waiting to bloom, Cassandra is a beauty hoping to be seen for herself.  Kleypas also addresses a form of body shaming with delicacy and tact: Cassandra is told because of how she looks, she's clearly "asking for" whatever a man wants to do to her.  Fortunately, while she may question herself and believe this, she has a loving family who's more than willing to set her straight on the subject.  Through them, she learns the difference between men and boys (other rather excellently descriptive phrases used by various Ravenel men can also be entered here). 

At first I worried that Tom was going to be too similar to Rhys Winterbourne (Marrying Winterbourne).  While I love Rhys (he may be one of my favorite Kleypas heroes), something different was needed for Cassandra.  I shouldn't have doubted Kleypas though.  Tom may be a self-made man who is now rich and powerful, but that's about where his similarities to Rhys end.  Tom is incredibly intelligent, but not necessarily when it comes to people.  He prides himself on having only five emotions, believes that his own upbringing didn't affect who he is now, and is sure he is incapable of love because it isn't a real thing.  Despite all that, he's a good person without knowing it.  And his interpretations of the point of various novels are priceless.

Chasing Cassandra can be read as a stand alone book, but other Ravenels and their spouses are key characters throughout the book, so if you've enjoyed the rest of the series you get to catch up with them.  It was a fast-paced and entertaining, with Kleypas' usual excellent writing style drawing the reader right into Cassandra's world.  An excellent new book reader's are sure to enjoy!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The Winter Companion

The Winter Companion (Parish Orphans of Devon 4)- Mimi Matthews
Perfectly Proper Press
Release Date: February 11, 2020

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis:  As a lady's companion, Clara Hartwright never receives much attention from anyone. And that's precisely how she likes it. With a stormy past, and an unconventional plan for her future, it's far safer to remain invisible. But when her new employer is invited to a month-long holiday at a remote coastal abbey, Clara discovers that she may not be as invisible as she'd hoped. At least, not as far as one gentleman is concerned.

Neville Cross has always been more comfortable with animals than people. An accident in his youth has left him with a brain injury that affects his speech. Forming the words to speak to his childhood friends is difficult enough. Finding the right things to say to a lovely young lady's companion seems downright impossible. But Miss Hartwright is no ordinary companion. In fact, there may not be anything ordinary about her at all.

During a bleak Devon winter, two sensitive souls forge an unexpected friendship. But when Clara needs him most, will Neville find the courage to face his fears? Or is saying goodbye to her the most heroic thing he can do?

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For the last of her Parish Orphans of Devon series, Mimi Matthews (A Convenient Fiction) gives us the story of Neville and Clara- a sweet romance and story of bravery and love overcoming fear and the restrictions that we place on ourselves.  We've known Neville for the entire series- a gentle, quiet man who's childhood accident was, in many ways, the catalyst to the four friends becoming who they are today.  Neville's head injury left him with difficulties speaking sometimes, and his self-consciousness over how he must appear to outsiders led him to a retiring life focused more on spending time with animals rather than people.  He's seen his friends meet their matches and has begun to wonder if he can have more in life when he meets Clara.  A ladies companion, Clara wants more out of her life- she wants knowledge and learning and to be useful. Her goal is to be her brother's assistant when he's finished at Cambridge.

A Winter Companion spoke to me in a lot of ways, and touched me in ways other books haven't.  As a sufferer from TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) myself, I had an easy time identifying with Neville.  His frustrations and difficulties when he would lose words or drift off and lose time were things I experience myself- and Matthews does a wonderful job of sensitively and naturally showing readers what Neville deals with every day.  He begins to want more than what he has, but isn't sure he can reach for it.  What if he fails? Is it better to stay safe and at home, not risking anything, but not being completely content?  Clara also shines as a woman trying to fit the mold that circumstances and society tell her she needs to fill: an invisible companion  who has no dreams of a larger life using her intellect.  Life has taught her not to expect anything: no help from family, no friends, no romance, and no dreams.  

Neville and Clara become the right people in the right place at the right time for each other, and Matthews did a lovely job of slowly and naturally growing their romance and their confidence in themselves.  There were no murderers to catch here, no evil villains to overcome.  Instead, Neville and Clara have to overcome something even harder: their own fears and to decide if love is enough to try to dream new dreams, and if love itself can open new doors to new dreams even grander than they might have imagined alone.

Although book 4 in a series, A Winter Companion can also be a stand alone book.  Readers who've enjoyed the rest of the series will get to see Justin, Alex, and Tom again, and happily close the circle on the friends and their happily ever afters, but new readers won't feel lost among the characters.  This was a sensitive and lovely book, and a definite must read.  

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Her Scandalous Pursuit

Her Scandalous Pursuit (Mad Morelands Book 7)- Candace Camp
HQN Books
Release Date: January 28, 2020

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Thisbe Moreland is used to men not taking her seriously. As a scientist, she’s accustomed to being the only woman at lectures and meetings, her presence met with scorn and derision. So it comes as a pleasant surprise when she sits next to a handsome young man who is actually interested in having a conversation about science.

Desmond Harrison cannot believe his good fortune when he sits next to Thisbe—she’s intelligent and incredibly beautiful. He longs to see her again—but he’s ashamed of his low birth. Not to mention his employment with the infamous Professor Gordon, a formerly respected scientist who turned to spiritualism and is now deeply scorned.When Professor Gordon demands that Desmond recover an artifact for him—an ancient object reputed to have terrible power, known as the Eye of Annie Blue—Desmond realizes that only Thisbe holds the key. Desmond must choose between his love for Thisbe and his loyalty to his mentor…but humanity’s very future will depend on his choice.

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Finally, Candace Camp has written the prequel to her Mad Morelands series! Thisbe and Desmond have been married since book one, but how did they meet?  Each of the Mad Morelands books (His Wicked Charm) has included a hint of the supernatural, but Desmond and Thisbe are both scientists who don't believe in ghosts or magic- just what they can see and measure.

Thisbe Moreland has had to be strong and stubborn since she decided to become a scientist.  She has several marks against her. One: she's a woman, and everyone knows women can't think rationally or analyze anything.  Two: she's the Duke of Moreland's daughter, and everyone knows aristocrats might dabble in things, but they don't have careers.  Three: she's the Duke of Moreland's daughter and everyone knows that family is odd at best, mad at worst. She's never felt a connection to a man before, but when Desmond Harrison sits next to her at a lecture everything changes.  They develop a sweet romance based on mutual respect and appreciation- and attraction- but Thisbe doesn't want to tell him she's an aristocrat and have him change the way he sees her.  Desmond is shy and lives in his head, always wanting to know the why's behind everything.  He doesn't want to admit to Thisbe his low birth, or that his father was sent to Australia for theft.  

All that could get straightened out if it wasn't for Desmond's work.  His mentor is determined to prove that ghosts exist and to do that he wants Desmond to steal a relic called Annie Blue's Eye.  Desmond doesn't want to steal anything- and then finds out that Thisbe's grandmother has the relic! Now he's afraid Thisbe will think he made up to her just for the Eye and he'd rather lose his work than Thisbe. But spiritualism can lead people down dark paths and when Thisbe is threatened, Desmond has to decide how to protect her- even if that means giving her up.

Her Scandalous Pursuit brings long-time readers back to the world of the Morelands, where romance and mystery blend with a hint of supernatural in a way that shouldn't put off too many readers of "regular" historical romance.  The writing and characters are strong and flow well, and emotions run high, making for a book you won't want to put down.     

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Princess Plan

The Princess Plan- Julia London
HQN Books
Release Date: November 19, 2019

Rating:
📚📚

Synopsis: Nothing gets the tongues of London’s high society wagging like a good scandal. And when the personal secretary of the visiting Prince Sebastian of Alucia is found murdered, it’s all anyone can talk about, including Eliza Tricklebank. Her unapologetic gossip gazette has benefited from an anonymous tip about the crime, prompting Sebastian to take an interest in playing detective—and an even greater interest in Eliza.

With a trade deal on the line and mounting pressure to secure a noble bride, there’s nothing more salacious than a prince dallying with a commoner. Sebastian finds Eliza’s contrary manner as frustrating as it is seductive, but they’ll have to work together if they’re going to catch the culprit. And when things heat up behind closed doors, it’s the prince who’ll have to decide what comes first—his country or his heart.

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A Pride and Prejudice/Cinderella-type story, The Princess Plan features as its' heroine Eliza: a spinster with a bit of a scandalous past who lives quietly at home, taking care of her blind father and living vicariously through her sister and best friend.  When her friend gets Eliza into a masquerade ball, all she wants is to see the crown prince of Alucia, and maybe say hello, so that she has one shining moment in her life to remember.  A few twists and turns later, she and Prince Sebastian are in love and trying to solve a murder.

Eliza is a refreshingly unconventional heroine. A spinster at 28, she has accepted her place in life and doesn't worry about her reputation, or what society thinks she should say, act, or do in any given situation,  She says what she thinks and acts according to her own beliefs instead of society's. Sebastian is at first appalled, then intrigued, then fascinated by this strange woman- she offers no deference to him merely because he's a prince and doesn't bow and scrape like everyone else.  When he acts like a jerk, she calls him on it- even throwing him out of her house because of his rudeness.  As might be expected, the very things about Eliza that drive him crazy are what appeal to Sebastian,  and they fall in love without intending to.

While you might expect the murder of Sebastian's friend and secretary to become the focus of the book, sadly the murder gets pushed to the side in order for our hero and heroine to spend the most time possible bemoaning their situation in life and their futile love.  Readers, as well as Sebastian, go for chapters barely remembering that they are trying to discover a murderer and possible plot against the crown, Sebastian, when he remembers, almost doesn't care because he is so miserable about being a prince who can't marry the woman he loves.  While readers might expect that from Eliza, who doesn't have the power to change anything, I was rather hoping Sebastian would grow a spine and figure out how to solve things long before he actually does.  If not in regards to Eliza, at least regarding his friend's murderer, who is rather obvious.

As much as I enjoyed Eliza- a quick witted and completely natural, delightful woman- I never warmed up to Sebastian.  I never felt any chemistry between them and had a hard time with how stilted and unnatural the relationship felt. We don't learn much about Sebastian's country, Alucia, the rebellions mentioned, or the trade agreements he is working so hard on with England- none of that seems to matter much and is merely background to let him be a prince, and thus, in a difficult marriage position. Julia London's writing style is light, charming, and witty, always a pleasure to read, but I had trouble staying interested in the characters and plot, and felt like it dragged a bit.  I found The Princess Plan a bit of a slog to read, but I'm hoping that was just me and others will enjoy it more.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Convenient Fiction

A Convenient Fiction (Parish Orphans of Devon 3)- Mimi Matthews
Amazon Digital Services
Release Date: October 22, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: It's been three years since Laura Hayes's father died, leaving her and her invalid brother to subsist on the income from the family's failing perfume business. But time is swiftly running out. What she needs is a husband, and fast. A noble gentleman who can rescue them all from penury. When a mysterious stranger arrives in the village, he seems a perfect candidate. But Alex Archer is no hero. In fact, he just might be the opposite.

Alex has no tolerance for sentiment. He's returned to England for one reason only: to find a wealthy wife. A country-bred heiress in Surrey seems the perfect target. But somewhere between the village railway station and the manor house his mercenary plan begins to unravel. And it's all the fault of Laura Hayes--a lady as unsuitable as she is enchanting.

From the beaches of Margate to the lavender fields of Provence, a grudging friendship slowly blossoms into something more. But when scandal threatens, can a man who has spent his entire life playing the villain, finally become a hero? Or will the lure of easy riches once again outweigh the demands of his heart?

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Mimi Matthews continues her Parish Orphans of Devon series with Alex Archer- the orphan who disappeared as a child and no one knew if he was alive or dead, or why he left.  Now Alex is all grown up, has a well-earned reputation as a gambler, and a plan to marry an heiress and settle down somewhere in England so that he can finally feel like he belongs.  His plans fall apart when he meets Laura Hayes, an impoverished perfumer's daughter trying desperately to hold onto what her family has left.  Two people used to being in control of themselves begin to lose control with their first meeting- and it may be the best thing that ever happened to them.

Laura is a strongly-written heroine: she's strong, independent, and controls the failing resources left to her family.  She's learned not to rely on anyone but herself to get things done.  Of course, this means she doesn't give her younger brother a chance to learn how to help- or even how serious the situation is- and she's at the mercy of a lawyer who doesn't have her family's best interests at heart even as he controls the finances.  Until Alex appears on the scene Laura would never think of sharing her burdens, even as she drowns under them.   Alex is more of an enigma, being all things to all people, and creating convenient fictions about his past to cover up what he sees as his past villainy.  He believes he can't be trusted when push comes to shove.  When the going gets tough he'll start going.  A large part of him seems to still be the boy who ran away from Devon: hurting, lonely, and believing there are things that can't be shared, even with those you consider family.  He plans to marry an heiress with a good estate and instantly become part of a community but Laura sees what it is he is really looking for: a family. 

Matthews does a lovely job describing the Surrey country-side, and later the French countryside, and her research into bathing resorts in Victorian times comes through perfectly.  Her main characters are well-rounded, flawed and fully human, full of complex emotions, hopes, and dreams.  Her secondary characters are a bit more uneven and under-developed and a few strings are left hanging, but overall, the story and the characters work.  While readers may enjoy reading the first two books of the series (The Matrimonial Advertisement, A Modest Independence) before this one, Fiction can also stand on its own and you won't be lost starting here.  Although you will probably finish this and feel the need to read the rest of the series just to stay in Matthews' world a bit longer. 

A Convenient Fiction is a lovely book that will whisk readers away to 1860s England and make them glad they visited.  

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Bringing Down the Duke

Bringing Down the Duke- Evie Dunmore
Berkley/Penguin Group
Release Date: September 3, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚

Synopsis: England, 1879. Annabelle Archer, the brilliant but destitute daughter of a country vicar, has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the renowned University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must support the rising women's suffrage movement. Her charge: recruit men of influence to champion their cause. Her target: Sebastian Devereux, the cold and calculating Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain's politics at the Queen's command. Her challenge: not to give in to the powerful attraction she can't deny for the man who opposes everything she stands for.

Sebastian is appalled to find a suffragist squad has infiltrated his ducal home, but the real threat is his impossible feelings for green-eyed beauty Annabelle. He is looking for a wife of equal standing to secure the legacy he has worked so hard to rebuild, not an outspoken commoner who could never be his duchess. But he wouldn't be the greatest strategist of the Kingdom if he couldn't claim this alluring bluestocking without the promise of a ring...or could he?

Locked in a battle with rising passion and a will matching her own, Annabelle will learn just what it takes to topple a duke....

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Annabelle Archer, destitute and living on her cousin's charity as an unpaid house drudge, gets the opportunity to become one of the first women accepted to Oxford.  She is offered a stipend to attend in exchange for supporting a women's suffrage movement.  When handing out pamphlets causes her to meet Sebastian, Duke of Montgomery, things quickly spiral out of control.  Trying to convince Montgomery to support the movement brings her into a world of house parties, Christmas dinners, and high company she isn't sure how to handle- and a stubborn, blue-blooded duke she knows she shouldn't fall in love with.  When they keep getting thrown together, can passion overcome society's obstacles or will they both be restricted by their duties?

Bringing Down the Duke is a debut novel by Evie Dunmore and has been getting a lot of advance hype.  I have to admit it's a hard book for me to review because I'm not really sure how I felt about it- or whether I even liked it.  It has some of the standard tropes I count on to make a good plot/conflict: our hero is a duke on a mission to get back his ancestral home and rebuild the fortunes that his father gambled away, our heroine is a poor commoner trying to earn independence.  He instantly misjudges her as an opportunist out to get money and/or marry into the nobility.  She has some baggage about nobility in her past and isn't very impressed by overbearing men.  He expects to say 'jump' and have people ask 'how high?' while she is more likely to look him in the eye and ask 'why should I?'  The book also focuses on a time period and subject that don't usually get highlighted in romance novels: the 1879 women's suffrage movement and attempting to repeal the Married Women's Property Act. Annabelle is a smart woman who (rightfully) resents having to live off the charity of her stupid cousin- especially when that charity means she's allowed to live in his house and work as an unpaid servant and have no life of her own. She sees the chance to go to Oxford and study ancient Greece as a step towards gaining independence.  So far, so good. It's after that that things got a little shaky for me.

For one thing, it was hard for me to get a good idea of what Annabelle wanted with her life.  Ok, she doesn't want what she has now and she wants to be treated with some respect and have a say in her own life.  But I never got a real sense that she had a goal past that. She studied ancient Greece because that's what her father studied and taught her and she was good with Latin and Greek.  Was it fascinating to her? Did she have a drive to go to archaeological sites and do her own research and present her own theories? I don't know.  Was she interested in getting an education so she could go back home and be a paid governess of the local gentry? That's what she says in order to go, but probably wasn't really the plan. I never got a sense she had a goal in mind.  Did she really care about the suffrage movement? You get the feeling at first that the answer is no: she participates because that's what it takes to keep her stipend.  Was she interested in the movement and applied because of that? Where did she hear about the stipend in the first place? Maybe not important things but it all made me question how deeply we were getting to see her.  She does argue the logic of why a woman should be able to keep her property on marriage and gets in the face of anyone who suggests that she isn't a man's intellectual equal but takes that as a personal attack instead of for women in general.  

Sebastian is pretty closed off for the whole book.  You know what he wants: to get his ancestral seat back, to restore his family's good name and fortune, to have his younger brother do what he's told, and to have Annabelle as a mistress.  The more time he spends with her, the more he wants her- probably because she is one of those rare people who treats him as a person and not a duke.  He admits if she were more his social equal he'd marry her, but sees nothing wrong or insulting with saying that since that isn't the case, she should be his mistress.  He's insulted she doesn't see this as a great opportunity, since she clearly is attracted to him.  It's an attitude he carries through pretty much the whole book and with all his interactions with everyone: I know best, I am the best, don't question me. That makes it really hard to like him.  

There is a lot of angst and longing because of the obstacles in the way of Sebastian and Annabelle's happily ever after.  Secondary characters are mostly flat and unknowable.  Some, like Sebastian's brother Peregrine, are completely unlikable (he's the party-going frat boy type who rebels against the idea of taking up any responsibility by acting like a spoiled brat of 5 and running away from home when his brother signs him up for the Navy at the rather improbable age of 19). 

The writing is choppy, especially in the beginning. Things would go from fine to awkward: Sebastian would be getting address as Your Grace and then suddenly getting called "Duke", Annabelle would suddenly be speaking or thinking far too modernly, and (while I'm no expert) her clothing styles seemed to me more 1812 than 1879.  Maybe these are mistakes that could be explained away as being a writer's first novel, but they made things jarring for me.  On the other hand, I did keep reading and hoping for some kind of a happy ending.  And (spoiler alert) while it happens far too fast and improbably conveniently, in the end our heroes do get there.  Whether I liked the journey enough to read the next book in the series Dunmore comes up with, I'm not sure.

I was up and down on this book, but there is potential in it.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Holiday by Gaslight

A Holiday by Gaslight- Mimi Matthews
Perfectly Proper Press
Release Date: November 13, 2018

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Sophie Appersett is quite willing to marry outside of her class to ensure the survival of her family. But the darkly handsome Mr. Edward Sharpe is no run-of-the-mill London merchant. He's grim and silent. A man of little emotion--or perhaps no emotion at all. After two months of courtship, she's ready to put an end to things.

But severing ties with her taciturn suitor isn't as straightforward as Sophie envisioned. Her parents are outraged. And then there's Charles Darwin, Prince Albert, and that dratted gaslight. What's a girl to do except invite Mr. Sharpe to Appersett House for Christmas and give him one last chance to win her? Only this time there'll be no false formality. This time they'll get to know each other for who they really are.

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Sophie Appersett is trying to be a modern woman.  The world is changing rapidly all around her and she is trying to take Mr. Darwin's theories to heart and change with them.  While her family has no money, she is a baronet's daughter and has been raised to expect a marriage of convenience instead of love. When the wealthy Edward Sharpe shows an interest in her, it doesn't bother Sophie that he isn't an aristocrat.  But after two months of courting, it does bother her that she still knows nothing about Ned.  He never says more than a few words and always seems to wish he was somewhere else.  While Sophie might not expect love, a vague liking would be nice! She's ready to call it off if they can't get to know each other during her family's Christmas house party.  What Sophie doesn't take into account is the gaslight . . .

 Sophie is a wonderful heroine: smart, independent, kind, and warm.  While on the surface she and Ned Sharpe seem to be complete opposites, once Ned realizes he needs to break down and be a little more himself around Sophie, it becomes obvious they are a perfect match.  She has shouldered the burdens of her family: her spoiled sister and her father's mania for modernization of the family home even when it means spending Sophie's dowry to make it happen.  The idea of having a partner in life, a man who will treat her as an equal, is more beguiling than any romance to her.  Ned doesn't believe in romance or love, but Sophie teaches him that both are exactly what he needs.  They just need a little plain speaking between them, and a little relationship advice from Charles Darwin.  

Blending the rapidly evolving scientific discoveries of the 1860s with changing societal ideas and prejudices makes for a fresh approach to the Victorian Christmas novella. Romance and high family drama allow Sophie and Ned to evolve naturally in front of us, often surprising themselves as much as us.  A sweet, delightful holiday novella, Gaslight brings all the charm and magic of a Victorian Christmas to life on each page. Fans of Lisa Kleypas' Wallflowers series will love Mimi Matthews' A Holiday by Gaslight!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

His Wicked Charm

His Wicked Charm (The Mad Morelands)- Candace Camp
HQN Books
Release Date: March 27, 2018

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Lilah Holcutt dislikes Constantine Moreland from the moment she meets him. He may be handsome, but he’s frivolous, rash, impulsive and, worst of all, a flirt. Now that Con’s twin brother has married Lilah’s best friend, she’s seeing way more of Con than she’d like. And when Con’s sisters are inexplicably kidnapped, Lilah’s own curiosity and stubbornness get the better of her, and she finds herself swept into Con’s investigation. 

Con knows that Lilah hates him—he just wishes she weren’t so devastatingly beautiful, that he weren’t so attracted to her. Especially since they’re working closely together to solve the kidnapping, an adventure that leads them to Lilah’s peculiar childhood home, Barrow House, which sits atop an ancient fen and features an eerie maze on its grounds.

The more Con and Lilah uncover, the more they’re convinced that the answers lie buried deep within Barrow House—answers to a mystery darker than either of them could ever have realized.

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You knew from the first time Lilah and Con met in His Sinful Touch that they were meant to be together.  They bickered nonstop and went out of their way to avoid being alone together.  But since Con's twin Alex has just married Lilah's best friend Sabrina, they are sure to be thrown together often.  Con is impulsive, flirtatious, and more than willing to embrace the hint of mystic that clings to most of his family- his one complaint being that their mysterious gifts seem to have passed over him!  Lilah, with her stiff attitude, adherence to society's rules, and seeming lack of humor, constantly rubs him the wrong way.  But when Lilah doesn't hesitate to jump into a search for Con's family when they are kidnapped, he begins to think there may be more to Lilah than meets the eye.  The reader sees Lilah's layers mostly at the same time that Con does, knowing that there is plenty beneath her proper surface and getting hints but waiting along with Con until she reveals them to us.  Lilah is a wonderfully multifaceted character who tries hard to be the prim model of society her aunt has raised her to be, but finds herself chafing at the restrictions placed on her.  

When she and Con go to her childhood home, Barrow House, and we meet her eccentric Aunt Vesta, things get really complicated.  The Moreland family kidnapping seems to have less to do with the Morelands than with Sabrina and Lilah and their families.  All of Camp's Mad Morelands series touch on the supernatural or paranormal, some more than others, and His Wicked Charm twines modern Victorian ideas with a heavy does of the appeal of the paranormal that was popular during Con and Lilah's parents and grandparents time.  Past and present are inseparable though, because the puzzle they are trying to solve may have its origins two generations ago, but is very much alive in the present.  

Like the rest of the Mad Morelands series, this book can be read as a stand alone, although there are enough references to events in His Sinful Touch that readers may want to start with that book first.  His Wicked Charm is a fast-paced, brilliantly written thriller from start to finish.  Con and Lilah have smoldering chemistry that, when they finally allow themselves to give in to it, becomes a beautiful and passionate relationship that was one of the best I've read in a long time.  A perfect blend of logic and mystic, normal and paranormal, Lilah and Con balance each other and turn into a perfect team.  The mystery's twist at the end was shocking- and completely perfect. His Wicked Charm may be my new favorite Candace Camp book!   

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review