As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I have started scaling back on a lot of my reviews for publishers etc quite a bit for 2024. This will not always be the case, but for now I need to juggle family, work, and hobbies so for now I am scaling back. But there are a few authors that I will always make room for in my review calendar. One of those is Mimi Matthews. She is one of my favorite historical romance writers and I have read all of her books.
For me, she has been one of those authors who went overlooked by bigger publishing houses and I couldn’t understand why—–I am so gad to see that Berkley got wise to her writing and signed her and brought to life her Belles of London series! I love Matthews books and always close the book with a smile on my face and this book left me eager for the next book in this series. The last book promises to loop in her other series, Parish Orphans of Devon, which makes my heart so happy because that series is equally intriguing and swoon worthy.
This series (as well as Matthews others) are ones that I frequently recommend to those looking to satisfy their Bridgerton cravings, however I do let them know that Matthews writes more sweet romances than bodice rippers, but that said her books have intertwined characters/books/plots without having to be read in order and you get to revisit familiar characters in new settings, plus no one describes wardrobes like Matthews! I love reading about the clothes and fashion, plus Matthews history details are top shelf.
Summary
Fortune favors the bold—but is a confirmed spinster daring enough to loosen the reins and accept a favor from the wicked gentleman who haunts her dreams?
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. (summary from Goodreads)
Review
While Matthews books don’t include the same sizzle and spice as the Birdgerton books, Matthews does write some great romance and tenderness not to mention dashing heroes. In this book we meet Felix ‘Hart’ Hartford who has been in love with Anne since they were teenagers but since they suffered a falling out, Anne and Hart haven’t seen each other in years. This book is meant to be a second chance romance and while normally I don’t enjoy second chance romances, I did like that this book didn’t dwell so much on the mistakes of the past. Naturally there is mention/discussion about hurt feelings and rekindling of their friendship/romance but the focus was very much on their future rather than their past which I liked. Even though I liked this part of the book, I have to admit that this one has been my least favorite in the series so far. From the beginning it was clear that there was a history between the two and clear that they were still in love with each other—-a fact that I think they were pretty open about from the beginning of the book which sort of made me wonder why we were even having this book.
There wasn’t much conflict between the characters in the way of their feelings. Hart loved Anne, Anne loved Hart, they had a history that mostly resolved itself early on, but it seemed that Anne had a lot of baggage that needed resolving more so than Hart. I also didn’t feel the chemistry between Anne and Hart in the way I had felt with other characters in Matthews books. I expected to see a lot more growth from Anne throughout the story and I don’t know that I saw that in the way I expected or needed to see. Anne and her mother had a lot of unresolved tension owing to the death of Anne’s father and I didn’t feel like we got the resolve that needed to happen. In other books in this series (I am thinking mostly book 2) there are characters with family issues and I felt like they got the resolve that was needed in order to wrap the story and in this book it just felt unfinished in that regard.
So did I love this book? Hate this book? Do I feel disappointed? Satisfied? Overall I liked it, but personally book 2 is my favorite in this series so far. This book was good and I did finish it in about a day. I enjoyed it and obviously will read anything Matthews writes without hesitation. I would also recommend this book to historical romance fans without question. So yes it was good and I liked it and loved seeing other characters from other books and series, but when comparing this book to others in the series, it wasn’t as good as the others. This book can absolutely be read as a standalone so if comparing it on its own, I would rate it as a solid 4 starts but if I was comparing it to others in the series I would go for 3 stars. In the end I went with 4 stars because I love the prose, history, and the romance, characters and story had a lot to recommend themselves—-plus I love Matthews! I am eager to see Stella’s story next! I think that’s going to be a really good one!
Book Info and Rating
Format 432 pages, Paperback
Published January 16, 2024 by Berkley
ISBN 9780593337189 (ISBN10: 0593337182)
Free review copy provided by publisher, Berkley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 4 stars
Genre: historical fiction, historical romance
The Lit Bitch 